Category: SEO Opinions

If your business serves your local community, regardless if it is a small mom and pop shop or a large conglomerate, creating and optimizing a GMB (Google My Business) profile is highly recommended.

A well optimized GMB profile is pratically a 2nd website that can help promote business in Google as well as educate visitors about a business without the need of clicking on a link. Basically, optimizing a GMB profile helps everyone.

There are several advantages to having a well optimized GMB profile…

More Organic Traffic

With another free listing from Google comes more free traffic.

Build Trust With Visitors

An optimized GMB profile is a sign of being established in the local community. It let people know that the business is real and it exists.

Show More Content

GMB profiles offer a lot of features like posts. These features are great ways for a business to get content out regularly to help explain the products, services and new happenings.

An optimized GMB profile is a sign of being established in the local community. It let people know that the business is real and it exists.

Analytics Included

GMB profiles come equipped with their own analytics so it’s possible to track visitors (and even phone calls!) coming from a GMB listing.

Need more help on understanding just how powerful a GMB profile is for a business? Give us a call and we will be that help: (585) 270-0117

“Software is the language of our time, and a mastery of software will determine what works and what doesn’t.” — #Palantir CEO Alex Karp pic.twitter.com/mQZrsys3lF

— Palantir (@PalantirTech) February 16, 2021

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). 😬

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!

A week into 2021 and what a week it has been! Google’s massive core update (released last month) appears to have settled search results for now, Congress was stormed, and SEO is still the best investment any company can make…

Organic traffic continues to grow and convert higher than any other lead generation system. The percentage of traffic from organic search has been growing since BrightEdge, the search analytics company, began a study aimed at organic traffic growth in 2014. BrightEdge continues researching organic traffic to this day.

2014 saw organic search deliver 51% of site traffic, a number that grew to 53% in 2019.

Further into BrightEdge’s report shows that Social media traffic referrals have been flat since 2014 according to the company. Media and entertainment was the one category where it drove 8%. This speaks to the long running popular stance that social media is much better for products revolving around entertainment rather than utility. BrightEdge asserts that social media delivers less than 1% of revenue on average.

For further proof, check out Hubspot’s 2020 Organic Search Marketing Report Quick SEO Stats to see how well SEO performed.

Does your company require SEO services?

No, SD (structured data) won’t have a direct impact on a website’s rankings like SEO does. According to John Mueller of Google: “All the information Google uses to organize content in search results is taken from visible webpage content.”

So why is SD such a big deal?

Because once an SEO “win” is achieved (an increase in search engine position) SD can serve as the “slot machine multiplier” by adding more search estate.

After all, what is better than a single link that promotes a company’s website? 2 links.

Why only have a listing for a website in Google when it’s possible to have a listing and a knowledge panel showing simultaneously, which doubles or potentially triples search engine visibility.

Although SD is not required to perform SEO, it is highly recommended by most SEO professionals including the one who wrote this blog post.

(Keep in mind, this is an opinion piece so if the technical side of SEO is not for you it should be reassuring to know that Google draws most information from the visible content directly off what’s visible on the webpage.)

Structured Data Enhances Search Visibility

Back in 2019 Google’s Gary Illyes basically let us know that CTR (click through rate) does NOT affect search ranings so SEOs should not be looking to raise their CTR in an attempt to raise their rank because CTR is not a search engine ranking signal. However, more search engine visibility equates to a higher chance of a click through.

Increasing search visibility can be done with SD. With more links showing up to be clicked the chances of a click through go up.

For commercial purpose websites (ecommerce, etc.) search visibility can eventually lead to more business revenue.

Rich Results Structured Data

Basically, SD can create more clickable search estate in Google. Rich results such as site links (those small blue hyper-links under website listings in Google search results) are proof of this. Site links break your site down into important sections that users would find useful. These users may click a site link that they otherwise would have never seen without SD implementation.

Of Course, the content of the link is important. If the content per link is not captivating it will probably not get clicked.

Remember: SD can increase visibility in search but without proper content creation it won’t matter and the CTR will be the same.

Quotes From John Mueller of Google On SD:

“There is probably no benefit at all and probably also no harm there. In general we recommend using structured data for the elements you want to have visible in the search results. And the ones we have visible are based on the properties that we have documented.”

“All the information Google uses to organize content in search results is taken from visible webpage content.” (Structured Data is not used for ranking)

If the search engine is Google then developers.google.com should be the documentation referred to for structured data format.

In 2021 SD offers a lot in terms of search visibility enhancement. It’s the opinion of many SEOs that SD should be almost looked at as “required knowledge” for SEO moving into 2021.

For anyone serious about professional SEO work in 2021, adding a wide breadth of SD knowledge to anyone’s “SEO lexicon” is not only beneficial, but, it may actually result in leaving business revenue on the table if not utilized.

The year is almost up and it’s time to present the best free SEO tools for SEO professionals in 2020 EVERY YEAR. In my opinion, the best tools are “the best” because they service real foundation needs not fly-by-night gimmicky trends or 3rd party metrics that are not used by major search engine algorithms. Because of these reasons they are used year after year and they continue to be developed and improved upon.

These tools give any SEO real value in the form of easy to digest information that is still highly in depth. In fact, the amount of data given can arguably be overkill for smaller SEO projects (looking at you Google Analytics). Either way, I have used these 5 tools year after year as an SEO professional and I would personally recommend them to anyone looking to improve their search presence.

SEMRUSH
SEMrush is the “swiss army knife” of SEO tools. It does a lot of different things that can help search engine marketers with marketing insights. The “snapshot” of useful search engine marketing information (keyword ranking, keyword bid cost, traffic volume trends, competitor data, etc.) found in the SEO dashboard alone is worth using the tool.

SERPLab
A keyword tracking tool with a simple interface that provides free SERP (Search Eninge Results Page) checks, track and monitor your search engine keyword ranking quickly and quite accurately.

Ahrefs Backlink Checker
Probably the best backlink profile tool available right now. A very robust platform that gives more backlink data than any other free backlink checker. I have been using Ahrefs for years and recommend it to anyone who need backlink information on a website.

Google Analytics
Google Analytics (GA) is a web analytics platform offered by Google for free. Tracks and reports website traffic, and contains a dizzying amount of information. A useful tool but a common sentiment is that it is overly complicated and despite all the information it provides only a portion of it can be used to better an SEO campaign.

Google Search Console
Check indexing status, optimize visibility a website, and get organic positions for all keywords a website is being indexed for. A great compliment to Google Analytics ever since GA went dark on providing organic keyword data (not provided).

Google Ads Keyword Planner
Googles own keyword tool complete with search volume (average estimates) and PPC costs per keyword bid (range). That’s right, you can literally see what people are typing into google and how much they are typing it on an average monthly basis. This tool is a necessity for any serious SEO trying to rank specific keywords. It’s a free tool but the catch is a Google Ads account is needed with at least 1 Google Ads campaign running.

A couple of days ago a tweet went out directed to John Mueller voicing disapprovement on how Google Search works, stating that “the whole process doesn’t seem fair” and John promptly replied (Full Discussion).

Simply put, John was blunt in his reply and reduced SEOs down to 1 of 4 types:

• Spammers
• Lazy
• Lost folks
• Well-meaning folks

 

 A brutal truth to say the least. Learning to execute SEO effectively is not an overnight process and the temptation is strong to look for shortcuts or just give up all together. Also, there are heaps and heaps of information (some good. some bad.) regarding effective SEO practices that stay within Google and other major search engine’s guidelines. It is a daunting task to read through all the latest “news” when so much of it is riddled with speculation and uncertainty. It’s all part of an SEO’s work, however, so being aware of any latest developments in search is crucial in order to stay ahead of the game.

Another key point Mueller makes is that there are more competitors in search than ever before for many, if not most, industries. There simply isn’t enough room for everyone to be on page 1.

On top of everything else John even admits that Google is “far from perfect. It’s a challenging problem.”

Everything mentioned above must be taken into consideration post-update. Google core updates come and go but following a best practice SEO strategy is a win 100% of the time even if your rank is not exactly what you want. We all want to be first in search but that doesn’t mean that the other ranks on the first page don’t get traffic.

It is completely understandable that SEOs get frustrated with the process from time to time but I find paying attention to what actual Google representatives say helps even if their statements are vague at times.

Getting a 2nd opinion on an SEO matter and talking to those who like to experiment with SEO strategies can be eye opening but chasing theories can be a big waste of time if you are not careful.

I, for one, look forward to see how Google develops it’s search engine.

Despite any recent setbacks an SEO might have had as a result of the recent algorithm update, I think all of us can agree it is a privilege to be working in this space.

To borrow Hunter S. Thompson’s signature style for a moment, morning comes hard to SEO professionals everywhere these days it seems. There has definitely been a shake-up in the search engine results page (SERP) for Google.

Even Barry Schwartz, a leading SEO industry blogger, and webmaster of seroundtable.com, admits the news on the subject is alive and he acknowledges the repeated coverage but the reason is evident…

All major 3rd party SERP volatility tracking tools have been firing off and showing signs of strong activity within the last couple of weeks. Mozcast, Accuranker, RankRanger, SEMRush, Advanced Web Rankings, SERP Metrics, and Algoroo have all been showing signs of trememdous SERP volatility and, from my own experience with my site and clients’ sites, the volatility is real. But what can be done about it?

Truthfully speaking, not much.

Content & Links: The Original Recipe Still Works

I still add content and build links (when possible). They are 2 age-old practices that Google officially confirmed as leading search signals back in March of 2016

I don’t see why this would change any time soon or what could possibly replace this system. Content is the whole point of the search query whether it be something as simple as directions or something more complex like how a diesel engine works.

Links that DON’T contain the nofollow html tag (rel=”nofollow”) still serve as a “vote of confidence” and pass authority to the site that the link directs to.

Reach Over Rank

I have wrote on this in the past: Don’t obsess over rank. Of course, 1st position should be a secondary goal but increasing your first page listings should be priority 1. SERPs are not stable and Google completely admits to multiple updates daily with the occasional huge update that sends the SEO industry into panic/mania mode. Avoid these up and down waves by increasing reach through additional first page search listings.

SEO vs UX

SEO best practices and UX best practices don’t always mesh well. In some cases, simplicity is key with UX but for technical SEO matters this simply will not work. Lot’s of onsite detailed content *cough* keywords *cough* are required if seeking a first page rank for relative site keywords.

Many Times, Waiting Is The Best Option

If a reason is not known for a major shift in SERPs then sometimes waiting it out is the best option. I have seen sites drop off the first page only to return their a week or two later. The key is not to panic and just assess the situation. Making changes to a site simply as a defensive strategy to a rank shift is not only pointless since it’s essentially just guessing but it is also runs the risk of being counter productive. A major on-site SEO change could end up doing more damage in the long run.

If you need an expert to help with SEO and get your businesses presence on Google’s first page then call today: 585-622-1126

With a new year right around the corner many businesses are getting ready to start the next calendar year off strong with plans in place for their business to continue to run smoothly and grow. However, many businesses tend to neglect the finer aspects of their marketing efforts and end up not giving much focus (if any) to search engine marketing. This is a mistake as businesses end up leaving a lot of revenue on the table from not capturing their share of valuable, converting search engine traffic.

Reasons Why Businesses Don’t Invest In Search Engine Marketing

The reasons tend to be the same with a few variations. For example, many business owners “just don’t understand how Google works” making them afraid to deviate from more tradiational understood marketing mediums such as radio ads and newspaper ads. These same owners may also think “Google controls all the results” (so there is no work to be done that can improve outcome).

Other common objections to search engine marketing is that SEO’ing a website and ranking it high for it’s relative keywords “won’t do much for business revenue” or that Google Ads are “too expensive.”

All of these thoughts and objections are entirely false. Breaking them down one by one with proof is easy:

Objection 1: “I Don’t Understand How Google Works.” (SEO)

Resolution: Google is simple. Content and links is what affects your rank in Google’s search engine. Google has publicly stated this multiple times.

Objection 2: “Google Controls All The Results.” (SEO)

Resolution: Not really. RankBrain does. RankBrain is Google’s A.I. used for search. It can read content at a more sophisticated level than Google’s spider bots making it better at understanding and categorizing content. However, it still responds to certain signals that affects Google’s algorithm as a whole. SEO specialists can generate these signals leading to high rankings.

Objection 3: “It Won’t Do Much For Business Revenue” (SEO/PPC)

In the short term, on average, this is true but in the long run this is completlety false. An increase in business revenue 2, 3X over time is common. In some cases, number one organic rank is achieved and business revenue can increase rapidly as a result. Take a look at some search engine usage statistics that will prove how much business revenue potetial is online daily.

Objection 4: “Google Ads Are Too Expensive.” (PPC)

This statement usually implies that the speaker had a prior experience with Google Ads that ended up costing more money than it brought in, the result of an improper campaign setup most likely. PPC specialists can help with this. A high ROI search engine ad campaign is completely possible at a very low cost.

The Sooner A Search Engine Marketing Campaign Is Started The Better

Achieving high organic rankings and running a successful ads campaign in Google takes time. How much time exactly can’t be answered but in some cases 3 or 4 months may be needed. For this reason, the sooner a search engine marketing campaign is started the faster it will start contributing to the business’ revenue.

Budget shouldn’t really be an issue for most businesses as search engine marketing is comparably a much cheaper alternative to traditional TV and radio advertising.

Ready for a professional to create and optimize a high ROI Google Ads campaign?

How about a traffic rich SEO campaign for valuable, relative keywords?

This is why I love SEO.

When it comes to search engine optimizing content for major search engines no matter how much popularity a social medium platform seems to have (or lacks due to generation preferances or bad press) you can always optimize social media pages to show up in search engines. After all, at the end of the day a social media page is just a page regardless of the domain it’s a part of.

So, what does this mean?

This basically means that all those free social media pages you created by themselves may seem limited and practically useless for business development, like Instagram with it’s lack of ability to post a clickable link in a post, LinkedIn with it’s restricted network making it so that you can only connect to certain people at a certain time, and Facebook with it’s elite-ism among it’s users (try friend requesting someone you don’t know and don’t be surprised if they don’t accept it), but in truth they are all extremely useful. If it’s a page that can show up in Google, Bing, Yahoo, or even DuckDuckGo (yes people are starting to use this search engine more) then it’s a page with potential value.

Today, my Facebook page is ranking on the first page of Google for some of my major keywords. As someone who strives daily (weekends too!) to grow his business seeing one of my social media pages on the first page of Google is huge. I don’t even use FB much since I never really got into social media much. I’m pretty old fashioned, I prefer to call, text, or email people I want to talk with rather than use social media for this. This doesn’t mean that I don’t understand how valuable a free page on the Internet can be. It improves my search engine “estate” a great deal when I rank these types of pages.

In conclusion, social media is a valuable tool simply because it can provide a business with more free exposure in search engines even if the social media platform itself seems to lack any business development advantage for a business. A free page online can be a powerful promotional tool if effective SEO practices are applied to it.