Google announced on the Google Small Business blog that they’ve updated the Test My Site tool to add more than just your site’s mobile speed scores, which they launched a year ago. Now the tool will show you how many visitors your site is losing because of your site speed and how you compare to your competitors. This tool will estimate not just how long it takes for your mobile site to load but also how many visitors you’re potentially losing during load time. It will also tell you how well you are doing versys your competitors by doing a benchmark of your speed on your mobile site compared to others in your industry. The tool will continue to give you action points on how to make your site faster by detailed specific optimization techniques you can apply to your code and server. It will continue to give you a grade on your desktop and mobile site speed, but now it adds those two additional features. You can give it a try at testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com. The post Google updates its mobile Test My Site tool with more competitive analysis appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land http://ift.tt/2uiIef7
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For several months now, Google has been encouraging advertisers to run many ad variations in their ad groups. The message is essentially, “Ditch your manual A/B testing and let our machine learning-powered systems figure out the best ad with the best mix of extensions to show for each auction scenario.” Now, it looks like Google is trying out a feature to make it easier for more advertisers to adopt even basic ad testing. Digital marketing strategist Conrad O’Connell spotted a new option in the old/current AdWords interface to “Create a second ad with headlines in reverse order.” Check the box, and automatically create an A/B headline test.
I’m not seeing it yet in the new or old AdWords interface, but it’s an interesting idea to make at least one ad test option as easy as checking a box. We’ve reached out to Google to ask for more information about this test and we’ll update this article if/when we hear back. The post Spotted in AdWords: Check a box and automatically create a headline test appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land http://ift.tt/2sRegAR I was recently asked about an issue many of us in the SEO industry face: “When you’re attending a conference where you’ll be meeting peers, clients and prospective clients, how do you avoid awkward silence?” This is obviously a good question in and of itself, but it got me thinking about a larger issue search professionals often face: how people can make the most of their meetups and time together. Having attended SEO conferences since 2006, I’ve learned some strategies to use before and during conferences to help maximize my time while I’m there. Some of these strategies apply to meeting with peers, others to clients and prospective clients, and some to both. Whether you’re attending your first conference or just looking to improve your game, I hope you will find this advice useful. Be preparedThe initial question about how to avoid an awkward silence is what got me thinking of this topic, as it implies that the person posing the question wasn’t going into the conference prepared. Generally, you’ll know in advance if clients and key industry peers will be attending the conference, so don’t wait until you’re there to figure out how to talk to them and what to talk to them about. Instead, prepare in advance via social media. Now, let me be clear: I’m not suggesting that you friend people on Facebook if they don’t know you. However, some fairly simple research on their public posts, Twitter stream and LinkedIn profiles will likely produce some key information such as:
You get where I’m going. Armed with an array of information on the people you’re meeting, there will be no awkward silence. Furthermore, you’ll have an opportunity to connect with them on a human level. I am reminded often of two quotes from the great Dale Carnegie:
and
Both of these are true. Yes, that person probably wants to talk shop with you, but they’ve got plenty of people doing that. The difference will come in the non-shop talk. Let’s say you’re talking to a prospective client; they will likely be talking to a half-dozen other people with offerings like yours. The difference will come in discussing their favorite sports team, a movie they’ve seen, or — one that I’ve found works well — a person they’re inspired by (like Dale Carnegie!). Connect in advanceWe talked above about using social media as a data-gathering tool, but it obviously is much more than that. Connecting with people you want to meet on social prior to an event is a valuable introduction. LinkedIn is an obvious go-to; Facebook is discouraged unless you actually have met. Twitter I’ve found to be probably the easiest way to engage others, as it’s a simple communication point that by its nature discourages pitching. Connect on LinkedIn to be sure, but follow them on Twitter, read their posts and comment when applicable. By connecting with others in advance, you’ll be gathering the data you need from our first discussion point above and allowing your prospect to get to know you in an open and welcome place. You’re showing interest in their activities, and by commenting, you’re showing you’ve read and thought about what they’re saying. Remember, people love themselves. I also recommend joining Facebook groups related to the conference you’re attending. This is a great way to interact with others who will be there and perhaps the people you want to meet. Even if this doesn’t connect you with the people you’re specifically interested in, it could provide other valuable contacts. You may find yourself sitting at a table with someone from your Facebook group, giving you an easy conversation starter. Use social media during the event, tooIs someone you want to meet speaking? Is another tweeting out what’s going on at the event? If they are, be sure to leverage that by tweeting about their session or replying to or retweeting their tweets. Once again, this is an easy and effective way to illustrate that you’re paying attention, interested in what they do and engaged with their work. We are marketers, after all. If we’re not engaging with the people we want to convert (even if that conversion is just meeting someone), then how good are we? Look the partThere’s a quote from Socrates, “Be as you wish to appear.” It’s a great quote with a lot of truth, but for our purposes here, we can rephrase it as, “Appear as you wish to be.” I’m not saying, “Fake it until you make it,” as that’s a philosophy I loathe. But if you want to be taken seriously, it’s wise to dress the part. As a marketer, you know that a slight tweak in design can yield big increases in conversions — this is as true for you as it is for a website. If you’re there to meet clients, show them the respect of looking your best. If you’re meeting colleagues you respect, do the same. One caveat here is to read the room. If it’s a small conference you’re attending with just your industry peers, then consider how they dress and just kick it up a bit. If you’re attending a larger conference or one with clients or prospective clients, then it never hurts to present yourself at the top of your game. Self-care and time managementFor the veterans in the crowd, you’ll know this might be the hardest part. You’re up early for the breakfast, in sessions and working all day, dinner and networking in the evening, and then undoubtedly you’ll be invited out for drinks after that — resulting in a 7 a.m. wake-up after a 2 a.m. bedtime. And that assumes you don’t have emails to power through. Let’s face it, you probably aren’t at your best after a few drinks on four or five hours of sleep, so pace yourself. There’s a lot of networking to do, and it’s better to leave a bit early (at a time when others probably won’t remember how witty you are anyway) and be your best the next day. It’s also crucial to get some time for yourself in between the various parts of the conference, whether it’s simply a quiet place to work uninterrupted (though that’s hardly “you time”), a chance to have a quiet coffee before the sessions start, or some time after the conference but before the evening’s activities. If you want to stay sharp, it’s often wise to take some time to unwind. And if you need to somehow justify it to those around you, then hit the fitness center and do some easy workout like a stationary biking, or make use of the sauna. By taking care of yourself — by getting ample sleep and not overdoing , you’ll be better able to manage the balance of networking, learning new things and getting your day-to-day work done. And above all… Be authenticWe talked about faking it until you make it, and there’s a big reason why I dislike this philosophy: Pretending to know things you don’t can seriously undermine your reputation, especially among peers who can easily call you out on it. If you don’t know something, then be up front about it — mentioning, of course, that you specialize in something different. None of us can know everything (until Google plants a chip in our brains to access all human knowledge), so no one will begrudge you that. If it’s a client or prospective client, simply tell them it’s a good question and you’ll get back to them on it after you look into it or ask someone you trust. Of course, being yourself isn’t just about what you know, it’s about who you are. It’s about being authentic. We all want clients that are good fits, and that means they know who you are and want to work with you. While you want to be your best self at conferences, you should still ultimately be yourself. One can’t sustain being something they’re not indefinitely, so it’s better to simply make friends and clients that want to associate with you knowing who you are. ConclusionEnjoy. SEO conferences are a great way to make friends, find clients, meet people you respect, and even learn a great deal about an amazing subject from some amazing people. Take in the experience, and you’ll get even more than you might hope. If you’re not enjoying yourself, and you’re just checking off things to do like a shopping list, that’s going to come across. If you’re enjoying yourself, then not only will you have a better time, but you’ll be more successful, too — people like people who are having fun doing what they love, especially when they’re doing the same thing and love it as much as you do. The post Surviving and thriving at an SEO conference appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land http://ift.tt/2sh936V The early days of a new blog, podcast, or video channel are actually a sort of magical time. It’s quiet. No one has shown up yet. You can say or do nearly anything. You have the opportunity to experiment and play without fear. And, let’s face it … we all want to get past it as quickly as humanly possible. While I truly would encourage you to stop and smell those roses, I also appreciate that we start websites because we want to build and serve audiences. If you have something cooking and you’d like to accelerate the process of pulling your audience together, here are seven things I’ve found useful for my own projects. Before we start on that, though, you must absolutely understand who you want to serve. What they believe, what they fear, what they know, what they don’t know. Keep digging and keep researching until you have someone in mind who feels like a genuine individual person. Once you have a vibrant Who in mind, let’s get to work building an audience of them. #1: Be ready for the traffic you getAt the beginning, when we’re squeaking along with just a few site visitors, it’s particularly important to capture every little scrap of attention we can. So before you start trying tactics to get more new visitors, make sure that:
If you’re making something interesting, you may well find that those first subscribers go on to become some of your most loyal fans. Give them a way to stay in touch by offering a smart email subscription that delivers plenty of value. You’re not going to get a zillion visitors in the early days. But if you can spark and maintain solid relationships with the ones you do get, you’ll start to pick up momentum. #2: Answer the right questionsOnce you (truly, madly, deeply) understand your Who, you’re ready to think about how to best serve them. One time-honored tactic comes from sales consultant Marcus Sheridan — answer every question you’ve ever seen, received, or heard of in your topic. The idea isn’t to write a 150,000-word manual. Instead, make each answer a single blog post — and keep the answers simple and useful. This does a few things for you:
Figure out a calendar you can stick to for these. Since they’re fairly easy to create, you might publish two of them a week for six months or more. Every other week, swap in a more in-depth article that’s got more meat to it. You may want to have a few of these done in advance, because I promise you’ll have days when even a 10-minute post is going to be tough to get created and published. This is also a great way for you to start developing good publishing habits. I refer folks all the time to Pamela Wilson’s post on publishing one strong piece of content a week, as a model for the steps you want to go through. These quick Q&A posts don’t need as much promotion, but it’s still a good opportunity to practice your process on lower-risk content. #3: Do one epic thingIf you want influencers to link to you, social media darlings to share you, and potential customers to connect with you, you have to do something to deserve all of that attention. You have to do something epic. You might be epically good at what you do. You might be able to pull off some kind of epic stunt. But most likely, your venture into the realm of epic is going to involve creating a seriously good piece of content. Boring blog posts, weak videos, or copycat podcast episodes won’t cut it. (We already knew that, right?) Not every piece of content is going to be a home run. But, at least once in a while, you need to swing for the fences.
You’ll create a few near-misses before you come up with one that’s genuinely epic. So you should probably get started on those early attempts. Maybe today. #4: Be a social butterflyYou might love social media, or you might avoid it like the zombie apocalypse. Either way, it’s a good place to look for new connections. When you’re growing your audience, schedule one or two short sessions on one relevant social platform every day.
Most likely, it will be a combination of those.
Facebook is the biggest dog at the moment, but it isn’t the only option. Instagram has been showing a lot of promise lately, and for the right business, Pinterest can be a winner. And for those with B2B products and services, LinkedIn is refreshingly drama-free — and a place where people expect to do business. If you have trouble with keeping yourself to short sessions, consider a productivity app to help out. And don’t fall into the trap of building a giant community on a social platform — and neglecting your own site. Your time is typically better spent optimizing your content to get more shares and building up a good volume of high-value content. #5: Take one controversial standWe all know that one person on social media who flips the table over every irritation or slight. That’s exhausting and counterproductive. But there’s a word for people who never take a difficult stand, never ruffle any feathers, and never speak out:
Whether or not you overtly address politics is up to you. But, as Brian Clark likes to say, “This is the internet — there’s potential for controversy in any strong statement.” Whether your niche is fitness, dog training, finance, parenting, or knitting — there are fiercely passionate camps around certain topics. Do some real research. Question your own biases. Weigh the evidence and consider other points of view. Be willing to be swayed by reliable evidence that contradicts your assumptions. And once you feel confident that your position is grounded with solid evidence, take your stand in the camp you believe is right. You can literally enrage some people by asserting that the earth is round.
Speak up. (By the way, if you click the link above, how cool would it be to have a Science Emergency Defense Plan with NdGT on tap.) #6: Buy a little traffic with moneySo if you have a steady, consistent stream of useful material (your question and answer content), along with a few epic pieces, and you’ve taken a stand in your topic … is there anything else to do to get the ball rolling? You can always try buying a bit of traffic with social media ads. This is a game with rules that change almost daily, but it’s a game worth playing. Pick the most financially viable platform of the moment (right now it’s Facebook) and buy a little bit of traffic. “A little bit” is not $1,000 worth of traffic. It’s not $100. Maybe spend $10 this week. And, if budget permits, $10 next week.
Learning to buy small amounts of traffic will give your momentum a bit of a push. It will also teach you all kinds of useful things that you’ll be glad you understand when you get more successful or have an offer you’d like to promote. #7: Buy a little more traffic with timeThe other way to “buy” some traffic is to put time and energy into writing guest post content for other sites. You may also find it valuable to appear on other people’s podcasts. Like #6, this makes sense once you’ve got something worth checking out on your own site. Guest posting broadens your audience and gives you a great opportunity to form relationships with other web publishers. It can also have nice SEO benefits … but that typically comes down the line, when your site’s a little more mature. Remember to only submit excellent material for guest posts. It just isn’t smart to show less-than-great work on a larger stage. Where are you on your journey?Do you have all the traffic and subscribers you want? Still working on it? Found any great strategies for building an audience in the early days? Let us know in the comments! The post 7 Ways to Find Readers and Subscribers When No One Knows You Yet appeared first on Copyblogger. via Copyblogger http://ift.tt/2tkqyCR It’s difficult to believe that Google News is 15 years old. In that time, it has been through a number of feature changes and minor redesigns. The last major redesign was in 2010, but today it’s getting another one. The idea is to add feature and content depth but also simplify the layout and navigation. I spoke with Anand Paka, the Google News product manager. He said the redesign intends to connect users with more quality journalism and to make Google News more “accessible” to everyone and less of a power user product. By the same token, Paka told me that Google News is adding “more facts, perspectives and context.” So, in addition to being simpler to use, it has more depth. The Google-provided screenshot above shows a side by side comparison of the old and new layouts. The former layout (left) is very link-dense. The new layout (right) is easier to scan visually. It also offers cleaner navigation and is more personalized. Google is also making video more prominent throughout. The top of the page features new tabs for “Headlines,” “Local” and “For You.” The Local tab will enable Google to greatly expand the availability of local news. Google’s Paka said that Local (news) “is an anticipated area of growth.” Both “Local” and “For You” (by definition) are or can be personalized. Google has also created new “story cards” that break out and offer a variety of perspectives on a topic. The initial presentation is a summary view, which users can expand in an effort to get more context, perspectives and depth. To assist in that process Google has added directional tags such as Local Source, Opinion, Fact Check and others. There’s also a “full coverage” option, which provides many additional sources. Google’s Fact Check label indicates whether an article has been fact checked (US only for now). I asked Paka if this was a response to the 2016 election and the “fake news” debate. He said no and told me that the redesign had been in the works well before the 2016 election. Apple News is a very strong product and Facebook’s News Feed has become a primary source of news for many consumers. Compared with those two products, the old Google News design was getting a bit “long in the tooth,” as the saying goes. With the redesign, Google is adding more context and depth but seeking to make the product more appealing to a casual news audience that may only want headlines and high-level information. The post Google News gets a cleaner look, new features to make it ‘more accessible’ appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land http://ift.tt/2seYroK Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land:
Recent Headlines From Marketing Land, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Internet Marketing:
Search News From Around The Web:Industry
Local & Maps
Link Building
Searching
SEO
SEM / Paid Search
Search Marketing
The post SearchCap: EU fine, Google algorithm changes & local features appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land http://ift.tt/2sjhDwI Google officially launched its Website Builder within Google My Business in an effort to help small businesses easily and affordably create websites. This is a great initiative, as there are many small businesses that do not have a website. Google’s Marissa Nordahl made the announcement it in a Google My Business Help thread on Tuesday, June 13. Here is what she wrote:
CostsThe tool is free to use, but to get a custom domain (such as a .com, .biz or .net), you will have to purchase a domain through Google domains, or else you will be stuck with an ugly URL such as yourbusinessname.business.site — which, presumably, would be less memorable to users and lack the ranking potential of a .com site. FeaturesSome notable features of the Website Builder include the following:
Note that you need to have a verified listing on Google My Business to use the website builder. A quick site:business.site check within Google shows about 113,000 results, which consist of both US and international small business owners. Business types include real estate, travel & tourism, computer training and software, summer camps, pest control and many others. Test driveI decided to take a stab at creating my own site for a mock local business profile I created and verified. The process took me just over five minutes to get up and running. Here is what the site looks like: http://ift.tt/2tThGSd
Here are some screen shots of the process for creating and editing the site. First, I added my business profile and verified it. Once I finished creating my business profile, I was prompted to create a free website. Once I selected a URL for my site, I was given the option to buy a custom domain. Within the website builder, you have multiple theme options. You can select the color scheme and font that best fits your business branding. You have the option to edit site elements such as Headline, Description and Body content. You have the ability to change your site address, buy a custom domain or unpublish your website. My initial impressionsSo, how does the Website Builder hold up, particularly with regard to SEO best practices? Here are my thoughts. The good
The bad
As you can see, there are quite a few negatives from an SEO perspective. Hopefully, Google will continue to update and expand this tool to provide businesses with more robust functionality. Should small business owners use the Google My Business website builder?As usual, the answer is, “It depends.” If you absolutely don’t have the time to build a small, four- to five-page website on a more robust platform such as a Squarespace or Yola, then you should leverage this tool. At a bare minimum, I would recommend purchasing a custom domain rather than using the default URL. In my opinion, there are many free alternatives which offer more customization and are more SEO-friendly — even Google’s free blogging platform, Blogger.com, is more SEO-friendly. However, if you’re not in a competitive local market, and you want a one-page website that you can manage from within your Google My Business dashboard, this simple website builder may be for you. The post Google My Business website builder SEO review appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land http://ift.tt/2thBhxW SEO software comes in many shapes and sizes, from rank-checking tools and keyword research toolsets to full-service solutions that manage keywords, links, competitive intelligence, international rankings, social signal integration, and workflow rights and roles. How do you decide which one is right for your organization? MarTech Today’s “Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide” examines the market for SEO platforms and the considerations involved in implementing this software into your business. This 42-page report includes profiles of 13 leading SEO tools vendors, pricing information, capabilities comparisons, and recommended steps for evaluating and purchasing. Visit Digital Marketing Depot to download “Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide.” The post Thinking about an SEO platform? We compare 13 leading vendors appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land http://ift.tt/2sXBsf7 Google’s AMP pages are known for their speed in loading from mobile search results. But, using a stripped-down version of HTML, AMP pages still lack much of the functionality that helps publishers make money. To help fill that gap, deep-linking provider Branch.io has released a version of its Journeys, called AMP Journeys. The Palo Alto, California-based company said this is the first time deep-linking has been offered from ads on AMP pages to apps. The original Journeys provided deep links from mobile web content directly into specific content inside an installed app. AMP Journeys delivers banner ads (which sit at the bottom of an AMP page) or interstitial ads (which reside between AMP pages), and then deep-links inside those ads directly to specific content inside an installed ad. [Read the full article on MarTech Today.] The post Branch offers first deep-linking from ads on AMP pages to app content appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land http://ift.tt/2tgKSVN When a user lands on your site for the very first time, do they know where to go? Can they find the information they are searching for quickly, without having to search deep into your site? While site structure may not be a large factor when it comes to most ranking algorithms, search engines use the structure of your site to better understand your content and the relationships between subjects on your site. There are so many factors that impact your site’s online visibility. We often talk about content, links and other optimization tweaks we can use to get results. One area that we often overlook is the structure of the website we are working on. Having a well-organized site will not only help your users find what they are looking for faster, but it will also help crawlers better understand your site’s content and purpose. Flat vs. deep site structuresThe two most common types of site structure are deep and flat. Deep sites create a long path of links to access detailed content. Flat structure requires a minimal number of clicks to access any page. According to “The Art of SEO” by Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer and Jessie Stricchiola, “For nearly every site with fewer than 10,000 pages, all content should be accessible through a maximum of four clicks from the home page and/on sitemap page.” With deep site structures, not only does it take a user longer to find the content they are looking for, but it can also take the search crawlers longer to find your content. A flat site structure makes it easier for search engines to find and index your site, and it has great benefits for the users as well. It limits the number of pages a user has to pass through to find the content they are looking for (which, in theory, results in greater engagement with your site). Building a structure that makes senseWhen building a site structure, there is a lot more that goes into it than just making it “flat.” SEOs are tasked with structuring the site in a way that helps crawlers understand the content of your site. Search engines are collecting huge amounts of data every day and are working to make sense of it all. Instead of having them “guess” about the relative importance of pages on your site, you can direct them with the proper site structure. While search engines are getting more advanced and can build semantic relationships between topics, the more we can help them the better. Break down your content in a way that makes logical sense. Start by breaking your content into core categories, then work your way down into logical subcategories from there. This, again, has a positive impact for crawlers and users alike. Your users can more easily find the content they need, and search engines can better understand your site. Navigation and sitemapsThe two most visible representations of your site structure are found in your navigation and your sitemap. NavigationWhen creating your site’s navigation, you want to think about both your users and the search crawlers. As we shared above, a flat site structure will help both your users and the crawlers find your content faster. Having clear and easy-to-use navigation is an important aspect of any site. Building a navigation should not be rushed. Take time to think about your content, your themes and categories, and use cards to test different navigation flows before just throwing one together. I would suggest you follow these six steps, as laid out in “The Art of SEO”:
SitemapsWhile many sites have HTML sitemaps, most today just use XML sitemaps. An XML sitemap provides a list of URLs on your site, and you can submit your XML sitemap(s) to many major search engines to indicate which pages you would like to have crawled. (Note that including a URL in your sitemap does not guarantee that it will be indexed, but it does make it easier for search engines to find and crawl the page.) Having both an HTML sitemap and an XML sitemap is recommended. XML sitemaps are designed for use by search engines, while HTML sitemaps are designed for use by humans. Matt Cutts, former Google head of webspam, says, “Once you make an HTML sitemap, making an XML version is extremely easy. So my advice? Do both, if possible.” Building a sitemap is not difficult, especially once you have your site structure together. For your HTML sitemap, you’ll create a new HTML page on your site with a hierarchical list of all your URLs. This will reflect your site’s navigation. For XML, you can use a number of tools like http://ift.tt/ZitRY8 or WordPress plugins to create your sitemaps. Be careful using these tools, because you may not want to include everything in your sitemap. You may want to exclude login pages, pagination pages or pages that have low value. Final thoughtsSEO is more than just content and links. There are a number of moving pieces that impact your site’s visibility. Taking the time to build a solid information structure will pay off in the long run. Know who your users are, and structure your site in a way that makes it easy for them to find the content they need. In doing this, you will also create a structure that makes it easy for the crawlers to understand your site. The better your content is consumed and understood by both your users and crawlers, the more visibility your site will have. The post The SEO benefits of developing a solid site structure appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land http://ift.tt/2tRK6vI |
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