Category: Search Engine Optimization

We’re going to start today’s piece off with a few statistics: One third of mobile searches have local intent – meaning 66% of people searching on smartphones and cell phones are looking to purchase something in their immediate area(one-fifth on PCs).

Fifty percent of those searches lead the user to visit a retail outlet (34% on desktops/laptops/tablets).

Search engine optimization can be quite complicated. This is especially true if you’re new to it. However, it’s not as difficult and technical as some ‘experts’ claim. Still, the learning curve can be fairly steep.

Truthfully, there’s a very good chance. Unless you’re a seasoned expert, you’ve likely made many mistakes optimizing your website.

There was a time not too long ago when link building was one of the most vital components of search engine optimization. The more links a website received, the higher it ranked. As time went on, Google tweaked and updated its link ranking algorithms. Link building became as much about quality as it was about quantity.

It didn’t take long for the SEO community to coin a new term in order to describe the process by which a link valued (or devalued, as it were) a page. Link Juice, as it’s known, became a common phrase in any discussion of Search Engine Optimization. The idea was that whenever a page linked to another, some of that page’s ‘value’ would transfer to the target.

Although it’s certainly more content-oriented now than in the past, its importance to one’s success on the web literally cannot be understated.

If your site isn’t properly optimized, it’s not going to rank. If it doesn’t rank, users don’t find it. And if users don’t find it, well… You probably shouldn’t quit your day job.

Digital shopping is more important than ever. Also, consumers research purchases through many more channels now. Users now look not only to search engines and digital storefronts, but also to social media and promotional emails.

Let’s talk about that.

The internet was new back then. Google wasn’t the huge company it is now. Technical SEO was the most important thing. Content marketing existed, but most SEO experts thought it was optional.

It didn’t matter how good your site was if people couldn’t find it. This meant some techniques were valued most. These included article and directory submissions. Spinning content and keyword stuffing were also important. Optimized meta descriptions were valued above all else.

Like any field with a technical aspect, search engine optimization plays host to a wide range of different misconceptions, half-truths, and falsehoods.  

With digital marketing in particular, this problem is exacerbated by the fluid and rapidly-changing nature of both search and the Internet itself.

What held true last year might not necessarily be valid next year; this year’s tactics could end up obsolete with a single update to Google’s algorithms.

These tall tales – and there are many of them – range in veracity from “somewhat true” to “less grounded than the flat-Earth theory.”

Although Google’s algorithms don’t seem to have much use for meta descriptions anymore, that doesn’t make them any less valuable to you as a content creator.

Often, a meta description is the first thing a user will see of your site; it’s quite literally the first impression you’ll make on your readers. You need make sure it’s well-written.

Otherwise, you’re very likely to miss out on a significant amount of traffic.

If you’ve worked in marketing, you’ve likely seen a lot of jargon. Many industries are the same. This shouldn’t surprise you.

Often, jargon is the best way to simplify complex topics. It makes them easier to explain. For that reason, I’m not entirely against its use, nor do I deny its efficacy given the right circumstances.

The problem with jargon is that when overused – or repeatedly misused – its meaning tends to grow distorted over time. It becomes a buzzword; an empty, meaningless propaganda phrase which is more a sign of laziness than knowledge. While jargon is best used sparingly, buzzwords should be avoided at all costs.

There’s a good chance that you’re going to use images at one point or another, regardless of the website you run or the publication you manage.

We’re a very visual society these days, after all; a few well-placed pictures can drastically improve the look, feel, and readability of a site. Of course, if you fail to properly optimize these images, you’re going to be losing out.