The Importance of User Experience Optimization in SEO
Search engine optimization is increasingly moving beyond simply addressing the needs of search engines to include user experience. One of the most important differences between websites and traditional communication platforms (TV, radio) is the role of the consumer. Traditional media platforms treat consumers passively, while website visitors are active agents who determine what content they receive, in what order and for how long. Why Focusing on User Experience is Important for Your Website As the internet moved into the centre stage of
Google to Encrypt all Search Activity – Goodbye Keyword Data
SEO companies and online marketers are abuzz with discussion after Google announced earlier this week that all organic search queries (not those linked to Google ads) will now be encrypted. Google claims it has taken these moves to ultimately ensure user protection and privacy, providing a secure browsing experience. What is Secure Browsing? Secure browsing entails the encryption of searches. This means the terms users type into Google that were normally passed on to publishers after someone clicks on their links now
Google City Expert: Improving Customer Reviews
Google has recently launched City Expert, an exclusive initiative that aims to increase the quality of reviews on Google+ Local and Google Maps. The program, similar to Yelp Elite, is a special limited-scope extension of standard Google reviews, which aims to attract consumers with a higher level of engagement with local establishments, products and services. City Expert will reward users with access to exclusive events in their area, Google-branded merchandise and special badges on their Google+ profiles. The current scope of the
Why Should You Use Google Ads?
Google is a ubiquitous entity that provides a crucial service to millions of people every day. If you thought I was talking about internet searches, you’re only partially right. Google’s search service is obviously its most popular and high profile feature, but it is of course a free service. So how does Google make money? You could say that Google’s main activity, at least in terms of generating revenue, is advertising. Google makes money primarily through ads While Google can be used
Top 10 Crucial Business Website Features
If you’re a business owner, it’s absolutely crucial that your website contain the following features. This list isn’t exhaustive, but by ensuring that at least these 10 things are addressed, you can significantly improve your traffic and conversions, leading to increased sales. 1. Clearly visible text-based phone number on homepage It’s probably obvious that your phone number should be on your website, but it’s positioning is key. On top of that, a text-based number will be picked up by search engines and
Local SEO is the Next Big Thing
Local SEO, as simple as it can appear to be, might just be the next big thing for small businesses. With the melding of business pages on social networks with Google Places and local search results, optimizing your local business to be found online by people searching in your area is becoming a more powerful marketing tool every day. Many businesses are realizing this and quickly hopping on the trend. The facts There are 11 million Facebook business pages. There are
How to Take Advantage of Google Click Distribution
It’s common knowledge among SEO experts that websites that are more highly ranked on search engine result pages (SERPs) get more clicks from users. One might also be aware that only the top few spots on Google’s SERP, for example, command the vast majority of all clicks on the page. Researchers at Cornell University have performed a study that solidified these common beliefs with some interesting data which links clicks and eye movement tracking. The results As per the graphic
Google is the New Yellow Pages
Phone books are obsolete. Today’s consumer finds information on local businesses online, mainly though search engines. 20% of monthly Google searches are for local businesses. SOURCE: GOOGLE, APRIL 2010 When a potential customer looks up information about a relevant product or service, it is vital that your website show up at the top of their search results –and ahead of your competition. More & more of our pre-shopping research starts on search engines. SOURCE: PEW INTERNET & AMERICAN LIFE PROJECT, SEPTEMBER 2010 46% of daily searches
Google Panda and the Article Marketing Saga
Several years ago, a commonly used SEO tactic consisted of writing articles containing links to a website and submitting them to ‘article directories’ –huge repository sites of these articles on the web. These sites were unedited wastelands of random articles blasted all over the web by SEO specialists looking to boost a site’s ranking with backlinks. The Good Old Days of SEO The thing is, back then it actually worked. With a relatively small investment in time and money, articles could be
Twitter Quietly Unveils User Directory
Historically, Twitter has had a difficult relationship with Google in terms of allowing its content to be crawlable by the search engine. In the past week however, Twitter has quietly unrolled some updates that will make it undoubtedly more SEO friendly. The first was a change to its robots.txt file making it friendlier to search engines. The latest update is a user profile directory. Searchable user profiles While the robots file update made Twitter’s content more crawlable, this latest one will allow