Life has a lot of lessons to offer. And so does your content. If you want to improve your content and have a more productive SEO strategy, here are five rules to live by:

1. ABO: always be optimizing
2. Know what your readers want or be irrelevant
3. Know what your competitors are up to so you can maintain your edge
4. Always make each and every webpage quality
5. Aim for a good balance of quality and quantity 

FAQ: How can I create an effective SEO content strategy that improves search engine rankings and drives organic traffic?

1. ABO: Always Be Optimizing

Content without optimization is like peanut butter without jelly. Sure, you can eat a peanut butter sandwich without jelly, but why would you?

Just like jelly gives peanut butter that finishing touch, optimizing your webpages puts the final touches on your content.

You can have the most incredible content in the world, but if your page is too slow to load or you have duplicate meta data, your content performance can fall short.

To make sure the content will perform for you, there is a lot to consider outside the words you’ve written or the video you’ve created.

That’s why optimized content and webpages are a cornerstone of SEO.

Read:

• What is Content Optimization?
• The Always-Up-to-Date SEO Checklist

2. Know What Your Readers Want or Be Irrelevant

Many people have asked, “Who am I?” at some point in their lives. When it comes to SEO content, however, you want to ask: Who are they?

In other words, do you know who reads your content? Do you know the unique challenges they face, their deepest desires, and what matters most to them? If not, then your content may fail to strike a chord.

Make a better connection with your audience by defining who they are. This is where creating audience personas can be key. Then, map your content topics to each persona.

Keyword research can be a great complement to this exercise. It will show you the types of queries your target audience uses when they look for what you have to offer.

Take those keywords and marry them with your personas. You’ll then have the foundation for content that can reach them at the moment they need it with what they need.

Read:

• Web Personas: Creating Jane
• What Are Keywords? 
• 7 Keyword Suggestion and Research Tools

3. Know What Your Competitors Are Up to So You Can Maintain Your Edge

All those research studies that come out telling you that content performs better if it is X, Y and Z is much too generic to follow.

In SEO, beating your competition is the name of the game. And you can’t beat your competition without first studying them.

And that means knowing who shows up on Page 1 of the search results for your target keywords and analyzing their webpages.

How are they presenting the topic and how can you stand out? What is the average length of the articles for the top-ranked webpages? What about the sweet spot for the meta data?

If you rely on general benchmarks, you will never truly embrace the uniqueness of your own SEO content strategy.

Read:

• Competitor Research for SEO: What, Why, How
• How to Do Competitor Research for SEO
• Want Customized SEO Advice Per Keyword? There’s an App for That!

4. Always Make Each and Every Webpage Quality

Any job worth doing in life is worth doing well. And when it comes to your SEO content, don’t skimp.

Quality content contributes to so many key aspects of SEO. Remember that experience, expertise, authority and trust are all factors in how Google assesses content and website quality.

This is important because you want to be able to compete in the search results. And demonstrating E-E-A-T can make your webpages more relevant to Google for a given search.

And don’t forget: If you have quality content, people will want to read and share it, which can help you earn links correctly.

Read:

• What Makes a Webpage Quality?
• The Complete Guide to the Basics of Google’s E-E-A-T
• The New Link Building Manifesto: A Complete Guide to Earning Links That Count

5. Aim for a Good Balance of Quality and Quantity

Over the years, the SEO perspective on content has changed.

At one point, it was that cranking out as much content as possible was the thing. Then Google stepped in and put its foot down; there were just too many subpar webpages out there.

So quality became a primary focus of the search engine. SEOs took a step back, played it cautiously, and adopted a quality-over-quantity approach.

But just like you need balance in life, you need balance in your SEO content.

It is true that you always want each piece to be quality, but does that mean you only publish once every couple of weeks? It depends on how fast you want to see results.

The fact is, if you want to see your website and blog drive more traffic, publishing more frequently can do just that.

To give you a real world example, we increased blog publishing frequency on our own Bruce Clay Blog beginning in early June 2023. You’ll notice in the image below that direct traffic to our blog sharply increased during that time. Our frequency increased even more in mid-July, and so did our traffic.

The Journey Begins with One Step

Every SEO content strategy is unique, but we can all learn from the wisdom of years of content creation and good SEO performance. Follow these five rules on your content journey and find out for yourself how they can improve your SEO content.

Our SEO experts can help you improve your SEO content strategy. Schedule a free 1:1 consultation here.

FAQ: How can I create an effective SEO content strategy that improves search engine rankings and drives organic traffic?

To start, thoroughly research your target audience and their needs. Understanding their preferences and pain points enables you to create content that resonates deeply.

Begin by conducting thorough keyword research. Identify relevant keywords and phrases that align with your industry and audience. A mix of short-tail and long-tail keywords will provide a balanced approach. Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush and other tools can provide invaluable insight into search volume and competition.

Quality content is non-negotiable. Crafting informative, engaging and original content is essential for retaining visitors and attracting organic backlinks. Leverage your expertise to provide value and establish credibility within your niche. Regularly update your content to reflect industry trends and address emerging topics.

Strategic content organization plays a vital role. Structure your articles with clear headings, subheadings, and concise paragraphs. This not only enhances readability but also improves search engine crawlers’ understanding of your content’s hierarchy and relevance.

Harness the power of on-page SEO elements. Optimize meta titles, descriptions and headers with your target keywords. Ensure your website is responsive and loads quickly across devices. Mobile-friendliness is a key ranking factor that directly impacts user experience.

Promote your content across various channels. Utilize social media, email newsletters, and online communities to amplify your reach. Encourage social sharing and engagement to broaden your content’s visibility and foster a loyal readership.

Step-by-Step Procedure: Creating an Effective SEO Content Strategy

1. Research your target audience’s preferences, pain points and search behavior.
2. Identify a mix of short-tail and long-tail keywords using tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush.
3. Create an editorial calendar outlining topics, keywords and publication dates.
4. Develop high-quality, original content that addresses your audience’s needs.
5. Incorporate target keywords naturally within your content while maintaining readability.
6. Organize your content with clear headings, subheadings and concise paragraphs.
7. Optimize meta titles, descriptions and headers with relevant keywords.
8. Ensure your website is mobile-responsive and optimized for fast loading speeds.
9. Implement a solid internal linking structure to guide users through related content.
10. Leverage high-quality images, infographics and videos to enhance user engagement.
11. Regularly update and refresh existing content to reflect current trends and information.
12. Promote your content across social media platforms and relevant online communities.
13. Encourage social sharing and engagement to expand your content’s reach.
14. Build relationships with influencers and collaborate for mutual content promotion.
15. Monitor your content’s performance using analytics tools to track traffic, engagement and conversions.
16. Continuously refine your content strategy based on data insights and user feedback.
17. Adapt to evolving SEO trends and algorithm changes to maintain your competitive edge.
18. Focus on providing value and relevance to your audience through every piece of content.
19. Stay patient and persistent; SEO results take time to manifest fully.
20. Review and adjust your strategy periodically to align with shifting market dynamics.

The post SEO Content Rules To Live By appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

And since everybody wants to rank on Page 1 of the search results, you need to understand better who is ranking there already for the keywords you want to rank for, too, and why. Enter competitor research.

To skip this step in your SEO strategy could be disastrous. You’d be shooting in the dark, wasting effort, and likely not seeing good results. So in this article, I’ll give an overview of what competitor research is, why it’s important, and how to do it.

• What is competitor research for SEO?
• Why is competitor research in SEO important?
• How do you do competitor research for SEO?
• FAQ: How does competitor research help in understanding online rivals?

What Is Competitor Research for SEO?

Competitor research in SEO analyzes your online competitors to understand better why they are ranking in the search results so that you can meet or exceed their efforts on your own website. It’s one of the best ways to understand your business and gain valuable insights to improve your SEO strategy.

Why Is Competitor Research in SEO Important?

Depending on the search query, search engines like Google can serve millions — sometimes billions — of search results pages. But you only need to worry about winning against the results on Page 1. These are your competitors and who you should focus on.

Competitor research in SEO does a few things:

1. It helps you identify who your online competitors are for any given keyword (remember, competitors change from keyword to keyword).
2. It helps you get clarity on your own website, messaging, and brand when you see how your competitors are presenting themselves.
3. It helps you reverse engineer the potential factors that are helping your competitors rank so you can outdo them.

Armed with this data, you can work on your own webpages so that they are least imperfect compared to your competitors.

No one webpage will ever score perfectly on every single factor in any given algorithm that is applied to a search query by a search engine. So all webpages are imperfect.

The goal is not to get every single thing right on an SEO checklist; the goal is to get at least as much right as your competitors — and a little more.

How Do You Do Competitor Research for SEO?

There is no one right way to do competitor research, but there are many steps you can take to get a robust picture of your online competitors, including:

• Assessing first the market (not the online) competition so you can highlight your strengths and reduce perceived weaknesses on your website.
• Perform keyword research, so that you can later do research on who your competitors are for each keyword (and also find out what your market competitors are ranking for).
• Find out which domains are ranking for any given target keyword and what their rank is on Page 1 of the search results.
• Analyze competitor webpages to find out which on-page and off-page ranking factors they’ve implemented that might influence their rankings.
• Dig into the competitors’ link profiles so that you can better understand their inbound links, including who is linking to them, at what rate they are acquiring links, and even if they have broken links.
• Check your competitors’ sites for performance issues that might be hindering their rankings, then make sure your website is not having the same issues.
• See which keywords a competitor recently lost rankings for so you can swoop up that opportunity.
• Do SERP research so that you are going beyond your competitors in just the 10 blue links section of the search results.
• Analyze the competition’s website architecture to see how they have structured their sites for SEO.

Competitors often change, and that is one of the reasons that websites lose rankings. So do competitor research on a scheduled basis or when needed as rankings drop.

For a complete step-by-step guide on competitor research, see: How to Do Competitor Research for SEO.

Final Thoughts

Rankings on Page 1 of the search results are up for grabs. If you go about optimizing your website and webpages the right way, you have a chance to grab them.

Step 1: Do all the SEO best practices you know of to lay the groundwork for website rankings. Then, find out what your competitors are doing for any given keyword so that you can further optimize your webpages to beat them.

We can teach you how to take your competitor research and turn it into actionable SEO tasks. SEOtraining.com gives you and your team everything you need to supercharge your SEO strategy. Sign up for membership and start training today.

FAQ: How does competitor research help in understanding online rivals?

As online business is ever more competitive, understanding your competitors is vital in order to gain an edge and remain ahead of them. One powerful tool that can provide invaluable insights is competitor research.

By studying the strategies, strengths, and weaknesses of your online rivals, you can gain a more thorough knowledge of the competitive environment and make educated decisions to expand your own business. Let’s explore how competitor research helps in understanding online rivals and how it can shape your overall business strategy.

Competitor research allows you to gain a comprehensive understanding of your online competitors. By studying their websites, social media presences, marketing campaigns, and customer acquisition tactics, you can identify strategies to attract and engage customers. Competitor research gives you valuable insights into their unique selling points, target audience profiles, and messaging strategies that you can then apply toward fine-tuning your own marketing efforts.

This process enables you to conduct a thorough market analysis. Investigate your competitors’ pricing strategies, product offerings, and customer reviews to identify gaps and opportunities within the market. With this data at hand, it can help inform product development efforts, price adjustments, and customer service improvements aimed at meeting and exceeding the expectations of your target audience.

By keeping tabs on the online activities of competitors – content creation, SEO strategies, and partnerships among others – you can gain a deeper insight into their long-term goals and direction. With this knowledge in hand, it may spark innovative ideas and strategies within your own business that help you stay one step ahead of competitors and gain an edge.

You can also gain experiential insights into industry best practices. Analyzing the successes and failures of your competitors helps you learn from their experiences and avoid common pitfalls. This knowledge can save you time, resources, and potential setbacks by adopting proven strategies while avoiding ineffective ones.

Competitor research plays a crucial role in understanding online rivals and shaping your business strategy. Utilize it to position your business for success in the competitive digital landscape.

The post Competitor Research for SEO: What, Why, How appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Every Monday, SEO is a brand-new industry. It’s complex and can be difficult to keep up with the constant changes.

In the right hands, SEO is a powerful tool that makes your brand first among equals.

In the wrong hands, doing SEO incorrectly hurts your brand and can ultimately cause your business to fail. The difference between the two is expertise.

So in order to implement a successful SEO program, it would be wise to work with an experienced agency or consultant.

An expert SEO agency knows how to implement good strategies to improve your online visibility, establish your company as a trusted authority in your niche, attract more organic traffic to your website, and increase your revenue.

Not all SEO agencies are created equal — some are good, some are bad. If you know more about SEO than your agency does, don’t expect to see meaningful results. And if you’re not getting the best results from your SEO campaign, it’s time to look elsewhere.

There are many factors you should consider before deciding on hiring outside help. Here, we will look at the top 10 expert skills you should expect from an SEO agency:

1. 1. 1. Keyword research
      2. Competitor analysis
      3. On-page optimization
      4. Off-page optimization
      5. Technical SEO
      6. Content marketing
      7. Local SEO
      8. Analytics and reporting
      9. SEO tools
      10. SEO training

   FAQ: What are the top contributions that an SEO agency can make to your SEO program?

1. Keyword Research

Keyword research is a critical component of every successful SEO campaign. It’s what helps you understand your target audience and their search behaviors.

A good SEO agency will utilize keyword research to provide you with an edge in understanding and outranking your competitors. They will also conduct content gap analyses to identify gaps and enhance an overall competitive content strategy.

The top three search results for a query get the majority of clicks. An agency will help you align your content creation and optimization with the keywords and queries your audience is looking for to give you a better chance of showing up in those positions.

For more, read:

• What are keywords? Why are keywords important to SEO?

2. Competitor Analysis

The goal of SEO is to beat the competition, not the algorithm.

SEO agencies know how to conduct a thorough competitor analysis to analyze the SEO strategies of a website’s competition. These insights inform the recommendations they make on how to outperform them.

For more on competitor analysis, read:

• How to do competitor research for SEO

3. On-Page Optimization

On-page optimization improves a website’s relevance and user experience, leading to higher visibility in search engines.

Some tactics include:

• Optimizing the website’s content with keywords.
• Deploying the right formatting.
• Schema markup.
• Making sure a webpage is mobile-friendly, user-friendly, and fast.
• Focusing on the organization of the content throughout the site, including the internal linking strategy.

With expert knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, a great SEO agency can optimize a website’s structure, content, and design to ensure it meets the technical requirements of search engines and user needs.

Our Always Up-to-Date SEO Checklist is a great resource to help you with on-page optimization. I suggest bookmarking the page for frequent reference.

4. Off-Page Optimization

Off-page optimization includes things like social media marketing, influencer promotions, press releases, and earning quality links to the website.

Backlinks are a ranking factor, although it isn’t specifically the number of links that matters. Fewer high-quality backlinks can better improve the credibility and authority of a website than a large volume of lower-quality ones.

In other words: The days of “link building” are over …. ultimately, earning relevant links comes down to creating great content that people want to link to and share.

For more on backlinks, see:

• The New Link Building Manifesto: A Complete Guide to Earning Links That Count

5. Technical SEO

Technical SEO involves optimizing a website’s performance to ensure it meets the technical requirements of search engines and offers a great user experience.

For example, page speed is a confirmed Google ranking signal, and Google wants pages to load in under 2.5 seconds.

Technical failures are a common reason for a drop in rankings and traffic. And the complexity of today’s websites requires an expert to identify and fix any issues that may cause these drops in traffic.

With expertise in website architecture, server configuration, and user experience, the right SEO agency can ensure that your site is technically sound and make it easier for search engines to access it.

For more on technical SEO, see:

• Technical SEO vs. On-Page SEO: The DIfferences
• SEO Guide: Technical SEO Tips

6. Content Marketing

Content marketing is about creating and sharing content in a way that helps you achieve your business and marketing objectives.

Content marketing involves:

• Communicating effectively.
• Making connections.
• Sharing the right content.
• Engaging your audience.
• Being in the right place at the right time.
• Seizing opportunity.
• Inspiring action.
• Nurturing the needs of your customers.
• Showcasing your personality/company culture in a way that fits the brand.

An expert SEO agency understands how experience, expertise, authority, and trust factor into quality content that builds trust with your market. They are skilled at developing content strategies, optimizing content for target keywords, and implementing content promotion techniques that demonstrate authority to search engines and to your target audience.

7. Local SEO

Local SEO is critical for businesses that rely on local customers. In fact, research from BrightLocal shows that 98% of people use the internet to find information about a local business.

Some of the SEO tactics used in local SEO differ from traditional techniques for organic search results (“10 blue links”).

And the complexity of local SEO grows when you have national and multi-site businesses, including franchises.

An experienced agency knows how to utilize local keyword research, on-page optimization, and local link building to ensure that a business’s website appears in local search results for the most valuable queries.

For more on local SEO, read:

• How Do I Rank Higher in Google Local Search?

8. Analytics and Reporting

Analytics and reporting are essential to measure the success of an SEO campaign and identify areas for improvement.

SEO agencies should frequently check in with you to provide detailed reports on the website’s performance, rankings, and traffic. They are experienced in data analytics tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and other SEO tools. And with the launch of Google Analytics 4 (GA4), an agency will have even more powerful tools to track and analyze user behavior on your website.

9. SEO Tools

SEO tools can provide a competitive advantage and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of any agency’s services.

These tools can provide valuable information about keyword research, backlink analysis, and website optimization.

Some SEO agencies (like ours) have their own proprietary SEO tools. Our SEO ToolSet software offers a suite of unique tools for website optimization. It’s been used by over 5,000 clients, including Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.

With access to the right tools, an agency can provide businesses with a unique and effective strategy that outperforms its competitors.

Remember that there is always a difference between data and wisdom. SEO tools can inundate you with data, but what sets agencies apart is the wisdom to understand what the data is telling you.

A skilled SEO agency will give you the right data with information specific to your website, then make actionable recommendations to help you make the right decisions for your business.

For more on SEO tools, see:

• The Top SEO Software That Experts Use Every Day

10. SEO Training

SEO training, like tools, can provide a competitive advantage and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of any agency services.

By learning how SEO works or improving upon the SEO skills you already have, you can have more strategic conversations with your SEO provider.

As the SEO industry continues to grow, the demand for training courses has steadily increased. Google Trends data shows a notable surge in search interest for SEO training services toward the last quarter of 2021.

These trends underscore the vital importance of investing in SEO training, showing its importance for business survival in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

Some SEO companies provide SEO training – we happen to be one of them. We’ve trained tens of thousands of students over 27 years on the foundations of SEO and evolving best practices.

In the past few years, we have reinvented our SEO training from in-person classes to an online membership site with tons of resources for its members in various content formats.

With the constant changes to search engine algorithms, staying up-to-date on SEO best practices and strategies through quality training is essential to remain competitive in today’s online marketplace.

There are a plethora of SEO training offerings out there — you must do your research and choose wisely. Before committing to anything, I suggest reading my article on Search Engine Land to help you evaluate your options.

Looking for an experienced SEO agency with a proven track record of helping websites get to Page 1 in the search results? Look no further than Bruce Clay, Inc.! Reach out to us to schedule a free consultation.

FAQ: What are the top contributions that an SEO agency can make to your SEO program?

Many businesses don’t have the time, resources, or knowledge to implement a successful SEO program. Working with an experienced SEO agency can significantly enhance your campaign. Here are the top skills you should look for when deciding to hire outside help.

Keyword Research

Keyword research is at the core of any successful SEO strategy. SEO agencies possess the knowledge and expertise required to perform thorough searches that identify relevant keywords for your industry, product, or service. They also optimize websites so they rank higher in search engine result pages (SERPs). By understanding your audience and their search behavior, agencies can optimize sites so they appear higher up in SERPs, leading to more organic traffic and conversions.

Competitor Analysis

To be the best in SEO, it means outstripping competitors. SEO agencies specialize in competitor analysis to gain valuable insight into their strategies and assist you with creating an improved SEO plan by studying what others are doing. Using this knowledge, they can identify opportunities to outrank rivals and bring more qualified traffic to your site.

Expert On-Page SEO

Optimizing the relevance and user experience of your website is paramount for its success. An SEO agency utilizes its extensive knowledge of HTML and CSS to optimize the structure, design and content of your website in accordance with search engines’ technical requirements while simultaneously meeting user demands. A specialist agency can boost rankings and targeted traffic by employing strategies such as keyword optimization, formatting schema markups and creating user-friendly navigation.

Off-page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to activities performed outside of your website that contribute to its overall search engine optimization success. A good SEO agency can develop an effective off-page strategy for optimizing your website, including social media marketing, influencer promotion, link acquisition strategies, or creating high-quality links. These experts understand the importance of a good link-building strategy and can create content that earns backlinks for increased authority, credibility and visibility for your brand.

Analytical Insights and Reporting

Reporting and analytics are crucial in evaluating the success of any SEO campaign and identifying any areas for improvement. SEO agencies typically provide regular reports detailing website traffic, rankings and key metrics gathered using data-driven insights provided by tools like Google Analytics and Search Console that will allow you to stay ahead of competitors in an ever-evolving digital landscape. These reports help keep an accurate account of SEO campaign activities while keeping a detailed log of improvements necessary in real-time.

Choosing the right partnership with an SEO agency can be the key to the success of your business. Take the time to get to know them, what they offer and what their track record is like. Leverage their experience in the industry to achieve better results — more traffic, visibility, leads, conversions, sales and customers.

The post 10 Expert Skills of an SEO Agency appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

What is a Search Engine Results Page (SERP)?

SERP: A page produced by a search engine in response to a user query listing what is algorithmically the best results for that query.

SEO Ranking: the position of a website on the SERP for organic results as presented in response to a query. This ranking usually has a direct relationship to traffic, which is the purpose of SEO. This is limited to the specific query.

A Search Engine Ranking Report gives you a look into your organic search rankings for sets of keywords, not just one keyword. It takes the individual rankings from a set of search engine results pages and combines them into a single report for all monitored keywords.

I’ll talk more about why it’s important and what it can do for you as we discuss:

• What search engine rankings tell you (and don’t tell you)
• What does a search engine ranking report do
• A search engine ranking report is a useful tool in your SEO toolbox
• FAQ: How can I effectively monitor my website’s search engine rankings to improve my SEO strategy?

What Search Engine Rankings Tell You (and Don’t Tell You)

Rankings are not the be all, end all of SEO. In fact, any SEO professional or company that only promises rankings as the end result of SEO is not doing their entire job. What rankings are, though, is a possible leading indicator of organic traffic.

For example, your website can rank for keywords, but does that mean anyone is searching for them? Will they click on the result? And if they do, is it valuable traffic? None of these are givens.

To that point, you definitely want to rank. But you want to rank for the right terms targeting the right audience that will generate traffic.

Also, you want to rank on Page 1 of the search results. There’s a famous saying in the SEO community that Page 2 is the best place to hide a dead body. And I am fond of pointing out that the only people going to Page 3 of search results are SEOs looking for their own websites.

I am fond of pointing out that the only people going to Page 3 of search results are SEOs looking for their own websites.
- Bruce Clay

The data shows time and time again that all the eyeballs are on the first page.

So analyzing your search rankings is important if you want to:

• Get your webpages on Page 1.
• See trends that hopefully show ranking progress. What a user sees will vary, but a consistent ranking monitor report showing keyword-by-keyword rankings over time is valuable.
• Monitor any sudden ranking changes so that you can then figure out if it was something Google changed, for example, or something on your website that caused it.

Some things search engine rankings won’t do. A search engine ranking report won’t tell you if you are:

• Targeting the right keywords
• Driving traffic
• Driving quality traffic
• Getting conversions
• Making revenue from SEO

Keep in mind that rankings fluctuate, and they vary from user to user, morning to night, region to region, or even what you see on your desk minute to minute. Five users in the same city may see different results even at the same time based upon their prior search history. So do not compare the reports to browser searches.

What Does a Search Engine Ranking Report Do?

A search engine ranking report gives you a view of your webpages’ rankings in the search results that’s as unbiased as possible. These reports are vital for monitoring trends over time compared to prior results.

As mentioned above, unbiased is important because search engines like Google personalize your search results based on things like being signed into Google, prior search history, location, and more.

So manually checking your search results rankings by going to the search results and typing in a query can give you a false reading.

There are many companies offering search engine ranking reports. I’ll use ours from the SEOToolSet® as an example of the data you can get. Ours happens to be one of the fastest real-time search engine ranking monitors on the market.

With a search engine ranking report from our Ranking Monitor, you can:

• Get your webpages’ unbiased rankings across Google and Bing search engines.
• See which keywords your site is ranking for and which pages are ranking for them.
• Run the report on demand, or schedule it to run at regular intervals automatically so you can track how rankings fluctuate over time.
• Specify locations worldwide so you can monitor rankings across the globe if you are doing international SEO.
• Run reports to show rankings over time with comparison data across timeframes.
• Gather competition rankings for your keywords at the same time.
• See how your other websites also perform for your keywords as aliases.

Our search engine ranking report gives you details like:

• The highest ranking your site has had for the keyword across search engines/countries.
• The estimated amount of monthly search activity for the associated keyword. Use this to gauge the popularity of a keyword.
• The estimated number of search results for the associated keyword so you can gauge the competitiveness of a keyword; more pages equals more competitors to beat out for a high ranking.
• The estimated average cost per click for the associated keyword. Use this to gauge the competitiveness of a keyword; higher CPC generally means more people bidding and driving the price higher.

Search engine ranking reports are also useful for tracking your competitors’ rankings. This gives you the same unbiased information and shows you how your website stacks up to your competitors.

Our Competitor Ranking tool in the SEOToolSet lets you add a market competitor to track their rankings and lets you compare by keyword, by competitor, or even across markets. This report tells you where your competitors rank for the keywords you care about.

Using this report, you can see if a competitor ranks better than you for your keywords. If they are, then it’s worth your time to review their site and see what they’re doing to get a better ranking.

The SEO analysis of a competitor is outside the scope of this report, but you can check the site for the amount of relevant content, inbound links, etc. to see where they are outperforming your site. (Here’s more on competitor research for SEO.)

A Search Engine Ranking Report Is a Useful Tool in Your SEO Toolbox

Understanding your website’s (and your competitors’) search rankings is one way to monitor your SEO progress. And doing it manually without any tools can lead to bad data because of personalization in the search results.

As a result, a search engine ranking report is an important tool in your SEO toolbox that will lead you to ask better questions as you are trying to build a good SEO strategy.

Is your SEO performing as well as you need it to? If your current rankings aren’t bringing you the traffic you need, contact us for a free quote and consultation. Our expert SEO services could help your website turn a corner.

FAQ: How can I effectively monitor my website’s search engine rankings to improve my SEO strategy?

Search engine ranking monitoring is a pivotal aspect of a successful SEO strategy. By effectively tracking and analyzing your website’s position in search engine results pages (SERPs), you can uncover valuable insights to refine your approach and drive better organic traffic. This article delves into key strategies that will empower you to stay at the forefront of search results and optimize your SEO efforts.

To embark on this journey, utilizing reliable ranking monitoring tools is imperative. Platforms like SEMrush and Moz offer comprehensive reports that reveal your site’s performance across various keywords. Such tools provide your ranking and insights into your competitors’ positions, allowing you to benchmark your performance against industry leaders.

Keyword selection is a cornerstone of effective ranking monitoring. Focusing on the right keywords that align with your target audience’s search intent is paramount. Regularly assess which keywords drive the most traffic and conversions and adjust your strategy accordingly. A dynamic keyword optimization approach ensures you continuously align your content with user expectations.

Regularity in monitoring cannot be stressed enough. Search engine rankings are dynamic and can change rapidly due to algorithm updates or shifts in user behavior. Establish a consistent schedule for tracking your rankings. This practice enables you to identify trends and anomalies over time, allowing you to respond promptly to any sudden changes.

The art of effective ranking monitoring extends beyond analyzing numbers; it requires insightful interpretation. Scrutinize your data to identify patterns and correlations. For instance, if a drop in ranking coincides with a change in your website’s structure, this insight could point toward optimization opportunities. Marrying data with context uncovers hidden gems for refining your SEO strategy.

Mastering search engine ranking monitoring involves a blend of powerful tools, strategic keyword optimization, regularity, and insightful interpretation. Embrace the iterative nature of SEO by constantly refining your strategy based on the insights you gain. The search landscape is ever-evolving, and staying vigilant in your ranking monitoring endeavors will position you for SEO success.

Step-by-Step Procedure: How to Effectively Monitor Search Engine Rankings for Enhanced SEO Strategy

1. Choose a Reliable Ranking Monitoring Tool: Select a reputable tool like SEMrush or Moz for comprehensive ranking reports.
2. Focus on Relevant Keywords: Optimize keywords that align with your target audience’s search intent.
3. Regular Monitoring Schedule: Establish a consistent schedule to track rankings and identify trends.
4. Interpret Data Insightfully: Analyze data for patterns and correlations to inform strategic decisions.

The post What Is a SEO Ranking Report? appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Why is your website losing rankings? To understand why sites once have rankings and then lose them, you need to understand the bigger picture of search.

In an August 2020 Google Webmaster Central Office Hours with John Mueller, he goes over three reasons that sites lose rankings. Here, I’ll discuss Mueller’s insights in more detail and explore a couple more of my own.

Search Is Always Evolving

… just because a site was appearing well in search results for a number of years does not mean that it will continue to appear well in search results in the future.

–John Mueller, Google Webmaster Central Office Hours, August 2020

In an ideal world, you’d achieve top rankings and stay there. But the reality is that search is always changing. And that means rankings fluctuate.

In other words, you have to work hard to maintain those top rankings and try to figure out what’s going on when they drop. As Mueller put it, ranking changes are “to be expected on the web. It’s a very dynamic environment.”

It might not always be obvious what has changed when you lose rankings. It may not have anything to do with your website at all. So, what are some of the reasons rankings drop? Let’s look at five categories:

1. 1. Competitors change
   2. Algorithms change
   3. Expectations change
   4. Websites change
   5. Other things change

FAQ: Why is my website losing rankings?

1. Competitors Change

One of the reasons you lose rankings is, as Mueller pointed out, that “things on the web change with your competitors, with other sites.”

I’ve said it before SEO should always aim to beat the competition, not the algorithm. It’s impossible for anyone who is not intimately familiar with the Google algorithm to figure it out. So, the mindset about rankings needs to shift from beating the algorithm to beating the competition.

Given that there are likely hundreds of new websites created every day, you must consider those entering into the search competition. And yes, some of them will be better than yours. Also, content or webpages that are new can have the added advantage of “freshness” when it comes to SEO.

Solution: Analyze your competition in the search results and do better than them.

Check out the article SEO Should Beat the Competition Not the Algorithm for a better understanding of how to be “least imperfect” compared to your competitors in the search results.

2.  Algorithms Change

This is an obvious one: “Things on our side change with our algorithms in Search,” Mueller says.

In 2019, Google made more than 3,600 improvements to Search. And it’s safe to say that some of those changes shook up the rankings for websites.

How does the algorithm change? In some cases, Google expands algorithm variables. In other cases, the algorithm may change the weight given to those variables. For example, maybe a mobile signal got stronger — or something else. And sometimes it’s software, not people, that are making those changes (I’m looking at you, RankBrain).

One of the best ways to weather algorithm changes is to ensure you have a sound website. Remember when Google’s Gary Illyes said this?

i really wish SEOs went back to the basics (i.e. MAKE THAT DAMN SITE CRAWLABLE) instead of focusing on silly updates and made up terms by the rank trackers, and that they talked more with the developers of the website once done with the first part of this sentence.

Solution: Are you staying on top of changes to the algorithm? Are you continuing to put in place proven SEO strategies? Check out these articles:

• The Real Impact of RankBrain to understand how RankBrain and search rankings work.
• Our SEO Guide for step-by-step guidance on how to create a website primed for rankings.
• SEO Is Done When Google Stops Changing Things and All Your Competition Dies (enough said).

3. Expectations Change

Just as the search engines change, so do “things on the user side as well — the expectations change over time,” says Mueller.

Examples include:

• When users’ expectations change around the type of content they want to consume.
• When user intent changes around keywords.

A current event, for example, can bias the search results. Take the pandemic. Old target keywords take on new meanings in light of current events.

Consider how expectations have changed around a search for “homeschooling” or “hand sanitizer.” This can impact the rankings of websites that are not meeting user expectations.

Solution: Follow search trends to better understand how searcher intent changes and how expectations evolve over time with your target audience and respond. Check out these articles:

• Google Search Trends Amidst COVID-19 and How to Respond to get more insight into how search trends change during current events.
• Complete Guide to the Fundamentals of Google’s E-E-A-T to ensure you’re creating content that is in line with Google’s view of quality.

4. Websites Change

Google once said in its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines that unmaintained sites are the lowest of the low:

Some websites are not maintained or cared for at all by their webmaster. These “abandoned” websites will fail to achieve their purpose over time, as content becomes stale or website functionality ceases to work on new browser versions. Unmaintained websites should be rated Lowest if they fail to achieve their purpose due to the lack of maintenance.

But, in the case of maintenance, you’re kind of damned if you do and damned if you don’t. That’s because website maintenance is a known cause of dropped rankings.

Consider the following:

• Refreshing content on an existing URL can sometimes cause a drop in rankings. On the other hand, old, outdated content can do the same. Remember to preserve the main keywords when refreshing a page.

• Technical issues that are less obvious can cause a drop in rankings. Here is a handful of scenarios: A large jump in 4xx and 5xx errors as part of a site migration; when a staging site is indexed after the launch of a new site, causing duplicate content that impacts the main site; too many redirect hops; confusing rel=canonical issues such as using rel=canonical pointing to a staging site as opposed to the site’s main domain; and there are, of course, more examples like these.

Solution: Before making any changes to a website, ensure you are aware of how it might impact rankings. Consider doing changes in small batches so that you have better insight into what might be causing a rankings drop. Monitor rankings before and after.

Read How to Keep Your Business Relevant During Hard Times and Come Out a Winner for ideas on maintaining the content on your site, if that’s on the agenda.

5. Other Things Change

Sometimes, not-so-obvious things change that are both in and out of your control. Consider the following:

• Operating changes: For example, new customer service methods could change your brand sentiment and reviews online.

• Social changes: For instance, a new focus on environmentalism might cause a plastic straw maker to lose rankings to a paper straw maker.

• Changes to other advertising channels: One scenario would be pulling a TV ad, causing fewer people to talk about your brand online. This could result in fewer links to the website.

And you can never rule out the fact that you may have been hit with a search engine penalty. So you want to be sure your website is keeping in line with Google’s guidelines. Watch out for any gray areas and make sure you err on the side of white versus black SEO strategies.

Solution: Look at the bigger picture around your brand and industry — has anything changed? Also, have your finger on the pulse of your other ad and marketing efforts; SEO does not exist in a vacuum. Check out these articles:

• Is Sentiment an SEO Trust Signal? This dives into how brand sentiment can impact SEO success.
• Paid Guest Posting: More Proof That It’s Bad for Business so that you can explore one of those “gray areas” that violate Google’s guidelines.

Every business and website is unique, so there is no general answer that covers why you’re losing rankings. But exploring these five categories can give you a good starting point for figuring it out.

If you’re dealing with organic ranking losses and don’t know why, you could benefit from expert SEO analysis. I invite you to contact us for a free consultation today.

FAQ: Why is my website losing rankings?

This is a multifaceted issue, but let’s look at the top 10 reasons why your site might be losing rankings.

1. Algorithmic Changes

One of the most common culprits behind ranking drops is algorithm updates by search engines like Google. These changes can significantly impact your website’s visibility. Stay informed about algorithm updates and adapt your SEO strategies accordingly.

2. Technical Issues

Technical glitches on your website can negatively affect its rankings. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, has a fast loading speed, and is free from broken links or server errors. Regularly conduct website audits to catch and resolve technical issues promptly.

3. Poor Content Quality

Low-quality or outdated content can lead to ranking drops. Conduct a content audit to identify and refresh outdated material. Focus on creating high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that resonates with your target audience.

4. Backlink Profile

Your website’s backlink profile plays a crucial role in rankings. If you’ve acquired low-quality or spammy backlinks, they can harm your site’s reputation. Disavow toxic links and focus on building high-quality, natural backlinks.

5. Keyword Competition

Changes in keyword competition can impact your rankings. Monitor keyword trends and adjust your content and SEO strategies accordingly. Target long-tail keywords with less competition to maintain visibility.

6. Website Security

A lack of website security can lead to ranking drops, especially if your site is susceptible to hacking. Invest in robust security measures to protect your site from cyber threats.

7. User Experience

A poor user experience, such as slow page load times or a confusing navigation structure, can result in higher bounce rates and lower rankings. Optimize your website for a seamless user experience.

8. Content Freshness

Search engines prefer fresh content. Regularly update your website with new, relevant information to signal its relevance to search engines.

9. Social Signals

Engagement on social media can influence your rankings. Share your content on social platforms and encourage user interaction.

10. Competition

Increased competition in your niche can lead to ranking fluctuations. Continuously analyze your competitors’ strategies and adapt to stay competitive.

A website’s ranking drop can be attributed to various factors, but understanding and addressing these issues can help you regain and maintain your position in search engine results. Regular monitoring, adaptation to algorithm changes, and a commitment to quality content are key to a successful SEO strategy.

Step-by-Step Procedure: How to Address a Dropping Website Ranking

1. Monitor algorithm updates from search engines.
2. Conduct regular website audits to identify and resolve technical issues.
3. Perform a content audit to refresh outdated or low-quality content.
4. Audit and clean up your backlink profile, disavowing toxic links.
5. Stay updated on keyword competition and adjust your SEO strategies accordingly.
6. Invest in robust website security to protect against cyber threats.
7. Optimize your website for a seamless user experience.
8. Regularly update your content to maintain its freshness.
9. Promote your content on social media platforms and encourage user engagement.
10. Analyze your competitors’ strategies and adapt to stay competitive in your niche.

The post 5 Things to Know When Your Site Loses Rankings appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Call us vain, but we in the BCI content and media department believe tools can’t write quality website content just yet. They can, however, crunch numbers and produce data that SEO content writers need to produce conversion-driven copy for the web.

Bruce Clay, Inc.’s renowned SEOToolSet has smart tools for digital marketers and SEO copywriters. You can rely on these tools to conduct the proper research and analysis you need to write and enhance your SEO content with one goal in mind: to grow your business.

Here, you can try a few tools ​from our SEOToolSet that will aid and simplify the SEO copywriting process.

• Explore, discover, and select keywords: the keyword suggestion tool 
• Examine your competition’s techniques 
• Test and improve your content: the single-page analyzer
• SEO copywriting tools you can use
• Discover the SEOToolSet
• FAQ: How can I effectively utilize SEO content tools to enhance my website’s visibility and engagement? 

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Explore, Discover, and Select Keywords: The Keyword Suggestion Tool

Creating a keyword list for your website is an important step in the search engine optimization process. In fact, when people ask us how to write SEO content, we always point to keyword research as an important first step.

In digital marketing, the content you write has to correspond with the words and phrases people use to search online for your products or services. Use the Keyword Suggestion Tool below to find and select those magnetic keywords that bring searchers and spiders to your website. You’ll find natural keywords that are relevant to your business and industry. It also tells you how competitive these keywords might be.

How often will you need this tool as an SEO writer? Quite often, actually. The Keyword Suggestion Tool can be used during the first step of the keyword research process and regularly as a way to keep your keyword list fresh and accurate. Use it often to keep content fresh by reflecting changes in the way people search for you. Try it out below!

Examine Your Competition’s Techniques

Top-Ranked Websites by Keyword

Competitor research is crucial to writing quality SEO content. By analyzing the web pages of your high-ranking competitors, you can learn a lot about what quality SEO content looks like to users and search engines.

Test and Improve Your Content: The Single Page Analyzer

Discover potential problems with your content. Are you writing at the appropriate reading level for your target audience? Are you using your keywords in the proper places throughout your website?

Here’s a tool that analyzes your web page and tells you if there are any SEO errors on your page. What’s more, it tells you how to fix them. You can use it to analyze and improve your own web pages or run it on a competitor’s page to learn about their strengths and weaknesses. It breaks down keyword usage, tags, and headings. This free-version Single Page Analyzer, as seen below, also looks at your page’s linking and anchor text and much more.

SEO Copywriting Tools You Can Use

Writing SEO content requires more than just words. It requires proper keyword research. It requires knowledge of SEO best practices. It requires competitor analysis. It requires writing, tweaking, testing, and rewriting. Simplify the legwork of gathering data and troubleshooting with the SEOToolSet. This unique set of powerful tools gives you the information and insight you need to write quality SEO content like an expert in your field.

The tools in our full SEOToolSet provide information via easy-to-read charts and sortable tables. The report also features easy-to-spot warnings. With fast and smart data at your fingertips, you can instantly get the information you need to craft quality SEO content that resonates with search engines and online users.

Discover the SEOToolSet

Want to get started on your keyword research? How about a quick analysis of any page on your website? Jump on the opportunity to try 10 of our SEO tools for free right now. These free samples are available to you without requirements to sign up, download software, or provide credit card information. No strings attached.

We also offer our entire SEOToolSet with the fastest available Ranking Monitor for just $​24.95/month per website project — seriously less than other tool sets on the market. We even offer your money back if you decide to cancel in the first 30 days, so you can try out the full version risk-free! Explore SEOToolSet features and use the tools to improve your web content today.

FAQ: How can I effectively utilize SEO content tools to enhance my website’s visibility and engagement?

Harnessing the power of SEO content tools can significantly impact your website’s success. Content creation tools streamline the content production process and offer valuable insights that will boost search engine rankings for your website. With this comprehensive guide at hand, make the most of these powerful tools!

Selecting the Right Tools

Before diving into the world of SEO content tools, choosing the ones that align with your goals is crucial. Tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz offer comprehensive keyword research, backlink analysis, and competition tracking. Google Analytics provides essential website data. Remember, the right tools can save time and offer actionable insights.

Crafting Optimized Content

Crafting high-quality, optimized content is at the heart of effective SEO. Begin by conducting keyword research to identify relevant search terms. Incorporate these keywords naturally into your content’s title, headings, and body. Tools like Yoast SEO can guide your content optimization, ensuring proper keyword usage and readability.

Enhancing User Experience

User experience plays a pivotal role in engaging visitors and reducing bounce rates. Page load speed, mobile responsiveness, and intuitive navigation are key factors. Tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights and Mobile-Friendly Test can help you identify areas for improvement, ultimately enhancing user experience and retention.

Analyzing and Adapting

The true power of SEO content tools lies in their ability to provide actionable data. Regularly analyze your website’s performance using these tools. Monitor traffic trends, click-through rates, and user behavior. Identify successful strategies and areas that need adjustment. This iterative approach ensures your content remains fresh and appealing.

Leveraging Data for Growth

Data-driven insights are a goldmine for optimizing your website’s visibility and engagement. Identify top-performing content and replicate its success by expanding on related topics. Adjust your content calendar based on trending keywords and user preferences. You’ll foster sustainable growth by staying agile and adapting to changing dynamics.

Step-by-Step Procedure: How to Effectively Utilize SEO Content Tools

1. Define Your Goals: Clearly outline your website’s objectives and target audience to align your tool selection with your goals.
2. Research Tools: Explore reputable SEO content tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, and Google Analytics to identify the best suits your needs.
3. Keyword Research: Utilize keyword research tools to identify relevant keywords and phrases related to your content.
4. Content Optimization: Integrate selected keywords naturally into your content’s title, headings, and body for optimal optimization.
5. Utilize SEO Plugins: If using platforms like WordPress, employ SEO plugins like Yoast SEO to guide your content optimization efforts.
6. Focus on User-Experience: Evaluate how users experience your website by considering page speed, mobile device responsiveness, and navigation.
7. PageSpeed Insights – Use Google PageSpeed Insights to evaluate your website’s load time and receive suggestions for improvement.
8. Google Mobile-Friendly Test – To ensure your website is compatible with mobile devices, Google offers its Mobile-Friendly Test.
9. Regular Monitoring: Continuously analyze your website’s performance using chosen SEO tools to track traffic trends and user behavior.
10. Identify Successful Strategies: Pinpoint effective content and engagement strategies from your data analysis.
11. Iterative Adaptation: Adjust your content strategy based on insights gained, keeping your approach fresh and appealing.
12. Content Expansion: Build upon the success of top-performing content by creating more comprehensive and detailed pieces.
13. Trending Topics: Stay updated with industry trends and adapt your content calendar to include trending keywords.
14. Aim for Agility: Embrace a flexible content creation and optimization approach based on evolving trends and user preferences.
15. Data-Driven Decisions: Base your decisions on data-driven insights to ensure consistent growth and engagement improvement.
16. Stay Informed: Regularly educate yourself about the latest SEO trends and algorithm changes to remain ahead of the curve.
17. Collaborate and Learn: Engage with SEO communities and forums to exchange insights and learn from fellow professionals.
18. Experiment and Innovate: Don’t be afraid to try new strategies and experiment with different types of content to discover what resonates best.
19. Continuous Refinement: Continually refine your SEO strategy based on performance metrics and user feedback.
20. Stay Patient: SEO results take time to materialize; maintain patience and persistence while consistently optimizing your content.

Following this step-by-step procedure and expert insights’ll unlock the potential of SEO content tools, enhancing your website’s visibility and engagement over time.

The post Tools for Digital Marketers and SEO Copywriters appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..