Nag

M Posted 12 years 8 months ago

t 9 min read

Google giveth, and Google taketh away. We know this all too well with the myriad of changes to search in the past year. 2013 was the year of the user experience, as every update to the search engine elevated the search experience in a big way. Some marketers moved confidently towards the future, seeing the changes search underwent in the past year as a good thing (BrightEdge included) while others are concerned about how to proceed. But there’s nothing to fear if we can embrace the future of digital marketing, and have the courage to change the things we are able to in order to compete online for search marketing in 2014; but that means avoiding those things that we know are inherently bad – the seven deadly sins of search marketing in 2014. Let’s look at what those are based on some of the big changes that happened in search in the past year.  

Sin No. 1: low-quality content

After multiple iterations of the Panda algorithm, Google stated in March of this year that Panda would roll out continuously but without announcement. That likely meant Google felt marketers had enough warning and data about the consequences of Panda and low-quality content, making its point that “quality” was the new norm. Fast-forward to about six months later, and a new infrastructure to the Google algorithm launched. This infrastructure, called Hummingbird, changed the way Google understood queries so that it could help users find answers to some of those longer-tail questions that occur with the ever-growing mobile search, even if a page wasn’t optimized specifically for that query. How do marketers avoid the deadly sin of low-quality content in 2014?

• Create audience-centric content: This means defining the audience, knowing where they are spending time and what they are consuming, knowing your options for distribution channels and measuring your content’s ROI.
• Know content’s role in SEO : All signals point to centering the user experience on content. Content marketing provides brands with a new opportunity to impact SEO, improve search rankings and increase revenue through organic search.

As marketers invest in quality content, they would do well to also heed the five principles of content marketing suggested by marketing leader Ogilvy to get more return from their investment.    

The Holy Grail for managing your content in 2014 is BrightEdge’s suite of content-centric SEO solutions.  

Sin No. 2: dismissing mobile traffic

If you’ve been trying to decide if optimizing for your site for mobile should be a priority, Google just decided for you. In June, Google announced mobile-friendly sites would be favored in search engine rankings. And we’re not surprised; in fact, BrightEdge’s MobileShare report in August revealed mobile traffic growth was outpacing desktop traffic – and fast. Avoid the deadly sin of ignoring your mobile traffic in 2014 by familiarizing yourself with Google’s guidelines for creating mobile-friendly websites, making sure you:

• Implement clean and simple design principles.
• Optimize content for mobile to address the immediacy of what users want.
• Understand your true rank in mobile. More on that here .

You’ll also want to arm yourself with BrightEdge’s Mobile SEO to manage mobile search performance.  

Sin No. 3: focusing only on keywords

Google committed some deadly sins itself this year by taking away precious keyword data from marketers when it launched 100 percent secure search. That resulted in those nasty keyword “(not provided)” messages in analytics skyrocketing. But at BrightEdge, we saw this change coming and have been working towards a page-based reporting model  for some time. We don’t believe keywords are dead, and we still see their value; however, if focusing only on keywords was your entire SEO strategy, it was time for a change anyway. In fact, the Hummingbird algorithm prompts marketers to works towards creating content on topics, not just keywords. There are still ways to glean keyword data, and use it wisely (paid search and Google Webmaster Tools data being a couple options) – but to protect your brand from committing the deadly sin of short-sighted SEO in 2014, follow this 4-step approach:

1. Measure the content, not the keyword. Start measuring what pages are generating the most value for you, and what types of content are generating the greatest ROI.
2. If you have content that ranks well, but isn’t driving traffic or engagement on your site, it’s not doing a good job of satisfying your users. You want to think about metrics like overall traffic to a page, conversion rate and so on.
3. Begin looking at groups of pages on your site that best perform on a traffic and revenue level, depending on your goals. In the old paradigm, SEOs may have used a “more content is better” approach. But now, it’s relevancy, credibility, timeliness and quality over quantity.
4. Once you have a picture of page performance on your site overall, you can then begin to make decisions about where you want to focus time and resources on your website.

Fight the good fight against this tempting sin by using our Page Manager and Page Reporting tools. A note of caution - don't focus on keywords entirely but ignoring keywords altogether is a sin too! Continue to track keyword rank analytics while making up for lost keyword visibility by looking at multiple data sources. The BrightEdge Google Webmaster Tools integration is one such powerful example.  

Sin No. 4: spam link building

It almost goes without saying that spammy link-building practices are one of the deadliest of all sins. Yet, Google’s Penguin lives on to target links gone bad and those marketers who still won’t embrace the “content first” model of garnering links. In October, a fifth round of the Penguin algorithm hit, which looked at links within websites on a much deeper level. What that continues to mean in 2014 is links need to have a reason to exist other than simply inflating rankings. For more on how to avoid this deadly sin, check out our white paper on white-hat link-building best practices created in collaboration with the experts at MajesticSEO and Rosetta.  

Sin No. 5: not diversifying search engine efforts

While Google continues to dominate market share for search marketing in 2014, many other search engines exist that collectively make up a percentage of search traffic that can impact your bottom line. As Google continues to make updates, critics of the search engine have been refocusing efforts on some of those other players. Which brings us to Bing, and its innovations worth exploring in 2014:

• Bing Smart Search for Windows 8.1 was designed for a touch screen environment, and the Smart Search Preview tool launched.
• Improvements in voice query capabilities were made.
• “Connected Pages ” were integrated in Bing Webmaster Tools, allowing for keyword referral data to social pages like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Add to that the fact that Bing is currently the best source of keyword referral data (outside of paid search) now that Google operates in a 100 percent secure search environment. And don’t forget about the search engines that rule in other countries outside the U.S. If you’re doing business in South Korea, for example, Naver is the engine of choice and dominates share. So understand the complexities of SEO in Naver if you have a Korean site. We help our clients rise above this deadly sin by making sure our technology supports local and global search engines across devices.

Sin No. 6: ignoring social media's impact on SEO

Back in January, Facebook Graph search launched, blending social, local, content, and business information into its search results. And with the release of Hummingbird, forecasts call for social having more impact on Google rankings than it already does. The key to avoiding this deadly sin in 2014 is recognizing that social is part of SEO, not separate. Understand the connection between search and social in order to better impact your content strategy next year. Let BrightEdge give you the wisdom you need for elevating your social IQ in the coming year with our Social Site Audit (website audit) and Social SEO Recommendations.

Sin No. 7: not optimizing for the local carousel

In June, Google expanded its Knowledge Graph search results to include a “carousel” of local results at the top of the SERP. For a local business, this represents a new opportunity to be found through results that included images, reviews and a map. In October, we released research that showed a carousel appeared on results for 14 percent of keywords across all industries – 33 percent of searches in travel and hospitality, and 27 percent in the restaurant category. If you’re a local merchant, don’t commit the deadly sin of ignoring the carousel results. Follow these tips for Google Carousel optimization:

• Set up a Google Places for Business and Google+ page; it will give you greater control over how your business is displayed in the SERPs.
• Encourage happy customers to review your business on Google. Research  shows reviews play a significant role of placement in the carousel.

Arm yourself with the data you need to track your results in blended search in 2014 with our  Universal Search and Blended Rank reporting.  

Repenting your sins for search marketing in 2014

There’s temptation all around us in digital marketing. For some, shortcuts are attractive because it means less resources spent, but in the end, costs brands more. For others, the old way of doing things is comfortable, fitting like an old shoe, and they’re afraid of change. But with all the updates to search in 2013, the message is loud and clear that SEO needs to officially graduate to the next level – or else! So, where would you rather end up: in ROI heaven or Google purgatory?  

Nag

M Posted 12 years 8 months ago

t 9 min read

'Meet the new boss, same as the old boss' goes one of the most memorable lines in the history of rock 'n’ roll. While the meaning of this line from The Who’s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ has sparked several debates with no clear winners,  it certainly hits close to home for SEOs trying to figure out the implication of the biggest update to Google’s algorithm since 2001 - Hummingbird.  Because, in the world of digital marketing, the new boss has always been and will always be the old boss  i.e. content.

In this post, let’s  look at how Google Hummingbird impacts your content marketing and how BrightEdge customers were Hummingbird-ready before Hummingbird!

Google Hummingbird: ‘keep calm and chive on' with a twist

Google Hummingbird created quite a commotion when its existence became public even though it went largely unnoticed till the good folks at Google pointed it out. In retrospect, the frenzy was uncalled for - Hummingbird simply helps Google do a better job of rewarding great content based on a sophisticated semantic analysis of what you are looking for. Keywords still matter but the meaning of what you search for matters more than ever.

Our CEO Jim Yu wrote a great article in Search Engine Land (‘Google Hummingbird & The Keyword: What You Need To Know To Stay Ahead’) clearing the air about Google Hummingbird and managing its impact (beyond creating content that matters to your users).

TL:DR for Jim's post - death of keyword-based SEO may be highly exaggerated, content still matters the most and marketers need to keep creating great content, as always. However, there needs to be a massive shift on how marketers see SEO - marketers need to deploy the new lens of page and content-centric SEO for managing organic search performance.

Page-based SEO takes center stage

Keyword based SEO is necessary but not sufficient - managing performance at the page level is what sets you up for the gentle nudges from Google that content is still the boss. Google’s move to 100% secure search and loss of keyword referral data makes sure that the move to page-centric SEO a.k.a. content-centric SEO is not optional.  

The only complete soution for content performance management

We were one of the earliest to recognize that 100% secure search was coming and launched our pioneering Page Manager in 2012 to help you optimize every element of a page for organic search. We continued to launch such innovations consistently and the BrightEdge SEO Platform is the only comprehensive solution that provides our customers a blueprint to succeed in the content-centric universe.

How do you make the transition to content-based SEO? Here is a simple 3-step framework:

1. Access powerful analytics to get traffic, revenue and conversions at the page level
2. Optimize at the page-level
3. Manage the impact of Secure Search with keyword insight unique to the BrightEdge platform

Gain the ultimate insight into page traffic, conversions, and revenue

If you want your pages to perform, you need to know how your pages are performing in the first place.  BrightEdge Page Reporting gives you a 360 degree view of page performance including SEO metrics like ranks and backlinks, and business metrics like revenue, traffic and conversions. You can get this unprecedented insight in one place for individual pages or for any group that you create whether it be by brand, business unit, product category and more. Compare these powerful metrics period over period to identify trends and take action right away. Read more about this on our Page Reporting page.  

Optimize every page for organic search

Measuring how your content is doing is a big deal. Take this insight to next level by actually optimizing every element of the  page for organic search using Page Manager. Look at every page and access powerful recommendations to optimize on-page factors, understand backlink profile, explore link building opportunities, maximize social sharing and more, while keeping an eye on competition.

Manage secure search impact with unique keyword insight

As I mentioned, keywords still matter when it comes to understanding user intent and interests. Keyword rank is still your stepping stone to greater glory when it comes to traffic, conversions and revenue. BrightEdge keyword analytics, dashboards and powerful keyword recommendations to optimize for keyword performance across provide you the most accurate keyword metrics across devices and geographies. And this is barely scratching the surface. BrightEdge offers unique keyword insight unavailable in any web analytics and SEO technologies due to the move to Google Secure Search.  

Gain partial visibility into keyword performance with BrightEdge Google Webmaster tools integration

Restore partial keyword visibility into keyword performance through our seamless integration with Google Webmaster Tools. Our BrightEdge Google Webmaster Tools Integration offers a richer view of keyword performance by providing you clicks and impressions data right within the BrightEdge platform.

Estimate keyword traffic based on most sophisticated click curves for every device

Traffic referral data is no longer unavailable in your web analytics platform but BrightEdge customers have the power to estimate the traffic form keywords thanks to our proprietary BrightEdge Customizable Click Curve. Assess keyword performance based on an analysis of keyword performance and referral data related to five billion pages managed by 8400+ brands across desktop, smartphone and tablet devices. We engineered this algorithm before the loss of referral data due to 100% secure search which means this powerful data is available for BrightEdge customers only! In summary, SEO has always been about great content, and even after a host of updates named after exotic wildlife and choice destinations, it is clear that content is still boss. Next time Google updates it algorithm, we can pretty much be sure that content will continue to reign supreme. You can also be sure that we will continue to track the latest trends in digital marketing as they unfold so you have the most advanced tools to make the most of these trends before anyone else.

Nag

M Posted 12 years 8 months ago

t 9 min read

The move to 100% secure search by Google transformed the world of  SEO forever. We were among the first to anticipate this  and responded through our ground-breaking Page Reporting innovation well before this change (recognized by the likes of Search Engine Watch). Within days of the announcement by Google, we launched a slew of innovations to help SEO marketers manage the impact of Secure Search. Not ones to ever rest on our laurels, we have been busy hacking away to give you even more ways to turn this change into a massive opportunity.  Excited as we are to talk about every one of these to the minutest detail, we will stick to one simple and effective way to address Secure Search in this post – leaning on  Google Webmaster Tools (GWMT) keyword data right within the BrightEdge platform.

Read on to understand why Google Webmaster Tools matters and how you can play alchemist by turning GWMT data into SEO gold with the BrightEdge Google Webmaster Tools Integration.  

Google Webmaster tools is a treasure trove

GWMT is widely adopted and there is a reason for it – it allows webmasters and SEOs to keep a close eye on site health through insight into indexing status, search engine visibility of their websites, site performance and backlink profile. And there’s more that GWMT can do. Google Webmaster Tools also provides valuable Clicks, Impressions and Click-through Rate(CTR) data for all content on your site. And that brings us to the pressing issue of Secure Search.  

GWMT + BrightEdge = SEO gold

One of the biggest implications of Secure Search for marketers is the need for access to alternative data sources and that’s where BrightEdge shines brighter.  The precious GWMT data that you count on to understand your site performance is now available within BrightEdge. Looking at your BrightEdge keyword data with GWMT Impressions, Clicks and CTR restores some of the lost keyword visibility while making your keyword discovery more powerful than ever.  

Restore partial keyword visibility

With the BrightEdge Google Webmaster Tools Integration, you can regain some of the keyword visibility lost due to secure search.

• Impressions: Uncover how many people are seeing your website for a specific keyword search. Get a sense of how many people are seeing specific sections of your content.
• Clicks: Uncover how many searchers seeing your site take action and click on your search result.
• CTR: Click Through Rate(CTR) is the percentage of people that click on your site in the search results. If your CTR is low, look to see if the content can be made more relevant.

By integrating GWMT clicks, impressions, and CTR information with BrightEdge’s keyword, rank, page, and search volume data, marketers have access to in-depth keyword insights all in one place.  

Elevate your keyword discovery

The BrightEdge Google Webmaster Tools Integration is not all about restoring keyword visibility for your known keywords. It also helps you uncover new keywords through our enhanced SEO X-Ray tool. BrightEdge’s proprietary SEO X-Ray “Reverse Index” of the web uncovers exactly which keywords are working for your search competitors that you should also be targeting. With GWMT integration, your keyword discovery is now based on even richer data that includes Clicks, Impressions, and CTR from GWMT. For example, spot keywords that you are ranking for that you are not tracking. Then look at the Impressions and Clicks from the GWMT data available in the same report to decide if it makes sense to pursue that keyword. It's that simple.    

Getting GWMT integrated is quicker than a cup of coffee

Literally, it takes less time to get GWMT data into your account than it takes to make a cup of coffee. With a simple process our users have the ability to setup GWMT without requiring any support from their internal engineering or analytics teams. In fact, it’s so easy you can have it up and running right away.

If you are a BrightEdge customer, you have this powerful functionality right now, for no additional fee. More than a thousand brands already manage the impact of secure search with the BrightEdge Google Webmaster Tools Integration. Hope you will make the most of this valuable integration and cash in on the SEO gold that is available to you.