80% of traffic to a website begins with a search query and 60% of clicks (to a site) are generated by the top 3 search results (on the search engine result page). Competition is cutthroat and new platforms are constantly emerging. Extensions are usually linked to what backend technology is …

There are many facets of outbound communications to consider. What’s the first thing you do when you have a question? A good link profile is not just backlinks. Stated another way, backlinks are just one component of the link profile. There is a deeper complexity to the backlink discussion …

Symbols such as $, %, + and * appearing in URLs can make your search listings look less appealing. You can use a range of different tools, including Copyscape and Siteliner , to run a quick check for duplicated content. Over the years many people have tried to game the system by creating content that …

This keyword uses numerous different words and as such can also be known as a search phrase. Any link that you create on your own should be set at “no follow”. The reason for this is that you’re essentially telling Google that the link was created to generate traffic …

Search engines don’t like familiar or generic content. Use your network to your advantage and have your friends LIKE your page on the different social network platforms and link back to your blogs. This helps to drive organic traffic back to your online business. When you architect a website …

Modern commercial search engines rely on the science of information retrieval (IR). This science has existed since the middle of the twentieth century, when retrieval systems powered computers in libraries, research facilities, and government labs. Audit links back to your website and make sure they’re primarily from trustworthy, reputable …

The “title tags”, or the title of a blog post, is one of the crucial aspects when it comes to getting a better ranking on search engine result pages. The title tags not only tell search engines what your web page is all about, but also leave the first impression …

Some of the first things you probably think of with regards to SEO are links. Links are good. We need lots of links to our site, and to our pages, to be successful. This is part of Authority, that sneaky third aspect of SEO. To add to your understanding of …

Any link to another part of the same site is called an internal link. As well as links you'd expect to find (within a site menu bar, for example) you can also create internal links by linking to past posts within newer ones. Keywords must be used at least three …

A 301 redirect means that the move is permanent. If you need to change the URL of a page as it is shown in search engine results, then you should use a server-side 301 redirect. One of the most common problems for webmasters who run both mobile and desktop versions …

When SEO isn’t done right it can be the cause of wasted time, money and a lot of frustration for many businesses. They might be ranking well for some keywords, but those keywords aren’t actually bringing in qualified traffic, leads or buyers. Research other business websites and encourage …

Do not even expect to be on the first page of the Google if you believe in the theory that link building is an outdated concept. To prove your value and make the most of your SEO knowledge, you need to sell management on the idea of investing in it …

There is no single place to focus when trying to optimize a website for search engines, so it is important to make updates and upgrades to various parts of a website at regular intervals, not spending too much time or effort on any particular aspect of the website while other …

Speed is a ranking factor for desktop and a very important usability factor for mobile. Google is very serious about page loading times on mobile and that’s why they have introduced and pushing for the implementation of accelerated mobile pages. For advanced users, the information an analytics package provides …

Different search queries with different intent will result in different results. Google has become so sophisticated that when a web user searches for a “How to find organic foods” he or she will get a different results page than if he or she typed in the search query “where is …

If you’re going to change a URL, but you don’t want its link juice to disappear, you can use a 301 redirect. A 301 will pass a majority of the link juice. Go out of your way to consistently create detailed content that brings enormous value to the …

Don’t just stuff your keywords in willy-nilly and then tack on your city and state (or region or county) at the end. Remember that in addition to conveying to Google the terms for which you want your business to be relevant, these are the phrases that your prospective customers …

It's not actually that difficult to get on page 1 of Google in a search (but that depends on the search!) You need to know your market and you need to have a good understanding of SEO and how to use keywords. You also need some time, I'm not selling …

Some CMSs allow you to access the same content via multiple URLs if you don’t set them up correctly. This causes issues when search engines don’t know which is the best version to choose. Fortunately, unless you are being spammy, most duplicate content issues don’t cause a …

Linking to authority sites helps send trust signals to Google. The link relevancy is important and should be done in a proper manner. Social signals - how many times a piece of content is shared, tweeted and liked - have become a crucial part of the way search engines decide which content …

A website redesign presents the perfect opportunity for you to analyze your backlinks and remove the shady ones. If you use Google Webmaster Tools, you’ll see a “manual penalty” appear if Google detects one of these low-quality links. You’ll then have the option to make such links “no …

Developers who aren’t already focused on SEO requirements aren’t necessarily keeping up with these changes, which will present a challenge to brands and open up additional opportunities for developers with updated SEO knowledge and skills. As you gather intel on your website’s audience, the competition and commonly …

On the internet, the de facto “language” of structured data is schema.org. Schema.org is a democratic library of internet things. Writing blog content is one of the best ways to generate traffic and inbound links to your site. Marketers who blog consistently see up to 97% more organic …

The job of an SEO specialist doesn’t stop with a couple of website tweaks and a few links scattered around the internet. Instead, the specialist has to be on the ball, constantly looking for trends like those noted above and finding new ways to maximize website traffic. By starting …

Engagement with a website began to emerge as a ranking factor with the release of the Panda update by Google on February 23, 2011 SEO is very simple, and unless you’re a very large company it’s probably not worth hiring somebody else to do. It is worth noting …

I think it's good to have lots of content on the website given the 'long tail' nature of searchers' keyword queries. Think of new ideas to expand your content, or even to invest in evergreen content, and make sure you think like a reader, rather than a search engine. Contrary …