Here are some questions that haunt many a marketer…
Does backlinking really matter that much? If so, how do we “get” backlinks?
The resounding answer to the first question is yes, absolutely.
The second part is a little bit trickier.
Backlinks do help your visibility in Google search.
But you don’t need to work on “getting” them.
There’s a better, more organic way that leads to stronger results.
Let’s discuss. ➡
Should You Focus on Backlinking as a Content Marketing Strategy? No.
Does a good backlink profile help you rank better in Google? Absolutely.
Do you need to spend hours per week on a link building strategy to earn them? Absolutely not.
Even further, you don’t need to have a backlinking strategy to build a brand with real authority that lasts over time.
Instead, building your backlinks should be a byproduct of building a great brand. If you put the latter first, you’re skipping over an important step.
What should you do, instead? Earn your links, don’t build them.
Now, this is the longer road, and it takes more commitment, but it’s more sustainable, too. Ultimately, building your authority over time will also build stronger backlinks to your site, naturally. In contrast, focusing on building backlinks to the detriment of your content strategy as a whole is akin to building a house of cards versus a house of solid stone.
Backlinks you weasel out of thin air can vanish in a second. Backlinks you earn as part of a strong content strategy and a strong brand presence will stay with you and grow over time.
So, how do you accomplish it all?
1. Focus on Consistency
Be consistent in how often you publish content, and only publish the best quality you can produce. Invest in a consistent brand presence across your website, web pages, content, and even your social media channels. Keep it up over time.
2. Focus on Growing Your Expertise
Add value to your industry by growing your expertise and sharing your original ideas over time.
As you grow as an expert (whether you read tons of books, take online courses, or just continually reflect on your experience as an entrepreneur and common industry pain points), you’ll also have some amazing wisdom that blooms alongside your knowledge. Share it!
Your original thoughts and ideas will separate you from the pack of “experts” sharing regurgitated information. When you have something fresh to add to the conversation, that’s valuable to your audience, who are looking to learn from you.
3. Focus on Guest Blogging
Once you’re in a rhythm of creating great content, lend some of your energy to creating content for publication on guest blogging platforms. This how you reach a bigger audience that overlaps with yours, not to mention grow your brand and build your authority on a bigger scale.
To find guest blogging opportunities, just google “your industry” + “publications to guest blog for.” Remember to only publish stellar content, and always include your site link in your bio/author byline!
[bctt tweet=”Building backlinks should be a byproduct of building a great brand. If you put the latter first, you’re skipping over an important step. What should you do, instead? Earn your links, don’t build them. ? More on @ExpWriters:” username=””]
Now that we’ve cleared up why you shouldn’t laser-focus on your backlink strategy at the expense of your brand (i.e., don’t put the cart before the horse! ?), let’s take a deeper look at the inner workings of backlinking.
How Backlinks Have Changed Over the Years
Link building, or backlinking, has changed a lot since it started. Years ago, the standard was to focus on what was known as low-influence linking to build up your credibility.
Low-influence links were links that pushed domain diversity even if they were not necessarily links that were perceived authorities in a given sector. The idea was to amass hundreds of links that pointed to domains all over the place that would lead back to your site and raise your ranking.
Domain diversity would theoretically lend itself to credibility and therefore boost your overall visibility. It worked once upon a time, but in the end, domain diversity proved to be fruitless as opposed to lucrative.
Links like that are not the way to go today. Instead, you want to focus on quality over quantity, but what exactly does that mean? I’m glad you asked.
The Differences Between Quality Links and Quantity of Links
As was stated, it was common practice to link to hundreds and hundreds of low-ranking sites to raise your rank, but over time, it made more sense to work smarter and not harder.
That means working for quality links compared to the quantity of links.
In other words, you wouldn’t want to include a link to a power tool company when you are reading an article about nutritional well-being, right?
On the other hand, if you wrote an article about post-workout foods that help you recover faster, then you want to link to studies from credible and well-established sites that support your claims.
Quality links point back to relevant content and trustworthy websites. You want to focus on the best links that are relevant to your content and go to top-ranked sites.
Cultivating quality links takes an extended amount of time to build credibility, but once it is established, it lasts compared to the low-influence links of the past.
Know Where to Place Your Links
Did you know? There’s a strategic way to place links in your content. In every quality content piece you come across, the link placement is not random – there’s a rhyme and a reason for every single link you see in the material you read every day.
On web pages, have you ever noticed there are links both in the content itself as well as at the bottom of the page, in the footer or navigational area?
The first example is a screenshot of an article from political site ThinkProgress. You can see that ThinkProgress has a relevant link to Business Insider within their content.
The second example is from an iOS app production company, Tapbots. With Tapbots, the only place you’ll see links to click on is if you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page.
Looking at the two examples above, which one do you think is more effective?
Links that are in the content work better because they’re editorial — your audience will see them right away.
If you only put links in the footers or headers, they have less weight since they aren’t relevant to the content and they are not immediately visible to your audience.
Beware Bad Link Building Practices
You know that quality links are a good idea, and you may be tempted to try expediting the process to increase your ranking and visibility.
There are so many suggestions out there to increase link building, but be wary of the “quick” strategies and seemingly “easy” ways to do it so many “experts” tout. Most importantly, steer clear of anything that sounds too good to be true. Building backlinks is NEVER quick, and if it’s both quick AND easy, it’s probably a scam.
For example, while doing your research, you may come across the prospect of buying links.
Horrible idea. Don’t do it. Here’s why:
Buying backlinks has been a bad idea from the beginning, but people continue to do it because they think it will increase their rankings in the long-term.
The truth is that it will actually hurt your site’s ranking because if you happen to get caught using unethical link building tactics, Google will penalize you and your rankings will drop quickly. It will be hard to come back from that.
There are many examples of this happening after buying backlinks.
In one instance, a blogger thought buying backlinks was a good thing and his traffic report seemed to prove him right.
While his visitors apparently went up in a short time, his visibility and rankings earned before purchasing backlinks were utterly lost when the effect wore off.
His site had been penalized because Google knew that his backlinks were not genuine as well as being irrelevant to his content.
Something else to remember is that press releases don’t do much to improve your rankings, either.
The occasional press release is okay, but you should never use press releases as a central pathway to link building because they don’t have a direct effect on your credibility.
Google’s Penguin and Hummingbird algorithms devalue press releases, so you don’t want to use them for much more than spreading brand awareness and generating referral traffic.
Recovering from Bad Backlinks
Google understands that shady companies encouraged terrible ideas at one point, so it is possible to improve after bad backlinks.
All is not lost, even if you have already made poor choices, so long as you work to fix them.
You will want to remove all links that are not beneficial to you and your content. That means contacting site owners and requesting removal. If that doesn’t work, disavow the links.
Disavowing is a relatively straightforward concept – you’re basically asking Google not to associate those links with your site.
You will also want to check for bad backlinks that lead to error pages, as error pages do nothing to raise your ranking at all.
The downside is that with fewer links, your traffic will likely drop, but if you follow the right way to incorporate backlinking into your content, you will rebound – eventually.
Your last option would be to start over from scratch with a clean slate and a fresh site, but only consider doing this if you have been penalized and you can’t do anything to change the perception of your site.
Also, most agencies include link building as part of a packaged deal, so if you see extraordinary amounts for link building alone, you should probably steer clear of that offer.
When in Doubt, Google It Out
Google webmasters have created precise guidelines as to what is suggested and what needs to be avoided when backlinking.
While you shouldn’t necessarily aim for Google’s idea of perfection, as long as you avoid all of the things Google does not like while also focusing on business-building strategies like high-quality link building as part of your content marketing, you’re golden.
If you aren’t sure quite how to make that happen, request a consultation to help you get your content planning underway.
Google has become increasingly cagey about its updates. If there is one, unless it’s gargantuan, you probably won’t hear about it from the search engine.
Take a look at some of their communications on Twitter via their spokespeople, John Mueller and Gary Illyes:
It’s like it’s physically impossible for them to come out and say it.
Because of this secrecy and caginess, marketers and webmasters have to play a game of detective whenever they notice changes to search. This “volatility,” as it’s commonly termed, shows up in their automated statistics, particularly those for SEO visibility. From there, they have to read the clues and compile data to come to any conclusions.
The most recent Google update waves that rolled through the internet happened in March 2017. It’s now simply known as “Fred.” (Gary Illyes jokingly said all the updates should be called Fred, and it stuck for this one in particular.)
There was no announcement, no forewarning. SEOs and webmasters noticed the “volatility” affecting their stats and their rankings. Then they compared notes, which all lined up.
Here’s a good example from Glen Gabe, the marketer in front of G-Squared Interactive. He shared how Fred affected a site that had heavy advertising:
Overnight, the site lost almost 60% of its organic traffic from Google.
That’s a huge amount. Lots of other sites reported traffic losses just as deep, but Google kept mum about it.
So, that begs these questions: What did Fred do? What kind of sites, exactly, did it affect? How do you stay on Google’s good side if they won’t offer guidance about their algorithm updates?
And, perhaps most importantly, what does the biggest Google update in 2017 mean for you and your site? Let’s delve into this topic together. Grab a tea or a coffee, and join me!
Google’s “Fred” Algorithm Update: The Shot Heard ‘Round the World
This update sent shockwaves through the internet.
Some marketers discovered their traffic had been hit hard (down anywhere from 50% to 90%).
It was obvious that Google had done something big, but they wouldn’t cop to it outright.
This tight-lipped response was nothing new, but it understandably rankled the SEO community, and not just because it was/is frustrating. Not just because it was/is frustrating, but also because Google’s zipped lips are no help in the face of huge chunks of organic traffic gone overnight.
Kristine Schachinger for Search Engine Land summed up the frustration in her column:
Here’s What Fred Tweaked
So, we know that Fred was mainly a quality update – but what aspects of quality did it affect?
SEOs analyzed the stats from hundreds of affected sites to figure out what it did. They found that this update mainly affected content sites whose goal was revenue (as opposed to providing value to users). Specifically, Barry Schwartz termed these sites as “ad heavy, low value.”
These sites had features like:
1. Heavy Advertising
One of the defining features of all sites badly hit: ads. Each and every one had heavy servings of advertising. Or, they had generous helpings of affiliate links sprinkled into their content. These ads were liberally integrated, pushy, and deceptive. Lots looked like on-site links but actually took you elsewhere.
2. Redundant or Non-Expert Information
In most cases, sites that suffered an organic rankings dive also featured redundant, non-expert, or rehashed information. This was thin content – not well researched at all, stuff that merely skimmed the surface.
3. User Experience (UX) Interference
The user experience is how easily a visitor can navigate your site, click around, and find what they need. This is a big factor for site quality because a poor UX can totally impede that information-gathering process.
Here are some examples of roadblocks to a good UX. Glen Gabe calls these “low-quality user engagement problems”:
Disruptive pop-ups that take over the whole screen
Confusing navigation and site hierarchy
Too much advertising – so much so that it drowns out the content
Problems viewing the site on mobile
4. “Jacks-of-All-Trades, Masters of None” Content
Another common feature was that most of the sites with traffic hits had a content format, like a blog. However, topics covered a wide range of information without any rhyme or reason.
Some of these hit sites publicly shared their URLs. Here’s an example of a few posts from one of them:
The content was not published to inform users; rather, it only served as a vehicle for advertising. In particular, the above blog featured useless information that Wikipedia or the “help” section of a product website already covered better.
Here’s How to Keep Fred Happy
Now that you understand what the Fred update did and who was affected, you can keep your own site compliant and Fred-friendly.
This will be important for the future because Google is never going to stop throwing out updates. In fact, it’s pretty much a standard monthly thing these days.
Here’s how to stay on Fred’s (and Google’s) good side to keep your chances of getting blindsided by any future update slimmer.
1. Recommit Yourself to Quality Content and Good SEO Practices
If you’re already on top of your on-page SEO and content quality, good. Keep going. This commitment is one that builds on itself in terms of positive gains. The longer you stick with it, the better the results you’ll see.
If you’ve cut corners, tried some “shortcuts,” or are just plain unsure about where you stand, you need to recommit yourself to quality. That means you should start making improvements to your site and content right this second.
The sooner you start, the sooner you can get on your way to climbing the ranks, not falling into a black hole of Google penalties.
2. Pay Attention to UX
UX (user experience) is the first determiner of your site’s quality. If your UX is terrible, your visitors won’t be able to read your content at all. That’s a big no-no.
To keep things up to standard, first look at the basic structure of your site. Approach it like an average visitor would. Ask yourself these questions:
Is it easy to read?
Is it easy to navigate and/or find what you’re looking for?
Do your pages use SEO properly?
Is the page layout clear and logical?
Do all the links point to where they should?
You need to make the user experience as seamless and enjoyable as possible. Using disruptive or deceptive site design, on-page advertising, or links will do the opposite. Google will penalize you.
3. Rethink Your On-Page Advertising
Ads are fine to use on your site – within reason. For example, the Fred update targeted sites who used ads so aggressively, they messed with the UX. When ads get in the way of somebody gleaning the information they need, Google has a problem with it. You should, too.
If your focus has been on monetizing your site, think again. Cut back on ads, especially ones that break up or interfere with content. Make them less intrusive, and try to improve your advertising for the user. This often means getting rid of most of your ads and making the ones you have left more intentional.
4. Check Your Old Content
When your site-wide experience is optimized for your audience, then you can move on to your content and link quality.
First, critically analyze your blog posts and content pages. If they’re thin, badly organized, or full of errors, you’ll get penalized. Rewrite them, improve them, and add depth and value.
Going forward, it will help to have a set of quality guidelines in place for each and every piece of content you create. Rigorously adhering to these will help you keep publishing top-notch content and improve your rankings.
To stay on the right side of Google, check on who’s linking to you. Make sure your link profile is made up of relevant, quality sites.
If sites with zero value are linking to you, this can hurt your rankings. However, there are ways to rectify the situation.
Just say no to link schemes, including paid links and spam.
Contact sites with low quality and ask them to take down your link.
When the above fails, disavow all links that negatively affect your site. This tells Google to ignore them when it assesses your site for quality.
6. Stay on Top of Google Announcements (and Non-Announcements)
Yes, Google is notorious for keeping quiet about updates, but they do still announce a few (sometimes). It’s important to keep your ear to the ground so you know about important changes as soon as possible.
As for unannounced important changes, keep yourself in the loop with the help of your social network. Many SEOs and marketers take to Twitter when they see something fishy going on. Other major sites like Search Engine Land will post updates and attempt to confirm the situation with Google.
Follow these blogs and fellow marketers so you’re always in the loop:
Check out my list of recommended SEO and content marketer bloggers here.
To get almost instantaneous SEO updates, one marketer who stays on top of updates like none other is Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick).
Link schemes aren’t the only bad SEO practices to avoid (there’s a reason it’s called “black hat SEO”). There’s a host of others out there. They may sound like great shortcuts to ranking, but they’re actually ethically unsound in Google’s eyes.
Cloaking – This technique presents one page to human visitors and another to search engine crawlers in order to deceptively boost the site’s rank.
“Thin” content – Thin content has no meat to it. It’s shallow, short, vague, rehashed, or unhelpful information that provides no additional depth to a topic.
Content scraping – This is the web equivalent of plagiarizing. It involves taking content from another site and passing it off as your own. You can do it with old-fashioned copy-and-paste, but lots of people employ software or special programming language that does it for them.
Automatically generated content – Perhaps the laziest black hat technique on this list, automatically generated content is created through programming. It gathers paragraphs of random text interspersed with keywords.
Google has an even bigger list of deceptive, spammy, confusing, or manipulative tactics they have targeted. Sites who use them will get penalized – so not worth it.
Stay Ahead of Google’s Update Waves and Ride the Tide to Great SEO
Here’s the bottom line about unexpected yet gargantuan Google updates like Fred.
To avoid equally huge penalties that hurt your business, you have to attempt to stay ahead of the curve.
This means committing yourself to only producing and publishing high-quality content. It means never engaging in link schemes. It means focusing on your site users, first and foremost, rather than monetization, A.K.A. lining your pockets.
It can definitely be frustrating when Google pulls the rug out from under you with a big update they won’t confirm. You’ll be less worried, though, if you know you already have great policies and standards in place for your site and your content.
In fact, websites with this commitment to quality often see a boost in traffic after an unannounced update. This is the ideal scenario, no?
Many times, after an algorithm change, with the amount of organic content on our site we’ll see an increase in rankings. Our SEMrush rankings show steady growth with some decrease here and there. Here’s a typical month of position rankings for our site (screenshot taken of September 2017 rankings):
If all of this information seems overwhelming and leaves you wondering where to go from here, the answer is simple. Start with your content, make it better, then work outward from there. If you need help, we can write quality content that will make a difference. Our authority content level is one of the best ways to stand out on the web!
This time of year, a lot of people are heading back to school. They’re stocking up on supplies, getting textbooks, and preparing for another semester of classes. However, even if you’re not heading back to school, it doesn’t mean you can’t do a little learning!
For this week’s #ContentWritingChat, we decided to go “back to school” by talking about the basics of building your site presence and mastering SEO. This was another one of our community chats, where our participants are the stars of the show. And they certainly had some great advice to share!
#ContentWritingChat Recap: “Back to School” with Your Site Presence & SEO: 101 Refresher
If you’re ready for a refresher course on site presence and SEO, you’re in the right place! Grab a pen and paper to take some notes and let’s dive right in!
Q1: Explain the importance of SEO and how it integrates into your online marketing.
To kick off the chat, we asked everyone to share why they feel SEO is important. What did they have to say about it? Here are a few responses from the chat:
As Jason said, SEO helps people find and see you online. The keywords you target in your content are just one of the ways you can boost your visibility in search rankings.
A1: SEO is integrated into the content we create. We do keyword research which is used in the page title, body copy, etc #contentwritingchat
Lexie mentioned that SEO is a huge part of everything they do over at Netvantage Marketing. They conduct keyword research before creating anything. Then, that keyword is used in the page title, body copy, etc.
A1: In summary, good SEO helps a brand to be searchable/more visible on search engines like Google. #ContentWritingChat
When done right, SEO helps your brand become searchable and more visible on search engines. This is why you want to conduct keyword research and choose the right keywords for each piece of content you publish.
A1: #seo = how you’re put on the search engine map. If Google doesn’t know you exist, it can’t send people to your site! #ContentWritingChat
Brittany made a great point! You can’t build something and expect it to be successful. You can’t just publish a piece of content and expect people to find it. You have to put in the effort to optimize your content for search engines like Google.
Q2: What are the basic SEO steps every blogger needs to take when publishing new content?
To get started with SEO, we need to have the basics covered. So, which steps should you always keep in mind when you’re publishing a new piece of content? Here’s some advice:
A2 ?? a) know your audience, their interests/questions b) research long-tail keywords within their topics of interest #ContentWritingChat
As Julia said, it starts with knowing your audience. Without knowing your audience and understanding their needs, you can’t create content they’re interested in. You’ll want to follow that up with keyword research to choose the right long-tail keywords for your content.
A2: First, do keyword research. Use that keyword research in the page title, meta, body copy, but do so NATURALLY. #contentwritingchat
Lexie also knows that keyword research is an essential beginning. The keyword you choose for a piece of content will be used in the page title, meta description, and throughout the body copy. However, as she pointed out, you should always incorporate the keyword in a way that’s natural.
A2: Pay attn. to what the target audience is talking about. What are their pain points/FAQs. Use that to drive content. #ContentWritingChat
Choosing the right keywords goes back to paying attention to your audience. Your content should address their pain points and the questions they’re asking.
A2. Gather insights: keywords people are searching for and conversations they are having. (1/2) #contentwritingchat
Tony shared a helpful infographic with some tips that are important to keep in mind!
Q3: How can you make sure you’re speaking to the right audience in your search optimized content?
Another priority is to make sure you’re reaching the right audience with the content you’re publishing on your website. After all, you don’t want to risk attracting all the wrong people to your site. Here’s how to make sure you reach the right people:
Audience and keyword research is essential here. As Jason said, you need to know who you want to reach and then research the terms and phrases they’re searching. This will help you write the content that targets your ideal audience.
A3. Do research & create a persona for your target audience.
Having a reader persona is essential. You want to know who you’re trying to reach and create content that answers their questions and addresses pain points.
A3 Google looks at content humanly. Write with the real reader (human) in mind, and write TO them. Topic > Keyword #ContentWritingChat
Jenn is a fan of actually talking to her audience. You can strike up a conversation with your ideal readers to really get to know them and their needs.
A little research is going to teach you everything you need to know about your audience!
Q4: Name a few top mistakes you see repeatedly in SEO content.
There are quite a few mistakes that people frequently make in their SEO content. And if you don’t know what they are, you won’t be able to avoid them! These are things you’ll want to avoid on your own website:
A4: Keyword stuffing; it’s sadly still a thing. Not doing keyword research. Not using H1-6s for keywords. #contentwritingchat
Andrew feels using visible clusters of keywords can actually cheapen your content. You don’t want to go overboard when incorporating keywords into your content. It needs to be done naturally.
A4: Choosing the wrong keywords! One must know what words your audience would use to describe what you’re writing. #ContentWritingChat
One thing that a lot of people still forget about is their meta description. Don’t forget to take an extra few seconds to type up a meta description for your blog posts.
Mistakes Zala has noticed are not optimizing for the right keywords and local search, poorly written content, and failing to check analytics to see what actually converts.
One huge mistake that Julia sees is people putting out crappy, worthless content. That’s not serving a purpose for anyone. You need to focus on adding value with everything you publish.
Q5: Are there any tools you rely on when it comes to creating SEO content?
There are plenty of tools out there that can help you with SEO, but how do you know which ones you should use? Here’s a list of suggestions:
A5: @Moz and their competitive intelligence. I love seeing where we’re lacking most with the competition. #ContentWritingChat
Andrew knows the first step is actually setting quantifiable, trackable goals. Without clear goals in mind, you won’t know what you’re working towards.
A6: How are rankings changing? How is your domain authority changing? How many backlinks are you generating? #ContentWritingChat
Jenn suggests watching how your rankings change. Is your domain authority changing? How many backlinks are you generating? These are all factors you may want to watch.
Another thing to keep an eye on is how people are finding your site. What keywords are they searching to discover your content? This is important information to keep in mind.
Q7: What steps will you take to give your site a refresher in the months ahead?
Now that we’ve talked about giving your site a refresher and SEO basics, we wanted to know how our chat participants could improve their own sites. Here’s what they had to say:
A7. Do a quick content audit and review my content strategy. (And take the Content Strategy Course from @JuliaEMcCoy) #contentwritingchat
Mallie is also a big fan of Moz’s content! Join us for #ContentWritingChat every Tuesday from 10-11 AM Central Time! Follow @ExpWriters and @writingchat so you don’t miss anything!
Check out the resolutions a lot of us made way back in early 2016:
According to Money, the top goal for Americans was to “enjoy life to the fullest”, and a close second was “live a healthier lifestyle”. Far down at the bottom was “pay off debt.” As a country, most of us are fairly realistic and stick to one goal.
It’s good to make goals, even if we don’t always achieve them.
Setting goals gives us a vision for the future and puts something in our sights that we can reach for. Personally, we aim for better health, more time with people we love, and a more financially stable lifestyle.
On the content development and marketing side of things, setting goals and looking to the most useful SEO content tactics for the next year also gives us something to look toward. Quality content comes from using SEO as an effective tool, drawn from your supply of strategies and experience. Ready to dive into our most useful SEO content tactics to share for the New Year? Grab a latte and join me!
SEO Roots: A Look Back at the Beginning Before We Look at the Future
I was born in 1991, when the launch of the world’s first website happened. (I like to say it was fate bringing the internet and I together – since eight, I’ve had a natural affinity and love for our world wide web.) As the ‘net grew to include Google (1997) and Yahoo (1994), marketers took advantage of keyword stuffing and spammy backlinks in order to rank high on search results.
The art of SEO, or search engine optimization, came along in the early 2000’s to help connect users with the information they needed to find local results. Since that time, user-focused SEO and changes to Google meant rankings had to be earned through relevant, quality content rather than an overuse of keywords.
Today, relevant content and mobile optimization are required to rank at all, and must be backed by authority and expert links.
Content no longer ranks high simply due to a large amount of spam or repetitive keywords throughout a piece of content: it ranks high based on a lot of factors, many of which are now human-based more than bot or algorithm based. (Check out my post all about how semantic search is the way of the future.)
6 SEO Content Tactics to Use in 2017
Search Engine Journal recently gathered the wisdom of 44 SEO experts to ask their views of what trends will define 2017. We gathered about 15-16 for our roundup in the last week of December 2016. While everyone has a different view of what the year will look like, there is one thing they all agree on: as we move forward, it becomes even more important to stay aware of the latest technology and how our strategies need to adapt, no matter what year it may be.
Here are the SEO tactics we need to watch as we go into a new year, one still unwritten, yet full of possibility and growth.
1. AMP
The Accelerated Mobile Pages Project (AMP) was integrated by Google early in 2016. The open initiative encourages publishers to create mobile-optimized content—pages load quickly on mobile devices for more efficient use.
The goal with AMP is to deliver the best mobile experience to the average user, lessening the wait time for things like videos and graphics. Experts across the board believe that this new year will be the deciding factor in whether AMP stays or gets shelved.
2. Mobile experience
Apps will continue to be a part of the user experience, which means indexing them will be important going forward. As the introduction of RankBrain has made its impact in the world of algorithms, so too has the continued focus on mobile.
Google has already talked about making their index mobile-first and restructuring algorithms to first use the mobile version of a site’s content to rank pages. This will continue to be important in 2017, especially as 3 out of 4 Americans own a smartphone, up from 2015.
Mobile activity will intersect with search engine optimization and ranking going into this next year. As Duane Forrester reminds us at SEJ, “the shift has already happened…if you’re still ‘thinking about mobile’, consumers won’t be thinking about you.”
3. Content optimization
As industry experts point out, our focus needs to be on content optimization rather than keyword optimization. And while it remains important to a content marketer’s SEO strategy, there is the temptation to get trapped in the “content is king” cycle.
With millions of articles published each month, there has to be something to make you stand out from all of the other voices who want the attention of your audience. Long-form content is a start in the right direction.
4. Machine learning
Innovative technology and its capabilities will reveal previously unseen patterns of searcher behavior. Advanced machines like Google’s RankBrain and the rise of artificial intelligence will make it even more important to put forth the effort in order to rank with the best.
The area of search engine optimization will move forward as a technical approach. The challenge may lie in not knowing why a piece of content ranks at a certain spot, as machine learning has an influence on the algorithm.
5. Voice search
Billions of searches are done each year via voice commands, and the number is only expected to grow. This trend will have an impact on our keyword optimization since we don’t speak in the same way we write—think asking a question versus typing a statement into a search box.
The move toward conversational search among a variety of devices will definitely have an impact on SEO, especially as we consider the “one correct answer” given by a device. This goes back to quality content and making sure you are providing the most thorough and most readable answer.
Kleiner Perkins Caufiled & Byers 2016 Internet Trends Report
6. Quality links
Well-organized resources filled with useful content can make quite a difference in the building of trust with your audience. Links still matter and contribute to rank, and as Google reminds us, creating “unique, relevant content that can naturally gain popularity” pays off.
Experts differ on the importance of link building. Adam Audette at SEJ believes that content developers would do well to focus on link building for amplification rather than for SEO purposes. Think of it like a circle: if you create great content, and promote it well, that content willbe linked to and subsequently return value to your site.
We’ve seen it happen: a year after I published this podcast with Joanna Wiebe, CrazyEgg picked it up and linked back to our site, citing it in their post defining conversion copywriting. The link quality was almost 80 DA (domain authority) – a huge link boost!
So, remember: backlinks still matter. These links back to your webpage still need to be authoritative and relevant as it relates to SEO. Create amazing content, publish it, share it: you’ll get links from high quality sites if they think it’s good enough!
4 Key Tactics to Keep in Mind for Creating More Fantastic Content in 2017
While predictions from a host of experts can be helpful going into the new year, what exactly are we supposed to do with all of this information?
1. Optimize for mobile
Accessing the internet via the phone and tablet surpassed desktop usage in 2016. Those numbers alone should be motivation for all of us to better understand AMP and mobile-first indexing.
It isn’t enough anymore to build a site for desktop usage and then scale it back for mobile users. Not only does this drive users away, but it may prevent them from visiting at all. As Search Engine Land notes, content and links on a mobile site are key drivers in search engine visibility while ranking is still based on the desktop version of a site.
2. Focus on long-form content
Every SEO strategy should focus on the building of high-quality content that is relevant and authoritative.
Joe Pulizzi talked about the rebirth of long form in an exclusive email that went out just last Friday to the CMI audience in an exclusive email, PDF export here:
Now how, in this world of “snackable” content, multiple smartphones, and no attention span, are we seeing these longerform pillar collections of content cutting through the clutter?
The point I’m trying to make is that nearly every marketer we talk to has run to shorter posts, shorter social media updates, shorter videos, shorter podcasts … thinking that audiences don’t have the desire to invest themselves in content for a longer period of time. But they absolutely do … if the content is worthwhile. Those marketers who take a longerform approach can immediately position themselves and their stories as differentiated simply because of the length.
So, when all your competition is going small, maybe it’s your time to go big – indepth article series, hearty and detailed podcast interviews, a fullfledge custom print magazine, and possibly even a customer event. When everyone else zigs, you zag. – @JoePulizzi
[clickToTweet tweet=”When all your competition is going small, maybe it’s your time to go big in content. – @JoePulizzi” quote=”When all your competition is going small, maybe it’s your time to go big – indepth articles, hearty and detailed podcast interviews. – @JoePulizzi”]
Joe hits the nail on the head.
Long-form content also gives the writer an opportunity to share authoritative information with quality sources to back it up. Readers will return if they know they are going to receive solutions to their need.
3. Keep pace with technology
The chatter about artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and voice-search innovation. Over the course of just two years, Amazon sold nearly 5 million Echo devices, which allow users to control their home through smart technology and perform voice searches.
The rise in the use of digital personal assistants will change how the average user searches, increasing the number of conversational queries during the process. Whether we are asking Siri or Google Assistant, the way we search with our voices is different than how we type in a search query.
Adapting your SEO strategy according to how the audience is using your site and developing content with a conversational tone are just two ways to stay engaged with the newest digital inventions.
4. Progressive Web Apps (PWA)
Google tells us that PWAs are engaging, reliable, and fast, bringing a new level of quality to a home screen. These apps are live and installable, eliminating the need for an app store.
SEO efforts can be boosted by utilizing PWAs while you increase the level of engagement through an app-like experience for your audience.
Moving Forward in Your SEO Journey this Year
Every content developer should know that SEO copywriting is only as good as the skills and tactics behind it.
While 2017 lies open like a crisp book full of blank pages, content developers can continue to keep learning and keep connected with the latest updates on the most effective SEO tactics.
If your resolution is to create better content, connect with us over at Express Writers for some goal-worthy ideas!
If your goal is to rank well in the SERPs and draw as many qualified leads as possible through your content, aka online SEO copywriting, long-tail keywords are going to be your best friend.
Here’s a simple example to illustrate just what I mean: as it stands right now, Amazon rakes in a whopping 57% of its sales as a result of long-tail keywords!
In addition to the fact that long-tail keywords are easier to rank for because they’re generally less competitive, long-tail keywords also help you draw high-quality leads to your content because all the traffic long-tails drive is very, very relevant. I’ve relied on using long-tails myself in the last year to build up a repertoire of well-ranking, well-shared content on my blog.
Why YOU Need Long-Tail Keywords in Your SEO Copywriting Arsenal
Here’s what you need to know about long-tail keywords and how to incorporate them into your SEO strategy.
101: What are Long-Tail Keywords?
Long-tail keywords are search queries made up of three-four word phrases that are very specific to a product, good, or service that’s being sold. Long-tail keywords are the phrases search engine users are generally more likely to type in when they’re closer to purchasing an item.
Examples of long-tail keyword phrases:
Aztec printed 3×5’ entry rug (not entry rug)
juice bar in Austin, TX (not juice bar)
size S white dress for homecoming (not white dress)
The searcher who typed these phrases are looking for a very specific product and is likely to purchase it when they find it. While long-tail keywords may seem a little clunky and strange at first, they’re a powerful tool for your web-based SEO copywriting.
Photo courtesy theseoagency.net
The conversion rate for long-tail keywords is approximately 2.5 times higher than it is for head (shorter) keywords.
3 Major Reasons to Focus on Long-Tail Keywords
In the world of SEO and copywriting, long-tail keywords don’t often get as much airtime as their shorter counterparts. Unfortunately, however, marketers who neglect long tail keywords can easily find themselves in a position where they’re missing out on quality traffic and failing to produce all of the conversions that they easily could.
When it comes to targeting and ranking for keywords, fewer people are going to be targeting “Salvador Dali vintage-inspired 1980’s duvet cover” than will be targeting “comforter.” Because of this, it’s much, much easier to rank for long-tail keywords than it is general search terms. While general terms may be easier to use, long-tail keywords are amazingly specific and, for the marketer who knows exactly what he or she is trying to sell, they can be a speedway toward ranking success.
Additionally, long-tail keywords that present less competition also offer lower cost-per-click prices since few marketers are targeting them.
2. More conversions
Because long-tail keywords are so amazingly specific, the people that search for them are highly likely to purchase your products. The longer and more specific the keyword is – the better. As long-tail keywords become more specific, the number of people searching for them narrows considerably. While this may seem like a frightening prospect at first, it’s important to remember that the people who are searching for that wacky Dali-inspired bedspread are highly likely to purchase it. Because of this, marketers who target long-tail keywords effectively can nab more purchases than their competitors.
3. More relevant results
Relevance is everything in today’s market and copywriters and SEOs who know how to focus on long-tail keywords will invariably provide more relevant search results for customers. Over time, this simple step can go a long way toward increasing customer loyalty, producing quality word-of-mouth advertising, and helping a brand gain dominance and build authority in a niche.
How to use Long-Tail Keywords
While long-tail keywords can provide a serious boost for your content, you’ll need to know how to use them correctly – which isn’t always easy. Follow these steps to get started:
1. Decide what your content is trying to do
Think of long-tail keywords like the ship and your content like a map. One can’t function well without the other. If you don’t know what the overall goal of your content (information, sales, conversions, etc.) is, then it’s impossible to utilize long tail keywords effectively. Because of this, it’s imperative to understand the overall purpose of your content before you start searching for long-tail keywords to beef it up.
To get this process started, sit down and write out the three top goals of your web content. For example, maybe you want it to inform people, drive email subscriptions, and produce sales. Once you’ve defined your top three goals, ensure that everything else in your content is working to support them. This includes your headlines, your social sharing functions, and the value offered by your content. If your content as a whole doesn’t work, is unreadable, or doesn’t provide value, then all of the long-tail keywords in the world won’t be enough to help it. Because of this, evaluating the structure and functionality of your content as a whole helps you lay the foundation for using long-tail keywords effectively down the road.
2. Decide who you’re writing to
No matter what kind of web writing you specialize in, marketing personas are important. By defining who, exactly, you’re writing your content to, you can provide more valuable information, tailor your language effectively, and produce more conversions. This is true for everything from introductory “How-to” articles to high-level niche content. In the case of long-tail keywords, however, it’s especially important.
Because long-tail keywords are so very specific, it’s absolutely imperative to have a solid idea of who your target audience is before you begin writing. When you visualize your ideal reader in as much detail as possible, you’re better equipped to provide valuable content specifically for them. When it comes to long-tail keywords, this can mean the difference between SEO success and flat-out failure. This is especially true for marketers who intend to use long-tail keywords in personalized emails, landing pages, or social media.
3. Use essential SEO keyword research tools
You can’t do your long-tail keyword research correctly without tools, of course. I’ll run through the main ones I use and include some top recommendations.
SEMrush: This is my favorite tool. SEMrush is a hugely effective long-tail keyword research tool–currently, the leading one online. Because SEMrush allows you to see how your competitors are ranking for given keywords, it’s the stand-out tool that many professionals prefer. Additionally, SEMrush allows you to see which keywords your competitors are bidding on, so you can tailor your keyword strategy accordingly.
Marketers who don’t have a SEMrush account need to get one in order to use the platform for keyword research, but I’ll walk you through it anyway. I’ve pulled up a general keyword search on black shoes in SEMrush’s Keyword Analytics section to give you a screenshot, and below it are a few steps.
Log into your SEMrush account and navigate to the left column
Scroll to “Keyword Analytics” and click “overview”
Enter a relevant topic or keyword (your target search term) into the search bar at the top of the page and click “Search”
Once you do this, you’ll be confronted by a barrage of data. For best results, check out the “Related keywords” section or click “View full report,” below the Phrase match keyword section. From here, select any keywords that are more than 3-4 words long and consider targeting them as your long-tail phrases from now on, and narrow down by a good balance of low competition, high search volume, and relevance. (My upcoming book will have a whole chapter with more on this: it really is in art in itself to select best-fit keywords!)
Google AdWords Keywords Planner: Long hailed as the pinnacle of keyword research, the Keyword Planner offers a unique tool that can be helpful for the marketer searching for long-tail keyword ideas – namely, the “Get ideas” function. Once you’ve logged into your AdWords Keywords Planner dashboard, enter your main keyword phrase (“duvet cover,” for example) and click “Get ideas.” From there, you’ll be able to access all of the keywords featured and you can simply choose your long-tail keyword phrases from results featuring 4 or more words. Just remember it has limitations and won’t give you as much data as another tool might.
AuthorityLabs, Wordtracker, UberSuggest: These are all great tools recommended by top marketers and friends of mine in the content marketing space. I’d suggest you check them all out if you’re looking for more tools to add to your category than the ones I use the most (above). Another tool: I also love BuzzSumo and use it regularly for wider topic research; it would be perfect for your long-tail keyword searches, simply by finding what’s hot on your overall topic. I like to get content inspiration from the most-shared or hottest content in my niche, using BuzzSumo.
4. Start writing
Once you’ve decided which long-tail keyword phrases you should be targeting, it’s time to create content to house them. With long-tail keywords, as with everything else, it’s important to remember that stuffing keywords will get you nowhere and that you need to incorporate keywords naturally into your content in order to make it valuable for humans and search engines alike.
Here are some general guidelines for including long-tail keywords into your content:
Use long-tail keywords in your headings. Headlines are often considered the single most important line in a piece of content. Because about 80% of people read headlines, whereas only 20% read body copy, headlines are also an outstanding opportunity for you to make a splash with your customer right off the bat. The best headline for SEO utilizes keywords early and helps make it clear exactly how the content included beneath the headline will benefit your reader. Power words, numbers, and promises to solve problems (i.e., “Four simple ways to find the duvet cover of your dreams”) are all good bets. If you’re having a difficult time coming up with an idea for a headline, use a tool like Buzzsumo to check out content that’s gone viral and then craft your headline based on those.
Use keywords naturally, always. Long-tail keywords must blend in with your content, which is often easier said than done due to the fact that, by their very nature, long-term keywords are seldom natural and low-profile. Don’t be afraid to break up the words in your long-tail phrase or add colons to make them more readable. Today’s search engines are trending more toward intention than they are literal interpretation, so they’ll have no trouble understanding your long-tail phrase.
Include keywords in your introduction. Your introduction sets the stage for the rest of your content, so it’s important to get it right. By including long-tail keywords in your introductory body content, you can immediately make it clear to readers that your content is relevant, useful, and specific, which enhances the chance that a reader will stick around to see what you have to offer.
Include long-tail keywords in subheads. Including long-tail keywords in subheads helps your readers navigate your content quickly and efficiently. It also helps back up any claims you made in your headline and help guide readers to a solution. Keep in mind that any long-tail keywords you include in your subheads should be relevant and flow naturally. This will help enhance user experience and ensure that your text is readable and relevant.
Include long–tail keywords in your conclusion. Including long-tail keywords in your conclusion helps to back up your claims, wrap up your message, and send readers away with a strong sense of relevance and purpose. Because of this, including long-tail keywords naturally in the conclusion of your content is one of the most important steps you can take.
Conclusion
While long-tail keywords may be confusing, this simple guide can help you get started on the path to SEO dominance.I’d also recommend Neil Patel’s guide, here.
From driving more sales to producing more conversions than you ever thought possible, long-tail keywords are a powerful tool for success in SEO copywriting.
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