How To Use Data To Drive SEO Changes

Data Driven SEO Answers The Question: Are My SEO Efforts Working?

One of the most common questions we get asked by business owners is how can they determine whether or not their current SEO efforts are really working?

In the HubSpot 2021 State of Marketing report, I was surprised to see that many companies are still using keyword rankings as the main measure of SEO success.

We look at SEO a little bit differently at Braveheart. We use a data driven SEO strategy to measure the impact our Search Engine Optimization efforts are having on your business as we believe that your SEO efforts should be based on generating business results and not keyword rankings.

Data Driven SEO Metrics

Leads/Revenue

The top SEO metric we measure for our clients is conversions – either an increase in leads and/or revenue.

Clients have hired Braveheart Digital Marketing since 2000 because we generate business results. Business owners we work with never ask us about search engine rankings. Instead they are focused on whether they are getting more leads or phone calls than before they hired us.

Revenue Per Visitor

Related to conversions, another metric that we follow closely is revenue per website visitor. What is the value of each website visitor from Google? Does it make more, or less, visitors to create a conversion than it did last month, last quarter and last year?

We find this to be a really useful metric for three reasons. One is that when it comes to approving SEO recommendations, implementation happens much quicker when you can show a projected $10,000+ increase in monthly revenue from a website change.

Second, is that revenue per visitor provides a holistic viewpoint of the performance of all marketing channels.

By using a data driven metric like this, we can compare the effectiveness of the different marketing campaigns that are in market and identify the best performing ones.

Third, is that our SEO efforts are focused on driving not just anybody to your website, but bringing someone to your website who is interested in your product/service. By tracking revenue per visitor we can ensure that our SEO efforts and your business goals are aligned.

Growth In Organic Traffic

The next important organic search KPI is website traffic. Are we driving more organic traffic than we were last month, last quarter, and last year? The type questions we hear from business leaders are: “What are you projecting for traffic in the upcoming month and quarter?” and “How can you grow organic traffic faster?”

Expected Traffic Per Page

The only keyword related metric we look at is expected traffic by page. Using Google Search Console Data and CTR data, we can model the expected search traffic that each page should generate based on the sum of the keywords that page is ranking for. Did the page get more or less search traffic than expected?

Our SEO team uses this data to prioritize what pages to work on with the highest priority going to the pages that are getting less traffic than expected based on their ranking.

If you’re looking for help with SEO, contact Braveheart Digital Marketing today. We are a leading SEO Agency in Manchester NH that can help you to improve your website and reach new customers. Contact us today.

The 8 Biggest SEO Mistakes Your Business is Making

Search Engine Optimization. Three words that can make a big difference in the online visibility of your business. But SEO is a complex field, and it can be tough to know where to start – or where you’re going wrong. If your website isn’t receiving the traffic you want, chances are you’re making one (or more) of these 8 common SEO mistakes.

SEO Mistake #1: Not Doing Your Keyword Research

The first step to any good SEO strategy is keyword research. You need to know what terms and phrases potential customers are using to search for businesses like yours – and then you need to make sure your website is optimized for those terms. There are a number of different tools you can use to do keyword research, but a good place to start is with Google’s AdWords Keyword Planner.

SEO Mistake #2:Targeting The Wrong Keywords

It’s not enough just to do your keyword research – you also need to make sure you’re targeting the right keywords. That means keywords that are relevant to your business and that have a good chance of ranking highly in search results. A lot of businesses make the mistake of targeting keywords that are too broad (like “clothing” or “shoes”) or too competitive (like “online marketing”). As a result, they end up getting lost in the shuffle and never receive the organic traffic they’re hoping for.

SEO Mistake #3:Not Utilizing Keywords Effectively

One of the most common SEO mistakes is not utilizing keywords effectively. If you want your website to show up in the search results when people use those keywords, you need to include them in your content. The key is to use keywords thoughtfully and strategically throughout your content to strike the right balance between optimization and readability.

SEO Mistake #4:Not Optimizing Page Titles and Meta Descriptions

One quick and easy way to improve your website’s SEO is to make sure that all of your page titles and meta descriptions are optimized. Page titles should be 60 characters or less, while meta descriptions should be 160 characters or less—anything longer than this will get cut off in search engine results pages. Both page titles and meta descriptions should include your target keywords and give searchers a clear idea of what your page is about.

SEO Mistake #5:Ignoring On-Page SEO Factors

On-page SEO encompasses all the various factors on your website that affect your rankings in search engine results pages—including things like title tags, header tags, anchor text, and image alt text. While some on-page SEO factors carry more weight than others, ignoring any of them can hurt your rankings. That’s why it’s important to take a holistic approach to on-page optimization and make sure you’re covering all your bases.

SEO Mistake #6:Not Creating Enough Content

We have heard for years that “content is king.” And it’s true – high-quality content is an important part of any good SEO strategy. But too many businesses make the mistake of thinking that any kind of content will do. The reality is that if you want your content to rank highly in search results, it needs to be informative, well-written, and original. So don’t just churn out content for content’s sake – make sure it’s something your target audience will actually want to read (and share).

SEO Mistake #7:Failing To Monitor Progress

One of the common SEO mistakes we see businesses make when embarking on an SEO campaign is failing to monitor their progress along the way. It’s important to regularly check in on your website’s performance in order to identify any issues early on so you can correct them before they cause too much damage. Fortunately, there are a number of great tools—like Google Analytics and analytics for small business —that can help you track your progress and keep an eye on key metrics like website traffic and conversion rates.

SEO Mistake #8:Not Optimizing Your Website For Mobile

In today’s world, more people than ever are using their mobile devices to access the internet. In fact, recent data shows that over 60% of all internet traffic now comes from mobile devices. That means if your website isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of potential traffic – and customers. Make sure your website looks good and functions well on mobile devices by doing things like using a responsive design and keeping your content concise and easy-to-read.

Most businesses understand that Search Engine Optimization is important but don’t have a firm grasp on how it works or what they need to do in order to ensure their website is properly optimized for search engines like Google. As a result, they end up making common mistakes that can have a negative impact on their ranking and visibility online.

By avoiding these eight common mistakes you can set your business up for success when it comes time to launch an SEO campaign . Doing so will help you earn better rankings in search engine results pages , which will ultimately lead to higher levels of traffic and increased conversions.

How SEO Can Help You Grow Your Business Exponentially

As a business owner, you likely already know that SEO is a crucial tool for helping your business grow. However, you may not realize just how powerful SEO can be in terms of growing your business exponentially.

By understanding how SEO can help you reach your target market and maximize your exposure, you can use it to take your business to the next level.

Keep reading to learn more about how SEO can help you grow your business exponentially.

Why SEO Is A Crucial Tool For Business Owners

SEO is a crucial tool for business owners for several reasons. First, SEO can help to increase brand awareness and reach new customers. When customers search for keywords related to your business, you have the opportunity to appear at the top of the search engine results page. This puts your business in front of more potential customers and helps to build trust and credibility.

After searching on a smartphone for something nearby, 76% of people end up visiting the business within 1 day

Google

Second, SEO can help you to save money on advertising. By ranking highly for relevant keywords, you can get organic traffic to your website without having to pay for expensive ads. Finally, SEO can help you to improve your website so that it is more user-friendly and effective. A well-optimized website will load quickly, be easy to navigate, and provide a great user experience. This can help you to convert more visitors into customers. Investing in SEO is a smart move for any business owner who wants to improve their online presence and reach new customers.

SEO can reduce the cost of customer acquisition by 87.41% on average compared to digital advertising.

Terakeet

Finally, SEO can help you to improve your website so that it is more user-friendly and effective. A well-optimized website will load quickly, be easy to navigate, and provide a great user experience. This can help you to convert more visitors into customers. Investing in SEO is a smart move for any business owner who wants to improve their online presence and reach new customers.

70% of marketers see SEO as more effective than PPC

Databox

How SEO Can Help You Reach Your Target Market

In order to reach your target market, it is essential to invest in SEO. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of improving the visibility of a website in search engine results pages. This is achieved through optimizing website content, structure, and code, as well as developing links with other websites. By making your website more visible, you are more likely to attract visitors who are interested in your products or services. In addition, SEO can help to build trust and credibility with potential customers.

After searching on a smartphone for something nearby, 76% of people end up visiting the business within one day

Google

By appearing higher in search results, you are more likely to be seen as a reputable source of information. As a result, investing in SEO can be a highly effective way to reach your target market.

53% of U.S. consumers say they research products using a search engine before deciding whether or not to buy

Google

The Benefits Of SEO For Businesses

There are many benefits of SEO for businesses. SEO can help businesses to reach a wider audience, as well as improve brand awareness and visibility. SEO can also help businesses to improve their website’s user experience, which can lead to increased conversion rates.

Additionally, SEO can help businesses to save money on paid advertising, as well as generate leads organically. Ultimately, SEO is a long-term strategy that can help businesses to achieve their marketing goals and grow their business.

75% of marketers feel their SEO tactics are ‘extremely effective’ or ‘very effective’ at helping them achieve their marketing goals

Hubspot State of Inbound

How To Use SEO To Grow Your Business Exponentially

As the world of business becomes increasingly competitive, it’s more important than ever to ensure that your company is visible to potential customers. One way to do this is by investing in SEO. Did you know for example that:

Updating and republishing old blog posts with new content and images can increase organic traffic by as much as 106%

Hubspot

By updating and refreshing existing content, you not only get the benefit of getting more miles out of old articles, but you can reenergize how those oldies but goodies rank.But how important is it for your website to rank highly on Google in order to be seen by your target audience? It’s critical because:

The first 5 organic results in the SERPs account for 67.6% of all clicks while the No. 1 results generate a typical click-through rate of 39.6%.

Zero Limit Web Firstpage

Getting on to the first page of Google is critical to your SEO success because 0.78% of Google searchers click through on the second page of search results (Source: Backlinko)

0.78% of Google searchers click through on the second page of search results

Banklinko

It may seem obvious that the click rate would drop on the second page of Google’s search results, but the drop is dramatic. Less than 1% of Google searchers will venture to the second page to find what they are looking for.

That is why SEO is an essential tool for any business looking to succeed in the modern marketplace. With SEO, you can take your business to the next level and ensure that you are visible to the people who matter most.

If you’re looking for help with SEO, contact Braveheart Digital Marketing today. We are a leading SEO agency that can help you to improve your website and reach new customers. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you grow your business exponentially.

SEO vs PPC: Which Is The Best Driver Of Website Traffic?

If you’re a business owner, you know that online visibility is key to success. But what’s the best way to achieve it? SEO and PPC are both effective methods of marketing your business online. But which one is right for you? Let’s take a closer look at SEO vs PPC, their respective pros and cons, and how to determine which one is right for your business.

SEO and PPC: An Overview

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of your website in search engine results pages (SERPs). This is done through optimizing your website content, structure, and on-page elements like title tags and metatags. SEO is a long-term strategy that can take months or even years to see results.

PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising is a form of online advertising in which you pay a fee every time someone clicks on your ad. Ads can be displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs), social media platforms, and websites that are part of the Google Display Network. PPC is a more immediate way to gain visibility for your website, but it requires ongoing investment.

SEO: The Pros

SEO is a great way to increase the visibility and ranking of your website. SEO is a long-term strategy that can take months or even years to see results, but it is worth the investment. SEO will help you to build trust with your audience, as well as increase traffic and leads for your business.

SEO: The Cons

SEO can be a long and difficult process, and it can take months or even years to see results. SEO is also constantly changing, which means you need to keep up with the latest trends and algorithm updates to ensure that your website is visible in search engine results pages. SEO can be a difficult and time-consuming process, but it is worth the investment for your business.

PPC: The Pros

Pay Per Click (PPC) is a great way to gain visibility for your website quickly. PPC ads can be displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs), social media platforms, and websites that are part of the Google Display Network. PPC is a more immediate way to gain visibility for your website, but it requires ongoing investment.

PPC: The Cons

PPC can be an expensive way to market your business, especially if you are in a highly competitive industry. PPC also requires ongoing investment and management, as well as constant monitoring and optimization to ensure that your ads are performing well. Additionally, PPC can be complex and time-consuming to set up and manage.

Which One is Right for Your Business? SEO or PPC

Now that we’ve looked at the pros and cons of SEO and PPC, you may be wondering which one is right for your business. The answer, as with most things in business, is that it depends.

If you’re just starting out and are on a tight budget, SEO may be the better option for you. SEO takes time to see results, but it is a more affordable option than PPC. However, if you need immediate results and are willing to invest in paid advertising, PPC may be the better option for you.

If you’re not sure which one is right for you, speak to a marketing professional who can help you assess your needs and make a decision. SEO and PPC are both great ways to market your business online. The best way to determine which one is right for you is to assess your needs and goals, and then speak to a marketing professional who can help you make the best decision for your business.

If you need help increasing your website’s visibility and ranking, or if you’re looking for a more immediate way to gain visibility for your business, contact Braveheart Digital Marketing. We offer both SEO and PPC services, and our team of marketing professionals can help you determine which one is right for your business. Contact us today to learn more

The Top 8 Benefits of SEO Experience for Your Business

Many years ago I was listening to Eric Ward, long-term linking strategist, dissect a Google ranking and a website’s backlink profile.

Eric was asked about the top ranking for the search “Archery Clubs.” Out of 1.6 million results, the number one listing was The Olympic Arrow. Eric notes that this website was not optimized from an SEO perspective, and a viewer asks him why this site is ranked so highly.

That’s a good question, and to answer it, Eric pulls up a third party link reporting tool to check the backlink profile of The Olympic Arrow. Surprisingly, the site only has six backlinks that are all from directories.

This is where Eric’s experience in SEO makes a significant difference in this investigation. Since all three backlink checkers show similar data, someone less experienced may have concluded that a site with just seven-ten directory links could rank on the first page of Google for the term “Archery Clubs.”

But Eric is not an amateur. He knows from experience that it takes more than six directory backlinks to rank for a keyword with 1.6M competing results on Google. His next step? Eric looks for mentions of the domain in Google, using the advanced search query “theolympicarrow-site:www.theolympicarrow.com.”

This search reveals documents and websites that mention “The Olympic Arrow” without necessarily linking back to it and includes places where third-party tools don’t look.

The search shows that The Olympic Arrow has a Youtube channel, Facebook page, Pinterest page and is referenced by local news stations and a PDF on the United States Olympic Committee website.

Further examination demonstrates why Google ranks this site as highly as it does. It has a broad based social media presence, positive comments from authoritative local media outlets, and links from .org’s including the United States Olympic Committee website.

To replace this site from the top of the Google rankings would require a competitor with a stronger backlink profile. And that is why you cannot disregard experience when it comes to SEO. Experience means that you can look at the data from tools and put that data in perspective, instead of just blindly accepting it as being right.

Experience knows not only when to dig deeper into a result but also what tools and resources to use to discover what’s going on beneath the surface. That’s why when it comes to SEO, you want someone who has been in the business for a long time, who knows where to look, and what to look for.

In addition to being about to dissect why one website is ranking higher than another, an experienced SEO team can also help you to improve your click-through rate, conversions, and ROI.

Here are the top eight benefits of having SEO experience on your side:

1. Increased Visibility

The visibility of your website is essential to getting people to see it and then converting them into customers or leads. However, visibility doesn’t just happen – it takes a lot of hard work and strategic planning. An experienced SEO team will know how to get your site in front of as many people as possible through techniques such as link building, content marketing, and social media marketing.

2. You'll Benefit from Their Experience and Insight

When you work with an experienced SEO team, you’ll be able to take advantage of their years of experience in the field. They’ll be up-to-date on all the latest trends and changes in SEO, and will know exactly what needs to be done in order to help your website rank highly. In addition, an experienced team will also be able to provide valuable insights into your industry, competitors, and target market – insight that you can use to make your marketing efforts even more effective.

3. You'll Save Time

Trying to stay on top of all the latest changes in SEO can be a full-time job in itself – and that’s time that could be better spent running your business! When you outsourced SEO services to an experienced agency, you can focus on what you do best and leave the search engine optimization to the experts.

4. You'll Get More bang for Your Buck

Outsourcing SEO services is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve your website’s search ranking. Not only will you save money on hiring an in-house team, but you’ll also get more value for your dollar thanks to the wealth of experience and knowledge an experienced agency brings to the table.

5. Improved Click-Through Rate

A good SEO team will also help you to improve your click-through rate (CTR). This is the percentage of people who see your listing in the search results and then click on it. A higher CTR means that more people are interested in what you have to offer and are more likely to convert into leads or customers. There are a number of factors that can affect CTR such as title tags, meta descriptions, and creating compelling content.

6. More Leads and Customers

As a business owner, generating leads and getting customers is probably at the top of your list of priorities – and rightfully so! However, if people can’t find your website when they search for related terms, they’re unlikely to become leads or customers. An experienced SEO team will help you target the right keywords so that people who are searching for what you offer are directed to your website instead of your competitor’s site.

7. Higher Conversion Rate

In addition to generating more leads, an experienced SEO team will also help you increase your conversion rate – that is, the percentage of visitors who take a desired action such as filling out a form or making a purchase . There are a number of technical aspects that can affect conversion rate such as website speed and mobile-friendliness . However, there are also elements such as copywriting , calls-to-action , and user experience that can make a big difference in whether or not someone converts into a customer or lead.

8. Increased ROI

One of the biggest benefits of working with an experienced SEO team is increased ROI . Because SEO focuses on driving quality traffic to your website , it tends to be much more effective than other marketing strategies such as print advertising or TV ads . In fact , businesses that invest in SEO tend to see an average ROIof 13X ! now that’s something worth writing home about!

If you want to see real results from your digital marketing efforts , then you need an experienced SEO team on your side . If you’re looking for help with SEO, contact Braveheart Digital Marketing today. We are a leading SEO Agency in Manchester NH that can help you to improve your website and reach new customers. Contact us today

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8 Steps To Increase Exposure On Google

In our current culture, Google has transformed from a noun into a verb. Think about it. We don’t say “search for it” — instead, we say “google it.”

This is a direct result of people finding incredibly useful information by using Google’s search engine. If you think this is an accident or coincidence, then think again.

You see, Google has developed a mutually-beneficial system between their company and other businesses in the world. Here’s why: if Google understands your business, then they can provide accurate information to their users about your business. If Google can provide accurate information to their users, then the users will continue relying on Google. If a lot of people continue using Google, then Google can make money from ads and paid services.

It all comes down to creating a great experience for Google users.

In order to store and show accurate information about other businesses, Google has developed a tool called Google Business Profile. Basically, this is our modern-day version of the yellow pages. And, if you follow the simple steps below to upload your business’ information to the Google Business Profile tool, Google will give you the equivalent of a FREE, full page, full color ad.

So, what’s the holdup?

Your competitors are probably already taking advantage of Google Business Profile. And if they aren’t, then they will be soon. If you have any doubts, then think about your own experience researching new companies online. You’re probably more likely to purchase from the ones with a well-established web presence, right? They look more professional and modern, and this immediately instills a feeling of consumer trust.

By considering your business’ appearance on Google, you can easily establish an edge over your competitors.

This guide is all about how to gain exposure by developing your Google Business Profile account. By following these eight easy steps, you can enhance your web presence and attract clients — for free — on Google!

1. Claim and Verify Your Google Profile Listing

To get started with the Google Business Profile tool, you first need to create your account. It’s very simple, and you can do so by clicking this link. You will have the option to either claim or create your business’ listing. If your business pops up when you enter your business’ name, then select it and claim it. If you search for your business but don’t find any results, then you will need to create a new listing.

Either way, the next step is verification. This is the process by which Google ensures that you are the owner of your business. For most businesses, verification is done by mail. However, in some cases, you will have the option to verify by phone, email, or search console. Check with Google about the different verification options, and see which methods you qualify for.

Be aware that verification can take up to two weeks — so don’t delay if you want all the perks of managing your business listing on Google!

2. Choose Categories for Your Business

After you’ve passed Google’s verification check, you will be prompted to select categories for your business. You can choose one primary category, and up to nine secondary categories. This may seem like a straightforward task, but really take your time choosing the best categories to describe what you do! After all, as of 2020, there are 3942 categories for you to choose from.

,The primary category for your business is given top priority in Google’s algorithm. This is the main deciding factor in whether or not your business will pop up during a user search. Be as specific as possible when selecting your primary category. The more specific you are, the fewer businesses you’ll be competing against. Plus, isn’t it refreshing when you search for something specific and Google provides exactly what you need?

As another rule of thumb, try to select as few secondary categories as possible when describing your business. This may seem counterintuitive, but it actually increases the likelihood of users finding you. You see, if you only use 3 categories to describe what you do, then Google will be dividing its user-directing resources into only 3 channels. On the other hand, if Google has to re-route users to your business based on 10 different categories, then this weakens the effectiveness of its algorithm.

3. Add Images of Your Business

The third step is adding images of your business. Have you ever googled a business, and the only photo result is a vague snapshot from the Google Earth street view camera? Talk about off-putting, right? You definitely don’t want that to be a client’s first impression of your business.

The images you upload should give potential customers a mini-tour of your company. This can be a physical tour, where you showcase the outside and inside of your building, or it can be more of a conceptual tour, where you try to communicate the feel and mission of your company. If you opt for the latter, then you may choose to upload photos of your staff, or photos of the products/services that your business offers. Place yourself in the shoes of your clients, and imagine what you would like to see before deciding to hire or buy from your company.

Also, don’t just upload any old photos you have on hand of your business. These images should be high-resolution, and professional quality. They should also reflect your business in its current form. If you’ve redone the interior of your office, or if you’ve made a lot of new hires, then make sure the photos show your current setup.

If you don’t feel confident taking photos yourself, then you can even hire a local photographer to do this for you. Or, you can ask a creative member of your staff to take the photos.

4. Add Your Address and Phone Number

Next, you can add your address and phone number to your Google Business Profile listing so that potential customers can easily reach you. If your address and phone number are published in multiple places on the web (like on Facebook, Instagram, and your company site), then make sure that this contact info is the same across all of these locations. After all, you want to make certain that the people who want to buy from you can actually find you.

Here’s another tip: when adding a phone number to your business, make sure it’s local. Potential customers may be confused if they think that you’re a local company, but then find an unfamiliar area code when reaching for the phone. They might assume that your business location is inaccurate, and they might even choose to do business elsewhere.

5. Gain Credibility with Reviews

When you’re about to hire or buy from a business, what do you look at to make your decision? The reviews, of course! So, now that you’ve uploaded all of your business information into your Google Business Profile listing, it’s time to consider your reviews.

According to industry research, 98% of users read online reviews for local businesses. The star rating next to business names on Google Maps (which ranges from 1-5) is a cumulation of reviews.

Reviews provide valuable feedback about your business. You can reply to reviews, which can help build trust with your customers.

Customers don’t expect 100% perfect reviews, though. According to Google, a mix of positive and negative reviews is actually more trustworthy.

Responding to reviews—both good and bad—is a great way to build trust and credibility with your current and future customers.

6. Add Offers to Your Listing

If you look at your Google Business profile, you will see that you also have the option to add posts to your listing. One of these post options is “offers.” With this option, you can let Google users know about special deals and discounts that they can receive through your business. What’s more, you can program these offers with special Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons, directing Google users to your website or order page. You have the following options for CTA buttons:

Offers are a great way to grab Google users’ attention. Plus, in your GMB profile, you have the option to track users’ engagement with your offer. These valuable insights allow you to gauge the success of your offer, and to create a plan for future offers.

7. Make Regular Posts to Your Listing

Now that you have a solid Google Business Profile listing, the work isn’t over. You need to stay on top of your business’ listing by adding frequent posts to your listing. These posts can be updates, events, offers, or new products. Each time you create a post, you have the option to add photos, videos, and CTA buttons to attract client attention, and to foster engagement. Think of this as the option to add additional advertising to your listing. What’s better than even more free exposure?

Plus, frequently posting on your Google Business Profile listing increases the likelihood that your business will appear in user search results. By having an active profile, there is more information linked to your business on the web, and therefore more material that may match your clients’ search terms.

Bear in mind that posts to your Google Business Profile listing are automatically removed after seven days. This is why you want to log into your account frequently, and add new posts to continue promoting your business!

8. Setup Messaging

By setting up Google Business Profile messaging, customers can contact you directly through your Google Business Profile listing. This increases convenience for your customers, as they are far more likely to contact you if all they have to do is press a little button next to their search results. Sounds pretty good for your business, right?

Here’s how to set up messaging:

And presto — that’s it! You’ll receive a notification in the app every time a customer asks a question about your listing, and every time a customer tries to contact you through the listing.

Fill out the form below to learn how Braveheart can help you get more exposure on Google.

Are Your Outdated SEO Tactics Costing You Traffic?

“Eighty-nine percent of sites that ranked seven years ago are not ranking now.”

Marcus Tober

SearchMetrics

“that used to have at least one ranking in the past on keywords with at least a search volume of 10,” he checked to see how many of the domains still had at least one ranking. The conclusion? In the top 30 results, Tober found that “Only 11% [of these domains] are left!”

Via this historical data, we can see that 89% of websites that ranked in the top 30 positions on Google seven years ago no longer rank in the top 30 today. The big question is why?

While doing some technical website audits recently, it struck me that a lot of the websites that I am reviewing are seeing declining search engine traffic because of previous Search Engine Optimization tactics.

What is unusual about these sets of websites is that the SEO recommendations that were implemented were not black hat or spammy. They were part of the SEO Playbook at that time.

But a series of Google algorithm updates have not only negated these recommendations but are hurting the websites now.

Panda: Assigned lower ranking to “low-quality” websites. In other words, sites that provide bad user experiences because of low quality, poorly written content, or bad navigation move to the bottom of search results.

Penguin and SEOPenguin: Removed “over-optimized” websites that didn’t deserve high rankings. In an effort to boost SEO, companies would buy multiple website domains and then create websites with a blog or two that linked back to the main website. Google released the Penguin update to stop this practice and ensure good user experiences.

Hummingbird and SEOHummingbird: Adapted Google’s algorithm to manage smartphone searches and voice recognition applications. These major updates now comprise the new playbook for optimizing websites. If you want to rank well on Google queries, make sure you follow the new rules and drop outdated practices.

What are the outdated tactics that could be getting you in trouble today? Here are the three most common SEO tactics that I see hurting websites now:

1. Thin Content

An often-used SEO tactic was to focus on one keyword per page. So, if you sold widgets for example you might have the following pages:

● Widgets Main Page
● Blue Widgets
● Red Widgets
● Yellow Widgets
● Black Widgets

Often the only difference between the pages for Blue Widgets and Red Widgets were that one page contained the phrase “Blue Widgets” and the other contained the phrase “Red Widgets.”

Starting with the panda update, Google now emphasizes themes instead of keywords. Instead of having all those sub-widget pages, what Google is looking for is one main widgets page. Google’s algorithms are smart enough to understand that if you have a widgets page talking about the availability of various colors, then “blue widgets” and “red widgets” are key phrases that are related to that page.

I see pages today that rank and drive traffic for hundreds of keywords with many of the hundreds not actually on the page but related to the content of that page.

For example, according to SEMRush, this page on the L’Oreal website ranks for 4,400 different keywords.

As the L’Oreal page shows, it’s not necessary to flush a page with a multitude of keywords or have a multitude pages for variations of the same product. One page thematically appropriate can rev the right traffic from Google.

Thin or duplicate pages are one of the biggest reasons I see for declining search engine traffic. If you are retaining any of these types of pages on your site, now is the time to update and show Google that your site is worth a high ranking.

2. Page Speed

For years, website owners never paid much attention to website speed. Flash, slideshows, video, and parallax scrolling were all added to websites to make them more closely resemble magazines and TV shows.

But in 2014/15 Google made it clear that bloated and slow loading websites created a bad user experience, and page speed became a larger component in Google’s ranking algorithm, especially when it comes to mobile.

A slow loading page increases your bounce rate and lowers your organic rankings, resulting in less search traffic. How fast does your page load?

Check the speed of your website here . Does your website load in under 2 seconds?

3. Broken Links and Error Pages

A 404 or not found error is when a user (or search engine) clicks a link and lands on a page that no longer exists.

From a search engine perspective, 404 errors are wasted resources. But more importantly I have seen websites, like the one below, experience a significant decrease in search engine traffic after a jump in 404 errors.

And that makes sense. If you are Google and you keep crawling a website and finding pages that no longer exist, why would you put that site high up on the search results page?

The longer a website has been up the more likely they are to have broken links. And that is because over time employees come and go and product changes and website redesigns alter the URL structure. Have you experienced any of these over the last couple of years? If the answer is yes, what happened to those webpages?

Even on the best optimized website, users end up on pages that no longer exist. The key to a good user experience then is a useful 404 page.

Four ways to create a useful 404 page are:

● Tell visitors clearly that the page they’re looking for can’t be found
● Use language that is friendly and inviting
● Make sure your 404 page uses the same look and feel (including navigation) as the rest of your site
● Consider adding links to your most popular articles or posts, as well as a link to your site’s homepage as Moz has below:

Whether or not your site has been impacted in a noticeable way by these Google updates, every site has things to clean up and to optimize in a modern way.

The sooner you understand why Google is sending you less traffic than it did last year, the sooner you can clean it up and focus on proactive SEO that starts to impact your rankings in a positive way.

Don’t let your site get bogged down by old school SEO tactics. Contact us today as see if your site meets Google’s Best Practices!

Sustainability of SEO Over PPC

In a previous post, we discussed the main differences between search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC), the two main web traffic drivers.

For short-term marketing goals, PPC is a great source of immediate traffic, but for a traffic source that consistently drives high quality long-term traffic then SEO is the best option.

One factor that makes PPC a difficult sustainable marketing channel is the steady increase in CPC as can be seen below. Some highly competitive keywords have seen their CPC more than doubled in the last four years.

We call this trend CPC inflation which is the gradual increase of average cost-per-click over time when other variables appear to be the same. It means having to spend more per-click just to maintain your average position or impression share.

That is why the sustainability of SEO makes it the most cost-effective driver of website traffic in the long run because it delivers (1) high-quality traffic with intent to buy and (2) an increase in ROI over time. No digital marketing channel generates long-term traffic, leads, and sales with a better ROI than SEO.

On average, SEO is 12% of a typical marketing budget but generates 14% of leads.

Despite having 8% of the marketing budget, PPC generates only 6% of leads. If you are spending more of your marketing budget on PPC than SEO, then your lead generation program is costing you traffic and revenue.

It’s not just the number of leads generated from SEO that makes it such an important inbound tactic it is the quality of those leads.

When asked for the average percentage of leads converted to sales by marketing channels, marketers sighted SEO as the most effective marketing channel.

That’s why Search Engine Optimization is a more sustainable and cost-effective driver of website traffic than PPC is in the long run. The longer you engage in good SEO practices, the lower the cost of driving each visitor to your website. No other traffic source does that.

Ready to integrate SEO into your business strategy? Contact us today!

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