SEO - Express Writers

Google’s Portuguese Blog & The Link-Building Fiasco

December 31, 2020July 20, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Have you seen Google’s recent blog post about link-building? Well, SEOs and web masters alike have been tearing their hair over it. Well, maybe not that extreme, but close. According to the Portuguese piece, ANY asking for a link is actually unnatural link building and you could be facing manual fines. We had our translator translate the words of the article to get to the bottom of things. Here’s what she came up with: “Artificial link schemes, PageRank manipulation, and unnatural positioning techniques in search results directly jeopardizes our capacity to measure a websites’ reputation. Employing artificial link schemes leads to a negative impact on a website’s search results positioning. We take manual action on individual websites that destructively and intentionally violate our Webmaster Quality Guidelines…Our stance regarding links that point to your site has not changed. Link schemes and purchasing links that pass PageRank with the purpose of distorting organic search results are still considered in violation of our Webmaster Quality Guidelines.” So, here’s what it really says, in English. What we take away from this is that if you ask for links, you could be hit with penalties. There’s also reference to buying and selling links which Google have spoken about previously. Not the same thing as no-linking. Google has since clarified that link building isn’t all-together an archaic no-no. Just have a look at their Link Schemes section. There’s no talk about not being able to ask for links at all. There is, however, reference to buying, selling and exchanging of links. Google & Their Link Building Statement: Let’s Talk About That Buying, selling and exchanging links refers to valid, authoritative links that pass PageRank. This even includes exchanging cash, goods or services for links or sending a blogger a free product to mention and link to. So it might be safe to say that not asking for links is actually aimed at people who try to use other ways of acquiring links. Case in point: Thumbtack. In this instance, points were given for links that were thought to be neither bought nor sold and were therefore acceptable. Is It a Good Idea Not To Ask For Links? It probably is if you’re a newbie to SEO and web antics. Especially if you’re not quite familiar with the difference between a dodgy and legitimate link. Google’s post, if you look a little closer, is aimed more at those who have already been slapped with penalties. For the experienced SEOs out there, well, you know the nuances of link building and you know you should only be asking for quality links for the very best sources without any worry of harming the site. Where to From Here? 2015 and Further The rules to link building are dynamic. So what exactly is considered safe and what isn’t? And is it worth just “having a go and hoping for the best?” You might as well be no-linking. You’d be forgiven for thinking Google webmaster trend analyst, John Mueller, was as confused as many an SEO. But check out his recent Google+ live hangout. It’s here that he tackles the question of whether or not link building serves any good. He mentions that he tries to avoid link building. That’s a bombshell. And we’re left thinking, again, that Google is rather anti-link building. But Mueller goes on to elaborate. He says the web giant do still take links into account as part of their ranking algorithm. He expands on that by mentioning that building links directly isn’t the best way to go about it. Instead, the goal should be to ensure content can stand on its own and is easy for readers to share on their own platforms. It all comes down to that old adage of “content is king”. During the chat, Mr. Mueller downplays the importance of links. He insists that the ranking algorithm in fact takes several factors into account. That Means Link Building Can Do More Harm Than Good For ages Google has thought of link building as soft link manipulation. Instead, they find the most pertinent pages for a query and then rank them on quality and authority. Any inorganically acquired signals of quality or authority, including links, may inhibit the accuracy of the rankings. And it’s in this context that Mueller dismisses link building. Look at Google Penguin. This updated ranking algorithm sorts out what it thinks is spammy or low-quality links. Results with too many links or links from irrelevant source can result in a penalty. So we start to understand why link building could do more harm than good. However, just because this old practice could be dangerous, doesn’t mean it is. If it’s approached properly and with care along with an understanding of what will be a success and what will get a penalty slapped on you, then you can carry on happily. Actually, There’s a Right Way to Do This Link Building You can do link building “right”. It just requires a bit of extra time and resources. If Google considers you trustworthy, credible and authoritative, then your links will be considered valuable. When another site links to yours, it shows you have something valuable to offer and in turn you become more valuable. But if you’re building links on your own, your chances of credibility are low. Google doesn’t want to see you voting for yourself. Rather work on coming up with top notch content that is more likely to be shared on the web. The main types of content that are shared most frequently include detailed blogs, infographics and videos. The higher the quality of your content, the more links it will attract with very little effort. Once you’ve got that down, syndicate the content via social media and watch the rest take care of itself. Another way to build links is through guest blogging. Go ahead and establish relationships with other bloggers who will invite you to contribute to their sites and get you link building without having … Read more

What The Heck, Is There A New Google Panda Coming Out?

December 31, 2020July 17, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Way back in 2011, content marketing as we knew it was completely upheaved when Google updated its algorithm with what is known as the Panda update. Since then, Google has updated its update by refreshing Panda, but nothing that seems as major as that grand 2011 update. According to Search Engine Roundtable, though, there hasn’t been an official update in 9.5 months and there has not been an unofficial update in 8.5. It should be here soon, though. However, the questions now become – when will it get here and what will it do when it does? The Original Google Panda Google’s Panda update began the movement of ‘content is king’ that we know, and hopefully love, today. After this update, Google started ranking poorer content sites or sites with thin content lower, which made room for higher content sites to finally rise to the top. However, because this was not the way things were done at the time when quantity was key, a lot of sites swiftly saw its rankings fall. And the thing about Panda is that it ranks sites, not pages. What Does That Mean? Well, if you have a lot of bad content on your site but also some good content, don’t expect to be ranked high for those high-quality pages. If your overall site is ranked poorly, so is that incredible piece you crafted that would have explained everybody’s problems if only anybody had found it. This means that sites who all of a sudden found themselves … wait, I take that back… this means that sites who all of a sudden didn’t find themselves (because they weren’t being pulled up on Google, obviously) in pleasant situations, well, they had to start revamping their entire site. 3 Other Things Panda Punished Poor content is not the only thing that you cannot get away with and still rank high under Panda. There is a lot else as well. 1. Duplicate Content Meaning you can’t write one article five different ways (or even two different ways) and act like you had a lot of content on your site. 2. Generic Content So the writing itself is good, but what is the point? In order to be considered good content, it needs to actually be able to help readers. 3. Non-Quality Rater Approved Content Google’s Panda update is largely dependent on quality raters that determine how trustworthy and credible sites are. The higher a quality rating, the better the site will do under the Panda algorithm. Basically, what you have to do in order to be Panda-approved is have trustworthy, beneficial content where every page on the site adds value to the rest of the site instead of just rephrases it. That’s not too hard, is it? Since many sites went up with Panda, it must not have been too hard for them. What Have Been The Major Panda Updates? For many, Panda updates are a blessing in disguise. How so? Let’s say you have a website that was hurt by a version of Panda. Since then, you have built a strong site filled with cutting edge content that will be a boon to anyone who reads it. You also got rid of all of your bad content. In other words, you made over your site to catch Google’s eye. When an update comes, then, you should feel great about yourself. All of a sudden, you are ranking high again just like you did pre-Panda. That’s a big reason for these updates. Yes, they fix some more problems and clean up some old ones. However, one of the biggest things these updates do is reward the people who worked hard to get their site back to the quality their reader’s expect and to punish those who slipped. From the original Panda release in February 2011 until the last release in October 2014, Panda has been updated 27 times. If you do the math, you will see that adds up to an update on average less than every other month. That’s a whole lot of updating. For a history of the updates, Moz sums it all up for you. Now, think about the fact that it has been 8.5 months since any type of update has occurred. As Search Engine Roundtable reports, that is a long time for websites who are ranked lower to have to wait in order to see if they can get bumped back up to the top. What Is Coming? Some Announcements Straight From Google It has been a while since Panda has been updated, but Google has made plans to make an update soon. However, we are all left guessing as to when soon might be. As Search Engine Land reported, Google’s own Gary Illyes announced this upcoming update and said he expected it to be released within the next two to four weeks. The only problem with this statement, though, is that it was said on June 2 – which was six weeks ago. So where is the update? According to Illyes Tweet from June 9, it is still in the “soon” phase, but no ETA can be given for technical reasons. As for what will be effected, Illyes has stated it will be a data refresh, as opposed to an algorithm change. No matter how it is worded, though, things will change whenever it is updated. Here’s My Tip: Be Panda Prepared One of the best things you can do in order to be prepared for anything that Google throws your way is just keep getting rid of bad content and churning out good content (or turning your bad content into good content instead of just trashing it.) The whole algorithm making you rank high or low all comes down to that. Google might change things. You might have to do some adjusting at times. However, if you make your content the best it can be, then the changes will not affect you all that much, nor will the adjustments be … Read more

What Google’s Phantom & Recent Updates Really Mean For Your Content

December 31, 2020July 15, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Over the years, marketers have come to realize that Google’s algorithm updates have been trying to build an Internet in its own image, especially true in the Google Phantom update. (Not a bad thing at all—keep reading.) Yes, Google is trying to doctor the Internet so that it conforms to what it sees as ideal. To this end, many of Google’s updates have been based around increasing the value of sites to the user. This user-centric approach has the positive effect of winnowing out the sites that create poor quality content, leaving high quality sites for users top consume. With summer 2015 bringing with it another potential important update, known as the Google Phantom, and hints of more updates on the way, now is the time for you to contemplate where your content is and how it can be improved. Google Phantom & Defining How To Create “Good Content” Everyone who does content creation should know by now what constitutes good content. Good content adds value to users’ lives. According to SearchEngineLand, good content either helps your audience understand a topic, displays unique expertise on the topic in question, compels people to revisit it or to link to it externally and encourages your audience to do something. Although there are many different other factors that affect whether content is considered good, the end result is that your content should be doing one or more of these things at its core. Why Filler Content Is Bad Business Now that we know what constitutes good content, we’ll look at the things that Google updates frown upon such as filler content. Remember, Google’s aim is to create an Internet environment that is conducive to users clicking, reading and empowering themselves. It can’t happen if the content that Google has to work with is insubstantial. 3 Common Errors To Avoid That Will Help You Steer Clear of Filler Content To avoid creating filler content, you should keep an eye on these common errors that can sneak in: 1. Duplicate/Redundant Posting It’s common knowledge that duplicate posting can cost you more than just a little SEO traffic. It can hit your search rank value pretty hard if you deal almost solely in duplicate traffic. While most sites avoid duplicating pages 100% they still fall prey to the misconception that they can have content that is almost similar (to a major degree) on multiple pages with only changing a few lines of the original content. This is also a problem in Google’s eyes, and can lead to a hit in the relevancy scores of these pages. A simple rewrite of the content on these pages is a good place to start, and a number of different online content production companies are skilled in page rewriting. 2. Ad Ratios The volume of ads on the page in relation to the actual content to the page is also a telling factor in how substantial the content on a particular page is. Affiliate pages that deal solely in ads are not seen as desirable by the Google algorithm. If you have one or more of these pages it might be a good idea to scale back on the sheer volume of the ads on the page or maybe include some more text-based or image-based content to balance out the amount of ads present. SearchEngineWatch has already stated that Google may penalize your site for having too many ads. 3. Poorly Written Articles or Posts In keeping with the ideal of good content, Google demands that your articles and posts be well written. Improving the quality of your content is a multi-layered task. You may be doing all you can within your power to increase the quality of your posts or articles and still getting back content that is insubstantial. Dealing with this problem requires you to raise the content value of your writing and your overall content production skills. How Do You Raise the Value of your Content? 3 Key Ways Ah, here’s the crux of the matter! Your content might follow all the mechanical necessities of Google’s algorithm, but does it really benefit anyone? It might be exactly what Google is looking for but it’s nothing like what your users are looking for, and Google knows it. Your aim is not to create content that looks good and conforms to the mechanical requirement of the search algorithm. To keep your content on the focus of the users, you should consider the following: 1. Repackaging Many content producers tend to fall into the trap of developing content along a singular line. The content they develop is of one type only and it can lead their users into boredom. Repackaging your content allows you to revamp the content into a different style. Instead of a top-ten list article, maybe you should develop one on a particular topic that allows you to expand in a more prose-like fashion. Relating to your audience is key and if you need to change your content type in order to successfully do so, then you must. 2. Build Great Topics A topic is where you catch the attention of your audience. Your topics should incorporate your proposed keywords in ways that make it easy fort Search Engines to index. More importantly, your topics should reflect what the piece is about in a fun, upbeat and relatable manner. Crafting great topics can be a difficult prospect but they are among the most important parts of your article or blog post. 3. Standardize your Layout One of the major pet peeves of many Internet Denizens is having to deal with a page that has inconsistent styles on its page layout. Both Google and your core audience will appreciate having a layout that is easy to read and to follow, as well as having that layout kept constant throughout your entire page. When looking at your layout you should take into account things like: Word Size & Formatting: A well-formatted page goes a long way towards establishing credence … Read more

Google’s Phantom Update is the Quality Update: No More Thin Content, Quora Quality & More

June 19, 2024July 3, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Remember earlier this year when Google once again shook up content ranking as we knew it with some mysterious update they wouldn’t even admit to? Now it has a more official name, and we have a lot more information. The Google Quality Update: Formerly Known as Phantom Out of the blue last May, sites suddenly started seeing mysterious drops in their Google rankings. This was especially true for how to and hub based sites. Nobody knew exactly what had happened, but they knew it was clear, despite Google’s denial of its existence, that Google must have once again changed up its algorithm. Since it had no other name and had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, it was coined the phantom update. Since that time, Google has admitted that it did make a change, and we have learned more information about what happened and what it means for content marketing. Because the change is no longer cloaked in as much mystery, Search Engine Land coined a better name for it: the Google Quality Update. Search Engine Land’s Vigilance Search Engine Land, the leading daily publication on all things search marketing, has been on top of Google about this update. When it was first reported, they got in contact with the search engine giant and asked if there had been an update. Google denied it. After continued requests for information, they finally got an answer. There had been an update to the algorithm. But they were quick to point out that it was not a spam-related update, such as Panda and Penguin. Instead, it was a change to the core algorithm. No matter how you word it, though, there was an update, and it has made obvious changes to page ranking. What the Google Quality Update Is While more information is now known, there is still a lot that needs to be determined. Right now, it is unclear just what the quality update has done. When it was first examined as the phantom update, the trend seemed to be that whatever had been done hub-type pages, such as HubPages, and how to sites, such as WikiHow, were being hurt the most. There were many theories about why this was. One was that Google had decided to disfavor sites of this nature. However, that was soon turned with the realization that this was a domain change instead of a page change meaning that the updated algorithm looks at the site as a whole instead of at each individual page. Google was punishing sites with poorer quality content by lowering their rankings across all content on the site, even good pieces. In other words, it didn’t matter that you also created great content if you still had poor content on your site. It was affecting how to and informational type content because many such sites, while offering a lot of great content, also tend to have lesser value stuff. But the update was not designed necessarily with them in mind. The update is intended to rank any site with poorer quality content lower as opposed to just the sites it has most obviously affected. The Knowledge Graph Furthermore, as Ari Levy pointed out in his CNBC article, how to sites are also being affected because of Google’s new search display. If you search for “How to … “ the information will generally appear on the top of the page though it is the content of another site. For example, if you Google “how to boil eggs,” which was the first thing to pop up when I Googled “how to,” you will immediately see directions that have been taken from Martha Stewart. Similarly, if you ask a question or search for anything with information housed in Google’s knowledge base, it should pop up at the top of the research. This is all part of Google’s Knowledge Graph, which was first released in 2012. This system is intended to save users a step in the search process. Instead of cutting out the middle man, though, which in this case would have been Google itself, it opted to turn the middle man into the source of information. While this is useful to users, it is not as useful to owners of the information. Since this means that people less often need to click on the actual website, it also results in lower traffic on these sites. In combination with the other updates, the results can be brutal. Quora & The Quality Update Now that we know a little bit about this new update, let’s look at how it affects sites such as Quora. What Is Quora? Quora is a question and answer site where users may ask a question and, as you might have guessed, get an answer. The idea behind this site is that people not only get answers to their questions, but that the answers come from vetted, knowledgeable users. It allows users to pick the topics they are interested in and those topics show up in the users feed. The Effects of the Quality Update Because of the type of information found on Quora, which is “how to” in nature, you would think that it would be negatively affected based off of the update. However, instead of falling in the rankings, Quora actually jumped. What sets it apart from other, seemingly similar sites? As Contently points out, a big reason for the jump is that Quora consistently enforces high quality standards. Google does not like content that is self-promotional or generic. It wants to promote detailed content that actually adds value to the searcher. And Quora is clearly doing a good job with this. The site works through an upvote system wherein readers vote for helpful answers. Some answers, like this one on “Overcoming Procrastination: How do I get over my bad habit of procrastination?” have received over 30,000 upvotes alone. Since an upvote tends to mean that an article has been well-received, it goes to show that the site is a good source … Read more

Google’s Latest Update: Why Your Site Content Must Be HTTPS

December 31, 2020June 26, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Roundabout August 2014, Google announced that it was including HTTPS as a lightweight criteria for aiding page ranking. When Google said this, not a whole lot of people took the news truly to heart. Previous exploration of the statistics had shown that HTTPS was pretty much a parallel of HTTP and that there was no real overlap between them. But now, suddenly, in the last week or so—HTTPS traffic has had a big ranking boost. Is this Google’s realization of a statement that Matt Cutts made in 2014 about wanting to see more rewards for sites using TLS? Reviewing What SSL & HTTPS Content Is To understand why this is an important issue, let’s define these two acronyms. No insult to anyone’s intelligence: it really is something that needs defining. HTTPS stands for “Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure“, which is, in layman’s terms, a more secure version of the HTTP that we all know and love. Its major use is in sites that traffic in sensitive information, i.e. banks and other e-commerce based pages. HTTPS is easy to spot online as it’s usually prefaced by a padlock icon right before the site name in the address bar. SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer and is the successor to TLS (Transport Layer Security). SSL encrypts a connection (as opposed to a single file) ensuring that all data that passes through the connection is secure and unable to be tampered with by external entities. Together, HTTPS and SSL provide a solid layer of security and a good deterrent to malicious entities. What Does HTTPS Have To Do With SEO? Until recently, HTTPS (if it was even considered relevant to SEO) provided a very minor rankings boost, typically less than other indicators such as high quality content. This seems to have changed recently. In the last few days, the investigation of HTTPS URL’s on page one of a search increased dramatically compared to the previous ten days. This in itself is news and cause for concern. What is it that’s making these HTTPS sites rank so well all of a sudden? When we assess the possible causes we are left to assume that either: Google’s algorithm updated to a point where HTTPS is now considered a lot more important to page ranking or A massive movement of one or more popular domains from HTTP to HTTPS. Taking these two as our premises, we can now set out to get to the bottom of this crazy swing in page rankings. Welcome to HTTPS, Wikipedia! Following the Statistics Trail The first thing we have to see is if there was a large domain that shifted across from HTTP to HTTPS that might account for a huge (9.9% in fact) change in page ranking for HTTPS pages. A cursory glance allowed us to discover that Wikipedia, a page that already accounts for a lot of page-one traffic, was slowly doing a changeover to HTTPS. Since Wikipedia makes up a large volume of our page-one rankings then it may be safe to assume that their switch is what skewed our readings by such a large margin. The only way to figure if Wikipedia’s change was what caused our statistics spike is to leave it out of considerations to see if this is an HTTPS gain and not one due to Wikipedia’s massive bulk. When we isolate our statistics to remove HTTP/HTTPS from the results (by considering them both as equal), we still see a change (although obviously less massive than before) when it comes to page-one rankings. This translates to the idea that HTTPS may be getting a boost in rankings from somewhere. We can see that having HTTPS as a protocol is beneficial to the user and maybe this provides a further clue as to whether this is just an anomaly or something more in-depth. HTTP Content & Google’s Overall Perspective Google has changed its Internet focus from being search oriented to being user oriented. They have realized that by catering to users first, they are building a trustworthy presence on the Internet. How they are doing this starts with their algorithm changes. From the time Panda was released to Google’s mobile update a couple months ago, we can see how Google is slowly making webmasters consider their audience. Gone are the days when a page’s ranking was based solely on the amount of keywords it had stuffer per total page count on the screen. Now it’s all about user benefits and HTTPS offers a lot of benefits to the average user. HTTPS is especially important in situations where sensitive information may be at risk. HTTPS exists as a method of empowering the user by ensuring that all information that concerns him or her is unable to be broken into by a third party that is unaffiliated with either side of the connection. HTTP doesn’t allow for protection of a user’s account information or ID and if it is used on a login page then it can be vulnerable to penetration by third parties and makes for a great target for people to obtain information about a user. If this is a Google update, it is centered on the user (as most of the modern updates to their algorithm are) and rewards sites that put users first. What This Means for Us as Content Publishers We understand exactly how important any addition to Google’s algorithm is. Although it’s not a confirmed addition it has all the bells and whistles associated with a Google update. The only way we’ll know for sure if it’s a permanent Google update is when Wikipedia’s site finally settles down into HTTPS mode and we can observe the ripples on both the HTTPS and HTTP side of things. In any case, what we should be considering is how HTTPS can help our users since it’s likely that in the future whether your site is SSL-compatible or not may actually affect your search ranking a bit. As a content publisher your content … Read more

What Does Google’s New Phantom Algorithm Update Mean For Content?

June 19, 2024May 30, 2015 by Josh McCoy

Google really wants you to mind your P’s (though I guess they care nothing about your Q’s.) First there was Panda and Penguin, and now there is the Phantom. The Ms. Manners of web traffic has secretly updated its algorithm (again) and made havoc for many content creators out there. Let’s take a look. What is Google’s Phantom All About? Earlier this month, HubPages, which as its name suggests is a huge hub of pages on informational content of all sorts, saw its traffic drop by 22 percent seemingly overnight. Other sites, such as WikiHow and eHow saw drops as well, though not as significant. What had happened? No one was sure because Google is keeping tight lipped, but we do know it has something to do with what Glenn Gabe, a search engine expert, coined “the phantom” or, since this is not the first time Google has so covertly turned Internet searches on its head, “phantom 2.” Basically, as far as the experts can tell, Google made a change to its algorithm that has the potential to hurt many websites who rely on Google to get traffic. But what does this mean for you and your website as you try to create a Google-friendly body of content? What All the Google Updates Have In Common With the New Phantom I have talked about this before: you have to write good content. Forget for a second the fact that readers want good content and if you do not give it to them, they are not going to read what you have to say. So who cares if you pop up on Google or not? Let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s focus on Google. What do Panda, Penguin, and Phantom have in common other than they all start with P and they were all Google updates (and they are all nouns)? They were all created, at least allegedly, to weed out weak content. Panda. This update was created in order to make low-quality sites or weaker content rank lower on the Google totem pole. What this meant was that higher-quality sites with strong content got bumped up in the rankings and made it to the top of Google searches. And let’s face it, who is going to page 10? The higher you are, the better your chances of someone clicking on you. Penguin. This update was created in order to punish “link baiters.” Link baiters are the websites that post links back to themselves all over the Internet in order to appear like a quality site. (If you have ever wondered why someone would take the time to leave a comment on a post about, well, pretty much any topic, in order to mention their completely unrelated and often gibberish sales pitch with a link back to their site, now you know the reason.) Google was not fooled by this scheme and fixed their algorithm to reduce the success of these link impersonators. Phantom. Now, there is the phantom. At first, Google was not commenting on the update, and so we were all left to speculate. What was pretty popularly decided was that Google was targeting informational sites and How to sites that had lower level quality content. However, we have since found out that this was a little misleading. According to a press release by ASEOhosting, Google is not targeting informational and How to sites. Instead, they are simply targeting sites with poorer quality content, which happens to include some informational and How to sites. What this tells you is that the content game is survival of the fittest. If you create strong content, you are going to beat out weaker content. And the stronger your content is, the less you have to worry about Google. If everything they do is done in order to make life easier for quality content, you know that you are going to remain on top as long as you keep creating the best content. Lesson: Do Not Write Bad Content I am not repeating myself here. Write good content and do not write bad content are not synonyms. You could write good content and bad content if you wanted to. I would advise you not to, though. Google does not reward good content, it simply punishes bad content. Ari Levi discusses Gabe’s, the search engine expert’s, assessment of the phantom in a CNBC article. What Gabe found was that even informative, well written pages were being ranked lower. In other words, an entire domain was being hurt because of its bad content even if it also created good content. Basically what this means for you is that it does not matter how good some of your content is if the rest is awful. It is not enough to start writing good content, you have to stop writing bad content. How Do You Write Good Content and Avoid Bad Content? It is easy to say that you will get rid of your weaker content and start churning out good content. It is a lot harder to actually do it. With everything else you have going on in your career and business, how are you supposed to start over from scratch if you have not already been creating strong articles? As difficult as it may seem, there are some foundational easy ways that you can do this. The first, and perhaps easiest, is to outsource. Hire someone else to write your content for you. Professional writers know what they are doing not only because they are good writers with a passion for words, but because they have to stay on top of things. Their job is to research what makes good content, how to properly use SEO, and what Google wants. They get training and alerts when the rules change. They make a living by consistently giving you good, quality content. So you might as well take advantage of them. If you do write your own content, whether entirely or even just some … Read more

20 SEO Experts & Resources You Should Be Following Today

June 19, 2024May 14, 2015 by Adam Oakley

If you want to learn to do something well, one of the best ways is to follow the leaders. This is as true in SEO as it is in any other industry. Luckily, the modern digital marketing world is filled with a huge assortment of SEO experts who are ripe with valuable information. Here’s a breakdown of the top influencers you should be following. 20 SEO Experts Every Content Marketer Should Follow Whether you’re a new marketer or an experienced professional just looking for some ways to improve your approach, these 20 SEO experts have lots to teach you: 1. Rand Fishkin: @randfish The self-proclaimed “Wizard of Moz,” Fishkin is the founder of Moz and one of the foremost SEO experts on the web. Fishkin and his team conduct regular “Whiteboard Friday” sessions about the ins and outs of SEO and content marketing, and are some of the web’s biggest leaders in quality content. 2. Neil Patel: @neilpatel Neil Patel is the founder of CrazyEgg, Hello Bar, Quick Sprout, and KISSmetrics. If you need advice on how to grow your online business, he’s the top person to follow. Considered one of the best analytics experts in the world of digital marketing, Neil Patel is also a columnist for Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and the Huffington Post. 3. Danny Sullivan: @dannysullivan The Founding Editor of Search Engine Land and Marketing Land, Danny Sullivan is the go-to expert when it comes to solving SEO problems. He is also the Chief Content Officer of Third Door Media and has been an active member of the search marketing and search engine world since 1996, way before SEO was a as big as it is today. For more Danny Sullivan, visit his personal blog, where he shares interesting information on a variety of topics related to Google and SEO. 4. Barry Schwartz: @rustybrick Barry Schwartz is a reputable SEO expert, editor of Search Engine Roundtable, and the President and CEO of New York-based web service firm RustyBrick, Inc. A self-defined “Search Geek,” Schwartz knows a thing or two about search engine marketing, and stands out as a leader in his field. 5. Joe Pulizzi: @JoePulizzi Joe Pulizzi is a Content Marketing Evangelist and the founder of Content Marketing Institute, which puts on the largest in-person content marketing event on the globe – Content Marketing World. He has written four books, including Epic Content Marketing. 6. Eric Enge: @stonetemple If you’re inspired by active people who are natural multitaskers, you will love Eric Enge, the “Digital Marketing Excellence Practitioner,” from Stone Temple Consulting. For more than three decades, he has reinvented himself as a passionate speaker, talk show host, author and entrepreneur. Declared the 24th most influential individual in the content marketing sector, Eric firmly believes that passion is the key factor in success. 7. Ann Handley: @MarketingProfs Ann Handley is the Head of Content at Marketing Profs. She’s also the author of the bestseller Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content. Known as a first-class speaker, author and content creator, she does a great job of “Waging a war on mediocrity” in online content. 8. Henneke Duistermaat: @HennekeD The UK-based business writing coach and “irreverent marketer” is a regular contributor at Copyblogger, and a trusted source for anyone who wants to learn to streamline and enhance their content marketing. 9. John Doherty: @dohertyjf A professional marketer, entrepreneur, and startup advisor, John Doherty is the Founder GetCredo, an organization that helps companies find the right agencies to work with. 10. Ann Smarty: @seosmarty Ann Smarty is the founder of MyBlogU and the Brand Manager at NinjasMarketing. She’s a fantastic source for all things modern SEO, and offers great, minute-to-minute insight into the industry. 10 Top Resources to Follow (Guest Blogs, Search Engine News, & More) Now that you’re familiar with the top ten SEO influencers, it’s time to consider the best SEO resources out there. These organizations, firms, and companies are sources of quality content and insider information: 1. Social Media Today: @socialmedia2day In case you are looking for a way to develop your own content strategy and explore social networks, look toward Social Media Today. Showcasing a cutting-edge mix of technology and data, and social business news, tips, and marketing advice, Social Media Today is one of the primary leaders in the world of social media marketing. 2. Marketing Land: @Marketingland If you want to become a part of dynamic search marketing landscape, you’ll want to check out the weekly recaps from Marketing Land. One of the most respectable sources of fresh information, stats, and how-to guides. Marketing Land offers information on everything from mobile marketing to retail marketing, and covers all the aspects an SEO-savvy marketer should consider when developing a first campaign. 3. Search Engine Journal: @sejournal If you’re interested in a trustworthy source focused on things like paid search, social media, content marketing, SEO, and search engines, then Search Engine Journal is a great pick for you. Featuring daily doses of well-written, informative, and engaging content, Search Engine Journal is your one-stop shop for search news. 4. Search Engine Land: @sengineland Still can’t tell the difference between Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)? If that’s the case, Search Engine Land is your go-to source. Designed to share the most comprehensive reports, webcasts, and white papers, Search Engine Journal is your source for breaking news and PPC and SEO analysis. 5. SEMRush Blog For people who want to learn more about online marketing, keyword research, social media, SEO and PPC without having to read hundreds of pages, there’s the SEMRush Blog. SEMrush represents an amazingly complete source of inspiration. This blog delivers a full picture of modern SEO and marketing in a way even beginners can understand. 5. Hubspot Blog The Hubspot Blog focuses on delivering quality marketing, sales, and agency content in a convenient package. With more than 2 million monthly visitors, this source is widely regarded as one of the most trustworthy on the web, and consistently ranks … Read more

Does Social Media Actually Have Any SEO Impact?

December 31, 2020May 5, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Social media is becoming more and more a necessary value instead of a commodity. But still, many people question its necessity and validity. Some think that it can work well for certain businesses but that it might not be a tool that other businesses, including their own, will need. However, social media can be a great way to drive website traffic and bring in more clients and create long-lasting relationships with customers. One of the main questions that people bring up when asking about social media for their company is if it has any impact whatsoever on their SEO and just how much of an impact it might have. How Does Social Media Impact Your SEO? When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), we are all looking for new and improved ways to help get our content noticed. I’ve talked about the many different changes to SEO over the last few months, especially Google changes, and the one thing many people wonder about is if social media has any impact. It might not seem like it has much of an impact, but you might be surprised when you get into the nitty-gritty of new SEO tactics. According to a Business 2 Community author, the reality is that social media does impact SEO and it helps to bring out great success for your website, content, and products. I am going to reference this article throughout this blog to give you some great reasons on how social media can and will impact your SEO. Does This Mean You Really Need Social Media? If you haven’t jumped on the social media bandwagon, now is the best time to do so. Many people wonder if they really need social media for their business because it seems like such a “young person club.” Many businesses that don’t reach out to younger demographics often question its validity, but it should be noted that many younger people started out with social media because their parents were on there, too. This means there is a wide age demographic throughout social channels, which can help you reach out to any age, not just young to older Millennials or even younger generations growing up. Which Social Sites are the Best to Boost SEO? There isn’t one specific site that truly boosts SEO the best. Google Plus is a great option to get ranked on Google, but again, it is not the only one that can do so. What you need to do is play around with social media and try the holy trinity of Facebook, Twitter, and G+ in the beginning. You can branch out from there at a later time, but get your feet wet first before diving fully into social media. Once you’re more established or understand a bit of the social media game, then it is time to get working on other channels if they will benefit your company. 12 Ways Social Media Actually Really Does Impact Your SEO Now that I have looked at why you need social media and that it can impact your SEO, you are probably wondering just how it does. I am also going to take a look at how you can use it to further your web content and business. Social Media Profiles Rank on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). In the Business 2 Community article I shared earlier, the writer mentions that social media profiles do rank on the SERP. When someone searches for a product or service, your social channels have a high likelihood of ranking in those search results, which can lead people to your business. This is why it is important to optimize your profiles fully before it is too late. Social Shares Can Give Your Webpage More Inbound Links. While you don’t always want to focus on inbound links, the Business 2 Community article points out that it does create great, organic inbound linking. These links will help to validate your website, and can help you become an authority with Google. When this happens, your website is more likely to be ranked higher than ever before, which is exactly what you are aiming for if you’re reading this blog. In short, your social channels and links will help create more visibility for your web page, which is a tremendous help to bring in new customers and more revenue. Mixing Social Media and SEO Increases Your Online Presence. Just like with blogs, social media, combined with SEO, can help increase your online presence, making it larger and more accessible. A larger Internet presence might seem daunting, but this is something you should be aiming for. If you do not have a larger presence, you are less likely to be found organically, which means more money being spent on advertisements to gain new clients. Traffic From Social Media is Organic Traffic. According to the Business 2 Community article, about 95 percent of all links created in traditional link building techniques aren’t very effective. They don’t bring in organic traffic nor do they bring in enough of your targeted audience to bring about the revenue and success you want to see. However, by using social media, you are much more likely to drive organic traffic from your links because it will come from your followers. This will bring in great quality visitors that are likely to turn into customers and they in turn can share your information bringing in even more customers. Social Media is the Best Way to Bring in Mobile Users. April 21st has come and gone, which means that Google’s latest, and largest, update has been in effect for a few days. This update makes it vital for all businesses to have a website that is mobile friendly, and what is the best way to bring in mobile users to your new, or freshened up, mobile friendly site? Using social media. You need to have a social media presence to bring in your mobile clients, and as we can all see, mobile users … Read more

The Great Content Roundup, Week 10: The Google Mobilegeddon Aftermath

December 31, 2020April 22, 2015 by Adam Oakley

4/21, yesterday, Mobilegeddon hit. It’s set to affect the web on a larger scale than most of the other updates Google has made. And we’re already 24 hours into the Mobilegeddon. (At least the aftermath isn’t leaving the web broken and smoking.) A year ago, Marketing Land reported that 60% of Internet users were on mobile. Today, this is even more true—and Google is finally forcing all website owners to clue in on the fact that they need to market to this audience on smaller screens. It’s actually for the benefit of all website owners. But those who don’t comply will get a penalty. The Great Content Roundup, Week 10: What’s Happening Post Google’s Mobilegeddon? BusinessInsider says the update is going to impact content marketing in general. “Google is always about content is king (content relevancy). But now, they are also telling us that user experience is just as crucial. What if people come to your site and can’t read it, on their mobile device?” –to paraphrase the CEO of Duda. Actually, that’s good thinking there, Google. SEMRush took a very insightful look this week at Why Google’s Mobile-Friendly Update Isn’t The End of the World. This piece explores the top sites on the web and how mobile-friendly they are for users, as well as an insider’s chart into the top 100 websites with highest traffic and how they’re currently faring in terms of being mobile friendly. Also, they give you 10 tools to check mobile friendliness. On 4/21, CNN posted 5 Fast Facts About Google’s Mobilegeddon. This recaps exactly what is going on with the mobile update in a simple list. Good to know if you didn’t already. My guest blog on SearchEngineJournal, How To Write For Google’s Mobile Algorithm Update, recaps how you can create content that is easy for your visitors to read and, later, convert from. I take a look at creating shorter main page paragraphs, cutting down headline length, and content in general paired with mobile viewers. This is an easy takeaway list as we live on into the era of the Mobilegeddon. USAToday published an attention-grabbing piece on why Mobilegeddon could be bad news for 40% of the web. I was shocked. There are so many sites out there that are not yet mobile, this included major restaurant chains, fashion exclusive Versace…and other big names. They will probably get with it very soon. Also: TechCrunch found that 44% of the Fortune 500 companies failed the mobile friendly test. Wow! Are You Mobile? Finally, want to see if you pass the test? Google’s simple Mobile-Friendly test allows you to instantly see if your site passes their rules.

Should We Create Shorter Content For Google’s Mobile Update (Or Not)?

December 31, 2020April 21, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Today is the big day: Google’s mobile algorithm update is rolling out! Or, D-Day this week—for webmasters to have their sites up to par with accepted mobile optimization standards. Since this announcement from Google came out in February 2015, professionals that use the internet have been trying to figure out exactly how much of a change we’re likely to see here. Whilst the regular desktop users won’t notice any difference in the way they see the world, this mobile update makes it easier for mobile users to access content on the internet and read it comfortably in miniature screens. The Mobile Content Update: What’s The Extent of Change? The last time Google announced algorithm changes so openly was when the first anti-content-farm update (nicknamed “Panda”) came out and changed the game for SEO in general. Based on the amount of time Google gave before their scheduled algorithm change, we can be fairly certain that we’re going to see some pretty major changes as far as internet-based business is concerned. Google has realized that vast numbers of users have forgone the traditional method of access through browsers and are now looking at web-pages on miniature screens such as tablets and mobile phones. In order to help these users out, Google has instituted a checking system that will determine whether the page is mobile-friendly or not (there is no grey area here, it’s either-or) and let the user know beforehand. What The Google Update Means for Content The crux of the matter for content production teams and content marketing professionals is that we need to rethink our content game when it comes to Google’s mobile update. A few of us already have mobile-friendly sites (You can check if yours conforms here), but there are many of us that aren’t mobile-friendly and don’t create content for that audience. It’s about time we changed that. With the burgeoning mobile internet market entering the big leagues with this update, we would be making a serious misstep to overlook these users. How can we go about creating content that meshes with this new update? Make it Short and Snappy: The key thing to keep in mind here is that mobile users will most likely be consuming much more bite-sized content than regular web users. Short, sweet and concise are what you’re aiming for. Long content (such as a few thousand words of length) still has its place on a web page, but not one geared towards mobile users. Just like how regular web users are daunted with walls of text, mobile users will probably take one look at a massive post and run for the hills. Keeping it concise and to the point is important to maintain your reader’s interest. Build your Home Page Differently: Home pages usually have a large amount of copy to go with them because they aim to draw the user in and make them click on to other linked pages. With the new mobile update, we’re going to have to start considering our home page differently. Typically, we’re going to have to revamp the homepage to make it more suitable for viewing on a small screen by getting the copy more concise than it currently is. For a mobile user, you should be considering your homepage as ad copy in a limited space. Your mobile-search compatibility will not affect your regular desktop rankings (according to Google). Consider the Look & Feel of your Email Campaigns: The sheer amount of users that check email on their phones has gone up tremendously since the early 2000’s. I, personally, check email on a bi-hourly basis and many other professionals do it far more often than that. Google’s integration of Gmail with the Android operating system makes it even easier for users to stay connected via their phones. To this end, when we design our email marketing campaigns, we should give a thought to those users that are accessing our emails through the phone and develop the look and feel for our marketing content around that. Hard-Hitting Headlines: Writing content for a web browser means you have a whole lot of screen real estate to work with. For a mobile platform, that screen real estate comes down to nearly nothing and you’re going to have to be creative about how you fill that space. Your headlines have to attract and tease, but they only have a handful of characters in which to pique the readers’ interest. Professionals that use Twitter will shine here since they are already used to getting their message across in one hundred and forty characters. This just gives them an extension of that particular skill, shortening headlines down to the very minimum so that they can be easily transferred to a mobile platform for viewing. Don’t Sacrifice Quality for Space: Probably the largest challenge we will have as content creators is maintaining the value of our message despite having to deliver it to our audience in a reduced space. This is where the true marketing professionals will shine. Someone who truly understands the audience will be able to explain to them in the least amount of words possible the things that the audience needs to know. Concise explanation is exactly what we want for our post-mobile content, because it gives us value without sacrificing content for it. At the end of the day, content drives our business and for it to do so with success, it must be good content. A Changing Paradigm of Digital Content Now would be a good time to batten down the hatches and perform a mobile content audit to determine if your site will be able to survive the oncoming algorithm change. We won’t know for certain exactly how significant a hit sites will take until the algorithm goes live, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. One thing we know for sure is that the face of content marketing is changing yet again, undergoing an evolution that ensures that our field of expertise … Read more