In the early days of SEO, it was the quantity, not the quality of links that mattered. "Link building" consisted of mass spamming and buying links, online directory submissions, building bad links, mass commenting on sites and blogs, and using automated link bait. Google and other search engines keep their algorithms a secret. All we can do is speculate and test. The problem with speculation is that if an idea seems believable, it becomes eagerly accepted as truth without data to back up the speculation. Much of the digital marketing has been revolved around finding the search engines and getting in the first page of the SERPs. Paying links are another no-no, whether another site linking to yours, or linking your site to another site (except for banner ads and ad networks like AdSense).
Boilerplate content is a fact on the web with many many sites, espesially sites that rank well and are very credible. Google handles it, you do not really need to worry about the boilerplate content, Google can figure that part out. To many users the The personalization of search results is helpful and convenient, but an increasing number of users are disturbed by the extent to which sites they encounter are shaped by forces outside their control. Trust an SEO expert who builds a campaign that uses a proven process, creates relevant branded content and monitors relevant metrics. SEO is the process of implementing strategies and techniques (both on site and off site) in an effort to achieve higher rank in search results. Typically, the higher the site is in search results, the more visitors it receives.
The biggest mistake I find is search engine optimization (SEO), copywriters making is trying to substitute a generic term for a specific keyphrase. If you optimize your meta descriptions with clear and attractive extracts of what potential visitors can find on your site, it becomes easier for them to see if the information they are looking for is on that page. The three main pillars of Search Engine Optimization; content, links and site architecture will remain for years to come. Sitelinks can be a little bit of a double-edged sword: even if you can get Google to display them, they may not necessarily be the links you would have chosen to display.
Quality content rules the digital landscape, yes - but what is often forgotten is that even the best and most authoritative content needs to be built with the modern Internet. Ensure the number of new site visitors arriving through organic search is growing, month to month and year over year. Backlinks are important for Search Engines and users. From a user's perspective, backlinks provide a way for people to find other sources of information on the same or related topics. We asked an SEO Specialist , Gaz Hall, for his thoughts on the matter: "Off page SEO or search engine optimization is doing things off site to improve your sites in search engine rankings."
Backlinks are a vote of confidence that someone outside of your own web property trusts your content and believes it has value. Google weighs up each of these links and assigns the linked-to webpage its own value. Despite previous assumptions, a link from a 301 redirected page should not lose any PageRank compared to a link from a non-301 redirected page. Links from low-quality sites will do very little for your visibility. If the site practices Black Hat SEO (link-schemes, spamming, doorway pages) then can potentially harm your ranking. In a nutshell, the combination of seamless user experience with quality content can have a very positive impact on your SEO rankings.
Keyword research is one of the highest return SEO activities that is essential for your marketing success. Understanding what your customers and users want to learn and know is exactly how you should be developing your SEO strategy. Building backlinks is not enough. You also have to monitor every link your website is earning. Not knowing who links to you or when links are being removed can cost you a lot of traffic. Focus on your customers, and take the right logistical steps to make sure that search engines can find your content. Focus on the ‘road less traveled’ with long-tail opportunities, and you’ll be set.
The truth about improving website search engine rankings is writing content that people are searching for and actually want to read. A general rule of thumb: If you have links in a menu at the top of the page, avoid duplicating those same links on the bottom of every page. Linking to the same page in the footer creates a hole for the link juice to seep out. Write great title tags. Good title tags should be like an interesting newspaper headline but with relevant keywords included. Did you know Google uses around 200 ranking factors to rank websites? This may be a lot for SEOs to take in all at once. However, focusing on links is still best practice.
Avoid thin, insubstantial content, duplicate content and of course spammy-looking keyword stuffing techniques. Google is constantly evolving to better understand the context and intent of user behaviour. Your website’s health will not only impact your SEO results but will also have a hand in how well you’re able to convert your traffic. As our internet ecosystem has evolved, we have shared increasing amounts of personal data with services we use every day, from social networks to search engines. They then use this data to tailor the content they provide us with to what they think will be most appealing, engaging or relevant.
Domain Authority is a score (on a 100-point scale) developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engines. We like to use Domain Authority when comparing one site to another or tracking the “strength” of your website over time. Webpages on HTTPS had positive correlation with higher rankings. Now, this is an important issue to be addressed. Gaz Hall, from SEO Hull, had the following to say: "With all the signals in the Google algorithm – and there are hundreds of them – why would links still be so valuable as a signal?"
A proximity search uses the order of the search phrase to find related documents. Title tags and meta descriptions are on-site HTML elements which reflect the content of your page, and are shown in SERPs and browser tabs as text. For many content marketers, organic traffic earned through SEO is like a holiday bonus: It’s cool if it happens, but no one is planning their monthly budget around it. Work with Google to provide your users with the most relevant, well-informed and entertaining answers to their questions. Prove that you are trustworthy by connecting as closely as possible to high authority sites.
Natural, relevant links to your site from reputable websites is what takes you to the top of Google. There are many ways to go about getting your site linked. Search is very, very popular. Growing strong at nearly 20% a year, it reaches nearly every online American, and billions of people around the world. Inbound links pointing from other websites to your website are critical to establish the credibility of your business in Google’s eyes. Link building is definitely one of the most important aspects of SEO strategy. But, finding good sites to comment on might be a daunting task.
The reason that most SEOs don’t know technical SEO is because they don’t spend enough time meeting and talking to web developers. If your content is consistently very short and not original the Google algorithm is likely to consider the site low-quality. Go out of your way to consistently create detailed content that brings enormous value to the end user, and you'll be on your way to dominating search. Once you create your blog, stick to the same domain for as long as you continue to publish. You could end up losing a lot of your organic traffic, your readers and all your search engine listings if you decide to move or change your domain and URLs.
If you’re hesitant about the effectiveness of SEO, it’s safe to assume you don’t have much technical experience with website development or programming -- and that the prospect of technical SEO intimidates you. If you have covered the technical issues of a new website, you’ll have properly prepared your site for all the great content you’ll be adding. Today, if you want to appear relevant and valuable, you need to increase the length of your articles. I’m not asking you to pad or copy and paste just to meet up with the ideal words count. Search engines display page titles in their search results. In addition, search engines use page titles in order to recognize what information the website contains.
Although SEO is just part of the online marketing mix, it’s instrumental in boosting traffic to your online business. After all, most online shoppers start the buying process by using a search engine. When choosing anchor text, select phrases that make sense to the reader within the context of the content. These phrases may even contain exact match words. Information Snippets are the block of text found under the main title of a google search result. The use of information snippets are important when writing an article. According to Gaz Hall, a UK SEO Consultant : "It is important to note that search and offline behavior have a heavy degree of interaction, with search playing a growing role in driving offline sales."
Organizations should take many factors into account when pursuing an SEO strategy. Information Architecture allows people and search engines to better understand the content structure on a site. Stick to these good practices and you’ll be on your way to free traffic. “Link building” is a term that SEO practitioners use to describe the process of building credibility. The idea is simple: people link to your website when they perceive your brand as a source of authority.
Look at any forums, blogs, message boards or other chat services you might be using. In many of these environments, it is acceptable for users to give contact information and even drop links to their websites, as long as they do it in a certain way. Search engine algorithms will continue to become more sophisticated. The more webpages use the same keyword to point to a subpage, the more signals the search engine will receive indicating that this landing page must be very relevant for this keyword. This in turn means that the page will be ranked better for this and other similar keywords. By providing clear, deep, easy to find content on your website, Google is more likely to index and show your content in search results. Websites that are thin on content, showing mostly ads or affiliate links, or that otherwise redirect visitors away to other sites quickly tend not to rank well.
Having a few 404 errors will not ruin your rankings completely, but they can lower your user experience, which ultimately can affect your SEO performance. SEO, once a highly specialized task relegated to the back rooms of a website development team, is now a mainstream marketing activity. The average top-ten ranking is two or more years old and the average age for the pages in the number one position is roughly three years old. Successful sites load fast. Even a small delay can have an impact on visitor numbers, ad views and conversions.
When you've selected your focus keyword, ensure it is found in your title tag, h1 tag, meta description, article text and make sure that relevant keywords are also be found throughout the content as well as h2 tags. The sites that Google will rank highest for a particular search term are the ones that appear the most relevant and that have the best content and best design. At the same time though, they will also be the ones that have the most trust. Keyword research is still useful when trying to decide on the most interesting topics for your audience. Keywords can still be part of your content, provided that they are added in context and at the right balance. There’s no need to sacrifice the quality of your content to include more keywords, as keyword stuffing can lead to the opposite of the result you want. As Google continues its journey for the perfect user experience on their own site, you have to strive to keep up.
After the emergence of major updates, like Panda and Penguin, search optimizers have thrown around the term “penalty” to scare SEO novices into thinking that one simple mistake could instantly tank their site’s rankings. Spend some time looking at other websites within your niche, sites that perhaps are not performing well enough to claim the top spots in Google, and ask yourself - what are they missing? Why are these sites not ranking in search engines? To achieve long-term SEO results, you must have a strong web foundation built on targeting terms related to your business, industry, and offerings. If you don’t target and rank for the right terms, your audience won’t be able to find you. So one of the most important SEO tactics is keyword research. Gaz Hall, a UK based SEO Specialist, commented: "Some SEO professionals have been predicting the demise of links for a several years. But there’s little evidence to support this trend so far."
Choosing a perfect focus keyword is not an exact science. You should aim for a combination of words that are used by a search audience. Aim for a focus keyword that is relatively high on volume and aim for one that will fit your audience. Information Architecture allows people and search engines to better understand the content structure on a site. A key lesson to apply to pretty much every aspect of SEO, is not to get carried away when you find ideas that work. For example, just because quality is key, that doesn’t mean that you need to disavow every low quality link and only ever build links from the top sites. Each time you write an informative article related to your site’s topic, you should distribute it to a number of article directories. When you do that, you are making sure that more people will be visiting your site.Look at any forums, blogs, message boards or other chat services you might be using. In many of these environments, it is acceptable for users to give contact information and even drop links to their websites, as long as they do it in a certain way. Search engine algorithms will continue to become more sophisticated. The more webpages use the same keyword to point to a subpage, the more signals the search engine will receive indicating that this landing page must be very relevant for this keyword. This in turn means that the page will be ranked better for this and other similar keywords. By providing clear, deep, easy to find content on your website, Google is more likely to index and show your content in search results. Websites that are thin on content, showing mostly ads or affiliate links, or that otherwise redirect visitors away to other sites quickly tend not to rank well.