SEO Tips - Pushleads | Asheville SEO Services

According to a new report from Semrush, queries about starting a small business have increased. The report evaluates the rise in queries related to small business categories.

The report provides information on which areas of marketing businesses are investing in and which business categories and search queries are gaining traction. Semrush collected keyword and search volume intelligence for this report.

Semrush analyzed the traffic growth trends to organic search performance over time and discovered which small business categories perform better online. Here we discuss some key takeaways from the report.

Search Trends Related To Starting A Business

The report identifies the following searches as indicative of intent to open a business:

Over the past four years, there has been a 21% increase in “open business” searches.
January and March are the busiest months for “open business” searches.
Between 2018 and 2022, searches for small business-related topics increased by 76%.

The Most Popular Small Business Categories

There has been a spike in general interest in starting a small business, but search volume indicates that people are looking to open boutiques:

Nearly one-fifth of people who want to become entrepreneurs want to open a boutique.
Almost one-fifth of all searchers think that starting an Etsy business is attractive.
The increase in interest in vending machines is giving the category second place in searches among small businesses.

It examines regional search patterns and outlines the following conclusions:

All states have at least one of the three “Etsy, cleaning, boutique” triads.
50% of the states list coffee shops among the top three most popular small business categories.
Delivery services are being considered a potential cottage industry in Montana and Vermont.

The Most Common 'Small Business' Related Searches

50% of all top small business-related searches are for financing. Here are the top queries, ranked by the number of searches per month:

Small business loans
Small business grants
Small business administration
Small business ideas
How to start a small business

The Most Common Marketing-Related Small Business Searches

Small business owners try to welcome all the up-and-coming trends, as indicated by keyword stats:

The demand for digital marketing services skyrocketed by 1,500% (especially fast during the epidemic).
Small businesses’ interest in creating short videos grew by 420%.
In 2022, 600% more people searched for free text message marketing than in 2018.

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Categories of Small Business Sites With the Highest Traffic Growth

According to Semrush, small businesses experienced average traffic growth of 2900% over the period studied. Semrush said:

“This means that over the past four years, most of the websites within our client list managed to expand their visitor base.”

The Highest-Ranking Organic Keywords in Small Business Sites Are Distributed Among Ten Categories

The report lists the site categories that have the highest percentage of high-ranking organic keywords. The list is in order, followed by the median number of organic keywords where the domain ranks in the top 10.

Publishing: 45,581
Online Media: 10,116
Veterinary: 9,379
Entertainment: 6,627
Consumer Services: 3,518
Consumer Goods: 3,339
Building Materials: 2,957
Music: 2,593
Human Resources: 2,145
Food & Beverages: 1,839

It is interesting to observe how the top 10 most popular traffic categories differ from the categories with the fastest growing traffic. According to Semrush, ranking for many keywords might not directly result in traffic growth.

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Want to know how to save time, effort, and money when creating SERP-ready content? Here’s how.

Everything considered, writing quality content that ranks at the top of the SERPs takes a substantial amount of time, effort, and resources. As businesses grow and improve, resources (especially time) can be limited. This post will detail how to use content research and automation tools to save time and preserve necessary resources. Quality content that Google and people both enjoy can be generated by following these tips and tricks.

What is the Purpose of Content Automation?

Content marketing automation implicates identifying repetitive content marketing tasks and automating them using relevant tools. Imagine a world where content automation software did all the heavy lifting, thereby freeing SEOs from wasting hours of their time every week writing out detailed content briefs for content creators. Instead, content writers could bypass the SEO learning curve and focus on crafting engaging sentences to produce even more compelling content.

In addition to saving time, cutting costs, and making smarter decisions, using automation software can help your SEO and content teams focus on creating marketing strategies that matter. With content automation tools, you can boost your productivity across the entire content creation process, from conducting research to publishing and optimizing content. The fundamental steps of content creation are as follows:

Choosing the subject for the article
Creating a content brief
Creating optimized article content

Performing these tasks manually would take up much of the SEO and content teams’ time. Luckily, content research and automation tools help you cover and fast-track your entire content creation journey—all in one place.
There is a range of content tools on the market, but for this article, we’ll illustrate how to automate your content creation using SE Ranking’s content tool, the Content Marketing Platform. It helps you craft content briefs in just a few minutes and writes full-fledged articles in as little as a few hours.

SE Ranking’s Content Marketing Platform uses AI to determine what your competitors’ content is doing well to outdo them. This tool also uses NLP to assist you in identifying the best words to use in your content. It tells you what to strive for in your content to outperform competitors. We will now look at the process of creating content. It identifies which words both Google and individuals expect to see on a page relating to a topic.

Step 1: Choosing the Subject For the Article

When you’re creating content, many SEO and content marketing specialists rely on keyword research to determine what to write about. Doing keyword research is the first step toward determining what people are interested in. You learn what people are interested in the most by conducting keyword research. You are finding out which topics are the most popular at the moment. Traffic is generated to websites through content optimization for search by SEOs and content marketers. They address a variety of search intents so that users can move down the search funnel.

Be sure to automate the entire process by checking to see if your keyword research tool can:

Using a core term as a foundation, generate related and low-volume search terms.

Keyword metrics, including search volume and keyword dilemma, can be given to you in complete and accurate form.
Every SERP feature should be highlighted.
Determine a keyword’s purpose.
Demonstrate how volatile the SERP for a keyword is and how authoritative the players are.

Be sure to take note of the size of the database of your keyword research tool and its reliability in terms of accuracy. The SE Ranking Keyword Research tool does everything right in this respect. It’s also part of a more extensive system of tools, which makes it simple to manage all of the data on your website from a single location.

Content creation is where all the magic happens using the Content Editor, Keyword Manager, and Keyword Rank Tracker (this tool is where all the magic happens). You no longer have to export data to Excel to use SE Ranking’s tools. You can directly add the keywords you want to target to one of these tools rather than working with data in a dull environment.

Once you have finished researching and decided on the primary keyword (or several related keywords) on which you want to focus your new piece of content, decide on the article’s primary topic. Then, create an SEO content brief for your copywriter.

Step 2: Create a Content Brief

To determine how you want the article to look, your copywriter relies on you as the SEO expert. To begin, examine the top-ranking SERP competitors in your chosen area to find out what works for them. After you have written out a detailed brief, remove all the competitors, leaving only websites similar to yours in terms of user intent. To accomplish this, visit each competitor’s website to ensure they correctly communicate the topic to their audience. Their content must be tailored to the right audience and the phase they are at on the purchasing journey.

Selecting the correct digital rivals is the first step in determining the content parameters for your next article. Think about how many words or characters the text should include, how many headings and paragraphs it should have, and how many pictures it should have to make it easier to read. You can customize SE Ranking’s Content Marketing Platform default values, which are based on an average of all the competitors you have chosen.

It’s well known among SEO specialists that including specific keywords in your text increases the likelihood that Google will display your page for a relevant search. You can find a list of NLP keywords that Google considers critical here. Last but not least, you can study competitor webpage headings to develop a detailed outline for your future post. You can either copy competitor headings verbatim or gain inspiration from them and create your own headings.

Your copywriter will then have a detailed article outline that specifies the article’s length, the number of times a keyword should appear on the page, and so on.

Step 3: Creating Optimized Article Content

Create an SEO content brief so you can use it as a reference when writing your article. You can either write the text on the spot or seek the help of an AI rewriter if you feel stuck. You can get content marketing automation tools that pull text from a competitor’s website and insert it into your copy. Plagiarism-free alternatives are then provided for you to use in your article.

You can rely on AI to produce plagiarism-free alternatives if you pull relevant chunks of text from competitor articles, but it’s always better to let the experts handle things. You, as a copywriter, can improve the text of your future-published article to ensure it outranks your competitors after you are satisfied with it.

The Content Marketing Platform makes it simple to see how well a text adheres to all the requirements by displaying gauges and the text next to each other. Ensure that the copy contains enough words and the keywords are used appropriately. Remove any grammatical or punctuation mistakes and ensure the text is readable. Content creators don’t need to go through additional hoops to produce SEO-friendly content using the Content Marketing Platform because all the data is presented.

It's Essential to Monitor Your Pages' Google Rankings

Please keep track of the performance of your newly published content after publishing it. This will help you determine the return on investment of all the time and effort you put into constructing it.

With the help of SE Ranking’s Keyword Rank Tracker, you can keep track of your target keywords’ ranking positions across every major search engine. Add your website, specify the search engines and competitors, and keep track of your target keywords’ ranking positions daily. If your rankings shift or if another competitor tries to outrank your pages all the time, you can respond quickly.

Instead of automating every aspect of your content marketing strategy, use automation tools to help humans do their jobs better. Allow your automation tool to handle most of the labor so you can automate repetitive manual processes. Use your free time to accomplish more complex creative tasks.

Content marketing automation tools can save you a lot of money every month, improve your customer service, and enhance the quality of your products and services if used correctly. Do less and get more done!

You might also like: Google Creates Ads Distinguishable From Organic Results.

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Website accessibility has become serious issue we must address. Accessible websites provide equal opportunities for users to access content such as news, online shopping, banking, and government services. Websites must cater to all users, including those with various disabilities. By making websites accessible, we ensure everyone has equal access to online content.

A key factor underlying the importance of web accessibility is the growing population of people with disabilities. The World Health Organization and the CDC indicate that 16% of the world’s population and 26% of the U.S. population have a disability, amounting to over 1 billion individuals globally and about 86 million in the U.S. Disabilities encompass a range of categories, from physical and sensory to cognitive and intellectual. Given the sizable population affected by disabilities, it is essential to develop websites that are both inclusive and accessible to all.

Benefits of Accessible Websites for Businesses

Website accessibility can help businesses reach a larger audience, potentially leading to increased revenue and growth. By catering to this substantial and frequently overlooked market, businesses can enhance engagement, sales, and customer satisfaction, as websites become easier to navigate for all users.

Inaccessible websites can result in lost revenue; for example, e-commerce retailers lost an estimated $828 million during the 2021 holiday season due to inaccessible websites. Additionally, accessible websites can positively impact a company’s reputation and brand image and potentially improve SEO ranking.

Focusing on accessibility helps websites follow laws like the ADA, Rehabilitation Act, and EAA. These laws prevent discrimination against people with disabilities and require businesses to accommodate them. Non-compliant websites may face legal issues.

Strategies for Improving Website Accessibility

To improve website accessibility, businesses should, at the very least, incorporate elements like alternative text for images, captions for videos, and keyboard-only navigation. Regular assessments and testing can aid in detecting and resolving accessibility obstacles, as website changes and updates may occasionally cause problems.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has launched the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to facilitate the development of more accessible websites. The WCAG presents four core principles of website accessibility are as follows: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Adhering to these principles can contribute to a more inclusive and user-centric web experience. These four core principles help as described below:

Perceivable – Ensure users can perceive the presented information (it must not be invisible to their senses).
Understandable – Users must comprehend the information and the operation of the user interface.
Operable – Users must be able to utilize the interface (it cannot require interaction that users cannot perform).
Robust – As technology progresses, users should be able to access content seamlessly (content must stay accessible as technology and user tools continue to evolve).

Consider implementing features such as pausing or hiding content that may generate seizures due to photosensitivity, using clear and simple language, and employing technologies supported by widely available assistive technologies.

The Importance of Accessibility Audits

Regular audits can ensure your website remains in optimal condition. Conducting a professional web accessibility audit is an effective way to gauge the extent of work required to achieve a passing accessibility score. Audits can also uncover other website issues, such as broken links, responsiveness, and security concerns.

While improving website accessibility, you may encounter issues that vary in complexity. Some changes, like updating alternative text tags on images or page names, are relatively simple. However, navigation, content, and site structure modifications may require a UI/UX designer and a web developer.

Conclusion: The Future of Web Accessibility

Web accessibility is increasingly important in 2023 and beyond. With a growing number of people with disabilities and legal requirements to meet, websites must be designed to be inclusive and available to all.

Investing in accessibility can have long-term positive impacts on your business or organization.

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Every business looking to incorporate content marketing into its growth strategy should be acquainted with the key reasons behind it. Here we take a look at how content marketing helps boost your business.

Why Is Content Marketing So Important?

Content marketing has so many benefits that it’s challenging to list them all. Understanding why content marketing is essential to reap its benefits is critical. Content marketing is crucial because it’s a cost-efficient, sustainable marketing strategy that nurtures your audience and answers their inquiries. It builds their confidence—all of which help your company generate better leads, more conversions, and more sales. It all boils down to whether you believe that content marketing is essential.

Can you attract customers who are interested in your company using content marketing? It’s about something other than forcing your products or services in front of their eyes and expecting the best. Furthermore, almost all companies (97%) utilize content marketing because modern consumers prefer to interact with and learn about businesses in this manner. What are some other indicators that content marketing is critical? Why should you utilize it? Let’s discuss some of the other reasons why it’s essential.

Instead of Purchasing a Platform, Content Marketing Builds Authority on Your Platform

Content marketing aims to boost your brand’s authority and establish connections with prospective customers. Where does this take place? On your website, through the content you publicize there.

In contrast to social media marketing, content marketing owns its platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.). Since you own your website’s content (these are your content assets), publishing on it means you own everything there.

Building your house on rented land is analogous to relying on social media. There’s no guarantee that social media won’t cease to exist one day, taking everything you post with it. Even if your account is hacked, shadowbanned, or removed without cause, your content will be one of many things that have gone. If your audience and means of communication with them disappear, too, you’ll lose everything.

There’s also the fact that social media platforms tend to alter the regulations regarding which posts are prioritized in their feeds. Because of the whims of company heads and algorithms, your visibility largely depends on the wiles of company heads and algorithms. Content marketing is a better and more sustainable way to grow your business.

Why No Other Strategy Builds Trust with Your Audience as Quickly

When 65% of consumers read educational content from a brand, they instantly recognize it as both positive and trustworthy. Content targeted at a specific audience and tailored to their problems and queries, as well as from that audience’s perspective, is a powerful trust-builder. Content marketing, in addition to understanding your optimal clients intimately enough to accomplish all of the above, depends on studying.

Content marketing is not about selling; it is about assisting. By providing valuable, custom content that demonstrates your brand’s knowledge and compassion, you demonstrate empathy and compassion. Furthermore, demonstrating empathy and understanding shows prospective customers that you care, listen, and comprehend their issues. It’s the icing on the cake if you also have the answers.

How a Content Marketing Strategy Generates More Qualified Leads

Two types of people visit your website and content and are likely to become your customers: high-quality leads and low-quality leads.

There is no doubt that customers know your business, the products you offer and that they are ready to purchase.
They either realize they have a problem and know what solution they require, or they know they have a situation and are willing to seek the best option.

How is content marketing able to pull this type of lead to you? Through targeted SEO.

Having the right keywords and content for your content can be a powerful combination. Different keywords will attract customers at different phases of the purchase process. The right keywords with the right search intent will bring the leads you need to fulfill the demands of the consumers.

Awareness Phase – People enter this phase when they realize they have a problem and want to receive more information.
Consideration Phase – They understand the problem and are ready to find the best solution.
Decision Phase – They are ready to choose the right solution from the available options.

You might also like: 8 Essential Goals to Strengthen Your Content Strategy

People who are in the “decision” phase are much closer to buying than those who are in the “awareness” phase, and the words or phrases they search for offer substantial indications as to how near (or far away) they are from creating a purchase.

In content marketing, brands can use this information to target the right keywords. For example, a hotel might use the keyword “stress-relieving destinations” in a blog post titled “5 Stress-Relieving Destinations to Wipe Away Your Worries” and contain their city or town as an option.

What would happen if that blog ranked in the top five Google search results for that keyword? Those would be excellent leads that could be educated with extra content and captured through strategic calls for action (CTAs). Presto! Visitors looking for vacation getaways would visit, and the hotel would be able to provide the solution they need.

Enhancing Search Engine Visibility Through Content: A Achievable Goal

The quantity and quality of the content on a site determine search engine rankings. Websites with high-quality, consistent content are not only more robust, more helpful, more practical, and more engaging for their audiences, but they also tend to rank higher on search engines. Search engines like that, too. Driving traffic from search is not just about getting more visibility online; it is also about ranking higher on search results.

According to recent data, the #1 organic (non-paid) position in Google search makes a CTR (click-through rate, which estimates the percentage of people who click a particular link on a webpage).

A CTR of 18.4% indicates the #2 organic position. On the other hand, the #9 and #10 positions have a CTR of around 2% at the bottom of the first page of Google.

In addition to being the #2 organic result, the 18.4% CTR makes it clear that users are finding what they’re looking for. On the other hand, the #9 and #10 spots have CTRs of around 2%, which is a clear sign that users are still looking for what they want.

Prioritizing organic search results drives the most traffic and receives the most clicks. Using content marketing to create high-quality content helps you get there.

Comparing ROI: Content Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing – A Cost-Effective Choice

It is cheaper to maintain.
The traditional marketing approach is centered on advertising, which runs on a pay-to-play basis. As soon as you stop paying to have your ads appear where you want them, they will disappear, taking your visibility. On the other hand, content marketing expenses are focused on the up-front cost of content development. Once you publish, publish, and distribute a piece, you do not have to keep spending to keep it alive or visible—mainly if you invest in SEO.

It has a better ROI.
According to research, content marketing has a higher ROI than traditional advertising. In addition to earning 97% more inbound links, 55% more visitors, and 434% more indexed pages on Google, they will generate 97% more links. Blogs associated with companies generate 67% more leads than those without them. Why is content marketing so much more booming than traditional marketing, especially over time? Because content marketing is more sustainable and the ROI tends to increase as published content gains traffic, leads, and conversions, it is more successful.

Content vs. Ads: Why People Prefer Consuming Content

It’s a fact: Consumers would not engage in content marketing if they didn’t prefer it. And they do: 62% of B2B buyers read at least three to seven pieces of content before conversing with a salesperson. Furthermore, 70% of people would instead read an article about a company than see an advertisement. Ad blockers, in addition to the data, should be noticed. People are using ad blockers on their computers better than ever, with 290 million active users per month.

Modern consumers possess different expectations, behaviors, and viewpoints that influence their purchases, making traditional marketing obsolete. Consumers nowadays like to do research before making a purchase. They want to know about the best options. They also desire to shop with brands they like and trust, with similar values. Content marketing provides consumers with what they need when and where they need it, delivering them with content.

Stay Competitive: Why Your Competitors Embrace Content Marketing

Even if you are not employing content marketing, your rivals probably are. Furthermore, 73% of marketers utilize content marketing. If your rivals are doing it properly, it means that they benefit by:

Having a more substantial online presence.
Be visible in online searches.
Drawing in more leads.
Increase audience engagement.
Make more conversions and sales in the long run.

A huge mistake is missing out on driving traffic to your website and content.

Enhancing Customer Experience and Boosting Sales with a Custom Website

The value of content marketing on a website is enormous in terms of SEO and user experience. Without content, a website would be nothing more than a shell with a shopping cart; therefore, its value would be nonexistent. You can turn your website into a resource by using content marketing. Your website will be valuable, helpful, engaging, and enjoyable if you use content marketing.

Your content will engage visitors because it will address their interests and issues. Visitors will stay to learn because they will discover that it is relevant to their concerns and interests. They will return to consume more of your content if they have had positive experiences with it in the past. They will come to rely on your expertise as a result of their trust in your brand. In the end, they will buy what you are selling.

Turning Customers into Loyal Fans with Content Marketing

It’s essential to mention that content marketing is a nurturing marketing strategy. Content marketing establishes and strengthens connections with consumers by delivering helpful. Valuable content targeted to their wants, interests, desires, and problems. As brand content customized for specific consumers is continuously consumed, trust and affinity grow.

Consistent content marketing is one of the most suitable methods for boosting consumer retention. By repeating this process over months and years, you will earn more than just a customer; you will gain a loyal fan who will come back again and again. Your content marketing will keep them returning even after purchasing something.

The Reign and Future of Marketing: Content Marketing's Dominance

Consumers prefer to be nurtured and built into loyal customers through content marketing, which is why it’s so important. Cost-effective and sustainable, it is a more effective alternative to traditional marketing than traditional marketing. It’s also a more effective way to generate leads and return on investment.

Content marketing makes your website more appealing to users and search engines, which improves the internet. It’s how you do SEO right–not to mention earn the top spots in Google. You will benefit from developing your reputation on your land rather than on social media platforms, which rent out real estate.

Every business should include content marketing in its growth strategy, and it’s an innovative and valuable way to grow a brand. It’s time to dive in if you haven’t already.

What are you waiting for?

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Running successful PPC campaigns can be daunting, especially when dealing with the law of diminishing returns and various other factors beyond your control. In this article, we’ll delve into the concept of diminishing returns and how it applies to paid search, as well as factors that make PPC more challenging today. By understanding these principles, you can set better expectations for your PPC performance.

Grasping the Law of Diminishing Returns

Identifying the optimal level of investment to maximize overall profit is crucial to avoid wasted resources. The law of diminishing returns in economics indicates that as an organization increases investment in a specific area, the profit generated plateaus eventually, assuming all other variables remain constant. This means that additional investment in that area will yield a decreased rate of return.

Understanding Price Elasticity in PPC

Price elasticity gauges the sensitivity of demand or supply in response to fluctuations in a product or service price. When price elasticity is higher than one, demand or supply is deemed elastic, implying that even a minor shift in price results in a comparatively larger alteration in demand or supply.

In advertising, this concept holds considerable importance in shaping your approach and financial planning.

Navigating High CPCs in PPC Campaigns

To yield more traffic and conversions through PPC, you’ll need to be more competitive, which involves increasing bids and accepting higher conversion costs. However, this cost-per-click (CPC) increase leads to smaller traffic increases, eventually reaching a point where further investment is futile.

The Challenge of Scaling PPC Campaigns

The law of diminishing returns in PPC results in a non-linear increase in the budget when scaling campaigns. Doubling the traffic and sales volume typically requires a four-fold increase in budget. This reality highlights the importance of realistic expectations and planning when aiming to expand your campaign.

Google and Meta's Role in PPC Advertising

The marginal cost per click (CPCm) is almost always higher than the actual CPC, meaning that buying additional clicks is significantly more expensive than the current cost per click. Advertisers benefit from investing in advertising as long as the marginal cost remains lower than their profit margin. Still, the campaign generates maximum total profit when the marginal effective revenue share (ERSm) reaches a certain threshold.

Accepting the Reality of PPC Advertising

The laws of economics and the free market dictate that businesses must provide a significant portion of their sales margin to platforms like Google, Meta, and others before considering fixed costs.

To navigate this challenging environment, it is essential to understand how the system works to create realistic expansion plans and avoid disappointments.

You might also like: Google Offers Tips for SEO Success and Other Small Business Tech Updates This Week.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the law of diminishing returns and other economic principles play a significant role in shaping the landscape of PPC campaigns. To succeed in this competitive environment, it is crucial to understand these concepts and adjust your strategies accordingly.

By setting realistic expectations, optimizing your investments, and continuously monitoring your campaign performance, you can navigate the complexities of PPC advertising and drive sustainable growth for your business.

Remember, knowledge is power, and leveraging these insights will equip you with the tools essential to thrive in digital marketing.

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Enhance your SEO strategy by focusing on trust-building tactics that benefit both searchers and search engines.

Trust in SEO is often overlooked, yet it is a crucial factor in successful marketing strategies. This article will dig into the importance of trust in SEO and provide tips to effectively incorporate trust-building into your approach.

The Importance of Trust in SEO

Lost trust can result in lost customers.
Google emphasizes trust in its algorithms and guidelines.

Tips for Building Trust in Your Website

Choose a trustworthy URL and branding
Ensure clean and user-friendly UX
Provide valuable content that showcases expertise and offers advice
Showcase real people behind your brand
Display ads in moderation and with transparency
Implement security and safety measures

The Role of SEO Practitioners in Trust-Building

Coordinating efforts across departments (UX, content, dev team)
Identifying and addressing potential trust issues

Overlooked Value of Trust in SEO

Bad user experience can damage trust
Losing trust can mean losing customers forever
Google’s focus on trust in algorithms and guidelines (E-A-T, QRG)

Tips for Creating a Trustworthy Website

A. URL, Branding, and Structure

Choose short, simple, and conventional URLs
Opt for “.com” TLD
Avoid hyphenated exact-match domains

B. User Experience: (UX) Simple navigation and clean site structure

Breadcrumb navigation to aid users
Incorporate white space for readability
Ensure all links are functional

C. Content: Offer valuable content for free

Showcase expertise through content
Provide helpful advice

D. Ads: Display ads in moderation – Place ads above the fold sparingly

Clearly label and separate ads from content
Disclose affiliations and conflicts of interest

E. Real People: Behind the Brand

About us page with team information
Author bios for content
Use real team photos, not stock images
Share unique, subjective perspectives

F. Security and Safety Measures

Implement SSL encryption
Use trust symbols (badges, reviews, testimonials)
Maintain a clear and accessible privacy policy
Limit or eliminate tracking.

SEO Practitioners’ Role in Establishing Trust

Coordinating trust-building efforts across departments
Identifying and addressing potential trust issues
Prioritizing content creation for informational purposes

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, establishing trust is crucial to a successful SEO strategy. While various teams, including design, content, and development, contribute to building trust, it is the responsibility of the SEO professional to coordinate these efforts and ensure the overall strategy effectively creates trust.

By prioritizing trust-building through elements such as content, UX, branding, security, and human connection, businesses can foster long-lasting relationships with customers, improve their search rankings, and ultimately increase revenue.

Trust should be considered and considered; it is a core competency for SEO practitioners and a critical component of a website’s success.

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Goals give your content marketing direction and purpose, transforming your content into a valuable tool for your business. To effectively grow your brand through content marketing, setting specific goals for your content strategy is essential.

This article will discuss eight essential content strategy goals you should consider.

Nurturing Content Strategy Goals

These goals focus on building trust, educating your audience, and fostering relationships to drive profitable action.

1. Building Trust With Your Audience

An engaged audience is more likely to convert based on trust. Building trust is a gradual process that requires proving your expertise, understanding your audience’s needs, and providing valuable information. To measure progress towards this goal, monitor the quality of your content, customer feedback, and survey results.

2. Educating Your Audience

Providing valuable, educational content is crucial for building trust. When creating content, ensure it is helpful, fulfills search intent, covers the topic comprehensively, and offers unique insights. Avoid poorly written, rushed, or unsatisfying content that doesn’t help you achieve your goals.

3. Building Relationships and Rapport

Building relationships and rapport with your audience involves being transparent and responsive and demonstrating your brand’s trustworthiness through consistent, high-quality content.

Ask These Four Questions When Content Doesn’t Convert.

Action-Oriented Content Strategy Goals

These goals focus on long-term growth, such as increasing traffic, generating leads, and driving sales.

4. Growing Traffic

To grow traffic through content marketing and SEO, understand your audience’s needs, research relevant keywords, and create valuable, well-optimized content.

5. Increasing Leads

Focus on building an active list of email subscribers to capture traffic and turn visitors into potential customers. Include CTAs in your content, and create lead magnets to encourage sign-ups.

6. Increasing Sales

Content marketing can help increase sales both directly and indirectly. Targeting the right combination of keywords, pain point, and solutions can result in direct sales, while consistently providing valuable content can gradually convince your audience to purchase from you.

7. Retaining Customers

To retain customers, create content that addresses their needs even after they’ve made a purchase. Consider creating user guides, knowledge bases, or FAQ pages to provide ongoing support.

8. Inspiring Brand Loyalty

Surprise and delight your customers to increase brand loyalty. Showcase customer stories, create fun content, share user-generated content, and offer special discounts or rewards to your subscribers.

Choosing Your Content Strategy Goals

In conclusion, setting well-defined content strategy goals is crucial for the success of your content marketing efforts. By focusing on nurturing goals like building trust, educating your audience, and fostering relationships, you can create a solid foundation for driving profitable action. Simultaneously, action-oriented goals such as growing traffic, increasing leads, retaining customers, and inspiring brand loyalty will help propel your business toward long-term growth.

Remember to choose goals that align with your business’s specific needs and objectives, and regularly assess your progress to ensure you’re on the right track. With the right goals, your content strategy can become a powerful tool for growing your brand and achieving lasting success.

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What’s Your SEO Score?

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Choosing the right SEO agency to work with can take time and effort, mainly if you operate a SaaS business. There are thousands of SEO agencies to choose from, and even drawing up a short list might be a challenge at first. Even selecting a short list of prospective agencies might be impossible at first. This article will help you find the right SEO agency for your SaaS company.

Some generalist SEO agencies provide services for various clients, and specialists assist with specific SEO phases such as technical SEO. Companies that offer audits and SEO strategy documents are familiar, but they leave the actual SEO work to in-house SEO professionals.

Finding an agency is a process I recommend following these two rules of thumb:

1. Rather than working with a generalist agency, work with a specialist agency. Working with a generalist agency has some significant advantages, but the right specialist agency partner can provide the exact and several additional advantages (more on later).

2. Choose an agency specializing in your sector, preferably a specific part of the SEO strategy. For instance, if you operate an e-commerce platform, work with an e-commerce specialist SEO agency.

Should You Work With a SaaS SEO Agency Or One That Specializes In Just One SEO Area?

It takes work to get your company’s website to the top of highly competitive search outcomes. I liken keeping an SEO campaign to driving a race car: The website must be tuned precisely (like an engine) and powered by high-authority links (like fuel), as well as content that gives excellent traction (like high-performance tires).

Choosing an agency that specializes in just one of these areas (many do) may produce a speedy website, lots of links, or excellent content. Working with a specialist agency will only guarantee top-level outcomes for some of what you need to rise to the top of search results.

Specialists naturally believe that their field is the most significant, and they downplay everything else. In other words, a hammer sees everything as a nail. This is beneficial and it is crucial. However, it is only some things. An unspecialized agency is more conceivable to be objective and guarantee that nothing is overemphasized or overlooked.

It's Usually a Good Idea to Hire a SaaS Specialist SEO Agency. Here's Why.

1. Choosing an agency that specializes in just one of these areas (many do) may produce a speedy website, lots of links, or excellent content. Working with a specialist agency will only guarantee top-level outcomes for some of what you need to rise to the top of search results.

2. Specialists naturally believe that their field is the most significant, and they downplay everything else. In other words, a hammer sees everything as a nail. This is beneficial and it is crucial. However, it is only some things. An unspecialized agency is more conceivable to be objective and guarantee that nothing is overemphasized or overlooked.

Finding the Right SaaS Specialist Agency Is Easy If You Follow These Tips.

Despite this question, how can you guarantee that a SaaS specialist agency will live up to its promises? I recommend working with a SaaS specialist agency, as the sector is very competitive. Here are four things to watch out for:

1. Before signing on with an agency, ensure it has case studies and testimonials from SaaS businesses on its website. If an agency says it is a SaaS SEO expert but does not have these, that is a huge warning sign.

2. Afterward, you should request to see samples of their work, especially their SEO content briefs and link acquisitions. If the content briefs are very plain and include only a list of keywords, this is an evident sign that this firm won’t be able to finish SaaS SEO. If the links come from low-authority websites or those that aren’t highly associated with their customer’s SaaS business, you should move on.

3. Ask the agency whether they practice excellent SEO on their website. Is SaaS SEO a narrow niche that a specialist agency should be able to rank for a few relevant keywords? If they do not, request them for a compelling justification why not.

4. Ask about their content partnerships in addition. Specifically, inquire whether they have a record of well-established content partnerships that might produce quick results (hence known as a ‘little black book’). The agency should have a list of long-standing and reliable content partners to whom they can turn to publish new content immediately should they want to. This is particularly critical if you want to witness your campaign’s results as soon as possible.

When Choosing an SEO Company, keep These Guidelines In Mind.

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What’s Your SEO Score?

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If you are the victim of a negative SEO campaign, John Mueller of Google gives you pointers on how to handle it.

Someone believes they are the target of a negative SEO campaign and is seeking assistance. He responds when someone asks Google Search Advocate John Mueller how to handle negative SEO attacks, such as rivals building spammy links to his domain. This is the issue that Mueller addresses in the r/SEO forum.

Ignore the problem, Mueller says. Here is his complete answer:

“I’d disregard them.”

“Consider it this way. If your rivals are competent, they won’t build links for you. The links won’t contain any effect if your competitors are incompetent.”

According to Mueller, a competitor competent enough to build links probably wouldn’t waste their time with negative SEO attacks. Why would someone build links to a competitor’s site? That is Mueller’s response, which is direct and to the point.

Google ignores numerous links, such as low-quality links that a malicious actor may create in large quantities to harm a competitor’s rankings. Website owners and SEOs, therefore, should not be concerned about such assaults, as Google will not count the links against a site’s rankings.

Although negative SEO has been a topic of discussion for years, Google’s position on the subject is worth reviewing again. With so many search updates released in recent years, it is worth revisiting Google’s approach to this matter.

That tool is designed to help you recover from manual penalty actions. According to Mueller’s advice in the Reddit thread, using the disavow tool is consistent with his previous advice. Furthermore, he has previously stated that you should take your time disavowing spammy links if you are worried about negative SEO. Google ignores blatantly spammy links, so there is no need to disavow them.

According to voting on Twitter earlier this year, most SEO professionals don’t utilize the disavow tool on spammy links. There is a lot of confidence in Google’s capability to handle them automatically. However, there is no harm in using the disavow tool if it makes you feel more comfortable.

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What’s Your SEO Score?

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The Google team has released new guidelines for Core Web Vitals that are both practical for most developers and relevant to most websites.

Highlights

Core Web Vitals comprise three key metrics: loading time, interactivity, and visual stability.
The Google Chrome team has spent a year determining the essential advice for improving these metrics.
The recommendations provided by the team should be prioritized when time constraints are present.

Google is releasing an updated set of guidelines for optimizing Core Web Vitals, which can assist in determining priorities when time is limited. The company has consistently recommended enhancing Core Web Vitals scores over time. These metrics, which include loading time, interactivity, and visual stability, are considered crucial for delivering a positive user experience and are used by Google in its search engine rankings.

Google acknowledges that while all of its recommendations for improving Core Web Vitals are valuable, it is unrealistic to expect that every single one can be implemented. It can be difficult for those with limited experience in website optimization to determine which changes will have the most significant impact. The revised list of recommendations provided by Google can serve as a starting point for those with limited time to focus on enhancing Core Web Vitals.

In a recent blog post, the Google Chrome team announced that they had spent a year researching and identifying the most crucial advice for improving Core Web Vitals. The result is a list of practical recommendations for most developers that are relevant to most websites and have a significant real-world impact. The team advises referring to these recommendations to optimize Core Web Vitals.

Improving Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

The Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) metric estimates the duration required for the primary content of a webpage to become visible to users. According to Google, only approximately half of all websites meet the recommended LCP threshold. To address this, Google has provided top recommendations for enhancing LCP scores.

Ensure That The Resource for LCP Is Easily Located Within The HTML Source Code

As reported in the 2022 Web Almanac by HTTP Archive, most mobile webpages (72%) have an image as the primary content. To optimize LCP scores, websites need to ensure that images load quickly. If a page waits for CSS or JavaScript files to be fully processed, downloaded, and parsed before the image can start loading, it may not be possible to meet Google’s LCP threshold. To avoid this, it is recommended to have the LCP element’s image URL easily discoverable from the HTML source code as a general rule.

Ensure That The LCP Resource Is Given Priority

In addition to including the LCP resource in the HTML code, it is important to prioritize it and not delay its loading behind other non-critical resources. To achieve this, it is essential to place the <img> tag for the LCP resource as high as possible in the HTML code, ideally above any <script> tags in the <head> section. Google recommends this approach to ensure optimal performance.

Additionally, it is important to avoid any actions that could lower the priority of the LCP image, such as adding the loading= “lazy” attribute or using image optimization tools that apply lazy loading to all images. It is necessary to be mindful when using such tools and ensure that they do not negatively impact the loading of the LCP resource.

Implementing a Content Delivery Network (CDN) can help decrease Time To First Bite (TTFB)

The Time to First Byte (TTFB) measures the time it takes for a browser to obtain the first byte of the initial HTML document response. The faster this occurs, the sooner other processes, such as loading resources, can begin. Minimizing TTFB is crucial for providing a seamless user experience.

One effective way to decrease TTFB is to serve your content from a location that is geographically close to your users. Additionally, caching for frequently requested content can also aid in reducing TTFB.

Google recommends using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) as the best way to achieve both goals. A CDN allows you to distribute your content across multiple servers in different locations, making it easier to deliver content to users quickly and efficiently. CDNs often include caching functionality that can improve performance and reduce TTFB.

Optimizing Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is a metric that measures the stability of the visual layout of a website. Google reports that approximately 25% of websites need to meet the recommended standard for this metric.

To improve CLS, Google suggests the following best practices:

Define Explicit Dimensions for the Content on the Page –

Layout shifts can occur when the position of content on a website changes after it has finished loading, which can negatively impact the user experience. To stop this from occurring, it is necessary to reserve space as much as possible for the content in advance. One common cause of layout shifts is un-sized images. To address this, it is essential to explicitly set the width and height attributes or equivalent CSS properties for images.

It is important to note that images are not the only factor that can cause layout shifts on web pages. Other types of content, such as third-party ads or embedded videos that load later, can also contribute to Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Therefore, it is essential to consider all types of content on the webpage when working to improve CLS.

One effective solution to addressing un-sized images and other elements that cause layout shifts is utilizing CSS’s aspect-ratio property. This relatively new property enables developers to set an aspect ratio for images and non-image elements.

By providing this information, the browser can automatically calculate the appropriate height based on the width, identical to how it does for images with specified dimensions. This allows for a more stable layout, as the browser can reserve space in advance for the content, reducing the likelihood of layout shifts. This approach can be particularly useful for responsive design, where the layout of a webpage may change based on the screen size.

Make Sure Your Pages Are Eligible for Bfcache –

Browsers keep a memory snapshot of pages used to speed up page loading by instantly retrieving them from the back/forward cache. This feature eliminates layout shifts during page load. You can check whether your pages are eligible for bfcache using Chrome Developer Tools and correct any reasons why they are not if they are not.

Avoid Transitions/Animations –

Significantly altering the layout of a website through animation is a frequent cause of layout changes. In addition to sliding cookies down or cookies up, other notification banners might also move down or up. Even when they do not, these banners can still impact customer satisfaction. Google claims that pages that animate any CSS property that could impact layout are 15% less probable to have “good” customer satisfaction. To mitigate this, the best approach is to avoid animating or transitioning any CSS property that needs the browser to update the layout unless it is in response to user input, such as a tap or key press.

For best results, use the CSS transform property for animations and transitions.

Optimizing First Input Delay (FID) –

The First Input Delay (FID) measures how fast a website responds to user actions. Google thinks most websites perform well in this area, but Google wants to improve things. The Interaction to Next Paint (INP) metric, which replaces FID and the recommendations below are relevant to both FID and INP, is a potential alternative.

Bypass Or Break Up Long Tasks –

Tasks include rendering, laying out, parsing, compiling, and executing scripts. When tasks take longer than 50 milliseconds, they block the main thread and make it difficult for the browser to respond quickly to user inputs. To prevent this, it’s important to break up long tasks into smaller tasks so that the main thread can process critical user-visible work more frequently. Rendering updates and other user interactions can happen more quickly this way. You may improve the responsiveness of the main thread by yielding to it frequently, thereby allowing rendering updates and other user interactions to occur more quickly.

Avoid Excessive JavaScript –

A website loaded with JavaScript might suffer from slowed-down performance as tasks compete for the main thread’s attention. Reducing the size of resources required during loading will ensure a more seamless user experience by avoiding the website’s parse and compile code processes. To find and remove unnecessary code from your website’s resources, you can use the coverage tool in Chrome Developer Tools.

Make Small Rendering Updates Infrequently –

When dealing with a JavaScript-heavy website, rendering can slow down the user experience and block necessary data from arriving. Rendering optimization, however, can take time and effort to achieve. There are several ways to make rendering updates manageable and not turn into long chores.

Google recommends the following:

Don’t run non-visual tasks using requestAnimationFrame()
Keep your DOM size small.
Use CSS containment.

In Conclusion

Getting ranked well in Google search results and providing a positive user experience is crucial to the success of a website. This list addresses the needs most commonly seen by website administrators, and it can have a substantial impact.

By implementing techniques such as utilizing a CDN to decrease TTFB, specifying dimensions for on-page elements to enhance CLS, enabling bfcache, and minimizing unnecessary JavaScript and animations/transitions for FID, you can optimize your website and make the most efficient use of your time.

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What’s Your SEO Score?

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