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#ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Conduct an SEO Audit with Lexie Kimball of Netvantage Marketing

#ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Conduct an SEO Audit with Lexie Kimball of Netvantage Marketing

by | Sep 29, 2017 | ContentWritingChat

Have you ever conducted an SEO audit for your website? If not, you should! However, if you’ve never done one before, you might be wondering how to get started… If you’re in that boat, there’s no need to worry! That’s exactly what we talked about in this week’s #ContentWritingChat.

And as always, our participants had some amazing advice to share. If you’re ready to turn your website into one that Google loves, keep reading for the valuable tips!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Conduct an SEO Audit for Your Website with Lexie Kimball of Netvantage Marketing

Our guest host this week was Lexie Kimball of Netvantage Marketing. Lexie is their account manager and she really knows her stuff when it comes to SEO! As a frequent #ContentWritingChat participant, it was great having her step into a guest hosting role.

Q1: Share the basic process you go through for an on-site SEO audit.

If you’ve never conducted an SEO audit before, you’ll need to know where to begin. To help you out, our chat participants shared some essential steps the process includes. Here’s what you need to know:

Lexie’s first step in conducting an SEO audit is keyword research. As she mentioned, the chosen keyword for a piece of content goes in page titles, meta descriptions, and body copy. The team at Netvantage also does a technical audit of the website to locate any red flags.

Michael, also from the Netvantage team, knows that chatting with your client first is a must. It’s important to understand their business and needs. He then suggestions moving on to keyword research, on-site recommendations, and implementation of changes.

Mallie starts by Googling the site, using analytics to identify keywords, and then she looks at specific pages.

Sarah and the team at ThinkSEM start by running the site through Screaming Frog before moving forward with other key steps.

SEMrush is a go-to tool for Sarah! She takes the tool’s suggestions into consideration.

It’s also important to have an understanding of your goals/your client’s goals and who the target audience is. From there, you can create an effective plan.

For Julia, she feels talking to the client is the first step. This allows you to outline solid KPIs you’re judging content by when auditing. From there, she also likes to use Screaming Frog to grab all site links.

Q2: Where do you start with keyword research?

When it comes time to conduct keyword research, where do you begin? Check out this great advice from Tuesday’s chat:

To get started with keyword research, Lexie knows it’s important to talk to the client before beginning. Because the client has plenty of knowledge on their business, they’re able to provide some great suggestions for keywords. She also suggests looking at competitors to see which keywords they’re using and ranking for.

A consultation with the client is a must for Sarah! Sarah and her teammates use that opportunity to question the client on their ideal audience, products, and services.

Michael knows it’s helpful to ask the client to provide a list of keywords that are high priority. After all, they likely have a good idea of which ones are best for their business.

For Ray, it all starts with interviewing the client. Then, he moves onto tools like Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner.

Dennis knows it’s important to define which keywords you want your site to rank for. You can then record your current ranking for each one and watch it grow.

Mallie relies on Google AdWords and Google Analytics to get started.

Abbey, another Netvantage team member, also agrees that asking your clients for keyword suggestions is a great way to begin. From there, she likes to look at queries in Google Search Console.

Adam’s advice is to review popular forms and sites where customers are spending their time online. It’s a great way to see what they’re talking about and to determine the right keywords and topics to use.

Cheval recommends checking out Twitter chats for content topics. This can help a lot when it comes to your keyword research.

Q3: What tools do you use for keyword research?

Fortunately, there are a plethora of tools at our disposal that can help with keyword research. If you’re looking for some great ones to use, check out these suggestions:

Lexie said the Netvantage team turns to Google’s Keyword Planner first. They also rely on SEMrush and Grep Words.

Michael said the multiplier function in Google’s Keyword Planner is a huge help for finding the right keyword for your content.

Even the Flying Cork team says Google’s Keyword Planner is a great place to get started.

Sarah provided a list of amazing tools that are worth checking out! As she said, there’s no shortage of tools so you have plenty of options to find the ones that work best for you.

Google’s tools and the Moz Keyword Explorer are great options!

The team at Base Creative also love Google’s Keyword Planner and the Moz Keyword Explorer.

SEO PowerSuit and Google’s Keyword Planner are go-to tools for Kyle.

Julia’s favorite tools for conducting an SEO audit include SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Mangools.

Don’t forget you’ll need a place to keep all of your data organized! An Excel spreadsheet is a great way to do that.

Q4: Once you have your keywords, how do you decide where they go and where they’re used?

You’ve got your keywords… Now what? You need to figure out how they’ll be used. Here’s some helpful advice to get you started:

Lexie said they typically select two or three keywords per page. As she also pointed out, they need to go on the most relevant page.

Those keywords are then used in a few essential places. Keywords should be used in the page title, meta description, and throughout the body copy.

Sarah said the client conversation is an opportunity to lay out a sitemap of pages and sections. You can then get chosen keywords to fit into that structure.

Julia’s advice is to focus on one long-tail, high-opportunity keyword per long-form post. She suggests using synonymous keywords.

Kyle knows that long-tail keywords are where it’s at! He makes sure they’re integrated into titles and content of blog posts.

Dennis suggests finding long-tail variants of your keyword and then writing authoritative and comprehensive blog posts on the topic.

As Abbey said, make sure keywords are placed on the most relevant pages. And of course, no keyword stuffing! Keywords should always be used in a natural way.

Q5: Do you create the content the keywords go in on the website?

Are you the one who creates the content that includes your chosen keywords? Or does someone else have this task? Check out what some of our chat participants said:

Lexie said the team at Netvantage will work off existing content if possible.

On the flip side, sometimes they add a paragraph or two to what’s already on the site. This helps increase content length. In some cases, they’ll recommend new pages for the website when doing the SEO audit. The Netvantage team will then create the content for those pages.

Here are Express Writers, Julia writes a lot of the keyword-focused content on our site. We also have a team of 40 writers that help out!

For Sarah, she isn’t the one doing the content writing. There are other team members at ThinkSEM that step into that role.

As for this Sarah, she’s definitely creating the content!

The Sandbox team creates new content, but they also rework the existing content for maximum results.

Jade also writes the keyword-focused content, as working directly with the clients is very important.

When doing an SEO audit, sometimes you’re lucky to create the content and other times you have to optimize what’s already been published. It just depends on the client!

Q6: What technical aspects do you look at for a website when doing an audit?

Don’t forget that it’s not just about the website’s content. There’s a technical side of things to check on as well. Here’s what else you need to look for:

As Lexie said, Google definitely puts an emphasis on speed these days. The Netvantage team uses Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Pingdom for this.

She also said they use Google Analytics as another tool. This allows you to check Average Page Load Time and Average Page Download Time.

You can’t forget to also check for canonical errors when conducting an SEO audit.

Abbey seconds that by encouraged you to check for canonical errors on a website, as well as site speed. Make sure you’re also looking at whether or not it’s mobile-friendly and if there’s duplicate content.

As Michael said, you’ll want to check for sitemap errors and others. They’ll need to be fixed!

Dennis knows that page speed and mobile-friendliness are two important factors to consider these days.

Jade relies on Google’s Speed Page Insights to test page speed. Google also has a test to check and see if your site is mobile-friendly.

Debi knows there’s no shortage of technical aspects to look at. She provided a great list of things to review.

Q7: What metrics do you look at to evaluate a website?

Which metrics are important to keep an eye on when evaluating a website? These are some of the top ones to watch:

The Netvantage tame uses Majestic to with a few key metrics during an SEO audit. They look at the number of linking domains to the root domain, as well as citation flow and trust flow of the homepage of the website.

Moz Open Site Explorer allows you to check domain authority and homepage authority.

As Lexie said, looking at domain authority helps determine if the site has bad links that need to be disavowed.

Michael suggests looking at URLs submitted vs URLs indexed.

Dennis recommends tracking metrics from organic search.

Julia shared the seven KPIs she always focuses on. Check it out!

Q8: How do you stay up-to-date on the latest SEO changes?

When changes occur, how do you stay updated? These are great resources to check out:

Lexie’s go-to sources are worth checking out.

These are some more great suggestions from the Netvantage team.

Ray follows some SEO blogs, but he also watches expert YouTube channels to stay updated.

Cheval turns to SEMrush for their blog content, but he also learns a lot from Twitter chats.

As Jade said, you just might learn a think or two from joining #ContentWritingChat!

Natasha suggests a wide array of ideas such as blogs, forums, social media, seminars, and more.

Ready to join the fun? #ContentWritingChat takes place every Tuesday at 10 AM Central! Follow @ExpWriters and @writingchat to join in!

julias free facebook group cta

20 SEO Experts & Resources You Should Be Following Today

20 SEO Experts & Resources You Should Be Following Today

by | May 14, 2015 | SEO

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.
SEO experts, SEO resources

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 as a top resource among even the most discerning influencers.

6. SearchEngineWatch

If you want a popular channel that delivers fresh information that makes it easy to get acquainted with the written and unwritten rules of content marketing, SEO and PPC, start by reading the articles published by SearchEngineWatch. This source helps you discover the latest industry news, while also providing online marketing guides and all the details that you could ever require on PPC and SEO tools, tactics, and trends.

7. Social Media Examiner

When you want to check out the most recent social media events, get the latest social media marketing industry reports, receive free updates via email and make the most of informative podcasts, make sure you visit Social Media Examiner. An accessible and authoritative source with almost half a million likes on Facebook, Social Media Examiner shares useful and engaging articles that will enable you to take your social media marketing strategy to the next level.

8. Moz Blog

The Moz blog is the brainchild of Rand Fishkin, so you know it’s trustworthy. A go-to resource that features the wisdom of today’s foremost content wizards and experts, the Moz blog is especially well-known for its use of original statistics and research.

9. QuickSprout

QuickSprout helps people do one thing – create better content. The brainchild of Neil Patel, QuickSprout offers a resource called QuickSprout University, which helps marketers learn things like how to generate traffic on social ads and how to get more traffic across the web.

10. Express Writers

Express Writers is the content marketer’s content marketer. Specializing in delivering cutting-edge industry content with a focus on driving organic traffic and helping you create better content, we offer many weekly blog posts, lots of long-form guides, and plenty of custom visuals. Follow The Write Blog to keep up on it all.

Learn from the Experts

One of the easiest ways to master SEO is to follow the experts. When it comes to optimizing your website, forget about learning from your own mishaps and stay in the safe zone by following in the footsteps of respectable SEO experts. Abreast of the latest news and events, these experts can help you learn the ins and outs of SEO and grow your online traffic as a result.
Looking for a team of content experts to help you improve your content marketing strategy? Contact Express Writers today to hire our team of skilled copy experts.

The 25th Anniversary of the Web: Key Highlights

The 25th Anniversary of the Web: Key Highlights

by | Mar 18, 2014 | SEO

It’s hard to imagine what a web-less world would look like. Just like most of us probably find it quite difficult to picture life without electricity, cars, and of course (smart) phones. Looking back, you could say that history has a way of allowing  us to take a leap by coming up with something big every century. It’s the light bulb in the 19th, and everything else that we’ve accomplished through electricity. The automobile, and then air travel in the 20th. As for the 21st century- its first two decades , at least- it’s the web and the digital world it made possible.

Yes, the web has come of age. On March 12th, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the web. Okay, we have this great and powerful tool. Do we make the most of it? Can more people benefit from it? How can the web become truly global? How can it be more useful and more secure? In this USNews.com piece, its inventor, Tim Berners-Lee talked about the significance of this anniversary.

The 25th Anniversary of the Web: Looking Back

No one can argue that the 25th anniversary of the web is a milestone. It’s a time when you look back to see what happened during this quarter of a century, and ahead, toward what might come next. Here are some key highlights.

The Birth of the World Wide Web

1989 is not only the year when the Berlin wall fell, putting an end to the Cold War, and opening the gateway to democracy throughout Eastern Europe, but also the year when the idea that would make the democracy of information possible was born. That’s right, we’re speaking about the web.

In the first spring month of that year, Tim Berners-Lee submitted his proposal with what was to become the blueprint of the web to his boss at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Although this physics lab in Geneva, Switzerland, could not support software projects, Tim Berners-Lee was allowed to work on his idea, which he did, creating what today we know as the world wide web.

The Advent of Commercial Internet

Web Landmarks in the 1990s. A Basic Timeline

  • 1990: The Web Goes Public.
  • 1991: WorldWideWeb

After his proposal in 1989, Tim Berners-Lee got down to work and came up with the world’s first browser. Originally dubbed WorldWideWeb, it was later renamed Nexus.

  • 1992: Internet Surfing

The terms “surfing the Internet” and “net surfing” are first used.

  • 1993: Mosaic

This was the first cross platform browser, and the first browser with a graphic interface. Easy to install and use, it fueled the exponential development of the Internet in the early 1990s.

  • 1994: Netscape Navigator

Mosaic turned into Netscape Navigator which was the first commercial browser. It dominated the browser scene in the early 1990s, until it was displaced by Internet Explorer.

  • 1995: E-Commerce

The mid nineties witnessed beginnings of  e-shopping  which was to change the way we buy and sell things. From amazon.com selling its first book online in 1995 to sales totaling over 1 trillion dollars in 2012, e-commerce has become instrumental for business success.

  • 1997: Google

Google.com becomes a registered domain. From then on, search engines and browsing change for good.

SEO

According to Wikipedia, the term “search engine optimization” was first used in 1997. Search engine optimization, that aimed to increase website ranking in search engines, came a long way since its inception days. Along the way, in the battle for visibility, webmasters and website owners used black hat strategies, such as link farming and spammy content to increase ranking. Now, recent Google updates such as Penguin and Panda, made it clear that this is not the game to play if you want to thrive online. Instead, organic search engine optimization and white hat SEO practices are not only encouraged, but a must.

According to moz.com, Google refreshes its search algorithm about five to six hundred times every year. In SEO terms, 2011- 2013 are perhaps the most important years in web history so far. Google released several updates that marked a radical shift in search engine optimization practices during the past two years. Penguin, Panda, Hummingbird and several other updates are reshaping the way we relate to the web and the meaning of online presence, for both businesses and users. To get a more accurate idea about the impact of Google updates, check the above mentioned article on moz.com where you’ll find a detailed timeline.

It’s enough to mention here only three of the most relevant updates released by Google starting with 2011.

Google Panda

Fist released in February 2011, Panda targeted ‘low quality’ websites, penalizing counterfeit links and duplicate, spammy content.

Google Penguin

Released in April 2012, it declared a war against black hat SEO tactics, making it clear that link schemes were no longer tolerated to promote search engine ranking.

Hummingbird Update

For its 15th anniversary, in September 2013, Google launched a new algorithm update. It was called Hummingbird and it aimed to make search more conversational.

What’s the effect of  the updates released by Google in recent years? What’s their impact on SEO strategy? What does it mean for your web presence? Where is the web headed?

Read on for some answers.

Google’s Algorithm Changes and SEO

Having a solid SEO strategy is no longer optional. It is mandatory for for business success.  A well crafted SEO strategy makes the difference between being visible and being swamped in the online clutter.

From No Man’s Land to Integrated Architecture

Today, the cornerstones of an effective SEO strategy and successful web presence are original content, white hat link building and social media. What does this mean?

Creating Value and Building Authority Through Organic SEO and Original Content

Onsite content is paramount to build credibility online and ultimately convert. Content and SEO work in tandem because the role of good SEO is to structure, organize, and optimize the content on your pages. The key components of effective content are keyword choice, website design, content optimization, of both web pages and blog, and focus on user experience.

Keyword Choice

SEO strategies should be grounded on keyword choice. This means researching the keywords you’re going to optimize your content for. The Keyword Tool made available by Google helps you find out what keywords are used by people to get to your website. Make sure you leverage long tail keywords because they will allow you to rank higher. Differentiate yourself from competition by paying attention to their keywords and refine your keyword choice by introducing keywords they have overlooked.

Optimize Content

Content optimization is no longer about stuffing keywords, but about integrating them naturally in your copy. Including primary keywords in the title of the article and meta tags is essential, but content value is what makes you stand out.

Improved User Experience

Besides keywords and content, another key component of SEO strategy is user experience, in other words how people feel about your website. The bounce rate measures user satisfaction or lack of it. Again, Google gives you the necessary tools: Google Analytics measures your bounce rate, telling you if users get what they need or not. Website design and navigation are decisive in creating superior user experience and, in turn, high conversion rates.

Linking: From Tactics to Creating Value

In the early days of the web, links were a mere tactic to drive website traffic. Now, inbound links are meant to build trust, consolidate authority, and create value for readers. All these are translated into high ranking and implicitly conversion. How is it done? The keyword here is, again, content because as you already know, content is king. Blogging, press releases, social media they are all integrated in content focused SEO strategies. Besides content, solid SEO strategies identify and leverage directory listing. But not any directory works. Focus on local directories, professional and established directories that are relevant for a particular niche.

Social Media and Connectivity

The advent of social media changed the way we relate to SEO. No one can ignore the key role played by social media in boosting website ranking. Together with content, connectivity is the heart of the matter when it comes to online success. Sharing valuable content, engaging with your audience, encouraging and stimulating conversation are no longer optional, but vital in establishing and maintaining online presence.

Social media and Brand Recognition

Social media and strengthening brand recognition go hand in hand. Brand your social presence by sharing valuable content and a unified consistent voice and brand identity. Google encourages social signals, because they have come to be an important part of its algorithm. So, besides Facebook and Twitter, make sure you have a Google+ account. After all, it’s only natural that Google should favor its offspring. Of all the major social network platforms, Google+ is the most suitable for sharing content that is specific to your niche. People who tend to favor Google+ get connected based on interests which they want to share with like-minded users.

What It All Boils Down to…

The key highlights above make an obviously partial and selective list of the major transformations the web has undergone in its first 25 years. Now at the 25th anniversary of the web, they give you an angle on what has happened so far and what’s going on at the moment, hopefully enticing you to try looking at your online presence if not with new eyes, at least more vigilantly, and keep up with the swift changes in the field. Because the future of the web is catching up with you, and you most certainly want to be prepared.