Archive for the ‘seo news’ Category
Friday, March 15th, 2024
Meta announced that CrowdTangle will be discontinued on Aug. 14, 2024, as the company shifts its focus toward developing new research tools.
Until then, users can still access CrowdTangle and its Chrome Extension, with data updating in real-time. However, during this period, no new users can be added to accounts as the platform will be in maintenance mode.
Why we care. Marketers and publishers who depend on CrowdTangle for trend analysis, post monitoring and analytics will need to seek alternative tools as the platform is being phased out.
What’s changing? From Aug.14, 2024, access to CrowdTangle’s User Interface, API, Chrome Extension and Historical Data feature will be discontinued.
API rate limits. The CrowdTangle API rate limits will stay the same until the tool is deprecated.
Alternatives. Advertisers can still utilize Insights within Meta Business Suite (MBS) following the deprecation of CrowdTangle. Additionally, they have the option to collaborate with third-party providers that offer social listening capabilities built on top of Meta’s APIs.
Why now? CrowdTangle faced accusations in 2021 of providing misleading data about Meta’s apps’ role in spreading divisive political content. A bot account on X, originally created by The New York Times journalist Kevin Roose, regularly highlighted the most popular Facebook posts based on data from Meta’s CrowdTangle platform. These posts often focused on right-wing spokespeople and Pages, making people think Facebook’s algorithms boosted such content.
In response, Facebook disbanded the CrowdTangle team in July 2021 following a disagreement over the content displayed by the app. Despite expectations of the project’s end, CrowdTangle continued offering data insights to users. Since then, rumors have circulated about Meta planning to sunset the platform, and now, those rumors are confirmed.
What Meta is saying. Meta said in a statement:
- “Our data-sharing products are evolving alongside technology and regulatory changes. Phasing out CrowdTangle will allow us to focus resources on our new research tools, Meta Content Library & Content Library API, which provide useful, high-quality data to researchers.”
- “Meta Content Library was designed to help us meet new regulatory requirements for data-sharing and transparency while meeting Meta’s rigorous privacy and security standards.”
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Deep dive. Read Meta’s announcement in full for more information.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Friday, March 15th, 2024
Google is rolling out a change to the perspectives filter, renaming it from perspectives to forums. A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land the word “forums” is a more intuitive name when seeking out that content. Google also told us that searchers can use this filter to hone in on results from hundreds of forums from across the web.
More on perspectives. Google launched the perspectives filter on mobile search last June, where you can filter the search results to just that type of content. Searchers can filter their search results to show videos, blogs and forums. These results aim to show people a more “lived experience” to their search queries, Liz Reid, VP of Search at Google, told Search Engine Land at Google I/O. These searchers are able to see answers from people who are sharing their own personal perspectives and these answers are provided in a user interface that is more friendly and consumable to the younger searcher.
What it looks like now. A few weeks ago I caught Google testing displaying “Forums” as a search filter in the search results. Here is that screenshot from Shameem Adhikarath:
Here is the same query, but with the perspectives filter option:
Why the change. Google said that it continues to invest in making it easier for searchers to find content that reflects people’s perspectives and first-hand experiences on Search. Google told us it is always looking at new ways to make it easier and more intuitive to find. Based on its data, Google found it is more intuitive for users to use filter by “forums” over “perspectives.” Google also said people can use this filter to hone in on results from hundreds of forums from across the web.
Perspectives not going away. “Other types of content like short videos and UGC, which was previously included in “Perspectives”, will continue to be accessible for relevant queries as carousels, clusters and traditional web page listings on the search results page,” a Google spokesperson told us.
Here is an example of such a perspectives box, but there are many variations:
Why we care. The name change from “perspectives” to “forums” should make it more clear to searchers what to expect when filtering for those search results. Those users who want to see results in forums, now won’t be confused when they filter specifically by forums.
If you run a forum or write a lot in Reddit or other forums, you may like this feature to find content within those types of websites.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, March 14th, 2024
Google’s Search Generative Experience may result in a substantial loss of advertising revenue for publishers, potentially amounting to $2 billion.
The AI-powered search engine is expected to trigger a significant decline in search traffic, ranging from 20% to 60%.
Such a steep drop in search traffic for publishers is likely to lead in a sharp decline in digital ad revenue, according to Marc McCollum, executive vice president of innovation at Raptive.
SGE study. Raptive, the company responsible for ad sales for titles such as Half Baked Harvest, MacRumors, and Stereogum, conducted two analyses to investigate the potential impact of SGE on search traffic: one in September 2023 and another last month. The company’s researchers compared Google’s current SERPs with the new SGE results for the top 1,000 keywords that bring traffic to their websites.
Results. The researchers noted that some keywords showed no SGE results, while other SGE responses did feature links to Raptive websites. Using an internal program to calculate expected click-through rates, Raptive concluded that there was an expected average traffic loss.
Search traffic decline. Commenting on his team’s findings, Raptive’s executive vice president of innovation, McCollum, told AdWeek:
- “When fully rolled out, SGE could result in a 25% decline in search traffic across its 5,000-publisher network.”
Why we care. Google SGE is expected to significantly affect publishers’ ad revenue, prompting a need to reassess ad revenue strategies. However, given that SGE is still in beta, it’s unclear how exactly it will impact ads. This uncertainty may pose challenges when trying to adapt strategies without knowing the specific changes.
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Deep dive. Read our guide on how SGE could impact your search traffic for more information.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, March 14th, 2024
Google’s March 2024 core update is bringing a seismic shift to the SEO industry. This major update might sweep the web the same way the Panda and Penguin updates did.
Its impact is enormous and widespread and every seasoned marketer I’ve talked to agrees that this update is a big deal. Has your website been hit by the March 2024 core update?
Here are five things you need to know to avoid getting penalized and maintain your good standing in search results.
1. Google is completely deindexing websites
Imagine waking up to find your website gone from Google’s search results. That’s exactly what happened to many websites after the March 2024 update rolled out.
In its March 5 announcement, Google emphasized its goal of reducing unhelpful, irrelevant, unoriginal content from search results.
This cleanup drive promises to remove up to 40% of low-quality websites that provide useless information and poor user experience – pages created just to match specific search queries.
Websites found violating Google’s guidelines or employing questionable SEO tactics will not only be penalized but completely removed both from the search results and the index.
In the days following the announcement, the SEO world turned upside down.
Here’s a tweet from Jeff Coyle:
Please note that deindexing websites completely are usually related to a Google manual action and often is not the case with a Google core update.
2. Penalties are swift
What’s notable about this update is that the penalties were hard and fast, with site owners scrambling for answers.
Let’s look at a whopping 10 websites deindexed:
To check if your site was impacted by the Google update, look for your website in Google by typing “site:website.com” and see if you are showing up in the search results.
It’s important to note that sites affected by the March 2024 core update or spam update “would not get notified of a ranking decline through Google Search Console’s manual action viewer,” as pointed out by Barry Schwartz.
“Algorithmic updates are automated and Google does not not notify the site owner when a site is negatively (or positively) impacted by an algorithm update,” Schwartz writes.
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3. Websites that survived previous updates are not immune
Older websites aren’t spared, either. Those untouched by previous algorithm updates now face repercussions, too.
Some folks are cheering, saying it’s about time those low-quality sites got the boot after years of gaming the system and staying in SERPs.
This is one example of a “link building agency” that got kicked out:
But others are left scratching their heads, wondering why their entire network has vanished.
In a discussion within the private Affiliate SEO Mastermind group, a member shared the unfortunate experience of a publisher whose entire network crumbled.
According to the post, the publisher’s eight affected sites, all established within the last two years, covered various niche topics. The author emphasized that the content was primarily human-written with minimal assistance from AI.
All eight websites are now displaying zero traffic impressions.
This is where E-E-A-T might have played a crucial factor.
The broad range of topics these sites covered indicates a lack of deep topical knowledge – experience and expertise – which Google prioritizes when ranking websites.
4. Outdated, error-filled sites are vulnerable
Speaking of E-E-A-T, look at how Google has now added another factor when considering content to be untrustworthy and with the lowest E-E-A-T:
Content is generated by AI, it’s outdated and it’s not error-free.
These are surefire ways to get de-ranked!
5. Even small AI content sites were affected
An interesting development is how small AI content sites have come under scrutiny. Google’s ability to detect AI-generated content has become more refined, resulting in penalties even for smaller players in this field.
Craig Griffiths thinks the biggest indicator of an AI website is the frequency with which it publishes content.
But that is not the case here:
Digging further into this conversation reveals more specific signals that Google might be looking for:
Let’s get one thing straight: Google is not going after AI content. What Google wants to clean up from its search results is useless, repetitive, unoriginal content, whether it’s written by humans or AI or both.
The latest update aims to remove bad websites that do nothing for people while bringing good websites with valuable content to the surface.
This is a wake-up call for website owners who thought their legacy would keep them safe. It proves again that adaptation is key to survival in the digital world.
If you’re managing one of these older, smaller domains, don’t panic yet. Start by conducting a comprehensive site audit and fix these issues immediately.
Takeaway: Quality trumps quantity
Google’s emphasis has always been on originality, depth and value for the reader. Websites that were removed and deindexed often relied heavily on thin or duplicated content without providing unique insights or perspectives.
To combat this issue head-on, improving E-E-A-T becomes essential. E-E-A-T principles show Google – and, more importantly, your readers – that you’re an authority worth listening to. This includes citing reputable sources within your niche and showcasing author expertise clearly on your site.
User experience also takes center stage with the latest algorithm changes. Your site should look good and be easy and intuitive for visitors. Websites focusing solely on keyword optimization instead of holistic UX design principles will be penalized.
Paying attention to page speed, mobile-friendliness and clear calls to action will help keep users engaged longer, sending positive signals back up the SEO food chain.
Remember, by making these adjustments, you’re not just playing nice with search engines; you’re building a better online space for everyone who visits.
Adapt or fall behind
The sheer number of de-indexed websites reported by the search marketing community confirms Google’s plan to implement a major shakeup in their ranking systems.
It is prudent to study the patterns of websites affected by algorithmic events to spot common trends so you can uncover your websites’ own weaknesses and recalibrate your strategies.
- Focus on content quality.
- Enhance user experience.
- Start auditing your site and make changes.
The road ahead might seem daunting, but remember, every step toward improvement is a step away from Google hell.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, March 14th, 2024
LinkedIn is now allowing businesses to promote content from any user on the app, not just their own employees, expanding its Thought Leader ads into a form of branded content promotion.
Previously, brands could use Thought Leader ads to turn posts from verified employees into promotions. Now, businesses have the option to promote posts from non-employees too.
Why we care. Sharing insights and experiences from people not on your payroll could help enhance your brand’s reputation, credibility and trustworthiness, potentially leading to more conversions.
How it works. A brand can set up a Thought Leader Ad by follow these simple steps:
- Log into Campaign Manager.
- Once logged in, search for a person (by name) who is a 1st or 2nd degree connection, or input the URL of the content you want to sponsor.
- The search results will display a list of posts from that member that the brand can sponsor.
- To prevent misuse or unauthorized promotion, when a company selects a post to sponsor, the creator will receive a notification asking them to approve or deny the request.
Availability. Thought Leader Ads for non-employee members will be available globally by the end of March.
What LinkedIn is saying. LinkedIn said in a statement:
- “Nearly 73% of decision-makers say that an organization’s thought-leadership content is a more trustworthy basis for assessing its capabilities and competencies than its marketing materials and product sheets.”
- “The expansion of our Thought Leader Ads format to enable brands to showcase voices beyond their employees gives them a new way to reach their target audience with relevant information, like customer testimonials.”
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Deep dive. Read LinkedIn’s announcement in full for more information.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, March 14th, 2024
The rollout of Search Generative Experience (SGE) will change Google SERPs – that’s pretty much indisputable. Whether AI will dominate the SERPs altogether is up for debate.
If you’re reading a few strategically placed Google hints, you know there’s an alternative that makes it clear Google will still respect first-party perspectives and E-E-A-T-rich content. I’m talking about “hidden gems.”
This article examines what hidden gems are, how we know Google’s committed to them as part of their future SERP strategy and your options for filling the SERPs with hidden gems that build positive exposure for your brand.
First, what are hidden gems?
As explained by Barry Schwartz on this site last November, hidden gems are when people share their first-hand knowledge and their own personal insights and experiences with others on the public web.
As Schwartz mentioned:
“This update is not part of the helpful content system. It is part of the Google core ranking system, Brad Kellett, Senior Director on Google Search product and engineering told us.”
Platforms that provide hidden gems include forums like Quora, Reddit and others (more on those “others” in a bit) and social media platforms. And Google’s not kidding about using hidden gems for ranking. Check out this SERP example:
Can we trust Google’s commitment to hidden gems?
If hidden gems aren’t something Google will focus on in the long term, they’re putting a lot of resources into a red herring. Consider:
Launched in September 2022, this feature was an early statement from Google that it’s focusing on first-hand accounts and perspectives. When it was launched, it was a search feature (like a featured snippet) intended to promote external content.
Launched in May 2023, Perspectives was explicitly launched by Google as a counterpoint to AI. Directly from Google:
“[A]s we transform Search with new AI-powered capabilities, we’re not only continuing to focus on providing quick insights, but also connecting you to the people and perspectives that will help you understand what’s best for you.”
This round of algorithm updates targeting hidden gems promised “even more firsthand knowledge in search.” Another thing to note in these updates: they included ways to mark up your content with an author profile, structured data, etc., which seems targeted to help you rank for hidden gems.
If you want actual, numerical proof that Google’s taking first-hand perspectives seriously, check out this report from Detailed, which shows that:
“In an analysis of 10,000 keyphrases where product reviews rank highly, Google’s increasingly prominent ‘Discussions and forums’ SERP feature was present in 7,702 of them.”
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So, how do you take advantage of hidden gems?
I think of a hidden-gems ranking strategy as having two options: owned content and third-party content.
Owned content for hidden gems
There are a few ways to optimize your website for hidden gems. The first and certainly most common is a blog.
Blog posts can qualify as hidden gems if you focus on content with first-person experience and make sure the voices providing that experience are well developed, with strong structured data that establishes their identity and expertise.
You can even write crowdsourced blog posts featuring a bunch of voices, which is a very light lift if you’ve already built an avid community willing and eager to contribute to your platform.
Another less frequently employed strategy: create a forum or Q&A community for your site.
One of the darlings of San Francisco’s tech community, Sentry, has built a Q&A community that achieves this purpose. Another platform, Webflow, built a popular developer forum.
Third-party content for hidden gems
Writing content on Quora or Reddit to build brand awareness is a bit tricky – being overly market-y won’t work on those platforms – but there are ways you can work more authentically to highlight your business.
One way is to seed questions or provide answers that will highlight your business – but again, not in a marketing-heavy way. One option I’ve seen work is to get the community voices connected with your brand to participate.
For instance, ask a question on LinkedIn and let your network weigh in. (If you’re a web development platform, a question about the challenges emerging for developers in 2024 might get some insightful responses.)
Another way is to lean into personal branding – get into your preferred forum and be an expert in your area of expertise. This is a long-term play where the first steps are to:
- Find your audience.
- Then build credibility and clout by staying active, helpful and insightful.
It’s also important to remember that it’s not owned traffic and won’t show up in your owned metrics (beyond referral-generated clicks, leads, etc.). Eventually, there will be ways to wedge in mentions of your company and/or pose questions that could reflect well on your company.
Both the personal brand and owned property approaches have one thing in common (beyond being long-term strategies): done well, they build very effective moats that can be almost impossible for competitors to break into.
Using hidden gems for SEO is a long-term strategy
Although it’s possible to achieve quick wins (maybe you write a great answer on Quora that gets picked up immediately in relevant queries; maybe a first-person blog gets immediate traction), hidden gems should be a significant part of your long-term SEO strategy.
While we’re all keeping one eye on SGE’s rollout and its impact on the SERPs, any fundamental work you can do now to build a hidden gems strategy will pay off in the long run – at least, if you believe what Google’s been telling us.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Wednesday, March 13th, 2024
Performance Max campaigns have become incredibly popular among PPC advertisers due to their automation and simplicity. However, one consistent pain point has been the lack of visibility into search queries triggering ads. Without this data, optimizing Performance Max campaigns has been limited.
Relief seemed at hand when, in February 2023, Google introduced the campaign_search_term_insight report, which includes a field with the search term. Script developers, myself included, immediately built scripts and automations using this new search terms data for Performance Max campaigns.
However, despite what many scripts published claimed, none included search term data; instead, they were limited to category labels. This was due to a persistent error with the Google reports that refused to include the search term data.
Thanks to Mike Rhodes for monitoring the Google reports and letting me know the bug was recently resolved. Now that search terms data is finally available in scripts, I’ll explain how to access search query data, analyze it to find optimization opportunities and take action based on the findings.
What data is now available?
In February 2023, Google introduced a new insights report exclusively for surfacing Performance Max search term data. This report provides visibility into:
- The actual search queries your ads appeared for.
- Search categories that queries are grouped into.
- Clicks, impressions and other performance metrics.
It does not provide visibility into cost. However, having the search terms and clicks is a huge step forward.
Accessing the data
There are a few ways to access the new Performance Max search insights report:
- Directly in the Google Ads interface under Insights on the campaign page.
- Via the Google Ads API.
- Using a Google Ads script that leverages the API report.
Search terms for Performance Max can be found in the Google Ads UI. Screenshot by author, March 2024.
The benefit of using a script is it can automatically pull the data into a spreadsheet for easier manipulation and analysis.
I’ve created a script that puts the search terms into a spreadsheet. Simply go to this gist URL and copy the code.
Then, paste it into the Google Ads Scripts interface. It will then automatically pull search term data for all Performance Max campaigns into a Google Sheet.
When you run the script, it adds the data to a spreadsheet like this:
The data availability is similar to regular search query reports, with a few limitations:
- Data only goes back to March 2023, when it was first released.
- Search term data may be sampled if the volume is high.
However, this still provides significantly more visibility than previously available in Performance Max campaigns.
Analyzing the data
Now that you have Performance Max search query data pulled into a spreadsheet, what insights can you gain? Here is some analysis you can do:
Identify irrelevant search terms that trigger your ads.
- Find high-performing search terms that drive conversions. Look for opportunities to optimize those terms for more volume.
- Review search categories for additional keyword ideas that are already working.
- Sort by impressions to find high impression, low click terms that may indicate poor relevance and could benefit from better ad creative assets like headlines and descriptions.
Essentially, you’re looking for search term patterns in the data that inform you on optimizing the campaign better.
Since you can’t target specific keywords in Performance Max, this is not about identifying strong new keywords to add. Still, you can find signals for new negatives and get ideas on how to improve ad copy or landing pages.
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Using GPT-4 to analyze the data
In the year it took Google to fix the bug and get the data working, GPT has come a long way. So I downloaded the report generated by my script, uploaded the CSV to GPT-4 and asked if it could help me find optimization ideas.
I used the prompt:
- “I have a file that contains search terms for my Google ads in Performance Max campaigns. Can you analyze the search terms and share some interesting findings?”
It automatically used the openAI Code Interpreter capability to scan the file, and it suggested four data segments for further investigation:
- High-conversion terms: Search terms leading to the most conversions.
- High-value terms: Search terms with the highest conversion value.
- Efficiency metrics: Search terms with the best clicks-to-impressions ratio (CTR) and conversions-to-clicks ratio (conversion rate).
- Category and subcategory insights: Performance trends across different categories and subcategories.
It immediately went on to analyze the full data set I uploaded. Since it used Advanced Data Analysis (formerly Code Interpreter), I could see the Python code it was using.
Based on this, I found that Google was showing my ads a lot for searches related to “free advertising,” since I can’t help with that, it gave me a great idea for a new account-level negative keyword.
Taking action
Now that you’ve analyzed the Performance Max search term data, here are three actions I recommend taking:
- Add irrelevant terms as account-level negative keywords. You cannot add negative keywords at the campaign level in Performance Max. However, adding irrelevant terms as account negatives will prevent ads from showing on those queries across your whole account.
- Optimize ads and landing pages for high-performing queries. Look for themes in the search terms with high clicks and conversion rates. Then, enhance your ad copy, offers and landing pages to better target those users.
- Refine audience targeting with what you learn. The search queries provide insight into your ideal audiences. Look for demographic or interest patterns you can add into your campaigns as audience targets.
The script
Using Performance Max search terms to boost PPC results
The release of Performance Max search term visibility has been a long time coming. This data finally grants PPC advertisers more control and optimization ability for automated campaigns.
As a PPC expert, be sure to tap into this new capability right away. Follow our guidance to access and analyze the data, then take action on the insights learned. Over time, you’ll gain a much clearer picture of who your Performance Max ads are reaching and how to improve your messaging to resonate with your audience.
The result will be more relevant ads, lower costs and, most importantly, more conversions from your Performance Max campaigns.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Wednesday, March 13th, 2024
Best of the SearchBot showcases Search Engine Land’s SearchBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. The language model is based on content from Search Engine Land layered on top of ChatGPT. The editors of Search Engine Land selected this response for its usefulness and have supplemented it with additional relevant content.
I am the first generative AI chatbot for search marketers. I am trained with Search Engine Land content.
Here’s something somebody asked me! After that, how you can improve prompts to get even better answers from me.
Prompt:
How to choose suitable topics for blog posts?
Answer:
Choosing suitable topics for your blog posts is crucial for attracting and engaging your target audience. Here are some steps to help you choose suitable topics:
1. Understand your target audience: Identify your target audience’s demographics, interests, pain points and needs. This will help you create content that resonates with them.
2. Conduct keyword research: Use keyword research tools like Semrush or Google Keyword Planner to identify relevant keywords and topics that align with your target audience’s search intent. Look for keywords with high search volume and low competition.
3. Address common pain points and questions: Think about the common challenges, questions and problems your target audience faces. Create blog posts that provide solutions, answers or valuable insights related to these pain points.
4. Stay updated with industry trends: Keep an eye on industry news, trends and developments. Write blog posts that discuss and analyze these trends, providing your unique perspective and insights.
5. Analyze competitor content: Research your competitors’ blogs and identify the topics they are covering. Look for content gaps or areas where you can provide a different perspective or more comprehensive information.
6. Use social media listening: Monitor social media platforms, industry forums, and Q&A sites to identify the topics and questions that are being discussed by your target audience. This can provide valuable insights into their interests and needs.
7. Leverage customer feedback: Pay attention to feedback from your customers, whether through surveys, reviews or direct communication. Use their feedback to identify topics that address their specific needs and interests.
8. Consider evergreen and seasonal topics: Balance your content strategy with a mix of evergreen topics (topics that are always relevant) and seasonal topics (topics that are relevant during specific times of the year or events).
9. Repurpose existing content: Look at your existing content and identify opportunities to repurpose or expand on topics that have performed well in terms of engagement or traffic. This can help you provide more in-depth information or approach the topic from a different angle.
10. Use content idea generators: Utilize content idea generators like HubSpot’s Blog Ideas Generator or Portent’s Content Idea Generator to spark new topic ideas based on keywords or industry-related terms.
11. Consider different content formats: Explore different content formats such as how-to guides, listicles, case studies, interviews, infographics or videos. This can help you cater to different learning preferences and engage your audience in various ways.
12. Align with your brand and expertise: Choose topics that align with your brand values, expertise and industry niche. This will help establish your authority and credibility in your field. Remember to regularly review and analyze the performance of your blog posts to identify which topics resonate the most with your audience. This will help you refine your content strategy and continue to provide valuable and engaging content
How this prompt could be improved:
You are an experienced SEO consultant that specializes in content SEO. You have a proven track record in creating blog post strategies for clients that boost their website rankings in Google search results, increase page views, improve engagement and help drive conversions.
You have been hired by a local real estate agent to improve the SEO of their website. You have recommended adding a blog to increase website traffic, improve SEO, and generate more customer inquiries to the office.
Create a blog content strategy, detailing how you would decide what topics to write about and how often you should publish new content for maximum impact. Explain what approach you would take to keyword research, breaking down each step. Explain what keyword research tools you would use and why.
After conducting your keyword research, explain what metrics you would analyze to make informed decisions about which topics you should write blog posts about. Elaborate on the process of identifying topics your client’s website would be likely to rank well for in Google search results, and the criteria for selecting topics that are likely to generate a higher click-through rate. Provide clarity on key considerations and pitfalls to steer clear of when choosing suitable topics for blogposts.
Additionally, outline how you would find trending topics, how you would monitor trends, and why. Detail how you would forward-plan content as well as create reactive blog posts – and why this is important. Explain how you would analyze your competitor’s blog content, and what approach you would take to try and compete.
For each step, explain what SEO tools you would use and why.
Format your answer so that it’s easy to follow. Use headers and bullet points where appropriate. Explain what tasks should be a priority and what tasks should just be seen as a bonus. Detail how long each task is likely to take and the benefit of completing each step.
Make sure the guidance you provide is helpful and easy to understand for someone who is new to SEO.
The key elements and enhancements to this prompt are as follows:
(Task)
Create a blog content strategy, detailing how you would decide what topics to write about and how often you should publish new content for maximum impact. Explain what approach you would take to keyword research, breaking down each step. Explain what keyword research tools you would use and why.
After conducting your keyword research, explain what metrics you would analyze to make informed decisions about which topics you should write blog posts about. Elaborate on the process of identifying topics your client’s website would be likely to rank well for in Google search results, and the criteria for selecting topics that are likely to generate a higher click-through rate. Provide clarity on key considerations and pitfalls to steer clear of when choosing suitable topics for blogposts.
Additionally, outline how you would find trending topics, how you would monitor trends, and why. Detail how you would forward-plan content as well as create reactive blog posts — and why this is important. Explain how you would analyze your competitor’s blog content, and what approach you would take to try and compete.
For each step, explain what SEO tools you would use and why.
Explain what tasks should be a priority and what tasks should just be seen as a bonus. Detail how long each task is likely to take and the benefit of completing each step.
(Context)
You are an experienced SEO consultant that specializes in content SEO. You have a proven track record in creating blog post strategies for clients that boost their website rankings in Google search results, increase page views, improve engagement and help drive conversions.
You have been hired by a local real estate agent to improve the SEO of their website. You have recommended adding a blog to increase website traffic, improve SEO, and generate more customer inquiries to the office.
(Tone)
Make sure the guidance you provide is helpful and easy to understand for someone who is new to SEO.
(Format)
Format your answer so that it’s easy to follow. Use headers and bullet points where appropriate.
Answer:
Blog Content Strategy:
1. Topic Selection:
- Identify topics that align with the real estate agent’s target audience and address their pain points, questions, and interests.
- Consider the agent’s expertise and unique selling points to provide valuable insights and establish authority.
- Prioritize topics that have search volume and potential for ranking well in search engine results pages (SERPs).
- Aim for a mix of evergreen content (timeless topics) and trending topics to cater to different user intents.
2. Frequency of Publishing:
- Determine a realistic publishing schedule based on available resources and the ability to consistently produce high-quality content.
- Aim for a balance between quantity and quality, focusing on creating valuable content that resonates with the target audience.
- Start with a manageable frequency, such as one blog post per week, and gradually increase if resources allow.
Keyword Research Approach:
1. Identify Seed Keywords:
- Begin by brainstorming a list of seed keywords related to real estate, home buying, selling, and local market trends.
- Consider using tools like Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner, or Answer the Public to generate keyword ideas.
2. Expand Keyword List:
- Utilize keyword research tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to expand the seed keywords into a comprehensive list of related keywords and long-tail variations.
- Look for keywords with a good balance of search volume and competition.
3. Analyze Metrics:
- Evaluate metrics such as search volume, keyword difficulty, and SERP features (e.g., featured snippets) to assess the potential of each keyword.
- Prioritize keywords with moderate search volume and lower competition to increase the chances of ranking well.
Identifying Topics for Ranking and Click-Through Rate:
1. Analyze Competitor Content:
- Research competitors’ blog content to identify topics they are ranking well for and generating engagement.
- Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to analyze their top-performing blog posts, backlinks, and social shares.
2. Consider User Intent:
- Understand the search intent behind target keywords and create content that aligns with user expectations.
- Focus on providing comprehensive, informative, and actionable content that satisfies user queries.
3. Optimize for Click-Through Rate (CTR):
- Craft compelling headlines and meta descriptions that entice users to click on the search result.
- Incorporate power words, numbers, and emotional triggers to make the content more appealing.
Finding Trending Topics and Monitoring Trends:
1. Social Media Monitoring:
- Follow industry influencers, real estate news outlets, and relevant hashtags on social media platforms to stay updated on trending topics.
- Monitor discussions, comments, and engagement to identify emerging trends and popular topics.
2. Google Trends:
- Utilize Google Trends to explore trending topics related to real estate and identify rising search queries.
- Analyze the search interest over time and geographical distribution to understand the popularity of specific topics.
Forward-Planning and Reactive Blog Posts:
1. Forward-Planning:
- Create an editorial calendar to plan blog topics in advance, aligning them with seasonal trends, industry events, or upcoming promotions.
- Allocate time for research, content creation, and review to ensure high-quality output.
2. Reactive Blog Posts:
- Stay agile and responsive to current events, industry news, or trending topics that are relevant to the real estate market.
- Monitor news outlets, social media, and industry forums to identify opportunities for timely and engaging content.
Analyzing Competitor Blog Content:
1. Competitor Analysis Tools:
- Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to analyze competitor blog content, including their top-performing posts, backlinks, and social shares.
- Identify gaps in their content strategy and areas where you can provide more comprehensive or unique insights.
2. Differentiation Strategy:
- Focus on creating content that offers a unique perspective, additional value, or covers topics that competitors have overlooked.
- Leverage your expertise and local market knowledge to provide insights that set the real estate agent apart from competitors.
Priority Tasks and Time Estimates:
1. Keyword Research: 2-3 hours
2. Competitor Analysis: 1-2 hours
3. Topic Selection: 1 hour
4. Trend Monitoring: Ongoing (15-30 minutes per day)
5. Content Planning: 1-2 hours per month
6. Content Creation: Varies based on length and complexity (2-4 hours per blog post)
7. Editing and Optimization: 1-2 hours per blog post
Benefits of Completing Each Step:
- Keyword Research: Identifies high-potential keywords for ranking and drives targeted organic traffic.
- Competitor Analysis: Reveals content gaps and opportunities to outperform competitors.
- Topic Selection: Ensures relevance and value for the target audience.
- Trend Monitoring: Keeps the content strategy up-to-date and capitalizes on emerging topics.
- Content Planning: Provides a roadmap for consistent and strategic content creation.
- Content Creation: Delivers valuable information to the target audience and establishes authority.
- Editing and Optimization: Improves readability, SEO performance and user experience.
Bonus Tasks:
- Implementing on-page SEO optimizations (meta tags, internal linking): 1-2 hours per blog post
- Promoting blog posts through social media and email marketing: 1-2 hours per blog post
- Monitoring and analyzing blog post performance (traffic, engagement, conversions): Ongoing (15-30 minutes per week).
Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, and continuous monitoring, analysis, and optimization are essential for long-term success.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Wednesday, March 13th, 2024
I noticed that an emphatic comment by Google’s VP of Search, Hyung-Jin Kim, at SMX Next in November 2022 passed without much discussion in the SEO community to this day.
He said (my emphasis):
“E-A-T is a template for how we rate an individual site. We do it to every single query and every single result. It’s pervasive throughout every single thing we do.” He added, “E-A-T is a core part of our metrics.”
E-A-T, and, subsequently E-E-A-T, are discussed by SEOs all the time. Most are quick to say that they are not a part of any Google ranking system. Google spokespeople also confirm those statements. They are quality concepts conveyed to the human quality raters whose reports are used to confirm that the ranking systems are delivering the best results to the SERPs. The raters are given a copy of the Search Quality Rater Guidelines.
I shared the SMX Next quote in about five forums and chat groups. Each has a potential audience in the hundreds to the thousands. I focused on the second quote that E-A-T is a core part of Google’s metrics.
How could it be applied to “every single query and every single result” if it is not part of a ranking system?
I posited that it must be a quality assurance process done after a SERP is delivered. The process might be the following:
- An AI process examines evidence of expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness on each page in the index. Perhaps they have added Experience by now.
- This assessment is conducted continuously during crawls of the site and other sites that cite it or link to it.
- Each factor is given a numeric score that can change with each crawl.
- Each element of a SERP — snippet, carousel image and URL result — would have such a score. This should have a high value relative to the results that follow below it and on subsequent “pages” in the continuous scroll.
- SERP results are obviously selected by separate ranking systems, so I speculate that E-E-A-T serves as a quality check after the fact.
- Consequently, it does not slow down the delivery of the SERPs. If an adverse trend is noted, it is analyzed in detail and a ranking system is amended, or the E-E-A-T factors are tweaked.
I might be totally off the mark there, but interpreting the Google researcher’s words isn’t the point of this article.
Of the hundreds of SEOs who might have noted my invitation for discussion, about five replied with a serious response. They are old friends, and I have met three in person many times. Other responses included weak humor, sarcasm or skepticism of anything said by Google. Then, crickets.
Where is SEO curiosity headed?
I am in shock that an uncommon statement from a Googler hasn’t resulted in subsequent discussion, even when I tried to raise this topic recently.
What happened to the legendary SEO curiosity in guessing the “200 ranking factors?” More than one author would poll the SEO community to find and rank the major ranking factors. We loved to add our own observations to the knowledge pool.
A lot of energy and curiosity is expended on building shiny tools with Python, particularly with a good dose of AI. Some of that work seems to be reinventing wheels.
There is a vigorous discussion of SEO tools every day. Can there be a better tool for keyword research, as the marketers would have us believe? Can AI writing tools really benefit all niches of SEO?
There is no shortage of self-styled experts growing their mailing lists by inviting us to steal their “secrets”. A lot of misinformation is being passed on as fact.
We have lost the early explorers who dissect every search engine patent and try to correlate it to their observations of the SERPs. I miss pioneers such as Ted Ulle and Bill Slawski, who would analyze algorithm updates and try to pinpoint possible ways to avoid being caught up in Google’s net.
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Be more curious
SEO curiosity isn’t completely dead. Using the E-E-A-T example, many say those factors are not part of Google’s ranking systems. It’s OK to have a healthy skepticism of anything put out by search engine spokespeople.
Channel your curiosity into an investigation. You might not want to share the results if they are not meaningful. Then again, we just saw Cyrus Shepard examining 50 sites for correlations between features found on websites and Google algorithm update winners and losers.
Shepard found “experience” to be one of the features on “winner” websites. But haven’t SEOs been echoing the mantra that E-E-A-T is not a part of the ranking algorithms?
Maybe not in a direct way, but whatever algorithm looks at experience is sending a positive signal to a ranking algorithm. Since relatively few pages are product or place reviews, it makes sense to keep an Experience algorithm separate from a ranking algorithm.
I’m privileged to watch a curious SEO, Daniel K. Cheung, build a matrix of E-E-A-T attributes for auditing a page. So far, he has found it necessary to give each attribute a numeric value so that some can be shown to provide a larger impact on a page than others.
For example, an attribute might be the presence of a video of the author using the reviewed product. This might have a greater impact than a still image of the same scene. It doesn’t matter if the real method used by Google is far more nuanced. Such curiosity gives us ideas to test.
A checklist for evaluating E-E-A-T (shared with permission)
Be skeptical
You might argue that Shepard’s sample of 50 isn’t large enough. Fair enough. One of the large SEO tool makers might get their crawlers to examine a million websites and tell us whether they agree with him.
Don’t wait for a tool company to conduct the study — you pick 100 or more sites and do your own tests. Rinse and repeat until you are ready to announce your findings.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Wednesday, March 13th, 2024
One of the biggest mistakes I see time and time again with B2B content is that it misses the point that you are selling to a human.
The naming conventions B2B and B2C have forced us to think that each need a completely different approach, but often they don’t.
When we turn up to work, we aren’t able to put ourselves into robot corporate mode. We are still that human that was at home in the morning and has many different motivational drivers.
I will share with you my top five tips to make your content feel more human and to ensure it speaks to the people digesting it. When you get this right, the impact can skyrocket.
1. Be clear on who the content is for and what motivates them
Knowing your customer goes back to the basics of marketing, but often when we get into a rhythm of delivering website content for SEO, it can be forgotten.
When I talk about personas, these personas are created with motivation at the heart rather than demographics. We can be demographically similar and have different reasons to buy. Therefore, if you fall into the trap of demographics leading the personas, you miss the superpower of knowing your audience.
As humans, there are three ways we view the world:
- Rationally, looking for weights and measures and wanting to be robust in our decision-making. This is the way most of us think we make decisions.
- Contextually, where we want to understand where we fit in, how others see us and what difference we are making.
- Emotionally, where we care about how our decisions impact others, we’re looking to be liked, to have a sense of community.
Humans are not rational. We do not understand why we do what we do. David Ogilvy famously said, “People don’t think what they feel, don’t say what they think and don’t do what they say.” And he was completely right.
Most B2B marketing sits in the rational space – selling on features and benefits. But this is not what truly motivates someone to buy. They need to know it, but it won’t be their why.
So, you need to talk to the people closest to your audience and uncover the drivers that might often be missed for the opportunity they present. You need to ask why to get to a deeper reason for them buying or not buying your product.
For example, we were working with an accounting software firm, and one of its key audience personas was that of a “practice manager.” All of their marketing to date focused on features and benefits of the software.
However, by talking to a selection of sales team members, we found that the practice manager often used the process of revamping their internal systems as an opportunity to be seen. This was their ticket to be in front of the board and to have their impact known.
We ended up with messaging hinged on the idea of being “ready to change the game.” What a different motivator to telling them our software does X, Y and Z, same as lots of the competition.
Seeding this through the content and playing into the true customer driver makes a profound difference to the impact content can have on a user.
2. Have absolute clarity on what your content is aiming to do
If you are just churning out content because there are keywords you hope to rank for, you are missing a trick. As content creators, we always need to be thinking about the point. What are we hoping this content will achieve?
I love to use the “think, feel, do” framework for any content. At the piece’s start, I write down what I aim for the audience to think, feel and do. This becomes the lens through which I check my content, but also, if I struggle to answer these questions, I know I’m not ready to create this content.
You need to understand the piece of content you are creating, where in the customer journey it will be found and what its aim is. Thinking deeper than just aiming to rank, what is the customer trying to do? Our goals for our content always need to be aligned with what the customer wants, as otherwise, we’re setting ourselves up for failure.
Without clarity on these questions, the likelihood is you will end up with an OK piece of content, that has a hit-and-miss chance of serving the business. Whereas if you can answer these questions and make the answers your focus in creating the content, your chance of having impact increases hugely.
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3. Consider format and placement
Your content needs to be in the right place, with the right message and format for your audience.
When we’re thinking about SEO, it’s easy to assume that we might just want written content, but this is the wrong approach. Thinking about what you understand about your audience and what they are trying to achieve should naturally lead to considering how to convey this message best and where.
With so many channels to pick from and so much noise online, being targeted about where your audience is looking and what format they are most likely to engage with will positively impact the success of your content.
Just because we are considering B2B content doesn’t mean, for example, that social channels and video content are off-limits.
Search is no longer just happening on the traditional search engine. You need to broaden your view to ensure that from a customer journey perspective, you understand where your audience is searching.
4. Weave emotion and your audience’s motivations into your content
This is not a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. You do not need to completely change your approach to content, as no doubt, much of what you are saying is relevant to the user.
Instead, it is a case of weaving your audience’s motivations into the storytelling of your content. So much B2B content makes it safe in a rational place, covering the “facts” about their product or service.
If you can master the art of alluding to the impact contextually and emotionally and having the core rational message, you will hold more of the user’s attention and make it more likely that they take action.
From a psychology perspective, I always like to consider the “messenger effect,” a nudge that takes into account who is the best messenger for a piece of content.
You might find that reinforcing some of the motivational messages might come best from a different source. For example, this might be a testimonial or case study that subtly frames the motivation.
5. How will you measure content success?
So many businesses are just in churn mode, aiming to achieve their content quotas and hit their ranking positions or traffic. The problem with focusing on ranking or traffic is that it misses the business point.
Going back to the “think, feel, do” model I mentioned earlier, the “do” part should be aligned with your tracking.
The “do” is what you are hoping the user digesting the content will do – if this is something you can measure, even as an engagement conversion such as scroll depth or percentage watch of a video – you get an insight into whether the content performs.
It is easy to measure performance for lower funnel content aiming to drive an inquiry or sale. But just because it’s hard, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it – having success measures for upper funnel content is really important to know if it is helping the customer.
A great option for the upper funnel is driving the user to sign up for a newsletter or follow on social, as you can continue building the relationship.
We still should be measuring the effectiveness of our content for driving traffic, but true success depends on the user finding the content useful and helping them do what they are trying to achieve.
Humanizing your B2B content to drive actions
The thread tying all five tips together is to remember that B2B customers are human and shouldn’t require a completely different strategy from B2C content.
When we understand what truly drives someone to take action, we can use that to make our content more interesting and motivational by being aligned to their why – giving the content more chance to succeed.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
