Category: SEO

This is a guest post written by Raunak Pandey.

Since the end of October 2019, the term “BERT” designates a new update from Google. On its blog, the undisputed leader of search engines, Google, described this update as “one of the greatest advances in the history of search”. Currently, one in 10 requests made in English in the United States is affected by this change in algorithm.

Since the BERT update, many crazy stories circulate on the net about its effects. But what is the real effect of BERT on search engine rankings? And what should website managers and operators do to optimize their content?

Here we have collected the most important information on the subject.

What does the BERT update mean?

BERT, Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, is the method used by Google for natural language processing. Simply put, BERT is an application of artificial intelligence. It is about teaching computers to understand and properly process information from natural language.

Long live the context

With this technology, Google can now better understand queries. BERT, in particular, allows the search engine to better understand the meaning of certain words by relating them to contextual terms and keywords. This applies, for example, to prepositions in requests. Thanks to BERT, Google now recognizes even better the exact context, even for the most complex queries, instead of just looking at individual words. The results obtained are therefore more targeted.

With this change in algorithm, Google is arming itself, among other things, to deal with the growing number of voice search requests. No question that they are growing. Market research company ComScore predicted that in 2020, at least half of all queries would be voice searches. Voice search differs from text search. Voice searches are often done in natural language, for example in the form of ‘Q’ questions or whole sentences. In addition, voice searches are generally much longer than conventional text searches.

The algorithm change was implemented during the week of October 21, 2019. A timetable for international deployment is still pending. According to Google, the BERT algorithm is already partially used in certain European countries, such as Germany or France.

Which search queries are affected by the BERT update?

BERT concerns above all the long-tail queries, the most complex, that is to say, queries consisting of several keywords. Concretely, it is above all a question of better evaluating the prepositions. Some SEO expert, explains: “Google, how much does a flight from Berlin to Rome cost? The search engine will be able to answer these questions better in the future, because understanding the words “from” and “to” will clearly show that it is precisely the direction of the flight that is at stake. In the past, such an understanding request was not possible.”

What are the consequences of the BERT update on SEO?

Many people wonder what are the consequences of BERT on SEO and how they can take into account the update to improve their website. The impact of the update had already been discussed in advance in various articles.

There has been particularly frequent discussion about how website operators should optimize their pages for long-tail queries, following the introduction of BERT.

Downgrades due to BERT? Unlikely!

Uncertainty about the update became even greater when an editor of the famous New York Times reported ranking losses on Twitter soon after the launch of BERT in the United States.

But according to John Mueller, an analyst at Google and webmaster of Google Trends, it is extremely unlikely that BERT is involved. Instead, Google said it made some basic updates soon after, which could be the reason for the new ranking. The expert recommends focusing on high-quality content rather than the technical aspects – and ignoring BERT in the optimization strategy.

Raunak Pandey, the co-founder of Maiden Stride, says, “BERT has no influence on the best possible strategies that have been recommended for years regarding Google. The update should have a rather weak impact on the visibility indices, but a positive impact on the qualified traffic.”

Some SEO experts said: “This update has nothing to do with indexing and understanding content – it should advance the interpretation of search queries. This is why you cannot immediately implement optimization measures.”

One thing is certain: with BERT, Google can better understand user queries and obtain more relevant results. With the update, the machine connects the user’s intention better than before with the content that is already available on the websites.

According to the unanimous opinion of experts, it is not really possible to optimize for BERT. Instead, the usual optimization methods continue to pay off. They focus on high-quality content. It is particularly important that this content is adapted to the expectations of the user.

Let’s clear up some of the myths circulating about BERT.

How to design good content with BERT in mind?

Danny Sullivan, an American Google employee, wrote on Twitter: “There is nothing to optimize with BERT and nothing to rethink for anyone. Our desire to reward qualitative content remains unchanged. This point is confirmed by other experts: “The emphasis should continue to be on high-quality texts. ”

To prepare for BERT, it suffices to remember the main characteristics of high-quality texts – and to pay attention to them. For example:

• interesting and unique content
• comprehensive treatment of the subject
• the use of simple and unambiguous formulations
• good structure
• good formatting
• of a correct language

Easily understandable information should also be an advantage with regard to BERT. In this context, you should not hesitate to consult the Google FAQ.

Website operators and SEO specialists, therefore, need not fear negative effects from BERT. At least, if they continue to focus on good content that takes into account the expectations of the user. Before planning your content, you should pay attention to the ‘Q’ questions and answer them as best as you can – whether on the website, in the blog or in the FAQ.

Natural language remains complex

The complexity of human language remains a challenge, even for search engines. But with BERT, Google has taken a big step in the right direction, with smart assistants like Alexa or the Apple Home Pod. The user can now rely on research formulated in natural language.

What are your thoughts on BERT?

 

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Author Bio:

Raunak is a Mechanical Engineer by qualification & Marketer by passion. He is the co-founder of Maiden Stride, a leading digital marketing company that provides world-class search engine marketing services and website & application development.

 

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This is a guest post written by Sydney Tierney.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a trending topic over the last few years. With those waiting anxiously to see how the future is planned out, and others riding the wave of excitement, trying to get their hands on the developing process.

However, there has been a huge amount of speculation on the development of AI and deep learning; and how it is going to affect the behavior of search engines in the future. In the past, the way in which search performed was rather unsophisticated. Yet now, the algorithms have evolved to aid those who use search and work alongside it within a business.

Although, many may not know how much AI in search has changed the way it works, and how it can benefit businesses all over, aiding in their productivity rates.

So, in order to ensure everyone is entirely up to date on this development effort, we will be discussing just how artificial intelligence has affected search…And why the change has created so many benefits for those who use it.

What Is AI and Machine Learning?

To start, artificial intelligence, alongside machine learning, are the aspects that will change the way in which search works.

Machine learning is a process in which humans will give the computer a string of data to analyze giving the result it needs to reach after it. This way, the machine will take time to work out the best possible process to take, to have the most successful outcome to offer the human. And through this, the machine can either work alongside a real-life source (a person) or by itself.

These are the two components that have worked together in order to offer the development of search and has affected it greatly.

What Is AI Search?

So, now is the best time to discuss just how these components have developed AI in search and the extensive future that it may reach. With technology moving so fast, it is only the knowledge of the companies themselves holding the intelligence back from working to its fullest potential.

We all use search tools, almost every day. Google experiences 40,000 searches every second.

From a search, we expect to find results in web pages that offer us the information we need, ready to consume. Yet in some cases, we may find ourselves extending the search to page two or three of the Google platform, which realistically is inefficient. From here, one may decide to change their search or click onto a website that was no help at all, and bounceback to somewhere different.

These kinds of actions are what causes the search issues. While the evidence possessed that suggests the algorithm needs to be changed, in order to make the task easier for those who use it.

So, how has it reached features within the search?

The Traditional Google Search

One of the biggest changes in search is the way in which it has improved when giving its’ results to the users. To focus on Google in particular; the engineers have been working constantly to develop a particular algorithm for search, to offer users the best results it possibly can.

The main issue faced with this process was the scale in which the engineers had to work. For example, there is a suggested 60 trillion web pages that make up the layers of Google search results. These had to be worked into a format that would allow each to be suggested when called for with efficiency and relevance.

Because of the clear extensiveness of this task, machine learning quickly came into play in order to aid the engineers in completing this. The intelligence works to analyze Google search trends to test whether the customer has received a resourceful result. If they hadn’t, then machine learning works to better the search results produced from the keywords placed into the search. And, if the results were positive, they would stay the same.

The continuous testing and adapting to the results provided has allowed machine learning to offer real and relevant resources to the users. Therefore making the Google search process much more satisfactory.

Image Search

In the past, those who use images within their Google webpages would have to build them in a specific way. Then, Google can see them. This process was called optimizing the images. Those who work within SEO would add keyword filtered names and alt text labels, in order to make them visible.

However, with the development of machine learning, Google can now see the images without all of the professional set-ups. With the development of AI in search algorithms, computers are quickly learning how they can analyze a page with images to the point where they are made visible. The features taken into consideration are the shapes, color scheme and even gradient of the image.

Although, within the development of AI in search, this has been one of the hardest tasks for engineers to overcome. It began with a set of training data being given to the machine learning systems. These were asked to analyze and identify where the ‘cats’ in the image were shown. It began by producing wrong answers, with nothing being correct for a long time.

So instead, the machine decided to focus on reduction. Anything that was wrong was stored in memory, abling the machine to know where to go next. This led to the point of it producing the right answer, and confidently being able to show where a cat is in a picture.

By developing this, it has made image search possible again. With Google having a far better understanding of the photos that make up a webpage, allowing them to be searched for with success.

Google Translate

One stereotype labelled against Google translate was its inability to provide the user with correct answers. Those who used it to cheat on homework or tests were quickly found out. This is because the results given were grammatically incorrect, had confusing context, or really just translated something entirely irrelevant.

Because of this, it was imperative that the engineers developed the machine learning to be more refined and produce completely correct answers. This was with the hopes that people would begin using it consistently again.

By utilizing the machine learning; Google translate now has the ability to analyze what is being asked, and can translate it with complete coherence. This way, the context that would be used within that native language; rather than just translating a sentence word for word when it likely won’t make sense.

The natural translation has allowed Google search to be used widely again, with those knowing they will receive correct terminology and appropriate grammar.

Google Paid Search

The next amazing innovation that has been created after the development of machine learning is working with Google Adwords.

It is being used to analyze a wide amount of data taken from those who use Google search. This is done in order to offer them adverts that match the sort of keywords they are searching. This will then will benefit both the user and the company advertising.

By doing this, there is a clear increase in those who are purchasing items, due to the adverts being tailored to the products they are looking for. This aids in the productivity of a company and helping them grow in popularity.

The power of machine learning in search helps to better analyze the user’s purchase intent. By focusing on the final point a user will hit just before they buy something; the machine can develop the release of adverts at this point. This will work to persuade the user further into buying said product, or those that will be interesting to them. This allows a company to receive many benefits from a simple Google ad, especially now with the further intellect of Google aiding in its popularity.

Voice Search

Voice search has been an element developed that has exploded within machine learning and artificial intelligence within search. From starting on phones offering the ‘Siri’ assistants to any iPhone user. To now developing devices such as; ‘Alexa’ or ‘Google Home’ that aid those within the comfort of their living room; to complete tasks from booking a taxi to finding out a chicken stock recipe.

Despite this, it didn’t all begin with this simplicity. The voice automated search began with a rather disappointing makeup. It didn’t respond to questions with relevant answers, but simple confusion, giving the user only the feeling of frustration.

The issue stemmed from the voice search not being able to configure various accents. This showed the engineers that a change needs to be made. Then it can get to a wider audience using these life-changing devices.

From here, the voice search algorithm had to be constantly updated and trained. This was until the best set up was found in order for it to work most satisfactory for the users, and to better understand voice searches. This was all completed by those at Google speech team. They were able to adjust the machine learning to produce the brilliantly intellectual devices we use every day; to make calls, set appointments and buy products.

Summary

The process of artificial intelligence in search is being quickly developed every day. With engineers working countless hours to increase the development of machine learning; there is a sure future to search being benefitted even further; alongside other elements on the online community.

With the AI search results, translate, images and adverts already changing with the development of machine learning; there is no way to now much further this intelligence can go. Focusing changes within Google search was one of the best ideas, due to it being a platform used every day by a variety of people, all looking for something different.

Not only does this make the work for the engineers harder, but it also makes it far more worth it. This is because it is benefitting a large number of people to receive relevant and satisfactory search results. Then, increasing those who use the extension platforms more and more, such as translate, imagery and adverts.

Author Bio:

 

Sydney Tierney just recently finished her studies and is working her way into the world of content writing as a digital marketing assistant. 

 

 

What are your thoughts on artificial intelligence and search?

This is a guest post written by Raul Harman

B2B marketers often say that the SEO landscape is overly competitive and, as such, not profitable enough for them.

However, this only means that they’re not approaching their SEO strategy properly. Statistics say that 70% of B2B searchers start their buying process with a generic search.

As the number of B2B businesses investing in SEO is growing, some tactics that worked 10 years ago don’t make sense now. For example, if you’re still relying on building spammy links or keyword stuffing, it’s not surprising at all that you’re not satisfied with the results of your campaigns. For any successful B2B, their audiences are central figures. Therefore, you should find an effective way to learn more about your customers, attract them to their site, and turn them into profitable leads.

Here are a few simple steps to take.

Focus on User-Oriented Keyword Research

No matter if you’ve just launched a B2B website or you’re revamping an existing one, keyword research is the pillar of your SEO strategy. When targeting keywords, it’s important to know how the approach to keywords has changed. In the past, you would use Google’s Keyword Planner to find the phrases with the highest search volume and create multiple pieces of content that target similar keywords. Google now understands how keywords are connected. This means that it’s enough to create one thorough piece of content to target similar keywords, like:

• Email marketing tools
• Tools for email marketing
• Email marketing automation

Listen to your Customers

Before you invest in a keyword research tool, start with a brainstorming process. Take some time to sit down and write the phrases that describe your business, products, and services. You could even talk to your customers and collect their feedback. Social media listening, niche forums, and Q&A sites like Reddit and Quora are also invaluable sources of potential keywords.

Use the Basic Google Search

The Big G has numerous fascinating features that will give you insights into your customers’ browsing habits and provide multiple keyword ideas.

You could take advantage of the Autocomplete feature. Type your seed keyword into the search box and Google will offer relevant suggestions. For example, if you enter “email marketing tools,” you will get keywords like “best email marketing tools,” “free email marketing tools,” “email automation software,” etc.

The People Also ask snippet is a treasure trove of user-oriented keywords. It shows real-life questions your customers ask. This is a key to understanding search intent and tailoring your keyword research to your customers’ needs.

Finally, use Searches Related To that is placed at the bottom of the SERPs. For example, if you google “email marketing,” you will get recommendations like “how to do email marketing,” “email marketing software,” “email marketing strategy,” etc.

Analyze Search Intent on Answer The Public

Answer The Public tells you what questions your customers ask. Enter your keyword and click “Get Questions.” In addition to the visual representation of keywords, there is also the “Data” section, where your keywords are classified into three categories – question-based questions, related topics, and long-tail phrases.

Use Keyword Research Tools

Finally, there are many specialized keyword research tools you could use, including Moz, Ahrefs, Majestic, Serpstat, or SEMrush. They will provide you with a deeper insight into your keywords and let you make data-centered keyword decisions.

Focus on Search Intent

If you want to rank higher and generate more qualified leads, you also need to understand the intent behind their searches. For starters, google your seed keyword and try to understand what kind of content relates to it. If you see that there are lots of “how-to guides,” it’s logical that users google this keyword when wanting to learn something and not to make a purchase. On the other hand, if you notice that your keyword is used by a plentitude of product pages, this means that its intent is commercial.

You should use this kind of research to develop a map of your content and decide what kind of keywords may work for your posts. For example, you could use informational keywords when optimizing blog articles, case studies, infographics and commercial keywords with product pages. This is how you will guide the right leads to the right pages, increasing user engagement and conversion rates.

Produce Valuable and Engaging Content

In the B2B industry, high-quality content is immensely important. It gives you a unique opportunity to set yourself apart from your competitors and position yourself as a respected and authoritative online resource.

For starters, create relevant content on your blog. According to the recent guide to content marketing by Four Dots, there are three pillars of successful content – authority, trustworthiness, and expertise. Here is how to achieve them:

• Optimize for highly competitive keyword phrases. When combined with awesome content, on-page optimization, and internal links, popular keywords will send strong signals to search engines and help you rank higher.
• Use fresh and relevant data. Support your content with valuable research and statistics to increase its credibility.
• Interview industry leaders to boost your blog’s value. You could also reach out to them and ask them to promote the interview once it’s live. That’s a great way to boost your reach, gain users’ trust and, above all, generate a bunch of leads.

Finally, you should promote your content widely. There are numerous ways to do so. For starters, you could start by building a strong social media presence. Use social media management tools like Buffer or Hootsuite to curate and share your content automatically. You could also build your online community on social networks. Listen to your customers, track their questions, and share links to your website content as a valuable source of information (of course, if it really makes sense).

Links are also an effective way to give your content greater visibility. Identify credible blogs in your niche, reach out to them, and write quality and fresh content for their site. This is an amazing way to link back to your blog guide or article as an additional information source.

Create Targeted Lead Magnets

Once you start publishing quality content and analyzing it, you will notice that certain topics drive enormous traffic to your site, but don’t result in purchases. This is the type of content that lets you generate more leads. The goal of creating informative content is to encourage visitors to subscribe to your newsletter list, as well as to build relationships with them and turn them into loyal followers.

For starters, you need to experiment with the types of content. Articles are the traditional content form, but they’re usually not enough to keep users engaged in the long-term. For example, you could start by creating exclusive, downloadable content pieces, such as whitepapers, ebooks, templates, case studies, or checklists. The idea is to entice a reader to share their email addresses with you to download a content piece. Interactive content such as quizzes, calculators or assessments usually perform better in gaining and keeping readers’ attention. In just a few questions you can assess and provide the lead with only highly relevant content and you simultaneously qualify the lead. Free webinars are also a strong lead magnet. Apart from letting you generate more leads, this kind of content will also increase your link earning efforts. Namely, valuable content that stands out earns numerous natural shares, mentions, and backlinks from credible industry players.

ABM, or account-based marketing, is also gaining momentum in the B2B industry. This is a highly personalized form of marketing that flips the traditional customer funnel. Namely, when using ABM, you start with a lengthy list of potential B2B buyers, identify the most relevant prospects, and go after them. This way, you can start nurturing relevant leads by providing them with highly targeted content and gradually leading them towards converting.

Sure, keep in mind that email campaigns are not the only way to generate leads and engage audiences. Some companies have even decided to eliminate all lead forms and make all of their content available. Instead of lead forms, they focus on more user-friendly lead generation options, such as chatbots.

Over to You

Although SEO has become extremely challenging and competitive over the past few years, it is still a powerful way to increase user experiences, boost your B2B site’s exposure, attract traffic, and generate high-quality leads. And, this is where these tips may help.

First, you should learn about your audiences and align your keyword optimization tactics with their search intent.

Then, produce killer content that educates a reader, informs them, and helps them solve specific problems.

Finally, create lead magnets – high-quality, downloadable content that asks customers for email addresses.

The benefits of this approach to B2B SEO is simple – it is highly user-centric and focuses on making your customers happy. The goal is to get to know your audiences and then adapt your SEO efforts to their needs and expectations.

Author Bio:

My name is Raul and I am editor in chief at Technivorz blog. I have a lot to say about innovations in all aspects of digital technology and online marketing. Please take a minute to connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

 

 

How do you generate quality B2B leads?

It’s important when running a blog to keep in mind that not every blog post you write will rank well in Google.

I especially see with newer bloggers the disappointment after they write a quality blog post and 2 or so months down the road it’s nowhere to be found in Google search.

This is part of the game of SEO.

Some posts/pages will do better than others….Some will be buried, while others will shoot to the top of Google.

It’s important NOT to get discouraged and instead keep putting out high-quality content.

Just be sure to learn from the blog posts that are actually performing well in the search engines and try to replicate your process with future fresh content.

Although not every blog post you write will be a home run, below are a few strategies to give you the best possible chance of ranking highly in Google.

SEO Strategies for Ranking a Blog Post in Google

To give yourself the best possible chance of ranking your blog content in Google moving forward, here are a few methods to test out for yourself:

1.) Target the Right Keywords

Probably the most common mistake I see beginner bloggers make is targeting keyword phrases that are far too competitive. If you target keywords that are too broad (example, “dog training”) there’s no wonder why you’re not ranking highly in the search results. Instead try to aim for keyword phrases that are longer-tail and a bit less competitive until you build up the authority of your website. By longer-tail I mean phrases that have 2-6 (or even more) words in them (example, “training your dog to stop barking”). Be sure to use keyword research tools to help you identify these types of terms. There are free options available like Ubersuggest and Keywords Everywhere. Don’t get too hung up on monthly search volume metrics when starting out. Instead just get used to gaining some ranking traction with your blog posts (regardless of the amount of search volume).

2.) Create Long-Form Style Content

Google more than ever is looking to rank in-depth and comprehensive content in their search results. They really appreciate when a topic is covered in full and answers all of the questions on a given subject. With that being said, for some of your blog posts, try to make sure they are 1,500 words or longer, using proper headings to help break up the content. Not every blog post has to be long-form style (in fact, I encourage you to mix it up a bit for your readers/Google), but it is important to incorporate detailed blog posts into your overall strategy for better search engine rankings overtime.

3.) Optimize Your SEO Tags

You will want to optimize every blog post with proper SEO tags. The SEO tags to focus on are your Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, Header Tags (H1, H2, H3 etc.) and Image ALT Tags. To read more about these particular tags and how to optimize them, check out my post here. Optimizing these tags really helps build your SEO foundation and lets Google know which keywords you are attempting to rank for. If you are using WordPress, make sure to install Yoast as they make it super easy to optimize your SEO tags.

4.) Optimize Your Content

Similar to your SEO tags, it’s vital that your blog content is also properly optimized with relevant keyword phrases and internal links pointing to other pages of your website. By adding your target keywords into your copy (without keyword stuffing), you are strengthening your keyword relevancy so Google will better understand your content which can result in higher search engine rankings. Now internally linking to other pages/posts can help users navigate your website more effectively and also spread necessary link equity/juice throughout various pages/posts.

5.) Consistency in Content Generation

Now that we know we won’t get all of our blog posts ranked highly in Google, it’s important that we are consistent in our content generation. If you’re consistent in your content strategy, you really give yourself a much better chance to eventually rank for certain keywords and phrases. Creating content on a consistent basis also gives you the opportunity to target many different types of keyword phrases. I recommend at least publishing 1 blog post per week. This equates to 4 or so per month, which is a great starting point. Another underrated benefit of consistent content generation is that it shows Google that your website is relevant, fresh and constantly being updated. This can help improve your search engine rankings overtime as well.

6.) Build Backlinks to Blog Posts

If you want to really increase your chances of ranking highly in the search results for a given blog post, then you should focus on building backlinks to certain blog articles of yours. A great way to do this is through guest posting. Here you would write an article for another website in your niche. Within your content you are generally allowed to add a link pointing back to your website. Try to build backlinks to specific posts or pages you would like to rank highly for. This not only helps build the authority for your overall website but also for the specific blog post/URL you are targeting.

7.) Add Article Schema Markup

Schema markup helps Google better understand what your content is about and can also aid in ranking for rich/featured snippet type results. Adding article schema markup can really give your blog articles a boost and potentially help them rank better. There is a really great plugin for WordPress that will allow you to easily add article markup to every single one of your blog posts, see here. You should also strive to craft your blog posts with header tags, bulleted/numbered lists, answer specific questions etc. to give yourself the best chance for featured snippet type results.

Conclusion

Ranking your blog articles in Google is no easy task. In fact, it takes lots of trial, error and fine tuning overtime. However, if you follow the steps above and keep producing top-notch content, you give yourself a much better chance. As always, be sure to track your progress so you can make educated decisions on how to approach your blog content moving forward. Understanding your data with certain tools such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs etc. can really give you the insight you need for higher search engine rankings in the near future!

What is currently working well for ranking your blog content?

Acquiring high-quality backlinks is still a great way to rank highly on the search engine results pages. Google has confirmed that high-quality backlinks are one of their top three ranking factors. But building backlinks in 2019 can be a bit of a challenge. It’s easy to acquire low-quality links, but those don’t have the same power they once did. In fact, they can even hurt your rankings.

So what are you supposed to do? How can you acquire the types of links Google and other search engines consider to be high quality? Here are five ways to build natural and quality backlinks in 2019.

Create solution pages and informative resources

The most important thing is that you create content that people are going to want to link to. Not many people are going to link to product pages or promotional pages. However, if you solve a related problem on a page or if you create a helpful resource related to your niche, it will be easier to get people to link to that. For example, let’s say you’re trying to build links to a site about weight loss. You can create a page with specific information about eating disorders and contact other sites with resources about eating disorders.

Focus on relationships

Find related sites that are not direct competitors, and build relationships with the people behind those sites. Go to conferences or events. Contact important people within your niche. Follow them on social media and build relationships. Don’t just ask for a link right off the bat. Get to know these people first. Offer them something of value. After you have established a relationship, you can ask them for a link to your site. In many cases, they will be happy to help you out, especially if you have helped them out in some way.

Write a guest blog post

Guest blog post links are still valuable if the site you are writing for is related to your niche. Try Googling “write for us” + your niche to find websites that accept guest blog posts. Make sure your post is well written and well researched. Read the websites’ guidelines and follow them. Don’t just write a promotional post about how great your business, products, or services are, but write a helpful and informative post that is related to your niche. You may find a lot of sites that will accept low-quality posts, but don’t use them. Having a poorly written guest post could hurt your company’s reputation.

Reach out to competitors’ backlinks

There are several SEO tools that will help you to find websites who already link to your competitors. This can be a great place to start when you’re doing outreach in the hopes of building links. If they have a resource page that already links to websites about eating disorders, for example, and you ask them for a link to your resource about eating disorders, it is likely that they will give you a link. There are also a lot of outreach programs like Buzzstream and Pitchbox that will scrape these websites for contact information, which will make it much easier to reach out to them.

Contact link roundup sites

It’s easy to get links on link roundup sites. All you have to do is perform a search like “keyword” + “link roundup” or “keyword” + “weekly roundup” and you will find a lot of sites that meet your requirements. Then all you have to do is find the contact information and reach out to them with suggested content for their next weekly roundup. This will work much better with the informational resource pages that solve a problem the reader is having. Create the kind of content these sites will want to link to.

Even in 2019, high-quality link building is still one of the best tactics for SEO. Your main takeaway from this should be that you want to really focus on creating high-quality and engaging content. It will be much easier to promote your content if it’s informative, entertaining, or solves some type of problem for the reader. Follow the tips above, and you will be building high-quality backlinks in no time.

Author Bio

 

Sara Crawford is a digital content strategist for WT Digital Agency and an author from Atlanta, Georgia. She has written novels, produced her own plays, and performed as a singer/songwriter. She is passionate about the act of creation, and she adores the written word.

 

 

How are you building links in 2019?

Over the years I’ve been increasingly intrigued by which SEO strategies really help the most with improving search engine rankings in Google.

Besides the essential first steps like identifying relevant keyword phrases and optimizing your meta tags, I wanted to provide two specific tips that I’ve seen a lot of success with lately.

The two tactics that we’ll talk about below, combined together, can be incredibly powerful in terms of gaining more traction and improving your search engine rankings in Google.

Again, as stated in many of my previous blog posts, seeing movement in Google and the other major search engines is not an overnight process.

It will indeed take time and consistent effort on your end, but the hard work is worth it.

Ranking your blog articles or webpages highly in Google has the potential to bring in floods of traffic to your website (and quite passively).

For many webmasters, this could mean more exposure, leads, sales and returning customers.

This is why it’s such a competition to get ranked at the top of Google and why studying the process is so fascinating to me…I enjoy the challenge and know the rewards of obtaining high search engine rankings.

With that being said, in this post I’m going to provide you with two powerful methods I’ve been using to rank certain articles at the top of the search results.

How To Improve Search Engine Rankings in Google

Please note that these tips below are just a small part of an overall SEO strategy. They should be used in supplement with additional SEO tactics for the best results.

1.) Create Long-Form Style Content

Creating quality content is more important than ever now and especially because there is so much competition in any given niche. Generally the highest ranked articles in Google are ones that are written with the reader in mind, that help identify and solve problems, answer questions and provide immense value.

Along with quality, what really increases your chances of securing a top position in Google is by producing long-form style content.

When I say long-form, I’m referring to crafting content that is over 1,500 words long for your readers. The reason why Google will rank this type of article higher than an article that is 300 words for example is because there’s a lot more effort involved to create the longer piece. A longer article oftentimes covers a lot more ground as well and allows the writer to really go in depth.

Another benefit about writing longer content is that you have more room for optimizations within your actual copy. There’s additional opportunity to target your main keyword phrases/variations of keywords and also more opportunity to really utilize header tags to your advantage (H1, H2, H3, H4 etc.).

Long-form style content gives Google a lot to “grab a hold of” rather than a page that is super “thin”. Many SEO tools will even “flag” pages on your website that have a low word count and encourage you to add more copy. You need to show Google that you are producing valuable content that indeed took some time to put together.

Now of course not every blog post you write has to be this type of long-form style content. I’m totally guilty of still writing a 500-600 word blog post from time to time. But I would definitely recommend getting into the habit of weaving in these types of articles to your content strategy.

Do this over the long-term and track your progress using a ranking tools such as MOZ or Serpfox. This is just one step that can really improve your search engine rankings overtime.

Now for tip #2!

2.) Build Backlinks to Specific Pages/Posts

Most of us know that building quality links on other authoritative websites is absolutely critical to a successful SEO campaign. But one problem I see often is that too many people build links that point to just their homepage. Now I do recommend acquiring links for your homepage on occasion, but I also would encourage you to build links to individual posts/pages that you want to rank for. This really diversifies your link building strategy and helps pass link equity/juice to a specific page.

Another area I will use this strategy on is for keywords where I’m ranking on page #2 of Google. This tells me that I’m within striking distance and can most likely push to the first page of Google with more quality links built (and to that specific ranking page/post). This is an excellent way to build up page authority and encourage ranking movement in the search results.

Probably the simplest way to master this technique is through guest posting.

For example, I once had a blog post that was hovering between position #11-14 for a couple of months (top of page #2 in Google) and for a really strong keyword. This particular keyword had approximately 1,000 searches per month. I knew if I could get to the first page of Google, even within the first #1-6 positions, I could capture a portion of the organic traffic for that given keyword.

I used the same exact strategy we’re discussing here and over the next few months, I started targeting that page in my guest posting efforts. I would reach out to other relevant websites in my niche and offer to write a guest post for them. Within my article, I placed a link to that specific blog post that had been hovering on page #2 for a while.

Slowly but surely, I built a bunch of quality links to this particular blog post.

Lo and behold, after approximately 6-8 months I started noticing significant improvements in my ranking position for that term and page. I had jumped up to the #5 position on page #1 of Google. Now as of writing this today, I hover anywhere from position #3-6, but this is a noticeable improvement thanks to building links to that specific page.

How do I plan on securing the top spot for this term in Google?

Same exact method laid out above…I’ll continue to build quality links to this page.

One important thing to note about search engine rankings is that you’re not always going to secure the top spot and in some cases you won’t even make it to the first page of Google. That’s just the way it is with SEO.

However, you give yourself a heck of a chance by producing long-form/quality content and also building links to these pages. If you practice this process for long enough, you really should be able to improve your Google rankings quite substantially.

Conclusion:

To close, use the two steps laid out above together for the best results and overall search engine ranking improvements. Produce long-form style content based around certain keyword phrases and then build quality backlinks to those pages. This will show Google that your articles are highly valuable through in-depth writing and also important since other websites are linking back to them. This is a recipe for success if you’re looking to improve your search engine rankings and drive more targeted traffic to your website!

What strategies do you currently use to improve your Google rankings?

Have you had success with any of the tips above?

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Below is the video version of this post:

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