Any business that wants to reach the right audience must have an effective content marketing strategy. When you create and distribute high-quality content, your business can attract potential customers, engage with them, build relationships, and drive sales.
However, creating an effective B2B (business-to-business) content marketing strategy can be challenging. There are several types of content businesses can create, and it can be challenging to know where to start.
Before we delve into creating an effective B2B content marketing strategy, I would like to take you through what a B2B business is, its key characteristics, and how it differs from B2C (business-to-consumer) businesses.
This is a crucial step to help you know if your business is a B2B business and if you need a B2C or a B2B content marketing strategy.
What are B2B businesses?
B2B, which means “business-to-business,” refers to companies/businesses that sell their goods or services to other businesses, not individual customers.
It implies that B2B businesses focus on meeting other companies’ specific needs and demands instead of targeting the general public.
Key characteristics of B2B businesses
Here are some characteristics of business-to-business:
Larger transaction sizes
B2B transactions involve more money than B2C transactions, as businesses often purchase goods in bulk or require complex services.
Longer sales cycles
B2B sales cycles can be much longer than B2C ones, as a more complex decision-making process is often involved. It may involve multiple stakeholders within the buying company, negotiations, and pilot projects.
Building solid relationships with potential and existing customers is crucial in B2B, as trust and reliability are critical factors in business partnerships.
Technical expertise
The complexity of B2B products and services is higher than that of B2C businesses, so salespeople and marketers need to have a strong understanding of the industry and the specific needs of their target customers.
Emphasis on ROI
B2B businesses often demonstrate their products or services’ return on investment (ROI) to potential customers. This means they must focus on the quantifiable benefits their offerings can provide other businesses.
With a B2B content marketing strategy, you can create blog posts, infographics, webinars, and more that directly address your audience’s pain points, educate them on industry trends, and showcase your knowledge.
This will attract qualified leads who are already interested in what you have to offer, making them more receptive to your future sales efforts.
b. To increase brand awareness
Think of content as a megaphone for your brand. You can spread brand awareness beyond your website by consistently creating high-quality and relevant content.
Your content also gets shared on several social media platforms. It is discoverable through search engines, making your brand visible to a broader audience and establishing you as an authority in your field.
c. To drive sales
Content marketing is more than just awareness; it’s about lead generation, nurturing leads, and guiding them through your sales funnel.
By crafting compelling content that addresses each stage of the buyer’s journey, you can educate potential customers about your product, showcase its benefits, and ultimately convince them why it’s the perfect solution for their needs.
d. To improve your search engine ranking
Search engines love fresh and relevant content. A consistent content marketing strategy ensures your website stays active and brimming with valuable information.
Potential clients will find you more quickly if you employ this tactic, increasing your search engine ranking and keeping visitors interested.
Content marketing isn’t just a one-way street. By producing interactive content, holding Q&A sessions, and participating in online communities, you can build a loyal fan base for your company.
This fosters a sense of belonging and trust, turning your customers into advocates who champion your brand and spread the word organically.
How to create an effective B2B content marketing strategy
I’ve seen people repeatedly get it wrong with their content marketing strategies.
One of the most important things to note when developing any content marketing strategy is that it should be tailored to your type of business. So, your B2B content marketing strategy will only be effective if your business is B2B.
And even at that, you also need to streamline your B2B content marketing strategy to suit your exact niche.
Here are some more detailed tips on creating an effective B2B content marketing strategy:
Before diving headfirst into content creation, take a moment to map out your aspirations. Having clear goals helps you tailor your content and measure success later on.
Once you have identified your objectives, you can create content to help you achieve them.
2. Identify your target audience.
Who are you creating content for?
Picture your ideal customer. Who are they? What are their challenges and pain points? What kind of information do they seek?
Understanding your target audience like this helps you create content that aligns with their needs and interests, ensuring it resonates and engages them effectively.
3. Choose the proper content formats.
You can create different types of content, including blog posts, infographics, ebooks, and case studies.
Variety is the spice of content! Don’t limit yourself to just blog posts. Explore different formats like white papers, infographics, webinars, podcasts, or short videos.
Choose the content formats that resonate with your target audience and the type of information you want to convey when selecting.
4. Create high-quality content.
Quality is king in the content kingdom. Your content’s quality, research, writing, and engagement should be high. It should also be optimized for search engines.
Rather than creating multiple pieces of content to put out to your audience, focus on offering value to them.
Be it data-driven insights, expert opinions, or practical tips, ensure your content is informative, actionable, and stands out from the crowd.
5. Promote your content.
Creating great content isn’t enough; you need to get it in front of the right eyeballs!
Once you have created high-quality content, you need to promote it so people can find it.
Utilize social media, email marketing, guest blogging, and industry forums to promote your content actively. Leverage search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to improve your website’s visibility and attract organic traffic.
6. Measure your results.
Data is your friend! It is crucial to track your results to see what is working and what is not.
Track key metrics like website traffic, engagement rates, lead generation, and conversions to understand your content marketing performance.
You can continuously enhance the effectiveness of your content strategy by using this data to fine-tune your approach and determine what works best.
Creating an effective B2B content marketing strategy takes time and effort but is worth it in the long run.
By consistently creating and distributing high-quality content, businesses can draw in potential customers, engage them, build relationships, and drive sales.
If you are serious about growing your B2B business, implement the tips outlined in this blog post today.
Are you tired of seeing your web pages buried beneath those of your competitors in search results?
Do you wish your content could encourage more clicks and drive more organic traffic?
There’s more to SEO than just being visible online. Let me share a quick story.
I recently did a thorough content analysis of all the blog posts I had on the website, and as much as I was proud of the impressions these posts were garnering, the organic click through rate was lower than I thought.
I noticed I had up to 2K weekly impressions and above on some of my posts but not even up to 10 organic clicks. My average CTR reflected this, making it as low as 0.1%.
Meanwhile, one of my posts had fewer impressions because it was a specific post with a streamlined keyword; however, the average CTR for that particular post was 50%.
At this point, the importance of increasing organic click-through rates struck me; it is the icing on the cake for all your SEO efforts.
It shows that not only is your content visible to those who need it, but they are also moved to click on it and listen to what you have to say.
Now, I’m utilizing many tips to improve my organic click-through rate, and I daresay that the difference will be more evident in a few months.
In this blog post, I’ll be your guide, sharing a treasure trove of top-notch tips I have used and am currently using to help boost my organic click-through rate (CTR).
Whether you’re a seasoned SEO professional or just starting your SEO journey, these strategies will help you stand out, captivate your audience, and increase your organic CTR.
What is a click through rate?
A click-through rate is the percentage of the number of people who click on a specific link compared to the number of impressions the link has.
For example, if your post has 1,000 impressions and the number of people who clicked on it is 50, the CTR will be calculated using this formula:
The difference between your general CTR and your organic CTR is that the organic CTR is based only on organic clicks—clicks that appear organically without any form of paid advertisement.
If 25 of the 50 clicks you received from the example above came from a paid ad, your organic click through rate would be based on the 25 organic clicks over the number of organic impressions.
There are different reasons why you should work on improving your organic click-through rates for all your blog posts. Whether you do paid advertising or just focus on organic traffic, CTR cuts across both SEO strategies.
If your web page has a high organic click through rate, it shows your website appears in search results for relevant keywords. It also reflects that your headline and meta description effectively convey the value of your content to your users.
Drives traffic to your website
The ultimate goal of SEO is to drive traffic to your website. A high organic click through rate means that more people are clicking on your website in search results, which can lead to more conversions and sales.
Helps you understand user intent
By analyzing your organic CTR for different keywords and comparing it to the CTR of your competitors for the same keyword, you can gain insight into what your users are searching for and how well your website addresses their needs.
B. For paid advertisements
Measures ad performance
CTR can be used to track the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns. A high CTR indicates that your ads are relevant and engaging to your target audience, while a low CTR suggests that your ads need improvement.
Impacts cost-per-click (CPC)
Ad platforms like Google Ads often use an auction system to determine which ads are shown and how much advertisers pay for each click. A higher CTR can lead to a lower CPC, as advertisers are willing to pay more for ads that are more likely to generate clicks.
Improved ad rank
Specific advertising platforms factor click through rates into their ad ranking algorithms. This means that paid ads with a higher CTR are more likely to appear at the top of search results, which can lead to even more clicks.
As discussed earlier, there is a close relationship between your search engine rankings and click-through rates. Higher-ranking results generally have a higher CTR based on research.
The quality of your headline and meta description
Your headline is the first piece of text that a visitor sees. If you have a captivating headline, it increases the chances of someone clicking on your link.
Also, your meta description—the snippet of text under your website title in search results—should be enticing enough to encourage users to click.
Rich snippets are enhanced results that may include additional information, such as star ratings or images. These can make your result stand out and increase its organic click through rate.
The search intent
If your website’s keyword and content do not match the user’s search intent, they are less likely to click on it. Hence, knowing and matching users’ search intent for all your content is important.
The competitiveness of the keyword
If you rank for a highly competitive keyword, achieving a high organic click through rate will be more difficult because of the increased competition.
However, with effective on-page and off-page SEO optimization, you can rank high and increase your organic click-through rate.
How to improve your organic click through rate
Here are some of the best tips you can use to increase your organic click through rate for your website:
1. Craft catchy titles and meta descriptions.
Your title and meta description are users’ first impressions of your website in search results. Make them count!
Craft titles relevant to your target keyword, informative, and compelling. Use strong verbs and action words to encourage users to click. Your titles can also incorporate power words, specific keywords, and a sense of urgency.
Words like “best,” “ultimate,” “secrets,” or “free” can pique user interest and entice them to click.
Similarly, your meta description should concisely summarize your content, addressing the user’s search query and highlighting what your content entails.
Understanding user intent is vital for a high organic click through rate. Analyze your target keywords and ensure your content addresses the questions and information users seek.
You can match your content to users’ queries by analyzing the top search results using your competitors’ keywords. The top results in the SERP are web pages matching the keywords’ intent.
Rich snippets are enhanced search results that often include additional information like star ratings, reviews, or images.
Implementing these to your posts makes your listing more visually appealing and provides more information to users at a glance, potentially increasing the likelihood of them clicking on your website.
4. Create valuable, high-quality content.
Content is king, and it’s even truer for organic click through rate. Invest in creating valuable, high-quality content that genuinely benefits your target audience.
Offer insightful analysis and unique perspectives, share experiences and practical solutions to the users’ problems. Ensure your content is well-written, informative, and engaging to keep users hooked and encourage them to keep reading.
Also, quality content increases your search engine rankings, and this increase will directly affect your organic click through rate.
5. Make your site mobile-friendly.
Mobile-friendliness is a crucial aspect of improving the organic click through rate. Not only will it help give a good user experience, but it will also help you rank higher in search engine result pages.
With their mobile-first algorithm update, Google favors websites optimized for mobile devices.
Also, users expect websites to load quickly and function flawlessly on mobile devices.
A slow or non-mobile-friendly website will frustrate users and negatively impact your CTR.
Optimize your website for speed and ensure it has a responsive design that adapts seamlessly to any device.
Schema markup is a code snippet embedded in your website that provides search engines with additional information about your content.
It allows search engines to understand the content of your web page and display richer results, including star ratings, product images, or event details. Enriched results stand out in search listings, grabbing user attention and boosting click-through rates.
7. Optimize images for click-worthiness.
Images are powerful visual elements that can significantly impact click-through rates. With the development and popularity of Google Image Search, you can get organic clicks from the image search pages.
Choose high-quality, relevant images that are visually appealing and accurately represent your content. Optimize image filenames and alt tags with relevant keywords to improve search visibility and entice users to click.
Integrating frequently asked questions (FAQs) into your content offers several benefits.
It directly and promptly addresses user queries, enhancing their search experience.
Also, Google recognizes FAQs and displays them in rich snippets, elevating your website’s visibility in search results.
This prominent placement attracts user attention and increases the likelihood of getting organic clicks.
9. Observe industry trends and competitors.
To stay ahead of the game, you must keep up with the latest developments in your industry and the tactics used by your competitors.
Examine their titles, meta descriptions, social media interactions, and content on their website to find strategies that work well and that you can implement.
Stay updated on newly updated algorithms and user behavior trends to modify your content appropriately.
Social media provides an effective platform for increasing your content’s visibility and organic traffic.
Integrate social sharing buttons on your website and content to encourage readers to share with their networks.
Additionally, engage actively with your social media followers by responding to comments and questions, fostering a sense of community and driving further engagement.
Updating your previous content with fresh data, figures, and analysis shows how valuable and current it is. This raises the ranking and visibility of your content by encouraging search engines to recrawl and reindex it.
Consider repurposing existing content into new formats, such as videos or infographics, to engage new audiences and attract new visitors.
With these expert tips in your toolkit, you can transform your online visibility and make every click count.
Remember that patience and persistence are key as you embark on this journey to enhance your organic click-through rate. Track your progress, adapt your strategies, and watch your website ascend the search ranks.
Your audience is out there waiting to discover your valuable content. So, implement these top tips and unleash the true potential of your online presence. Your journey to a higher organic click-through rate begins now!
Start implementing these top tips today to boost your organic click-through rate.
To improve page speed for your website, one of the first steps is to consider the type of content you have and how you can reduce its size.
The page speed of your website affects your bounce rates, average time per session, conversion rate, and, ultimately, your position in SERPs. Hence, your website speed is a crucial aspect of any SEO strategy.
In this post, I’ll show you how you can quickly improve page speed for your website for more traffic and increased growth.
How Page Speed Affects SEO
a. Direct ranking factor
Google has confirmed that page speed is a direct ranking factor for mobile and desktop searches, meaning faster pages tend to rank higher in search results. Google wants to provide its users with the best possible experience, and faster pages are generally more user-friendly.
b. Better user experience
Users are more likely to stay on a website that loads quickly. Slow-loading pages can lead to frustration and increase bounce rates. A study by Google found that the average user will wait only three seconds for a page to fully load before leaving.
More people are using their mobile devices to access the Internet. Google has prioritized mobile indexing, which means your website’s mobile version is the primary version that Google considers when ranking your pages.
This makes it even more important to have a fast-loading mobile website because mobile users have less patience; they want it fast and quick.
d. Page indexing
Google uses bots to crawl the internet and index websites, and they can only crawl a limited number of pages per day. If your website is slow, it may take longer for Google bots to index your pages.
It might lead to a longer time for your new pages to appear in search results.
e. Lower ranking for competitive keywords
If you are competing for competitive keywords, a slow page speed can put you at a disadvantage. Even a slight difference in page speed can make a big difference in rankings.
f. Featured snippets and rich results
Featured snippets and rich results are special snippets of information that appear at the top of search results. Google is more likely to display featured snippets and rich results from websites with fast page speeds.
Google considers page speed when ranking local businesses in search results. A fast page speed can give you an advantage over your competitors in local search results.
i. Mobile-first indexing
As mentioned earlier, Google has prioritized mobile indexing. When ranking your pages, Google now considers your website’s mobile version the primary version, making it more important to have a fast-loading website and optimize it for mobile devices.
Now that you have a good grasp of how page speed affects the health of your website, here are some ways you can improve the page speed of your website:
1. Optimize images.
Images and most media are often one of the largest components of a web page, so optimizing them can significantly impact page speed.
WebP is a newer image format that can significantly reduce file size without sacrificing quality.
If your website supports WebP, you should use it for all your images. JPEG is another good option for most images, but use PNG for images with text or transparent backgrounds.
ii. Resize your images to the appropriate size.
There is no need to upload a 3000px wide image if it will only be displayed at 500px wide.
Resize your images to the appropriate size before uploading them to your website.
iii. Compress your images.
Many image compression tools are available that can reduce the file size of your images. Some popular image compression tools include TinyPNG, Smush.it, and ImageOptim.
Browser caching allows the browser to store copies of your website’s files locally. The browser does not have to download the files from your server whenever a visitor visits your website.
Here are some tips for enabling browser caching:
i. Set expiration headers.
Expiration headers tell the browser how long to cache your website’s files. You can set expiration headers for individual files or entire directories.
ii. Use a caching plugin.
If you are using a CMS like WordPress or Drupal, there are plugins available to help you enable browser caching.
iii. Use a CDN.
A CDN (content delivery network) can help deliver your website’s files quickly and efficiently to visitors. CDNs are networks of servers that distribute data from a source to users within proximity.
For example, a blogger in San Francisco can use a CDN in Africa to quickly load their web pages for people accessing the website from Africa. Instead of loading directly from San Francisco, they load from the CDN server in Africa.
3. Minimize HTTP requests.
Every time a browser loads a web page, it has to send a separate HTTP request for each file. This can add up, especially for pages with many images or other resources.
To improve page speed for your website, you have to reduce these requests by:
i. Combining CSS and JavaScript files
If you have multiple CSS and JavaScript files, you can combine them into fewer files. This strategy will reduce the number of HTTP requests the browser has to make.
ii. Using a CSS preprocessor
A CSS preprocessor can help you write more efficient and organized CSS, leading to fewer CSS files and HTTP requests.
iii. Using a CDN
A CDN can reduce the number of HTTP requests by delivering your website’s files from multiple servers worldwide.
To effectively use a content delivery network (CDN), you have to make sure that:
You choose a CDN that is reliable and has a good track record.
Your CDN supports your needed features, such as WebP and HTTP/2.
You configure your CDN to deliver your website’s files from the server closest to your visitors.
These steps will enable the best possible use of your CDN.
GZIP compression is a technique that reduces the size of web page resources such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It works by compressing these files before sending them over the Internet, resulting in faster loading times for your website.
Most web servers support GZIP compression by default, but you may need to check your documentation to see how to enable it.
Once you’ve enabled GZIP compression, your web server will automatically compress all supported files before sending them to users’ browsers.
This strategy can reduce the size of your web pages by almost 70%, resulting in significant speed improvements.
5. Minimize render-blocking resources.
Render-blocking resources are CSS and JavaScript files that prevent the browser from rendering the page content until it has been fully downloaded and processed.
i. Load CSS files in the head of the HTML document.
This will allow the browser to start rendering the page content sooner.
ii. Load JavaScript files asynchronously.
Loading JavaScript files at different times will allow the browser to render the page content without waiting for all the JavaScript files to load.
iii. Combine CSS and JavaScript files.
If you have multiple CSS and JavaScript files, you can combine them into a single file. It will reduce the number of HTTP requests made by the browser.
iv. Defer non-critical CSS and JavaScript files.
If you have CSS and JavaScript files that are not critical for rendering the page, you can defer them until after the page has loaded. This will allow the browser to start rendering the page sooner.
v. Use inline CSS and JavaScript.
You can also use inline CSS and JavaScript to avoid render-blocking. However, this is only recommended for a small amount of CSS and JavaScript, as it can make your code more difficult to maintain.
Many plugins and tools are available to help you minimize render-blocking resources.
For example, the WP Smush plugin for WordPress can combine and minify CSS and JavaScript files.
6. Use lazy loading.
Lazy loading is a technique that defers the loading of images and other embedded resources until they are needed.
This can improve page load times by preventing the browser from waiting for all the resources to load before rendering the page.
You can use a JavaScript library such as lazysizes.js to implement lazy loading.
This library will automatically defer loading images and other embedded resources until needed.
Above-the-fold content is the content that is visible to the user without having to scroll down.
By optimizing above-the-fold content, you can ensure that users have a good first impression of your website and that they can start interacting with your content as quickly as possible.
To optimize above-the-fold content, you should:
Keep the amount of above-the-fold content to a minimum.
Following the tips in this blog post can help to improve your website’s page speed quickly, leading to a better user experience, higher conversion rates, and improved search engine rankings.
Optimize your images, reduce HTTP requests, enable browser caching, and use a content delivery network (CDN) to improve your page speed.
Suppose you need help figuring out how to start and where to start. In that case, several tools and plugins are available to help you optimize your website’s page speed, like Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool, to test your page speed and get personalized recommendations for improvement.
How often do you notice a decrease in your site’s page speed? And how do you improve it?
Regarding how Google ranks websites, various lists and schools of thought exist.
However, all SEO experts can agree that Core Web Vitals play a significant role in Google’s ranking system.
Core Web vitals are a set of crucial performance metrics defined by Google and have become a game-changer in the SEO world. When the Core Web Vitals of your website are low, it reduces your ranking.
The good news is there are easy and actionable ways to improve Core Web Vitals for your website and ensure it’s not only user-friendly but also favored by search engines.
What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals are a set of factors that measure critical aspects of your website relevant to accessing a positive user experience.
It evaluates a website’s actual user experience regarding visual stability, interaction, and loading speed, influencing a page’s position in search results.
As crucial as Core Web Vitals are to SEO, it is important to note that it is just one of the several other important ranking factors Google has.
So, focusing on ONLY your Core Web Vitals will not automatically push you to the top of SERPs.
However, you need to combine several SEO strategies to get on the top page of Google.
The primary importance of optimizing your Core Web Vitals will be to improve your SEO score and rankings in SERPs.
However, there are other benefits of improving Core Web Vitals relative to this importance. They include:
Improved user experience
The metrics that indicate a good Core Web Vital are closely related to metrics focusing on user experiences.
When you improve your Core Web Vitals, you also invest in a positive user experience on your website, which is an influential ranking factor.
Higher page rankings
Of course, Google will favor a site with good Core Web Vitals.
Users anticipate being taken to a website that loads rapidly, keeps a consistent layout, and reacts to their interactions immediately when they click on a search result.
Google ensures users have a seamless and positive browsing experience by prioritizing websites that excel in these areas.
Mobile search performance
Working on your Core Web Vitals is vital for outstanding mobile search performance. It means that your website will do well in mobile searches.
SERP special feature eligibility
Improving your Core Web Vitals can lead to inclusion in special search features like featured snippets, voice search results, image packs, knowledge packs, etc.
The websites featured in these special spots are fully optimized with updated and relevant content and good website performance.
A good Core Web Vital performance will give you a competitive edge over other websites in your niche because you are more likely to rank for mobile results, be included in voice search results, show up in special features on a search engine result page, and so many other benefits.
More page views
When a page loads quickly, is responsive to user input, and has great UX design, users will likely stay on the page longer.
This increases the likelihood of reading more content, clicking on more links, and engaging with the page in other ways, increasing your page views.
LCP is the time it takes for the largest content element on a page to load. This metric is important because it reflects the perceived loading performance of a page. When a page loads quickly, it gives users a sense that it is responsive and ready to interact.
A good LCP is below 2.5 seconds. If a page has a high LCP, it means the largest content element takes too long to load, making the page feel slow and unresponsive to users.
FID is the time it takes for a user to interact with a page for the first time, such as clicking on a specific link or tapping a button. This metric measures the responsiveness of a page. When a page is responsive, it is ready to respond to user input quickly, making it feel more fluid and interactive.
A good FID is below 100 milliseconds. If a page has a high FID, it means the browser takes too long to respond to user input.
CLS measures the amount of movement of the main content on a page after it has started loading. It measures the visual stability of a page. When a page is visually stable, it means its layout does not shift after it has started loading, making the page more consistent and predictable for users.
A good CLS is below 0.1. If a page has a high CLS, it means the layout shifts too much after loading, making the page feel unstable and jarring for users.
The time it takes for the largest content element on a page to load
Below 2.5 seconds
First Input Delay (FID)
The time it takes for a user to first interact with a page
Below 100 milliseconds
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
The amount of movement of the main content on a page after it has started loading
Below 0.1 second
Easy Ways to Improve Core Web Vitals
1. Optimize images and videos.
Optimizing images and videos is crucial for improving Core Web Vitals, particularly Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), the time it takes for the largest content element on a page to load.
Since images and videos often constitute a significant portion of a page’s content, optimizing them can substantially enhance page load speed and the overall user experience.
Here’s a checklist for optimizing images and videos for better Core Web Vitals:
Choose the proper image format.
Compress images.
Resize images to fit.
Utilize lazy loading.
Employ image sprites
Optimize video formats and dimensions.
Compress videos.
Transcode videos for different devices.
Utilize video hosting services.
Implement video preloading.
Images and videos can be a significant source of page load time, so optimizing them for size and quality is essential.
2. Minimize server response time.
Server response time is the time it takes for servers to respond to requests from the user’s browser.
This can be affected by several factors, such as the amount of traffic on the server and the efficiency of the server software.
Minimizing server response time is crucial for improving Core Web Vitals, particularly Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and First Input Delay (FID).
Here are some actionable steps to minimize server response time:
These strategies help you minimize the server response time, contributing to improved Core Web Vitals scores, a better user experience, and potentially higher search engine rankings.
3. Optimize your web fonts.
Web fonts can enhance a web page’s visual appeal and overall aesthetic. However, they can also contribute to slower page loading, resulting in a negative user experience.
By optimizing your web fonts and how they are loaded, you can improve Core Web Vitals and enhance your website’s performance.
Here are some effective strategies for efficiently loading web fonts:
Subset your fonts.
Use a font-weight stack.
Use a font hosting service.
Prioritize font loading.
Optimize font file formats.
Preload your fonts.
Utilize font embedding.
Manage font variations.
Monitor and optimize font performance.
These tips can help you effectively load web fonts without compromising the visual appeal of your website while improving Core Web Vitals and overall page performance.
Prioritizing interactive elements is crucial for optimizing Core Web Vitals, particularly First Input Delay (FID).
6. Eliminate render-blocking resources.
Eliminating render-blocking resources is a crucial step towards improving Core Web Vitals, as it directly impacts a web page’s loading performance and perceived responsiveness.
Render-blocking resources on your website prevent the browser from rendering/displaying the page until fully loaded. This can include CSS stylesheets, JavaScript files, and images.
Here are some effective strategies to eliminate render-blocking resources and enhance Core Web Vitals:
These steps will enhance the loading performance of your web pages, directly affect the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and First Input Delay (FID) units of your website, and ultimately lead to a better user experience, increased engagement, and improved SEO rankings.
7. Manage content stability.
Content stability refers to how much the content on a page shifts or moves after it has started loading.
This can be due to several factors, such as images loading late, CSS animations, or JavaScript that changes the page layout.
Content shifts can be a bad user experience, making it difficult for users to read and navigate the page. They can also make the page feel “jumpy” or unstable.
To improve content stability, follow these essential tips:
By following these tips, you can improve content stability on your pages and provide a better user experience for your visitors.
8. Avoid intrusive interstitials.
Avoiding intrusive interstitials is crucial for enhancing Core Web Vitals and providing a positive user experience. Intrusive interstitials are pop-ups or overlays that appear over the content of a page, often obstructing the user’s view of the website’s primary content.
They can be disruptive and annoying, leading to user frustration and a decreased willingness to engage with the website. Also, intrusive interstitials can negatively impact page load times and interactivity, diminishing user experience.
Here are some helpful tips:
Use considerate pop-ups: If you must use pop-ups, make them non-intrusive, easily closable, and relevant to the user’s context.
Prioritize user experience: Evaluate the necessity of each interstitial and consider alternative ways to convey the message.
Provide clear opt-out options: Allow users to close or opt out of interstitials easily to avoid frustration.
Limit frequency and timing: Avoid bombarding users with multiple interstitials at once or inopportune times.
Consider user preferences: Respect user preferences for interstitial blocking and provide clear privacy controls.
Minimizing these disruptions can enhance user engagement, improve SEO performance, and ultimately achieve your business goals.
You can easily improve the Core Web Vitals of your website by following the tips in this blog post.
This will help to improve your website’s SEO performance and make it more user-friendly. As a result, you will attract more visitors and improve your conversion rate.
Remember, Core Web Vitals are an ever-evolving area of SEO. As search engines like Google release new algorithm updates, staying up-to-date on the latest best practices for optimizing these metrics is important.
How do you optimize your website for optimal user experience?
The English language defines authority as having legitimate power or influence over something.
In other words, it means earning the right to have dominion over something or someone.
This term also applies to the SEO world because websites with a reputation for good, trustworthy, and reliable content are held in high esteem and ranked higher than the rest.
In SEO, this term is ‘Domain Authority (DA).’
A well-known and well-published website like “The Wall Street Journal” or “The Times” will most likely get higher rankings when they write and publish content on the Internet, as opposed to a freelance writer just starting their blogging journey.
In this blog post, I’ll show you (7) tried and tested ways to increase your domain authority and adequately understand what it is, how it works, and how to make it work for you.
What Is Domain Authority?
It is vital to understand what domain authority (DA) is and isn’t to know how to increase domain authority for your website.
DA is a metric developed by the Seattle-based software company “Moz” that reflects the likelihood and dominance of a website on search engine result pages (SERPs).
In simpler terms, it is a scoring system to show how high or low a website will likely rank as an answer to a user’s query.
Google does not consider domain authority when ranking websites, whereas Moz shows how well your website will likely rank on search engines based on your SEO efforts.
How Is Domain Authority Calculated?
Tools like Moz and Ahrefs calculate DA by combining multiple factors, including link profile, referring domains, content quality, and so on, into a single domain authority score.
This score can be used for competitive analysis or tracking a website’s “ranking strength” over time.
However, it is important to note that domain authority is calculated relative to other websites in the same niche.
For example, suppose a food blogging website suddenly gains many backlinks or becomes more popular with searchers due to external factors that cause its domain authority to rise. In that case, it will likely cause a decline in the domain authority of other food blogging websites that revolve around the same content.
How to Check Your Website’s Domain Authority
Moz allows you to conduct a limited number of monthly free domain authority queries. Its free tool shows the DA level, number of links, and top pages for the site.
To start, type in your domain name. You’ll then be prompted to make a free account. Once you’re done, click on the activation email to get started.
When checking your website’s domain authority using tools on the web, there are different tools to use to check your DA, and the results from each one may vary.
Now that you know how domain authority is calculated, you may wish to determine your website’s score using any of these tools. Still, it is crucial to consider the following factors when choosing a tool to check your DA score:
Index size: How many URLs are contained within the software’s index?
Frequency of index crawling: How often is the index refreshed?
Correlation with actual rankings: Does a higher domain score equate to better rankings?
What Is a Good Domain Authority Score, and What Isn’t?
The truth is that the answer to this question is relative.
It is easy to think of DA as a grade from 1 to 100, and it may seem reasonable to aim for the highest score possible. Still, as mentioned before, domain authority measures your “rankability,” so you need a score higher than your competitors.
For example, a 78 DA score may not hold weight in a niche where the average DA score is 86, but a score of 35 may be celebrated in a space where the average DA is 20. So, when checking your DA, always compare it with your competitors.
Why Is Domain Authority Important?
According to Wildfireconcepts, a recent study found that domain ratings and keyword rankings are closely linked, proving that domain authority can be helpful when estimating if a website will appear in SERPs.
Understanding your site’s organic traffic and how likely it will rank in SERPs makes you more equipped to build your brand and create an engaging website. It also shows areas where your SEO efforts are lacking and what you can do to improve them.
Regularly checking your DA is an excellent way to monitor the effect of your other SEO efforts and ensure you are heading in the right direction.
How to Increase Domain Authority on Search Engines
There are several ways to increase DA, but here are seven (7) tried, tested, and foolproof methods to increase your domain authority:
1. Acquire high-quality backlinks.
Your link profile is the most crucial metric for your domain authority. If your website has a strong link profile, it is likely to get a higher DA score than one that doesn’t.
A website is said to have a good link profile when:
It has incoming links (backlinks) from high-authority websites.
Incoming links are from related websites.
It doesn’t have low-quality links.
It has links from several unique domains.
There are several ways you can strengthen your link profile by getting backlinks. First, you can look at your top referral sources and find similar sites for backlink opportunities.
You could also contact businesses with websites posting content similar to yours to build relationships with them and encourage mutual linking to each other’s content for mutual benefit.
While domain authority is not necessarily part of the usual SEO strategies, it still relies on the same fundamentals as the others to rate websites.
Writing content that is accurate, current, easy to understand, and relevant is a surefire way to build your credibility online, which may, in turn, lead to other blog posts linking back to you for their readers to get more insight into what they’re writing about; this upgrades your link profile and domain authority.
Also, correctly formatting and optimizing your content are helpful tips to keep in mind.
The list below helps to have your website properly indexed and generally makes your work seem more appealing to the searcher, which is the primary goal of SEO:
You can strengthen your brand identity by boosting your reputation as an expert in your niche. This strategy will help increase traffic and the number of external links.
By becoming known in the real world, people respect you and your brand and will prefer your content over others, increasing your CTR, domain authority, and, ultimately, your rankings on SERPs.
5. Technical SEO.
Once you get your technical SEO right in the early stages of your blog, you won’t have to bother about it again.
However, bad technical SEO, or one that isn’t correctly done, can harm your domain authority and ranking.
Here are a couple of things you can do to improve your technical SEO:
Utilizing these few tips will help maximize your domain authority.
6. Audit your site and remove harmful links.
Regarding SEO generally, link building is an essential strategy because your domain authority, ranking potential, and sustainability depend on the strength of your link profile.
However, as important as it is, having many low-quality and spammy links can do more harm than good to any website. It is better to have fewer good links than numerous harmful ones.
Google practically analyzes every link from and to your website, and having links from a spammy website can reduce your domain authority or, in a worst-case scenario, get you penalized by Google.
You should check your website for harmful links and eliminate them immediately.
You can use several SEO tools to check for harmful links. The first step is to analyze your website’s link profile.
If you cannot remove the links, you can disavow or ignore them, which means that web crawlers won’t consider unnatural or spammy backlinks when indexing your website.
7. Improve your internal links.
Another way to increase your domain authority is to improve your internal link structure. You can keep your visitors engaged by providing links to other informative web pages on your site.
In addition to helping index your pages, internal links facilitate search engine bots’ crawling of your website.
An additional benefit of having a well-thought-out internal link structure is the flow of link juice between pages.
Link juice refers to the SEO value of a page passed to other web pages. It validates your website for the search engines, as more links pointing toward a page show that it’s trustworthy.
All of these add up to increase your site’s domain authority.
Several SEO plugins are available to help with these strategies, like keyword research, link building, mobile friendliness, etc.
For instance, the Link Assistant addon from AIOSEO will automatically create an internal link report for your website and recommend relevant pages you can link to.
Now that you understand how domain authority works, its effect on your website, and how to calculate and improve yours, you can use this knowledge to take your SEO strategies to a different level.
Domain authority can be challenging to understand initially, but keeping it in mind when going about your other SEO activities is foolproof to increase your ranking and your website’s exposure to searchers.
CTA: What is your current domain authority? What steps will you take to improve it?
When the news came to switch to Google Analytics 4 from Universal Analytics, some users were not too keen on the changes. While change isn’t easy, this switch is worth the effort.
As of July 1, 2023, Universal Analytics stopped collecting new data from websites. So, if you still haven’t switched to GA4, the data you currently see in your analytics is outdated, with no further insight into your audience.
You must switch as soon as possible because you are already missing out on your user data between July 1 and the current date.
What is GA4?
GA4 (Google Analytics 4) is the latest version of Google Analytics, and it is designed to be more privacy-focused and future-proof than the previous version, Universal Analytics.
It also focuses on collecting data from websites and apps, using event-based data instead of session-based data.
Although all privacy features in Universal Analytics are available in GA4, Google Analytics 4 also uses a unique default IP anonymization feature that does not register a user’s IP address.
It also uses other privacy features, such as the consent mode, which allows users to control how their data is collected and used, and ad personalization features.
b. Future-proof:
GA4 is designed to be future-proof. It uses a new measurement model that is more flexible and scalable than the one used by Universal Analytics. This means that GA4 can adapt to the latest privacy regulations and technological changes.
The machine learning model integrated into Google Analytics 4 combines artificial intelligence with computer science, which shows that GA4 is ready to stand up to the technological advancements in the world today. Data Driven states, “GA4 fills in data gaps and provides sophisticated insights about user behavior, trends, and anomalies.”
c. Cross-platform:
GA4 can collect data from both websites and apps. This makes it a more comprehensive analytics tool for businesses with a presence on both platforms. It also collects information across devices using a unique user measurement ID for each user.
For example, if a user logs on to your website or app via two different devices, GA4 tracks the user through these devices and maps out the user funnel, identifying the two devices as a single user. It lets you get accurate information on how users interact with your platforms, even using different devices.
d. Event-based:
GA4 collects data based on events rather than sessions. It means it can track a user’s journey across multiple devices and platforms by taking note of the specific actions taken by each user. These actions can include video views, form submissions, file downloads, site searches, and button clicks.
According to Google support, any interaction by a user can be captured as an event.
e. Predictive analytics:
GA4 uses machine learning to provide predictive analytics. This is the use of artificial intelligence to predict the future behavior of your users.
German online retailer baur used GA4’s predictive insight to build a predictive audience for its Google Ads campaign.
The company increased its conversion rate by using an audience of likely purchasers to 87%. The company also calculated that 70% of those customers could only be reached using the predictive audience in Google Ads.
This feature can help businesses understand their users better and make more informed decisions.
Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics are web analytics tools that help you track website traffic and user behavior. However, there are some key differences between the two platforms.
Here are some major differences between GA4 and Universal Analytics:
1. New Report Dashboard
The new report dashboard for GA4 is designed to be more user-friendly and to provide more insights into your users. It is a more flexible and customizable way to view your data.
You can change the colors, fonts, and layout of your reports. You can also customize the data you see.
The new dashboard is divided into four sections:
Home:
This section provides a high-level view of your data. It includes charts and graphs that show your most important metrics, such as sessions, users, and engagement.
Reports:
This section is where you can create custom reports. You can add and remove cards, change the order of the cards, and customize the colors and fonts.
Explore:
This section allows you to explore your data in more detail. You can use filters and segments to drill down into your data and find patterns.
Advertising:
This section has to do with everything involving your Ad campaigns. It gives you an advertising snapshot of your most relevant data, model comparisons, and conversion paths for each user.
2. Data Collection
GA4 can collect data from both websites and apps. However, Universal Analytics only collects data from websites. This makes GA4 a more comprehensive analytics tool for businesses with a website and an app.
Google Analytics 4 collects data using a variety of methods, including:
Web tracking:
GA4 can track website traffic using the Google Analytics tag. The tag is a small piece of code you add to your website’s code. The tag collects data about the pages users visit, their time on each page, and the links they click.
GA4 can track app usage using Google Analytics for Firebase SDK. The SDK is a code you add to your app’s code before you can access and collect app usage data.
The SDK collects data about the events that users perform in your app, such as opening the app, updating the app, viewing a screen, or making a purchase.
Event tracking:
GA4 also allows you to track custom events if you need more than the automatically collected and enhanced measurement events. Custom events are events that are specific to your website or app. You can use custom events to track anything, such as a user signing up for your newsletter or purchasing.
You can also track your app or website for system errors so that you know when a system crashes.
You also need to have access to the Tag Manager container for your website and at least an Editor role in the GA4 account.
Cross-Platform tracking:
GA4 uses a unique identifier called a User-ID to track users across multiple devices and platforms. This feature is generated when a user signs in to your platform.
For example, if a user signs in to your website using their email address, you can generate a unique user ID that you can reference throughout your website or app.
It allows you to see how users interact with your website or app over time, regardless of their device.
GA4 also collects data about the user’s device, such as the type of device, the operating system, and the browser. You can use this data to understand how users access your website or app.
However, it is up to you to ensure that a third party cannot use the data collected to discover the user’s identity. You also have to make sure that your use of the user ID follows the Google Analytics Terms of Service.
Here is a full list of events and user properties automatically collected by Google for Firebase.
GA4 also collects data from other Google products, such as Google Ads and Google Search. This data can be used to improve your marketing campaigns and better understand your users.
Here are some of the key things to keep in mind about GA4 data collection:
Data collection is opt-in: Users must consent to data collection before their data is collected.
Data is collected anonymously: GA4 does not collect personally identifiable information (PII) by default.
Data is collected in real-time: GA4 collects data in real-time, so you can see the latest data as soon as it is collected. Data can change between 24-48 hours.
Data is used to improve your website or app: GA4 data can enhance your website or app by understanding your users and their behavior.
The real-time report in GA4 is a report that shows you the latest data about your website or app traffic as it happens. It is updated every minute to see how your traffic changes in real-time.
The real-time report can show you data up to 700 rows, according to Google Support.
Here are some things you can track in the real-time report:
The number of users per minute for the past 30 minutes
User source or device: where your users are coming from
New users
Returning users
Engaged content
Triggered events
Conversions
You can also use the real-time report to track custom events.
4. User Snapshot
The user snapshot feature in Google Analytics 4 is a report showing a snapshot of data for a single user.
According to Google, “It includes information about the user’s device, app version, and location, along with the top events the user triggered, and the relevant user properties.”
The user snapshot feature can be used to:
Understand individual user behavior:
The user snapshot feature can help you understand how an individual interacts with your website or app. You can see what pages they visit, what events they are triggering, and what devices they use.
Identify trends:
You can identify specific trends in user behavior. For example, you can see if certain pages are more popular with certain types of users or if certain events are more likely to be triggered by users from specific locations.
Here are some things you can see in a user snapshot report:
User ID: The user ID is a unique identifier assigned to each user. This ID can be used to track users across multiple sessions and devices.
Device: The device the user uses to access your website or app
App version: The version of the app that the user is using
Location: The location of the user
Top events: The top events that the user has triggered
User properties: The user properties that have been set for the user
5. Measurement Model
GA4 uses a new measurement model that is based on events and parameters. Events are actions that users take on your website or app. Parameters are additional information about an event.
This contrasts with Universal Analytics, which uses a session-based measurement model.
Here are some key concepts in the GA4 measurement model:
Events:
Events are actions users take on your website or app. Events can be anything from clicking a button to making a purchase.
Parameters:
Parameters are additional information about an event. Parameters can be used to track the time it takes a user to complete a task.
User ID:
The user ID is a unique identifier assigned to each user. This ID can be used to track users across multiple sessions and devices.
Sessions:
A session is a group of events the same user triggers within a certain period.
Measurement ID:
The measurement ID is a unique identifier assigned to each property in GA4. This ID is used to track data across multiple properties.
6. New Engagement Metrics
Google Analytics 4 has several new engagement metrics that can measure how users interact with your website or app.
An engaged session has one or more events. This metric measures how often users interact with your website or app.
Average Engagement Time:
The average engagement time is the total time spent in engaged sessions divided by the number of engaged sessions. This metric measures how long users spend interacting with your website or app.
Engagement Rate:
The engagement rate is the number of engaged sessions divided by the total number of sessions. This metric measures the percentage of sessions that are engaged.
Session Depth:
Session depth is the number of events in a session. This metric can measure how many pages or screens users view in a single session.
Pages per Session:
Pages per session are the pages or screens viewed in a single session. This metric can measure how much content users consume in a single session.
7. Predictive Analytics
GA4 uses machine learning to provide predictive analytics. This can help businesses make more informed decisions by predicting users’ future behavior through artificial intelligence.
This is a new feature that Universal Analytics does not offer.
You can use predictive analytics to identify users likely to churn, target users with specific marketing campaigns, and make more informed decisions about your website or app.
GA4 uses a variety of factors to make predictions, including:
User behavior:
GA4 looks at user behavior on your website or app to make predictions. It includes the pages they visit, the events they trigger, and their time on each page.
Demographics:
GA4 also looks at user demographics. This includes their age, gender, and location.
Intent:
GA4 looks at user intent as well. It includes what they seek on your website or app and what they try to achieve.
Here are some benefits of using the predictive analytics feature in GA4:
Identify users who are likely to churn:
The predictive analytics feature can be used to identify users who are likely to stop using your website or app, and the user snapshot can allow you to identify the problems and then devise effective strategies to keep the users on your platforms.
Make more informed decisions about your website or app:
For example, you can use the predictive analytics feature to decide which pages to prioritize or which features to add to your website or app.
The predictive analytics feature in GA4 can be a valuable tool for understanding user behavior and making more informed decisions about your website or app.
However, it is essential to note that predictive analytics is not a perfect science. The predictions generated by GA4 are based on historical data and may not be accurate for all users.
8. Customization
Google Analytics 4 is a customizable platform, meaning you can tailor it to your needs. Here are some ways you can customize GA4:
Custom dimensions and metrics:
GA4 allows you to create custom dimensions and metrics. You can track data specific to your website or app.
For example, you can create a custom dimension to track the number of times a user views a specific page or a custom metric to track the amount of time a user spends on a specific page.
Custom audiences:
GA4 allows you to create custom audiences. It means you can group users based on their behavior or demographics.
For example, you can create a custom audience of users who have visited your website more than once or from a specific country.
Custom reports:
GA4 allows you to create custom reports. It means you can view data in a way specific to your needs.
For example, you can create a custom report to track your marketing campaigns’ performance or your users’ engagement.
Custom integrations:
Google Analytics 4 allows you to integrate with other Google products, such as Google Ads and Google Analytics 360.
You can use GA4 data to improve your marketing campaigns and get more user data.
Google Analytics 4, unlike Universal Analytics, gives you a lot of control over how you use the platform. It means you can tailor GA4 to your specific needs and get the most out of the data it collects.
Here are some benefits of customizing GA4:
Track data that is specific to your website or app:
Custom dimensions and metrics allow you to track data specific to your website or app. It can help understand user behavior and make more informed decisions about your website or app.
Target specific audiences with your marketing campaigns:
Custom audiences allow you to target specific audiences with your marketing campaigns. It can help you improve the ROI of your marketing campaigns.
You should customize the platform to your needs to get the most out of GA4.
9. Cross-Platform Tracking
Cross-platform tracking, or cross-device tracking, is a feature in GA4 that allows you to track users across multiple devices and platforms.
Google Analytics 4 uses user ID to track users across multiple devices and platforms. This ID is assigned to users when they first interact with your website or app.
The user ID is then used to track the user’s activity across all their devices, so long as they are signed in to their Google account and their Ad Personalization feature is enabled (usually enabled by default).
You should enable cross-platform tracking because nowadays, people access the internet through several devices, including voice assistants and multiple devices.
The fantastic thing about cross-platform tracking in GA4 is that it recognizes the user as an individual even if they use multiple devices, and it also integrates the engagements of that user across all the devices used.
This gives you accurate information when tracking the conversion funnel of your users.
Here are some benefits of cross-platform tracking in GA4:
Track users across multiple devices and platforms:
Cross-platform tracking lets you track how users interact with your website or app on their phone, tablet, and computer.
Identify lost customers:
Cross-platform tracking can help you identify lost customers. You can use this information to target these customers with specific marketing campaigns to win them back.
Personalize the user experience:
Cross-platform tracking can be used to personalize the user experience. For example, you can show different content to users based on the device they are using.
Improve the ROI of your marketing campaigns:
Cross-platform tracking can help you improve the ROI of your marketing campaigns. You can target your campaigns more effectively and measure their effectiveness more accurately.
10. Privacy
GA4 is designed to be more privacy-focused than Universal Analytics. It allows users to control how their data is collected and used.
GA4 has several privacy features that are designed to protect user privacy.
These features include:
Consent management:
GA4 allows you to manage consent for data collection. You can ask users for their consent before collecting their data.
Data minimization:
GA4 minimizes the amount of data that it collects. GA4 only collects the data that is necessary for it to function. It does not log in or store IP addresses.
GA4 allows you to export your data if you switch to a different analytics platform.
The privacy features of GA4 are designed to protect user privacy while still allowing you to collect the data you need to track your website or app traffic.
Here are some benefits of using the privacy features in GA4:
Protect user privacy:
The privacy features help to protect user privacy by minimizing the amount of data that is collected and by pseudonymizing data.
The privacy features can help you build trust with users by demonstrating your commitment to protecting their privacy.
Improve the user experience:
The privacy features in GA4 help you improve the user experience by reducing the collected data and making it easier for users to opt out of data collection.
GA4 offers a different set of reports than Universal Analytics. The reports in GA4 are more focused on user behavior and engagement, making it easier to understand how users interact with your website or app.
You can also customize your GA4 reports to focus on the user data that is most important to you.
Here is a table summarizing the key differences between GA4 and Universal Analytics:
Here are the steps to switch from Universal Analytics to GA4:
Create a new GA4 property: Go to your Google Analytics account and click the Admin tab.
Select the account you want to switch (if you have only one Universal Analytics account, it’s automatically selected).
In the Property column, select the Universal Property you use for your UA account.
In the Property column, click the GA4 Setup Assistant.
Click the Get Started button under this prompt: “I want to create a new Google Analytics 4 property.”
If your website already uses a gtag.js tag, you can select the option that shows: “This Wizard can also enable data collection using your existing tags.”
Click on Create Property.
Give your property a name: Enter a name for your new GA4 property.
Select your website or app: Select the website or app you want to track with GA4.
Enable data collection: Click on the Enable button to enable data collection for your new GA4 property.
Install the GA4 tracking code: You must install the GA4 tracking code on your website or app to track your traffic. You can find the tracking code in the Tracking Code section of your GA4 property.
Migrate your data from Universal Analytics using the Data Transfer Tool. You can find the Data Transfer Tool in the Tools section of your GA4 property.
Start using GA4: Once you have completed the steps above, you can start using GA4 to track your website or app traffic. You can find the GA4 reports in the Reports section of your GA4 property.
Here are some additional things to remember when switching from Universal Analytics to GA4:
GA4 is a new product, still under development.
GA4 uses a different data model than Universal Analytics.
You must migrate your data from Universal Analytics to GA4 to keep historical data.
You will need to adjust your reporting and analysis methods.
Recent GA4 Updates
Since the announcement that Google Analytics will replace Universal Analytics, Google has kept updating GA4 to ensure you get all the important data, export it, and track user interactions with your website or app.
Here are some updates to GA4 in the last few months that I think are crucial to SEO Analysis:
i. Behavioral modeling in path and funnel explorations
This is the latest update to Google Analytics 4, added on August 17, 2023.
Behavioral modeling data is now available in path and funnel explorations in Google Analytics 4. This has to do with declining consent for analytics cookies on your website.
This update lets you get data from users who decline your consent banner so you don’t miss out on valuable insights.
When a website visitor or app user declines analytics cookies or equivalent app identifiers, your reports are missing data about them.
Behavioral modeling fills in the data gaps by modeling the behavior of users who decline analytics cookies based on the behavior of similar users who accept analytics cookies.
ii. E-commerce dimensions and metrics available in the custom report builder
Google added this feature on July 20, 2023; it enables you to create your e-commerce reports from scratch or edit standard e-commerce reports.
These are the e-commerce dimensions that are now available in the custom report builder:
Item affiliation
Item brand
Item category
Item category 2
Item category 3
Item category 4
Item category 5
Item ID
Item list ID
Item list name
Item list position
Item location ID
Item name
Item promotion creative name
Item promotion creative slot
Item promotion name
Item variant
Shipping tier
These are the e-commerce metrics that are now available in the custom report builder:
Gross item revenue
Gross purchase revenue
Item refund amount
Item revenue
Items added to cart
Items checked out
Items clicked in promotion
Items purchased
Items viewed
Items viewed in list
Items viewed in promotion
Purchase revenue
Refund amount
Shipping amount
Tax amount
iii. Six new dimensions and metrics in the Google Analytics 4 audience builder
On June 5, 2023, Google added five new dimensions to the Google Analytics 4 audience builder, namely:
Country
Manual term (UTM Term)
Mobile device information
Minute
New vs. Returning
They also added a new metric, session duration, to give more insight into users’ interactions with your platforms.
iv. Funnel reports
This update was introduced on May 2, 2023; it allows you to create customized sales funnel reports to see users’ exact steps to complete a task.
It also lets you see how many users drop off between each step and the specific step where they drop off.
This update allows you to create relevant funnels for your specific business goals and reference the information in your purchase journey reports.
Google Analytics 4 is a far cry from Universal Analytics. It is better and more scalable, and I love that it offers several customization options.
If you still need to switch to GA4, you must do so NOW! Also, you need to export your data from Universal Analytics to GA4 because Google announced that Universal Analytics would stop processing data starting July 1, 2023. It means you cannot access previously processed data from your Universal Analytics account.
If you have switched to GA4 already, you should keep up with the new changes.
Are you encountering any issues switching from Universal Analytics to GA4? If you have switched, how has the new experience been so far?
You will agree that there’s always a part of SEO that isn’t ‘techy’ but not basic.
SEO analysis was something I wasn’t too keen on, but I needed to learn because it is the key to every good SEO strategy.
I always include SEO analysis and reports when working with clients and for my brand. If not, how will you measure your growth? How do you keep track of changes in the algorithm?
You can do many things with a proper SEO analysis of your site and blog.
Are you looking for how to make SEO analysis simple? Read on!
What Is SEO Analysis?
SEO analysis is the process of evaluating your website to discover SEO issues and evaluate your SEO strategies’ effectiveness.
With SEO analysis, you can better understand how your website is faring and the specific corrections you need to make to your strategies. So, you are not making a wide guess; you know where your SEO is hurting and can diagnose it accurately.
You can discover issues that range from low-ranking content and spammy backlinks to site security and crawlability issues.
SEO analysis is like playing doctor with your website as the patient.
Some website owners outsource SEO analysis and reporting to SEO agencies. This idea is usually good if the SEO issues with your website are more technical than content-related or something you can fix easily.
There was a time when I had to contact a technical SEO expert to work on my website, and he did a fantastic job. He even worked on areas of SEO that I didn’t know were important.
However, you must understand SEO analysis to the extent that you do not need to contact an expert for all the issues you discover.
Why SEO Analysis Is Important
Knowing what SEO analysis is can give you an insight into its importance. But I am here to provide you with even more reasons why you need an SEO analysis for your website:
a. Measures the effectiveness of SEO strategies
Imagine you paid huge money to learn SEO from an expert; maybe you even signed up for one of our SEO services! How would you know if the actions you’ve taken on your site are effective?
How much difference is your SEO strategy making on your website’s performance?
This is why you need to understand SEO analysis because it allows you to measure the effectiveness of your SEO strategies.
b. Pinpoints holes in your strategy
Aside from knowing how effective your SEO strategies are, SEO analysis also shows you the optimization errors on your website. It shows you the exact problem with your website and content.
It doesn’t just tell you that you have a hole but also where it is.
c. Helps you rank higher
SEO analysis indirectly helps you rank higher organically because most tools will show you the problem and suggest how to improve it.
Showing you what to change allows you to correct essential issues that reduce your ranking potential.
d. Achieves your goals faster
Achieving your SEO goals is faster when you schedule time for site analysis. You don’t have to guess or skim around the main issues; you know precisely what is wrong and the action you must take to rectify it.
e. Increases your competitiveness
Website analysis allows you to spy into your competitor’s data and discover the keywords they are ranking for, where they get their backlinks, and the content gaps between your site and theirs.
This valuable insight allows you to match content strategy with competition and even outdo them.
f. Algorithm update alert
By carrying out analysis on your website, you can notice changes that are caused by Google algorithm updates. This helps you to know what part of your content needs to be updated to fit the algorithm changes.
g. Makes optimization easy
SEO analysis makes optimization easy by giving you actionable insight into your website’s code, content, and structure. It also helps you understand your keywords’ performance in real-time and search rankings.
There is no exact time to analyze your website; you can schedule site analysis based on how often you change your strategy.
You can also do an SEO analysis when you notice these things:
Declining traffic
If you notice a consistent decline in your site’s traffic and conversion, it might be due to the SEO issues with your content and site. It could be due to bad content, low page speed, or crawlability problems.
Content not being indexed
If you want to know which of your pages Google has indexed, you can search with this “site:domain.com.”
It shows you all the pages on your website Google has indexed. If the number of search results shown does not tally with the amount of content you have, you have indexing issues, and it is time for SEO analysis.
If the number of search results is smaller than expected, your pages are not being indexed. If it is more, it probably means you have several indexed duplicate pages.
High bounce rates
A high bounce rate is usually a result of low page speed and bad content structure. A detailed analysis will show you the pages with high bounce rates and what you can do to reduce these rates.
So, if you notice your site visits have a high bounce rate, you must analyze your site.
Types of SEO Analysis
To perform a site analysis, you have to understand that there are different types of SEO analysis.
Here are the different types of SEO analysis and issues you will often encounter under them:
1. Technical SEO analysis
This is an analysis of the technical health of your website.
What is technical SEO?
Technical SEO is the part of SEO that directly or indirectly affects the ability of web crawlers to crawl and index your website and improve organic rankings.
It also involves certain aspects of your website that can affect user experience.
Technical SEO is also essential for your content to get to your audience. You don’t want all the investments in your content to go to waste.
Technical SEO analysis checklist
To do a technical SEO analysis of your website, these are the relevant things you need to check:
i. Crawlability and Indexing
This is the most crucial aspect of your analysis. If your website’s content isn’t crawlable, then whatever you do goes down the drain.
If your content is not being crawled, it simply means Google can’t rank them.
These are some of your site’s data that are relevant to the crawlability and indexing of your pages:
5xx error code:
5xx error codes are server-based error codes that prevent a user from accessing specific pages on your site.
If web crawlers come across pages with 5xx errors, they can remove them from the search index, meaning that your page will rank less, and you’ll lose traffic.
Robots.txt files are code files that tell web crawlers the URL of pages you want to crawl.
It does not mean that robots.txt files can keep a page out of Google. According to Google developers, if other pages use descriptive texts to point to a page with a robots.txt file, Google can still index that URL without visiting the page.
Instead, you use these files to manage the crawler traffic to your website to prevent the crawling of unimportant pages.
When performing SEO analysis, you will sometimes see issues affecting your robots.txt files, including missing robots.txt files, format errors, blocked internal resource issues, etc.
XML sitemaps list the important pages on your website and show them to Google crawlers. It is like a map for your web pages, allowing Google to find them quicker.
Sitemaps make it easier for web crawlers to understand your website’s structure and ensure all your important pages are crawled.
Add them to your Google Search Console account to ensure Google finds your sitemaps.
Whenever you need to check your sitemaps, you can go to the ‘sitemap’ section on the page and check if Google has indexed all the pages in your sitemap.
Most SEO analysis tools like Ubersuggest, AISEO, SEMrush, and others will clearly show you the crawlability issues with your websites.
They also give suggestions and additional information to help you understand each report, like this example from SEMrush SEO Analyzer:
ii. Site Security
The primary issue with a website’s security is usually the use of encrypted HTTPS protocol. However, there are other security issues aside from your SSL certificate.
You will see the SEO issues on your site, including your site’s security status.
SEMrush’s SEO Analyzer also does a good SEO analysis for websites, and you can use it to check your website’s security and HTTPS status.
Here are ways you can make your site’s security better:
Get an SSL certificate for your website.
Redirect all HTTP pages to HTTPS.
Make sure your security protocols are up to date.
All your subdomains should support SNI.
All your pages are secured.
All your plugins are updated.
Prevent SQL injections.
Back up your data.
Protect against DDoS attacks.
Download only secure plugins.
iii. Site Speed
If your website isn’t loading fast, chances are you are losing many visitors. Site speed is a crucial ranking factor because it directly affects user experience on your site.
Using your SEO analysis tool, you can check how fast the average page on your site loads.
The easiest way, however, is to use Google PageSpeed Insights. It will show you the most crucial issues relevant to your SEO strategy and what you are doing right!
This is an essential part of your on-page SEO analysis because mobile optimization is a key ranking factor on Google.
Most users surf the internet from their cell phones, making it crucial.
You can easily check if a page is usable on mobile devices using Google’s mobile-friendly test. However, to check and monitor the mobile optimization status for your entire site, you need to use the Google Search Console or your SEO analysis tool of choice.
How to optimize your site for mobile devices:
Use responsive designs.
Improve your page speed.
Use mobile-friendly themes.
Avoid intrusive interstitials.
Do mobile testing for your website.
Enable lazy loading.
Enable browser caching.
Use AMP markups.
Compress images.
Decrease HTTP requests.
v. Core Web Vitals
This technical SEO factor also affects the performance of your website to users, which means that these factors also directly affect user experience on your site.
It is a new ranking factor and a group of metrics that prioritizes user experience.
Using Google’s PageSpeed Insights shows your performance scores for these factors. You can also get your Core Web Vitals using the Google Search Console.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Largest Contentful Paint is the loading performance of your website, which measures how fast your web page’s main content loads. Ideally, a good LCP should be within 2.5 seconds of loading.
In these 2.5 seconds, LCP should span 75% of all web pages on your site.
First Input Delay (FID)
First Input Delay is the Core Web Vital that measures interactivity, i.e., how fast your site responds to a user’s interaction.
It captures the load responsiveness of each user on your site and is to be within 100 milliseconds of clicking.
It means the time it takes for a user to click on an icon on your page and the browser’s response to loading the destination page is crucial to SEO.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Cumulative Layout Shift measures the visual stability of your web pages. When elements shift during viewpoint, it is referred to as layout shifts.
CLS measures how much of the visual elements shifted on your page and the distance they were shifted.
All layout shifts are expected to occur within 500 milliseconds of a user’s input.
2. On-page SEO analysis
This is an analysis of your content; it evaluates the performance of your content both to search engines and users.
What is on-page SEO?
On-page SEO refers to the processes involved in optimizing your web pages. Unlike technical SEO, which deals with the website in general, on-page SEO has to do with the content of a web page.
According to Search Engine Journal, on-page SEO includes headlines, HTML tags, links, keywords, and images.
You need to check some relevant data to conduct an on-page SEO analysis of your website. You can get an in-depth insight into your content’s health using a good SEO analyzer.
However, if your SEO analyzer allows you to manually check specific SEO attributes of your site, look out for the following:
i. Cannibalization
Cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on your website have the same or similar keywords. This means that two or more pages are competing for traffic within the same site.
Google will get confused about which pages to rank for a search query, and rather than selecting just one of them, it shares ranking across all the pages with similar keywords.
When you discover cannibalization from pages on your site, you can redirect weaker pages to a main one or combine all the pages and create a single source page for that topic.
Meta Description is a summarized version of your blog post on the search engine result page for a searcher’s query. They are essential for organic traffic because they can be the deciding factor for a user to click your post leading to high CTR.
You can use SEO analyzers to determine if your meta description is optimized for engines and users.
Crawling my website on AIOSEO Analyzer shows me all the critical SEO issues I have on my website, including a lengthy meta description, alt attribute issues, and even header tag issues.
iv. Formatting
Formatting relates to how your content is arranged to make it readable for users.
It includes using header tags and images to make content easily skimmable.
Header tags:
You need to have appropriate header tags for your content.
For example, you cannot use an H1 tag twice on your content. H1 tags are usually reserved for headlines and appear only once on a page.
Image audit:
You should optimize all the images used on your page; you shouldn’t have low-quality or high-sized images that will slow down your page speed.
Most SEO analyzers will show you the readability of your pages.
However, if you are using a hosting provider like WordPress, you can see the readability of each post from the backend of your website before they are uploaded to the internet.
v. Links
Links are essential to SEO; they show search engines that your content is valuable enough to be referenced by others in your niche.
External links:
External links are links to other websites from your site. It shows you respect other experts’ opinions and are all about value for your readers, making search engines tag your content as reliable.
Internal links:
Internal links are links to other pages on your website that help search engines better understand your site structure and contents.
My website’s SEO analysis on AISEO Analyzer shows I have an uneven ratio between my internal and external links.
While this might not directly affect ratings, there should be a good balance between your internal and external links.
Some of the common link issues on your website can include the following:
This analyzes other factors outside your website that can affect your SEO health.
What is off-page SEO?
Off-page SEO is the actions taken outside of your site that may directly or indirectly affect your rankings on search result pages.
Off-page SEO is important for Google to determine your brand trustworthiness beyond your blog posts. It considers factors such as brand mentions and backlinks from websites in your niche.
Off-page SEO analysis checklist
Here are the most important off-page SEO factors to consider when doing an SEO analysis on your site:
i. Backlinks
Backlinks are links to your site from relevant websites in your niche. You need to develop a link-building strategy for your website to get credible backlinks.
Backlinks are one of Google’s top ranking factors. Based on the new way Google’s algorithm is tailored, websites with high domain authority are prioritized for search results, mainly when the searcher uses voice search.
High domain authority shows your level of experience, expertise, authority, and trust (E-E-A-T) in your niche, aligning with Google’s guidelines for determining content quality.
NOTE: The fact that you have a low domain authority does not mean you cannot rank for organic results. SARMLife’s current domain authority is 11, yet we have had posts ranking above relevant sites in the SEO industry.
Domain authority contributes to top ranks, especially when it’s YMYL content, but Google ranks web pages, not websites.
Here are some major backlink issues you can see on your website:
No backlinks
Spammy links
Links from spammy sites
Press release links
Random nofollow links
You can check for backlink issues with your website using your favorite SEO analyzers like Ubersuggest, Ahref, SEMrush, and others.
ii. Local SEO
This is an essential off-page SEO for businesses. You need to optimize your website for local searches.
Using the Moz Local tool, you can get valuable insight into how your business is faring in local directories and social media platforms, including Google searches, Google Maps, Facebook, Bing, Foursquare, etc.
4. Traffic analysis
Analyze the visitors coming to your site and find ways to improve your SEO strategies.
What is traffic analysis?
Traffic analysis is an analysis of the visitors coming to your website. It shows you details on organic and paid results, the source of traffic, and user interactions on your website.
The best tools to use for traffic analysis are Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These tools show you in-depth information as efficiently as possible and give you information on each metric’s significance.
Traffic analysis metrics
You get to see many metrics on your analytics tool that are impossible to mention.
Here are some of these metrics:
Total clicks
New users
Gender
Traffic source
Browers
Pages
Devices
Countries
Total impression
Average CTR
Average position
How to Perform SEO Analysis on Your Website
Now that you know the essential things to look out for in an analysis, what is the best process for conducting an SEO analysis on your website?
Do you go to the SEO analyzer and type in your domain? How do you make an effective SEO analysis? The end goal of an analysis is not just to know what is wrong with your SEO strategy but also to fix it.
To perform SEO analysis on your website, follow this process:
a. Set your goals.
Before analyzing your site for SEO issues, you must have your goals down. What do you want to achieve? What are the major SEO challenges you need to address?
When you have a goal, staying focused on the metrics you need to track is more effortless.
b. Decide your metrics.
When you do an SEO analysis, you will see many metrics and factors; they are so many that one can get distracted and curious about the numerous figures and data.
This is why the first step is essential. When you know your SEO goal, you will be able to understand the exact metrics that are relevant to you.
c. Choose your tool.
What SEO analyzer tool do you prefer?
Numerous SEO analyzers can give you in-depth insight into your site’s SEO health.
However, you need to consider different factors:
Pros and cons of each tool:
Some tools prioritize and are great at analyzing specific aspects of SEO but are weak in some other areas. Your tool choice will depend on your goal and the SEO analyzer’s ability to carry it out.
Budget:
The free features of most SEO analyzers are okay, but if you want a more detailed analysis, you must be ready to pay for it.
The prices also vary, so consider the amount you can spare for the analysis.
Experience:
Depending on how experienced you are, the user interface of some tools is easy to understand, even without technical knowledge. However, some require a certain level of expertise to understand and navigate.
d. Crawl your website.
This part is pretty much automated. All you need to do is to insert your domain name in your tool, and it will crawl all the pages on your website to detect SEO issues that it might have.
I often enjoy SEO analyzers that highlight the parts I am doing well and not just focus on the issues on the site.
e. Effect corrections.
Usually, your SEO tool will give you suggestions on each issue and how you can make it better. If the tool you use doesn’t, I suggest you switch.
These suggestions are effortless most of the time. However, some suggestions involve coding, and you might have to outsource.
f. Review your website.
When you are done making the corrections, it is best to run another diagnosis on the site to see if these corrections have been updated on the web. You can also test manually on your device.
For example, if you worked on page speed or mobile optimization issues, you can check whether these have been rectified on your device.
g. Create an action plan.
You will have discovered fundamental issues in your SEO strategy from the analysis. The next thing to do is to create an action plan to avoid future occurrences.
It might mean changes in your content writing processes, intentional link building, or image optimization.
Your action plan should indicate what to do, how, and when to do it.
h. Implement the strategies.
Implement these strategies continuously and also make sure to stay updated regarding industry changes that affect SEO.
NOTE: You can always outsource your SEO analysis to an expert.
SEO Analysis Report
After carrying out a thorough analysis of your SEO health, the next thing to do is to draw up a report. It doesn’t matter if you are doing the analysis yourself or from an agency; it is crucial to have an analysis to track your progress better.
What is an SEO report?
An SEO report summarizes the SEO issues discovered on a website that shows how a website performs over time.
SEO reports are relatively easy to create, and most SEO analysis tools automatically generate a report for your analysis.
For example, when I used the AIOSEO analyzer to analyze my website, I got a 13-page detailed report that included the issues and the solutions. It also had details like the date and categories.
It even had a table of content!
Features of an SEO report
If you are making an SEO report for yourself or a client, here are some features to keep in mind:
i. Easy to understand
SEO reports are meant to be easy to understand, even for an SEO baby; it doesn’t need to be filled with many technical terms.
ii. Focuses on a few metrics
Your report should highlight the few and most important metrics. If you need to include more metrics, you can use umbrella words.
iii. Outlines issues
Clearly state the SEO issues that are relevant to your SEO goals. The issues are more than just metrics and data; an SEO report should clearly state what issues each data represents.
iv. Recommendations
Give recommendations for each of the highlighted issues. How do you expect them to be solved, tools that can be used, and the time it will take to see results?
v. Outlines results over time
For each analysis, ensure to include both expected and seen results over time.
Importance of an SEO report
SEO reports are vital, and aside from the fact that they allow you to access relevant data regarding your SEO health easily, they also enable effortless communication between you and your clients.
Also, with SEO reports, you highlight the critical metrics, allowing you to review months of evaluation in record time. You don’t need to waste time reviewing a metric only to realize it isn’t relevant to your goals.
What metrics should be highlighted in an SEO report?
The metrics that need to be highlighted in an SEO report depend on the SEO goals of the clients. If all the client wants is to increase traffic, the highlighted metrics will differ from those focused more on conversion.
However, specific metrics are essential to a website’s SEO health regardless of the goal. For example, if you want conversions, you must attract enough traffic.
No matter what the client’s SEO goals are, there are some metrics every client will want to know about their website. These metrics include:
Overall SEO score
Organic traffic
Keyword ranking
Backlinks
Domain authority
New visits
The list can vary, so you can ask your client if they have any specific metric they would love to see in the report.
Here are some other metrics that can be based on the client’s goals:
Conversions
Content gap
Backlinks
Traffic sources
Dwell time
Top Tools for SEO Analysis and Report
These are my top tools for carrying out SEO analysis and report:
1. Ahref’s SEO Analyzer
Ahref’s SEO analyzer is an advanced SEO resource tool that analyzes your website’s elements and shows you technical SEO issues, link analysis, and how specific pages are faring on your site. Some of its main features are content explorer, keywords explorer, site auditing, and site explorer.
Pricing:
Trial Period – $7 for 7 days
Lite Plan – $99/month
Standard Plan – $179/month
Advanced Plan – $399/month
Agency Plan – $999/month
2. Ubersuggest.
Ubersuggest is a freemium SEO tool that allows you to crawl your website in minutes and generate a detailed analysis. It helps you check performance and technical issues affecting your website and gives suggestions to make your site more SEO-friendly.
Pricing:
Free version
Premium Plan
Individual Plan – $12/month
Business Plan – $20/month
Agency Plan – $40/month
Lifetime access
Individual Plan – $120
Business Plan – $200
Agency Plan – $400
3. AIOSEO
AIOSEO analyzer allows you to discover SEO issues affecting your website effortlessly, gives you information on the data, and shows you how to fix it. It also gives you a detailed SEO report showing the places needing improvement.
The icing on the cake is that this tool also gives a free SEO audit to ensure your website’s SEO issues are fixed!
Pricing: Free
4. Google Search Console
Arguably one of the best SEO analyzer tools, Google Search Console allows you to analyze your site from scratch and helps you identify crawl errors, keyword rankings, mobile responsiveness, indexed pages, and even show metrics important to your SERP rankings.
To use the Google Search Console, you must confirm that the domain is yours through DNS verification. You can also select analyzing the entire domain or a single URL.
Pricing: Free
5. Google Analytics
Some people pair using Google Analytics with Google Search Console, which is good, especially when you cannot afford the paid version of Google Analytics.
This tool focuses on customers and allows you to filter your search sources, determine your engagement metrics and identify pages on your site that lead to conversion and those that don’t.
Pricing: Free
6. SEObility
SEObility free SEO checker is another SEO analysis tool that checks if your site complies with search engine guidelines. It analyzes your website for technical errors, meta information analysis, link structure, and server errors.
It also gives you tips on optimizing your website for future success in SEO. With SEObility SEO checker, you can access 1,000 subpage audits, alerts, keyword monitoring, and email reporting.
Pricing: Free
Screaming Frog
This is one of the tested and trusted analysis tools out there.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider helps you to crawl your website for crawl issues. It can carry out big-scale analyses of larger websites.
Pricing:
Free version
Paid Plan – €149/month
8. SEMrush
SEMrush is one of the biggest SEO analyzer tools trusted by big brands like Tesla, Walmart, and even Forbes. SEMrush’s SEO Toolkit allows users to track keywords, build links, and conduct keyword analysis and competitive analysis.
It covers things from content marketing to PPC and social media marketing.
Pricing:
Pro Plan – $119.95/month
Guru Plan – $229.95/month
Business Plan – $449.95/month
9. SEOptimer
SEOptimer is an SEO analysis and reporting tool that checks over 70 data or metrics. It covers on-page SEO analysis, backlink analysis, usability, performance, and local SEO analysis.
It also helps you create customized white-label SEO audits and conduct keyword research.
Pricing:
Trial Period – 14 days free trial
Paid – $19.99/month
10. Moz Pro
Moz Pro offers a range of recharge tools that help with SEO, including crawling up to 3,000 links for a given URL to search for errors influencing your SEO health. It also allows you to track growth, build reports, and identify SEO opportunities for your site.
Pricing:
Trial Period – 30 days free trial
Standard Plan – $99/month
Medium Plan – $149/month
Large Plan – $249/month
Premium Plan – $599/month
Final Thoughts
The best strategy for your SEO analysis is to ensure you have a goal in mind. It makes it easier to understand what metrics to look out for and how you can measure your growth.
It’s also okay for you to outsource the SEO analysis of your website, and it doesn’t mean you are less of a blogger. Sometimes, you need to work with a professional SEO marketer or agency because some issues are more technical and severe than others.
For SEO reporting, it’s necessary to do it for the sake of records and to make your metrics more accessible. It’s like a summary book that you can quickly review to get facts or quick reminders.
Overall, you want to ensure your SEO content strategy is in place and that you are not going against any of Google’s guidelines on your website.
How often do you carry out SEO analysis on your website?
Google introduces hundreds of Google algorithm updates yearly.
These updates include minor and major updates that can affect your post rank on search engine result pages.
How do you stay updated? Which algorithm update will affect your SEO strategy, and how exactly will it affect your ranking? More importantly, how do you maintain and improve your ranking despite these updates?
The answer to these questions starts with understanding the role of the Google algorithm in satisfying a searcher’s query and how its updates are based on increasing satisfaction.
If you’ve tried a recent search, you’ll notice how images, long-form, and short-form videos are now a part of Google’s search engine result page.
Not to talk of featured snippets.
These are just a few algorithms updates Google rolls out yearly and their impacts on how searches are answered or displayed.
To simplify Google’s algorithm, I’ll take you through how Google Search works, how Google determines top-ranking pages, and major algorithm updates that have affected and keep affecting SEO.
What is Google Algorithm?
Google Algorithm is the process Google uses to determine how to rank content on a search engine result page.
To put it more technically, it means the compendium of factors and systems that Google uses to determine the worthiness of content against other competitors. It determines which of the millions of web pages is the most relevant and authoritative for each query.
These factors include backlinks, keywords, user experience, content, website structure, etc.
Three (3) Stages of Google Search
According to Google developers, Google Search is a “fully automated search engine that uses software known as web crawlers that explore the web regularly to find pages to add to their index.”
This means when you upload web pages on your site, web crawlers will crawl the web to determine which pages should be indexed into the Google library. However, there is no guarantee that your page will be crawled, indexed, or served even if you follow the search essentials.
There are three stages of a Google search, and your pages need to go through all these stages before you can start talking about ranking on the first page.
Web crawlers do this. When you upload your pages on the internet, there isn’t an exact registry for it which means that until your page is crawled and indexed by Google, it doesn’t exist.
Google web crawlers constantly crawl the web to look for new and updated pages to add to its indexed list. This is also called URL Discovery. There are two ways your URL can be discovered:
Through a link from an already known page.
Through sitemaps
When your URL is discovered, the web crawlers, also known as Googlebot or web spiders, will crawl your page to know what you have on it. However, you can disallow Googlebot from crawling your page if need be by using robots.txt codes.
Indexing
Indexing is Google trying to understand the textual content of your page and its attributes (alt attributes, images, videos, and so on).
While indexing your page, Google discovers if the page is a duplicate page, a copy from another site, or if it is canonical. To index pages, Google creates a cluster of pages that answer a specific query and tries to find the most relevant and valuable page that answers the query and aligns with the user’s intent.
The other pages will then be an alternate version that can be served in several other contexts like location, device, or specificity.
In indexing, Google notes ranking factors and signals directly impacting how this page will be served in search engines.
All the information found in indexing will then be stored in the Google index.
There is no guarantee that a page will be indexed, although indexing depends on your page content and its metadata.
Serving
When a query is inserted into the search engine, Googlebot searches the list of indexed pages from that cluster and determines which pages are more relevant to that particular search query.
Several factors, including location, language, and device, determine the relevance of a web page to a query. This is why search results vary even though the same query is inputted.
How does Google Algorithm work?
Google’s algorithm involves several factors, making it a very complex process to understand. Google usually does rigorous testing to improve search results, leading to several algorithm updates to cover up discovered lapses and meet up with technological advances.
The ranking factors developed as a result of these updates are not entirely revealed to the public, probably because of the possibility of abuse by bloggers.
For example, when keywords became a hot topic and an obvious ranking factor, people started abusing the placement of keywords on their blogs, resulting in keyword stuffing and many fluff posts on result pages.
However, some primary and constant factors are consistently used despite algorithm changes, and Google sometimes gives us little hints on the particular ranking factor to focus on.
Google Algorithm ranking factors: How top-ranking posts are determined by Google.
Google uses an automated system to rank the hundreds of billions of pages in its search index to visually present the most relevant, valuable, and appropriate content to its users.
If you want your website to rank high on search engines, you must understand Google’s ranking factors and how they can impact your position on search result pages.
The truth is that there are over 200 ranking factors and signals Google uses to determine its top pages. However, most of these factors are conditional and based on several other contexts.
So, how does Google determine the top-ranking posts?
Meaning of A Query
The Google algorithm tries to understand what a searcher is looking for when they type in their query, known as the user/search intent.
The fact that searchers input queries don’t reduce their relevance to bloggers.
The meaning of a query will determine if Google will rank your post for it because satisfying a user’s intent is what Google strives to do, and hence, the constant algorithm updates.
So, you need to match the content of your posts to match a user’s intent. For example, to create a post around ‘SEO platforms,’ you must first check top-ranking pages for that keyword to discover the user intent.
User intent is majorly categorized into four types:
Transactional: These are searchers looking to buy certain products. For these types of searchers, Google will lead them straight to product pages instead of informational or review pages.
Informational: These are searchers looking for specific information about a topic. It could be a real-time update (soccer scores, epidemic), recipe, or information about SEO strategies.
For example, if you type in ‘chicken soup’ as your search query, Google won’t give you information like chicken soup’s history or its nutritional content but will provide you with recipes.
Navigational: This involves people looking for a company or website name.
For example, if you type in ‘Google Drive,’ ‘Facebook,’ ‘Samsung,’ ‘SARMLife,’ and so on, Google understands you are probably heading to the website. So, the first few results you see will navigate you to the website and pages on the website.
Commercial: These are searchers intending to buy but not at the moment. It is similar to transactional intent but will likely indicate the need for specific information.
For example, a commercial intent will go like this: ‘best washing machine’ or ‘types of automatic washing machines’ while a transactional intent might go ‘Hisense automatic washing machine.’
Relevance
According to Google, the keyword is the most basic signal that the content is relevant. If the keyword in your post is the same as the keyword in the query, it means your post is relevant to that keyword.
Content, content quality, and other attributes are other ways to determine whether a blog post is relevant. Google uses “aggregated and anonymized interaction data to assess whether search results are relevant to queries.”
Relevance to a query also includes the satisfaction of user intent and authoritativeness.
For example, regarding queries that might affect someone’s life, like information about a disease, Google prioritizes certain sites on the result page for that query—usually verified health sites, hospital websites, and even pharmaceutical company blogs that are primarily .org sites.
Queries on educational content or institutions might show a result page prioritizing .edu sites.
To optimize your site for relevance, you must consistently leverage on-page SEO strategies for all your web pages.
Content Quality
A page’s relevance does not mean it will be the most helpful to a user. The Google algorithm puts together several factors to determine if your page will be served to a user and to determine if a page will be most helpful.
These factors are analyzed by Google’s automated system and reviewed by search quality raters who have to follow the Search Quality Evaluator Guideline (SQEG).
The SQEG is a 176-page detailed document highlighting how Google rates your content, and it is a PDF document that is available to the public.
Here are some factors that reflect a high-quality page:
The purpose
This is similar to search intent, which concerns why the web page was created.
The purpose of your web page and even your website needs to be known to determine how well that purpose is achieved with your content.
The type of page does not determine the rating it gets. For example, a humor page will not necessarily rank higher than an informative page.
Why?
Because the purpose of a humor page is entertainment, and as long as that purpose is being fulfilled, it can be rated as high quality.
E – E – A – T
The E-E-A-T is a set of signals that Google prioritizes and uses as its major pillars for assessing a web page. However, it is not the final determinant of a page’s ranking.
Expertise: This considers the knowledge and skills the writer/creator has on the topic.
It usually includes relevant certification.
Experience: This considers the first-hand experience the writer/creator has on the topic, which doesn’t require any certification.
Authoritativeness: This is the extent to which a writer/creator is considered a go-to site. Google can determine the authoritativeness of a page or site through backlinks and domain authority.
Trustworthiness: This is the most crucial part of the E-E-A-T family. The level of trust a page needs depends on the page type.
Informational and product review pages must be accurate, honest, and informative.
Online stores or product pages need secure payment systems and good customer service.
Main Content Quality
Google rates web pages in four categories:
Lowest quality rating
Low-quality rating
Medium quality rating
High-quality rating
Highest quality rating.
These ratings are determined by specific factors, including:
Quality of the main content: Your content should show your talent, skill, originality, and effort toward achieving the page’s purpose. This writes off automatically generated posts using AI tools.
The page title: Your page title (headline) should give enough information about the post’s content.
In other words, your title should give a summary of the page.
Impact of ads or additional content: The ad placements in your post should not interfere with the page’s quality in any way.
In the same way, supplementary content like navigation links, embedded graphics, and videos should not affect the quality of your page.
Website information: This usually includes information on your ‘about us’ page. While Google understands that this information might be biased, it uses it as a starting point to understand the purpose of your website and, ultimately, your posts.
Website reputation: This is your website’s online reputation, from online reviews to social media mentions. Google tries to know what others think of you and your posts.
E-E-A-T: The content of your post should communicate an adequate level of experience, expertise, trust, and authority.
YMYL Content
This is called ‘Your Money or Your Life’ content, which indicates content that directly impacts the user’s health, safety, happiness, and even financial stability.
To rank these types of content, Google leans more on the authoritativeness and trustworthiness of the page than other aspects of its guidelines.
In the SQEG document, Google explicitly states what it considers as YMYL content, and these types of content need to be written by certified professionals in the respective niches.
For example, a blog post on diet plans, the treatment of a disease, or the nutritional content of food should be written by a certified health professional.
However, if you are writing on a YMYL topic and not necessarily a certified professional in that field, you can:
Focus on your personal experience with the topic. For example, if you’re writing about pregnancy, you can focus on your experience when you were pregnant.
Let a certified professional review your content and include this information in your post.
Context
To keep search results in the same context as the search query, Google uses specific information like the search history, settings, location, and so on to serve only the most relevant results.
So, depending on your location, Google shows you the most relevant results.
For example, if you type ‘football,’ your result page will differ if you’re in London compared to America.
If you’re in London, you’ll most likely see results about soccer, while in America, you’ll see results on Rugby.
Also, if your recent search history is around fruits, you might see a search result on the apple fruit when you search for ‘apple,’ but if your search history has been about gadgets and phones, you might see a search result about Apple phones.
Search settings like SafeSearch will filter your search results to avoid showing explicit ones.
Backlinks
Technically, Google wants to know if your page is relevant in your field through backlinks, which is one factor determining a page’s quality.
Backlinks are links to your site from authoritative websites or pages. Each of your pages needs backlinks from relevant authoritative sites relevant to the search query.
So, the fact that you have tons of links from the Search Engine Journal on an old post does not mean you will rank high for a newer post; your new post should also contain topically relevant backlinks.
Obtaining these links is known as link building and can be burdensome, especially for new sites. However, backlinks are one of the most important and prioritized ways Google uses to rank pages and increase a site’s domain authority.
How do you check for backlinks on a page?
Using Ubersuggest
Go to backlinks on Ubersuggest
Input the URL
Filter your result.
Backlink opportunities
How do you build links?
Guest blogging: This includes strategic reach-out offers to website owners/bloggers. You are not just approaching bloggers from different niches to amass links; you need to write valuable posts that appeal to the blogger, search engines, and your audience.
The sites you approach for guest blogging must be relevant websites in your niche, have significant domain authority, and be closely streamlined to your audience.
Resource pages: Resource pages are some of the fastest ways to get backlinks. Here is an example of a resource page.
You can create resource pages that answer specific questions in your niche.
For example, when it comes to the blogging industry, the most common and relevant issue is ‘how to rank your posts high on Google.’ If you want to create a resource post, you can create one like this:
30 blogs that will teach you how to rank on Google
Best 20 blogs that will make SEO easy for you
When you finish writing your resource page, you can email these website owners to inform them that you referenced them in your post.
You might only get a response from some of them, but many will be inclined to reciprocate by linking to your post.
Infographics: Infographics are linkable.
They are graphical illustrations of information; creating original, simple, and catchy infographics increases your chances of getting backlinks from authority websites.
Your infographics could be a graph, chart, illustration, or any other graphical description of a concept in your niche.
You can carry out industry studies on a subject and summarize it graphically. The originality of your infographic increases the chances of getting backlinks from authority websites.
Industry statistics: This is also one of the ways to get backlinks from authority websites.
Of course, carrying out industry statistics will be time-consuming, but the reward is worth it.
You can create a post that showcases the statistics around a single SEO strategy.
For example, create a blog post about email marketing statistics. It can include statistics on how many digital marketers and bloggers use email marketing, their strategies, percentage of effectiveness, platforms, etc.
One thing I love about this type of post is that you can create a statistics post on a broad subject and segment it to fit across different niches.
For example, email marketing cuts across both blogging and business, and I can segment the statistics to their relevance to blogging and business.
Broken link building: There are many web pages by authority websites with broken links, and you can capitalize on this.
This strategy is called the broken link strategy; it largely depends on finding dead links from existing or expired domains and offering your links as a replacement.
There are different ways to spot broken links on a site; while you can do this manually, it is time-consuming and exhausting. However, you can search for expired domains, check for sites that link to them, and reach out via email to pitch a replacement link to them.
Email outreach: Although most link-building strategies require you to reach out via email, you can also directly write emails to specific websites to request them to link to your posts.
You should not copy an email template word for word when carrying out an email outreach campaign. In Neil Patel’s post about how to leverage broken links, he explains that most outreach campaigns do not work because “lazy marketers blindly copy email templates.”
The most important thing to include in your email is your name, website, link, and destination point in the post. You also want to make sure that you highlight why you chose the site.
Keywords
Keywords are used to determine the relevance of a page to the search query.
This highlights the importance of keyword research and keyword placements on your page.
Keyword research.
This uses SEO tools like Ubersuggest, ahrefs, or SEMrush to determine what posts you can rank for; it includes statistics like search volume, cost per click, SEO difficulty, keyword intent, paid difficulty, and so on.
The tool you’re using will determine what statistics you’ll see.
When researching for relevant keywords, you also need to know the intent of that particular keyword; this helps you to streamline the path your content will take.
For example, a keyword like ‘how to use a washing machine’ is informational. When creating your content, you want to ensure it contains all information about using a washing machine, not a review or product page.
If your content does not follow the search intent for its keyword, the possibility of ranking is slim.
Keywords can be short-tail, medium-tail, or long-tail. It is advisable to use medium-tail keywords because they are narrow enough and specific.
However, with voice search optimization, optimizing your content around long-tail keywords is best.
When placing keywords in your content, you must ensure it settles naturally into a sentence.
If you place your keywords unnaturally, the algorithm can pick that up and render your keyword invalid.
Google understands that keywords cannot be the final judge of a content’s relevance, so it uses several other signals to corroborate the relevance of such content.
For example, short-tail keywords are broad and can appear too frequently in a post. For posts like these, other signals are checked to determine their rank.
User Experience
A positive user experience on your page will help your pages to rank higher on result pages. These experiences include:
Security of the site.
An SSL Certificate is essential for your content to rank high on Google because Google prefers more secure websites.
So, an HTTPS site will rank higher than an HTTP site.
To get an SSL certificate, you need to buy it, install it on your blog host platform, and update all your URLs to HTTPS.
Page responsiveness.
How responsive is your page?
Page speed is an essential part of user experience. If your page loads very slowly or appears differently on other search engines, it might reduce your ranking.
All your pages need to be optimized for mobile devices. Google uses mobile-friendly as part of its ranking factors because many searches are from mobile devices.
Your page’s attributes (images, videos, texts, etc.) should fit perfectly on a mobile device screen.
It doesn’t mean you should ignore optimization for desktops. You should optimize your pages to fit any device, including tablets, iPads, desktops, and mobile phones.
Value.
Google can determine how valuable a search result is to a user through the time spent on the page.
This time is mainly reflected in the bounce rate and dwell time.
If Google ranks your page high on search results but discovers that it doesn’t satisfy user intent or its content is not valuable to searchers, it drops that page down on search results. Similarly, it boosts pages with the best user experience and satisfies significant ranking factors and signals.
The Google algorithm can also pick up pages with return visits compared to one-time visits.
High return visits to a page indicate high-quality content, and Google will prioritize this page more than others.
Intrusive Interstitials.
Intrusive interstitials are page elements that disrupt the user’s view of the page’s content. These intrusive interstitials are usually promotional materials exclusive of legal or mandatory interstitials.
For example, a casino site must validate the user’s age, so intrusive interstitials might not apply. However, it’s best to follow best practices for interstitials so Googlebot can easily crawl the page.
If you need to create pop-ups/interstitials on your page either for promotional or navigational purposes, do these instead:
Use banners that take up a fraction of the screen.
In addition to the above, the Google algorithm also looks out for Core Web Vitals, an additional user experience signal that will help site owners measure user experience.
Core Web Vitals, according to Google, is a “real-world, user-centered metrics that quantify key aspects of the user experience” and is related to page speed, interactivity, and visual stability of content as it loads.
Google combines Core Web Vitals with the existing page experience signals to create a more effective measure of a user experience on a web page.
Freshness
When it comes to the freshness of content, this is about how recent or updated that content is.
When it comes to the freshness of a page, it doesn’t mean you have to make changes or update your content daily; some do not need to be updated regularly compared to others.
For example, web pages involving current happenings in the world, like sports news, disasters, or trends, will need to be updated because Google will rank more recent posts for search queries.
However, content like blogging tips or kitchen storage ideas does not necessarily need to be recent for Google to rank them higher on result pages, so it is necessary to write on topics that will stay relevant over a long period. These are referred to as ‘evergreen content.’
However, it is essential to consider this ranking factor even if you have evergreen content.
When you decide on a target keyword, analyze search engine result pages to know if Google ranks more recent pages. If it does, you want to include recent details in your post, attach a header tag, and even include it in your FAQ section so web crawlers can see it quickly and clearly.
If you have an old post similar to the keyword, you can update it, known as historical optimization.
Domain Authority (DA)
Websites with high domain authority are usually given preference at certain times.
This doesn’t mean you can’t rank for specific keywords if your domain authority is low. Google doesn’t rank a website; it ranks web pages.
Domain Authority comes into play when Google needs web pages that reflect authority and expertise.
For example, regarding YMYL topics, Google will prioritize content from sites with high DA compared to other sites.
15 Major Google Algorithm Updates That Affect SERPs And How.
1. Florida.
This update was released in November 2003 and began the Google algorithm update revolution.
Retail sites that used spammy strategies like keyword stuffing, invisible texts, and hidden links took the most hit.
Google revolutionized how keywords will be used in web pages to give preference to pages that provide value beyond just ranking on search engines.
2. Jagger.
This update was between September – October 2005 and focused on penalizing sites with suspicious backlinks.
Sites that had a sudden, suspicious surge of backlinks, irrelevant anchor texts, backlinks from spammy sites, and known link farms were penalized.
3. Big Daddy.
The Big Daddy update was approved and released in December 2005, and it was an extension of the Jagger update but expanded its focus to inbound and outbound links.
The Vince update was named after a Google engineer and focused on giving preferences to brands or businesses for commercial and transactional queries.
This update was exclusive to the brand’s SEO practices. So, it didn’t matter if your posts were not optimized; so far, you sold the product in the search queries.
5. Panda.
In June 2010, Google released an algorithm update focused on the speed at which Google crawls and indexes web pages. This was to release more recent search results to users.
However, this update also saw the boosting of low-quality pages because of their freshness.
So, Google released the Panda update to combat the negative impact of the Caffeine update.
This Panda update was released in February 2011 and aimed to penalize sites with low-quality content, including thin content pages, affiliate sites, and duplicate pages.
It is one of the major updates that still affects search results.
6. Penguin.
This algorithm update was rolled out in May 2012 and focused on correcting the abuse of link-building strategies through black hat link-building techniques.
It focused on external and backlinks to check for its genuineness and is an extension of the Panda update in 2011.
With this update, sites that bought links or used spammy or artificially created links were penalized by giving them a negative site value.
7. Hummingbird.
In September 2013, another Google algorithm update was released. This update focused on improving the accuracy and relevance of search results, especially for more complex and conversational queries.
It used Natural Language Processing (NLP) dependent on latent semantic indexing, synonyms, and co-occurring terms.
This algorithm update marked the beginning of optimizing content for voice search.
The update focused on each word of a given query to understand the search context. This helps to provide more defined results that are satisfactory to the user.
8. Pigeon.
This algorithm update focused on local brands and businesses. Released in July 2014, its primary goal was to improve local search results for queries that might indicate local intent.
It started with the Venice update in February 2012, revealing that Google understands that some search queries might have local intent. It showed result pages based on the device’s location or IP address.
9. Mobilegeddon.
This was the beginning of mobile-friendliness as an important ranking factor. Released in 2015, Mobilegeddon focused on boosting pages optimized for mobile devices in search rankings.
It affected sites with tiny texts, closely placed clickable elements, and the inability of web pages to adapt to different screen sizes.
This update is still relevant to today’s SEO.
10. RankBrain.
Also released in 2015, RankBrain focused on improving the machine learning algorithm to help understand queries and enhance search results.
It is one of the best and most technologically advanced algorithm updates.
With RankBrain, Google could predict a searcher’s intent using their search history. It analyzes your past searches and gives you the most relevant result to a query, even if it involves polysemous words.
11. Possum.
In 2016, Google released this new algorithm that helped to improve the Pigeon update in 2014.
This Google algorithm improves the visibility of local search results by taking into context the exact location of the searcher and their proximity to the business/brand.
12. Fred.
This Google algorithm update was released in 2017 and aimed at penalizing sites with suspicious backlinks and low-quality content.
13. Medic.
This Google algorithm update focuses on life-altering content (YMYL) and penalizes sites that do not have enough trust, authority, or expertise (E-A-T) to talk on that subject.
To write a web page about a YMYL topic, you need expertise/experience, affiliation with a regulatory body, or a link from a trusted authority site in that niche.
14. BERT.
With Google focusing more on user intent, it uses the BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) algorithm released in 2019 to understand user intent and provide more accurate and valuable results.
Like Hummingbird update, it uses NLP to understand search intent and boost pages that can create content to meet the search intent of its user and drops content that focuses on its search engine.
15. Core Updates
Google releases core updates to check existing algorithms and their effectiveness and update these algorithms to produce better and up-to-date results.
In 2020 alone, Google released three core updates.
With these core updates being released, little information is usually known about them.
However, there are ways you can keep track of the most Google algorithm and tailor your web pages to fit the standard.
How to keep track of new algorithm updates
Keeping track of Google algorithm updates is essential as some updates might not be confirmed.
However, you do not need to track every update because Google releases several new updates yearly and also improves on existing ones.
The core updates that will impact SEO and SERPs should be what you’re tracking.
Here are ways to keep track of core algorithm updates:
1. Google Search Central Blog.
The Google Search Central Blog is where you will see official algorithm updates, announcements of new search features, and best practices for SEO.
You can even subscribe to its RSS feed to get the latest updates in your feed reader.
You can filter the information based on the year and authors in case you want specific information.
There are blog updates from as far back as 2005 till date and over 60 different authors, including Matt Cutts and John Mueller.
2. Set up Google Alerts for Algorithm Changes.
Google Alerts is a free notification tool for several purposes, like online mentions, competitor keyword tracking, and algorithm changes.
You can set up Google Alerts by signing in with the Google account you want to receive the notifications.
Next, decide what source/keyword you want to track and decide when you want to receive the updates.
For example, you can opt-in for weekly or monthly instant alerts.
You can also choose between getting an email with the report or getting it on your RSS feed.
When you set your Google Alerts to track ‘Google algorithm updates,’ you get notified via email or RSS feed when something about algorithm updates is mentioned online.
From this account, you can get algorithm news straight from the source and access to the information available for that update, including how it can affect your on-page and off-page SEO.
4. Search Engine Roundtable.
This website gives a well-rounded view of SEO by tracking and providing reports on search engine industry news and algorithm updates.
Search Engine Roundtable can also send notifications directly to your phone to give you trending news in the SEO world.
You can also follow them via social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
5. Use of Analytics Tools.
Analytics tools might not give you updated information on algorithm updates, but they will help you monitor traffic and rankings.
This makes it easy to spot changes or fluctuations an algorithm update may cause.
Grump
Grump by Accuranker is the best analytic tool to help track Google algorithm changes. It checks if Google is ‘grumpier’ than normal, which indicates there might’ve been an algorithm change.
MozCast
This analytical tool shows changes or turbulence in the Google algorithm using a weather forecasting format.
MozCast analyzes 10,000 hand-picked keywords across 20 niches and five major US cities and compares the result page to the previous day’s results.
It then uses a weather format to show the degree of change in the search results. The hotter or stormier the weather is, the more likely it is that Google ranking factors or algorithms have changed.
How to know which of your contents are affected by new algorithm changes
Here are the ways to determine if any of your content has been affected by a new Google algorithm update:
Google Search Central.
Google Search Central is formerly called Google Webmasters and contains specific information that can help improve your website’s SEO.
It also has a blog where Google gives updates on algorithms and guideline changes.
The blog explicitly explains everything you need to know about these changes and even offers tips (best practices) for them.
You should check the Webmaster’s blog regularly.
Search Console.
This free analytical tool by Google helps you monitor your website’s analytics and troubleshoot for SEO issues. With Google Search Console, you can monitor your website traffic and receive alerts for SEO issues.
This will help you take prompt action and be quickly notified of changes in search results due to algorithm changes.
Google algorithm changes that affect SEO will also affect search results, reflecting your site traffic, conversion, impression, and even rankings.
The main goal of using analytical tools is to monitor SEO changes that algorithm changes might have caused.
You can also use analytical tools to carry out a competitive analysis. The purpose of this is to check if your competitors also experience the same changes as your site. If changes are similar, it means there is a general change in the algorithm.
Sometimes, the effect of an algorithm change is not immediate and might take some time before it reflects on your site. Also, some minor algorithm changes are not noticeable.
What to do when a Google algorithm update affects your site content?
If your site has been affected by a Google algorithm change, rectifying and getting it back in the game is easy.
Here are the steps to follow:
Identify the problem.
If you notice some issues with your content, likely affected by algorithm changes, try pinpointing the exact web pages affected by these updates. Usually, the algorithm focuses on spammy links, unsatisfactory search intent, low-quality content, and user experience.
You want to be able to identify the pages that have one or more of these issues.
Evaluate the problem.
How can you fix it? Once you know the pages affected by these updates, evaluate for possible solutions. You can delete or update these pages from your site to align with Google’s guidelines.
Be patient.
Patience is necessary for updates that take days before they are completed. While it is important to fix issues as soon as possible, you also want to take your time to analyze what an update is targeting so you can fix it better and more permanently.
Get verified information.
You should only get information concerning Google algorithm updates from verified sites. Only some forums have trusted information, especially when the updates are recent.
When fixing your content for algorithm updates, ensure it is absolutely needed. Usually, if you already follow best SEO practices according to Google guidelines, your content will hardly be affected by algorithm updates.
Improve.
One of the best practices for SEO is always to give valuable and relevant content. Improve your SEO strategies and work on website issues that affect device responsiveness and user experience.
Does the use of AI in SEO help to increase ranking potential?
Using AI in SEO might help you increase ranking, but this is conditional.
The fact that Google uses an automated ranking system does not mean you can set up machine against machine.
Aside from using automated systems, Google has human search quality raters hired by Google to evaluate the quality of their search results. They access search results served by Google algorithm and analyze them for relevance and usefulness.
Search Quality Raters use a set of guidelines provided by Google to evaluate several elements of the post. They do not change the search results, but their evaluation helps Google assess its algorithm’s effectiveness and know what parts must be fine-tuned.
AI can be a valuable tool for SEO, but you shouldn’t use it independently.
Tips for maintaining top-quality posts despite Google algorithm changes.
Have you noticed a decline in your site’s traffic due to algorithm changes? Do you want to consistently boost your page’s ranking despite the changes to Google’s search algorithm?
Here is how you can maintain top rank despite Google algorithm updates:
1. Mobile optimization.
This is one of the most important SEO tips to help with your ranking. Mobile-friendliness is a solid ranking factor because of the number of searches from mobile devices.
Google prefers sites that optimize their visual display for mobile users.
This applies to several other devices as well. You need to optimize your content to be adjustable or responsive to different mobile sizes.
While optimizing for mobile devices, you must ensure the contents displayed on mobile and desktop are the same to avoid duplicate content and cloaking.
2. Implement effective link-building strategies.
Right from the Jagger update in 2005, Google has been very focused on penalizing sites that have illegally acquired backlinks. This is why it is essential to focus on effective link-building strategies that will earn you links from relevant sites in your niche instead of a half-baked strategy that will get you spammy links.
Most site owners focus more on on-page SEO techniques and work mildly on their technical SEO. All aspects of SEO are essential when it comes to ranking.
Technical SEO helps with the technicalities involved with Google Search, which impact how Google crawls and indexes your website and affects your rankings.
Have a consistent URL structure for your web pages.
Use an XML sitemap for your website.
Always use structured data.
Use canonical URLs for similar pages.
Use Hreflang for foreign sites.
Use HTTPS to secure your website.
Fix broken pages on your site.
Increase your site’s page speed.
Have a mobile-friendly site.
Stay up-to-date on technical SEO news.
4. High-quality content.
Knowing that Google now prioritizes user satisfaction, you must design your content to be as valuable as possible.
High-quality content designed to satisfy a user’s query has a higher chance of ranking than content designed for search engines.
Here are some of my best practices for quality content:
Reflect E-E-A-T.
Carry out thorough keyword research.
Streamline your content to a single topic.
Optimize your headline.
Understand user intent for your keywords.
Write comprehensive content.
Include visual illustrations and designs.
Make your content readable and skimmable.
Use appropriate header tags in your posts.
Make it easy to understand.
Write a compelling CTA.
Edit and proofread your content.
Track your rankings and improve your strategies.
FAQs on Google Algorithm
What is Google algorithm?
Google algorithm is an automated, complex ranking system and signals that are used to determine if a page will be more authoritative and relevant to a search query.
How does the Google algorithm work?
Google algorithm considers hundreds of ranking signals, search settings, and context to determine which page out of its indexed cluster is more relevant to a query.
What does Google use to determine top-ranking websites?
Google uses ranking factors like content quality, keyword optimization, mobile-friendliness, page speed, backlinks, structured data, core web vitals, and user experience to determine top-ranking pages.
What are the major Google algorithm updates?
Major Google algorithm updates that have and still affect search results are Panda (2011), Penguin (2012), Hummingbird (2013), Pigeon (2014), Mobilegeddon (2015), RankBrain (2015), Possum (2016), Medic (2018), Fred (2017) and BERT (2019).
What is the latest Google algorithm?
The link spam update is the latest Google algorithm update, and it was released in December 2022 but was completed in January 2023. It uses an AI called SpamBrain to neutralize unnatural, spammy links.
How often are Google algorithms changed?
There are thousands of algorithm changes on Google every year, but Google confirms only the core updates because those are the ones that affect search results.
Final Thoughts
The algorithm is constantly evolving, with Google updating it multiple times yearly to keep up with changing user behavior and new technological advancements. This is why website owners and marketers must stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the algorithm and make necessary adjustments to their website and content strategies.
To leverage the world of SEO as a digital marketer or SEO agency, you need to keep track of the several Google algorithm updates from verified sources and wait to understand how each update affects SEO.
However, the bottom line is that Google focuses more on improving the user experience because the truth remains that Google is more of a document retrieval company. And its primary goal is matching the needed document to the user irrespective of mitigating factors like intent, preference, and context.
No matter how often changes or updates are made to the Google algorithm, the fundamental issues addressed directly or indirectly relate to the user search experience. So, you can not go wrong with ticking off all the tips I’ve discussed.
How well do you track Google algorithm changes and updates?
If you are wondering what ChatGPT is (which I highly doubt), it’s the new chatbot that everyone is crazy about, from students to professors to SEO experts! The entire world is talking about it.
Chat GPT concept. Business person chatting with a smart AI using an artificial intelligence chatbot development. Artificial intelligence system support is the future
This chatbot seems to have all the answers to every question you can think of, and what’s more? It does it in a conversational way that makes you feel like you are talking to a genius coursemate or an intelligent friend.
When it rolled out, OpenAI made it publicly available to test out its functionalities. Now, this is where the SEO pros didn’t go to sleep. ChatGPT was made to carry out several SEO tasks that would usually make the whole process of optimization tedious and time-consuming.
The result? Astounding!
In this post, I will talk about the several ways ChatGPT has been tested for SEO, the viability of using it to write optimized content on your website, and also consider if this will be a good SEO practice to imbibe in your strategy for 2023.
Now that ChatGPT has gone pro, is it a worthy investment, or should we stick to the traditional method of SEO?
You might agree with me on many things at the end of this post.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a chatbot developed by OpenAI in November 2022 to optimize language models for dialogue.
It is a large learning model that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and data collected from several sources across the web to interact with users conversationally.
The incredible thing about this chatbot is that it can answer follow-up questions from users, acknowledge mistakes, and challenge incorrect inputs.
Screenshot from OpenAI’s official page.
Here’s the official description from OpenAI. I highlighted the main points:
“We’ve trained a model called ChatGPT which interacts in a conversational way. The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests.”
Many predict that ChatGPT will take over Google and most search engines but maybe not directly.
True, ChatGPT has shown a different way searches can be done, and while Google isn’t there yet, there have been changes in how the search engine replies to various queries.
ChatGPT is excellent, but taking over Google, I’m not sure it’s there yet.
How ChatGPT was trained
Previous models like GPT-3 and Codex were trained using the InstructGPT, and while these were successes in their own rights, they had some amount of “harmful and untruthful” outputs.
ChatGPT is a fine-tuned version of a model from the GPT-3.5 series. It was trained using Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). Although it uses the same methods as the InstructGPT, it has slight differences in how data is collected.
“ChatGPT is a sibling model to InstructGPT, which is trained to follow an instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response.” – OpenAI.
Screenshot describing the difference between ChatGPT & InstructGPT Source: OpenAI
According to OpenAI, there were three crucial steps in training ChatGPT:
1. Supervised learning.
Human AI trainers played both sides of a conversation (user and AI) where they sampled a prompt (query), then demonstrated the desired output from model written suggestions.
This dialogue was then mixed with the InstructGPT and transformed into a format.
2. A reward model.
To create this reward model, data needed to be compared, so the collected comparison data, which included two or more model responses from the initial dialogue, was ranked by quality.
A labeler ranks the outputs, and this comparison data was used to train the reward model.
3. They optimized a policy against the reward model.
Screenshot showing how ChatGPT was trained. Source: OpenAI
How ChatGPT works
ChatGPT is a large learning model, which means that it is practically trained to learn how to respond to different queries based on a large amount of data.
Unlike some might think, ChatGPT isn’t particularly trained to answer a question in a certain way, but the amount of data it has enables it to predict how it should answer a question.
In other words, this model is trained to act independently and cognitively based on its data.
The higher the amount of data it is trained on, the more tasks it can carry out.
The incredible thing about large learning models like GPT-3 & GPT-3.5 is that increasing the amount of data they have can also lead to unexpected and surprising abilities.
For example, Stanford University wrote about how GPT-3 could translate a text from English to French, although it wasn’t directly trained to perform that task. It even outperforms models that were explicitly trained for those tasks.
While this is impressive, it can also be an Achilles heel because it implies that this model—ChatGPT- relies entirely on the information it has.
We’ve seen this happen in some of the user testing done. For instance, ChatGPT cannot provide information beyond 2021.
What happens when you input your query in the ChatGPT?
The AI chatbot gathers all the data directly or vaguely related to what you’re asking; it guesses your intent and gives you an answer it believes best satisfies your query.
You can also follow up with another question; it will understand what you mean, unlike other search engines and virtual assistants.
Sample Query Source: Open AI
We must understand that the introduction of ChatGPT is a glimpse into what the future entails.
We are just scratching the surface of this AI wonder! One thing I love about technology is that it keeps getting better, and that’s what’s to be expected of ChatGPT.
What can you use chatGPT to do?
ChatGPT can perform several tasks, including blog writing, coding, and even poetry. It can talk about your country’s political system and electoral issues and even help you write your final papers.
In fact, ChatGPT passed a Wharton MBA exam, and this is just the beginning. The NYC Department of Education has already banned the use of ChatGPT for fears of it being used to pass exams.
Here are several ways you can use ChatGPT, including:
Translate
You can translate your text into any language using this chatbot. This includes your keywords, entire blog post, and maybe your novels!
Coding
This is bliss for programmers and bloggers. You don’t need to outsource programmers to help you write your codes for off-page SEO. Just ask ChatGPT!
Calculate
Most examples I’ve seen online have been basic calculations, but if this wonder bot can code, it should also do more complex mathematical problems.
Write
You can write entire content using this bot, from blog posts to social media content. You also get to input points you want, the way you want them, and even create bullet lists.
Summarize
This chatbot does incredibly well if you want a perfect summary for your content. You can add factors like length, tone, and reading level.
Sentiment analysis
When you’re done writing content, you can analyze its sentiment, which helps you know if you are meeting your audience’s intent and the purpose of your content.
Limitations of ChatGPT for SEO.
ChatGPT has its fair share of limitations, like every newly released technology, especially when everyone wants to use it for everything possible.
Here are some current limitations of ChatGPT:
Answers might be logically plausible but unrelated.
This is one of the major issues with ChatGPT because it seems that fixing it is challenging for the developers. According to OpenAI, they cannot train the model to be more cautious because it will avoid certain questions even though it can answer them accurately.
Also, supervised training misleads the model because it can only answer a query based on what it knows rather than what the demonstrator knows.
To work around this limitation, you should explicitly state how you want your answers, rephrase your queries, or avoid queries that might need updated answers beyond 2021.
It can misunderstand prompts.
The model is susceptible to tweaks in phrasing or asking the exact prompt multiple times.
It means you can ask a question, and the AI might claim not to know the answer, but when you rephrase even slightly, it might be able to answer you correctly.
This limitation must be addressed because if incorporated into search engines or voice assistance, it might affect search results, especially voice searches where phrasing can be in vernacular.
It guesses the user’s intent instead of verifying.
When unsure of what your input means, this chatbot guesses your query’s intent and tries to answer it based on its conclusion rather than on what you want, unlike most ideal chatbots that will ask clarifying questions.
Sometimes, its conclusion might be correct, but other times, it might not be.
This will be problematic for users who need instant and accurate answers.
Cannot generate content on ‘inappropriate’ requests.
Based on trying to curate the type of prompts and responses on this model, the Moderation API was used, but it might not work as perfectly as intended.
The model can biasedly judge specific contents as unsafe and safe (false positive and false negative outputs).
It has in-built biases.
Another limitation is the in-built biases because of the training data used in developing this model. Trainers prefer longer answers because it looks more comprehensive and accurate, which might be misleading or contain repetitive and overused phrases.
It cannot browse the internet!
Unlike traditional search engines, ChatGPT cannot browse the internet, and its answers are based on the data it has been trained with; this is one of the reasons why its content abilities are not up-to-date.
The just-completed world cup or the newly released Google algorithm (2021, 2022) is an example.
OpenAI clearly states that regular updates will be made to the model to rectify most of its limitations and any other problematic outputs that users will observe during usage.
How to use ChatGPT for SEO.
ChatGPT can be used for SEO because it has quality responses. Here is how you can use ChatGPT for SEO:
Content Idea Generation
You can simply ask for ‘content ideas relating to (a specific keyword),’ and you will get a series of ideas and queries relating to that keyword.
Here’s what you need to understand about ChatGPT. It uses tons of data from the web, and for each query you ask, it searches through this data and gives you what you need.
For example, if you ask “a content idea relating to image SEO,” it will search through its data and give you a list of questions that are being asked about Image SEO. You can filter through these results and streamline them to a target audience or competition.
Keyword Research
When using ChatGPT for keyword research, you can give it one or two focus keywords and ask for related keywords.
It will effortlessly give you a long list of related keywords based on its data. It can also determine if a particular keyword will be more competitive than another.
Keyword Intent
You can take your keyword research further by asking the chatbot to segregate each keyword based on searchers’ intent. For example, transactional keywords are different from informative and commercial keywords.
With this information, you can accurately tailor your content to meet the searcher’s intent.
Keyword Translation
For websites that cater to a large audience with different native languages, this comes in handy.
With ChatGPT, you can translate this keyword to any language you want, which helps you rank for foreign sites and audiences.
Keyword research, intent, and translation can be done as follow-up queries, so you don’t even have to move between tabs or applications.
However, I can’t say that ChatGPT is a more accurate keyword research tool than Ubersuggest and all other tools out there because there is yet to be a direct comparison.
Title Generation
I was teaching some interns how to write optimized posts, and when we got to title optimization, we all got exhausted. Optimized title generation is challenging because you want to avoid ending up with something dry or bland.
Using ChatGPT, you can generate several interesting topics that captivate any reader.
All it needs is a title and some form of context (optional), and you’ll have a sweet list you can use. You can also copy your content into the chatbot and have it generate a title based on what you have written.
Even if you don’t like any, it can serve as an idea bank for you to come up with more captivating headlines, but I can guarantee to a large extent, that you will see an SEO-worthy title from the list.
Meta Description
You can easily create a meta description for your content by pasting a part or all of your content on the chatbot and requesting a meta description. You can also ask for the exact tone you want your meta description to be and include as much detail as you wish.
Outline Generation
If I can use ChatGPT for SEO, I’d use it to generate an outline for my post. The ability of ChatGPT to compare search queries and know the user’s intent is vital. It can help you create an outline and, ultimately, content that covers all the searcher wants to know, needs to know, and what they didn’t even know they needed.
Starting from keyword intent, you can ask the chatbot to create an outline for a specific topic or keyword.
Content Writing
Yes, you can use ChatGPT to create good content in any niche. You can specify the number of words and the intent and even include a compelling CTA.
However, I recommend against using AI to write web pages or posts because they often lack originality and may contain subtle errors.
For example, OpenAI developers have indicated that ChatGPT might be able to perform specific tasks and give concise answers, but it can also provide ‘plausible but nonsensical answers.’
Proofreading
With the GPT-3 model incorporation, ChatGPT can improve your writing style and quality. It can automatically correct your grammar and spelling mistakes without you having to lift a finger.
I have a bias on this, though. It is difficult to trust an editing tool to proofread for me because there are other factors to consider, including sentence flow and that human insight, which an AI tool cannot just have.
Paraphrasing
ChatGPT can help you paraphrase your content to give it a different feel and tone. For example, you can turn professionally toned content and make it more fun or easier to understand.
Interestingly enough, ChatGPT is designed so that it cannot plagiarize itself, which means its output for the same query might differ in words but have the same message.
“Go to the door” and “move toward the door” are different phrases but have the same meaning—this is what ChatGPT can do.
Summarizing
You can summarize the entire content using this chatbot. All you have to do is copy the post or content and ask it to summarize it for you in the exact way you want (of course, you have to specify this instruction).
FAQ Generation
Frequently Asked Questions are essential to all SEO strategies, and ChatGPT makes it easy for any SEO expert to gather related FAQs around a particular topic easily.
For example, if you want to publish content on voice search, you can ask “related questions on ‘how to do voice search optimization’” and you will get instant answers.
You can filter these queries and select the ones to include in your content. It might also give you more FAQ ideas.
Statistics Bank
When writing optimized content, you want to include statistics. For example, if I am writing a post on ‘content marketing,’ I want to have as many statistics as possible, which might require me to spend considerable time surfing through several posts. With ChatGPT, I can have all these statistics on a single page by asking for ‘content marketing statistics.’
Sentiment Analysis
If you ever wonder what emotion your reader feels when they read your content or what kind of tone your writing carries, you can analyze it using ChatGPT.
Code Generation
When using ChatGPT for codes, you must carefully examine its output to spot mistakes and errors. Regardless, you can use ChatGPT for several SEO tasks involving simple codes.
For example:
Hreflang tags
Hreflang tags target audiences in specific parts, usually those with a different native language. It is typically used to incorporate multilingual SEO on a website such that your website displays in the native language of the user.
ChatGPT can help you automatically generate hreflang tags you can add to your website.
Redirection codes
You can generate a redirection code snippet using ChatGPT to redirect users to an updated page on your website. You must include all the correct information, including the original and new locations.
Robot.txt codes
These codes indicate the web pages on your website you want or do not want Google to crawl. You can easily generate a robot.txt file.
Schema MarkUp
You can generate the schema markup code of any information you provide for technical SEO optimization. Just make sure you provide exact details and appropriate context.
Can Google identify ChatGPT content?
Apparently yes!
Cryptographic watermarking by OpenAI researchers makes its contents detectable.
An article by TechCrunch explains that OpenAI is working on “statistically watermarking the outputs of a text (AI-generated content)” ~ Scott Aaronson.
An OpenAI engineer named Hendrik Kirchner developed a working prototype, and they hope to incorporate it into future models. The goal is to make it hard for users to pass off AI-generated content as humans.
This watermark will be an unnoticeable secret signal and a relief to educational systems worried about the extent of use of ChatGPT by students. This might come as a mixed feeling in the SEO world, but it is to be expected.
Most, if not all, AI-generated content is detectable; content translated from another language and even content that uses anti-detection algorithms are included. It is expected as well that content generated by ChatGPT will also be detectable.
On January 31st, 2023, OpenAI also revealed on their Twitter handle that they are working on an AI Classifier that will differentiate human-written texts from AI-written texts. The post also revealed that they are releasing an initial version so as to collect feedback and improve the system.
This Classifier is, however, not reliable as it can give false positives and negatives and should not be used as a primary decider. It is especially limited to long-form content (>1,000 words) and cannot identify contents that are AI-generated but has been edited.
Should you use ChatGPT for SEO?
Yes, but you should avoid using it to write your content. Instead, use it as leverage to help you save time and create optimum content.
I know you want to create content faster, but you should really avoid using ChatGPT to write your content, especially if you are uploading it on Google.
Why?
Because Google has explicitly stated that it views content created using only AI as spam, and it clearly violates Google’s guidelines.
“Spammy automatically generated content is content that has been generated programmatically without producing anything original or adding sufficient value.”
With this, the issue isn’t that it’s automatically generated; the problem is that there is no added value or originality. It means you can safely use ChatGPT for any SEO process, but always make sure the human input is more than that of the AI instead of copying and pasting content.
Google algorithm can already identify AI-generated content; you don’t want your website penalized because of fast results.
With talks of ChatGPT having a cryptographic watermark for its AI-generated content, you can be sure Google will not bypass any AI-generated content, no matter how well-written it is.
Is ChatGPT Plus worth it?
On the 1st of February 2023, OpenAI revealed on its Twitter page that they are piloting ChatGPT Plus, which is a subscription plan that offers a faster response plan and reliability during peak hours.
We are piloting ChatGPT Plus, a subscription plan that offers faster response times and reliability during peak hours. And of course, the free tier of ChatGPT is still available. https://t.co/2hEBw6h5Se
This ChatGPT Plus plan rolls out at $20/month for each user. The free version is still available, but with the premium version, you get priority access to new features, improvements, and faster responses. You don’t have to wait until there’s a free space.
Currently, it is only available to users in the United States, but it will be made available in other regions soon enough.
Is it worth it?
That depends on you and what your needs are. There is no doubt that ChatGPT will make SEO easier, more accurate, and less time-consuming. The question is, can you do without it?
For SEO agencies with lots of customers and not enough SEO writers, consider using ChatGPT Plus to make work easier for your writers and meet deadlines easier and faster. However, since ChatGPT is still improving, I’d say wait till its SEO effectiveness has been tested and trusted before committing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is just GPT-3; imagine what GPT-10 will do!
ChatGPT is changing how we view search engines, and the possibilities are endless. However, using it for SEO should be done cautiously and only as an aid.
You can keep experimenting with several ways ChatGPT can be used, and you may see a great use for it that will change the SEO world forever!
What do you think of ChatGPT for SEO? Is it something we should embrace or not?
Knowing the best digital marketing strategy to blow up your business makes entrepreneurship sweeter and less frustrating.
Today’s business owners embrace digital marketing, and startups aren’t left out.
In this post, I’ll focus more on startup businesses because most startup entrepreneurs usually find themselves at their wits’ end trying to familiarize themselves with the marketing environment.
Several reports have concluded that about 90% of startups fail, which is not surprising as startups usually struggle to succeed.
According to CBInsights, poor marketing is the primary reason for a low success rate for startups.
This further proves that employing the best digital marketing strategy in your products and services promotion, advertisement, and distribution processes will save your startup from failing and bring massive growth.
Also, marketing gets you in front of your target audience and allows your business to grow in reach and sales. And digital marketing is the best marketing option for any business in this century; it more than quadruples your growth chances.
However, marketing, especially digital marketing, can go wrong quickly, especially if the digital marketing strategy you are using isn’t compatible with your business model.
Nevertheless, you can get your startup to be included in the 10% of startups that don’t experience failure.
At the initial stage of any business, strategic decisions and plans are executed to grow the business. The goal of every startup is to grow, and this can only happen by being deliberate and conscious of the methods you have made to grow your business.
One of the strategic decisions you need to make is the type of digital marketing strategy to promote your business. Deciding on this can be a hassle, especially if you do not know much about digital marketing and its benefits.
If you are unclear on why digital marketing has the power to blow up your business, you should keep reading.
WHY YOU NEED A DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
Being knowledgeable about the importance of digital marketing in your startup will undoubtedly change the outlook of your business and help you make sound business decisions in terms of marketing.
Here are five (5) reasons why you need a digital marketing strategy for your startup:
1. Cost-effectiveness
Many startups feel digital marketing is not affordable for business promotion, and as a result, money is not conserved.
Contrarily, digital marketing is actually less costly than other marketing types. Marketing online saves money while possessing the ability to reach your potential customers even outside of your geographic location. It’s a win-win situation for you. You are relieved of the financial stress, which makes you focus on other important things with money demands.
2. Direction
Knowing what to do next and how to go about it with a digital marketing strategy becomes easier. This is because your track records of progress can easily be accessed and used to plan further or re-strategize the marketing procedures.
3. Integrity
People look out for businesses with integrity and credibility before they can be committed to using their products and services. Startups find it challenging to establish integrity and credibility as no one can vouch for them because they know little or nothing about them.
Digital marketing provides a platform through which you can build integrity and credibility with your customers.
Most digital marketing strategies allow you to have better communication with your customers, which in the long run helps gain the customers’ trust and give them more reasons to use your products and services
4. Exposure without boundaries.
The world going digital has made it much easier to reach people staying miles away from you. Adopting a digital marketing strategy guarantees getting your startup from the hideout into the limelight when it comes to business. This exposure will draw your potential customers to you, which will bring in the sales you desire.
5. Uniqueness
Most businesses have a lot of competition attached to it. Your startup will always have competitors: those with products and services relatable to yours and those who have been there longer than you.
Using digital marketing for your business can help distinguish it from other businesses.
HOW TO GET THE DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY THAT WILL WORK FOR YOU
Knowing that digital marketing can genuinely take your startup from the hideout into the limelight doesn’t rule out the necessity of getting to know which of the various digital marketing strategies is best for your business.
This is as important as knowing the importance of digital marketing. Understanding the type of digital strategy that is perfect for your startup will require you to consider these three points:
1. YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Your products and services have a specific target audience. For instance, assume that your startup deals with children’s clothes. This means that your marketing strategy will focus on reaching the parents of these children because, of course, they are the ones with the credit card to pay for your product.
Also, because you deal with clothes, you will need to invest more in a digital marketing strategy that allows you to engage your audience with a lot of visual content and that also allows a variety of payment options.
Having clarity on your products and services leads to understanding your target audience, so it is essential to have a niche and not just sell different products and services.
2. AUDIENCE
Once you know who your target audience is, the next thing is to discover where to find them.
In a 2009 study on media, Nielsen reported that kids spent less time watching TV as they grew older and gravitated more toward the internet. This media report implies that marketing to teenagers through TV commercials won’t yield effective results.
You need to find where your target audience spends most of their time and use that as a tool to get the best strategy in marketing your products and services. It creates ease in planning and lets you know the exact digital marketing strategy that will be the most effective, whether email marketing, content marketing, or social media marketing.
3. CONSISTENCY
It is quite beautiful to see startups identify the target audience for their products or services. However, being consistent in marketing is crucial, and remember, consistency is the rule of the game.
Almost half of SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) spend less than two hours per week on marketing efforts. For these kinds of businesses, underinvesting in marketing can be fatal.
For startups and SMBs, marketing should be given priority.
Before you can conclude that a particular marketing strategy did not produce results like you thought it would, you need to verify that you gave it the proper attention and consistency it needed to grow and yield profit.
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR STARTUPS
We will explore the top 4 digital marketing strategies you can employ to blow up your startup and become successful.
89% of small businesses believe that SEO is an effective digital marketing tactic. According to them, having a website (blog marketing) and utilizing SEO is critical for startups.
Note that for a startup business to utilize SEO fully, it needs to have a website and not just any kind of website but an SEO-optimized website.
A startup must have a website through which SEO marketing can function.
What is SEO?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) means optimizing your content for search engines.
With the proper use of keywords and creating high-quality content, you can inform search engines that your website is informative and trustworthy.
SEO ticks off the advantages of digital marketing, from cost-effectiveness to exposure.
I talked a lot about how a business owner in this century can utilize SEO effectively in my blogging for business owner course, including setting up a payment gateway on your website.
Underestimating the importance of blogging and SEO by businesses has contributed to startup failures that we see today.
Starting a business, getting capital, establishing a consistent customer base, and all the hurdles of most startups can easily be overcome using blog marketing and SEO.
SEO is a cheap way of attracting traffic to your website and increasing your leads, and it helps boost your presence and visibility on the internet.
Once a post on your website can rank high on a search engine’s algorithm, you will get traffic to your startup website. SEO marketing is a strategy, and you can hack this marketing strategy if you can grasp how it functions.
Additionally, having a website means exploring other ways to make money. So, not only is this a short-term marketing strategy, but it is also an investment with a very high ROI.
2. Content marketing:
Many business owners in emerging markets downplay why content marketing is important, not knowing it is vital for their business growth.
Retaining your customers as a startup or a large-scale business is crucial and definitely more important than getting them.
As soon as the doors open and you have an interaction with any of them, securing these customers should be your utmost priority at that moment. And one easy way of retaining customers is content marketing.
Content marketing is a digital marketing strategy that does not directly position your products or services out to be accessed, but this strategy flaunts the relevance, value, and benefits of your products and services to attract your customers.
So, while this marketing doesn’t scream the words, ‘Come and buy’ or ‘Use this product’, it lures you gradually into taking this same action but only through creating content relevant to your business.
I especially love content marketing because it caters to the needs of your audience at different stages of the sales funnel. Read more here.
Be assured that your startup can blow by employing this digital marketing strategy.
Another effective digital marketing strategy that will cause massive growth for your startup is the use of social media.
Entrepreneurs underinvest in their social media platforms when utilizing blog marketing, content marketing, and SEO, which is a big mistake.
With the need to socialize and get entertained, humans will always be found on social media platforms. So, your startup can easily influence its potential customers on social media.
And the majority of social media platforms, if not all, are built to engage with people. Your social media platforms should give your clients access to the behind-the-scenes of your business, get an insight into your personality, and share their thoughts and opinions with you.
The trick here is to come off as entertaining, sociable, and interactable.
Technology has even made it easier by creating options to share your content across several platforms. This is something that you should use as an entrepreneur.
Several social media platforms are available for business owners, such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Note that you have to know your target audience and where they are mostly found before deciding which platform to use. And if you can be consistent across several social media platforms, all the better!
There are also several social media plugins you can use on your website that will help you integrate your content for social media.
After your startup gets a handful of customers, you will not be able to keep track of them directly, which is where email marketing comes in.
Email marketing involves sending promotions, special offers, festival greetings, and discounts to your customer’s mailbox. You can also send congratulatory messages on special occasions like birthdays depending on which of your customers’ data you have in your database.
You create a mail list through several methods and start effective email marketing.
This strategy will help you build relationships and retain customers while maintaining your credibility and trust, which are vital for every startup.
These four digital marketing strategies are more than enough for your startup when effectively utilized.
When you use any digital marketing strategy, you must keep up to date with changes that are applied to them as technology keeps evolving.
As a startup entrepreneur, it is easy to get intimidated sometimes. You tend to see the competition and wonder if your products and services can ever gain visibility. Always remember that the big competitors you see out there were once startups like yours.
The ability to learn the best digital marketing strategies for your startup from this blog post will set you on the path to having massive growth in a few years.
