Google’s made thousands of changes to its algorithm over the years, making it difficult for marketers to keep up with exactly how to optimize their content for search in this day and age. Old tried-and-true SEO tactics suddenly don’t work anymore and there are tons of new ranking factors we need to consider.
What’s a marketer to do?
The words “Google algorithm update” are commonly followed by the following emotions: panic, confusion, terror, and frustration.
Having seen strategies crumble as a result of Google’s frequent changes, it’s hard not to worry about your business taking a hit.
You’ve weathered Mobileggedon. You’re confident that your website and blog will look great on mobile devices and that Google’s algorithm change won’t hurt your search listings.
Congrats! You’ve survived this skirmish … but it’s not going to be the last.
Have you ever visited someone else’s website and felt confused about what the company did and where they wanted you to go on their site? An experience like that can really make you wonder about visitors’ experiences on your own website. Do your site visitors understand what you do and where you want them to go?
Not only are these critical pieces of information to know, but they’re also worth checking in on regularly.
Does it feel like your Facebook Page‘s organic reach is slowly slipping away from you?
You’re not alone.
According to Ogilvy, organic reach for brands on Facebook has seen a shocking 49% drop from peak levels in October 2013.
Before I became an inbound marketer, I once made $50,000 a month spamming Google. I worked a maximum of 10 hours a week. And I am telling you from the bottom of my heart: Never, never ever follow in my footsteps.
This blog post will tell you exactly why.
In the early days, Google’s search engine wasn’t nearly as powerful or accurate as it is today. I’m talking back in the late 90s and early 00s, when search engines were little more than keyword-matching and link-counting machines. Ranking highly in search results could be accomplished by essentially using a simple, two-step procedure:
It’s official: In certain parts of the world, there are now more Google search queries on smartphones than on desktop computers and tablets.
This week, Google’s Jerry Dischler wrote in a post on the official AdWords blog that “more Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries, including the U.S. and Japan.”
The search engine goliath Google hath laid down its wrath once again — this time targeting the mobile web.
On April 21st, 2015, Google began rolling out its “mobile-friendly” update, which makes mobile-friendliness a stronger ranking factor for mobile searches. The aftermath of this rollout, dubbed “Mobilegeddon,” has resulted in thousands of non-optimized websites plummeting in mobile search results.
SEO is constantly evolving, leaving marketers to either keep pace with the updates or run the risk of falling behind.
While this is stressful in and of itself, these constantly changing tides lead to a ton of questions when it comes time to actually optimize a web page. Do social signals carry any weight? Should I still invest in pay-per-click advertising? How much does mobile really matter?
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I made a big mistake.
I broke up with Google. And it was much harsher than a “let’s just be friends” moment.
Even if you don’t know Rand Fishkin by name, you probably have heard about some of the organizations he’s co-founded (Moz, Inbound.org) or seen his Whiteboard Friday lectures. Or maybe you’ve heard of the acronym “TAGFEE,” one he and Moz cohorts created to explain their code of conduct: Transparent, Authentic, Generous, Fun, Empathetic, and Exceptional.
Recently, Rand hosted an Ask Me Anything session on Inbound.org, and it was like a Whiteboard Friday on steroids.
While Google keeps us on our toes with all the algorithm updates they keep rollin’ out, one thing has stayed pretty consistent for inbound marketers looking to optimize their websites for search: keyword research.
Well, the need to do keyword research has stayed the same. How you actually do it hasn’t.
So I’m going to lay out a keyword research process you can follow to help you come up with and narrow down a list of terms you should be targeting.
Years ago, it was commonplace to find real-time tweets in Google Search results. Twitter and Google had inked a deal that gave the search giant access to the social network’s data stream. In turn, Google would display tweets in search results in real time. But that agreement expired, and in the middle of 2011, Google lost access to Twitter’s data stream.
Now, nearly four years later, the gang’s back together.
