Google - Express Writers

Re: Matt Cutts, Is Guest Blogging Dead?

December 31, 2020January 21, 2014 by Adam Oakley

This is a direct reply written by Julia McCoy in response to The decay and fall of guest blogging for SEO. If you’re up on the game in SEO, you know a big name in it is Matt Cutts. The leader of the “webspam” team at Google, he’s a proclaimed “voice” in SEO and all things rankings. When he talks, people often listen; retweet; share; and reply. The latest buzz from Matt Cutts was posted on January 20, 2014—just three days ago. And already it’s been viral in the Internet world. The reason for the intense, instant feedback was the topic he wrote about. Matt’s blog was entitled “The decay and fall of guest blogging for SEO” and posed the statement, guest blogging is dead. “Google Will Take a Dim View” …The Worst The Blog Got The blog basically stated that all who were guest blogging should stop, and that guest blogging has gone from respectable to totally spammy. He said to stick a fork in the whole opportunity and don’t rely on it for SEO. Note, he never said it was entirely dead, not once in his whole blog; his most distinct ending words were that “Google will take a dim view of guest blogging going forward.” Matt Takes It Back? Matt actually added an “add-on” within 24 hours of writing his blog (possibly affected by the huge amounts of noted blogger voices on Twitter and other platforms denouncing his view) saying that he didn’t mean to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” He stated very plainly that he did not mean to discount high quality and multi-author blogs, that he stated are “compelling, wonderful, and useful.” He Actually Has A Point About The Spam OK, so just like everything good, anyone—and on the Internet, seriously, anyone—can take it and turn it into something bad. Dirty, grimy hands have touched things like articles, blogs, press releases, web pages, and of course—guest blogging. I recently received a LinkedIN invitation to join a guest blog. I’ll put their name out there: SEO Libra. The invitation read, “Regarding For Free SEO Guest Blogging. Add Guest Posting for Free. Regards.” Ugh, it makes me shudder again. Grimy fingers like these turn content into spam, spin and trash it, try to recycle it, and overall give content a bad name in various avenues. But does that mean content in general stops working for everyone? Of course not. It only stops working in the wrong hands. In the right hands, content becomes well-written. It is original. Creative. Powerful. It has the possibility to go viral and make a positive impact on the web. Case Study Express Writers started blogging on SocialMediaToday about 5 days ago. We’ve had over 300 social shares on each post that was a featured guest blog on SocialMediaToday; new followers on all our social media platforms; connections from other writers and peers; and more than 10 new client inquiries. Guest blogging, my friends, is powerful. It works. What Did You Say, Cutts? Don’t forget, Cutts has said other things in the past that were discounted. A couple years ago, Cutts said a statement in a Google forum stating that press releases no longer held value for SEO. He was since proven wrong by SearchEngineLand experts, who did an actual case study with screenshot results that showed exactly the opposite of Cutts’ statement—that in fact, PR links were being counted by Google. Copyblogger’s CEO Weighs In The CEO of Copyblogger, Brian Clark, said it best on Twitter: Why change because Matt Cutts said something? Build quality, no matter what. (For more, read Copyblogger’s blog on why guest blogging isn’t done yet.) Excellent advice. Don’t change what’s working because one person said something. Keep it up, and always maintain quality—and you’ll always see results.

Was There a Google Algorithm Update on November 14?

December 31, 2020December 21, 2013 by Adam Oakley

There’s nothing worse than noticing a drop or significant change in your site’s activity without knowing what caused it. On November 15th, MozCast reported a significant temperature spike hitting 102.2. No, there wasn’t a glitch in the system and the chat on Google didn’t discuss any updates, but there was certainly something amiss. So, was it an unannounced Google Algorithm update? Something Google seems to be doing a lot more of as of late. SERPs.com and SERPmetrics both reported spikes on November 15th. While one day shifts are nothing to panic about, it often means there is something in the mix that needs to be investigated further. The Big Guys Win Again According to a blog by Moz.com, the Big 10 websites saw a significant increase in their search results for the day of the spike — with a jump of 15.39 percent to 15.89 percent. You might not think this number is anything to fret over, but that small fraction of a leap is actually a huge amount if you consider the statistics historically. Sites that had the biggest range jump included eBay, Amazon and Wikipedia — all enjoying three to five percent gains. Yes, some algorithm updates can cause leaps in numbers like this, but a jump doesn’t necessarily mean an update either. So was there an update for sure? No one has officially released the word on whether or not there was another algorithm change. In some cases big websites can benefit from algorithm changes, while the little guys suffer. However, there are times where these changes benefit or hurt everyone. There are two things for certain that website owners and SEO specialists should keep in mind: There was a historical one-day change, which is something that cannot be ignored. The Big 10 metric has now hit yet another historical high — with the last high being in April of 2012. Wikipedia, for example, gained a few spots on the first page of search results for terms such as “Famous Footwear Store Hours.” In fact, Famous Footwear went from holding eight spots down to four spots while Wikipedia quickly filled up the rest on the search engine result page. It is theorized that this drop is because someone else dropped out, leaving Wikipedia to fill the gap. There Was a Glitch Though… Google did have DNS issues on November 14th and there were plenty of errors to go around for that 24 hour period while Google worked out their issues. According to the Search Engine Roundtable, the change in ranking reports coincides with the DNS errors, but Search Engine Roundtable doesn’t see any changes for themselves. It’s hard to say if there was really an update on November 14th or if the entire situation was a glitch. Because the holiday season is upon us (with Black Friday gone and Cyber Monday hitting hard), it’s natural for commercial SERPs to fluctuate — and it doesn’t necessarily mean Google has released or updated anything. Whatever did occur November 14th hasn’t happened again and there’s no further news to confirm or deny an update. Thus, for now, consider it a SERP mystery. While a one-day spike is something you traditionally see with an update, the holiday season might account for the changes as well. Until then, the big websites can enjoy their new spaces.

A Guide On Killer SEO Content For Your Readers and Rankings

January 1, 2021December 14, 2013 by Adam Oakley

You’ve had it drilled into your head that you’re no longer writing for SEO when it comes to SEO content, and it’s all about the reader. Google’s Hummingbird was a wakeup call for those who snoozed through Panda and Penguin releases; the emphasis is all on high-quality content. So how do you write high-quality, awesome SEO content for search engines and readers alike? Before you sit down feeling frustrated and give up, let’s get one thing out of the way: Yes, you can rank high and gain new readers for your website! Doesn’t that make you feel better? To get high rankings and gain new readers it’s all about balancing between what search engines want and what readers need. Google has made it quite clear that they won’t tolerate fluff or irrelevant content in SEO writing and SEO content anymore. Hummingbird was their way of letting everyone know that. If you read through Google’s quality guidelines you will see what they’re looking for pages written for users, unique content, valuable content, and no more tricks, just to name a few. If you look closely, however, you’ll see the biggest thing Google wants of all: optimized content that is unique. That means you will need to differentiate your website from the rest of the Internet, offer real value and have a selling point that pops. To help you through it, here are several methods that generate killer content for your rank and your readers. Be Relevant, Not Random You might be tempted to write on a particular topic you’re passionate about, but if that topic isn’t relevant to your website, you need to skip it, according to About.com. People searching on the internet want something that is relevant to what they’re searching for. Readers and Google expects relevant content and when users don’t see what they are looking for they leave — and don’t come back. If you’re writing a blog or article, make sure it’s relevant to your brand, products or the purpose of your website. For example, if you are writing about wedding planning, you shouldn’t have information about birthday parties, because your site focuses on weddings. Be relevant above all else. Define Your Brand, Then Your Quality Goal Unfortunately quality is a subjective term. What you think is “quality” might be “poor quality” to a reader. So how do you write content that is quality to everyone? Simple, you can’t. But, you can write quality content that is considered “quality” to your brand. Consider your brand, target customer, and/or products you offer. Then ask yourself: what type of content would be considered quality to my target audience? Don’t copy other brands and the strategies they’re using — those strategies are what are considered “quality” to them, not you. Find something that works for you and is quality to your brand. Get to Know Your Readers Content should be customer-centric. Anything you write — blogs, reports, etc. — should attract and establish a relationship with your ideal customer. You can’t make a relationship with a stranger, so it’s imperative you first research who is reading your content before you write it. Find out what your typical customer is interested in, the types of questions or concerns that would bring them to your site, what might hinder them from buying, what a reader’s goal might be, etc. The more questions you can answer about your reader, the more in-tune your posts can be for them. Remember that Google wants to see SEO content that answers your readers’ concerns and questions and is relevant to your industry/brand. Using the wedding planner example, your target customer would be couples about to get married. What are engaged couples worried about? Getting married, the costs, where to start with planning, etc. Why would they come to you for assistance? You’re the solution to their problems and know how to plan a wedding. What would hold back a reader from hiring you? Cost perhaps. See the point? Use the Language Google’s keyword tool is no longer around, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find awesome keywords to drive your content — and boost your rank. Instead of looking through endless lists on Google, listen to the customers you have. What terms would your typical customer use to find your services? What phrases are common with your industry? Put yourself into the shoes of your target customer and pretend you’re searching the Internet for your type of service, website, etc. The words and phrases they’re using about your products/industry are the words you need to optimize in your content. By doing so you can easily optimize and keep your content natural. In return you’ll match search queries and increase your site’s traffic. Stop Selling, Even If You’re Selling If you have a blog it’s time to change up your strategy. Blogs aren’t landing pages and they certainly aren’t meant for sales advertisements. Always remember that. You should use your blogs and articles to generate brand awareness, answer questions and ease concerns — not stuff products and/or services down the throats of your readers. Sure, you can link to sales pages in case the reader wants more or wants to see a viable solution to their issue, but there is no reason to sell in the content right there. According to an article by Entrepreneur, good writing is conversational. Do you sell to your friends when you’re having a conversation? Probably not. So why do the same to your reader? Establish a relationship with your reader and write content that makes them trust your brand. By building up your credibility the sales naturally come. This is true of SEO content. In fact, 61 percent of consumers make a purchase based on a blog post according to Social Media Today. Be Predictable No, we’re not talking about your blog topics — we’re talking about how regularly you post. Consistently … Read more

4 Best Practices for Optimizing Your Content

January 1, 2021December 13, 2013 by Adam Oakley

Optimizing your content is like having a cake with all of the right toppings, a pie with scrumptious filling, and a gift with all of the adoring wrappings. Look at your content as the foundation of your (virtual) pie — the crust and filling — but proper optimization are those pieces that make your cake really pop to Google, and are what make your website rank. Your content shouldn’t just be written; it needs to be optimized, too. Optimize Your Content The Google Friendly Way So, how do you optimize content to make it ooze with delicious goodness and still look perfect to Google? Here are a few of our best practices, to get you started. We take the holistic approach when it comes to content optimization. That means good SEO practices should be engrained throughout all aspects of your content, PR and online marketing. Therefore, it’s in your website’s best interest if you apply these tactics across the board. The Elements of Optimization There’s a lot of theories about what is right/wrong regarding content optimization. We certainly don’t claim our opinion to be the gospel of SEO, but there are some key elements to proper optimization: Uniqueness User Experience Keyword-Targeted Content Meta and Title Tag Optimization Notice “keywords” is just one of many elements? We’ll touch on that in just a second. Be Unique: No One Likes to Read What’s Been Done Before We’ve driven this point through your head a few times, but we’re going to do it again as part of our best practices round-up. According to Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide. Your content should offer obvious value and not just be an “about me” promotional page Your text, images and audio should be eye-catching and unique Your content should set you apart from the crowd — offering real insight and showing off your obvious expertise Your pages should be described by at least 80 percent of your visitors as “helpful” or “useful” User Experience Matters You’re not writing for just the search engines; you’re also writing for the reader. If readers are greeted with a wall of text and stuffed keywords, they aren’t going to do anything but click on the back button. You can’t just force your keywords onto the page. It’s much like filling a pie. If you cram every ingredient and make it overflow, it’s going to bubble and burn on the bottom of your oven — and that stinks. For example: Not even five years ago you could cram keywords into your headers and be the man (or woman) at content optimization. You’d rank high just for combining a mixture of keywords and calling it a header. Say your keywords were “Los Angeles SEO Firm” you could title your pages as “Los Angeles SEO Firm | SEO Firm Los Angeles” but when Google caught on to the stuffing and unnatural usage, they changed the game. Today your headers have to read like a sentence, which means this unnatural, awkward way of using keywords is a thing of the past. Using Keyword-Targeted Content All of that keyword research you’ve done means nothing if your content doesn’t target keywords properly. Just as we mentioned above, optimizing your content means using keywords naturally within the content. Your content should make sense, read naturally and readers should enjoy what they’re looking at — all while search engines are indexing your content based on the keywords you’ve targeted. Your primary keyword or targeted phrase should be sprinkled in your content, but don’t overdo it. We say three percent is a good density — anything more and your content might look stuffed. Your content should be relative to your keywords, according to Search Engine Watch. So if your keyword is “Los Angeles SEO Firm” you should be writing something relevant to SEO practices or local Los Angeles businesses/individuals needing SEO services. There’s nothing worse than stumbling across a page using high-ranking keywords that don’t match the content — and trust us, Google will take care of your site soon enough if you don’t play by the rules. You can check your content optimization by using plug-ins (available for free or a small fee). These plug-ins analyze your content based on your targeted keywords and can enhance the rankings of your posts. Meta and Title Tag Optimization Content optimization includes your meta descriptions and title tags. When you write content tags, you first need to write them for the reader. Write something that catches their attention; after all, it’s the readers who you need to click through and keep reading. Then, incorporate keywords, naturally, into those title tags. Optimizing your content’s headlines can get you more clicks, get your content shared, and also rank your website higher, according to a recent blog by HubSpot. Your meta descriptions are important — don’t leave these blank. However, also don’t stuff these with every keyword you have. Instead, stick to one keyword in your description. Since search engines cut your description off at 25 to 30 words, it’s best to keep it at maximum 25 to 30 words. Consider it a short little teaser — similar to a Facebook or Twitter post — that gets people to click. No need to spill it all out for them. Content optimization isn’t rocket science. In fact, when you follow all of these best practices you can optimize your content and rank faster than just picking and following a select few.

Copywriting For SEO: Your Secrets for Top Google Rankings

January 1, 2021December 2, 2013 by Adam Oakley

With offline marketing, all you have to do is add a cute girl in a bikini, and you have the attention of virtually everyone within a 100-foot radius of the billboard. SEO online marketing & copywriting is not this simple. What Copywriting For SEO Is and What It Is Definitely Not! As website traffic becomes harder to get, the websites choosing to employ copywriting SEO tactics will likely convert more readers and boost sales. When it comes to marketing the products and/or services you offer on the Internet, it is very important that you use good quality SEO copy. This is because good quality content has a way of capturing the attention of your target audience; it speaks to them. Copywriting for SEO is a content production technique that is used to inform and also encourage readers to take action. To some people, copywriting for SEO simply means stuffing the content with keywords or key phrases. For example, if you were targeting the term “gift basket Pocatello” you may be tempted to add the term “gift basket Pocatello” into the content as often as possible hoping that the webpage may possibly rank high for the term “gift basket Pocatello”. But here’s the gotcha. Repeating keywords or key phrases may make the copy sound utterly ridiculous. Silly-sounding copy is more likely to force readers to hit the back button and that is not very conducive to building business. The keyword stuffing approach existed a few years back (and actually worked) when search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN placed a whole lot of importance on keyword density. Not anymore. Now, search engines have stopped using this metric for website ranking—instead, they will penalize if you try it today. Integrating Copywriting with Search Engine Optimization There are two factors to search engine optimization: external and internal. The external factor concerns aspects beyond your website. Google will rank your website by looking at links that point to your website from other web pages. The second factor is the pages on your website. Thankfully, you have control over these web pages. When you employ copywriting SEO techniques to create well written, interesting content, then more people will be happy to link to your website. As soon as visitors arrive on your website, they will most likely find your content to be very engaging. If your website boasts of very interesting content, your readers will stay longer and this will possibly give your page ranking a big boost. The external and internal factors will need to work well together in order to get the best out of your search engine optimization strategy. It is more than just getting your target audiences to your website through search engines; it is also about what visitors to your website will do when they land there. Writing that does not create the magic to hook that keeps readers engaged can make you lose hard-worn website visitors. In a nutshell, you need to learn copywriting SEO skills that work. According to one of the resources on Unbounce.com, there are ways to develop powerful calls to action when producing copy for your website. Mashable.com even offers information about interesting resources for improving your search engine optimization skills. How to Correctly Structure Your Web Copy Use Captivating Headlines. One of the most vital aspects of copywriting SEO is creating headlines that will arrest the attention of target readers and draw them in. If you fail to use a captivating headline, people will simply not bother to read further. When it comes to search engine optimization, the headline sure plays a very vital role. When users click-through on the link text from search results, they expect to see similar headlines on the pages they land on. This will serve as proof that they have found the information that they are looking for. Always Appeal to Readers’ Self Interest There is no way this is going to come out without seeming like an insult, okay, here goes. Readers are really not interested in you or the product or service you offer—whoa! That was really hard to type. You need to understand that readers are only interested in themselves. Thus, effective copywriting SEO will make an appeal to the readers’ self-interest. Use tested and proven ways to appeal to a person’s self-interest are: List The Benefits Listing the benefits of a product or service will involve mentioning what the product or service can do for the reader. For instance, an iPod “holds your entire music library in your small pocket!” A product’s benefits are usually stated as verbs (action or doing words). Another example, “the iPod’s beautiful slim shape will make it easy to slide in your front or back pocket.” You may have noticed how the slim shape of an iPod (which is supposed to be a feature) is turned into a benefit. “…easy to slide into your front or back pocket”, this is no doubt a powerful copywriting SEO technique that links the product’s features and benefits, and therefore makes them memorable. Make an Offer They Can’t Refuse Everyone is very familiar with offers such as “BOGO (Buy One Get One)”, “Buy Now Pay Later” and so on. Offers make for a compelling yet simple headline. Offers can be powerful headlines and are known to work well when readers are already familiar with your brand. Offer headline may not work at all if your product or service requires some explaining. Give News People simply enjoy hearing news. This is because they like knowing what’s new and fresh. Examples of headline integrating a news element are: Drive A Vehicle Powered By Water. Or, Choose the Cheapest Flights While You Are Asleep. There is no doubt that these headlines simply imply a sort of change to the status quo. Seriously, who would not want to know all about driving in a car that is powered by water? People love news, and will feel it is their obligation to share their new found information with others. You … Read more

SEO Writing Fact or Fiction: Let’s Test Your Knowledge

January 1, 2021October 23, 2013 by Adam Oakley

So here we are, seasoned SEO experts and newbie writers that aren’t even sure of SEO’s meaning. What do we know about SEO writing and what do we think we know? What Do We Know About SEO Writing? Below, I will share four facts and four myths that are believed, in some cases, more than the facts are. You can see which ones resonate with you in particular. A Successful Blogger Posts Twice a Week Writing More Than 300 Words Per Blog Fact. The longer the blog post, the more valuable the content is considered to be. Likewise, the more often the blog posts are made the more current the blog is viewed to be. With these factors in mind, success is only a thousand words and two blog posts away. Blogs should draw in the readership and develop a working relationship with them. People should feel camaraderie with the writer, or at least be able to understand your viewpoint and respect it so they want to read more of what you write. The fact that bloggers who write more in each post and write more often are successful supports the idea that people are developing a connection with that writer, even if it is a virtual one. Providing Less Information Draws In The Reader Fiction. Some companies are under the impression that sharing limited information will get interested parties to call for more. This can actually have the opposite effect. If the person is a potential customer that wants a better idea of services offered or prices charged, and they can’t get that from a company website, they will turn to a competitor who does share this information before they will make a call to gather the info. This is why it is important to answer the pertinent questions regarding services or prices instead of creating a website that only leaves the visitor hanging. Three-Quarters Of Users Don’t Go To The Second Page of Search Results Fact. Here is where SEO writing comes into play in a big way. For most people, they type a term or phrase into the Google search bar and start looking through results. The ones that catch their interest or seem most likely to hold the answer to their query are the ones that get clicked on. If the answer isn’t found on the first page, over 75% of the search engine visitors do not go beyond page one of the search results, no matter how many or few pages there are total. Also, users tend to choose the natural results more than the sponsored results, although this is only by a narrow margin. Search Drives More Traffic To Sites Than Social Media By 100% Fiction. It is more than that; it is actually by 300%. Sorry, that one was a bit tricky. Search is the number one driver for web site traffic. Does that surprise you? According to Search Engine Journal, this is true and is one of many statistics that people don’t expect when it comes to SEO importance to traffic driven to the average website. Social Media is a method of research and demographic information. However, that does not mean it is also going to be THE answer to creating more traffic for a website. Some people take the information on social media at face value and never track back to the professional website of the business in question. Search And Email Are The Most Popular Internet Activities Fact. This explains, obviously, the importance of that spam email you are always battling with and the quality copy to draw readers to the website of a particular business. These areas are the big draw. Therefore, the chance of a potential customer just happening onto your site among the millions on the Internet is slim to none. SEO writers understand this is why we have our jobs and are (hopefully) good at them. Titles Aren’t Important When It Comes To Search Or Content Fiction. A blog at Wordstream notes the exact opposite. Taking time and effort to create a clickable title that is informative for the reader goes a long way in making successful, quality copy that reaches the intended audience and keeps them interested. The title in a news article is meant to gain attention. The title in an online article can lead to further information or new and unexpected data. Use these possibilities for your—the writer’s—benefit. Make the title work for you and for the reader. The Search Engine Industry Is Estimated To Be Worth $16 Billion Fact. This industry is money in spades. Understanding the importance of the search engine industry and working to determine the best way to use that to your advantage is a huge step on the way to your own success. Don’t ignore search engines as secondary or unimportant. Recognize them for the impact they have on daily Internet use. In fact, throughout the world each month, there are over 100 billion searches done. That means millions of searches Per Day. Those numbers are nothing to scoff at, if you ask me. Writing For A Particular Audience Or Researching Keywords Are Time Wasted Fiction. Both of these are methods to success that are forgotten or delayed in such a way their benefits are lost. The audience should be your first thought when writing anything. They are the ones you are trying to reach, and as such you always need to be thinking of them. Likewise, the audience is looking for a particular phrase or a certain product or service that can be found by searching for a particular keyword or keyword set. If the keyword is not researched to make sure it will have the desired effect, it may fall very short of its intended goals. For SEO writers, separating fact from fiction may not be vital but it is helpful. Understanding the business is important, and knowing the aspects that are more important … Read more