Author: Nick

SEMrush Is Going Public (IPO)

seo tool

The online marketing tool giant SEMrush, a tool that I use frequently, is going public with stock shares available for purchase. As an investor in stocks I must admit I am highly interested.


For starters, SEMrush is one of the few SEO tools that I would actually consider a “quality product” that is contantly being updated. I have been using SEMrush for years now as a way to analyse sites to help me find ways of improving sites for an increase in search engine rank.


Here is what is known about the intial IPO from SEMrush:


  • $100M is the aim to be raised for the initial offering
  • Venture capital backers include Greycroft, Siguler Guff, and e.ventures
  • SEMrush claims to have more than 67,000 paying customers, including big names like Tesla, IBM, and Walmart.
  • $144M in annual recurring revenue with a 50% compound annual growth rate between 2016 and 2020

As new information unfolds I will update this post. For now, it is clearly exciting to see a giant in search marketing like SEMrush enter the stock market. For me, as someone interested in stock investing and SEO, this is a dream come true.

SEO Software Is Garbage But One Company Might Change That

Disclaimer: As of writing this piece I currently hold a position in
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)

Palantir Technologies Inc. has been getting a bit of attention in the media lately and since it is tech related my curiosity finally got the better of me so I looked into it and realized just how fantastical and, even frightening (data-mining capabilities), this company truly is. As a public American software company that specializes in big data analytics they have serious potential in the digital age where reading and interpreting digital signals can often lead to problem solving and ultimately great success for many businesses.

Current SEO Software Is Not Impressive


With SEO software continuing to be developed I can’t help but scoff at the terrible materializations of this type of software that has come out. It is useless for the most part and I have yet to see true SEO software actually rank a website from the ground up (without any human intervention), multiplying said website’s traffic many times over. “SEO software” is just one example of how software as an industry has had a terrible imbalance in terms of hype vs substance ratio.

Palantir might actually change all this.


If there is one company that has a chance to take the world’s data and create an output that leaves no more mystery to technical issues it’s this one. For SEOs all around the world trial and error, “guestimates”, and a lack of consistent and complete clarity for guidelines is just another day at work. The more search engine optimization specialists know about how a specific search engine works, the more that can be optimized for the best possible rank. Then it’s just a mater of who acts first.

“Won’t search engines continue to change their algorithms?” is a question that is will be asked.

“A.I. will eventually reach the point where it can find every variable and possible combination in lightning speed so it won’t matter how much and how often search engines change their algorithm.” is the answer.

Current Use Cases Of Palantir

The Los Angeles Police Department had been using Palantir to help fight crime. This is just the beginning. Eventually removing human error from critical investigations will lead to a safer and more productive society so it is interesting to read about something like this happening in real time.

According to Palantir’s website the company’s software helps with the ability to “uncover human trafficking rings, analyze finances, respond to natural disasters, track disease outbreaks, combat cyberattacks, prevent terrorist attacks, and more.”

This presents Palantir as a true “cyber solution” to so many of the world’s current problems.

The CEO of Palantir, Alex Karp, is quite inspirational in his recent talking point on software and the future it holds and, although I am personally awed by this company from what I continue to read and hear about them, I am equally unsettled that one day my own abilities in interpreting and responding to search may be replaced (assuming Palantir ever shifts it’s focus to search engine optimization). 😬

New Google Manual Actions & Penalties Update

As Google continues to update and improve it’s search engine new manual actions and disciplinary penalties have emerged in order to enforce the new changes:


Transparency Policy


A manual penalty specific to Google News. A site may be found in violation of this policy if it appears in Google News and does not provide the following:

dates and bylines
authors
publication
publisher
company or network


Medical Content is an example of where this new transparency policy will be utilized.


If you want the complete list Search Engine Journal has a good piece covering the recent update but here are the ones that will most likely deem the most governance by Google and should be content any user should be wary of:


Manipulated Media


Edited audio, video or image content for the purpose of deceiving, defrauding, or misleading.


A deep-fake video is a good example of this.


Terrorist Content


Content that promotes terrorist or extremist acts, including recruitment, inciting violence, or celebrating terrorist attacks.


An Al-Qaeda recruitment website is an example of this.

Google Search News

Google Search Central’s Google Search News is exactly the kind of content that search engine fanatics (like myself) love to see when it comes to staying up to date with what is happening in search, with a focus on Google of course. Engaging and informative. What more can you ask for when it comes to useful content?


Subjects covered for the month of January this year include updates, link building, indexing, crawling and more.


It’s great to see Google showing such transparency and keeping their users updated and informed.


I have subscribed to Google Search Central via YouTube and highly suggest other search marketers do the same.

Pop-Ups Won’t Hurt Organic Rank But May Hurt User Experience

Mobile sites can display pop-ups on a temporary basis without being penalized in search results, according to Google’s John Mueller.


First brought to my attention by Search Engine Journal, it is good to see a clear answer on a type of marketing that, although can be annoying, is proven to be effective under the right circumstances.


However, if you hate coming across pop-ups when you visit websites then check out Google Chrome’s pop-up blocker for a way to turn them off completely . It’s good to point out though the average perception of pop-ups seem to be negative when a major Internet browser defaults to blocking pop-ups.


According to Mueller, pop-ups don’t negatively affect a website’s rankings. If there is useful content on the page then the page will still get a good ranking. It’s more of a “subtle ranking factor” so, in this case, even if the pop up may slow down the user experience for a brief moment Google won’t take any disciplinary action against the page simply for having the pop up.


I personally don’t use pop-ups but I have used them before for affiliate marketing campaigns and they are effective.


English Google SEO office-hours from January 22, 2021:


“There are two aspects that could come into play. On one hand we have, on mobile, the policy of the intrusive interstitials, so that might be something to watch out for that you don’t keep it too long or show it to everyone all the time.

With that policy it’s more of a subtle ranking factor that we use to adjust the ranking slightly if we see that there’s no useful content on the page when we load it. That’s something that could come into play, but it’s more something that would be a temporary thing.”

Full Video

Outbound Link Types

It’s important to know which links to use and when to use them when you are linking out to other sites as not to cause a disruption in your site’s ranks.

Links pass PageRank , Google’s official page rank metric (“link juice,” “authority,” etc.). Passing PageRank to a site for the wrong reasons can be a problem.


Here are the link types every websmaster with SEO in mind should be using:


rel=”nofollow”


The ol’ PageRank blocker. Any links with this attribute do not pass PageRank and will not conribute to a page ranking. If there is no rel=”nofollow” attribute in the HTML link code then Google will consider it a followed link and will pass PageRank.


Interestingly, back in 2019 Google reps said that they started treating each of the nofollow attributes as “hints” rather than ignoring them completely. They likely won’t impact ranking, but Google may choose to use nofollow links for rankings in the future.


rel=”ugc”


A link attribute Google wants you to use for non-branded pages. For example, user generated content where there is no monetary incentive.


rel=”sponsored”


Affiliate links should be sponsored because their in monetary incentive. Another good example is a blog that reviews products. The blog’s webmaster should use rel=”sponsored” when linking out because there is incentive coming from the company that sends the blog webmaster the products to review in the first place.


An interesting thing about these links is that they can be combined in some cases (i.e. rel=”nofollow sponsored”) but it’s not necessary to do so.


Follow these outbound link rules to ensure your ranking in Google stays high.

The Best Google Easter Eggs Of All Time

There are a lot of Google Easter eggs hidden in Google’s search engine code but many of them are simple little jokes comprised of a few lines of text.

However, there are some pretty cool and even hi-tech hidden surprises in Google. Here are my personal favorite Easter eggs in Google Search.

Actual Easter Egg


Copy and paste the following into Google Search:

1.2+(sqrt(1-(sqrt(x^2+y^2))^2) + 1 – x^2-y^2) * (sin (10000 * (x*3+y/5+7))+1/4) from -1.6 to 1.6

Tada! An actual 3D Easter egg. For those who don’t know, the term “Easter egg” is an unexpected or undocumented feature in a piece of computer software or on a DVD, included as a joke or a bonus.

Tip: You can adjust the numerical values in the formula to reshape the egg.

Thanos’ Glove


In Google, search for “Thanos” (without quotes). Click the Infinity Gauntlet in the knowledge panel. Now you have the power of the Infinity Stones!


Atari Breakout (currently not working)


1) Do an image search for something. Doesn’t matter what it is just as long as it’s an image search.

2) Type “atari breakout” (no quotes). Press enter. Have fun!


Green Hill Zone


Type “green hill zone” into Google search.

Click on Sonic, located in the knowledge panel to the right, once for a surprise.

Continue clicking on Sonic for a bigger surprise.

Doctor Who Phonebooth


1.) Click this link for Google Map coordinates for a seemingly inconspicuous phone booth.

2.) Click the arrow in front of the phone booth to go inside the phone booth.

Pac-Man


Did you know that Google has a few games built right into it’s SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages)?

1.) Do a search for “pacman” (without quotes).

2.) Play the retro classic right in your browser!

Speed Boosting Sites Could Have Negative SEO Effects


Speed will be more of a factor than it ever was when Google’s Core Web Vitals update goes live in May this year. Webpages loading as fast as they can have an advantage in search.


Martin Splitt (Google’s Developer’s Relations team) recently spoke on upcoming changes to Google’s ranking factors in response to a question about blocking certain countries to speed up sites, one of many techniques SEOs use to increase page load speed. Splitt made it clear that even if a site has blocked users from certain countries, they could still use a VPN to access it. This would then actually hurt a site’s Core Web Vitals as using a VPN limits a users’ bandwidth and reduces the speed of their internet connection.


Ways To Increase Website Page Loading Speed

If you want to try to increase the speed of your website without going overboard to the point that you might cause some damage try the following instead:


  • Use reduced image count and size specifications since big images can slow a site’s loading time down considerably.
  • Object caching.
  • Content delivery networks (Cloudfare) can speed up load times a great deal.



The Best Way To Check Your Page Load Speed For Google Ranking Improvements?


The answer: Google PageSpeed Insights

SEO Preparation: 3 Point Checklist For SEO In 2021

The 3 new metrics Google will incorporate into search in May 2021


✔️ Google Page Experience Update In May 2021

Come May 2021 Google is rolling out the Core Web Vitals update (Page Experience update). Core Web Vitals is a set of metrics related to 3 factors:


⦁ speed – does the site load fast?


⦁ responsiveness – does the site respond well to different devices? (mobile friendliness)


⦁ visual stability – does the page viewing “break” (elements on page move around while loading causing a bad user experience {mis-clicks, etc.})

The purpose of this update is to help site owners measure user experience on the web.


✔️ Structured Data Format


Sites that are technically better with technical SEO have an advantage. For example, a listing with site links gets more clicks.


Technical SEO in general is harder so get help


Learning structured data from Google itself will help with this update.


✔️ Content Is STILL King


If you have been active in SEO for quite sometime than the phrase “content is king” is probably familiar to you. Confirmation came recently with John Mueller of Google stating that Google wants “fresh” and “relative” content so content creation is definitely going into overdrive in 2021, especially with recent core update changes shifting more signal weight in Google Search to content instead of links (links are still one of Google’s main ranking signals).

Google Ads Doesn’t Increase Organic Rankings

Over the years, Google Ads might have changed in style (yellow boxes, green tags, etc.) and even name (formerly Google Adwords) but, when it comes to Google’s policy on advertising and search, Google claims “Google Ads doesn’t have the same results as SEO, and won’t improve your organic search rankings.” – ads.google.com, and this has never changed.


There has been a subtle standoff between SEO experts and PPC experts arguing the pros and cons of each but for search engine marketers who seek ascension in search strategy, an understanding on the use of both is the goal.


Search Estate


The first place of search engines is a valuable place for businesses. Maximizing a business’ visibility in search will increase revenue so running both a strong PPC campaign and a strong organic traffic campaign through SEO is the smart decision.


There is a lot more search traffic online than people realize. Not everyone clicks on the same listing. By running both a PPC campaign and a strong organic traffic campaign through SEO a business can “cover their bases” and extend their search reach by securing a constant stream of high converting search traffic.


Brand Recognition In Ad = More Trust For Organic Clicks


When people search in Google for a product or a service they usually see ads first. Most people don’t click on ads but, to state it again, they usually see ads first. Seeing an ad for a business followed by the organic listing for the same business can have a powerful effect on searchers.

Research proves messages are more effective when repeated. Clearly the business is established to some degree or another. Or, at the very least, it’s digital marketing campaign is. Either way, this process helps establish trust and many times can lead to a click on the organic listing, saving money on the ad click while still gaining the benefit of the presence of the ad.

Although Google Ads are not used in organic rankings they can work alongside them and increase a website’s traffic significantly.