Be honest: how often do you use your Alexa or Siri to find the answer?
Maybe you’re cooking a meal and want to double-check the recipe. Perhaps you’re on holiday and need to know somewhere good to eat locally. The situation is constantly growing as voice technology’s capabilities on our devices improve.
Your business must optimise your content to search for voice without relying on AI to understand natural language and use long-tail keywords.
Keep ahead of the curve and learn to get higher rankings on platforms such as Siri and Google Assistant. Take advantage of the opportunity to use this exciting new advancement in SEO.
What is SEO?
Are you a newbie in the field of digital marketing in the murky world of SEO? Let’s get you up to speed with SEO!
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the delicate process of optimising your website to improve your rankings on search engines.
SEO uses search engine optimization, content creation, and link building to drive people to your site through search engines.
If done correctly, SEO can generate substantial revenue by driving customers to your website and converting them into buyers.
SEO is crucial to any successful marketing strategy in today’s highly competitive digital world. Take advantage of the power of SEO and experience excellent outcomes ranging from getting more customers to achieving your business’s goals efficiently!
The Impact of Voice Search on SEO
As voice search technology grows in popularity, its impact on SEO cannot be ignored.
Unlike traditional text-based search, voice search relies heavily on natural language queries, meaning websites must optimise content accordingly to rank well. Voice search also tends to favour local results, making it crucial for businesses to optimise their local SEO strategies.
Moreover, the rise of smart speakers and digital assistants means that voice search is becoming more integrated into our daily lives, making it essential for businesses to stay updated with the latest SEO trends.
By adapting to the changing search landscape, companies can gain a competitive edge and remain relevant in today’s digital world.
Our Tips for Optimising Your Content for Voice Search
With the rise of voice search, businesses must adapt their SEO strategies to stay relevant in the digital landscape. Here are our top tips for optimising your content for voice search:
Focus on natural language: Voice searches are more conversational and less formal, so using natural language when creating content is essential.
Use long-tail keywords: Unlike traditional text-based searches, voice searches are more detailed, so utilising long-tail keywords can help your content come first.
Optimise for local: As voice searches often include phrases like “near me,” optimising for local searches can help your business appear in relevant queries.
Use structured data: Structured data can help search engines recognize the meaning behind your content. This ensures your content is ranked highly in voice search results.
Keep it concise: Most voice searches provide quick, straightforward answers. Therefore, keeping your content short and clear will aid in ranking higher in search results for voice searches.
Incorporating these tips into your SEO strategy will make your website more user-friendly and give you an edge when someone next asks their Alexa a question.
The Future of SEO in a Voice-Driven World
As technology advances and improves, voice searches are becoming more popular and likely to grow. Voice is the engine that will drive SEO in the future, so businesses must adapt their tactics to stay competitive.
The emphasis on language’s natural processing will soon be among the most critical SEO changes. Voice searches typically use more conversational and long-tail terms than text searches, so businesses must modify their content to respond to these queries.
The emphasis on local SEO represents another major change. Voice search users typically look for information relevant to their current location. This means businesses must optimise their content to be local-friendly to be found in relevant voice search results.
Additionally, the rise of digital assistants and smart speakers has impacted SEO. Because these devices typically respond directly to user queries, businesses must provide clear, concise, precise, and relevant information to rank highly in these search results. Being complex or long-winded will not help you in a voice search.
Businesses must keep up with the most recent technology and trends as voice search technology evolves. This entails utilising cutting-edge technologies such as AI and machine learning. These could help businesses optimise their content and rank higher in voice search results.
The future of SEO is voice-driven, and businesses must adapt to stay relevant. Businesses will gain an advantage in the market and be highly ranked in voice search results by focusing on natural language processing, local SEO, and staying current with the most recent techniques.
The rapid growth of voice search is changing the SEO landscape. By embracing new technologies and trends, small businesses can get a competitive edge and rank well in voice search results.
Are you considering whether to buy backlinks or not? You are not alone! Tons of marketers and bloggers across the globe are asking the same question.
Generally, you are expected to build links through creative content. However, this form of link building takes a very very long time to start yielding results. Marketers who have limited time on their hands tend to seek a faster route and that’s where buying backlinks come in.
But, should you buy backlinks?
Here are two essential things to keep in mind before we jump into the nitty-gritty of backlinks. First,Google frowns upon websites that purchase backlinks. Since these links count towards ranking, Google discourages people from influencing the algorithm by buying links. If caught, you will be gravely penalised. This comes in the form of deranking which could last for a couple of months or forever.
So, before you start buying backlinks, be sure to weigh the risks involved. Secondly, buying backlinks is nothing new. In fact, the biggest names in the game are doing it. How are they doing it without getting caught? Simple – by following the best practices. We will get into that soon. Let’s see why people are buying backlinks.
5 Reasons Why Marketers Buy Backlinks?
Better traffic equals better ranking
The primary goal of every digital marketing campaign is to gain traffic on giant search engines like Google. With enormous traffic comes great potential of good leads. But to get this much traffic, you have to put in the work to ensure your website ranks among the top pages on Google. One way to do this is through link building. This is why people buy backlinks.
Less spending on SEO team and marketing
Buying backlinks comes at a huge cost – literally and metaphorically. For safety purposes, smart marketers opt for safe backlinks from high authority sites, and this tends to cost so much more than bulk spammy links from random sites. Since you will need a bunch of backlinks to start seeing results, it is best to prepare yourself for the cost.
In comparison, it is important to note that even the traditional link building method requires certain costs associated with content creation, SEO, and marketing. Although the cost varies based on the business needs, and may not be as high as buying links, people who buy backlinks enjoy the fact that they don’t get to spend on SEO and marketing.
Enhances domain authority
Yourwebsite’s domain authority (DA) is vital to its ranking. Google puts tons of factors into consideration when ranking, and a high DA is one of these factors. While this doesn’t come overnight, smart marketers have demystified the process through purchased backlinks.
Instead of waiting for months on end to get your DA high enough, you can easily and quickly get your foot on the door by purchasing quality backlinks.
Higher conversion rate
What’s your endgame? Sure, you want a high ranking on Google and massive traffic to your website, but that’s not all. The ultimate goal is for the leads from the traffic to convert sales.
Basically, the end game of link building is to skyrocket your conversion rate which means more sales and more profit for your business. This is the major reason savvy marketers are not waiting forever for traditional link building.
Faster result equals faster ROI
Let’s face it, traditional link building requires lots of patience and time. If you decide to build from scratch, be prepared to invest in content marketing and following up with top sites for backlinks and guest posts.
Ultimately, you will have to wait for what feels like forever to start gaining traction. Buying safe backlinks, on the other hand, provides an opportunity to get the desired result faster, which translates to faster ROI.
3 Huge Risks of Buying Backlinks
The truth is, you can totally enjoy the aforementioned benefits through traditional link building. You just have to put in more effort and time.
As beautiful as the benefits sound, it is important to point out the high risks you stand to face if and when you buy backlinks.
You may never get the result
Most people involved in link buying fail to recognise the depth of the options before them. It is true that you can buy tens of backlinks for only $5. In fact, you could subscribe for monthly backlinks for $20. At first, it sounds amazing, right?
But you will soon realise that these spammy sites do more harm than good. For starters, you may never get the result because the links are fake or irrelevant. Worse, Google already knows these spammy sites so they are easily spotted compared to others.
Harder to build trust among visitors
By linking to spammy sites, you could get the traffic but your visitors will be more sceptical than supposed. Since trust is needed for the final step – purchase, you could be potentially wasting your money and effort buying cheap backlinks.
You could lose your website forever
The last and biggest risk you stand to face is deranking or complete removal of your website. Google strongly warns against buying backlinks. Anyone caught will be penalised through deranking. Your entire website will be deranked including those with genuine link building efforts.
The length of this punishment is uncertain as some websites get 6-months and others never fully recover even after many years. In worst cases, Google reserves the right to completely take your website off their list. Therefore, it is important to weigh the consequences and gains before purchasing backlinks.
Pro tips to protect yourself while buying backlinks
How do people who buy backlinks stay off Google’s radar? Yes, it is possible to protect your website from Google’s penalty. This is how savvy marketers, including big companies, are protecting their websites from Google’s sanctions.
Buy only quality individual links
To stay off Google’s radar, you should only use quality links. As we mentioned earlier, spammy sites are well known for this inside business. Hence, Google already has its eyes on any links from these sites.
Be sure to find high DA sites willing to sell links through guest posts or otherwise. Additionally, keep to individual links instead of bulk purchases as this could be a red flag.
Use links from relevant sites
Spammy sites link to virtually any site on the web. Of course, Google will know something is wrong if you have backlinks from totally unrelated brands/services.
Paid links should be way less than natural links
Granted, you need a fast result, however, buying too many backlinks is basically you begging Google to notice you for breaking the rule.
Don’t play this game. At every given time, make sure paid links account for less than 10% of your entire links.
Don’t put paid links in commonly noticed areas
Certain areas like footnotes and sidebars are commonly known for these things. Therefore, smart marketers know to hide paid links individually in less common areas like blog posts.
Flee from popular dealer sites
Buying backlinks from websites that publicly state that they sell backlinks is a good way to get your website penalised. You’re basically leaving proof of your misconduct if/when Google starts suspecting.
Also, these popular dealers are in business with too many marketers so it is impossible for Google to not notice that something is wrong.
The verdict: Should you buy backlinks
Short answer: It is up to you!
There are pros and cons of both link building methods. Whether you choose to buy backlinks or build from scratch is totally up to you. We encourage you to consider your business needs, the gains, and the consequences of buying paid links before using this cheat code.
For professional help, don’t hesitate to contactFOME. We are here to help!
Want more tips?
Check out our previous article on 7 Benefits of Blogs On Business Websites. Please don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe so we can always bring you helpful tips like these. Thank you!
Granted, virtually every marketer today agrees to using Google Analytics for one task or the other. But the truth is, only a few savvy marketers actually understand the gold mine that exists in this free tool and how to correctly use it to grow their business. Hence the need for this expert guide on Google Analytics.
In the right hands, Google Analytics is a powerful tool that can easily transport your brand to the top of the food chain. With the right metrics and information about your audience, any marketer can easily make targeted fail-proof decisions. This is exactly what you get with Google Analytics. No wonder it is themost-used web analytics tool on the planet.
Today, we have decided to simplify the complex world of Google Analytics in this short article. Here, we discuss everything from the definition of Google Analytics, to how it works, its tools, and how you can use it to grow your business.
What is Google Analytics?
Simply put, Google Analytics is a free web analytics platform that allows you to track and analyse vital information about your website and visitors. It provides ‘insider secrets’ into who your audience is, what they want, what you are doing right, and what you are doing wrong. With the right guide on Google Analytics, this information is more than enough to improve your conversion rate and overall sales.
How does it work?
Well, it is not magic. This free tool sure does a lot but it cannot perform magic tricks. You need to embed your unique tracking code into the sites or pages you want tracked. Google Analytics works by tracking vital information of every visitor that clicks on any of the selected pages. As visitors read/view the page, the tracker is busy collecting their device name, age, sex, location, pages visited, time spent on each page, time, interests, etc. These loads of data are converted into visually appealing easy-to-digest charts. With the right tool, you can extract critical marketing information from the data collected, thus helping you make sound decisions about your marketing campaign and brand as a whole.
A quick guide to Google Analytics terms
Google Analytics is a complete world of its own. That’s why it is very easy to get lost there. Here are 12 common terms you will most likely encounter as you get started with Google Analytics.
Page views: This term refers to the actual number of pages viewed in the chosen time frame.
Landing page: Although typically your homepage, a landing page is in fact any page that visitors see first when they visit your site. It could be any page on your site.
Property: This term refers to the entity being tracked. It could be your selected pages or the complete website. Keep in mind that you can have different properties in one account or a single property for each account.
Keyword:The term keyword is not new for anyone who is into search engine optimisation (SEO). It basically tells you the word or phrase that your visitors were looking for when they landed on your site or page. This is how marketers are able to pinpoint their brand’s keyword. Note that a brand can have a truckload of keywords. You are responsible for sieving through the list to find your top keywords – that is the ones that you rank better with.
Bounce rate: Bounce rate signifies how quickly visitors left. It is typically high in cases where visitors clicked on just one page and left.
Traffic source: As the name implies, this term tells you everything you need to know about where your traffic comes from. This is especially handy when running a marketing campaign because it clearly shows which channel brings the most results.
Organic search: This is a common traffic source for most websites. Visitors who visit your site/page by clicking a link from search engine (e.g Google) result pages are classified as organic search.
Session duration: This is yet another term that calculates time. This is more detailed as it tells you the exact amount of time each visitor spent on your site.
Active users: Active users indicate the number of visitors that are currently on your site or page.
Pages per session: Instead of just telling you the time spent on your site, you can find out how many pages were viewed in that time by checking the metrics for pages per session.
Tracking ID: As we explained earlier, you get to embed a unique code in your selected sites/pages for Google Analytics to work. That unique code is called a Tracking ID.
Conversion:This term signifies the total number of visitors that eventually took the action you wanted. Examples include making a purchase, signing up for your newsletter, booking an appointment, etc.
How to grow your business with Google Analytics tools
Learn about your audience
Your business will gain a lot of insight by utilising user behaviour tools. The metrics tell you virtually everything you need to know. You get to learn the specific information that make up your audience as well as their age, sex, interests, time of visit, time spent on each page, sources they came from, and many more. As you have learned from this guide on Google Analytics, you already know this data tells so much more than the audience. They tell what you are doing right, where to invest more resources, and what needs improvement.
SEO
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is another important way your business can benefit from Google Analytics. It is no news that SEO is the heart of digital marketing. You cannot get ahead of your competitors without growing your SEO game. That is why we recommend using Google Analytics to strengthen your SEO. Some insights from Google Analytics tools come in handy in terms of optimising your website and pages. You can learn how fast your web pages load, how well the mobile version of your website is doing, the keywords to rank for, the channels to focus on, etc.
Maximise marketing campaigns
Savvy marketers use Google Analytics to maximise returns from marketing campaigns. Since the free analytics tools give insight into users’ behaviour and activities, these data can be used to decide the products to promote, the keyword to use, the channel to employ, the location to select, the gender to advertise to, etc. All of these metrics are very critical to your campaign performance. You could have the right product and still have no conversion if you are advertising to the wrong audience.
Track conversion rate
This is yet another incredible lesson you can pick from our guide on Google analytics tools. In addition to tracking your audience and how they interact with your business, Google Analytics allows you to track how many people make it through the sales funnel. In fact, you can also tell where people stopped in the sales funnel, helping you identify what went wrong and how to improve their experience next time so that they can eventually finish the cycle.
Predict the future
Do you know you can predict the future? No, not the upcoming match or what you will be in the next decade. Until we can actually predict the future, Google Analytics has empowered marketers with the ability to make informed decisions about the future of their brands. The predictive analytics tools coupled with user behaviour help you predict (to the highest possible certainty) what the future holds for your firm. This is a highly welcomed development as it opens doors to endless opportunities for marketers/business owners.
Google Analytics is undoubtedly the most advanced web analytics platform on the planet. The insights are top-notch and the tools are constantly improving. This makes it worth every marketer’s time and effort. Whether you are a seasoned marketer or a beginner, we assure you that you will find this guide on Google Analytics very helpful.
For professional assistance, don’t hesitate to contactFOME. We are here to help!
SEO is one of the most effective digital marketing strategies. It involves optimising your website to increase its visibility on Google and other search engines. The concept of SEO can be quite intimidating in the beginning, but once you master the main components, creating and implanting a strong SEO strategy should be easy.
Keywords are one of the most important elements of search engine optimisation. If you want your website to rank higher on search engine result pages and drive targeted traffic, you must use the right keywords. Here’s a quick guide on keyword research to get you started.
What is keyword search?
Before delving any further into keyword research, let us first look at keywords.
Keywords are the words and phrases that people type into search engines to find information on the internet. They are a critical component of your digital marketing strategy, but more so if you want to rank for organic search results. Therefore, before you get with any marketing campaign, it’s important that you know which words people use when searching for things in your niche, and this is where keyword search comes in.
Keyword research is the process of finding and analysing the phrases and search terms that customers enter into search engines to use that data for marketing purposes. Simply put, keyword research is getting to know the language of your target audience and using this knowledge to optimise your content.
Why is keyword research important?
Any marketing expert will tell you that keyword research is the basis of any digital marketing strategy. Here are some of the benefits of conducting keyword research.
Marketing trends insight
Conducting keyword research will give insight into marketing trends so that you can centre your content on trending and relevant topics.
Increased and engaged traffic
Google ranks content for relevance. Therefore, when you identify relevant keywords that match the searcher’s intent, Google will rank your website higher in SERPs, increasing your organic traffic.
Increased conversions
If your content offers customer’s solutions to their problems, they will be more inclined to buy from you. Keyword research helps you understand your customers’ pain points so that you can address them both in your content and your offerings.
What tools can you use to conduct market research?
There’s a great collection of both free and premium keyword research tools at your disposal. They include:
SEMrush
SEMrush is hands down the best SEO tool on the market. Some might say SEMrush is expensive. Or is it really? SEMrush is not expensive.
This tool gives you comprehensive data. It allows you to dig into the nitty-gritty like SERP features such as featured snippets, site links, reviews, image pack, etc., and granular analysis of current results.
Its Keyword Magic Tool is an international database with more than 20 billion keywords. It has a robust filtering system that allows you to group keywords by SERP features, search intent, topic, and so much more. To use SEMrush, all you have to do is enter your seed keyword, and the database will generate thousands of suggestions.
Google Keyword Planner (Free Tool)
Google Keyword Planner has been the go-to research tool for many marketers, but as SEO becomes more advanced, many of them are switching to more advanced tools. However, that is not to say that it’s obsolete; Google keyword planner is one of the most reliable keyword research tools because it’s designed by Google. That said because it’s intended for Google Ads, using it for SEO can be a bit difficult. GKP is free to use; you just need a Google Ads Account.
Google Predictions (Free Tool)
Google autocomplete is a Google search feature that provides search term predictions. As users type into the search bar, Google provides predictions until they find the search term they want to use. While this feature was created to make searching easy for web users, it can also help marketers and business owners conduct keyword research. By simply typing in your seed keyword, you can discover long-tail keywords frequently used by customers.
Before using Google predictions for SEO, ensure that you log out of your Google or use incognito mode so that your search history doesn’t influence your predictions.
‘People Also Ask’ (Free Tool)
The ‘People Also Ask‘ (PAA) box is a Google search engine results page feature that answers questions that people commonly search for on Google. Each answer comes from a web page, and Google provides a clickable link to the source below each one. You can use these questions to create useful content for your website visitors.
Google Related Searches (Free Tool)
Related searches are the eight search results at the bottom of a results page. Google generates them to give you more insight into who your customers are and their intent so that you can create valuable and relevant content.
SE Ranking
SE Ranking is comprehensive yet easy to use and affordable too. It allows you to find and analyse keywords against different metrics within a single interface. It also allows you to see your SERPS competitors, which is crucial when planning both organic and paid marketing campaigns.
Keyword research should be the backbone of all your marketing campaigns. If you need help finding the perfect keywords, contact us today to speak to our team of marketing experts.
If you already have a website, you are probably aware of the significance of writing blogs for it and its SEO benefits.
But do you know how to optimise your blog entries so that they rank higher in search engines?
The truth is that many bloggers fail to capitalise on their site’s immense marketing potential. In fact, according to a recent blogger.com report, while about 60% of businesses have blogs, 65 per cent of those blog owners have not even posted in the last year! You may get the benefits of blogging by providing new, relevant content and conducting basic blog post Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Here, we look at some SEO blog post writing tips to help you to get your blog post noticed by Google and bring the traffic rolling in.
Conduct your research
For on-page optimisation, keyword research is critical. By offering useful information on a topic, you may be naturally integrating keywords without even recognising them. However, you may not have explored a range of tools and approaches for locating similar keywords pertinent to your blog content. Both Keyword Planner and Semrush provide excellent tools for finding keywords related to your topic and snooping on your competitors to discover what words and phrases they are using to drive traffic to their website.
Useful tools you can use to find keywords/ideas for your blog:
Make use of keywords throughout your post. Once you have identified a few useful and relevant keywords, it is critical to place them where they will have the greatest influence on people and search engine crawlers indexing your material.
Try to include them in the following areas:
Titles, headings and subheading
The introductory paragraph (preferably the first 100 words)
The final paragraph
The anchor text (text you hyperlink to other related pages on your site)
Meta descriptions and title tags
However, it is important to avoid keyword stuffing, which is the practice of packing your text with so many terms that it becomes difficult or jarring to read. This will not only annoy your site readers, but it will also get you penalised by Google. A few cleverly placed keywords will always suffice – quality, rather than quantity.
Don’t forget about your images
When uploading images to your blog – and it is always a good idea to break up big chunks of text with high-quality images – do not forget to include keywords in the file name and fill out the alternate text section with a concise, keyword-rich description of the image.
Link to external sites
Include a link to the information you are referencing when you mention another blog, business or article in your blog post. It is not only excellent blogging decorum, but you might even get a link back. Quality links are a vital asset for any website that wants to rank higher in search engine results pages.
Ensure your blog posts are offering something of value to readers
The very best way to appear in search results is to provide quality and helpful content. Google determines the usefulness of your material by observing the behaviour of individuals who search for something and end up on your site. Answering a question correctly and keeping visitors on your site for a longer period of time might help your blog posts rank on Google.
Write with humans in mind, not a search engine
With all of these SEO writing standards, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that when a person searches on Google, they are seeking an answer. Writing high-quality blog entries is the best approach to increase your ranking possibilities.
What does that imply? Comprehensive responses, searchable portions, well-organised subheaders, and visual aids.
Keep in mind your buyer personas, as well as their motivations, challenges, and interests. It is also critical to select subjects that will pique your target clients’ interests and address their problems.
You understand how to create blogs that people will enjoy reading. It is now time to add components that Google will appreciate. Although it may appear difficult at first, with these SEO writing tips, you will be on the first page of Google, watching the traffic come rolling in.
If you’re into SEO, you know very well that you need to do everything you can to rank well in Google’s search results. But how does Google rank a web page? How does it know which keywords or phrases to display on the page whenever an internet user types in a term in the Google search box?
How does Google know which words and phrases on the web page are the most important? This is where page titles and meta descriptions come in.
What Is Metadata?
Metadata plays a crucial role in website or web page optimisation. To put it simply, metadata is “data about data.” It is integrated into a code or underneath a layer of code so additional information can be provided to the software that’s reading it.
Metadata can also refer to HTML elements such as title tags and description tags. Internet users can’t see the metadata because they’re not displayed on the screen but are encoded into the page, instead.
What Are Page Titles?
Page titles, also referred to as title tags are tiny bits of HTML codes that are integrated into the source code of a web page. It’s an important page element because it tells Google and other search engines what the page is about and what keywords they need to focus on.
A good meta title tag or SEO title needs to be 60 characters at most, including spaces. The title tags of each of the web pages should be unique. That’s why you need to use keyword research so you’ll know which keywords are best to use in your title tags. Page titles must be short and an accurate summary of the page. If not, visitors will leave your page once they realise that the content isn’t what they expected, as per the displayed title.
The code for a meta title tag looks like this:
<title> This is the page title. It should not exceed 60 characters. </title>
Meta descriptions offer a summary of what the web page is about. A part or all of the short text string may be displayed in the search results of Google or other search engines. You must create a well-written meta description to attract visitors to click on the link and visit your page.
Meta descriptions don’t have a measurable effect on the rankings of your web pages. However, it plays a huge role in enticing visitors to click on your link and visit your website after your listing is displayed on the search engine page results of Google or other search engines.
Don’t forget to use targeted keywords in the metadata description because they can have a positive effect on the ranking of your web page.
Well-written metadata can help motivate visitors to click on your link and visit your website.
Make sure that the metadata is complete. If not, search engines won’t be able to understand what the page is about. It may even prevent the page from getting good rankings for its keywords.
Make sure each of your pages has unique meta descriptions.
The code for the meta description looks like this:
<meta name=” description” content=” This is where the metadata description will be located.”/>
Good Meta Description Examples
Buy and sell luxury watches. We’re the premier buyer and seller of used OMEGA, Cartier, Rolex, and other luxury watches.
Do you need an emergency dentist in Edinburgh? Get in touch with Polwarth Dental Clinic and a friendly member of our team can help you. Call 0131 229 8143.
Bad Meta Description Examples
We use cookies to improve your experience and help us to understand how we can make it better. Some of these are essential to make this site work.
Emergency Edinburgh dentist at southside dental care.
Why Are Page Titles and Meta Descriptions Important?
Page titles and meta descriptions that are not optimised will trigger fewer clicks than those that are well-optimised. Come to think of it, you won’t be clicking on the link that comes with a title that says “title” or a description that says “this is the description.” Well-written page titles and meta descriptions help your web page rank and improve its click-through rate.
Avoid creating bad page titles and meta descriptions. Because if you don’t you will end up losing essential traffic to your website. Even if you manage to get a web page on the first page of the search engine results, it won’t matter if no one clicks on it. Consider your title tag and meta description as an advert for your web page. Write it well and make it appealing so that it will encourage visitors to check your site.
Are Page Titles and Meta Descriptions Used for Ranking Pages?
There is conflicting information as to whether page titles and meta descriptions are ranking factors or not. Although these two elements are essential when optimizing a website for search engines, it’s better if you focus your efforts on optimizing them to get more clicks from visitors.
What is the Ideal Length for Page Titles and Meta Descriptions?
The best length for meta title tags is between 50 and 60 characters including spaces. Titles that contain more will be truncated and characters will not be displayed.
As for the meta description, the optimal length may vary. In most cases, Google will truncate the meta description if it exceeds 160 characters. Keep your meta description long enough to give visitors an idea of what your page is about but make sure that it doesn’t go beyond 160 characters.
Tips for Writing and Optimizing Page Titles
Follow the 60-character limit including spaces
Include targeted keywords
Use search modifiers such as guide, best, prices, and buy
Include unique selling points
Tips for Writing and Optimizing Meta Descriptions
Follow the character length limits (160 characters max)
Highlight unique selling points
Summarise the content
How Do You Identify Which Page Titles and Meta Descriptions You Should Optimise First?
Create a list of all the URLs of your website. Don’t forget to include a note of how much traffic each of them gets. Sort the list according to sessions per page or page visits. Review and change the title tags and meta descriptions as needed. Once that’s done, check the performance of the pages after a week. You can also write new title tags and meta descriptions based on the metadata of your well-performing pages.
How Do You Add Page Titles and Meta Descriptions to your Website?
Writing page titles and meta descriptions is simple but installing them on your website may be complicated. Every available content management system comes with different ways of adding metadata to websites. If you use WordPress, then you may consider using the Yoast SEO plugin.
Why Isn’t Google Using your Page Title or Meta Description?
It’s common for Google to not use your page title and meta description so don’t be too disappointed or worried. There are many reasons why this may happen. It could be due to an under-optimised page title or meta description. It may also be due to a page containing different topics or answers to questions. Another possibility is if Google hasn’t recrawled your page yet since it was last updated.
Worried about visibility? Smart marketers keep up with SEO hacks to stay on the first page of Google. Check out these marketers’ secrets.
Granted, SEO is constantly changing the game. Since SEO came into marketing, it has completely revolutionised digital marketing. But one thing that sticks out for everyone is the continuous flux in SEO rules. With giant search engines like Google rolling out different algorithms and SEO rules, it can get quite tricky to keep up with relevant SEO tweaks.
So, how do you ensure you stay on Google’s first page? Follow the changes. It is that simple.
Here, we discuss the Top 5 SEO Hacks Smart Marketers Are Using in 2021. Stay glued till the end to get a bonus tip. Also, this will be a good time to Subscribe if you haven’t done that already.
Smart Marketers Are Moving From Desktop to Mobile
Google has been hinting at this in the past years and the latest Core algorithm update has finally launched the shift from desktop to mobile. What this means for you is that your ranking signals which usually come from the desktop version of your website are now solely coming from the mobile version.
We can’t say we didn’t see this coming. In fact, savvy marketers were already prioritising mobile SEO long before now. The trend for searching has changed. Searchers use their phones way more than desktops. So, it makes sense that this shift is imminent. Get on board!
Smart Marketers Are Still Following EAT
We know the Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (EAT) principle is nothing new to savvy marketers. But it is worth emphasising because Google is still using this principle even in 2021.
Introduced in 2014, the EAT principle is designed to promote content using users’ trust. Going by this principle, you ought to build trust in your industry by showing your expertise and authoritativeness in the niche. This ensures that only brands with informative relevant content are pushed to the first page.
Smart Marketers Are Playing Along with Search Intent
Google has always stressed the importance of focusing on the searchers. Maybe marketers were getting away with posting just about anything they wanted 20 years ago. But all of that has changed tremendously.
Looking at thethousands of updates Google rolls out every year, it is quite obvious that customer focus is the centre of it all. This trend is not going anywhere, anytime soon, and smart marketers know this. Therefore, they are going beyond catchy metatags to ensure searchers get all the information they need in their content.
Smart Marketers Are Optimising the Entire Page Experience
If you have been around for long, you will notice that Google rolls out Core Vitals virtually every year. And the central focus is usually on searchers’ experience. The late Core Vitals just went live and what we can say is that the overall page experience counts. When optimising your page, be sure to optimize for the complete user experience including image optimization, page speed, rendering, and every other thing in between.
Smart Marketers Are Prepared for AI Automation
In case no one has told you yet, AI has already taken over. Maybe not totally but this year, get ready to see more automation on search engines. Since Google released RankBrain, search trends have gradually changed to accommodate more automation. And this year may be the year it eventually solidifies the work. Be prepared!
Smart Marketers Are Working on their Entire Entity for SERP Optimisation
Since you stayed till the end, let’s share this industry secret with you. For many years, we have preached the importance of creating [and maintaining] a professional and optimized website. However, Google is now concerned about your whole entity – your YouTube channel, social media platforms, and website.
In 2021, Google is interested in knowing your brand as an entity. Every digital footprint your brand has online is part of your entity. And our guess is this new update will likely rank your entire entity, not just your website. Hence, you are killing your chances of ranking on the first page if only your website is optimized.
It is 2021 and SEO is still the king of digital marketing. We understand it can get quite daunting keeping up. Hence, we summarized the top 5 SEO hacks smart marketers are using in 2021.
Why bother about backlink auditing? Well, if you want to properly manage your backlinks, assess whether you are getting healthy or broken backlinks, or ready to improve your overall Google ranking then you should care about backlinks.
Hello everyone, welcome to another blog!
Since the beginning of the year, we’ve had lots of questions relating to backlinks. Two of these questions particularly stood out:
Are backlinks needed in 2021 SEO?
How do I perform a thorough backlink audit?
If you belong to the first category asking if backlinks are still important for 2021 SEO, the answer is a resounding YES. Backlinks have always been an important part of SEO and that is not changing anytime soon. As a matter of fact, a new study by Ahrefs stressed that one of the distinguishing factors for page ranking lies in the quantity and quality of backlinks. In essence, top-ranking pages usually have more backlinks.
And that brings us to the next question – how to perform thorough backlink auditing. We put together this article to answer that question in detail. Therefore, we urge you to stay glued till the end. Remember you also get a bonus tip. That’s right! Quickly, for those who are yet to Subscribe, this is the right time to do so. Let’s jump right in!
Start with the complete picture
It goes without saying that you need the complete list of your website’s backlinks to perform a thorough backlink audit. With the complete list, it is easy to identify broken links, missing links, and other harmful links.
This is why experts recommend using external tools for backlink audits. There are a handful of good tools out there. Simply choose one that best fits your needs and ensure it is capable of retrieving a detailed list of your website’s backlinks.
Remove harmful backlinks
Unless you are new to the SEO game, you ought to know the adverse effect of harmful backlinks. In fact, this is the primary reason for performing this audit. You need to be able to identify harmful backlinks and eliminate them right away before they destroy your website ranking some more.
Fortunately, auditing tools are designed to help you fish out potential harmful backlinks so you can easily remove them.
Return missing backlinks
It is totally okay to see some missing backlinks. There are a ton of reasons for this. But instead of panicking, we advise you to assess the missing backlinks to know whether it is worth your time or not. Links from high authority sites are definitely worth the time.
Once you figured that out, try performing a quick analysis to identify the cause of the problem. It could be that the webpage was taken down or restricted. Whatever be the case, you can simply contact the webmasters to restore your backlinks or move them to a new page.
Pay attention to broken backlinks
Broken links are very common on websites. During backlink auditing, it is smart to find these links and fix them right away.
First, identify the links and the cause. Then, you can fix them by redirecting them to a new page or eliminating them entirely.
Fewer no-follow links, more do-follow links
This step is very important in every backlink auditing. Truth is, those no-follow links have zero SEO value. It is more like feeding on a substance that has no nutritional value and expecting to grow. You do not need a doctor to tell you that is a total waste of time.
Through the auditing, be sure to identify potentially helpful no-follow links (that’s those from high authority sites) and convert them to do-follow links by contacting the owners of the website.
Bonus Tip!
It doesn’t end here!
More importantly, you should understand that the auditing journey doesn’t end here. Sure, you have cleaned up your backlinks and they are in optimal health at the moment, however, they won’t remain in this state forever. You need to constantly monitor the health of your backlinks to keep your website ranking well on Google and other organic search engines.
Conclusion
And there you have our list of 5 Pro Tips for Thorough Backlink Auditing. Let us know which of these tips you are trying next. Also, do not forget to like, share, and subscribe to encourage us to produce more great tips like these.
Hello everyone and welcome back to our blog. In today’s article, we’ll discuss some of the more significant upcoming trends and changes to Google’s search algorithm and the impact they will have, not just on SEO, but also on the Internet as we know it in 2021. Because let’s face it –Google’s algorithm is the one calling the shots here. If your website fails to adapt, or worse yet – refuses to fall in line with the new implementations, it is going to fall behind the competition and ultimately fade into obscurity.
Since this article is going to be on the lengthier side, you can use the list below to jump to the points that interest you the most. Still, we would highly recommend that you read through the entire post, because, whether you like it or not, this is going to be the new face of the Internet.
The top 8 trends to watch in 2021:
New UX Metrics: The user-first approach is going to be mandatory
User experience metrics are going to be the key to outranking your competitors.
According to a recent Google announcement, the Core Web Vitals system will become the new criteria for ranking higher in search results. Since Google’s entire model is centred around delivering streamlined and easy-to-consume content to the user, this implementation should not come as a surprise. The main points here are loading speed, interactivity and visual stability.
What this means
For a long time, both business owners and SEO agencies have had difficulties grasping this rather straightforward concept. So, to put it in layman’s terms: if two websites offer the same content relevance and quality, then user experience will be the deciding factor. If your website performs better than those of your competitors, you will receive a boost.
What you need to do
Google presents its users with a wide range of tools, capable of gauging the performance of their website.
This includes (but is not limited to) Page Speed Insights, Search Console, ChromeDevTools and the Web Vitals Extension for Google Chrome. These tools will highlight the areas in which a website is lacking and, on some occasions, present the users with suggestions on how to improve them.
AI & Search Intent Predictions: The algorithm knows best
With each passing year, Google’s algorithm grows smarter. The AI in charge of query interpretations can now accurately “understand” contextual queues, identify the user’s search intent, resolve ambiguities and suggest spelling mistakes, all to present more accurate search results. As a result, people are much more likely to find precisely what they need within a single search.
What this means:
In the future, content optimisation will not be nearly as reliant on keywords and repetitions.
What you need to do
This update will provide you with a lot more freedom to publish user-focused content, as opposed to the keyword-stuffed search-engine-targeted word soups of the past. Since you won’t have to chase a specific keyword percentage, you will be free to unleash your creativity and get your message across in the way you want to.
Mobile-first Indexing: Mobile friendliness will be even more important
Mobile-friendliness has played a big part in ranking higher in the search results for quite some time now, so this particular implementation was expected. Google wants to provide its users with easily accessible content, no matter where they are or what device they are using and they’ve been pushing mobile-first ranking for years.
Besides, even if it wasn’t for Google’s ranking algorithms, mobile optimisation is something that every website owner ought to leverage since a huge portion of the users today access the web via their mobile devices.
Of course, this sort of adjustment takes a while, and the engineers over at Google have given website owners plenty of time to adapt. So far, the algorithm was enforcing mobile-first indexing only if the given website was considered mobile-ready. In the near future, however, this will change, and websites will be forced into the system, regardless of their current situation.
What this means
Websites which aren’t fully optimised for mobile browsing will suffer a big hit in their search results position. This situation presents website owners with an opportunity to climb higher in on the search results at no real added cost.
What you need to do
The experts over at Google have prepared a mobile-first indexing checklist, detailing the criteria that a website must meet to rank higher in the search results. And, since a significant portion of this depends on the type of theme that a website is using, the transition will be relatively painless for the majority of website owners. For projects with custom-build themes, however, the procedure might require professional assistance, or, in some of the more extreme cases, a complete redesign.
EAT factors could move up in importance
If you’ve been keeping track of the search engine optimisation community, you’ve probably noticed the notoriety, surrounding the whole EAT debate. Even though there are hundreds of experts out there who swear by the effectiveness of EAT signals, there are also those who believe them to be entirely useless for the sake of ranking. Given the last few waves of algorithm changes, however, it is safe to assume that Google’s algorithm is pretty close to being able to accurately measure the EAT rating of a website.
What is EAT and why do people care about it?
E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. It is a way to gauge the accuracy of the content/information provided by a given page. If the website mentions the “correct” entities, it will be considered accurate. Additionally, factors like the author and brand credibility and their connections to other authoritative entities also play a role here.
What you need to do
Focus on publishing high-quality content, use accurate and trusted sources and don’t worry about what is happening under the hood. As long as your content is created in good faith and follows the general guidelines, you will do just fine. This change is mostly aimed at culling “alternative” sources and dissenting theories and will not hinder the positions of business websites. Furthermore, backlinks remain a reliable alternative for raking up those coveted authority points.
Entities, Entities, Entities
Speaking of authority, Google’s algorithm is expected to start judging the trustworthiness and authority of pages, based on their relationships with various entities. Now, this might sound a bit confusing, since “entity” is quite the nebulous term, but for the purposes of Search Engine Optimisation (and Google’s algorithm), entities are things or concepts which are: singular, unique, well-defined and distinguishable. This means that everything from people and companies to songs, movies and books classifies as a separateentity.
What this means:
Even though backlinks from authoritative pages are not going to lose value directly, their importance will be somewhat diminished, due to the increased weight of entities. This change aims to create an entity relationship-based model, which Google will then use to automatically assign trustworthiness and authority to websites, brands and individual authors. The more trustworthy and authoritative entities will receive a “boost” to their ranking.
What you need to do
Ideally, you would turn your brand into an entity, recognisable for Google’s algorithm. This process involves a number of steps, from claiming your Google Business Profile profile, all the way to using a specific content creation strategy and unique syntax queues. And, if this sounds a bit conflicted with the previous point, don’t worry, because it’s not meant to put your creativity “back in the box”. Instead, think of it as solidifying (or, if you still haven’t gone through that process yet, forging) your brand’s identity and online presence. From a website owner’s perspective, the process is quite similar to the already familiar marketing approaches.
Structured Data will be a must
Structured data is a way of telling search algorithms (or in this case – Google) more about the type of content, product or service, offered by your website. A page properly leveraging structured data can benefit from Google’s ability to create rich snippets. This is very important for websites that focus on recipes, news articles, reviews and more.
Beyond that, Google also utilises structured data to determine where your business is located and push it higher up in the local search results. This is achieved by the “local business” schema and is considered a key component in local SEO for small and medium-sized B2C websites with physical stores, offices or other facilities.
Google also relies on structured data to define entities. And, even though the algorithm is more than capable of retrieving entity information even from unstructured pages, implementing the appropriate elements will serve to dramatically speed up the process.
What this means:
Websites which make the necessary adjustments will enjoy a smoother transition into the new era of SEO and benefit from better ranking opportunities.
What you need to do
Structured data implementations require adjustments to the code of your website. But don’t worry – it’s not nearly as complicated as it sounds. You won’t need to build a new website from the ground up. The entire system is very streamlined and adding it to an existing page isn’t exactly rocket science.
Intent will be the name of the game
Since Google’s algorithm is good at recognising search intent, it’s natural to assume that it will do everything in its power to deliver the exact answer in snippet form, rather than a link to a homepage, for example. And while this sounds great from a user standpoint, it can be rather annoying for you as a website owner. If the visitor gets their question answered without even visiting your website, then they might not bother clicking through, right?
Well, yes and no.
What this means:
Well-written and adequately structured content is going to potentially drive even more traffic than before. It’s all up to the specific website’s marketing strategy. If you are publishing content with the idea to drive traffic by answering 50 different questions in your 1000-words-long listicle, chances are that the user won’t have any reason to click through, since they would’ve already seen everything that you’ve got to offer on the subject. If your content is detailed, well-written and captivating, however, you are going to stand out from the competition and enjoy a not insignificant boost in traffic.
What you need to do
Publish only high-quality, user-focused content, tailored with the rich snippet function in mind. Of course, this also makes schema implementations a must. For video content and answers to specific questions, consider including FAQ schema elements and marking down the critical portions of the video.
Local SEO will take more finesse
When it comes to local search engine optimisation, Google Business Profile (or GMB, for short) is your best friend. When combined with the appropriately structured data implementations, a Google Business Profile registration will allow you to appear higher in local (relevant) searches and put your message right in front of your potential customers. With the recent updates to the service, you can now add additional information about your products and services, publish short-form posts, offer digital reservations and set up messaging options.
What this means:
Google Business Profile Optimisation is vital for local SEO. In fact, thanks to all of the newly added advanced features, your GMB account is almost as important as your actual website. A well-optimised GMB can provide your potential customers with all of the needed information on whether they want to do business with you, that they might convert before even visiting your website.
What you need to do
Familiarise yourself with the options presented by GMB and take the appropriate steps to optimise everything in line with your brand message and marketing strategy. Think of your GMB registration as an extension (or a crucial part) of your business model, rather than a separate (or optional) add-on.
In Summary
Q: So, is SEO Dead?
A: No, these changes will not “kill SEO” or “make SEO obsolete”. And, no, we are not just saying that because we are an SEO & Marketing agency. Changes of this sort aim to minimise the “mechanical” component of optimisation to decrease the number of low-quality websites that clutter the top positions in search results. If anything, it is guaranteed to make well-optimised websites stand out even more, as Google’s algorithm will filter out the low-effort projects much more effectively.
Q: But you just said that some of the standard optimisation strategies will take a big hit!
A: Yes, that much is true. But, as we have said time and again, Search Engine Optimisation should not be viewed as a separate process, but rather as an integral part of your long-term marketing strategy. We believe that things like brand-centric design, user-first content marketing, seamless navigation and stunning visuals should be a staple, rather than the “added benefit” that they are today.
Q: Can a business owner leverage these changes to gain a competitive advantage?
A: Yes, that is most certainly possible. Even though the changes might seem a tad drastic to some, they are definitely workable and, if you approach them properly, you can expect to gain a significant boost in your position in the search results.
So, to sum it all up, here’s what these changes mean for website owners:
UX Metrics – Your website has to meet (or ideally – slightly exceed) the current standards for loading speed, interactivity and visual stability.
AI & Search Intent – Your content strategy has to be centred around the user, rather than the search engine.
Mobile-first Indexing – Your users should be able to enjoy your website, regardless of their location or choice of device. Mobile-friendliness is a must.
EAT factors – Your content needs to be accurate, on point and created in good faith.
Entities – Your brand strategy should be centred around solidification of your online presence and long-term client retention. You want authoritative sources, trustworthy content creators and high-quality publications.
Structured Data – Your website should be prepared to leverage schema to its full potential.
User Intent – Well-written and adequately structured content is going to drive even more traffic than before.
Local SEO – Your GMB account is just as important as your official website. Take good care of it, and the benefits will soon follow.
And, with this, we’ve reached the end of today’s post. Of course, there is always more to learn about Google’s ever-evolving search algorithms, but we hope that this will serve as a good starting point and will help you prepare for the upcoming changes. Before we wrap up and call it a day, we’d like to reiterate that Search Engine Optimisation should be treated as a part of your long-term marketing strategy, rather than an entirely separate process.
SEO alone won’t boost your sales, just like marketing alone won’t drive organic traffic to your website. And, the latest changes to Google’s algorithm only serve to solidify our position even further.
With the more technical aspects of SEO taking the back seat, your content strategy and marketing approach are going to play a pivotal role in whether you rank well or not.
If you need help with the Search Engine Optimisation of your website, or advice, regarding your Marketing Strategy, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our experts will be more than happy to help.
Hello everyone and welcome back to our blog! In today’s article, we are going to have a look at perhaps one of the most interesting and pivotal elements of Search Engine Optimisation – Keywords.
Keywords and the process of keyword research have always been essential for proper optimisation, but they have gone through several forms. This has (understandably) caused a lot of confusion, especially with the people who are not very familiar with the intricacies of SEO.
And yes, this article is going to be … a tad longer than our average posts. However, we’ve got a lot to cover, so please bear with us. For your convenience, we have compiled a simple table of contents that you can use to quickly jump to the sections that interest you the most if you happen to be short on time. Still, we would highly advise you to read the entire thing from top to bottom, regardless of whether you are an aspiring SEO expert (important learning resource!), a grizzled veteran (refresh your knowledge and stay up to date) or a business owner who wants to understand the basics of a keyword research.
So what is Keyword Research?
Keywords or focus words describe the content on your website. It’s the search term you want your website page or blog post to rank for in Google or other search engines.
Keywords are one of the main things which bring visitors to your website. If you have a website, selling “organic raw honey”, for example, you would want people to visit your website when they type “organic raw honey” in Google, right? Well, that’s exactly what the keywords are going to do.
And, this is why keyword research is one of the first and most essential parts of SEO. It is a process, during which the person doing the optimisation compiles a list of specific words, for which the website would be aiming to rank for in search engines. Ideally, before you start, you should have already decided on the details of your website.
Looking back at our example, you should figure out what your ideal customer is looking for – words, terms, questions, phrases, sentences, brands and so on, in relation to your product/service.
Armed with this information, you can produce high-quality content, which will, in turn, drive high-quality traffic to the website.
Is keyword research still important for SEO?
What makes keywords so important, you ask?
Well, keywords are the main method that will get visitors to your website.
First, they are what will tell search engines like Google that your website’s content matches the user’s search query. Then, said users would get to see the keywords, featured in your website and will want to click through to it.
Keyword research, or, well, proper keyword research, is the key to making this happen. It will clear up the search terms, most frequently used by your target audience, streamlining the rest of the process. Oftentimes, however, business owners or website managers will choose keywords that do not match the ones, used by their target audience. And, as you can probably guess, this will result in a significant loss of potential business opportunities.
SEO and marketing have to go hand-in-hand
This often-overlooked fact can make or break your optimisation. Sometimes, the people over at marketing will come up with a really creative, off-the-beaten-track name for a product. And while that would typically give you a quirky advantage over the competition (because customers might remember your name easier, for example), it can also lead to problems for your optimisation down the line.
So, if you decide to sell “beelicious honey” instead of “organic raw honey”, your target audience might have a difficult time finding the product.
If your SEO team is worth its salt, you are still going to rank for your quirky product name – search engines aren’t going to do anything to prevent you from achieving the spot that you deserve.
Your traffic, however, is almost guaranteed to suffer from it, because a considerable portion of the target audience doesn’t go out there looking for “beelicious honey”.
So, to answer the original question – Yes. Keyword research matters a great deal. It can absolutely make or break your marketing strategy and change the direction of your business in the long run.
Know your audience, do the research properly, and you are off to a wonderful start. Mess things up, and, well … you might as well go back to the drawing board.
Keyword Research Tools
Google Keyword Planner
Starting off with Google’s very own (and most widely-used) tool – the Google Keyword Planner. This is a relatively straightforward to use, but incredibly powerful tool, invaluable during the preliminary research stage of your campaign. Backed up by Google’s extensive documentation, you can look into, compare and discover new keywords, related to your niche, products and services, as well as see the estimated searches and targeting cost for ad campaigns.
Ubbersuggest
Ubersuggest is one of the best free “idea generators” out there. Its algorithm can provide you with new keywords and content ideas, complete with detailed statistics, based on your criteria.
SEMrush
SEMrush is an extensive all-in-one toolkit (or, in their own words – suite), for keyword research and comparison, marketing insights and reporting. It is perhaps one of the most well-established third-party tools out there, loved by marketing agencies far and wide. It can help with fine-tuning your keyword strategy, improving your online presence, researching your keywords and competitors and managing your campaigns.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is another complex toolkit, centred around search engine optimisation and analysis. Ahrefs advanced algorithms put them well-ahead of most similar platforms out there, facilitating a larger-than-usual base of links and an extensive index, delivered at record speeds. They can help you look into the backlinks of any website, gauge the visibility of content at a glance, estimate traffic for various keywords and run audits on specific pages. Additionally, they also offer a monitoring service and rank tracking, backed up by detailed reports.
Different Types of Keywords
Now, before you dive right into your keyword research, we should also talk about the various “types” of keywords out there. Because, yes, keywords also come in all sorts of … flavours?
Short-tail keywords (Generic)
Short-tail keywords, also known as “Generic Keywords” are phrases which can be used to broadly describe your product or service. In our example, this would be “raw honey”.
The competition for generic keywords is very high, and, since they aren’t highly specific, we would advise you to steer clear of them for your organic optimisation strategy.
And while it is true that if you manage to rank for a Generic Keyword, your website is going to enjoy a high amount of traffic, you should not expect to convert every single visitor.
When looking at tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, you will notice that Generic Keywords cost a lot more per click than their longer counterparts.
Middle-tail keywords (Broad)
Middle-tail keywords, also known as “Broad Keywords” are a tad longer and less generic than their short-tail counterpart.
Following our example, you would be looking at terms like “organic raw honey” or “pure raw honey”. While ranking for a middle tail keyword is going to get you fewer visitors in comparison to short-tail keywords, you are also going to encounter a lot less competition.
Additionally, the people who find your website for a more specific term are much more likely to convert and purchase your product or service.
A significant portion of the small and medium-sized businesses websites that you see out there primarily rely on middle and long-tail keywords.
Long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are a bit more “specific”, and, well, as the name suggests – long. Long-tail keywords have low monthly search volume.
On average, fewer users are going to randomly stumble upon your website by entering a long-tail phrase as opposed to a shorter one. That being said, ranking for long-tail keywords is usually much easier (and much cheaper) and the conversion rates are higher.
Image: SEMrush
If we go back to our example with the “raw honey” website, you could have “raw honey” vs “pure organic raw honey UK”.
Even if you have never as much as thought about SEO before, you can safely assume that the competition for “raw honey” would be a lot fiercer. And you would be right, of course.
Long-tail keywords are less likely to capture “random” visitors, but if someone ends up on your website after searching for a long-tail phrase, you can be sure that they’re there with the intent to purchase (or use your service/subscribe/whatever else you intend for them to do).
How to do Keyword Research
Here, we’ll give you a quick and simple 8-step approach to keyword research.
Step 1 – Solidify Your Business Idea
Before you begin your keyword research, you need to have a long-term goal in mind. Not just for your website, but also the business as a whole. And, you’d be surprised by the number of businesses that get that part wrong (foiling their chances for long-term success long before they’ve even begun).
Sit down, take out a pen and think about the business.
What is its main goal?
What is the “mission” of the company or organisation?
Why is it special?
Why would people choose it over the competition?
Who are these people?
What sort of solutions (products, services or information) is the website going to offer to its visitors?
Write down everything you come up with. Your answers are going to serve as the foundation of your keyword strategy (and potentially – your business strategy as a whole).
Depending on the field and niche that you have chosen, you might need to get a bit creative. The highly profitable fields tend to be really competitive, and you are likely to find yourself competing against big companies, backed up by huge budgets.
But don’t worry, because if you have the right strategy, there is always hope (especially if you have the right strategy). It is also vital, however, to remain realistic. You are unlikely to rank higher than a business like Microsoft, Google or Facebook, for example.
If you are in a highly competitive field, you will generally want to start small and build your way up. Establish your website in the market and slowly expand from there.
Step 2 – Prepare Your Keyword List
After figuring out your mission, comes the time to compile your keyword list. For this step, we would suggest using an app like Google Sheets (for easier sharing) or MS Excel.
As long as you’ve got a decent understanding of your business and its niche, you should be able to pinpoint the unique selling points of your product or service. Sit down and think about the type of person who would best benefit it.
What are you offering? What people are going to be looking for it and why? Where would they hang out? What would be their interests, problems, likes and dislikes?
Now, if you are familiar with marketing strategies, this is probably starting to sound familiar. But, remember how we said that marketing and SEO go hand-in-hand? This is precisely why.
Going through the questions above will help you “figure out” your ideal customer. This is the type of person that you will be working to attract to your website, and this will be the primary audience for your product or service.
And, just like that, you’ve got the search terms that you will want to appear for.
Step 3 – Get down to research
So, you’ve got your idea, your mission, your customer and your list of keywords. Congratulations. Now, it’s time to pull up your sleeves and get digging. You’re going to want to take each and every keyword from your list and put it to the test.
But don’t worry, it’s not nearly as difficult as it sounds, because there are a bunch of tools that can help you out (like the ones we mentioned a couple of sections ago). You can take your pick (or spend a bit of time with each of them). However, we would suggest that you start with Google’s search engine.
Open up your browser and run a quick Google search for each of your keywords. Pay close attention to the suggestions provided by the algorithm – “people also search for” and “related searches” are your best friends here.
People also search for
Related searches
People use Google differently. Some search for specific terms, while others prefer asking questions. And these questions are going to do a lot of the job for you.
After running the entirety of your list through Google search (and writing down what you find), you can move on to the other tools. Take your time and don’t rush – this is one of the most important foundational steps before the actual optimisation begins. If you don’t have a solid foundation, the entire project will suffer.
At the end of the entire process, your spreadsheet should feature a lot more information. You will have keyword variation, related key phrases and synonyms. Do a bit of research on all of them as well and add them to the list if they fit the bill.
Step 4 – Look for the long-tail
Now, let’s talk long-tail.
While it is true that not a lot of people are going to search directly for your long-tail keyphrase, using them well can definitely improve your overall performance by a ton, especially in the more competitive fields.
Here’s how it works:
The shorter and broader the keyword, the more likely you are to encounter big, well-established businesses in the first positions.
Since long-tail keywords get fewer searches (and less traffic overall), you will face a lot less competition. Besides, if someone is searching for a very specific long-tail phrase, they’re much more likely to convert (that’s not just an opinion but a fact – long-tail keywords will have a much higher conversion value on average).
Going back to our earlier example, if someone is looking for “pure organic raw honey UK”, they are likely prepared to make a purchase.
Write down your long-tail keyword ideas and repeat the process from Step 3, running them first through Google Search and then through the rest of your chosen tools.
Then, add them to your spreadsheet, by setting aside a separate column(s) for them. As a side-note, this will also help your web development team create a solid website structure. The longer the keyphrase, the further down into the site stricter it belongs.
Step 5 – Consider the Competition
So, we’ve already mentioned your competitors a couple of times, now let’s have a look at how exactly they impact your strategy.
Analysing your competition plays a big part in choosing between generic and long-tail keywords.
If you are dealing with very serious and dedicated competition, long-tail keywords are going to be your best bet, especially if you are working with a modest budget.
Lower competition, on the other hand, will allow you to rank easier on head keywords. A bit of testing and competition research goes a long way here.
One of the best and easiest tools that will help you with this is Google itself. Running a quick search on each of your keywords (starting with the main one) will show you where you stand.
Take a quick look at the first page results, and you will see your main competitors. Now, go through their websites one by one – are they well-made? Does it seem like they were created by a team of experts, or were they hastily put together in an afternoon? Are you going up against large companies and corporations or small and medium-sized businesses that you can realistically match? How does your project idea fare against the things that you see on-screen? Are you likely to have an impact on this niche?
Don’t underestimate yourself, but try to be realistic. A small business show is unlikely to dethrone Amazon, but, provided you know what you are doing, you have a very decent chance of competing against your average small or medium-sized business.
If you happen to find a major brand in your way, your chances to take the first position are going to be much smaller. Still, you shouldn’t give up just yet. Take a closer look at their website and check to see if their content is well-optimised. As long as you aren’t selling the exact same thing as they are, you could still beat them if you create a better website.
Now, shift your attention to the Ads that Google is showing you (if there are any). Here, your Google Ads account will come in handy, as you can use it to check for the pay-per-click pricing quickly. Usually, the more expensive keywords are going to prove more difficult.
As with all of the previous steps, we would urge you to take detailed notes and save the URLs of your main competitors in your spreadsheet. If you want to be really thorough, you could also screencap some of their websites for quicker reference.
Step 6 – Determine the intent
Search intent also plays a crucial role in determining your strategy. The majority of modern SEO strategies rely on knowing your audience. Generally, when people want to know more about a subject, they are going to go on the online and look for answers. So, they open up their browser and “ask” their favourite search engine (usually Google). For some niches, a significant portion of the traffic is going to come from being able to answer these questions.
Okay, but how do you find out the intent of your ideal customer? Well, remember how we talked about marketing and SEO? That’s yet another place where the two come together. Understanding your ideal customer will allow you to figure out what they’re after.
Are your customers after information about a specific subject (informational intent)?
Are they trying to research a product before spending their money on it (commercial intent)?
Do they want to go to a specific website (navigational intent)?
Or are they ready to purchase and looking for a place to do it (transactional intent)?
Lucking, Google has your back here. Searching for your keyphrases and examining the types of pages that show up can tell you a lot about the kind of visitor that you would get if you were to rank there. For example, if your query brings up mostly retailer websites and online stores, then you’re looking at a transactional keyword. Product review websites, on the other hand, would suggest a commercial intent-focused keyword. You get the idea.
Figure out the type of search intent for your keywords before adding it to your spreadsheet and moving on to step number seven.
Step 7 – Solidify Your Strategy
If you have been following closely up to this point, you should have a pretty solid spreadsheet, complete with a long list of phrases, long-tail keywords and information about your competitors. Now comes the time to take your research and make it work for you.
Take a good look at your data and, using the knowledge about your niche, think how well your website fits with the competition. Take all aspects into consideration – quality, budget, content variety and product or service selection. If you are equally matched with the websites on the top places, you can safely focus on this keyword. If they aren’t, it’s best to take the long-tail approach. But don’t let this get you down – a good mixture of long-tail keywords can drive a substantial amount of traffic to your website.
Before you move on, there is also one other thing to consider here – the type of content that you will be publishing on your website. Here, the understanding of your target customer is going to play a vital role. For optimal results, you will want to focus on the type of content that your customer is after. Everything else takes a back seat. Your content production team should be not just knowledgeable but also passionate about the subject as well. Remember – you want to really get into the head of your customers here. What are your customers looking for? How are you going to give it to them? Can you produce something ground-breaking and original? Something they won’t be able to find anywhere else? If that is not an option (and for a lot of niches, it isn’t, so don’t worry too much about it), how can you stand out from the competition?
The answers to these questions are vital for the long-term success of your business, going well-beyond the Search Engine Optimisation part and straight into the marketing strategy.
Step 8 – Build Your Landing Pages
While this isn’t technically a part of the keyword research process per se, landing pages are intricately connected to Search Engine Optimisation and vital for your success. Because, as we often like to point out, SEO is now what gets you sales. Traffic is important, but it does nothing to guarantee that your visitors will make a purchase.
Once the users arrive on your website, they need a reason to stay there. The content of the page needs to be perfectly aligned with the intent that brought the visitor there. Otherwise, you run the risk of your visitor quickly losing interest and hitting the back button to return to Google Search. Of course, crafting the perfect landing page is not easy. It can take a lot of time, effort and research. You want authoritative and well-researched content, backed up by solid visuals and good internal linking. This is more of a long-term goal, so take your time and don’t rush.
Are you ready to start your keyword research?
And, there you have it, folks – you now know keyword research 101. And while this guide won’t turn you into an SEO guru or a marketing expert, it will at least give you the basic understanding of how it all comes together. In closing, we would like to remind you that Search Engine Optimisation is not a one-time deal and that every strategy can benefit from a quick refresh every now and then. The trends in the digital world change rather quickly, and losing positions due to negligence is sadly a common occurrence.
If you need help with the Search Engine Optimisation of your website, or advice, regarding your Marketing Strategy, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our experts will be more than happy to help.
If you have a tight budget and can’t afford to hire an agency like us, you can learn how to do SEO yourself. It will require a lot of research and lots of practice but you can do it.
SEO is essential for your online success.
But before you start, it’s important to understand the SEO fundamentals and how it works.
I have over 13 years of experience in the SEO industry and I have prepared a list of books you can read and learn about SEO. Click on the images below to buy.
Best for Beginners and intermediates
Best for: Beginners and intermediates looking for a thorough, actionable book that blends solid on- and off-page optimization techniques.
1. SEO for Dummies
2. How To Get To The Top Of Google in 2020: The Plain English Guide to SEO
3. SEO 2020: Learn search engine optimization with smart internet marketing strategies
Advanced SEO Books
4. The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization
In the digital world of today, having a safe, secure and well-designed website is more or less a requirement for running a business. Gone are the days of simplistic, one-page sites containing a couple of “About us” sentences, describing who you are and what you do, followed by contact information. We are living in a time where your website is just as (if not even more) important for your company as its flesh and blood representatives. And, especially if you are looking to do business with clients abroad, you cannot afford to have an outdated website. But even the most exciting, well-designed and professionally formatted website will have difficulties bringing you more clients if nobody can find it. And that is where SEO comes in.
Search Engine Optimisation (or SEO) for short, is a complex methodology aimed at bringing websites to the top of search results. This is achieved by improving – or optimising – various bits and pieces in the code, images or text on the website itself (on-page SEO), as well as building a buzz around it on social platforms (off-page SEO). A well-optimised website will provide you with:
More visitors
More brand exposure
More engagement
More potential clients
And, given time, the combination of the above will naturally result in
Increased brand loyalty
Increased sales
How does SEO work exactly?
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Simply put, Search Engine Optimisation is a process, by which the expert convinces the search engine that the website in question is good. Different search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing being the most prominent), have slightly different requirements, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to a couple of elements:
How well your website is structured
How well your website is coded
How well your content is written
How well it all blends together
How many people are interested in what you’ve got
This can be further broken down in a whole myriad of steps – your website needs to load quickly, everything needs to be properly defined, there have to be no errors in your code, the pages need to be easy to navigate, your content needs to be unique and so on. Therefore, an SEO expert needs to not only understand enough about all of the individual pieces but also know how they all come together in the eyes of search engines. And, even for the extremely experienced individual, going through all of these steps takes time. A lot of time. If you thought that making a website from the ground-up, complete with custom graphics, brand-new content and innovative design takes long, wait until you see how long it will take to actually get it optimised. Not only will the SEO experts need to inspect every small nook and cranny of the website to find everything that needs adjusting, but they’ll also need to see how it all fares against the competition and come up with a plan about surpassing it!
SEO is a not a race – it’s a marathon
Forget about instant results. If you want to get long-lasting and impactful results from your SEO, you need to look at it as a long-term investment. In the world of search engine optimisation, there are no instant results. When Google (and subsequently – SEO) was still new, there were ways to rank a website on high positions quickly. With the technological advancements of the last decade, however, this is no longer feasible. Long gone are the days of keyword stuffing, link spamming and other less-than-savoury techniques. As a matter of fact, anyone trying to use these methods today is guaranteed to get their website blacklisted into oblivion. If you happen upon an “expert”, claiming that they can “bring your website to the top in three days flat”, you want to turn and walk away. Immediately.
Constant Maintenance
SEO is not a one-and-done kind of job. Once you get to the top position, you’ll naturally want to remain there. But this won’t happen without continual maintenance. You see, your competitors will probably take issue with being surpassed, and will most likely look to hire optimisation experts of their own. Or, even if they don’t, other websites will also be trying to get the number one spot. It’s a never-ending marathon, and the only way to stay on top is to never back down.
And, if by some strange turn of events your particular niche happens to be without any serious competition, there’s also the search engines to keep in mind. Search engine algorithms are continually being updated (usually multiple times per year), and their requirements can change quite frequently. Without solid maintenance, it is very easy to get on their bad side and lose all of your precious search engine results position!
If you liked this article and you’d like to learn more about the subject, please click here. Alternatively, you could also just pick up your phone and dial 020 3912 1199 or email info@fome.agency to get in touch with our experts – they’ll answer all of your questions and explain exactly how we can help your business.
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