Duplicate content is when a webpage or piece of content has the same (or substantially similar) wording as another page on your website. This is bad for your SEO because Google won’t be able to understand which version of that content is the original one or most relevant to a user searching for it. Duplicate […]
4 Spammy SEO Mistakes to Avoid
Many businesses are so eager to get ranked in Google that they overdo it. They use aggressive SEO techniques that ultimately backfire, pushing their website further and further down the rankings… It reminds me of the guy who is trying so hard to impress a girl that he ends up doing the complete opposite – […]
SEO Basics: Long Tail SEO Strategies
Finding it hard to improve your click-through rate in search results? Struggling to find easy-to-rank search terms that can bring you more traffic and higher conversion rates? Three words: Long tail keywords. Basically, these are longer and more specific keyword phrases that people use when they’re closer to making a purchase. Others use them when […]
6 Reasons Why SEO Is a Great Investment for Your Business
SEO is not only necessary for your business, it’s one of the greatest investments that you can make. You can think of SEO like investing money in a 401K for your business — it’s money that will gain value over time and remain in your account. Similarly, by investing in SEO you create long-term value […]
The “Google My Business” Lead Machine
It’s likely no surprise at this point that your future customers are using Google to find products you (and your competitors) sell. If you want people to find your local business in their searches, you need to make your business really easy to find on Google. Google My Business is the search engine’s local business […]
Why SEO Is More Important Than Ever – Yes, Even During COVID-19
While the coronavirus has increased internet usage exponentially, it has also caused search traffic to business websites to plummet in many industries. Does this mean that SEO is useless for your business right now? Definitely not. This article takes a look at the case for and benefits of SEO for small businesses—even the nonessential ones—viewed […]
Adapting Your 2020 Digital Strategy to the Impact of Coronavirus
Four months into 2020 and Coronavirus (COVID-19) has disrupted nearly all facets of life. People need to make significant changes to their everyday lives in order to adapt to the “new normal”, while businesses must brace for the negative economic impact that will result from people changing their habits for the foreseeable future. For businesses […]
SEO is Always Changing, or Is It?
Five SEO fundamentals can put you and your brand in a great position in 2020 and beyond SEO is said to be ever-changing, and that’s because search engine algorithms and updated technologies are the main culprits driving these changes. I am sure that every year, you’ve come across countless articles about the latest and greatest […]
Outbound Links: One of the Most Underutilized Tactics in Content Marketing
Outbound links are quite possibly one of the most underutilized tactics in content marketing and on-page optimization. Everyone who works in SEO (search engine optimization) knows that links pointing to your site are an essential signal for Google. But did you know that links going out from a page can also play a vital role? […]
4 Haunted SEO Tactics That Will Forever Spook Your SEO
Google and other search engines are constantly tweaking their underlying code and architecture. This means that SEO strategy is a moving target, and rankings are always in flux. And in fact, common but bygone SEO strategies that took advantage of Google’s lack of sophistication can now spook you by undermining Google’s trust of your site. […]
How Much Does Local SEO Cost?
There’s a common misconception that search engine traffic (aka SEO traffic) is free. That’s primarily due to the logical comparison against search engine advertising, which is obviously not free. With search engine advertising, you’ll pay for every click on your ad. With organic SEO traffic there is no cost for clicks to your website. Hence […]
6 SEO Tips That Never Grow Old
There are lots of practices from the dawn of SEO that are still useful. These are old school tactics and habits that successful affiliates used to help their sites rank better, helped them earn more and kept them from getting banned. These practices are still useful and can help your site rank higher. 1. Discretion […]
Google’s Mobile First Indexing: What To Do Next
Did Google recently enable mobile-first indexing for your site? With Google’s mobile-first indexing, Google will use the mobile version of the pages for indexing (although if the site has separate mobile and desktop URLs, searchers will still see the desktop version of the URLs when searching on a desktop device). Google has said they switch sites as they determine […]
A secure web is here to stay
Beginning in July 2018, if your site is not https, your customers will see that your website is not secure (left of your URL, top of your browser). e.g. With SSL: Rank better in Google organically Give your users peace of mind when filling out a form It’s just better Without SSL: None of the […]
How SEO and PPC Work Together
Search engines are a primary source of traffic for most online businesses. But there are two distinct types of search engine traffic: Organic search traffic Paid search traffic Organic search traffic is the stuff dreams are made of. This occurs when someone searches a phrase related to your business on Google and a link to […]
Ranking Guarantees
Search Engine Ranking Results Cannot Be Guaranteed The best SEO company is one that does not promise or guarantee SEO results. This is because search engine ranking results cannot be guaranteed. There are countless companies out there, and many of them are scams. Not only are so-called “guaranteed results” not possible, they are also harmful to your […]
How to Spot a Bad SEO Company
As a small business owner, you likely do not have the time to do SEO yourself. You could hand if off to one of your tech savvy employees…however, they’re probably wearing several hats already, and likely haven’t spent the last several years learning about SEO. Choosing the right partner to help take your site’s SEO to the […]
Hummingbird, Penguin & Panda. Who Cares?
Hummingbird, Penguin and Panda are the names Google has coined for its most recent algorithm updates. Why should you care about this? Well, you shouldn’t. Not if you would like to keep your sanity. So why even write this post if these silly names don’t matter, and all I care about is ranking on the […]
Recap of SMX Advanced 2012
SMX Advanced 2012 was held in beautiful Seattle this year. While “beautiful” in Seattle means rain and clouds, we did get a few rays of sunshine, and it’s always nice to see the mountains (we’re from Chicago). While SMX Advanced is primarily for advanced SEOs, all of the information can easily be translated to useful, […]