Click-Through-Rate, Rankings & SEO

In case you had any doubts that CTR has a direct impact on Google rankings, feast your eyes on this Search Analytics data:

On October 8th, a client relaunched their website and changed the title tag on one of the templates from to “Search”. They wanted to know why the organic traffic to those pages was tanking. It’s quite possible that Google saw the page as less relevant due to the title tag change but the Search Analytics graph for a sample query above implies that CTR suffered before rankings did. The updated page title was indexed within 24 hours of the launch. Google immediately changed the display of the title in the blue link to be less targeted. It didn’t say “Search” but it took some important context out of the displayed title. For example, if previously the displayed title was “Local SEO Pleasanton”, it now read “Pleasanton”.

Of course one should be wary of one-off anecdotes, but if you are looking for a simple way to show your clients/teams that CTR matters, feel free to cut and paste!

http://ift.tt/2ySTPXw

Drones Everywhere, Medical Records on Blockchain, and Hijab-Friendly Cosplay – The Brief for 10.26.17

Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 10/26/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).

The goal of these posts is that there are trends and ideas here that might impact your business now or soon. Think on the stories here and look for ways to adjust your business accordingly. If ever you’re stuck, get in touch with me and I can help.

http://ift.tt/2gKQ5AZ

How to get featured snippets

Did you notice Google is offering fewer options for your search results to shine? It seems like Google regularly adds a new box to the search result pages that answers searchers’ questions immediately, without them having to click on anything. For instance, type in [Blade Runner 2049] and you’ll be bombarded by four ads, a full knowledge graph panel, showtimes for the movie, top stories and Twitter feeds until you finally reach the first organic result. Google’s push to rich results not only brings challenges but also opportunities: featured snippets can make you an instant star in the search results. Find out how to get featured snippets.

Want rich snippets for your site? Try our Structured data training »

$149 - Buy now »

Info What are featured snippets

A featured snippet is a highlighted search box that answers the question you type in the Google search bar. Since this featured snippet box is situated above the regular organic search results, everybody is bound to notice this. So, you can imagine the effect that might have. Having your content as a featured snippet not only brings in a lot of traffic, but it also proves your authority on the subject – Google picked you, right?

Featured snippets often appear as a paragraph or a bulleted list, accompanied by an image. The image does not necessarily have to come from the article itself. Google seems to pick it, sometimes even from the site of a competitor, although that doesn’t happen that much anymore.

Take the search result [improve mobile site] or [how to improve mobile site]; both yield a featured snippets with eight tips to improve your mobile site. I wrote and structured that article with featured snippets in mind and it paid off. By structuring the information in an easy to understand way and by giving great suggestions, Google put two and two together and found this post to provide the best answer to the question above. You can do this too.

Featured snippets let you jump to the top of the charts

Now to understand the value of featured snippets, it’s important to see how they live within the search results page. The search results page consists of several parts, among others, the organic search results, ads, and one or more dynamic search blocks. Google is increasingly trying to keep as many clicks as they can to themselves or send them to ad partners. Ads and inline search results like answer boxes, featured snippets, knowledge graph items et cetera increasingly obfuscate organic search results. For certain searches and industries, that leaves a lot less room to shine with your organic results.

Take that Blade Runner 2049 example I mentioned in the intro. Check the screenshot below (click to enlarge), and you’ll see what I mean. Yes, this is an extreme example, but it does prove my point. Luckily, we can try to get featured snippets to bring us an additional stream of traffic. Not to mention that answering questions is an excellent way to get your content ready for voice search.

How to write content for featured snippets

There are several ways to try and aim for featured snippets. In the list below, I’ve listed some things you need to keep in mind when writing for featured snippets:

• Do your keyword research
• Find out what people ask about your keywords/brand/product/service
• Look at the ‘People also ask’ boxes for ideas
• Use Answer the Public the find questions to answer
• Check several current answers to see how it works
• Find out where you could improve
• Determine how to structure your content
• Make your content super helpful and easy to understand
• Keep your answers short and snappy, at a maximum of 50 words
• Make the article easy for Google to digest, so use lists, subheadings, etc.
• Mark up your article with structured data (although you don’t always need it)
• Watch out that your content doesn’t become/feel unnatural
• Not every search will yield a featured snippet (there are even regional variations)

To top it off, find a way to get people to click on the featured snippet. You don’t want people to read the featured snippet and move on. In the end, you want them on your site. Don’t give away all the answers immediately, but try to trigger people to come to your site so they can get the full picture.

Featured snippets and structured data

There’s a common misconception that you must always markup your articles with structured data if you want to get features snippets. That’s not true. The article I mentioned above doesn’t have structured data attached to it, and it still got a featured snippet. In some cases, however, it is very helpful to add structured data to your content. Case in point: recipes.

If you have content like recipes, or any type of the content types listed by Google, adding the correct structured data will improve your chances of getting a featured snippet. It’s like telling Google what your page is about by shouting it in a megaphone. Now, Google instantly understands content that has been enhanced with structured data and will use it to show it in all kinds of cool search features. If you want to learn how to apply structured data to your site so you can be rewarded the highly valued rich snippets, you should try our Structured data training.

The old ‘Google determines everything’ adagio

As always, Google and only Google will pick the answers it shows in its search results if it shows them at all. In the end, there’s no magic formula for featured snippets. Google says the science behind it is very much in flux. Even the way Google finds and presents featured snippets is continually changing. For instance, Google is almost certainly looking at engagement and CTR when determining which answer to award a featured snippet box. But there are also instances where Google picks an answer from a site on the second page of the results, or even further down the list. In the end, it always boils down to the simple question: “Does my answer deliver?”

Yes, you can do it too!

Aiming for featured snippets can be good fun. It’s hard to predict whether it will work, but once you get one, it’s a blast. You can easily incorporate this when you are writing new content for featured snippets, but updating old posts is worth a shot too. If you have particular pieces of content, like recipes, for instance, structuring your content for featured snippets is almost a must. And while you’re at it, please add structured data for this type of content as it is very important as well. Now, get to it!

Read more: ‘Rich snippets everywhere’ »

http://ift.tt/2yPrAHs

The Right Tools to Track your Local SEO and SEM

Tracking your local SEO and SEM is highly important for your SEO and link building strategies. Being able to track these would help determine what strategy works and what does not, which can help you assess and look for other strategies that can be used. While most businesses and companies focus on increasing their internet traffic by using analytics trackers, it does not mean that you are getting the right results that you would want. Traffic can only get you so far, and what you would really need are tangible results that would benefit you.

This is why tracking matters, and using the right tools and steps would ensure that you have the right kind of set-up that you can access easily, which helps you see all the results you need.

Use Google Analytics

One of the most effective tools to track your Local SEO and SEM is by using Google Analytics. There are many tracking tools available in the market that you can purchase, but Google Analytics provides these functions for free. Once you have your account logged in and ready to go, it is now time to set it all up.

The first thing you have to do is to add your account and your website, and then install the tracking code on the website’s template. The best practice is to use a Google account of your own, and not from any developer agency. Instead of letting them create the account for your tracker, simply share it with their accounts.

Once that is done, the next step is to set up your time zone, currency, and the right website filters. This would help you view all the right data you need.

Setting up your Goals

One of the things that you need, instead of online traffic, are conversions. These conversions are the tangible results that would benefit your business. The best way to get these conversions is by establishing the right goals. Here’s how you can establish goals using Google Analytics:

• First, go to the Admin screen, and select Goals. Under Goals, you’ll be able to see + New Goal.
• There are Goal templates that you can use if you are able to fit them with what you need. You can also create your own template, which is simple and very convenient.
• The next step is to select a goal type and give your goal a name.
• Keep it in mind that you can add actual monetary values to your goals, which would make it a very important metric for you to evaluate how well you are doing, and help assess your overall strategy.

Call and Form Tracking

One of the best ways to track conversions is by using call tracking tools, some of these tools can be integrated with Google Analytics, and converts phone numbers into tracking numbers. This form of dynamic number insertion will be helpful for your SEO campaign, as you would be getting conversions that lead to high traffic, while not even having to spend too much.

Another popular tracking method is form tracking, which is already being used by various companies and businesses. This can be done through WordPress plugins like Ninja Forms and Gravity forms. These plugins would generate thank you pages that allows you to track the click of the form submission button, and have proof that a form was accomplished.

These plugins are simple and easy to configure, and you can customize them to your liking. You can also use these thank you pages as ways to recommend other pages or services, which help keep users on your website. You can also use this approach when you are promoting events or during appointment booking and journal/newsletter signups.

Google Search Console

The Google Search Console is a simple but useful tool that would give you some basic SEO fundamentals and helps you look for problems and diagnostics that can help improve your rankings. You can connect your Search Tool account with your Analytics account and your Adwords account, which would help give you a more seamless view of your data

Google Adwords

Using Google Adwords is one of the main reasons why tracking your local SEO and SEM is very important. This helps you get important conversion data that you need to assess if your overall approach and strategy is working or not. Using Adwords would also help you know the real meaning of why should you be tracking those clicks. One of the best things that you can do with your Google Adwords account is to link it with your Analytics and Search Tools accounts, which gives you a one-stop location to view all of your crucial data.

Viewing your Data

Once that you have all your three tools linked together, you now have a centralized tracking center where you can see all of the relevant statistics and metrics. From this data, you would be able to compile all of it into a single, well-detailed SEO report that you can send to your team, and even to your clients.

To be able to view your data, go to the Analytics page, and select Acquisition. Next, select All Traffic, and then Channels. You can get an overview of the relevant metrics, which include Organic Search, Conversion Rate, Referrals, and much more. Another way of viewing your data is by selecting All Traffic, and then instead of clicking Channels, click Source/Medium. This would help you view all of the URLs that you are currently tracking.

If you want a more concise version of all of these, you can simply view it in the Analytics Dashboard, which you can customize and adjust however you want it to be.

Key Takeaway

Tracking your Local SEO and SEM may seem like a challenging task at first, but overall, it is essential to increase the effectiveness of your SEO campaign. By utilizing a free and powerful tool such as Google Analytics, you are guaranteed that you will track your links and domains in no time.

If you have any questions with regards to Local SEO, or other SEO-related matters, leave a comment below and let’s talk.

http://ift.tt/2i5TF5d

Is Content Syndication Spammy?

Imagine this…
The editor of a popular site emails you and says, “I love your work! Can we syndicate your content on our site?”
What should you do?
Celebrate and do the deal right then? After all, syndicating your content puts your writing in front of a brand new audience. One already-written post could result in massive site

http://ift.tt/2yKFOeS

Spending a Bar of Gold, A Million Arab Coders, and More – The Brief for 10.25.17

Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 10/25/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).

The goal of these posts is that there are trends and ideas here that might impact your business now or soon. Think on the stories here and look for ways to adjust your business accordingly. If ever you’re stuck, get in touch with me and I can help.

http://ift.tt/2yKFsoy

The beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO

Suppose you know nothing about SEO but have heard about this little gem called Yoast SEO. People told you that it is a very convenient tool to optimize your site and its pages for Google, Bing, and Yandex. It’s effortless. You want to use it. You install the Yoast SEO plugin or the Yoast SEO extension and simply follow the advice given in that plugin. Within a week, your website will be topping the charts in Google. Or not? No, to be honest. It’s not that simple.

Optimize your site for search & social media and keep it optimized with Yoast SEO Premium »

$89 - Buy now »

Info

Our plugin helps you to optimize your website for search engines. And it does that well, but it needs your input. In this beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO, I’ll try to explain the basics of SEO that our plugin guides you in. I’ll take you through the steps that every user, who tries our plugin for the first time takes, and help you optimize your site in the process.

It’s a beginner‘s guide to Yoast SEO

Before we start, I should point out that this isn’t a beginner’s guide to every single detail of our plugin. I’d just like to show you some things I think you should use or configure. As our plugin has quite some settings, it’s good to know which features to configure first.

The Yoast SEO configuration wizard

Our Yoast SEO configuration wizard is a great place to start. You can find the configuration wizard at SEO > Dashboard > General:

In that configuration wizard, we will guide you through twelve steps that help you configure our plugin, specifically for your site. Even if you have a website that is already a year or so old, I encourage you to use the wizard and see if there are some things that you might have missed. Each step includes some questions; your answers will determine specific settings. In the wizard, we have also included video material to show you even more options.

Read more: ‘The Yoast SEO configuration wizard and why you should use it’ »

But there is so much more in this SEO section of Yoast SEO!?

Unquestionably, as there are many aspects to SEO. With the help of your answers in the configuration wizard and our own SEO knowledge, we can configure most of the general settings of our plugin for you. As a result of this, you can focus on your content!

SEO analysis

When you start writing a post or page, you will find our analyses. In WordPress, our so-called meta box is right below the larger text area where you write your content:

For you, as a user, this Yoast SEO box will prove very valuable. As you can see, there are a couple of tabs here.

• One tab where you can insert the keyword you want to optimize the page for (focus keyword), in this case: “beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO.”
• One tab that says Readability and I’ll get into that one later.

On the tab where you can insert that focus keyword, we’ll tell you if you have used that focus keyword the right way in that specific post.

What we analyze in our SEO analysis

At present, we perform these checks in our SEO analysis:

Following the image, as shown above, we analyze these characteristics of your text (from top to bottom):

• If you want your page to rank for a specific keyword, you must write at least 300 words about it. Otherwise, it may be considered a ‘thin content’ page by Google, and you want to avoid that.
• Add a meta description; it will invite visitors in Google to your website.
• You want to make clear right from the start what the page is about, so start adding the focus keyword from the beginning.
• Add images to create a vivid experience for your users. Use the focus keyword in the ALT text so that Google can relate that image to the keyword.
• To set up a proper site structure, link to at least one other related page on your site. It keeps visitors on your site and shows them more (background) information.
• We want sites to link to other websites as well, as this opens up the web. Point people to the websites where you get your information. It’ll tell Google what websites relate to each other on what subjects.
• A short page title allows you to add a trigger for a visitor in Google to click to your website.
• If you add that focus keyword at the beginning of your title, it will have the most value. Also, it will immediately stand out when your post is shared
• Repeat your focus keyword in your URL. As a result, even without context, it will be clear what clicking that link will bring you. Furthermore, Google also likes having it in there.
• You optimize a page for a certain keyword – not a website. Prevent competing pages! Yoast SEO will warn you if you write more than one post about the same keyword. When this happens, use a variation, or a long tail keyword.

  New to SEO? Learn the Basics of SEO in our Basic SEO course »

  
  $199 - Buy now »
  Info

What’s more: Cornerstone content and snippet preview

If your page is the main page for a topic/keyword in a group of pages you plan to write, you could mark it as cornerstone content here. Not sure if that is a subject for a beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO, by the way. It might be wise to take our basic SEO course first :)

Besides all the checks, we provide an editable snippet preview, which tells you how our plugin displays your website to Google and other search engines.

Readability analysis

Since SEO is one of those areas where content is indeed king, we also provide a convenient readability analysis for you. The thing is: not all people have the same skills to process certain texts. I laughed out loud when I found out someone thought it would be wise to use our readability analysis to analyze the readability of books like Hamlet’s First Soliloquy by William Shakespeare. Oh, the time wasted! If Hemingway would have a blog, he’d probably love our readability analysis. It would allow him to translate his offline writing to a nice readable online text.

Online vs. offline

Please understand that online and offline writing are two different stories. While we take the time to read, digest and daydream about all the great stories we read in books, we tend to scan, process and use (in any way) the things we read online. Where we follow the old man on his journey over sea, struggling with that marlin for days, feel his frustration, motivation, you probably scanned this beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO to see if there’s something here you didn’t know already.

This post isn’t a page in a book. It’s information for you to process like most online pages are. With that purpose in mind, we wrote our readability analysis.

Government rulings

Our Dutch government has ruled that the text on all government websites should be at B2: Upper intermediate level. It’s a rule that makes sure that every citizen, regardless of the level of education, can read and understand the information on these websites. We aim to help them with that. Our readability analysis works for websites in English, Spanish, Dutch, French, and German, by the way.

The readability analysis itself

Let’s see what’s in our readability analysis:

We analyze these things:

• Use subheadings so that people can scan your pages faster. It helps you group topics, which makes it easier to process them.
• The Flesh Reading Ease test makes sure every reader can understand your texts. If you are writing for a more educated audience, a lower score is acceptable – it’s a guideline, you decide how strict to follow it.
• Transition words help to improve the ‘flow’ of your page. To put it another way, they send a signal to your visitors that something is coming up, prepare them for the next sentence. You’ll find that the recommendation of using transition words in 30% of your sentences isn’t that hard to achieve.
• Long paragraphs in an online article are more difficult to understand. You’ll find yourself lost in all the words. Bite-sized chunks are easier to process.
• While in a book you can stretch a sentence over half a page, shorter sentences are that much easier to read online. We use 20 words as a target length.
• Passive voice results in distant writing. Active voice is much more engaging. It’s almost impossible to write a ‘natural’ text without any passive voice at all (IMHO), and we ‘allow’ 10% passive voice in our analysis.

If you want more insight into how we decided on all these target numbers, please read the article Content analysis: methodological choices explained.

The last step of this beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO is an advanced one

When you first install Yoast SEO, we hide all advanced settings. We don’t want to bother you with these and have set them up to our standards. But I’d like you to check just two of the settings in there. Go to SEO > Dashboard > Features. Toggle the switch as in the image below to enable the advanced settings. Don’t worry; we’ll close these advanced settings right after this section.

Titles and Metas

If you set that switch to “enable” and click the “Save settings” button, your menu, which used to look like the menu on the left, (this example is in WordPress) will expand to the one on the right. You’ll now have access to the way we set up, for instance, your titles and metas for you. I want you to check that section for me. No need to alter anything, by the way. I just want you to know it’s there and realize what you can configure here.

Become a technical SEO expert with our Technical SEO 1 training! »

$199 - Buy now »

Info

At “post types,” you will find the default template we use for your post titles:
%%title%% %%page%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%

This simply means we will use the page/post title you use when writing posts, and add the page number if your post is divided over multiple pages. Then we add a separator, like a dash, and then the site name you have set when creating your site. The outcome for this Beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO could be:
Note that this example doesn’t include a page number after the page title, as this post is just one page. This is the setup we recommend. It’s focused on the page title (“Beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO”) and has proper branding at the end (“Yoast”).

The purpose of me showing you this is that I want you to know it’s there, so you don’t have to look for it in the future. It explains why your titles are shown this way in Google.

Keep reading: ‘Titles and meta variables in Yoast SEO’ »

Google Search Console

You can find the search console settings a bit further down the SEO menu. Now if you have completed our configuration wizard, you most probably connected Google Search Console to our plugin already. If you haven’t done that yet, you can do it at any time using the Search Console section here.

If you’re happy with the way these two are set up, please go back to the features tab in our dashboard and disable the advanced setting pages again.

That concludes our beginner’s guide to Yoast SEO. I trust your website is ready for Google now, so please add awesome content!

Read on: ‘Why every website needs Yoast SEO’ »

http://ift.tt/2y4jGfS