Posted by DawnMacri Understanding search intent can be the secret ingredient that brings your content strategy from okay to outstanding. As an SEO Strategist at a digital marketing agency ( Brainlabs ), we often find clients on the brink of ranking success. They’re sitting on stellar content that simply isn’t ranking for their target keywords. Why? Oftentimes, the keywords and the intent simply don’t match. Here we’ll discuss the different types of search intent, how to determine the best intent for given keywords, and how to optimize for search intent. First–let’s iron out the basics. What is search intent? Search intent (also known as user intent) is the primary goal a user has when searching a query in a search engine. Many times, users are searching for a specific type of answer or resource as they search. Take pizza for example. Searching for a pizza recipe has a different intent …

The SEO community is always looking for new ranking factors and we have discovered over two hundred of them so far. But there may be hundreds more actually used by Google. Luckily, we don’t have to work on all of them. Most have very little weight in SEO and are often used as tie-breakers rather than ranking signals. Instead, here is the definitive list of Google ranking factors, each of which can make or break your search optimization strategy. 1. Backlinks Even though Google is planning to move away from backlinks in the future, they still remain the most important ranking factor for your pages. Except it is now too risky to use black hat SEO strategies — your links have to come from a variety of high authority websites that are similar to yours. Furthermore, some Google patents say that freshness and traffic may also be important backlink metrics. …

Posted by BritneyMuller Page speed has always been a crucial part of SEO work, and as more companies make the shift to online operations, optimization becomes more important than ever. However, it's a complex subject that tends to be very technical. What are the most crucial things to understand about your site's page speed, and how can you begin to improve? To help you answer these questions, we're sharing this popular episode of Whiteboard Friday (originally published in February 2019) where Britney Muller goes over what you need to know to get started. Click on the whiteboard image above to open a high resolution version in a new tab! Video Transcription Hey, Moz fans. Welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Today we're going over all things page speed and really getting to the bottom of why it's so important for you to be thinking about and working on as …

SEO has been changing drastically over the years. In 2010, Google made 516 algorithm changes . That number increased to 1,653 in 2016 and to 3,234 in 2018. We don’t have data for the last couple of years, but still, you can bet that the number is continually going up. With over 9 algorithm changes a day, it’s safe to say that it is no longer easy to manipulate or game Google. So, is SEO dead? Well, let’s look at the data and from there I’ll show you what you should do. Is SEO dead? Do you know how many searches take place on Google each day? Roughly 5.6 billion searches per day . That’s roughly 2 trillion searches each year. Although that’s a lot of searches, there is also a lot of content being created. There are roughly a billion blogs on the web . There are so many …

Posted by AnnSmarty Somehow, many businesses I’ve come across online have one glaring problem in common: a very weak and unconvincing About Us page. This doesn’t make any sense in my mind, as the About page is one of the most important brand assets, and unlike link building and social media marketing, it doesn’t require any ongoing effort or investment. An About page is often part of a buying journey. It can drive people to your site and help convince them to deal with you. And, in these uncertain times , you can use it to help build trust in you and your business. Creating a solid About page is a one-time task, but it will boost both brand loyalty and conversions for many months to come. Why is your About page so important? It is often an entry page Whether you’re a business owner or blogger, your About page …

When you type in a keyword into the search box, you know how you get a list of keyword predictions? This is called Google Autocomplete. Its purpose is to save users time. In fact, according to Google, it lowers typing time by 25% . There’s no doubt that this feature makes our lives easier, especially when using Google Search on mobile devices. Google Autocomplete is often overlooked by digital marketers, so taking the time to understand it can give you an edge over your competition. What Is Google Autocomplete? Google Autocomplete is a Google Search feature that provides search term predictions. For example, if you type “what is the capital of” into the search bar, you will see something like this: As you continue typing, predictions will adjust accordingly, until you see the search term you want to use. You can then simply click on that option instead of typing …

Posted by BritneyMuller Link building is never-ending in SEO, but a little creativity and smart tactics can help you ferret out great link opportunities from their hiding spots. In this episode of Whiteboard Friday, Britney Muller kicks off a series on modern link building (including the sage advice: let people choose their own anchor text!) Click on the whiteboard image above to open a high resolution version in a new tab! Video Transcription Hey, Moz fans. Welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Today we are going to be looking at the easiest ways for you to get backlinks to your website. None of these involve content creation whatsoever. Really excited to dive into this. It will be part of a larger "Link Building in 2020 Series and Beyond." So really excited to dive into some of the easiest things that you can do today to enhance your backlink profile. …

The SEO community is always looking for new ranking factors and we have discovered over two hundred of them so far. But there may be hundreds more actually used by Google. Luckily, we don’t have to work on all of them. Most have very little weight in SEO and are often used as tie-breakers rather than ranking signals. Instead, here is the definitive list of Google ranking factors, each of which can make or break your search optimization strategy. 1. Backlinks Even though Google is planning to move away from backlinks in the future, they still remain the most important ranking factor for your pages. Except it is now too risky to use black hat SEO strategies — your links have to come from a variety of high authority websites that are similar to yours. Furthermore, some Google patents say that freshness and traffic may also be important backlink metrics. …

Posted by BritneyMuller Google houses the world's information, and it's their goal to serve the best answers to searchers' questions. That means that understanding what your target audience is searching and why is more important than ever — but how do you effectively analyze and fulfill true search intent? In this brand-new Whiteboard Friday, Britney Muller shares everything you need to begin understanding and fulfilling search intent, plus a free Google Sheets checklist download to help you analyze the SERPs you care about most. Click on the whiteboard image above to open a high-resolution version in a new tab! Video Transcription Hey, Moz fans. Welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Today we're going to be uncovering understanding and fulfilling search intent, and this is a really important topic to understand and better prepare your content around. I want you to think about this idea that Google houses the world's …

Posted by BritneyMuller Google houses the world's information, and it's their goal to serve the best answers to searchers' questions. That means that understanding what your target audience is searching and why is more important than ever — but how do you effectively analyze and fulfill true search intent? In this brand-new Whiteboard Friday, Britney Muller shares everything you need to begin understanding and fulfilling search intent, plus a free Google Sheets checklist download to help you analyze the SERPs you care about most. Click on the whiteboard image above to open a high-resolution version in a new tab! Video Transcription Hey, Moz fans. Welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Today we're going to be uncovering understanding and fulfilling search intent, and this is a really important topic to understand and better prepare your content around. I want you to think about this idea that Google houses the world's …