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Google Webmaster Tools’ Advice For Creating An SEO Strategy

December 3rd, 2013 Stevens Greg No Comments »

In a video recently posted on the Google Webmaster Central Blog, Maile Ohye (the Developer Programs Tech lead at the company), discussed a beginner’s approach to building an SEO strategy for a website. Whilst this is, by no means, the amount of work that can be completed by an SEO professional, it is certainly a start for anyone interested in optimisation.

Ohye outlines 4 steps to building an SEO strategy:

  1. Understanding the ‘searcher persona’ workflow
    Basically, people will search for a particular query and will then select a website from the ranking and display shown. They will then read the page content and will be drawn in by the conversation and motivation. It is important to create a seamless searcher workflow.
  2. Determining company and website goals
    Ask yourself a number of questions – what is your business’ goal? What can your product or service do that no one else can? What does success look like? What components are involved? How does your website play a part in this success? What do your competitors do well?
  3. Auditing the site to best reach the audience
    You need to think about what sorts of groups you are targeting and where they are located. Then, think about their objectives and whether their query terms match your content. There is no point in saying “search friendly” when everyone searches for “SEO”.
  4. Executing and making improvements
    You can use Google Webmaster Tools to further monitor and optimise your website. Improve search with better marketing, improve your page content to upsell your products or services, and offer a great experience and remarketing to encourage repeat customers.

Unfortunately, there are a number of obstacles that must be faced when creating an SEO or even just an online strategy. Fortunately, Ohye outlines many of these in the video (including people only being concerned with their own role and needing to know what sites competitors are linking to) and provides a few suggestions on how to overcome them.

Your First Peek Into The 2014 SEO ‘Playbook’

November 14th, 2013 Stevens Greg No Comments »

With November well and truly under way, many people in the online realm are wanting to know what 2014 will hold for their websites. This is why it is time for use to release a brief look at the 2014 SEO ‘Playbook’, which will provide webmasters with some important points that they should begin focusing on in the coming months.

2014 SEO Play Book

But first, how do we know what 2014 will hold for SEO? This information actually comes from 3 sources:

  • Google
    It should be noted that Google genuinely does want to be helpful – their vision, so far, aligns well with good marketing practices. Just remember that anytime a Google spokesperson reveals something about their algorithm, they are doing so with an agenda in mind.
  • Observation
    As SEO’s, we depend on each other’s positive and negative experiences to discover trends and understand their significance in terms of our work. It has become clear that, these days, observation should be less about trickery and more about best practices.
  • Correlation
    Did you know that there are researchers who scour Google’s statements about search and SEO’s observations for whatever information they can quantify? They gather measurements on thousands of pieces of data, compare them to ranking results or site traffic and publish the results. 

Secondly, we need to take a closer look at Hummingbird, which is Google’s newest algorithm and was a complete replacement of the old one. It was actually implemented a month before Google said it was and affected 90% of search results – but no one noticed. This is likely because the biggest changes occurred to long-tail queries.

So, what should SEO’s be focusing on in 2014? Based on all of the information that has been gathered, we can expect to focus on content and authority.

  • Content
    This actually has a number of sub-categories. First, we need to use concepts – go through your current content and make sure it uses phrases that match how people think and search. Second, we need to focus each piece of content on a specific concept. And, third, we need to employ a 4-point content strategy.
  • Authority
    This also has a number of sub-categories. First, it is important to not substitute social media for link building. Second, architecture and URLs need to be kept simple and readable for people (every page should be accessible within 4 clicks of the homepage). And, third, non-canonical issues should not be ignored. 

If you work in the SEO industry, it is likely that the above information is going to prove important in the coming months for ensuring that your client’s websites continue to rank well and draw in traffic.

How Google’s Algorithm’s Have Changed History

November 1st, 2013 Stevens Greg No Comments »

Did you know that, each year, Google changes its search algorithm between 500 and 600 times? Whilst most of these changes are minor, there will occasionally be a major update that severely affects search results. Search marketers like to stay on top of these changes to help them explain changes in ranking and traffic.

Google 2013 Updates

  • January 22nd – Panda #24
    In late January, Google announced their first change of the year – to Panda, one of their biggest updates to date. It was claimed that only 1.2% of queries were affected, so it wasn’t too major.
  • May 22nd – Penguin 2.0
    It was only after months of speculation that the 4th Penguin update was released. There was only a moderate impact on search results with evidence suggesting that the change was more targeted on the page level.
  • June 11th – “Payday Loan”
    This was a targeted update that tackled niches with notoriously spammy results (specifically payday loans and porn). Whilst this is when the change was announced, it would take a month or two to roll out.
  • July 18th – Panda Recovery
    Whilst Google confirmed that a change occurred around this date, they were unclear whether it was part of a 10-day rolling update or not. It actually seemed to soften some of Panda’s previous penalties.
  • July 19th – Knowledge Graph Expansion
    The very next day, people began to notice that queries with Knowledge Graph (KG) entries and expanded by more than half. This meant that more than a quarter of all searches showed a KG entry of some kind.
  • August 6th – In-depth Articles
    It was announced that Google had added a new type of news result known as ‘in-depth articles’, which is dedicated to more long-form content. To begin with, it only appeared across around 3% of searches.
  • August 20th – Hummingbird
    Although this update was announced on September 26th, it was suggested that it actually took place a month earlier. It has been compared to Caffiene and is believed to power changes for months to come.
  • October 4th – Penguin 2.1
    Due to the 2.1 designation, it is believed that this update was primarily in regards to data and didn’t comprise any major changes to the Penguin algorithm. Even so, some webmasters said they were hit hard. 

Whilst there have been plenty of other updates rolled out by Google this year (a couple of unnamed ones and a few adjustments to Panda and Penguin), the ones that we have outlined above were the ones to cause noticeable differences. Who knows what the rest of the year will bring?

Facebook Announces That Their Graph Search Will Now Include Posts And Status Updates

October 3rd, 2013 Stevens Greg No Comments »

On Monday, Facebook announced that posts and status updates would now be included in the results of their Graph Search. This will allow users to search for content that includes photo captions, check-ins and comments. Whilst it has only been rolled out to a small group of users to begin with, their feedback will be vital in altering Graph Search before it’s rolled out as a whole.

Graph-Search-Display-Media

 

Graph-Search-includes-posts-status-updates

 

Graph-Search

 

The basic operation of Graph Search will remain the same, however, with users only being able to see content that has been shared with them (including content from friends) and posts that have been shared publicly. Users are encouraged to use privacy shortcuts and Activity Log to review who can see the things that they share through their own accounts.

In the Newsroom post announcing the new Graph Search feature, Facebook said that users will be able to “search for topics (they’re) interested in and see what your friends are saying”, “search for posts about a city, place or from a certain time” and “search for posts that (they) want to see again”. Overall, the feature is designed to make the popular social network more enjoyable.

As feedback comes in from the small group of users who have been granted access to the new-look Graph Search feature, it is believed that it will be rolled out to more users. Facebook have also verbalized their commitment to improving the feature continuously in the future. If you would like to learn more, visit Facebook’s Help Center.

Microsoft Announces New Surface 2 And Surface Pro 2 Tablets

September 26th, 2013 Stevens Greg No Comments »

On Monday, Microsoft announced that they would be releasing two new versions of the tablets that they launched only a year ago – the Surface 2, which runs Windows RT, and the Surface Pro 2, which runs Windows 8.1. Whilst they have fixed nearly every hardware issue that users criticized with the first versions, the company still faces the issue of getting consumers to see the tablets differently.

surface 2

One of the main drawbacks of the Surface Pro was that it was expensive; whilst the second version is still pretty pricey, it does have a much better battery life and can run Outlook. And, whilst the Windows app store is still missing a number of vital applications, the number of apps available has gone from 10,000 to 100,000 in only a year.

Surface Pro 2

Then there’s Windows RT, which is the first version of the operating system that runs on low-power chips that are normally used for mobile phones. Whilst this was a great way for Microsoft to address the mobile market (in which they have previously struggled) and it has allowed for thinner and lighter tablet designs, it’s still not compatible with many older applications.

The biggest problem for Microsoft, however, will be getting consumers to see the new tablets as something they would like to buy. “We’re focusing on explaining the difference a little bit more,” said Julie Larson-Green, “there are two kinds of people – the ones that don’t want the complexity of a full PC and people who really need a full PC. We’ll talk more in those two dimensions.”

Image Source: smh

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