maspillera

M Posted 7 years ago

t 9 min read

You want to build a website that keeps people engaged. You want to achieve the lowest possible bounce rate. Encouraging people to click around your site and decide to enter your sales funnel is a must and, most importantly, you want to inspire users to become paying customers.

Learning how to improve the website engagement metrics on your website can help you not only better interest your readers, but also improve your SEO.

Google and other search engines look at the bounce rate on your site. A bounce rate refers to a single page session, when a user clicks on your page, but then leaves without engaging further with the site. This means that they do not click on any extra elements on the page, fill out forms, or click onto other pages. A user will be counted as a bounce if they:

• Click off the page
• Click back to the SERP
• Close the browser
• Follow an outbound link
• Stay inactive on the site and then time out the session.

Improving the duration people stay on your site can help you build your SEO while also building bonds with users and encouraging them to enter your sales funnel. High bounce rates are a negative signal to Google for rank. Thus, better website engagement will grow your SEO and your business.

What is a good bounce rate?

On average, a bounce rate below 60% is good. It means that 40% of the people who arrived on your website engaged with the site. The range is really everything in between. Let's look at the factors to consider.

Before we can begin to discuss what qualifies as a ‘good’ bounce rate, we must first examine all of the ways that bounce rates can vary due to outside factors.

For example, the type of page will have a big impact on the bounce rate. Contact pages that supply phone numbers and addresses, for example, are generally high-bounce pages. People click onto the page to view the contact information for their business of interest, and then they click off. This page will likely have a high bounce rate across all websites, without that high bounce rate indicating anything negative about the site.

Similarly, you must also consider the industry and the type of content that this site focuses on providing. A site that offers recipes for people will have a higher bounce rate overall than a site for a real estate business. A recipe site expects people to open the page, follow the recipe, and click off. While they may have a few people click on related recipes or links to a blog from the page, they will be significantly outnumbered by those who simply digest the recipe and move on.

On the other hand, real estate sites do not expect people to look at a single house and click off. They work to engage people interested in browsing real estate properties within a designated area. Real estate professionals may also look to engage readers with content that helps them understand lending options or what to look for in a good real estate agent.

A very high bounce rate above 90% for a paid traffic source can seem very discouraging and could be an indicator that the campaign targeting needs to be narrowed. However, advertising should usually be measured by ROI of the traffic that does convert to business value.

To know a good bounce rate for your particular site, your best point of comparison will be other brands within your sector. As explained above, looking at average bounce rates for all websites could easily provide you with very misleading information.

Fortunately, Google makes it easy for brands to see the bounce rates within their industry. Use the benchmarking feature within Google Analytics to better understand the stats for your specific industry. You can then start to see how you compare. This will give you a great starting point as you prepare to work on keeping people on your page and engaged with your site. As you make changes, compare your progress with this initial benchmark to see the impact you have.

How do I increase website engagement metrics on my page?

To build stronger website engagement, you need to find ways to keep people on the page and generate interest in what you have to say. This will help encourage more people to enter your sales funnel, lower your bounce rate, and build website engagement across the site, which will in turn boost SEO.

To increase website engagement, try the below steps:

• Create a clear page design
• Add visual features that encourage interaction
• Implement site search
• Open outside links in new tabs
• Supply readers with internal links
• Optimize your menus
• Provide a personalized experience

1. Create a clear page design. A clean design is easier for people to read and digest. They are able to absorb more information and gain a better appreciation of what you have to say. Reduce clutter, use lists, bullet points, and other features that allow readers to focus on the aspects of the page that matter the most to them, helping them see how well you understand their needs.

Most of all, decide how the page and content fits into the site and what the next step should be and make a clear call-to-action to the visitors in the top, middle, and bottom of the page.

2. Add visual features that encourage interaction. Create an exciting page that encourages people to actively interact with your content. Using images, videos, and carousel helps to inspire people to click around your site and build a bond with your brand.

3. Implement site search. Site search is an essential site. In terms of building website engagement, site search allows power users and high-intent visitors to navigate straight to the content they're looking for. You can also integrate your site search into your analytics suite to get insights on the types of products, services, and topics your site visitors are interested in.

4. Open outside links in new tabs. To build website engagement with people on your site, you want to encourage them to remain on your site. Offering external links can play an important role in building a positive experience for the user and help them find the information that will best fit their needs. You want to make sure, however, that in clicking on these links, they do not end up disengaging with your site. Allowing the link to take your visitor off your site and onto the external site reduces the chance for them to come back and learn more about your brand and what you have to offer. Make sure all external sites open in a new tab so the user has plenty of opportunities to continue to engage with you.

5. Supply readers with plenty of internal links. Throughout your content, offer ample internal links. These links will help people find other content that you have produced that supports the ideas that this particular visitor has expressed an interest in reading more about.

6. Optimize your menus. BrightEdge Research shows that menus drive a significant portion of clicks to interior pages. Make sure your menus are well organized, not overwhelming, and feature popular content from the rest of the site.

7. Provide a personalized experience on your site. If your site has the capability to track return visitors, take advantage of this ability to provide users with a more personalized experience. Remember visitors when they come and suggest content to them that they might find interesting based on passed material they downloaded or read. Let them know you remember them and their pain points and that you've vested an interest in helping them.

Building a highly engaging site that encourages people to remain on the page can drive business for your organization and help you to grow your online user base. Improved website engagement metrics can indicate that you meet the needs of the users and that they appreciate what you have to say. This is the first step towards bringing more people into your sales funnel and driving people towards becoming paying customers.

enewton@brightedge.com

M Posted 7 years ago

t 9 min read

Given that the top three positions on the SERP secure 52 percent of the clicks, the importance of ranking content as highly as possible cannot be underestimated. Although marketers do not know the exact list of factors that Google considers and how they are weighed, Google has given us a good idea of various important criteria.

We know, for example, that the reputation of the site as a whole is heavily considered. Consider how quickly major domains, like The New York Times or BBC, can get a page ranked even before they have had the chance to gather large amounts of backlinks or even traffic. The reputation of the domain and brand carries weight.

Given the importance of domain reputation, paying attention to the content across your domain can help influence the SEO of individual pages. To build your cross-domain SEO, content pruning and building content clusters can help you establish your site as a reputable authority on particular topics.

As you look at improving your on-site SEO, here is what you should know about content pruning and nurturing content clusters.

What is content pruning?

Content pruning is the process of determining which pages do not provide value for users or the website and deleting them to create a stronger focus on the higher quality pages. It involves evaluating the old content on your site and looking to see which pages are poor quality and might even be harming the reputation of the domain as a whole. These types of pages do not perform well, do not rank well, and do not do a good job of meeting the expectations of users or search engines.

When you do go through the process of content pruning, customers who end up clicking on the URL of one of the deleted pages will find themselves rerouted to a higher quality page that then does a better job of meeting the needs of the user.

The goal behind this type of strategy is to help Google better focus on the best pages the site has to offer. This will ensure that the dilution of the poor- quality pages does not drag down the success of the domain as a whole.

What is a content cluster?

A content cluster describes a grouping of content that focuses around a particular topic or overarching idea that matters to your target audience. For example, at the top of the pyramid, you would have content that addresses a critical topic more generally. Clustered together with this topic will be information that relates to the overarching topic and can be internally linked. This type of content focuses on more specific elements of the topic, diving deeply into the material and providing critical value.

Using a content cluster helps to establish your site as an authority on the subject. You develop an impressive library related to this particular subject, making it clear to search engines and readers that you know valuable information about this topic. It also helps to organize the content so that Google can understand more easily how the content relates. Visitors to your site also find it easier to find other content that might interest them. Some of BrightEdge's content clusters include, SEO Case Studies, SEO Webinars, SEO White Papers and POVs, and SEO and Marketing Quizzes.

Creating content clusters also helps to build semantic links between related types of content. This further boosts the domain’s authority within Google, and semantic keywords help the search engine giant better understand content published.

How do I prune my content and develop my own content clusters?

To better organize your content and to take advantage of content clusters and pruning your content, you should begin by running a content audit. This first step remains essential because it will give you a good idea of precisely what types of content you have and how each piece performs and relates to the rest of the material on your website.

You can generate a list of all the indexed content on your site either through Google Webmaster or by performing a Google search precisely of your website. By typing ‘site:’ before your domain, you can then pull up a list of all the pages within your domain that Google has indexed.

Armed with the list of your pages, you can then start to analyze your existing content. Gather helpful information, such as the topics covered, the amount of traffic going to the page, its role within your buyer’s journey, how the page links to others within your site, and the number of external backlinks you have pointing at particular pages. This information will help you determine the value and quality of each individual page.

Start to organize your cluster

Now take a close look at your highest-performing pages and examine how they could be organized. Look for overarching themes or topics that seem to apply to several different pages and can start to form your clusters.

Next, perform keyword research oriented towards your target audience. You will start to compile lists of topics that matter the most to your target audience. You may have slightly different clusters that different buyer personas prioritize. Start to group these keywords and topics into your broad, overarching ideas that will form each cluster.

Examine your clusters closely to see how well they are organized. The pages within a like cluster or content silo should connect to each other well through internal links and reading recommendations that will encourage visitors to continue to engage with the site.

Determine also which content clusters have been well filled-out and which ones remain weak in terms of content quality and quantity. These gaps should be prioritized as you move forward with your content reorganization.

Begin pruning the poorest-performing content

Examine the pages of your site that had the lowest-performing statistics. Determine if this material could be modified and see improved rankings and performance. You also want to check to see if this low-performing content fits well into any of your content clusters. Content that does not fit into any of your clusters and is low performing will likely be material you end up deleting.

Try to figure out why your lowest-performing content has not been putting up the numbers you want to see. For example, does it not align well with the target audience? Is it poorly written? Is it very out-of-date? The answers to these questions will help you determine if the content is worth trying to save.

The content that you do end up deleting should be handled correctly to ensure that it does not hurt your SEO or user experience. Even if content performs poorly and doesn’t fit in well with the clusters you want to create on the site, you might still have people who follow old backlinks or otherwise end up on the now-deleted page. Make sure the material has a permanent 301 redirect and takes users to content that is the most likely to answer their needs.

Building your domain as an authoritative resource within your industry can help elevate the SEO for all your individual pages. As you perform your content audit, consider how content pruning and building content clusters can help you create the site that will help drive your site forward.

enewton@brightedge.com

M Posted 7 years ago

t 9 min read

Why is publication date important?

When Google determines which websites are the most relevant to a particular query, two criteria examined is the publish date and date on the page. Particularly for time-sensitive queries, such as news articles, the publication date will have a huge impact.

Take, for example, the query, “Google’s algorithm update.” Considering that Google regularly updates their algorithm, the searcher will most likely want to see information regarding the most recent major update. As of the writing of this piece, that would be the March 2019 Core Update or the Florida 2 update. When a person makes this query, these are the results that they want to see.

The Google Panda update was another major update that attracted significant attention several years ago. The sites covering that update have likely amassed a number of backlinks and high traffic rates. Their publication date, however, is one clear indicator that they do not discuss the update the user wants to see. Therefore, even though they might have more backlinks than the recent articles, the recent articles receive precedence.

Given the importance of dates in determining relevance, it is clear that they can therefore impact SEO. Marketers should also note that for many queries, Google also displays the date of the content next to the listing on the SERP. This influences whether or not people will want to click on a particular article, thus impacting your click-through rate and the prospects you can bring into your sales funnel.

Understanding how Google determines dates, therefore, and what you can do to make sure Google has the right one, can impact how you structure your pages. Google recently spelled out their methodology, and we wanted to dive into it with our community.

How does Google determine the date on the page?

Google reports that they use a variety of factors when determining the date of a page. The spider automatically looks for any prominent listings on the page that might clearly state when the content went live. It also checks the structured markup or schema of the page to see if a date has been noted. The search engine does not limit itself to these methods, however, and can also use other means of examining pages and determining the publication date.

The search engine reports that they use several different methods to reduce the potential for error. Sometimes publishers do not include a clearly listed publication date or their structured markup might not be generated correctly. By looking at several factors, it becomes easier for the search engine to make the most accurate determination.

General SEO best practices for specifying a date on a page

To make sure that Google interprets your page’s date correctly, there are two main steps you can take as you design your site.

One, list a clear publication date on the page. Secondly. use structured data with the datePublished or dateModified markups to help Google best understand when your page was published or updated.

If you find that Google interprets your date incorrectly, look closely at the content on the page. Keep and eye out for any potential prominent dates that might be confusing the search engine. If you can remove them, do so.

As you do promote your dates throughout your website, keep your methodology consistent for all the pages. For example, keep the date the page went live listed in a consistent spot and manner on all of the pages.

Special content date situations to note

Keep in mind that depending upon the type of content you create, Google might also have additional criteria to remember as you promote your date. For example, on news stories, Google reminds publishers to make sure that you follow the Google news rules regarding the dates listed in articles. In other words, you must have a clear date and time of publication and can only list updated times if the article has been substantially updated.

Google also reminds site owners that if they are promoting an event, they should make it clear on the page when and where the event is, but keep the publication date separate. The date of the event should not be listed as the publishing date for the content.

For anyone who updates a piece of content, you can list an update publication date, making it clear to users when the piece was originally published and when it was updated. Structured data makes this easier for search engines to interpret with the datePublished and dateModified markups.

Should you create new content or modify existing content?

With this discussion of dates, it becomes a natural discussion to then look at whether or not content should be updated or if new content should be created. Anyone considering their options should think about the questions below.

1. Is your content useful? Ask yourself if the content you want to update is still largely useful for users and just requires some small adjustments to take into account the latest developments. Content still relevant for users can generally be updated with a new publication date and serve the targeted audience well.

2. What is the traffic rate and the SERP ranking for the page? A page that still receives a solid stream of traffic and rankings well generally benefits more from an update than fresh content. Your fresh content would then have to compete with your old content for visibility, and you want to make sure that people who land on your old content receive the latest information.

3. Does my content fit? Look at how this piece of content fits in with the rest of your content structure. For example, if you are working to build a content cluster, would drafting new content help you to build you your pyramids and establish your authority better?

4. How much of an update does the page need? If the update will result in you redrafting nearly the entire piece of content, then creating a new piece might serve you better. If you do create a new piece, you will want to use a 301 redirect from the old piece to maintain the link equity benefits. If, on the other hand, you will only need to update a small paragraph, writing an entire new piece might end up with a considerable amount of repetition.

If you do end up creating a new piece of content to reflect the latest updates in the field, it can be helpful to put a link at the top of the original piece to let people know where they can go for the latest information about the topic.

Content dates can benefit not only your SEO, but also how many people click through from the SERP. Making sure Google interprets your page’s publication date, therefore can be an important step. Make sure your pages have been consistently created with the correct date promoted and weigh carefully the needs of updated content versus new content as you build your content calendar moving forward.

maspillera

M Posted 7 years ago

t 9 min read

For brands interested in capturing some of this valuable data, here is what they should know about measuring PR campaign success.

How do you measure PR campaign success?

To measure PR success, campaign goals need to be defined. There are several different metrics to consider when measuring the impact and success of a PR campaign, each one giving you information about customers at a particular stage.

Measuring PR mindshare, awareness, reputation, and sentiment

At the top of the PR success funnel are mindshare, awareness, and reputation. If you represent a high-end brand, mindshare and reputation awareness are key to customer willingness to pay a premium for your product.

Mindshare explains why famous brands can charge more for their products - people value what they know and know what they value. A famous brand removes uncertainty about quality and performance and that drives higher purchase conversion.

Social media can be a valuable channel for measuring mindshare, awareness, and reputation. Consumers use social media to share with their friends, family, and colleagues what they love, like, and don’t like about products and services.

You have key metrics to monitor on social media.

• Content reach
• Engagement
• Sentiment

1. Content reach. Content reach can be gathered by examining how many people in aggregate have viewed your content as well as the number of impressions your content has.

2. Engagaement. Engagement then focuses on how people responded to the content, which provides a strong indication about how the content connected to them. Different metrics exist on the different social media platforms:

• Facebook engagement measures: comments, shares, and likes.
• Twitter engagement measures: replies, retweets, URL clicks, and likes.
• Instagram engagement measures: comments, likes, Instagram Story reach, and URL clicks.
• Youtube engagement measures: comments, shares, views, number of likes/dislikes, URL clicks.

High engagement numbers will generally correlate strongly with your content reach. As more people respond to your material and share it with their own followers, you will in turn see more people reading the material and higher rates of impressions.

3. Sentiment. Sentiment captures whether the comments are positive or negative. The saying, "I don't care what you say about my brand as long as you spell my name correctly" is a myth. Being plastered with negative comments from a swarm of nasty trolls spelling your name correctly is bad.

Measuring your SEO impact and social amplification from using PR

In the middle of the PR success funnel are traffic, SEO impact, and social amplification. Generally, PR campaigns are comprised of articles published on third party platforms that provide valuable announcements and information about your business. These campaigns then tie closely with material you publish on your own site.

Using PR platforms makes it easier to monitor how many people click through to your website after reading a PR piece. Not only can you see how many people click through to your site, but you can also monitor additional metrics, such as backlinks.

Backlinks provide you with valuable information, including how well the audience responded to your piece and if they see it as worthwhile to share with their own audience. Google appreciates backlinks as a ranking factor because it lets them know how other people see the page. A website with many backlinks from reputable sites can generally be assumed to be one that provides helpful information. This increases Google’s trust in the site, and therefore, its ranking, which drive traffic.

Internally, your PR campaigns should coincide with blogs and on-site articles that provide more information about your organization and what you are doing to serve customers and remain at the forefront of your industry. Press releases and articles also help define public information, which make it easier for employees to share without worrying about sharing confidential information.

Blogging is also a great way to generate traffic and trust. According to the Content Marketing Institute, more than half of 18-49 year olds get their news and information online, and that number continues to grow. You can also see support for this strategy by considering that small businesses with blogs get 126 percent more lead growth than those without, according to the CMI.

From an SEO perspective, as you generate traffic from any PR campaign you can start to see the positive impact on your SERP rankings. Make sure all the content has been properly optimized to attract more attention, and then increased traffic from promotions and social media will help to boost your position in the results.

Social amplification results from content sharing on social networks, like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. It’s good practice to link positive press mentions on all your social media to amplify your awareness, brand reputation, and purchase decisions. This helps customers hear about your organization from other sources, increasing your brand value and trust in their minds.

Measuring PR revenue, conversions, and pipeline contributions

At the bottom of the PR success funnel are revenue, conversions and pipeline contributions. Google Analytics can help you to track referral traffic driven by using PR. You can use this referral traffic to track from where your qualified sales originated.

UTM stands for urchin tracking module, and it is the longstanding standard for channel tracking in Google Analytics. At the end of each link, add ?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=PR&campaign=3-12-press-release. If you do not add UTM to your PR and Social, it can often be incorrectly counted as Direct traffic.

By drilling down in Google Analytics in on Acquisition/All Traffic/Channels Referred, you can see the traffic PR secured on third-party sites sourcing traffic and then track what customers did after reading those articles. You can watch them through the pipeline, seeing how many pageviews, the number of sales qualified leads, and leads that materialize. You can then determine the revenue these leads drove for the organization.

Using a first-touch attribution model, you will be able to track customers and determine what first brought them to your site. You can then analyze the referring site and start to gain a better idea of the financial benefit of your press releases and media mentions as well as what articles drive converted traffic.

A strong PR campaign can provide valuable benefits for brands looking to increase their engagement across the web and social media apps. Executives prefer all activities to be measurable and tracked. Consider your campaign goals with your next PR campaign and the KPIs you can use to capture the success of your strategy.