The U.S. patent application filed by Google on Jan. 12 gives search marketers a look into the search engine’s plans for answer boxes. The patent application titled “Generating Elements of Answer-Seeking Queries and Elements of Answers” covers a lot of technical ground. For digital marketers engaged in SEO for answer boxes, two key insights and one question emerge:

1. Content will receive a score, and the content with the highest score earns the answer box.
2. Search queries will not need to use question words to generate an answer box.
3. Could answer boxes be comprised from multiple sources?

Read on to discover more about each of these coming developments.

What is an answer box? Answer boxes are direct answers to queries that appear above the search results. Answer boxes are displayed for queries that Google algorithmically determines are “answer-seeking.” The content inside an answer box is pulled from one of the top ten results on a  search engine results page (SERP) and appears in a light grey box at the top of the SERP. Why does this matter? “Ranking zero” with an answer box can drive more traffic to your site than a No. 1 ranking.

Here’s how Google describes the process of displaying an answer box, straight from the patent: “When the search system receives a query having elements that are characteristic of an answer-seeking query, the search system can identify a corresponding answer that has characteristic elements of an answer to an answer-seeking query. The search system can then generate a presentation that prominently displays an answer to the answer-seeking query.”

Answer boxes are sometimes referred to as featured snippets, direct answers, and zero rankings, among other terms.

Answer Box Scores

The patent outlines the process of generating the answer box, and includes this step:

“(Compute) a respective score for each of one or more passages of text occurring in each document identified by the search results, wherein the score for each passage of text is based on how many of the one or more answer types match the passage of text.”

Earlier in the patent, an answer type was defined as “a group of answer elements that collectively represent the characteristics of a proper answer to an answer-seeking query.”

What does this mean for digital marketers optimizing content for answer boxes? The patent begs the question: does content with more answer types win the answer box?

For example, if Page A has a chart, two respective text paragraphs, an image, and a bullet list that all qualify as answer elements, does that page receive a higher score than Page B that has text paragraphs alone? Even if the text of Page B has higher scores than the text paragraphs in Page A?

In other words, does a page with more answer types fare better than a page with equal or greater relevance of content and a single answer type? Based on the patent alone, this seems to be a logical conclusion.

When it comes to optimizing for answer boxes, then, the new content publishing process involves production of multiple answer types to answer the targeted question.

The patent goes on to state that all scores must meet a threshold to be considered for inclusion in an answer box, indicating that even if your content is the best of the possible answer boxes, it still must reach a certain level of quality to be considered.

Search Queries Will Be Identified as Answer-Seeking without Use of Question Words

No need for the searcher to include “who,” “what,” “when,” “were,” “how” or “why” in a query to trigger an answer box. Google wants to identify queries as “answer-seeking” regardless of inclusion of question words. Here’s what Google had to say, straight from the patent (emphasis ours):

“A search system may consider a query to be an answer-seeking query because its terms match a predetermined question type. However, the query need not be expressed in the form of a question, and the query need not include a question word, e.g., ‘how,’ ‘why,’ etc.”

Google provides this example of how it should work (click to enlarge):

Figure 1 from Google patent application “Generating Elements of Answer-Seeking Queries and Elements of Answers.” This figure shows how queries need not include question words to be classified as “answer-seeking.” As the patent states, “In this example, the search system provides the answer box in response to the query even though the query is not phrased as a question and even though the query does not include a question word.”

Google also notes: “In this example the answer box is identified as a good answer to the query even though the answer does not include the term ‘cooking,’ which occurred in the query and even though the answer does not occur in a document referenced by a highest-ranked search result. Rather, the answer in the answer box is identified as a good answer because the search system has determined that the question type matching the query is often associated with an answer type that matches text of the document referenced by the search result.”

That’s another key insight: Your content does not have to rank No. 1 to earn the answer box. That’s something answer box researchers already knew, but it’s always good to have statements directly from Google that support the current understanding how the search engine is working.

While you do not have to rank No. 1, you do need to rank in the top ten results. Our own research at Bruce Clay, Inc., as well as research by other SEO agencies, points to the fact that you must be in the top ten if you want a chance to rank zero.

The trigger isn’t that you’re using a question word, but rather that you’re searching for an answer-seeking entity. After publishing, Bill Slawski pointed out the relationship between answer boxes and the Google Knowledge Graph:

“The patent doesn’t specifically state that it is connected to Google’s Knowledge Graph, but it does say that it might look for information about entities when gathering answers for answer boxes.  There’s a good chance that Google will look at its Knowledge Graph for entities that it might collect answers about when it is performing the process described in this patent.”

Could Answer Boxes Be Comprised from Multiple Sources?

The patent explains that after “determining that the one or more passages of text have respective scores that satisfy a threshold” the search engine will select “one or more passages of text having respective scores that satisfy the threshold for inclusion in the presentation.”

Let’s say Page A has the highest scoring paragraph for a query. Page B has the highest scoring image that answers that same query. Page C has the highest scoring table, and Page D has the highest scoring video. Is there any reason that, in the future, answer boxes could be comprised from multiple web pages? In reading the patent, we don’t see any reason why not; Google’s statement that “one or more passages of text” will be included does not describe those passages as being on the same page.

What Next Steps Should SEOs Take When Optimizing for Answer Boxes?

Given that the document is a patent application, we can’t take the statements in it to be fact. There is a good chance, of course, that answer box scores will become a reality. In fact, they could already be a reality or in beta at this moment. This patent application, nonetheless, provides valuable insight into how Google is thinking about answer boxes and what answer boxes might look like in the future.

As digital marketers, we always seek to stay several steps ahead — anticipating the coming algorithm and search feature changes so that we’re prepared when they happen. Patent applications take us behind the Google curtain and can help us understand what’s down the pike.

Want more ways to stay ahead of the search curve? If you’re obsessed with winning at web traffic, you don’t want to miss Bruce Clay’s Advanced SEO Workshop at Search Marketing Expo (SMX) West in San Jose on March 20.

This full day of master SEO training will equip you with cutting-edge SEO techniques. Bruce will tackle answer boxes, RankBrain, voice search, AMP and more. Learn how to help raise your rankings and visibility in search engines. Save 10% with our exclusive discount code: BRUCECLAYSMXW17.

The post Patent Reveals Insight into How Google Generates Answer Boxes via Content Scores appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Are you in the real estate industry and want to land more potential buyers? Your online presence is everything, so in this post, we will dive into how you can optimize your real estate business online to capture traffic and generate leads.

• Target local keyword phrases
• Write blog posts on properties you want to sell
• Take advantage of photos and videos
• Make your site mobile-friendly
• Get listed in directories
• Optimize your bio on your broker’s website
• FAQ: How can I optimize my real estate business online to capture traffic and generate leads? 

Target Local Keyword Phrases

To kick-start your real estate SEO efforts, focus on targeting local keyword phrases that potential buyers are likely to search for. Research shows that 69 percent of home shoppers begin their research with a local keyword phrase, such as “Glendale realtor.” Start by optimizing your website for search terms like:

• [City] real estate
• [City] homes for sale
• [City] real estate listings
• [City] realtor
• [City] real estate agent

Create dedicated landing pages on your website that utilize these keywords. For example, if you operate in Glendale, include pages like “Glendale Homes for Sale,” “Living in Glendale,” “Glendale Real Estate Testimonials,” and “About Your Glendale Realtor.” Incorporate these strategic keywords throughout your content and provide valuable information related to the local area, such as school districts, crime rates, median income, and public transportation.

Write Blog Posts on Properties You Want to Sell

While representing numerous listings, there are always a few properties that you’re particularly motivated to sell. Write blog posts targeting specific properties by using their addresses as keywords. Craft unique content of around 200 words describing the features and highlights of each property. Incorporate the address keyword in your meta description, title tag, alt text, and file names of photos within the content itself. This will help your blog posts rank higher in search results and attract potential buyers searching for specific properties.

Take Advantage of Photos and Videos

Engaging visual content is crucial for a successful real estate website. Home buyers love browsing through photos and videos to better understand the properties they are interested in. Provide video tours of homes and capture testimonials on video as well. Consider recording testimonials right after a buyer receives their keys, as this is when they’re most excited. Additionally, research shows that listings with videos receive significantly more inquiries compared to those without. Enhance your website’s engagement and visibility by incorporating high-quality photos and videos.

Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly

Make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices since 89% of people looking for a new home use their mobile devices during the home-buying process. Implement responsive design, which is Google’s preferred mobile configuration. Responsive design simply means that your website will render on different screen sizes and resolutions.

Get Listed in Directories

Real estate directories attract significant traffic, making them valuable platforms for realtors. Ensure you are listed in popular real estate directories like Trulia, Zillow, RedFin, and Homes.com. These directories receive millions of page views monthly, providing ample opportunities to capture potential clients. By leveraging these platforms, you can enhance your online visibility and increase your chances of connecting with interested buyers.

Optimize Your Bio on Your Broker’s Website

If you work with a real estate agency, optimize your bio page on their website. Although this sub-domain may not rank well for local keyword targets, it’s an excellent opportunity to optimize your name as a keyword. Include your full name in the title tag and meta description, if possible. Additionally, utilize the bio page to provide contact information and a link to your personal website. Optimizing your bio on your broker’s website improves your online presence and increases the likelihood of being found by potential clients searching for your name.

Incorporate Social Media  A social media presence is an excellent way for real estate professionals to engage with potential home buyers. Research which platforms your target clients are most active on and engage with them there. Share valuable content, such as property listings, market updates, and tips for buyers and sellers. Utilize relevant hashtags like #realestate and #listing to expand your reach and attract a broader audience. A strong social media presence can foster trust and credibility among potential clients.

By implementing these strategies, you can optimize your real estate website, attract targeted traffic, and generate valuable leads. Embrace the power of local keywords, create compelling blog posts, leverage visual content, optimize for mobile devices, utilize directories, optimize your bio, and harness the potential of social media. Stay ahead of the competition and establish a strong online presence that drives your real estate business to new heights.

FAQ: How can I optimize my real estate business online to capture traffic and generate leads?

Optimizing your online presence will be vital to the success of your real estate business. I specialize in this field and understand its significance; discover some strategies to boost it, drive traffic, and convert leads.

1. Comprehensive Keyword Research:

Identify and understand the buyer intent search terms relevant to your real estate niche. Tailor your content around these keywords to ensure your website appears in the right search results. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can assist in finding the most effective keywords.

2. Engaging Website Design:

Create a user-friendly and visually appealing website. Potential clients should easily navigate property listings, neighborhood information, and contact details. A clean, intuitive design contributes to a positive user experience, encouraging visitors to explore further.

3. High-Quality Content:

Content is king, and it’s no different in the real estate world. Regularly publish informative, relevant, and engaging content. This could include market trends, neighborhood spotlights, or home-buying tips. A blog adds value and boosts your website’s search engine ranking.

4. Local SEO Optimization:

Optimize your website for local searches by claiming and updating your Google My Business profile. Ensure your business information is accurate, including your location, contact details, and business hours. This enhances your visibility in local search results.

5. Social Media Presence:

Leverage social media platforms to connect with your audience. Share visually appealing content, such as property photos and success stories. Engage with your community, respond to comments, and use targeted advertising to reach potential clients.

These strategies form a solid foundation in optimizing your real estate business online.

Step-by-Step Guide: Optimizing Your Real Estate Business Online

1. Conduct Thorough Keyword Research:

Utilize tools like Google Keyword Planner to identify relevant keywords and phrases.

2. Update Website Design:

Ensure your website is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly.

3. Develop High-Quality Content:

Regularly publish informative blog posts tailored to your target audience.

4. Implement Local SEO Strategies:

Claim and optimize your Google My Business profile with accurate business information.

5. Build a Social Media Presence:

Engage with your audience on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X.com.

6. Utilize Visual Content:

Share captivating property photos and videos to attract potential clients.

7. Encourage Client Reviews:

Request satisfied clients to leave positive reviews on your website or other review platforms.

8. Leverage Email Marketing:

Build an email list and send newsletters with valuable content and property updates.

9. Optimize Website Speed:

Ensure your website loads quickly to provide a seamless user experience.

10. Implement a Lead Capture System:

Use contact forms, pop-ups, or chatbots to capture leads on your website.

11. Monitor Analytics:

Regularly review website analytics to assess the effectiveness of your strategies.

12. Stay Informed About Trends:

Keep up-to-date with real estate and digital marketing trends to stay ahead of the competition.

13. Network with Local Businesses:

Collaborate with other local businesses to expand your reach and referral network.

14. Host Virtual Tours:

Utilize technology to provide virtual property tours for potential buyers.

15. Offer Incentives:

Create special promotions or incentives to attract and convert leads.

16. Participate in Online Communities:

Engage with relevant online communities and forums to establish your expertise.

17. Optimize for Mobile Devices:

Ensure your website is mobile-responsive for users on smartphones and tablets.

18. Invest in Paid Advertising:

Consider targeted paid advertising campaigns on platforms like Google Ads or Facebook Ads.

19. Provide Excellent Customer Service:

Respond promptly to inquiries and provide excellent service to build a positive reputation.

20. Continuously Evaluate and Adjust:

Regularly assess the performance of your online strategies and make adjustments as needed.

Optimizing your real estate business online is an ongoing process that requires dedication and strategic planning. By implementing these steps, you can position your business for success in the digital realm, capturing traffic and generating valuable leads.

This article was updated on December 11, 2023. 

The post Ultimate Guide to Real Estate SEO: How to Earn Traffic & Leads appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

We’re looking forward to a lot of exciting new products and services to share with you in 2017, including an upgrade to our blog. The exciting commitment we’ve made — Bruce made — is more posts by him. Stay connected with weekly posts from Bruce by subscribing to the blog here.

In 2016 we were busy bringing digital marketers answers to the toughest questions surrounding SEO, content marketing and PPC. Out of more than 100 articles, these are the top 12 most-read articles on the Bruce Clay Blog this year.

From managing SEO projects to understanding the Facebook algorithm, keeping your website fresh to disavowing links, here’s the year’s most popular posts for you to read up on as you head into the New Year!

1. The Always Up-to-Date SEO Checklist

Just getting started optimizing websites? Here’s a checklist to keep on-hand to keep in-hand as you embark on an SEO project. We update this SEO list regularly so it reflects all the updates to ranking factors as they emerge.

2. What Is Google PageRank, How Is It Earned & Does It Matter in 2016?

PageRank is the score Google gives pages when determining the quality and quantity of links pointing to a web page. Find out why PageRank is a critical SEO component and how to better your PageRank.

3. 30 SEO Interview Questions You Should Be Prepared For

If you’re looking to hire an in-house SEO analyst, we want to help you find the right one. That’s because our most successful SEO consulting happens when there’s a competent SEO manager working in-house. So we compiled the questions we would ask of a prospective SEO analyst in an interview. It’s a must-read for anyone making digital marketing hiring decisions.

4. The Digital Marketing Conference Calendar

The Digital Marketing Conference Calendar is your one-stop shop for planning your digital marketing conference attendance. Discover more than 100 search engine optimization, paid search, social media and content marketing events happening around the world. This conference calendar is updated regularly, and undergoes a massive update each January. Next week, the calendar will be published anew to reflect the conferences of 2017! Subscribe to the blog to get the 2017 edition delivered straight to your inbox.

6. Keep It Fresh: Steps for Updating Your Website Content

One of the factors Google takes into consideration when determining a site’s maintenance (an important ranking factor) is how up-to-date the content is. This article explains the process of cataloging content, identifying what needs to be updated, evaluating content performance, strategizing content updates and monitoring the results post-update.

7. Advanced Search Operators for Yahoo, Bing and Google

If you’re researching a site you’re working on, investigating a competitor’s site, or trying to locate something specific online, advanced search operators can come in extremely handy. Develop ninja-like search skills with this useful guide.

8. 43 Reasons SEOs Can’t Fear Change: 2016 Digital Marketing Predictions

Digital marketing thought-leaders Bruce Clay, Eric Enge, Cindy Krum and more shared what they were anticipating for the industry in 2016. It’s interesting to look back on this January article now and see how accurate their predictions were. Next month, we’ll have a new predictions post for 2017. Subscribe to the blog to get the predictions for 2017 when we publish them next month!

9. All-In-One Mobile SEO & Design Checklist

Learn about mobile SEO and how to take your mobile user experience and mobile search rankings from good to great with this hands-on optimization checklist! We updated this post in light of Google’s change to a mobile-first index  as well as new technologies including AMP and PWAs.

10. The Complete Guide to Disavowing Links for Google and Bing

A September 2016 update of Penguin — Google’s link analysis algorithm — brought the sophistication with which Google judges links into sharp focus. It’s vital that SEOs closely evaluate every link pointing to their site to determine its quality and relevance. If the link is found wanting, it’s time to disavow. This article is your complete guide to disavowing links for Google and Bing.

11. What Is the Facebook Algorithm?

Facebook’s News Feed filtration system takes into consideration as many as 100,000 individually weighted factors to deliver the most authoritative, relevant and timely content to individuals. Learn more about these factors and how to optimize your content on Facebook to increase your organic reach.

12. 15 Social Media Manager Interview Questions

If you want to hire a social media manager but want some guidance on vetting candidates, this article will guide you through the criteria we would look for in a social media manager and the questions we would ask.

We are excited to see what 2017 has in store for digital marketers. Bruce will be a familiar face on the blog tackling critical “why does this matter?” questions to help the C-suite make strategic decisions. And we’ll continue to cover breaking SEO, PPC, content marketing and social media news, and provide in-depth, tactical guides to fuel your next digital marketing win.

To stay in-the-know, subscribe to get posts from the Bruce Clay Blog delivered straight to your inbox.

The post The Most-Read Digital Marketing Blog Posts of 2016 appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Bing’s Purna Virji on the Evolution of Voice Search

Purna Virji, the senior training manager at Microsoft, talked about how voice search is shaping our world. Everything from television remotes to hotel rooms can be powered by voice. By 2017, all Ford vehicles will come with Apple CarPlay.

Reasons People Use Voice Search

• It’s faster than typing. You can speak 110–150 words per minute, as opposed to the average person’s typing rate of 38–40 words per minute.
  

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  You can speak 110–150 words per min, as opposed to avg person’s typing 38–40 wpm. -@purnavirji #smx
  Click To Tweet

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• People want quick answers.
• People are often second screening or otherwise occupied

Jennifer Slegg on Content for the Voice Search Generation

Like Virji, the founder and editor of The SEM Post, Jennifer Slegg, believes the time to optimize for voice search is now.

Consider the fact that more than half of U.S. teens and 41% of adults use voice search on a daily basis, or that there are 30 times more action queries on voice search.

How Feature Snippets Work with Voice Search

Voice search has a higher percentage of featured snippets. Slegg says 43.3% for voice queries have featured snippets, compared to 40.6% for text queries.

Moreover, Google reads the featured snippets aloud to users beginning with “According to (site)” or “We found this information on (site).” Google reinforces your brand in voice search. (Learn how to earn featured snippets in 2016.)

Use Moz and SEMRush to track your own and your competitors’ featured snippets.

RankBrain and Voice Search

• Stronger influence on 15% of search queries Google has never seen before, and they tend to be voice searches.
• You’re able to better rank conversational search queries with keywords.
• It’s the third most important ranking signal, behind content and links.

How do you optimize for RankBrain? By optimizing for conversational search.

How to Optimize for Voice Search

Voice search queries are longer than text search queries. The average query length for voice is 4.2 words, and the average query length for text is 3.2 words.

Long-tail queries are less competitive and have higher intent. While they’re searched for less, they’re more likely to convert.

Use your content to answer questions. There is a 61% growth in queries starting with who, what, where and how. Furthermore, almost 10% of voice search queries start with who, what, when, where, why, how – as opposed to only 3.7% of text queries. “How” begins 3.6% of all voice search queries and “What” begins 3.5% of all voice search queries.

Tony Edward on How Humans Speak

Tony Edward, the senior SEO manager at Elite SEM, reminded digital marketers that optimizing for voice search begins with standard SEO best practices.

• Build in-depth content that answers commonly asked questions around your brand, services, products, etc., including content that answers who, what, when, where, why, and how.
• Leverage Structured Data Markup depending on the content type.
• Work to get your brand in the Knowledge Graph.
• Ensure content is structured well using headers and bulleted or numbered lists.

Edward shared his tips on coming up with content strategy:

• Mine call center, live chat and email data to find commonly asked questions surrounding your product, service or brand.
• Use third-party tools to get auto search suggestion topics, such as AnswerThePublic.com or UberSuggest.io.

By implementing the above best practices and creating useful content, Edward has been able to earn branded Knowledge Graphs and Featured Snippets. As noted earlier, getting a branded Knowledge Graph entry or Featured Snippet makes your result more voice search ready.

Want to learn more about Voice Search Optimization?
See our How to Optimize for Voice Search post for powerful tips!

Bruce Clay, Inc. is a global digital marketing agency specializing in SEO services, SEM PPC, content development and social media marketing. Looking for a partner to grow your online business presence? Let’s talk.

The post Learn How to Optimize for Voice Search NOW: More than Half of Queries will be Voice Search Queries by 2020 appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Meet the SEOs is a key SMX session where digital marketers are able to ask four leading digital marketers any question they have. The panel, moderated by Search Engine Land Founder and Editor Danny Sullivan, features:

• Duane Forrester: Vice President of Search Operations at Bruce Clay, Inc.
• Mike King: President and Founder of iPullRank
• Hillary Glaser: SEO Manager at Campbell Ewald
• Alyeda Solis: SEO Consultant at Orainti

What do you think about AMP, progressive loading web apps (PWAs), and web apps?

Forrester: I welcome our new PWA overlords. If Google wants it, Google will get it if it waits long enough for it. Google is doing this for a very good reason, because the average person will fail.

Glazer: If you are a newspaper or magazine or a site with a lot of content where the amount of content that is on your site is weighing down your site’s load time, AMP might be a quick fix. But if you rely on ads to produce revenue, AMP is not a good route for you. There are other ways you can go about decreasing your load time.

King:

What @iPullRank thinks about #AMP & progressive web apps, live from @smx. #smx #seo #apps #AMP pic.twitter.com/asx53FfSpx

— Kristi Kellogg (@KristiKellogg) September 29, 2016

Do people need to have apps?

Glaser: It’s situational. We have a healthcare client who it really makes sense for. Their clients can book appointments through the app, for example, without even having to log in. That makes the app valuable.

Forrester: I don’t know that AMP is going to have a long life span. If you don’t have an app already up and running and your app is two years away, I would reconsider building the app. PWA is blindingly fast and looks like a regular website … it just might crush AMP and apps.

Do we need URL parameters?

Forrester:

Do you need URL parameters? Here are @DuaneForrester‘s thoughts. @smx #smx #seo pic.twitter.com/p4GFAoPWcl

— Kristi Kellogg (@KristiKellogg) September 29, 2016

King: I don’t think inherently they’re bad, but they can create bad situations.

When creating tables does the formatting style influence whether you get a Featured Snippet?

Forrester: It’s not about how you formatted it, but how much the search engine trusts you. To get a featured snippet, you must be highly trusted and serve up highly relevant content.

Will Google make featured snippets sponsored eventually?

Solis: I don’t think that’s realistic.

Glaser: I don’t think that’s going to happen.

(Read our coverage of the SMX East session How to Earn Featured Snippets.)

301s vs. 302s?

Unanimous: 301s.

(Read our guide on How to Implement a 301 Redirect.)

Should we be delivering ranking reports or not?

Glaser: Yes, if you can tie back to something.

Solis: You want to monitor it and see how you are vs. your competition, because it does have an effect on the ultimate goals: traffic, conversion, ROI, etc.

What are the top three KPIs you need to report to management?

Forrester: That needs to be decided before you take on the work. Whatever that business wants or needs, those are your KPIs. Could be traffic, sign-ups, revenue, time on site — find out from them. Ranking is not a KPI, but a tool.

Solis: For a migration, however, I would say ranking is a KPI. It depends on the project.

Should I interlink related but not duplicated sites that my company owns?

Sullivan interjects and answers the question: No — you should only do it if there’s some value. Don’t do it for a boost.

Forrester: Maybe combine the content and make a single, stronger site. If you interlink them, you risk appearing like a link network and getting in hot water. Pull your content together, put it on a single strong domain, build a business and move forward.

If you had a brand new site and no budget, what would you do?

Glaser: Invest in really good content. Update your meta data seasonally and learn how to understand user intent and behavior. Learn why people come from both Google and Bing and dig into Search Console. Update your content with that knowledge.

Forrester: If you don’t have a lot of money, you better have a lot of personality. You need to have a reason for people to engage with you, and that can be writing style, tone and voice. These will get you a social presence. There’s no end to it and virtually no cost.

King: This is what guest posting is actually for. When you write something on a highly trafficked site, it’s one of the quickest ways to get eyes and links on your own site. It’s a good idea when you’re starting something from scratch. Realistically, if you’re going after a competitive term, search is not what you want to target at first with no budget.

What are some of your favorite tools?

Forrester: Bing Webmaster Tools.

King: Moz’s Keyword Explorer, KeywordTool.io and Keyword Studio.

Solis: Keyword Finder and SEMRush.

Glaser: SEMRush, BrightEdge, Raven Tools, Google Keyword Planner. 

Bruce Clay, Inc. is a global digital marketing agency specializing in SEO services, SEM PPC management, content development and social media marketing. Looking for a partner to grow your online business presence? Let’s talk.

The post Leading SEOs Discuss AMP, PWAs, URL Parameters, Featured Snippets, KPIs and More appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Link removal specialist Sha Menz has a word of warning for SEOs: Manipulating the link game is like everything else — it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.

A superhero SEO can come along and save your site, but there are much more powerful things your superhero SEO could be doing rather than link cleanup.

Menz shared 17 areas where link building can go awry and 3 ways link earning/building can be done best!

17 Ways Link Building Can Go Wrong

1. Anchor Text

2. Paid Links
There’s nothing wrong with a sponsored link, by the way — but call it out. Note that it’s sponsored, like Search Engine Land Editor Barry Schwartz does in the below example.

3. Reciprocal Link Exchange

These seem to be having a resurgence, said Menz. If you’re shaking hands and agreeing to trade links with someone, it’s not necessarily a bad thing — if there’s some actual reason that both of your sites can link to the other in a natural and useful way. BUT if this is the case, don’t hesitate to use a nofollow tag. Getting traffic and being useful are the key things you’re doing here.

4. JavaScript and CSS Tricks

Don’t hide things here. Search engines will see it.

5. Irrelevant and Spun Content

6. Footer Links

People can get very sneaky. In the below example, the word “C-o-p-y-r-i-g-h-t” actually has a link on every letter.

7. Comment Spam

8. Wiki-loading

9. Bad Directories

10. Guest Posting

11. Kiss-of-Death Domains

Learn about suspect domains at DomainTools.com.

12. Link Networks

13. Redirect Madness

Watch out for third-party redirect passes through high-quality domains. This might appear in the form of intentionally misspelled domain names in the code. Use the SpamFlag Chrome extension in conjunction with Majestic SEO.

14. Coupon Capers

15. Link Builders You Forgot to Fire

This may sound ridiculous, but it can happen. Ensure previous link builders have been informed and are not building additional links.

16. Rogue Themes, Toolbars and Plugins

17. Black Hats Masquerading as White Hats

3 Ways Link Building Works

It’s all about doing the work. None of the tricks are worth it. Investing your time in actual work is much more profitable. Consider, then, doing the following:

1. Help Others to Help Yourself

Sometimes you’re just out there in a forum being really helpful, or you have written a blog post that’s really valuable. Those kinds of things can pay you back dividends with links.

2. Share Your Expertise

Loan a developer, teach a local class, etc.

3. Do the Unexpected

The Elephant in the Room: Penguin in the Wild

Menz would be remiss if she didn’t bring up the elephant in the room: Penguin. Is the newly hatched real-time Penguin the light at the end of the tunnel for your site, or are you clinging to a runaway train?

“Recognition of your cleanup work will be quicker by the search engines, but results will be harder to spot,” said Menz, adding that the only real results she’s seen (so far) have been people who are ill-affected.

One thing she wants to note is that disavows are still important, which we also confirmed with Google Webmaster Trends Analyst Gary Illyes earlier this week:

@BruceClayInc we haven’t changed our recommendations for the disavow tool with this launch

— Gary Illyes (@methode) September 26, 2016

Bruce Clay, Inc. is a global digital marketing agency specializing in SEO penalty repair, SEO services, SEM PPC management, content development and social media marketing. Looking for a partner to grow your online business presence? Let’s talk.

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Want to earn Featured Snippets in Google Search? Glenn Gabe, the president of G-Squared Interactive, shares how to increase your chances of earning a Featured Snippet at SMX East.

Featured Snippets are incredibly powerful and can drive more traffic than a No. 1 result. According to Gabe, Featured Snippets build nearly instant credibility.

Gabe shares a client case study. A Featured Snippet yielded 41,444 clicks in 90 days, accounting for 73% of the client’s traffic from Google. The CTR? 13.2%.

A word of warning, though: the Google algorithm can be fickle when it comes to Featured Snippets. A different client Gabe had earned a Featured Snippet, but then lost it … along with 39,000 clicks within a two week period. The client then won the Featured Snippet, and then lost it again, proving Gabe’s point about Google’s fickleness.

Ways Featured Snippets Appear

• Text
• Bullets
• Images
• Bullets with images
• Tables
• Knowledge Graph
• Text with a link to another Featured Snippet

Common Questions about Featured Snippets

Do you need to rank No. 1 to receive a Featured Snippet?

No! But always Page No. 1.

Are they displayed just for “question” queries?

No. They appear for head terms and topics, as well.

Is Structured Data a requirement?

No. Though John Mueller’s team once considered making this a requirement, they decided against it. They didn’t want to bog down webmasters with even more code.

Can Featured Snippets be personalized?

Yes, depending on whether or not you’re logged in, your location, and your search history.

What are some tools to find and/or research Featured Snippets?

Google Search Console, SEMRush and Moz.

Is there something even better than Featured Snippets?

Yes: the huge SERP real estate winner that is a Featured Video.

Can you refine Featured Snippets?

Yes. And it works fast. Gabe did this and saw his result change in seven minutes. He reminds digital marketers to be careful, though – you could lose your Featured Snippet in the process.

How to Earn a Featured Snippet

• Cover a topic as thoroughly and clearly as you can.
• Answer the question concisely and provide both the question and answer on the page.
• Provide a concise section that answers the core query.
• Use bullets or numbered lists for processes.
• Provide a strong image near the answer for possible inclusion in the Featured Snippet.
• Use HTML tables where appropriate.

The post Featured Snippets in Search ‘Build Near-Instant Credibility’: Glenn Gabe on How to Earn Them in 2016 appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Representing Bruce Clay, Inc., Bruce Clay and Duane Forrester hosted an AMA (ask me anything) session at SMX East 2016. The audience is packed and ready to dive into hot SEO topics including:

• Starting an SEO business
• Reviews as ranking factors
• Inorganic link clean-up
• Redirects in light of link penalties
• Communicating SEO priorities to developers
• Moving to HTTPS

Where do we start with SEO and how do we get the most out of our site as a garage-based business? What’s a good blueprint for the next six months?

Bruce: If you haven’t taken a formal course, I’d recommend it. Read books, pay attention, go to conferences – invest your time and money in understanding SEO. Don’t violate any rules, write content that is worthy of being linked to and then let people know you created it.

Are reviews ranking factors?

Duane: Reviews are about a trust-level factor. Mentions indicate sentiment at a consumer level. Google and Bing will not look past that.

Reviews are good and extraordinarily powerful. Millennials and Generation Z have a huge impact on consumer spending and on businesses, so it’s very important to understand what matters to them.

You want to hear from them and know what they think is good and bad. Millennials and Generation Z trust anonymous grouped results more than friends and family.

Generation Z is still figuring out what matters to them. They have no brand loyalty.

Do not auto-generate reviews. Absolutely not. If you were our client and you did that, we would fire you. That will destroy your domain and your SEO career.

Bruce: It’s all about trust. The Google Quality Rating Guidelines talks about expertness, authority and trust. These are the three most important things they look at when determining how a site should rank. (Learn more about the Google Quality Rating Guidelines.) There’s actually a fourth factor, too: maintenance.

How do you deal with spammy links. Getting spammy links every month. What is the best practice to clean up?

Bruce: We have a free guide to link pruning that gives you the complete how-to procedure.

TL;DR: Identify the bad links with Majestic, sort by lowest trust, add them to a disavow file. (Do a free check of your backlinks against backlinks others have disavowed at DisavowFiles.com.)

There are four terms worth understanding: organic, inorganic, transactional and navigational.

Organic links should be experts in my field and the link should support my business. Suppose I’m an SEO company and you link to me but you have a site about cowboy boots, Google won’t count that. Organic is subject-related.

Inorganic is when they’re not related and those will not be counted by Google. Google gives them no weight.

Then there’s transactional and navigational. Transactional is when you’re linked to with a keyword. If 80 percent of your inbound links are transactional, Google will see you as a spammer. Navigational is anchor text like “click here.”

Duane: We like to think of this in terms of bad actors. If a dentist links to me, that is irrelevant to me – I’m not associated with the world of dentistry. It’s not just about spam – it’s about cleaning up irrelevant links.

We have multiple sites, two of which sell similar offerings. Do you have any ideas on how to market one of them that’s newer without cannibalizing the established brand?

Duane: You need to take one of those horses into the backyard and let it go. The best way forward is to determine which one should live and migrate (301 redirect) the other. Focus on the stronger site and move forward.

Bruce: If your content is replicated, use canonical tags. I would at least consolidate links and PageRank. If you have multiple instances on multiple domains of the same source, Google will consider it spun content and it won’t benefit you on either site.

We changed domain names and 301 redirected our old site to our new site. Where do I check for bad links?

Bruce: Both sites. If a domain had a penalty and it was totally trashed, what you redirected it to will inherit the penalty. Analyze and purge both.

How important are things like heading tags, image names and alt tags in terms of ranking factors? If they are important, how do I convince my designers and developers to use those things correctly?

Duane: All these things are a fundamental piece of the work you need to do. If you don’t do it and your competitor does, your competitor will be shown ahead of you. If everything else is equal, they’re just a little more useful than you.

Bruce: According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, you must have an alt attribute. (Learn more about image optimization and alt attributes in Point 11 of our SEO Checklist). Also, a designer who uses a heading tag to format something is lazy.

Can you disavow an entire domain?

Bruce: Yes, but not a TLD.

Do you consider m-dot site for ecommerce?

Duane: No.

At what point do you make the jump to HTTPS?

Bruce: Now. Make it your initial 301. Spammers with 50,000 websites are not going to pay for those certificates. This is the cost of organic ranking.

I believe Google’s plan is to give a boost to HTTPS in the future. Officially, it’s just a tie breaker. But understand that Google is going to evolve to where HTTPS is going to be a requirement for top rankings.

Why do some exact match domains still rank well?

Bruce: I would assume they’re also legacy domains that have been around for quite a few years.

The post SEO Godfather Bruce Clay & Search Insider Duane Forrester Field Digital Marketers’ Questions at #SMX appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

With a keynote delivered by Googlers (complete with product announcements!), it’s a full house at SMX East 2016.

Jerry Dischler, Vice President of Product Management for AdWords, and Babak Pahlavan, Senior Director of Measurement & Analytics, field questions from Search Engine Land editors Ginny Marvin, Greg Sterling and the SMX audience.

Read on to learn about:

• Expanded text ads
• Device bidding
• Store visits
• Audience Suite
• Data Studio
• Analytics Insights Cards
• And announcements of new tools and features!

Expanded Text Ads

Who’s succeeding with expanded text ads?

Editor’s note: Expanded text ads are the next generation of standard text ads on the Google Search Network and Google Display Network optimized for the mobile user experience. The format was rolled out to advertisers this past July.

Dischler: Advertisers who are using a dynamic, creative elements. Those who aren’t getting good results are only dipping their toe in the water. They’re only using one creative element, not going dynamic, aren’t optimizing as strongly.

What we’re hoping is that folks will jump in with both feet and start devoting the effort they devoted to standard text ads to expanded text ads.

Another observation: with branded terms, we’re seeing shorter headlines perform better.

Device Bidding for Ads

Earlier this year, device-level bidding was reintroduced. Talk a little bit about that decision to bring back separate device bidding and you expect to see advertisers take advantage of that?

Editor’s note: Here’s the quick and dirty background on device bidding. In 2013, Google took away its advertisers ability to bid differently based on the consumer’s device (mobile, tablet, desktop) in an initiative called Enhanced Campaigns. This year, device-level bidding was reintroduced to the Google advertising networks. Read Marvin’s write up on Search Engine Land for more on how advertisers are organizing campaigns by device.

Dischler: What we were seeing was a number of advertisers come to us with use cases for tablets that were really different. Let’s say you’re looking for NY hotels on your mobile phone vs. looking for NY hotels on your tablet. On the mobile phone, you’re going to have much higher conversion rate and would want to bid aggressively accordingly. Folks are thinking in a very mobile-first way, and this was happening more and more.

In the time before Enhanced Campaigns, we were seeing mobile avoidance. But here is the opposite. Advertisers have fully embraced mobile but the controls we had weren’t robust enough.

Take a look at your current bids – they represent a blended ROI. If you are able to get better performance on desktop and worse performance on tablet, adjust them in a way that is symmetric. In general what you should be doing is looking at your blended target across platforms in order to set your bid. This will achieve the right ROI mix. You have to figure out what’s right for you.

Store Visits Metric in AdWords

Google announced that they were expanding the store visits metric and that more than one billion store visits have been measured. Where is this going? What are the metrics today? Why is this important?

Dischler: In this multi-device, mobile-focused world, you should be measuring entire ROI whether they’re online or offline or calls, etc.

We want to help you work in an omni-channel way and measure the total value of your ad spend.

In retail, where 90+ percent of sales are offline, or in auto where 99.9% of sales are offline, it’s very important that you be able to measure online ROI.

For many advertisers, we’re seeing that the offline benefit is greater than the online benefit and we want advertisers to be able to measure that as easily as possible.

Earlier this week, Brad Bender announced that we’re adding the store visits metric to display, as well.

We have hundreds of millions of people who’ve opted into location history. We take that anonymized data and aggregate it, combine it with tradition signals including Google Maps and 3D modeling of building, Wi-Fi data and more to increase precision. We also have more than 5 million human reviewers working with us. Google has more than 99% accuracy with its store visits.

Google Analytics 360 Suite

Regarding the enterprise Audience Suite, how does audience targeting work and what does it mean for marketers?

Dischler: Advertisers who are using our RLSA (remarketing lists for search ads) say that this is the biggest change we’ve made that allows them to target their customers. Some largely sophisticated advertisers are still hesitant to experiment with RLSA, and I’d really encourage them to try it out.

Announcements

What’s going with Google Analytics Data Studio?

Pahlavan: Data Studio is our dashboard and reporting tool. There are two fundamental things about it that people love.

First, you can be up and running to do reporting by just connecting to the data sources.

And there’s collaborative sharing. The notion of collaboration is something we really focused on – you can very easily share a report across organizations and make the data available to everyone. The free version and enterprise version are available in 21 countries as of today; it was only available to U.S. advertisers before.

What new tools are coming?

Pahlavan: Our objective is to enable measurement for all businesses, no matter the size. Today we are announcing the free version of Optimize; sign up here: g.co/optimize.

Smart Goals were created for AdWords advertisers to be able to take advantage of crowd-sourced machine learning analytics that will help inform marketers of sessions that likely would have converted. How does this work? 

Pahlavan: We have a set of investments around how to leverage Google machine learning capabilities to make business a lot more efficient when leveraging the data they have. It’s being used by tens of thousands of advertisers. You can get a preview of what the performance could look like even if you’re not yet using it.

Recently, the Google Analytics mobile app launched with Insights cards. Can you talk about what’s going on with that? 

Pahlavan: Insights cards is in the bucket of our efforts around leveraging Google’s machine learn capability. Inside our Google Analytics app, it looks at a series of signals and tells you things like products that are performing much better. It looks at all permutations automatically. What channels are under or over performing? What are the areas you should pay attention to more? These are the kind of things it looks at. Insights cards will also be available on desktop in the future.

Will expanded texts ads be available for call-only ads?

Dischler: We’re in the process of testing out some things.

Do you want to talk about the thoughts behind the changes to Keyword Planner as far as data available to non-paying customers?

Dischler: We had this situation where what we wanted to do is have good actors be able to use our Keyword Planner and keep some bad actors out.

Our limits are really low so the vast majority of advertisers who have any spend should be able to use our tool. We can now accommodate most use cases while keeping the bad actors out.

Does Google Analytics have a plan to better address referrer spam?

Pahlavan: We have an active project internally. It’s been going on for sometimes to combat spam traffic. I can’t share the stats externally but this is something we take very seriously. We are constantly monitoring.

Some people just rely on Google Analytics for tracking and goals rather than implementing the AdWords pixel. What do you recommend?

Dischler: We recommend implementation for both.

Pahlavan: The have complementary use cases.

Are you going to add more and more ads to the search results page? Will organic disappear?

Q & A with @google‘s @jdischler & @babakph at @smx. “Are you going to add more and more ads? Will organic disappear? #SMX #SEO #PPC pic.twitter.com/xJnVCtWbFm

— Kristi Kellogg (@KristiKellogg) September 28, 2016

The post What’s New & Cool with Google AdWords & Analytics: Keynote by Jerry Dischler & Babak Pahlavan appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

When it comes to driving retail sales online, Google is the biggest game in town but it isn’t the only game in town.

Revenue is revenue and you’re leaving money on the table if you don’t explore possibilities beyond Google — we’re talking major opportunities on Amazon, Polyvore and eBay.

SEM pros Chris Humber and Elizabeth Marsten leverage Amazon, Pinterest, Facebook and more to drive traffic and sales. Read on for their ecommerce expertise.

Strengthening Your Retail Presence on Amazon with Chris Humber

Chris Humber, the head of search at GroupM, starts with a fast tip: within seven to 10 days of optimizing your product database, you will see an increase in visibility.

Where do consumers go when they’re ready to purchase products? Many turn to their local stores. They walk in and get it … it’s immediate gratification. This is traditional shelf space.

But what about digital shelf space?

Amazon plays a key role in the shopping journey. Consumers use Amazon as a top destination for product searches.

• 44% of consumers start their product search with Amazon.
• 39% of consumers say Amazon has better product search capability while 8% say Google does.
• 43% of U.S. shoppers say the main reason they choose Amazon is the ability to intuitively find or predict exactly what they want more quickly.
• 73% of shoppers say they will make a purchase on Amazon at least once during the holiday season.
• 87% of shoppers say they will check Amazon at least once during their shopping process this holiday season.

Here are the leading e-retailers beyond Google:

• Amazon
• Wal-Mart
• Target
• Best Buy
• The Home Depot
• Kohl’s
• Macy’s
• Walgreens
• Sears

What about social shopping? Sites like Pinterest, Polyvore, ModCloth, Wanelo, OpenSky and Fancy are frequented more and more.

Pinterest is where the world’s ideas are catalogued and stored, and it’s also one of the most advanced visual-based search engines that exists today.

On Pinterest, 55% of users shop for products, not to talk with friends or brands. Compare this to 12% on Facebook and 12% on Instagram, according to Forrester research.

Optimizing Your E-Retail Presence

Traditional optimization tactics can help your e-retail efforts in numerous ways:

• Rankings
• Relevancy
• Traffic and conversions
• Version control and syndication
• Organic, traditional search results

To identify keywords, leverage multiple tools. Amazon Retail Analytics (ARA) Premium provides your top 100 search terms each month.

Understand the search landscape beyond Google. Look at organic search results with tools like STAT, BrightEdge, SEMRush, SpyFu, AdGooRoo, Mozenda and Deep Crawl. Determine what has the top share of voice on search (paid and organic) and Amazon (paid and organic) to pinpoint market trends.

Don’t forget to optimize your product pages!

4 Best Practices for Increasing Conversion Rate

1. 21 reviews is the sweet spot. At this point, there is a 3% to 5% increase in conversion rate (depending on the presence of negative reviews); after that the increase drops off.
2. Use 3 or more images.
3. Availability – always have your product in stock.
4. Have at least one piece of supplemental content.

Top 5 Factors that Correlate with a Better Ranking

• Amazon Best Sellers Rank
• Items Sold (fulfilled by Amazon)
• Keywords in product title
• Prime-eligible products
• Discounts

Get Found More, Sell More on Pinterest, Facebook & More with Elizabeth Marsten

Elizabeth Marsten, the director of paid search at CommerceHub, is going to dive into some other platforms. Some of them, like Polyvore, you may have never heard of.

Pinterest

• 100 million active users
• 80% of Pinterest users access the platform via mobile
• Promoted Pins drive 5X more incremental in-store sales per impression
• Retargeted Ads target at act-alike audiences increased CTRs by up to 63% and reach by 30X in early testing
• Pinterest referrals have an average order value of $50
• Rich Pins are free but you need metadata on that page of your site.
• Product Feed needed for Promoted and Buyable pins. You maintain ability to edit or designate which products are promoted. Buyable requires a partner to handle the transaction.
• Retargeting (you need a Marketing Developer Partner)
• Video (you need a Pinterest Account Team and this is not yet available to everyone)

Facebook Dynamic Product Ads

CommerceHub has seen an average return on ad spend (ROAS) among clients at 900-1200%. These clients have product catalogs ranging from 350 to 1,000.

Keep in mind that this is still a remarketing method. You first need engagement channels to create audiences. It cannibalizes other channels with a last-click attribution. Use your revenue numbers, not just Facebook’s.

Yahoo

Some useful things to leverage on Yahoo:

• Custom Audiences for Search Retailer for an unnamed big box store saw:
  • 225% increase in CTR
  • 230% increase in CR
  • 51% reduction in CPA
• Search Retargeting on Native for an unnamed big box store saw:
  • 23% conversions from native
  • 14% lower CPA on native than search (text) ads

Polyvore

This Yahoo-owned social commerce site’s users are 84% female and 50% of those females are millennials under the age of 34. On the site, you make “sets,” which are outfits. More than 3 million sets are created each month.

Marsten said ladies shopping on these sites have money to burn. The average order on Polyvore is $270. Comparatively, the average order value on Instagram is $228, Twitter is $155 and Facebook is $130.

Fast facts about Polyvore:

• 41% increase in clicks YoY
• 27% increase in sales Yoy
• 11% Decrease in cost

Connexity

This marketplace connects retailers and influencers. Note: influencers lift purchase intent by 2X. 49% of users rely on recommendations from influencers.

eBay

They have partnered with Facebook to monetize message apps (i.e. sending auctions through Messenger) and create collections for sharing. They’ve adopted AMP. They’ve adopted ASIN pages, which improve SERPs to be static pages, not auctions that have ended.

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