The Ultimate Search Engine Optimization Checklist for Avoiding Google Penalties
Did you know that Google changes its search system several times per day?
That’s 3,200 changes in the past year! How can you keep up with this pace, and do you really need to be aware of all these changes to stay on top of your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts?
According to Google, some are brand new changes while others were updates to keep in step with the fluctuating landscape of the worldwide web. To improve the ability to search and find exactly what we are looking for, Google releases regular algorithmic updates. As new websites, blog articles, comments, reviews, and data are uploaded to the internet, search engine rankings need to adjust to present the freshest, most relevant content to internet users. Therefore, your company’s Google rankings today are not what they will be tomorrow. Nor will your keyword phrases forever remain the top words your potential customers use to find your products and services.
To be an SEO ninja, you need to keep up on the recent algorithmic updates. Here’s a quick rundown of the last major Google algorithm changes, the penalties when they are not followed, and the fixes to avoid penalties. Use these items as your ultimate checklist to maintain your website’s rank position in search engine results:
• The 2011 Panda Update and subsequent Panda Core Updates since 2016
Duplicate, thin, or plagiarized content is penalized. Avoid keyword stuffing and spammy posts. Panda wants you to earn your Google rank and assigns your website’s ranking according to a “quality score” for your web pages. The fix: Regularly check your site and blog for keyword stuffing and thin content (doorway pages, irrelevant affiliate pages, and low quality content pages) . Check for duplicate content within your website and against other web pages on the internet. If you must use exact language for product descriptions and reviews, place product descriptions within graphics that are not crawled by Google.
• The 2012 Top Heavy Update
Websites that are “top-heavy” with ads are penalized. The fix: Remove the proliferation of advertisements and replace them with interesting, relevant content.
• The 2012 Penguin Update and subsequent Penguin Core Algorithm that works in real time since 2016
Irrelevant or spammy links are penalized, along with links with anchor text that is over-optimized. Penguin drops the rank of sites that employ manipulative links. The fix: Regularly audit your website with a backlink checker.
• The 2012 Pirate Update
Sharing pirated content—content from sites containing copyrighted material—is penalized. Pirate specifically demotes websites that violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The fix: Run a duplicate content report and eliminate any material copied from other websites. Avoid posting content under copyright protection (including graphics and video media).
• The 2012 Exact Match Domain (EMD) Update
Low-quality websites are penalized when keywords within their domain names that are an exact matches in searches. The fix: Create meaningful, enhanced on-page content to retain and gain rankings without altering your domain name.
• The 2013 Payday Loan Update
Keywords often used by spammers (such as casinos, loans, money, and sexual terms) are penalized. The fix: Avoid keywords that can confuse readers to believe you run a spammy website. Instead, concentrate on longtail phrases that specify legitimate business.
• The 2013 Hummingbird Update
Poor quality content and keyword stuffing are penalized. Hummingbird likes to look for intuitive content over blatant keywords and makes use of processing synonyms, co-occurring terms, and semantic indexing instead. In other words, the intent of the searcher takes precedence over keywords. The fix: In addition to focusing on keyword research, focus on phrases and concepts. Diversify your content to increase engagement.
• The 2014 Pigeon Update
Poor local SEO practices are penalized. Traditional SEO factors now play a part in the calculation for local result rankings. The fix: Ensure your company is easy to find on a map by avoiding address info inconsistencies online. Invest in search engine optimization efforts for both on and off-page SEO. Start with a content analysis to discover what aspects to focus on for on-page optimization. Get listed in directories of relevance to your business to bolster off-page SEO, deliver backlinks to your site, and increase your Google rankings.
• The 2015 Mobile Update (also known as “Mobilegeddon”)
Lack of mobile websites or poorly loading and error-prone mobile websites are penalized. Mobilegeddon ensures that mobile-friendly pages rise to the top of the rankings in a mobile search, and pages that are not mobile-optimized are dropped in rank or removed entirely from the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). The fix: Check how your website pages load in a mobile device. Focus on usability and speed.
• The 2015 RankBrain Update (added to the Hummingbird Algorithm)
Shallow, generalized content is penalized. Based on artificial intelligence, it focuses on specific ranking factors within a query (not much is known about how RankBrain actually functions). The fix: Run a competitive analysis to discover terms used by your top-ranking competitors, then optimize your content accordingly.
• The 2016 Possum Update
Head-to-head competition in your specific location is penalized. Possum ensures that the closer a searcher is located to a business address, the more likely they are to see it in their results. Possum also boosts businesses located outside of a particular city area to offer a greater variety of SERPs. The fix: Expand your keyword phrases to include location-specific information, and ensure that your address and contact info is consistent across the Internet.
• The 2017 Fred Update
Thin ad-centered or affiliate-heavy content that breaks Google Webmaster Guidelines is penalized. Fred focuses on blogs and web pages that are created with the main purpose of generating advertising revenue. The fix: Adjust your on-site ads to offer high quality, relevant, educational information instead of tricking a reader into clicking on an affiliate link.
• The 2018 and 2019 Core Updates
These updates do not specifically focus on particular website characteristic or search queries. Instead, they are “behind-the-scenes” changes that have a broader impact across a large range of areas.
• The 2018 Broad Core Algorithm Update
This update includes the E-A-T update, which penalizes overall quality. It mainly affects medical websites and big news portals. E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness—Google’s three major considerations for page quality. Your web pages are penalized when they don’t indicate why your content is of value. The fix: Post content that leaves no doubt that you are an expert, an authority, and trustworthy in your field.
• The March 2019 Core Update
All forms of irrelevant content can be penalized, including blog articles, social media posts, posts to forums, press releases, reviews, and email. The fix: Distribute engaging, relevant information that generates social interactions such as comments, responses, and shares. Post high-quality content on a consistent schedule, and refresh older content.
• The June 2019 Core Update
Sites containing low-value news content are penalized, while larger, well-known sites with reputable news content surge in the SERP rankings. Sites containing video carousels also rose in search engine rank visibility. The fix: Refresh your website with reliable content and include videos in the mix.
• The Unofficial July 2019 Maverick Core Update
This update came on the heels of the new Top Gun movie trailer (Google may have ceased using animal names for their updates, but they haven’t lost their sense of humor.) It is too early to discern why your site lost traffic and ranking within the last month or so, as the Maverick update currently doesn’t seem to target any single spammy SEO tactic, but early indications lean towards targeting traffic on retail websites. The fix: Continue to be vigilant and monitor your content for poor links, duplication, and relevance.
Trying to digest all the Google algorithm updates over the past eight years can give anyone a search engine optimization stomachache. Avoid the pain and hassle of dodging Google penalties: Learn about organic SEO and the essentials of content development. Then let the SEO experts steer you clear of penalties and make stellar improvements in your search engine rankings. Contact Moore Than SEO at 559-978-4096 to get started.
Expert Tips for Selecting Your SEO Keywords
At Moore Than SEO, the driving force behind our recommended strategies is always based on the direction the data and analytics provide. I often begin every SEO project by starting at its most basic building blocks: the targeted keyword phrases. This is because the research I do to examine top ranking competitor websites is extensive and I often brainstorm nearly 200 keyword phrase possibilities before I’m done with the first wave. Then I scrutinize and evaluate based on the search volume detected and overall competitive saturation. So, how can you improve your SEO keyword game? Read on for our expert tips for creating a powerful target SEO keyword list!
Tip One: Start by evaluating the top-ranking competition.
Spend time reviewing the top-ranking competitor websites. See how they organize their information, how much content they provide overall, how fresh their content is, and if they are incorporating more advanced integrations like social media streams, CRM integrations, etc. Take notes as you do this and provide your evaluations on content, design, mobile friendliness, and overall social media presence (click through any social follow links and make note of their existing social media following – and which platforms they’re active on). Next, go back to the competitor website’s home page & right-click then choose “View Page Source.” This will open a new tab displaying the actual code behind the scenes.
Read the areas showing <title> and <meta name=”description” content to see how much the competitor has optimized. Add any notable keyword phrases to your brainstorm list. For example, in the screenshot above, I would likely add “Atlanta Fundraiser Planners” “Atlanta Fundraiser Venue” “elegant fundraising event” “fundraising event planning” and “fundraising gala” to my list. Go through this process for at least the top three ranking competitors to your business.
Tip Two: Actively Use Google Search & “Related Suggestions” To Dig Even Deeper
Try searching for some of the keyword phrases you’ve brainstormed. You’ll see that some result in autosuggestions by Google as well as a “Searches related to X” listing at the bottom of the page.
In our example, I entered “fundraiser planners” into Google to see what other suggestions might appear. At the bottom of the first page of search results, I’m able to located some great ideas to add to my brainstorming list. For example, here, we might consider adding, “fundraising event planning template” “non profit event planning companies” “fundraising event planner” “how to organize a fundraising event” and other great longtail keyword phrases. Keep mining to find more great ideas.
Tip Three: Verify Your Choices with Google Data
Today, there are many resources to understand the actual local or global search volume of a targeted keyword phrase. Before you decide on which keywords to include and prioritize on your list, be sure you check the Google AdWords data to ensure it supports your hunches. Also, check the relevancy of any phrases to understand if they show results that make sense for your line of business. You’ll want to choose the most relevant keyword phrases with the highest search volume and lowest competitive saturation. Build your list and reevaluate it every other month.
Looking for more in-depth help for increasing your brand’s digital awareness? Moore Than SEO is a Top DesignRush Search Engine Optimization Company. Reach out to us for a free assessment and learn more about how we can help elevate your digital marketing efforts. Call us at (559) 978-4096.
Top Local Agency Tips for The Best Results in Today’s World of SEO
Fascinating content is the solution for stellar search engine ranking results, whether you are jumping into the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for the first time with a new website or you’re seeking to regain your website’s rank. Populate your web pages with text and media to answer your target customer’s questions, and you’ve nailed it.
Sounds simple? The trick is that SEO is dynamic—Your rank may be on the first page of Google search results today, but maybe not tomorrow. Your success depends upon whether you regularly refresh your website with interesting new information that’s relevant to your visitors, or whether your competition does a better job of this.
How do you keep up with the demands of posting new and relevant information? Turn to the top local agency for SEO (that’s us) to create the perfect content.
We’ll give you a few tips to get started, in the meantime.
To celebrate 20 years of the Internet, here’s a primer, designed for successful results today’s world of SEO:
1. Your content must be goal-driven.
Have a purpose for creating meaningful information. Why are you publishing your website home page, online product catalog, blog article, infographic, or video? If your answer is, “to get a high Google ranking,” go back to the drawing board.
Design everything you publish online for human consumption, for your reader’s education and enjoyment. Mold your content to fit your target customer, just the clients who want and need your products and services.
Google will take notice. Specify goals for your content, producing web pages filled with relevant,“ sticky” content where your website visitors stick to your website and delve deep into your message.
How does your content deserve that top rank in the Google results? Lay the groundwork for good SEO practices by following a measurable goal, such as:
• To increase product sales by highlighting how our products are the one and only answer our customer’s needs
• To increase inquiries and consultation appointments with proof of our experience and trustworthy reputation
• To increase the numbers of email sign-ups through offers of educational download information to help customers make the best product purchase from our catalog
When your content is meaningful to website visitors, your content will be meaningful to Google and all search engines, too.
2. Target your perfect customers with the best keyword phrases.
Create a competitive strategy around the keywords that you choose. Need help with choosing keywords? Discover “How to Research SEO Keywords Like a Pro”.
Armed with your keyword phrases, select the best user-friendly internal URLs (web page addresses). For instance, which would you prefer to click on?
https://YourCompanyName/pfc-37
or
https://YourCompanyName/groovy-guide
For more clickability, Google’s Matt Cutts recommends confining the URL extension to between 3 and 5 words. (Not https://YourCompanyName.com/groovy-guide-that-even-your-grandmother-will-love)
Use your main keyword phrase in the first paragraph of your text, within the first 100 words or so, while ensuring that the text is natural for any website visitor to read. Don’t try to force or stuff a keyword phrase into the content. Good grammar and punctuation trump keyword placement.
Sprinkle your content with semantically related keyword phrases—text that includes words associated with your industry, business sector, products, and services.
3. Include optimized tags.
This is the information provided for the search engine bots that crawl the web to locate new information to include in the search engine results. Your human readers don’t see these optimized tags unless they know how to look for it. Without this information, automated web crawlers don’t know that you’ve posted brilliant content.
Supply the following information to your IT guru to insert on your web pages, or do it yourself:
• Optimized Title Tag—Include your target keyword phrase and limit it to 60 characters
•Optimized Meta Description—Include keywords that encourage completing a call-to-action, and limit the description to less than 160 characters
• Optimized H1 Tag—This is the actual title of your page or article that your human visitors read, and it includes your target keyword phrase. It can be identical to the Optimized Title Tag.
4. Add internal and external links.
Hyperlinks provide resources for website visitors to learn more about your company and offerings.
Internal links posted on your website take the visitor to another page within your site. Use internal links to offer visitors reasons to take advantage of your calls to action.
Outbound, or external links were once feared, due to the concern that visitors are guided away from your website and brand. Linking to informative sources and business partner websites strengthens your reputation—Visitors believe you are the ultimate authority for your subject and your industry. Choose links that guide your potential customers, helping to answer their questions while preventing them from landing on your competitors’ websites.
Add links to your social networks, too, and insert widgets on your website that display your most recent posts. Post social share buttons to encourage website visitors to create a buzz about your useful information, products, and deals to their own networks of followers. Think of this as free advertising and great SEO!
5. Ensure that your page loads quickly and is viewable on multiple devices.
A major ingredient to gaining a successful mobile search rank position is how fast the pages on your website load. Check that your website design template is running on the most recent update and optimize images on your site. Learn more about enhancing your search appeal with a mobile-friendly website.
6. Don’t skimp on the content.
How many words should a web page or blog article contain? Our rule of thumb: Use enough words to go into depth to answer your website visitor’s questions clearly and solve their problems. Your content must steal the spotlight away from your competitors and put you on center stage.
Search engines reward websites with great content by placing them at the top of the results page for your keyword phrases. Google penalizes sites that resort to:
• Redirects and Cloaking—Giving Google a different view of your website than your offering for human website visitors
• Keyword Stuffing—Repeating the same keyword phrases throughout the text
• Hidden Text—Text that only Google bots can see and is invisible to human readers (white font against a white background, for instance)
• Unnatural links—Sending your web page visitors to websites that are unrelated to your subject at hand smells of taking money as bribes to benefit other website owner’s SEO agendas.
• Broken links and evidence of hacking—Avoiding the regular website housekeeping chores of ensuring links are still good, backing up your site, and updating the security marks your site as old and ignored.
• Spammy user comments, spammy hosting companies, and spammy hard-sell content—“Spam, spam, spam, lovely spam,” as the Monty Python troupe sang
• Copied material—Duplicating information found elsewhere on the ‘net sends Google rankings into a free fall
Why would Google want to include a site anywhere in their search engine results that resorted to these tactics?
Follow the rules and avoid any reason for Google to drop your site from their search engine results. But your triumph will only be temporary if you post content on your website only to forget about it. Web pages that retain stale content plummet as competitors post innovative, new material on their sites. The internet is dynamic and ever changing, and so are the search engine results.
Here at Moore Than SEO, we recognize you have more important things to attend to than constantly come up with new content to keep up with your competitors at bay. You could do your homework, or you could make the easy choice and partner with us.
Learn why Moore Than SEO is the top local agency in the greater Fresno and Clovis areas, and then give us a call at 559-978-4096. We work with you to build a campaign strategy that delivers quantifiable results-driven social media content that engages. We don’t stop there—We continue to adjust content for maximum effect. Contact us today to get started.
Moore Than SEO’s “Game of Thrones” Map to Social Media Marketing Gold
When Game of Thrones began airing on HBO back in 2011, it wasn’t the fantasy drama series it is today. It started out with a respectable number of viewers but didn’t have the glowing reviews or amazing ratings…yet. But now in 2019, as we head into the 8th and final season, social media marketing gives this most awarded series in Emmy history the ability to win even more fans.
A loyal fan base didn’t miss any of the 67 previous episodes and binge watched wherever they could stream to keep up with the intertwined plots. For any viewer not familiar with the George R.R. Martin’s books, the A Song of Ice and Fire novels that form the basis of GoT, the intrigue comes from the fact that any character could die at any moment.
The Red Wedding episode in the Season 3 Finale marked the turning point for the series, transforming it from a beloved cult show designed for diehard fantasy fans into a detailed production that mesmerized a broader audience. Fans took to social media to discuss their predictions of upcoming plot twists.
The show’s popularity grew exponentially to an average of over 32 million viewers per episode. Even as we head into the final season, consistent marketing efforts continue to hold new and loyal viewers spellbound. Product tie-ins reign victorious in the never-ending quest to reach new fans while retaining early viewers.
“HBO is really careful with the licensing, and not sticker-slapping or putting a ‘Game of Thrones’ logo on every style of T-shirt,” explains Melissa DiBartolo, editor-in-chief of The Pop Insider.
The Medieval adult-only themes of the GoT plots are reflected in the licensing of products aimed to satisfy discerning adult tastes. Products go beyond the tame sensibilities of “The Lord of the Rings”, with HBO determined to cater to the edgy tastes of their fan base.
Well-crafted alliances forged by HBO, and its parent company, WarnerMedia, are designed to profit off the hit series now and well into the future.
Read examples of how today’s fans can live the lifestyle of Game of Thrones culture:
1. The characters transform easily into product licensing while fans identify themselves with particular Houses. From nobles to warriors, characters dress to impress. The 18-piece line of chic Game of Throne handbags and accessories, designed by Danielle Nicole. Pouches, backpacks, wristlets, coin purses, and crossbody bags are emblazoned with details heralding The Kingsroad: silvery faux fur for the Stark backpack and metallic gold appliqué for the Lannister Wristlet Pouch.
2. Chic looks are fit for a queen when the GoT Urban Decay limited edition cosmetic collections hit the market on April 14th, the premier date for the final season. Shades are inspired by women of Westeros and across the Seven Kingdoms. With the Mother of Dragons Highlight Palette (modeled by stars Maisie Williams and Nathalie Emmanuel at a Radio City Hall premiere), any woman can look like a power player.
3. It’s the fast and furious that inspired the Adidas limited-edition Ultraboost sneakers, sold only through the Adidas Store and HBO Shop. They feature sigils on the tongue, mottos on the heel, and GoT color themes echoing the color themes of each creature or family depicted in the series.
4. Even luxury menswear entered into the act, with the John Varvatos brand’s launch of an 11-piece collection that includes a Winterfell leather jacket valued at over $2000, bearing an image of the Iron Throne on the inside of the jacket. Exclusive t-shirts, priced at nearly $100 a piece, come in choices that display the family houses and the Iron Throne.
5. Adult beverages abound in GoT licensing. As people gather for watch parties and to toast the end of the run of GoT, several spirits are designed to complement the show. Ommegang Brewery beer released 14 official Game of Thrones beers since 2015, and they’ve created a new one just in time for the finale, brewed with champagne yeast. Beer is perfect for both common folk and knights, but for those that love the characters of Tyrion and Cersei that always appear holding a glass of wine, only special wine releases will do. A choice assortment of fruits of the vineyard are available only in the Game of Thrones wine shop.
6. If spirits inspire you, Diageo’s limited collection of eight single malt Scotch whiskies are each paired with the GoT’s Great Houses. And for a most amazing collector’s item, White Walker by Johnnie Walker has a special “Winter is Here” message etched in thermochromic ink that magically appears when the bottle is frozen. The Johnny Walker site also lists Game of Throne themed recipes created by Miami spiritmaster Gabe Orta.
7. Hungry? Actor Ben Hawkey, who played the character Hot Pie, offers up baked bread shaped like direwolves…for real, and for sale. These whole-wheat cornbreads, seasoned with orange zest and served with dollops of butter, are only available for shipping in the UK. These limited delights will be in stock again, just in time for the final episodes.
Licensing doesn’t stop with products. Fans stepped into the world of GoT with the Bleed for the Throne war camp experience at this year’s South by Southwest. They actually bled by donating blood to the American Red Cross.
Let’s use this brief case history of the Game of Thrones series and their licensing efforts to step up your company’s marketing prowess.
How can you get in on the social media marketing hype of Game of Thrones?
1. Get your company in on the conversation with hashtags. Download the Moore Than SEO #Hashtag Guide for free. Fans looking for Game of Throne conversations will find yours with strategically placed #GameofThrones hashtags. Hashtag your favorite characters and plotlines, too, for more specific conversations.
2. Enter the arena with a product or service that that could go viral with Game of Throne fans. Your products don’t need to be licensed by HBO to attract fans—Spread the word where fans roam about your themed offerings: an upcoming GoT dinner menu item named for a character, butcher service items named after wars between Houses, A Red Wedding Cake for themed parties, or paint and sip parties where participants paint GoT Medieval artwork. Spread the word to your local loyal customers, and entice them to introduce fans of the series to your special, limited GoT offerings.
3. Learn lessons from the master HBO marketers. Spread the word on a combination of media platforms to inform and entertain your audience about your products and services. Video marketing is hot: learn how to add video to your marketing mix. Don’t just upload your latest videos to YouTube—Post them to your blog and natively on all social media avenues where your customers roam.
4. Follow HBO’s lead and zero in your marketing efforts to the correct demographics. You won’t see toy action figures licensed by HBO, unless they are upscale collectibles not meant for children’s playtime. HBO knows the GoT audience is composed of discerning adults that don’t wilt in the face of violence and intrigue. Are you marketing to your target customers, or are you wasting time trying to reach a vast general audience that may not be interested in your offerings?
To connect with your niche customers, start with a SWOT Assessment, read our Beginner’s Guide to Competitive Intelligence, and target to your prospects. Integrate your marketing message both online and offline for colossal results: take your products on the road with tradeshow marketing. Think outside the box to draw interest to your brand. For more ideas to get you to the Iron Throne by annihilating your competition, contact the strategic marketing and SEO experts here at Moore Than SEO. Call 559-978-4096.
How to Ensure Your Business Gets Found: Adapting to the Changing Horizon of SEO
New methods to searching the internet demand new search engine optimization tactics. Google isn’t the only game in town. What other “search engines” are your customers using to find you? Do they discover you on Amazon, Apple or Google Play stores, or do they use their voice to search instead of typing in a phrase?
These emerging methods of finding content on the internet demand that we re-examine how to ensure our companies get found.
Follow our 7-step recipe for success in the new world of SEO for voice search, Amazon, and App Store:
1. Before you get started, understand your target customers’ searching behaviors. Do they prefer videos, audio, graphics, or old-fashioned text? Begin with our Developing Buyer Personas worksheet and learn how your audience is segmented to provide useful solutions to your target customer’s problems.
2. Go above and beyond matching keywords. Check that your website content answers questions that you anticipate from your customers. Start by understanding how your audience looks up new information on the ‘net. Think beyond the first questions they ask and consider forming keyword phrases based on follow-up questions that dig deeper into your brand. Download our free guide: “How to Research SEO Keyword Phrases Like A Pro!”
3. Employ on-page optimization, or measures that you control directly within your website, to improve your search ranking position. Re-examine your website and update it to put it on the map. Besides revisiting META descriptions and title tags, include:
• Content that digs deeply to answer common user questions
• Short pathways to conversions to make quick work of click-throughs to contacting, buying, downloading, and signing up
• Clear, visual forms that lead website visitors down your sales funnel easily
4. Optimize to land a coveted spot in Google’s featured snippets, where your website link is displayed along with answers you provide to search queries. These snippets appear just below Google’s paid ads but above of the remainder of Google’s organic search results. Follow the basic tenet of providing clear answers to a simple question to land you above your competitors without paying for advertising. The key is to include the question and answer on your website, then add more info beyond the direct answer, and make it easy for Google (and your website visitors), to find it on your page.
5. Display outstanding content on your website to rise above your competition in this world of newfangled search engines. “Good enough” is not enough. Dig deep into your topic to create relevancy. Google’s trend is towards rewarding sites that provide extraordinary depth of content. Motivate your website visitors to continue reading and remain on your site to follow the path down your sales funnel. Make internal links an integral part of your digital marketing plan.
6. Create content that establishes and grows your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. In other words, satisfy Google’s voracious E-A-T Guidelines. To rank in searches on Google, Amazon, and audio only devices, your content must deliver detailed quality that sets you apart as the only true expert in your field. Not a writer? These tips will get you started.
7. Ask: “What other ‘search engines’ do my customers use?” They might discover you through your app, so you’ll need to rank in app stores. They may be searching for your products on Amazon, so you’ll need to be found there. And then consider how audio-only devices, such as Amazon’s Alexa, rank you above your competition’s brand. SEO for voice search, app store search, and Amazon search are the hottest new methods for getting found on the internet.
When you know who your customer is, and you know how they are likely to find you, you are ready to tailor your SEO strategies to specifically target:
• SEO for Voice Search—Implement structured data, the organized data code that conforms to the syntax that search engines understand. Without it, search engines are less likely to find you, and this is particularly true with voice search SEO. Claim your Google Business Listing, spelling out your business information precisely to reinforce your local SEO prowess. And of course, because voice search occurs on mobile devices, check that your site is mobile friendly on a wide variety of devices.
• SEO for App Store Search—The name of your app is more than just branding—Claim a name that includes relevant keyword phrases in the title, and avoid truncation (which happens if your title is longer than 23 characters, including spaces). Beyond a compelling description, a unique visual icon breaks through the clutter and makes your app a standout. Add screenshots and videos to pique your customer’s interest. Localize SEO to increase downloading by your target audience. Drive traffic to your app by promoting it through social media and on your website, encouraging feedback through ratings, and updating your app frequently. Make consistent improvements that go beyond “bug fixes”.
• SEO for Amazon Search—Amazon’s search algorithm favors the use of relevant keyword phrases in your product’s title, your brand name, your brand field, your product description bullet points, and even “hidden” keywords that are only displayed in the backend section of your Amazon Seller Account. Pricing also enters into Amazon search factors and conversion rates: Reveal reasons to price your product above your competitors, or stick with competitive pricing.
We’ve only scratched the surface—Rely on the SEO experts from Moore Than SEO to guarantee all the many working pieces to new-generation SEO will keep you on the radar of search engines well into the future. Find out how your brand can continue to be a competitive force. Reach us at 559-978-4096.
What is Branding and How Does It Rock Your Sales Efforts?
Humor us for just a moment. Think of the other kind of branding, cattle branding. The practice of marking livestock to identify ownership goes back to ancient Egyptian times. And the Romans believed that when brands included “magical” symbols, they had the power to protect animals from harm. Nowadays, as branding is under the scrutiny of animal welfare groups, the brand shifted to the logo, signage, and letterhead for many ranches, standing as a beacon to spread the indelible message of a company’s practices and reputation. Just with the brand image, livestock customers know what a particular brand image stands for.
As a marketing term, what is branding? The business application for this word can be defined as a process to create a consistent name and image in a customer’s mind. As in Roman times, this modern application of business branding conjures up magical powers. The brand image carries the power to attract buyers to your retail doorstep and retain their loyalty.
Branding can also cast an evil spell when it is mishandled, making your company appear invisible, or even make you appear substandard against your competitors. A poor brand image can tank a company’s reputation.
Branding is not only a process—It is the end result of what you convey to your customers. What do your customers expect from your products and services? How do they compare you against other businesses in your field? And finally, can your customers believe in you and trust you to deliver exactly what you promise?
Your branding strategy is your game plan for planting the seeds of positive recognition. What do you want to convey to your customers from the get go? Business goal soul-searching is required to create a successful brand strategy:
• Define how your company and products are different and superior in the marketplace with your mission statement. Our free SWOT analysis worksheet helps you determine your niche in your business sector.
• Describe the benefits and features of your offerings, zeroing in on resolving your client’s needs. First measure your customer’s needs. Then, start writing to formulate your digital identity.
• Research your current customers’ opinions of your company. And when you are just launching your business, research what they think of your competitors, their products, and their services.
• Determine the qualities and benefits about your company that customers should recognize. See how you fulfill their every want. What do you want your target customers and your loyal customer base to think of when they first glance at your logo, your letterhead, your storefront, your business cards, and your promotional collateral?
Here’s the bottom-line—Branding is about creating the best first impression of your company. It’s not about convincing with words and facts. It’s about your customer base instantly viewing your company in a positive light without any hard-sales effort on your part.
How do you get there? Digital (online) branding is the way to go. Consider that over 51% of smartphone users discover new products or companies while performing searches on their smartphones. Particularly for industrial manufacturers, B2B customers are increasingly using mobile devices for product research and purchase activities (42% use mobile, a growth of 91% over the past two years). (Source of stats: Google) Regardless of your industry, you simply can’t afford to ignore digital branding.
Apply with your initial brand strategy research for digital placement:
• Create a brand logo. Your logo is the visual statement of your promise to your customers. Hire a professional digital designer to develop your brand style guide to ensure consistent application of your logo and tagline to online and offline marketing messages. Transform their existing traditional brand into a digital expression, adapting your logo to animation, reformatting to fit various size requirements per platform and social media profile. Your digital graphic designer helps you discover the best logo size and placement, color palette, fonts, photography styles and images, and more for each marketing opportunity.
• Develop a tagline, a succinct memorable and meaningful statement that captures the true essence of your company’s brand. Place it wherever your company information appears. You’ve hit a home run with your tagline when customers see your logo and instantly recall your tagline.
• Formulate your brand’s voice. Emotion sells, even for highly technical products and services. Hone in on the “why” for your audience to buy from you. Maintaining a consistent personality that resonates with your core customers translates to trust. Is your voice conversational or factual? Is it traditional or modern? Partner with experienced content writers who take the time to learn about your business offerings, especially for tech marketing. They find the perfect words to address and answer your customer’s pains, and most importantly.
• Build a simple and clear brand message to communicate to customers exactly who you are. Utilize your brand voice to describe in just a couple of sentences what you offer and why customers should pay attention. Don’t list what your products do—Address specific items that are important to the customer. Your brand message is a key building block to gaining quantitative results your content marketing.
Spread the word about your company by inserting your brand image into every aspect of your business. Wherever your company appears, your brand message, logo, tagline, and voice must act as a siren song for customers to click onto your website links, visit your blog, contact you for more information, and of course, make purchases. Formulate a stealth brand message, spread it wherever your target customers roam online, and you’ll see an increase your profit margin.
Online branding requires a thorough understanding of how to put your company’s best foot forward in the digital marketplace. Rely on experts to get it right the first time—Our Moore Than SEO team accumulated years of knowledge and experience executing technical, and non-technical content design, writing, and marketing. Contact us for your free consultation to rock your sales efforts at 559-978-4096.
Digital Marketing Goal Planning for the New Year and Beyond
Social media platforms are the billboards to drive traffic to your website and to your brand. Like all advertising and promotion, you simply cannot rely on the same info that you’ve posted last year, last month, and last week to continue to attract customers to your brand. Your competitors are on to you, and they’ll respond in kind with their newest campaigns to promote their products and services. They’ll blow you out of the water if you sit back on your laurels.
Social media is not static. It’s dynamic. Examine the timeline on any social platform—your post will stay there for a short time and then eventually fall off the page. Sure, it will remain on your business profile page, but customers wont see that post unless they are visiting your business profile. What can you do to keep your brand alive on social media feeds?
Which brings us to the subject of your website. Have nothing new to add? Think it’s good as-is? Think again—Your competition has visited your website and is on to you, working behind the scenes to make their website stand above yours in the Google rankings. All it takes is adding fresh content—blog articles, new product descriptions, white papers, how-to videos, and press releases.
So with the New Year, it’s time to spruce up your online image. We aren’t necessarily advocating a complete overhaul, just some tweaks to keep you competitive in the digital marketplace.
Refresh your brand message. Create a digital marketing goal plan that contains these elements:
1. Start with Your Website. With a well organized website, you help search engines drive your target audience to your content. Potential customers are seeking your products and services—You just need to make your information easily visible to search engines so that you can close the sale. Update content on your web pages using the most current relevant SEO (optimizing each page with new META information, keywords, and relevant content). Add and check internal links to where other relevant content can be found within your website. Add external links to social media business profiles, reviews, and business partners. All of these actions combine to up your website’s domain authority (the likelihood of your website to rank in the search engines).
2. Be a Goal-Setter. According to Hubspot’s State of Inbound Report, businesses that calculate their return on investment (ROI) for their marketing strategies are 72% more likely to believe that their company’s marketing strategy is effective. Set marketing goals that are measurable. For instance, to increase your social media followers and page likes by X percent, to increase your blog click-through rate to other content, and to increase email open rate by X percent. Are these goals to be attained weekly, monthly, or yearly? Determine how success in each KPI (key performance indicator) contributes to improving your bottom line to set ROI benchmarks.
3. Create a Budget and Stick to It. Hubspot’s State of Inbound Report also confirms a strong correlation between digital marketing effectiveness and budget. We’re talking about the time devoted to creating, posting, and analyzing your digital marketing plan. How much time will you devote to managing social network profiles? How much content do you want to create for your blog? Do you need to invest in graphics and stock images? How much CPM (cost per thousand) or CPC (cost per click) impressions do you need to create an ROI on your advertising? Regardless of your business sector, WordStream Blog suggests that as much as 20% of the gross revenue for new companies should be allocated to marketing, which established companies could get away with spending some 12% of their gross revenue (of course, a new company needs to build an audience from scratch). The good news is that a healthy return on your investment can be yours with a minimum investment, because social media management costs far less than other traditional forms of marketing.
4. Cement Your Online Reputation by Deploying Stealth Social Media Profiles. Zero in on the best social media platforms for your business success, concentrating on where your target audience is most likely to hang out:
• Facebook is the most popular social media network, which makes it invaluable for most businesses. Besides posting photos and company updates, a business profile puts powerful tools for advertising and analysis at your fingertips. Your business profile functions as your Facebook storefront, because you can customize it to go far and beyond a simple bio and contact information. Promote your business using Google maps, hours of operation, products, shopping carts, videos, and much more. Apps from other websites seamlessly integrate with Facebook, allowing you to post discounts, coupons, and business events on other sites for them to instantly appear on Facebook.
• Twitter is perfect for spreading the word in quick, brief statements (using 240 characters or less) containing relevant content. Use these short blurbs to create a meaningful dialogue with customers and potential customers—Answer questions, share praise, retweet reviews, share videos, images, and links. Build your brand with the savvy placement of hashtags (#). Include hashtags in your business profile, and change them up from time to time to keep your brand in the forefront of your customer’s minds to readily fulfill their needs.
• LinkedIn is known as the social networking hub for professional networking. For B2B companies that are particularly centered around tech and manufacturing, take advantage of LinkedIn’s offerings. Make connections with colleagues at companies that utilize your products and services to build lasting impressions, create customer loyalty, and increase your bottom line over the long term. LinkedIn profiles are akin to business resumes, and by joining specific LinkedIn Groups relevant to your industry, you’ll paint yourself as a business authority and industry expert in your field of concentration. Post information about your latest awards, white papers, product innovations, and blog articles to drive your industry’s movers and shakers to your website.
• YouTube is the standard for video sharing, where a business profile becomes a virtual TV channel that can house your business “commercials”. Capture fascinating stories about your company on a video cam is fair game: product demos, exclusive interviews with the CEO, behind-the-scenes tours of your warehouse, conference and expo action, panel discussions, and off-the-wall entertainment (for instance, trivia and polls about your products) are all fair game. Cross-promote with easy-to-post URLs and html codes to deliver on-demand video content on your web pages. Plus, the videos are all searchable through Google, as YouTube offers the ability to tag videos with META descriptions and keywords.
• Instagram is the visual platform based entirely on video and photo posts. But what makes it unique from other platforms that encourage the sharing of visual content is that Instagram is mobile—You cannot post directly to Instagram from a desktop computer. When your target audience performs most of their shopping and communicating on-the-go, Instagram can be a boon. Your Instagram Stories are designed for immediate content dissemination, since the photos and videos disappear 24 hours after posting. Create a direct dialogue using polls, questions, and sliding bars. To allow connections to continue to see your posts, use Instagram Highlights, the story reels that remain on your profile until you decide to delete them. Upload content live, as it happens, and remember to use hashtags (Instagram allows as many as 30 hashtags per post).
• Pinterest allows users to save visual content and display it by “pinning” it to their own categorized, digital bulletin boards, which they share with many connections. Pinterest is not just for fashion, food, and home decorating. Companies that sell products and parts for construction and DIY projects excel on Pinterest by posting how-to-build, step-by-step images that attract interest in their products. Get creative with a Pinterest profile, which gives you the power to align all your posts with your brand using clever descriptions of your boards. Use your keywords!
These are, by no means, all of the social media platforms to consider for your business. Depending upon your industry and where your customers roam, you may choose to consider others. Check out the current social media demographics to determine where to concentrate. Focusing on just a handful of platforms is most productive, because you’ll be able to devote time to building a consistent voice.
5. Choose Your Plan of Attack. Map out your strategy for how frequently to post on each social channel. Determine the focus of your posts and create a schedule. Examples of posts contain info about your latest blog articles, new product releases, educational content for your customers, industry reports, appearances at expos, and more, but they must all link back to the specific info on your website.
Utilize direct messaging to establish a direct rapport with customers. Facebook and Yelp even give you the option of placing a call-to-action button on your business profile. Besides posting the best content for each social media platform on a consistent basis, respond to direct messages to drive customers through your sales funnel.
6. Employ The Secret to Successful, Moneymaking Digital Marketing. Customization is the secret sauce that brings customers to you instead of your competitors. Digital marketing is not a one-size-fits-all. Many factors come into play to make an unmistakable, winning impression on your target audience. Start with content development for your website, social media profiles, blog articles, and social media posts. Add graphic design to make your company’s story, products, and services sizzle. Strategize for the ultimate search engine optimization (SEO) for content creation that gets you ranked in Google and beyond. With Google Analytics in place, you’ll be able to adjust your social reach campaigns to increase your ROI.
But don’t rely on accomplishing all of these tasks all in-house. Call on seasoned experts at 559-978-4096 to see your digital marketing goal planning come to full fruition this year and beyond. Get started with a free website assessment and a thorough analysis of your online competition.
Moore Than SEO De-Mystifies Social Media Marketing at “Bites & Boos”
By Anne Roos, Content Development
We’re conjuring up an event that promises to be wickedly fun!
You’ll have a chance to savor boo-tiful catered goodies from The Painted Table while showing off your spirit for networking.
The Halloween-themed puns should be a dead giveaway—It’s time for this year’s October Clovis Chamber of Commerce Mixer! Moore Than SEO is teaming up with one of our social media marketing clients, The Painted Table, to cast a memorable spell on the evening.
Join us for “Bites & Boos” on Wednesday, October 17th, from 5-7 pm, at The Painted Table’s Tower District venue, 1211 N. Wishon Ave., in Fresno.
Come as you are, and you’ll really scare off your colleagues. This is the evening to disguise your 9 to 5 self, get a hair-raising makeover, and dress as the Halloween spirit moves you. We’re having a costume contest with prizes!
Expect The Painted Table’s private venue to be transformed to welcome the undead (that’s you!). Their themed appetizers paired with beer, sangria, and other refreshments will satisfy even the most devilish appetites. Of course, our SEO team will be on hand to de-mystify social media marketing for you.
We’re here to reveal the tricks and treats of social media management—Our fascinating writing attracts customers to your company and your website without a lot of bubble-bubble-toil-and-trouble. Here at Moore Than SEO, we follow the up-to-date guidelines for search engine optimization so that we don’t spook customers who are looking to buy from you. We deliver social media management done right.
Get on your broomstick, rev up your bat-mobile, or slither on over to the “Bites & Boos” Chamber Mixer on October 17th. We look forward to seeing you materialize there!
If you can’t wait for the October mixer to dig up more info about our social media services, drag your bones over to the phone and give us a call at 559-978-4096.
Back to the crypt for this writer—She’d rather eat brains than create another Halloween pun!
How to Keep Your Brand Alive in Social Media News Feeds
By Anne Roos
In light of recent data breaches with Equifax, the My Fitness Pal App, and most notably, Facebook, users are questioning their privacy and online security ever more closely. Are they choosing to accept the new terms of service or ditch social media? And are they electing to unsubscribe from websites and apps that collect their personal information?
The Internet forced consumers and advertisers, alike, into dependency on technology.
Your customer’s data exposure—their browsing history, preferences, likes, and actions—helps you to deliver information about products and services that they need and want. But how much data exposure is too much, in the eyes of your customers?
No one has the answers, as the hearings between the U.S. Senate and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg so painfully revealed. Every individual is left to determine whether to stay the course, unplug completely, or navigate a middle ground of selecting only those social media they trust.
How does this shifting social media landscape affect your ability to reach out to new customers and sustain online connections with loyal customers?
Facebook acknowledged in its most recent terms of service update that it shares user data with other platforms it owns, including Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Occulus. Facebook also describes what it does with people’s data, including information on features like Marketplace, 360 and Live video. They also explain which personal info they choose to retain and why. The newest incarnation of the Facebook user agreement states how they address harmful behavior, such as suspicious activity and harassment.
These Facebook updates reinforce their commitment to Friends and Family prioritizing News Feeds based on whether the content is shared on Messenger, whether the content is commented on or Liked, whether content receives more than one reply, and whether interactions are “active” and “meaningful”.
Simply put, your posts must now jump more hurdles to be seen in your customer’s News Feed. Facebook is moving away from allowing advertisers to succeed by using their platform as a free broadcast channel. Facebook is moving towards a model where advertisers must supplement their organic reach through paid advertising.
To keep your brand front-and-center with your clients:
- Put time and effort into focusing on digital assets that you own.No one knows the future of Facebook, or any social media platform, for that matter. Drive your social media fans to locations on the web where you control the message. Focus on updating your blog posts and website with meaningful content, including videos, e-books, case studies, and white papers. Sharing this information continues to be considered “meaningful” by social media, and regular updates to your blog and website increase your brand’s ranking in search engine results.
- Entice fans to visit your website and blog by sharing engaging videos, broadcasting on Facebook Live, and carefully curating your posts.Encourage fans to interact by asking them to “like and share” at the end of posts. Educate fans to update their notification settings on your business page so they will continue to see your posts in their pages feed.
- Consider paid advertising once you establish a tribe of loyal fans.By doing so, you can target specific posts to reach specific buyer personas. Facebook’s advertising tools and features—Conversion Tracking, Custom Audience, Lookalike Audiences, Audience Insights, and more—exist to increase your Facebook Page reach.
Facebook removed “Purchasing Behaviors” from advertising filter selections since the Senate hearing, and more changes abound. Their algorithm, along with the algorithm of all major social media platforms, is in constant flux. How can you keep up with these changes to enable your messages to continue to reach your target customers?
Here at Moore Than SEO, we recognize that you have better things to do than to wade through terms of service agreements to make sense of their latest nuances. Our team of social media management experts keeps abreast of the newest changes so that you don’t have to. We’ll custom-craft a strategy to connect with your customers where they hang out, curating content to encourage interactions and keep your brand alive in their news feeds.
In this changing landscape of privacy agreements, it’s time to hire an external marketing team to keep up with it all. Contact us at 559-978-4096 to continue your social media fan reach uninterrupted.
How To Research SEO Keywords Like A Pro
Are you interested in making improvements to your website that will result in positive Google ranking potential? The foundation of any good SEO (search engine optimization) program is built upon the best keyword phrases for your business. If you’re not sure where to start, then our free guide will get you on the right path.
Inside you’ll learn how our experts rely on a variety of free, online resources to brainstorm the best list of SEO keywords with true traffic potential. You’ll learn how to frame keyword phrases to be more compelling by examining your target markets and buyer personas and how to critically evaluate your initial brainstorms to boil it all down to a power list you can use in everyday marketing.
Whether you’re working to develop increased exposure locally or globally this basic skill will greatly improve your command of search engine marketing. It only takes some time, careful research, and the determination to implement what you learn in the process. Read, “How To Research SEO Keyword Phrases Like A Pro,” for six comprehensive pages of educational information that’s chocked full of our team’s best keyword brainstorming tips. We’ve also included a helpful SEO Keyword Research Brainstormer worksheet.
Did you find our guide helpful? Tell us about it on Facebook. We love getting social & answering your marketing questions! Searching for more great educational content? Check out our additional resources for search engine marketing below:
Industrial Manufacturers: Don’t Be In the Dark About Organic SEO
Read about how search engine optimization tactics can help industrial companies gain an edge on lagging competitors while building a sustainable audience that generates increased website traffic.
Enhance Your SEO and Digital Identity with a Mobile-Friendly Website
Learn how it’s important to have a business website that’s truly mobile-friendly according to today’s modern Google best practices. You’ll find out how to test your site’s mobile quality and more.
Anatomy of An Optimized Web Page – Infographic
Are you a visual learner? If you are, then you will LOVE our Anatomy of An Optimized Web Page Infographic on this post. Scroll down to start viewing it.
Top SEO Tips for Website Promotion
Learn Moore Than SEO’s top tips that you can implement right away to improve your website’s promotion & quality.
Remove the Cobwebs from Your Website
Use the best SEO and social media marketing practices and tidy up your website’s performance.
Why Are Google Analytics So Important for Web Development?
Learn more about the benefits of Google Analytics and how installing this free tool can greatly improve your digital marketing insights.
Do you find yourself wanting to improve your website & digital marketing strategy but struggle to find the time?
Give our experts a call to discuss how we can help increase visibility for your business at (559) 978-4096.