SEO - Express Writers

11 Ways To Get Your Content Ready For Google’s Mobilegeddon

February 25, 2023April 13, 2015 by Adam Oakley

4/21. “Mobilegeddon.” The biggest Google update since Panda and Penguin. There is a new Google update arriving on April 21, and this time around it is a large one that’s pretty important for every website owner to know about. This particular update focuses on mobile content and mobile access for searchers, and if your website is not mobile-friendly, it is likely to suffer some serious consequences. In this blog, I’m going to look at the top ways you can prepare your content for this mobile update, helping you stay on the good side of Google so your site doesn’t get de-ranked in this big major update. 11 Ways to Make Your Content Ready for Mobile Users Here are the top ways to make your mobile content phenomenal for your readers AND satisfy Google’s new update. 1. You MUST have a mobile friendly site. This is also called “responsive” or “adaptive design.” If your designer or developer hasn’t done it yet, I’m serious: pick up the phone and dial them right now. You, my friend, need a mobile site. Why? First, because Google is claiming to de-rank ALL sites that are not mobile with their update. I don’t want that to happen to you. Next, let’s actually think of the viewer’s experience. When people view content on their mobile devices, they don’t want to have to squint when reading it. You don’t want to make your font overly large from the beginning, but you do want it to be a decent size to be viewed on a mobile screen. However, you should also make your content easy to make larger. If you have a smartphone or tablet, think about a time you needed to see the page clearer – you use your fingers and zoom in to make the font and content larger. This is what you want your content to be able to do, and it needs to be able to be easily zoomed in without distortion of images, videos, or text. Your webmaster should be able to make your site mobile-friendly. 2. Responsive Vs. Adaptive: Two Options For Your Website. A great way to prepare your content is to make sure you already have a conversion plan in mind and use one that will benefit your site. There are two different ones, adaptive and responsive design. Adaptive can help figure out which device a client is using, and adapt to that format, and responsive can help adapt to all sizes of mobile screens. Doing my research, it looks like responsive seems to be the better method. It is cheaper, and Google also prefers it, according to Search Engine Land. Responsive design allows for you to use proper SEO for your mobile site, and gives you the opportunity to reach a wide range of people no matter their device or screen size. While adaptive seems like it would be preferable, HubSpot does point out that responsive will immediately adapt to future devices. You can find responsive design plugins on some hosting sites or you can find mobile site professionals that can help you make the switch. 3. Always Monitor that Your Website’s Navigation is Easy and Stress-free. This is important whether it is on your desktop site or mobile. Navigation is a big part of user experience (UX), and you want to make sure UX is top notch. Google has already implemented UX into its algorithms, and it will be even more important once the mobile update is live. UX incorporates many facets from the usability of your site to the content you’ve written, and navigation is a big part of usability. Make sure it is easy for your customers to navigate on your mobile site to help make a better UX for all involved. This will help rank with Google and help you keep bringing clients back to your site from their smartphones or tablets. 4. Create a Mobile App for Your Business and Website. An excellent way to get your content to adapt to mobile and have an excellent mobile presence is to not only update your site, but also to create a mobile app. Mobile apps are a great way to get your company out there and make it more visible to your clients. Once they download it, it will be there on their phone, being a constant reminder of your business and services. It can also help you stand out from the competition, especially in industries that don’t focus too much on mobile marketing. There is an excellent article on All Business Experts that details how you can create your own mobile app from scratch to help leverage your company and get more results from your mobile campaign! Don’t get too overwhelmed about a mobile app, take a bit to sit down and think it over because you don’t want to miss out on this awesome opportunity. 5. Consider Using QR Codes for Products. You know those funny looking square, pixelated boxes you see on products and coupons? Those are QR codes and are great ways to link offline content to a mobile device. It can allow people to access deals on products or share information about a product after they’ve received it. QR codes are excellent for marketing, and you can do many things with them from engaging your clients to giving more product information, and many other awesome marketing ideas. You can use a QR code generator tool to create these QR codes. Now, let’s look at actual mobile content improvements you can make: 6. Create Different Lengths of Content. When it comes to the content length wars, longer content is always the best idea for your long-form blogs and resource pages. Research shows that people prefer longer content because they love getting in-depth information and often feel a longer piece is more trustworthy. However, when it comes to mobile content, you want to have varying lengths especially on your main pages to let people choose the length they want to read. Short content is easier to consume on mobile because many people … Read more

The Great Content Roundup: Week 8, Ready For Google’s Updates?

December 31, 2020April 8, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Excuse the hiatus, folks – it’s been exactly 5 weeks since I wrote a Great Content Roundup! What exactly was I doing that was more important than the Great Content Roundup? Ha, you got me. Actually, I was moving from Corpus Christi, Texas to Austin, Texas—the land of beautiful parks, trails, lakes, creeks, and even more importantly, awesome eateries and downtown industry events. Photo credit iStock (RoschetzkyIstockPhoto) Why did it take so long? Well, I do have a 9-month-old baby girl, and finding the right daycare was the biggest transition. Then, after that, I somehow caught the bug from the grave—a respiratory and stomach virus with a sinus congestion! Today, I can safely say things are finally going smoothly and my schedule is a bit back to normal, so it’s back to my curated Roundup pieces. I hope no one has missed me too badly. (All right, that was a joke.) This week, I want to take a look at what Google’s planning to hit the web with coming up. There’s a big mobile change that’s been forecasted by all lately, and a few other updates, but what exactly is going on? I did some digging and research. Here’s a fact-based look. Resources on Google’s New Upcoming Mobile Algorithm It’s a must-read: The official Google announcement that they will be finding more mobile-friendly search results came out late February 2015. “Mobilegeddon” Is Coming on April 21 – Are You Ready?” – SEW piece by Chuck Price, written March 9. One of the first pieces coining Google’s mobile algorithm update as the “Mobilegeddon.” The author reminds us of the issues of duplicacy if webmasters reflect mobile pages from desktop URLs, and gives us pros and cons of being mobile. Overall, mobile is a winner—from a ranking and user point of view. SearchEngineLand has 3 Actions to Take To Get Ready for Google’s Mobile Search Update. These are excellent questions every webmaster should be asking themselves in preparation for the coming algorithm update. Is your website ready for Google’s algorithm update? By Erica Tafavoti on Inman. Excellent piece with actionable steps you can take (today) on making sure you’re reading for the big Google changes. Moz’s 9 Things You Need To Know About Google’s Mobile-Friendly Update by Cindy Krum. A very indepth piece about how exactly these mobile changes will happen and how big the change is: “bigger than the Panda and Penguin updates.” And finally, here’s a piece we did: What Types Of Links Does Google Hate? A blog on how to stay safe with your linking strategies and to avoid the types of links Google hates nowadays. Hope that helps! Leave a comment with any suggestions you’d like to see added to our list!

Is Google Ranking Your Content Based On Accuracy?

December 31, 2020March 30, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Google is always updating, with an algorithm change at least every few weeks. Now, in a move to help people find great, accurate content, Google is working on a content accuracy algorithm that will help direct people to accurate sites quickly and easily. We recently wrote a guest blog on SiteProNews about this very topic, which had a lot of traction inside just 24 hours. Because of this, we wanted to look into the topic further and provide even more data about this hot topic. Accurate Content: Does Google Care and Why? Social media has been abuzz lately with the latest Google news to come down the line. It is big enough that it didn’t just spark interest for businesses and SEO experts, but it also got your clients’ attention. People readily assume that content is always accurate because, if it is on the Internet, it has to be true! Or, at least, that is what many people believe. This, however, makes many people fall victim to false news from satire news sources without any verification about the particular topic. Very few people will double check by searching Google for the topic and won’t go to Snopes to see if anything has been written. Because of this, Search Engine Journal says that Google is deeming it necessary for websites to have accurate content. One of the main reasons Google cares about people getting truthful content is that they have a strong desire to provide people with excellent, expert content and accuracy plays a big part in that. If you don’t believe me when it comes to Google wanting to give readers the best content possible through search results, just take a look at all of the various algorithms they have introduced over the last few months and years. How Will Google Determine Accurate Content? According to the Search Engine Journal article I shared above, Google has an interesting plan to check for accuracy. It seems complicated, but Google is planning to build an algorithm that cross checks your content against a number of verified, reputable sources. They haven’t said exactly what these places will be, but a few that come to mind could be places such as Huffington Post, or industry related websites. For the copywriting industry, this could be Moz or HubSpot. This way, Google can tell for sure if you are writing something that is truthful or if it is misleading. This doesn’t seem like it will be too much of a detriment to too many businesses, but it is wise to make sure you know what is going on and ensuring all of your existing and future content is accurate. How Could This Impact Your Website? If you are readily publishing accurate content already, you will not have too much to fear from this change. However, if your content has the chance to be somewhat inaccurate or completely so, this could have a huge, negative impact on your site. I don’t have any statistics at the moment as this algorithm is still in works by the Google team, but if it is anything like other algorithms, you can expect to see a few things. Some of the repercussions could be loss of rank on the search engine results page and being slapped with a not-so-fun penalty. Depending on the severity, it could take you a bit to recover. Don’t be too alarmed though! I plan on giving you some concrete ways to check your content’s accuracy before this algorithm is put in place. What are the Perks of Accurate Content? There are several great perks when it comes to having accurate content. First of all, it will set you up as a leading voice in your industry. If you write accurate content, you will not only look good to your clients, but also to others in the industry. Secondly, it will help you generate great, fresh content all the time. Another perk I see to accurate content is that it is significantly easier to write naturally when you are telling the truth. Writing naturally is a big part of content writing, and writing truthfully will help with that. The Top Two Ways to Ensure Your Content is Accurate Now that I’ve looked at this new algorithm some, I am going to give you something to take away. Here are the top two things I suggest to help you write accurate content, as well as making sure your current content is accurate. Do Research on Reputable Websites. When you write your content, a great way to get accurate content is to do your research on reputable websites such as Huffington Post, or leading websites in your industry. You should also always make sure to fact check your own content by comparing the research to multiple reputable sites just to be careful. Get a Content Audit. One of the best ways to make sure you have accurate content is to get a content audit. This will look over your web pages to show you what is working, what should be changed, and giving you an idea on how to tweak your future pages. You can also use a content audit to make sure that your content is accurate before the Google algorithm hits. Don’t hesitate to check out our article on SiteProNews linked in the intro for more ways you can write accurate content. Authenticity is the New Sexy Creating authentic content is the best way to convince readers and clients that your business is the one to be trusted. It has always been an important element in content creating, but now with Google’s impending algorithm, the importance has skyrocketed. Take this opportunity to check and see if your content is currently accurate, and always make sure you write accurate content in the future. If you want to ensure every piece of your content is accurate, you can trust Express Writers. We provide content audits to look over content, which will help you prepare for the new algorithm. In addition, … Read more

A Military Combat Writer Takes a Look at SEO

December 31, 2020March 20, 2015 by Dan Blottenbergerd

Dan, one of our full time writers, is the guest author of this blog. With degrees in communication and history, Dan has been a professional writer in the U.S. military as a combat correspondent for over eight years, and was a journalist for the Stars and Stripes European edition. His experience has included penning press releases from a cot in the deserts of Iraq, and writing breaking news from his Ford Focus in a Bavarian snowstorm. We asked him to write about how Google looks at SEO and linking strategy. Ok, let’s start with a little disclaimer. I am fairly new to the SEO world. I have been writing professionally for a decade now, but somehow missed out on how to increase search engine rankings while I was following U.S. soldiers around in Iraq. I always assumed you write something interesting people read it, and it moves up on the SERP. But now I am finding there is far more to it than I initially thought. After leaving the military I realized I was missing a lot of skills that were necessary to be an effective multimedia journalist or copywriter in today’s Web-driven market. So after two college degrees, a certification course in SEO copywriting, and a lot of time spent on YouTube watching Google’s experts talk about this stuff, and daily practical use of creating original content at Express Writers, I am starting to get the hang of it. From reading some of the SEO and copywriting experts’ articles on the subject, I noticed how links were very helpful when gathering research on a topic. So, I decided to use links more often when I was writing. I began to research links and found out it is hard to know a natural link from what Google considers an unnatural link. Now, I feel like I have to cross my fingers when including a link with a post online? Man, I hope Google does not flag this one. You never really know do you? Sometimes you can write a quality post, with a unique angle, with links connecting to what you view as beneficial content for your reader and it can be flagged as an unnatural link. There are two possible problems here. One, Google thinks your post or the link you are using is, in fact, low quality. Two, there is a discrepancy in what you think a natural link is and what Google’s algorithm thinks a natural link is. Google’s algorithm is not perfect. You can deliver an excellent post with solid “natural” links, and somehow you could still get flagged, or the site linking to you also could get tagged. The problem is Google does not precisely define natural links, leaving SEO gurus a bit agitated. “Natural links to your site develop as part of the dynamic nature of the web when other sites find your content valuable and think it would be helpful for their visitors,” according to Google. Natural links are the only links valuable to your search results. But this is often simply not the case. You can write posts specifically for the benefit of your targeted audience and still get flagged by Google because your link is somehow still being labeled unnatural. “Unnatural links to your site are placed there specifically to make your site look more popular to search engines,” explains Google. To make sure of this I consulted SEO experts with far more experience than myself. In her recent blog on Search Engine Land, Julie Joyce points out that not all user-generated links are useful links, even if they appeared to pass all the natural link rules. It seems that even if you are producing natural content, it could still get pinged either manually or by the Big G machine. Google lists examples of these types of links as link schemes and doorway pages. Ok, I understand Google’s algorithm is based on links, and quality search results drive their business. Hence, the reason they try everything in their power to make sure link schemes or doorway pages are not impacting rankings. But there is a fine line between link schemes, doorway pages, and keyword phrases. Right? What if I am car rental service in Tampa, Florida? Of course, I am going to mention Tampa as a key phrase, but what if Google’s algorithm figures my website is a doorway page. “Multiple pages on your site with similar content designed to rank for specific queries like city or state names.” As the basis of the Google algorithm ranking system, links will be around for a long time. Simply because there is no better alternative at the moment, according to Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Webspam team. The better the links are connecting to your site the higher you rank in search results. The problem is spam and the use of manipulative links and Google’s algorithm’s inability to accurately decipher between natural and unnatural links. How To Create Successful Links in Your SEO Content On their Webmaster Guidelines Google gives this explains guidance: “The best way to get other sites to create high-quality, relevant links to yours is to create unique, relevant content that can naturally gain popularity in the Internet community.” Useful content equals more links to other sites because readers’ find value in what you write. So what is the best way to make your content go viral without upsetting Google? If you follow Google’s error message guidance for “thin content with little to no added value”, there are several easy to follow characteristics of what is considered user-centric content. In other words, content that will get you better rankings. You need to ask yourself the following things: Does this content add value to my readers? Will it benefit my reader? Is this content original? Is this content unique or does it have a unique angle? Things such as thin affiliations or syndication will cause a page or Website to be flagged and sometimes removed from Google’s search results. So, it seems … Read more

How Content Has Changed The SEO Game Forever

December 31, 2020March 16, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Developing content has become the now method of getting readers from the Internet to your web pages. In the 90’s, traffic was driven through keywords and although these could lead to some horribly inorganic pages, it got the job done and got traffic to your site. Content production has since literally taken over and in the last five years we have seen a gradual shift away from traditional SEO rules and a new look at content from the lens of SEO. Two Key Ways You Can Do SEO the RIGHT Way With Content When the Google search algorithm changed what they were looking for in websites, it hurt a lot of sites because of their methodology. Stuffing unneeded keywords into a site made Google rank their pages higher, but provided little useful information to the users. Eventually, users started shying away from using search engines. If all you got was junk websites then what use were the engines anyway. Google’s game changer made use of the understanding that human beings read differently from machines. As a result, they developed a system by which they could determine if the site was “organic” or artificially generated. With every iteration of Google’s algorithm, the original SEO algorithm scammers have tried to change their tactics to stay ahead of the game, but Google seems to have weeded out the majority of them. Writing For The Audience. The changes in Google’s algorithm led to a change in the attitude of the entire Internet (and e-commerce in general). Before, traffic was a means of getting users to click on a link, end up on your site and be bombarded by advertising in the hopes that they would click something and you’d get paid. This new paradigm calls for a different approach to the reader: treating him/her like a human being. Content Builds A Community. One of the more important uses of content in the modern world is the building of a community. Blogs and websites help to create and foster a community of interaction and sharing that reaches far beyond the boundaries of the wired world. By creating content that people want to discuss, you give them a platform for further interaction and this builds reader loyalty. By integrating proper SEO techniques within your content you expose it to a much wider audience than you would normally. The result is of course more traffic, but traffic that is liable to return. The SEO invites them and the content keeps them there. Case Study: Express Writers Our own company of Express Writers was one of the early adopters of the idea that a high-content website would attract users a lot more than simple SEO by itself. In a brave move in November 2013, we ceased the use of traditional SEO tactics and moved towards using content alone to drive out business. We did away with the buying of social fans and the building and maintenance of keyword list. We went in for the long haul. The Results Today, we are among the top three links from Google for the term “copywriting agency” and have huge placement in the search results that have fluctuated little over the past year. This is wholly through organic content, not by any SEO methodology or plan. We outrank suppliers of copywriting services such as Scripted and Elance and for a company that doesn’t bankroll an advertising fund, we have done very well for ourselves. We maintain our current situation via a series of blog posts (more than 3 per day on every platform we manage), and by launching our new website in January of 2015. We guest blog in order to increase our reach and our post there for December, “10 Ways to Beat the Panda and Penguin in Your Content Strategy” was the top read for that entire month. We presented ourselves as experts and cultivated this persona, and we were able to deliver based on our content production, a testament to our performance as the following graphs show. The User Experience: How Has It Changed? In the past, at the turn of the 2000’s, SEO was about getting users to your site using whatever means was necessary. As we got up to 2010, the game changed and it was about getting users to your site by craftily inserting keywords throughout your content. Now, in a post-2010 world, it’s all about the user experience. Through a series of clever updates, Google has managed to force the hand of website owners and operators to start considering users as more than just throwaway currency and see them as the force that drives their business. It has turned out to be a good move for the average consumer as it nets them more value than the previous methods of SEO. Mobile Content. Content production dedicated to mobile users has already proved to be a major source of incoming traffic. By optimizing a site for mobile usage you get access to a whole new set of users that can benefit from your pages. Content production geared towards mobile users has quite a lot more marketability now and will continue to see popularity as the years go by. Approximately 17.4% of total Internet users are using their mobile devices for access. As these devices get cheaper and more accessible, we should see even more users adopt it as a means of browsing the Internet. Social Media and Content. Social media has been a major game-changer for a lot of companies as regards their content production and promotion. Content promotion through social media has a very wide-ranging audience and because of that it can mean a lot more traffic to a site than regular SEO. It is estimated that over 2 billion people use social networking in one form of another and as long as you can direct your advertising at the correct sector of users you have a ready market for your content. Quality before Quantity. Even though social media will get users to visit … Read more

Four Predictions On The Future of G+ In 2015

December 31, 2020January 30, 2015 by Adam Oakley

There have been a number of conflicting reports surrounding G+ in 2015. A handful of writers claim that Google+ is seeing its last days as a valid product and that Google is moving to shelf it. Many of us in the tech world know that the driving force behind Google+, Vic Gundotra, has left the company and ever since that departure, G+ has seen less of a prominent place in Google’s limelight, some claiming that Google is actively moving to hide it from the average user. The thing is, as there are more and more users that lean towards social media platforms as a means of communication and keeping up to date with the happenings of the world, there will always be a need for competition. As it stands right now, G+ is not something the world really wants as much as the world needs options in social media. Why G+ is Important in the 21st Century A lot of people have put Google+ down as the walking dead or a failed attempt at social networking. While G+ isn’t a competitor to Facebook and Twitter in the traditional sense (it doesn’t sell its users to advertisers, for example), it still presents a place for users to share their ideas and the things that they like across a social platform that integrates with their email and other facets of their life that they already use Google’s services for. The key reason that G+ is important, according to former Google employee Chris Messina (in this rant that is decidedly expletive-laden), is that G+ provides an alternative to the juggernauts that make up social media in the twenty first century today. America has realized how monopolies are bad (any cursory glance at American economic history will reveal this) and the rest of the world should also be wary of putting their eggs in one basket. However, as the wizard behind the curtain in Gundotra departed, G+ has come up short in its drive to be something new, innovative and fresh. It’s because of this failed initiative that many social media gurus are announcing the death of G+, even if not acknowledged as yet by Google. A Bleak Future for Google+? Google+ is decidedly one of the important gears in the machine that is Google’s digital identity in the twenty first century. Google has managed to link it with some of their more popular utilities (such as Google Hangouts) in an effort to drive more users to utilize it as a social media device. Although many users resented it (and many still do) it showed that Google wasn’t about to give up on Google+ just yet. In fact, with so many Google users simply having a G+ account (whether or not they use it) it means that G+ has one of the largest potential outreaches of any social media in existence. It’s like a sleeping giant, and although it’s unlikely that it will be a Facebook-killer, it is still well poised to do so much more. Google’s developmental teams have been shuffled around as of late and many tech and social media gurus see is as a sign that G+ is dying. I’m personally not so sure. As it sits right now, the coming year could make or break G+ in terms of being a major part of Google’s integrated system. Is G+ Another One of Google’s Failed Ideas? Investment in G+ from Google to such an extent means that Google has (or at least had) great plans for the system. The thing is, this isn’t the only project they’ve had over the years that started off with a bang and ended up with a whimper. I am reminded of Authorship: a push by Google to introduce author tags into web content so as to give Authors more visibility on search engine rankings. Well, Google tried that for a while and realized it wasn’t working so they ditched it. However, they never put as much time and effort integrating Authorship with other Google utilities as they have G+. The interwoven tapestry of a Google account means that a G+ account grants you access to your Gmail, your Hangouts, even your cloud storage. Your Google account is not your G+ account, and like a lost puppy it follows you around wherever you go. Integrating G+ into Gmail has had its share of troubles by opening up the door to unwanted spam emails from people you don’t even know. After potential fiascos like that one you can start to understand why Google might be better off leaving G+ to die. Four Predictions for the Future of G+ in 2015 2015 presents a unique turning point in G+’s development, one that could see it as another innovative result of Google’s tinkering with social media or as another spent, broken shell on Google’s idea scrap-heap. Google has a lot of decisions to make in the coming year regarding G+ and as much as it seems as though G+ is dead, Google has managed to do miracles before. Resurrecting a nearly-dead social media idea might be right up their alley. Based on what we’ve seen from Google in the last couple months towards the end of 2015, we can extrapolate pretty handily what the state of G+ will be in the coming year and if Google’s actually taking steps to make it into a better place to visit than it is currently. As I stare into my crystal ball I can make a few guesses as to what the future of G+ will look like in the coming twelve months: Google Will Further Shrink the Dedicated Workforce on Google+ This seems counterproductive if you think that Google’s trying to salvage G+ but it’s actually not a bad idea. Google firmly subscribes to the idea that “too many cooks spoil the broth” and in this case they might be well warranted. Google+ already has a deeply designed interface that shares information seamlessly with other Google services and is a … Read more

A Glance Back at 2014 & What’s Ahead For 2015 Web Content

December 31, 2020December 29, 2014 by Adam Oakley

The importance of online content has been growing at a fast pace over the past few years. Since 2011, when the first Panda hit down on bad content, website owners around the world realized that they needed to get well-written content in order to rank their site well, get traffic, and gain favor in the eyes of Google. The Internet: Today’s Marketplace, and Your Web Content The Goods The Internet is a means of livelihood, and an activity central for more than 3.03 billion people, and growing daily. Think of the Internet as a huge marketplace, and the goods marketed are the content you offer to your visitors. How good your content is simply equals how many will buy from you. With the growth of online content comes the growth of the Internet as a whole. It’s now a major hub, a world not unlike the air traffic in the Fifth Element. And content realization has grown into yet a bigger reality and focus. Today, content is a fundamental cornerstone of online marketing. It’s how to maintain your site in search engines, as a fundamental; and beyond that, it’s how to grow, flourish, and prosper online. I fully believe that well-written content is (and has been) the stepping-stone to your online success. Back in 2014, we predicted a few things about content, from 11 content marketing predictions, 6 more marketing geared predictions, and 10 SEO predictions, to a major prediction that 2014 would be the year of the informer. Overall, our stress was on quality content becoming a major factor for growing your online marketing and ranking in the SERPS. And boy, did that happen in a big way! Let’s take a look. We Said 2014 Will Be The Year Of The Informer. If your content doesn’t inform, it won’t rank and succeed. We said there would be a huge demand for quality content, and every company would know the importance of it. We stressed that authority of content (through research, expert writing, and fact-sharing), long pieces with evergreen content (how-to guides, useful content), unique content with your own style (standing out from competition), and mobile and social status would become important. Penguin 3 Hit Late 2014, and We Immediately Started Ranking. Quality of content tied into better rankings sure did happen this year. Penguin 3 came out late 2014, and it boosted the ranking of good content around the Internet—and we experienced great results. Around November of 2014, we experienced a HUGE increase in rankings: literally, 400 unique visitors on a Saturday, more than double our typical. When we looked into it, we discovered it was directly related to a big surge in rankings right around mid-October right around Penguin’s time. Major Google Happenings In 2014 Now, here were a few big things about 2014 web content we didn’t see coming (and I bet no one did!)— Authorship died. Authorship was officially dead and buried in August 28, after a few back and forth stints where photos got removed, although the ranking factor still existed. Finally, it was entirely removed in August 28. So, we were wrong when we said that being an informer in your content would tie into your Authorship rankings! Google Pirate came out. It’s not hard to discern that Google would eventually crack down on illegal torrents, which offered people a way to avoid buying and renting digital movies from those who pay Google high Adwords dollars. Google not only did that in 2014, but they named the algorithm after typical torrent hosts and went to target those very people with the Google Pirate update around November. HTTPS (SSL) became a ranking signal. Google officially made that happen in September of 2014. We upgraded our site to an SSL this year as a result. Once again, this ties into quality –your content is secured and safe to viewers, and Google gives you kudos for that. 3 Content Predictions: What’s Ahead for 2015 There’s even bigger things ahead for 2015 web content. We’ve already written a piece on what 2015 content will look like, and what to expect, so we’ll nutshell it here and give you only the most important predictions and thoughts. Content Importance & Vitality Will Increase. We said it last year, we said it the year before, and so did numerous others in our industry. I’m saying it again for 2015: content importance and the vitality of your written content will increase. If you don’t have a blog, but you own a website and a business, you better start a blog today. It’s vital. It will bring you more traffic, offer you a platform to continually add effective content to your site, and grow your engagement. If you do have a blog, consider doing an audit and effectively analyze it to catch what’s wrong. Start curating ideas for better topics. Don’t just write blogs; be the best in your industry. Write guides. Think of things that haven’t been covered. That’s how you can succeed with your content. It will be necessary to audit and curate (analyze and create ideas) continually in the new year, since there will be so much content out there and to stand out in the crowd (or rather, flood) you will need to make your own mark. And that’s hard, when almost every idea on the planet has already been written on. Content Outlets Will Grow. In 2014, we saw LinkedIN posts and Medium become great content marketing channels. Our own content grew to include top guest blog networks like SearchEngineJournal and SEMRush. In 2015, I suspect more content channels will happen. I can also tell you that these channels are very important, and a low investment for a lot of potential ROI. From being on SiteProNews, we have seen several lucrative content clients come in who found our blogs there very helpful for their own content marketing. We provided value through a written guide, and they became our client. Content outlets will grow, I predict, in 2015; … Read more

The Foundations of Researching Keywords For Your Content (Using SEMRush)

November 21, 2022December 18, 2014 by Adam Oakley

When Google pulled the plug on displaying the top keyword for websites in 2011, digital marketers were scrambling to find a solution to retrieve that priceless keyword data. The dreaded “not provided” message sent the Internet marketing community into an uproar, with many fists shaking at Google for taking something so valuable right out of reach. It was an unfortunate turn of events for professional SEOs, but it was not exactly surprising. There had been previous predictions on Google eliminating keyword data, but it did not make the blow any less painful. Today, we are nearly 4 years out from the “not provided” dilemma, and it is clear that this did not end the world of SEO as we know it. The dust has cleared now, and with that, some pretty amazing keyword research tools have come to the forefront. One of those keyword tools in particular is SEMRush, which is one of the most powerful and accurate research tools we’ve personally found on the market. The top keyword from Google may not be provided, but SEMRush offers a great opportunity to help you create great content. Let’s look at how they do that. Starting From Scratch: Analyze The Keywords of Your Competitors If you are on the forefront of your keyword search with SEMRush with a brand new website, one of the logical first steps is researching the keywords of your competitors. SEMRush allows you to research your competitors’ keywords, and they do not block or hide any valuable information from you. When you log in to SEMRush, you can simply type in your competitor’s website address. SEMRush will generate their top keywords for you with information including volume, cost per click, ranking difficulty, and traffic percentage. Using Petsmart as an example, you can see a green bar under the traffic column. When you hover over the bar, SEMRush estimates that 40 percent of their traffic comes from their brand name. Hypothetically saying that I run another online pet store, this doesn’t help me too much. I am not a fan of piggybacking off of brand names, so I skip until I find service or product related keywords. This takes me to the keywords of fish tanks and dog kennels. These keywords are closer to what I need, but they might be a bit too competitive for my new online pet store. From there, I click the view full report option to expand all of Petsmart’s keywords. After a bit of sorting, I find a keyword that is a little more realistic to pursue. The keyword volume is 1900 per year with 468,000 results. This keyword is also long tail, which may mean fewer results with higher conversions. Now that I found a keyword that works for my competitor, but is not ridiculously competitive, I can move forward with creating content that centers on that keyword. Using SEMRush Keywords to Create Unique Content Now that you have a keyword in mind, the fun part can finally begin. Your long tail keyword is flea and tick prevention for dogs, and it is essential that you keep that keyword exactly in that same wording every time that you use it. The easiest first step to creating a content campaign around a keyword is writing multiple (or even a series) of blog posts with that particular keyword. With this keyword example, you have the following opportunities for blog topics: 6 Things You Didn’t Know About Flea And Tick Prevention For Dogs 10 Compelling Reasons Why You Need Flea and Tick Prevention For Dogs The Advanced Guide To Flea and Tick Prevention For Dogs Flea and Tick Prevention For Dogs: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly How Flea And Tick Prevention Has Improved In The Last 10 Years And those are just naming a few. You can literally come up with dozens of options for blog topics, just based off of a single keyword from SEMRush. With that said, keep your content valuable and informative as you build around your keyword. You can rank on page one all day long for a particular keyword, but killer content is what truly influences conversions. SEMRush Keywords For Established Websites So what if you aren’t exactly starting from scratch with your website, but you still need some keyword ideas to give your content a boost? Although analyzing your competitor’s keywords is almost always a good idea, part of the keyword research process involves analyzing your own site. To stick with the pet theme, let’s say that I run a successful online pet store called Chewy. I sell a lot of products and my site is popular, but I am looking for new keyword opportunities. Just as you would enter your competitor’s website in the search bar, type in your own web address and your keyword data will appear. Your top keywords here are your brand name. Since you are trying to find new keyword and content opportunities, you need to view the full report and browse through the selection. Pill pockets for dogs is yet another long tail keyword that you can pursue. For those who don’t know, a pill pocket is an edible pocket that helps dogs take down their medication. It has a yearly search volume of 1600 with 207,000 search results. Since this website is already very well established, it is pretty realistic to rank for this long tail keyword by generating some great content. Generating New Content From New Keyword Ideas Getting new content from new ideas pretty much works the same as described above. However, if you are already established, you have the opportunity to see feedback much faster on a social level. You can start with the new blog topics, such as: Why We Love Pill Pockets For Dogs (and you should, too!) 12 Do’s And Don’ts For Using Pill Pockets For Dogs Why Pill Pockets For Dogs Will Make Your Pup Happy How Much Should You Be Spending On Pill Pockets For Dogs Post your blogs with … Read more

Why You Shouldn’t Be Doing Content for SEO Only

December 31, 2020December 11, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Wait just a second – isn’t content for SEO purposes? What does my odd title mean? Well, yes, content is great for SEO, and SEO is just one of several reasons why you should be using content. Goodness knows we’ve talked about the importance of content for SEO multiple times. However, it isn’t the only reason. You need to craft content that reaches your audience both on and offline, and it needs to be high quality and engaging. That said, how do you craft content that doesn’t primarily focus on SEO, while still putting out content that’s excellent enough for Google to #1 it? This blog is going to take a look at this, as well as help you craft excellent, engaging copy for your website and social media sites. Following these suggestions could help turn several of those clicks into excellent leads and long-term customers. SEO is Just One of Many Reasons for Content It might seem like the only reason most companies utilize content is for SEO, so why can’t you? It does look like it works, especially at the beginning. However, when you focus your content solely on SEO purposes, you can eventually lose your readership. There is nothing quite as boring as reading a piece written only to trigger the search engines and bring people to the site. Yes, SEO is a great reason for a content campaign, but it is not the only one on the market. There are several other reasons that combine to create an incredible formula of success. Take a quick look at my blogs; I write them for you specifically without focusing too much on SEO. I do take it into consideration. I like ranking in Google searches (who doesn’t?). However, I also want you to find something of immense value and that is the true goal of content. What Happens if You Only Focus on Content for SEO? The main thing that can happen is you can lose your readership. This is something discussed in several blogs about SEO. “Don’t keyword stuff because readers won’t appreciate it,” “don’t write for the bots because of readers.” Your readership is vital to the success of your business. Another important reason is if you only focus on the SEO aspect of your content, you can eventually be penalized by Google. Do you see now why it is vital to your business to only use content for SEO as one reason? How Else Can You Use Content? Now that you’ve seen just how important it is to not focus solely on SEO, you might be wondering how else you can use your content. Let me look at two important ways to use content for your business: To Reach Your Followers Online. One of the reasons for writing web content is that it gives the ability to reach your followers easily through the Internet. The online world gives all companies the unique ability to meet customers where they are. This could be if the customer is on a train commuting to work, at Disney Land, or as they marathon House, M.D. on Netflix. No matter where you customer is, you can use your web content to reach them quickly. When you only focus on SEO, you still might reach them, but you won’t be able to retain them, which can be detrimental. Use it to Grow Your Business Both On and Offline. When using web content, not only can you reach people online, but you can grow your business offline. How can online web content grow your business off of the World Wide Web? Simple – word of mouth marketing. Word of mouth marketing gets your business to other people who may never have known about it at all. What will happen is one customer likes a product or service, and they will tell their friends and family members who will then tell their friends or family members. The cycle continues until it grows into a great client base. This can also happen on social media, and, as the Forbes article I linked to says, it is one of the most important elements in your social media marketing campaign. Tips on Creating Excellent Content That isn’t Just for SEO Just how can you create killer content your audience will enjoy without solely focusing on SEO? Let’s take a quick refresher course on a few ways to help your company both on and offline. Know Your Audience. One of the most vital parts of creating content that doesn’t just focus on SEO is knowing who your audience is and what they want to read. This will take some researching, but it can be done. This will help you craft excellent content that will be shared on social media, helping with one aspect of word of mouth marketing. If you truly know your audience, they will feel comfortable with your company and will be willing to tell others about it. A few ways to research your audience are: Create specific questions to help you truly learn about them. Sending out customer surveys for your audience to fill out. Meeting with clients and hosting a sort of online town hall to get a feel for what they want. Research your audience on social media and what they are saying about you. Write for Your Readers. When you focus your content solely on SEO purposes, you miss the biggest mark for successful content – writing for your readers. You can write your content with SEO in mind, but readers are going to notice if you are trying to rank. The best way to write for them is to follow point one and research them, but to also write naturally. “Talk” to your audience by using pronouns and create a relationship. Write on topics they find interesting and give them valuable information that they don’t feel they can get elsewhere. A great way to write for your readers is to use their language or “voice” in your content. This … Read more

Will Sweden Put a Link Tax On Google?

December 31, 2020December 5, 2014 by Adam Oakley

If there is one thing the Internet is not, it is not devoid of news. Whether you’re Googling a specific story or perusing the latest updates, news is everywhere in cyberspace. You can even set up specific alerts based on news categories and Google searches. A few days ago, Search Engine Land covered the hot topic of the Swedish parliament calling for consideration of a Google “link tax” for newspapers. Niclas Malmberg, a member of the parliament, is calling for the search engine giant to help fund various Swedish news publications. His call for action closely follows the French link tax of 2013. According to TheNextWeb.com, Google, Fresh book publishers, and authors were in disputes that lasted for years. It was all over the want to create and institute a link tax on Google. The French incident ended with Google setting up a 60 million-euro Digital Publishing Innovation Fund. The goal of the fund was to support the transformation of French digital publishing initiatives. Alarming Events Fuels Link Tax Discussion Why did the French, and now the Swedish, push for a link tax on Google? In both cases, alarm was raised by the decline of the newspaper industry. The digital age is pulling so many people online and into a news packed environment that newspaper sales and subscriptions are dying out. Naturally, the blame goes to Google since the majority of users use a search engine to hunt down news. And who can blame the user? Why pay for a newspaper when you already pay for Internet service, and Google search is free? It just makes sense. According to Search Engine Land’s Greg Sterling, who used both Bing and Google translate to get a look at the Swedish proposal, Malmberg is pointing to Spotify as a potential newspaper industry model. Spotify is a privately held Swedish company founded in 2006 with headquarters in London and Stockholm, Sweden. The company supplies digital music. According to Spotify’s website, you can use their software free on mobile, tablet, and computer to listen to the music wherever you are. Spotify itself provides musicians a combination of royalties and pay based on user subscriptions. While the analogy between their model and Google News is somewhat flawed, some—like Malmberg—feel a link tax is a needed solution. Spreading the Wealth: Link Tax on Google In essence, Malmberg is proposing that a sort of allocation for Google ad revenue sharing take place with Swedish newspapers. The “tax” percentage or amount would vary based on traffic or market share. It all comes down to a simple idea: Spread the wealth. Sweden and other countries in Europe believe Google is unfairly collecting profit off their content and blatantly harming the publishing and newspaper industry in the process. In fact, ZDNet.com recently covered a story where Axel Springer, a German publishing giant, gave in to the Google news snippets row. Axel Springer was demanding that Google pay to publish news snippets derived from its publications. The publisher was arguing that Germany’s ancillary copyright law made is legal to demand and collect licensing fees from major search engines for republishing portions of their stories. The story caught some press before culminating in a solution few saw coming. The German publisher announced a free license for Google. Why the sudden change in stance? The company saw record-setting decline (nearly 40 percent) in traffic to their sites after Google stopped producing thumbnails and snippets on October 23rd. By the first week of November, they were happy to hand Google a free license to reproduce portions of their coverage in snippets. According to Google’s statement to the Wall Street Journal, their snippets “send over 500 million clicks to German publishers each month,” and their “advertising partnerships have generated [over] €1bn [$1.25bn] in revenue for them in the last three years.” Riches to Rags Many in the industry believe that Google is abusing its dominate power. Some staunchly believe the monstrous company is plotting to force publishers into licensing their content for free. As a result, link tax demands and discussion are beginning to pop up. It’s a fair assumption that we haven’t seen the last of such demands. The proposal from Swedish parliament member Niclas Malmberg is the latest attempt to capitalize revenue with an outlook toward upgrading outdated publishers to the technology of today. The real question is whether the revenue from such a “tax” would be properly allocated and funneled into the industry. Most taxes are eventually passed on to the end user, which makes one wonder whether a link tax would ultimately fall to you and me. And would this dynamically change where we go for our online news coverage? Intellectual copyrights have always been tricky, and link tax could add a new playing field if it ever comes into practice. Will Sweden institute a link tax on Google? The answer is anyone’s guess, but those who have tried in the past failed. Is Google to Blame? It’s the question at the heart of the debate. Is Google truly to blame for the noticeable decline in newspaper and hard print publishing? Is the pacesetter among search engines the reason the publishing industry is feeling the financial pinch? While there’s no denying that a great exodus to the Internet has taken place, it’s a bit over the top to focus blame on Google. The debate can stretch on for ages with advocates pro and against Google. Regardless of whether Google’s scapegoated role for the change in user behavior is fair or not, one thing is certain: The publishing and newspaper industry needs to get with the digital age sooner rather than later. As more industries step into the 21st Century, an issue involving us all comes into even more precise focus. What is this issue? It’s the debate of net neutrality. The dispute centers on whether businesses and websites should pay substantial fees to stay in the “fast lane” of traffic or risk vanishing into the “slow lane” of cyberspace. If net … Read more