SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is getting harder every day. Optimizing websites, pages and content to rank high in search engine results is a fiercely competitive endeavor, and the criteria that search engines use to determine which pages to display keeps changing. It’s no wonder that more and more companies are turning to third-party SEO consultants, agencies and companies to get help and to ensure that they are consistently using SEO best practices. For more help with SEO check out our 2107 Guide to SEO. How Not to Choose an SEO Consultant How do you find a great SEO company? You...

If you rely on your website to generate leads and sales and are concerned about your search engine optimization (SEO) results, it might be time for an SEO audit. According to SEO experts at GotchSEO, “SEO audits are the single best way to figure out why you’re not getting SEO results.” It’s a Good Kind of Audit Many people have an aversion to the term “audit.” In conjures up frightening images of surly government agents determined to find expensive flaws in your taxes. But an SEO audit is a not something to be afraid of, especially if your search rankings...

Businesses that haven’t assessed their website’s search engine optimization (SEO) performance might want do to so. A recent report from the search marketing experts at SEMrush found that the factors influencing search engine results--ranking factors used to determine which pages rise to the top of search results--have changed. Businesses that thought they had their SEO covered may want to take a look with a fresh SEO audit of their websites. To learn more about what an SEO audit involves and how much it might cost, visit our SEO Audit service page. Changing SEO Ranking Factors SEMrush analyzed the top 100...

SEMrush just released a new study of search engine ranking factors. Ranking factors are the signals that Google and others watch to determine what search results to display when someone enters a question or keywords. Google wants show the most relevant and helpful content, but how does it decide which content is most relevant and helpful? In this study, Ranking Factors Study 2.0, the SEMrush team analyzed the results of 600,000 keywords and the first 100 results from each keyword against a list of alleged ranking factors.  “To reveal the importance of these factors, we applied a machine learning algorithm...

In a previous blog we took a look at SEMrush’s latest study of SEO ranking factors. “Ranking Factors Study 2.0,” analyzed the top 100 search results for 600,000 keywords and found the common SEO practices among the top ranking sites. Direct Traffic Boosts Search Rankings To cut to the chase, the most influential ranking factor is direct visits to a website. This means that Google gives your site extra credit if people don’t search for it at all--they just go straight to your site. “Direct website traffic is the most influential ranking factor,” the study said. “That is, when many...

If you haven’t reviewed your SEO strategy recently, you probably should. SEO is changing--a lot. SEMrush just came out with its Ranking Factors Study 2.0. The search marketing company analyzed the top 100 search results for 600,000 keywords to reverse-engineer what the highest ranking pages have in common. The results may surprise you. Here’s a summary and some tips for how to rank higher in each area. Direct traffic. The amount of direct traffic to a site is the #1 ranking factor, according to the study. This means your SEO strategy should include things like short, catchy URLs that people...