In layman's terms, Local SEO is the practice of increasing the search visibility of your businesses in local search results on Google. Local SEO techniques are most beneficial for businesses that have a physical location or serve a geographic area. By using the local SEO technique, businesses can drive more people towards brick-and-mortar stores. This article will help you with ten actionable local SEO tips and tricks to help you stay at the top of your local SEO game.

### Before we move forward, let's see some stats first

As per the latest stats, <a href="https://seotribunal.com/blog/stats-to-understand-seo/#local-seo-facts" target="blank">46% of all Google searches</a> are local, and over 50% of 'near me' searches result in a physical store visit. Another report reveals that <a href="https://seotribunal.com/blog/stats-to-understand-seo/#local-seo-facts" target="blank">97% of people</a> learn about a local business by online means than anywhere else.

![local SEO statistics](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/7JWSu8JpSqGQsTXnGcCby2/3c51a98e9af3beb894a2e0d84f2adcfc/photo-1548345680-f5475ea5df84.jfif)

## Here are ten actionable local SEO tips and tricks in 2021

### 1. Create A Google My Business (GMB) Listing

When it comes to local SEO search visibility, Google My Business listings are the most influential component. Because Google is paying more weight to social media presence, please share these posts on social media. If you receive visitors to your Google Posts page, Google will see that you provide valuable information and updates. You can also write mini-posts for your clients to demonstrate that you are actively managing your listing.

### 2. List Your Business in Other Directories

It would help if you listed your firm in various online directories in addition to having a Google My Business account. You can find this suggestion in practically any <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Local-SEO-Handbook-basics-marketing/dp/1720029075" target="blank">local SEO handbook</a> because it is a powerful SEO component.

You can target the following directories:
- Yelp
- FourSquare
- Angie’s List
- Bing Places
- HotFrog
- Best of the Web
- About Us

In addition to these national and worldwide directories, you should check to see any online business directories in your area. Listings on these sites will offer additional local SEO signals to Google.

### 3. Keep Your NAP Information Correct

If feasible, keep your <a href="https://www.google.com/intl/en_in/business/" target="blank">Google My Business (GMB)</a> information up to date. If there are differences, Google has no means of determining which information is correct. If your company relocates, you should update this across all platforms as soon as possible. Consumers can now recommend modifications to a company's profile information, and Google may act on them.

### 4. Target Local Keywords

Targeting local keywords is one of the fundamentals of local SEO. Local keywords are self-explanatory. However, it would help if you still looked at long-tail local keywords for your business.

Suppose you operate a plumbing business in New York City, for example. In that case, you should examine <a href="https://www.thegratifiedblog.com/search-visibility/" target="blank">search visibility</a> for different variations of search phrases like "plumber, New York City," "plumber, NYC," and so on. You might also wish to look for hyper-local keywords like "plumbing services, Manhattan."

![local SEO Google](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/5UnD7TuEIoxbB46sIVOfrb/f096aa721a36b1caedf179ec34d67fc9/photo-1616469829718-0faf16324280.jfif)

### 5. Optimize Your Site with Local Keywords

The next step is to optimize your site for the local keywords for which you wish to rank. Again, it is a tried-and-true <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/mobile-search-trends-consumers-to-stores/" target="blank">local SEO tip</a> that will be just as relevant in 2021 as it was five years ago. 
Site optimization is a separate topic, but here are some onsite local SEO fundamentals.

To begin, ensure that your home page and any service pages include the local keywords you want to rank for in the:
- Headings
- Title tags
- Meta description
- Body
- Footer

When feasible, you should also strive to add your core local keyword within the URL.
When incorporating keywords, be sure you employ them naturally rather than keyword stuffing.

### 6. Create Local Content

If you want to maximize your content marketing efforts for increased lead generation, you must also provide local content. By inserting local keywords into the blog article, you may connect local content to your offerings. In addition, it allows you to add local keywords and events into your text naturally.

### 7. Optimize for Mobile

Optimizing your site for mobile is another of the top local SEO suggestions for 2021.
Making your website mobile-friendly is critical for overall SEO success. It is, nevertheless, especially vital for local SEO. It is why.

According to statistics, <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/mobile-search-trends-consumers-to-stores/" target="blank">30% of all smartphone searches</a> are location-based. It is a large amount, implying that many customers who find you through local search are likely using a mobile device.

Potential clients will be put off if your site does not display well on mobile devices or navigation challenges. As a result, customers will most likely abandon your site in favor of one of your competitors who has a more professional online presence.

### 8. Optimize for Voice

It would help if you optimized for voice searches in addition to smartphone searches. According to research, mobile voice searches are 300% more likely to have local intent than text searches.
Because the voice search era is still in its early stages, many businesses have yet to optimize their website and content for speech. As a result, it provides you with an excellent opportunity to stay ahead of the competition.

### 9. Take Time to Build Inbound Links

<a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/inbound-links-faqs" target="blank">Inbound links</a> are a critical ranking component that can help both traditional and local SEO.
Begin by compiling a list of these companies. Then, optimize your process by looking for pages on their websites to place a contextual link. You can then contact the businesses on your list and recommend link positions.

Guest posting is another approach to build contextual inbound links for increasing your search visibility. For example, if any of the companies on your list have a blog, you may offer to write content for them that includes a link to your site.

In some situations, you may also want to consider obtaining backlinks from major websites such as Forbes.

### 10. Look Into Location Pages

Does your company have many locations? Make sure you're showing up in local searches for each of these locations.

You can accomplish search visibility by <a href="https://www.rialtomarketing.com/location-pages/" target="blank">creating location pages</a>. For example, assume you provide services in Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. Instead of having a single service page that lists all of these locations, make one for each city.

## Conclusion

Optimizing your site for a specific local area will increase your revenue and drive more people towards your store. Now that we've covered many actionable SEO tips here, we recommend you get started with a local SEO strategy before your firm falls behind. 


photo-1548345680-f5475ea5df84

Local SEO is super important for businesses that have physical locations or serve specific geographic areas. Here are 10 actionable SEO tips to help you stay on top of your local SEO game.

Stay on top of your game with these 10 local SEO tips

10 Actionable Local SEO Tips & Tricks In 2021

10 Local SEO Tips - Rank for Local Keywords

If your business has a physical location, local packs are a great place to rank. Top local listings usually fall within the top 3 positions on the SERP, making those who own them magnets for both online and offline traffic in their area.

But how do you track whether you’re ranking in the local listings for your keywords? That’s where Nozzle comes in.

Nozzle is ideal for local SEO. Using our tool, you can track keywords in any location from as broad as a country to as narrow as a neighborhood. Plus, you’ll be able to keep track of all the local packs and local listings that your keywords serve up.

Here’s how to do it. First let’s look at your competition in the local listings.

## Discover Who Owns the Local Listings

To find out who’s successfully vying for the top local listings, navigate to your Competitive Share of Voice dashboard. Select Domain in the Rollup dropdown, then begin typing “local” into the segment search bar; you’ll see several options. If you want to see who’s paying for local or map ads, pick the Local/Map Ads segment. For now, we’re going to use the Local segment.

![Local search rank checker - Local segment](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/ZLS0JmmDNQhNBc6J8cL7B/391c7359672c2e3a85ba41b57a4332bc/Local_Segment.png)

Next, sort by keywords and make sure you’re viewing the Keywords tab. You’ll find useful charts and a table below showing the domains that hold local listings in order of who has the most.

![Local SERP tracker - local pack charts and table](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3WjGoJ7XL2cpMnt121eQjq/3367ce22e5197a8751ab8d5500cefdc4/Local_Tracking_Charts_and_Table.png)

## Learn More

Click on one of the domains in the table (I prefer to right click and open in a new tab) to visit the performance overview page for that domain. Scroll down to find a new table that lists what keywords that domain has local listings for, along with the URL of each listing.

I clicked on enterprise.com, and you can see the keywords they hold local listings for. Because this domain has so many, I sorted them by search volume and limited the table to 10. You can also see the ranks of their local listings (all within the top 3 positions), along with other useful data like <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/pixels-from-top-a-nozzle-feature" target="blank">Pixels from Top</a> and <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/nozzles-crackerjack-calculation-of-clickthrough-rate" target="blank">CTR</a>.

![Local rank tracker - domain performance overview local pack keyword table](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/18QyWPj0riOQVigQ7r9iv1/8c4d16a3d50d755439a3bba74db286ed/Domain_Performance_Overview_Keyword_Table_Local_Listing.png)

Clicking on a top URL will open that URL in a new tab. Clicking on a keyword will take you to its performance overview page, where you can analyze its SERP results and SERP HTML with <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/introducing-nozzle-vision" target="blank">Nozzle Vision</a>. I clicked on the first keyword, “car rental sarasota.”

![Local SERP tracker - single keyword local pack SERP HTML](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1V5daCbQN2PddkrNX13SoG/a27f0f2368c6cd83986a8cc857da6c26/Local_Pack_Keyword_SERP_HTML.png)

## Analyze by URL

With Nozzle, you can also directly pull up a list of URLs that rank in local packs. These URLs would be the ones linked to in the “Website” button of each listing. 

To pull up such a list, visit the Competitive Share of Voice dashboard and apply the Local segment once again. Select URL in the Rollup dropdown. If you scroll down, you’ll see a table of URLs that rank in local packs, along with the number of keywords they have local rankings for.

![Local SEO ranking - local listing analysis by URL table](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2hxKlY263ZeWRKqFtM2mFV/3c2ae92e056916f750d12cbcf28c5110/Analyze_Local_Listings_by_URL.png)

Notice that enterprise.com has separate URLs for separate locations, but many of the other domains don’t. Pay attention to details like this when you analyze your local SERP landscape. If the higher-ranking domains seem to be doing something different from other domains, their strategy may be worth a try. This table doesn’t give you any information about the effectiveness of enterprise.com’s practice, but it’s still important to keep an eye on the details.

Clicking on one of the URLs in the table will send you to its performance overview page, where you can look at all the keywords it holds top local listings for.

![Local search rank tracker - URL performance overview local pack keyword table](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2lkP6DLeTcn77GPK06JK2J/d1125ca16b7bfe85b6449cbdbc19ad8c/URL_Performance_Overview_Keyword_Table_Local_Listing.png)

Keep in mind that, if you see a URL that is ranked far lower than the top 3 after you’ve applied the Local segment, this is because side panels are treated as a continuation from the bottom of the first column of search results. This is why <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/pixels-from-top-a-nozzle-feature" target="blank">Pixels from Top</a> can be such a useful metric and give you a better idea of where your listings are actually sitting on the SERPs.

![Google local rank tracking - side panel local listing](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5zocYloSHtrIrUrh9k0nm3/d9ee20a45230275959209c692433aefb/Side_Panel_Local_Listing.png)

## Local Pack Keyword List

You can also try pulling up a list of the keywords that serve up local packs, since not all keywords do. Such a list will illuminate the keywords where you have the opportunity to rank within an existing local pack and outshine your competitors. 

To supply yourself with a local pack keyword list, you’ll use the Explore by Keyword dashboard, which will be available in a future update.

As you can see Nozzle allows you to see Google's local packs from several angles and is super helpful to keep track of where you and your competitors are ranking in the local packs.

<a href="https://nozzle.io/trial" target="blank">Try tracking local packs on Nozzle for free!</a>


Local SERP tracker - single keyword local pack SERP HTML

Use Nozzle to track your competitors in Google's local packs for any location.

Local Pack Competitor Analysis with Nozzle

Local SERP Tracker | Learn How to Use Nozzle's Local SEO Tool

Nozzle lets you track more than just webpage links, <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/featured-snippet-competitor-analysis" target="blank">featured snippets</a>, and <a href="https://nozzle.io/paa" target="blank">People Also Ask questions</a> in the SERPs--you can also monitor which videos are doing the best among the other organic listings.

After discovering the highest ranking videos, you can analyze them and use similar tactics in your videos to overtake your competitors in Google’s video results. And the importance of video in digital marketing just <u><a href="https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-platforms/video-marketing/video-marketing-statistics-to-know/" target="blank">keeps</a></u> <u><a href="https://biteable.com/blog/video-marketing-statistics/" target="blank">on</a></u> <u><a href="https://www.srmailing.co.uk/blogs/sr-mailing-blogs/91-video-marketing-statistics-you-need-to-use-to-your-advantage" target="blank">growing</a></u>, so it’s important to get ahead now.

![Track video rankings in the SERPs](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4jhh9IXs02AzwXbzVhRXut/bed5bfc8d337ef19c69f5df7bb1b34b1/Example_of_Videos_in_SERP.png)

## Finding Domains with Ranking Videos

To examine video result owners, all you need to do is visit the Competitive Share of Voice dashboard in Nozzle, select Domains in the Rollup dropdown, and apply the "Is Video" segment using the Segment dropdown. Select the Keywords tab and sort by Keywords. You can also filter by keyword group as desired. This will pull up a list of all the domains that have video results for your keywords.

![Video rank tracker - Is Video segment](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/rILxFFJaq9xesSfOTDrUW/52ded8202d861bc12a0becdd7bd47881/Is_Video_Segment.png)
![Video rank checker - ranking charts and table](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1RrX9inKSBYzXNYMktqipj/a7be426f727923d0a3c7f2f72bc4846b/Tracking_with_YouTube.png)

As you can see in the table above under Keywords, YouTube has ranking videos for 241 of my keywords. Since it’s an outlier, it can be helpful to filter out results from YouTube, and sometimes Facebook or other sites, in order to make the charts more readable.

To do this, create a custom segment. Follow the basic instructions <a href="https://help.nozzle.io/how-do-i-add-segments" target="blank">here</a> if you’re unfamiliar with creating custom segments.

Name and describe your segment depending on which sites you plan to filter out. Then, add the conditions "Result > Video > Is Video | is | True" AND "Result > Url > Domain | != | youtube.com," as well as any other conditions you need. Finally, create your segment.

![Video keyword tracker - exclude youtube.com](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/12EMgsyaLTRs3ilexuhImS/d9bedc450686acc7f45d0e74e6384ea0/Create_YouTube-free_Segment.png)

It may take a few hours before the system will allow you to apply your new segment in the Competitive Share of Voice dashboard. When it’s ready, just select your new segment in the Segment dropdown and click the Keywords tab. You’ll now be able to see much more detail in the charts below.

![Video keyword tracker - ranking charts and table excluding youtube.com](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4Hu669dGzK3zlnkyTbbdRe/95d43b38a8f6e20a49f57272407d86bf/Tracking_without_YouTube.png)

The By Rank Group chart gives a nice visual overview of your competitors with video results. You can choose to show more than 10 domains using the dropdown underneath the table. 

Notice how cio.com has 5 video results for my keywords: 1 ranking #2, 3 in the 7-10 rank range, and 1 in the 11-15 range. As you can see from the dark blue, lotame.com is the only one with a video ranking #1 (besides youtube.com, of course, which we filtered out). Lotame.com also has the most videos that rank for my keywords.

## Discovering Video Rank and More

If you click on one of the domains in the table (I prefer to right click and open in a new tab), you will be taken to a performance overview for that domain. Double check that your original segments and filters are applied, then scroll down to the table to see what keywords that domain has video results for, along with each video’s URL. 

I clicked on lotame.com, and you can see the keywords for which they have ranking videos (I've limited it to 10, but it's easy to view them all). Plus, you can see the exact rank of their videos, along with other useful data.

![Check video rankings - video rankings keywords](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6v3NAqB813F4SwKomsl1bt/a9949ed407e32835289b169c164fd1d1/Video_Rank_Keyword_Table.png)

Clicking on a top URL will open that URL in a new tab, where you can analyze the competing video and webpage to inform your SEO strategy. 

Clicking on a keyword will take you to its performance overview page, where you can view its full SERP results and HTML with the help of tools like <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/introducing-nozzle-vision" target="blank">Nozzle Vision</a>. I clicked on “3rd party data.”

![Track video rankings - single keyword SERP HTML](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6EgPGHevq0Zz9i5JTCoHYf/0713a3105eac5ea8f2d9654148e802dd/Video_Keyword_SERP_HTML.png)

Using the Rollup dropdown on the original Competitive Share of Voice dashboard, you can also choose to directly view in the same way the URLs or brands, rather than the domains, that have video results for your keywords.

## Generating a Keyword List

It can be very useful to pull up a list of the keywords that serve up video results among the organic listings. Such a list will point you to where you have the opportunity to take a competitor’s video spot or rank within an existing video pack.

To see a video result keyword list, you’ll use the Explore by Keyword dashboard, which will be available in a future update.

Want to start tracking your videos in the SERPs? <a href="https://nozzle.io/trial" target="blank">Try Nozzle out for free</a>!


Track video rankings in the SERPs

Video has become increasingly important in marketing. Staying afloat in Google's video results requires tracking your videos with precision. Here's how to use Nozzle's software to track your video rankings.

It's time to learn how to monitor videos in the SERPs--you'll thank us later

How to Use Nozzle to Track Video Rankings

Video Rank Tracker | Use Nozzle to Track Video Rankings

With Nozzle, it’s easy to discover which of your competitors own featured snippets and how many each competitor owns.

This is important if you are trying to optimize your content for featured snippet status. Analyzing the featured snippets of different competitors can give you an idea of what a webpage or article needs in order to be made a featured snippet by Google. By taking a close look at the content of the competitors that are dominating featured snippets, you can learn about and imitate the dominating competitors’ strategies.

Why would you want to rank in a featured snippet? Click <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/what-are-featured-snippets" target="blank">here</a> to learn more about featured snippets and why they are important.

## Find Out Who Owns Featured Snippets

To view who owns the featured snippets for your keywords, go to the Competitive Share of Voice dashboard and select Domains or Brands in the Rollup dropdown menu. In the Segment dropdown, type in “featured snippet” and you’ll see five options for viewing featured snippets. 

![Featured snippet segment options](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/kDenJg1eOLSPXaeQel5nF/8b1b9667dcbd3cc5048976fcda62f296/Featured_Snippet_Segments.png)

The first one, “Featured Snippets (unpaid),” will show you who is ranking in all the featured snippets for your keywords. The others will show you those ranking for featured snippets containing tables, bulleted lists, numbered lists, and images.

For now, select the first one, then sort by Keywords. Filter by keyword group as desired.

![Sort by Keywords](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/37RlflAx5f5IjjYm6KaeHQ/b1e8bea9ac82efe47170b0328edb4e3c/Sort_by_Keywords.png)

Once you apply the filters, you’ll see charts and a table below showing the domains or brands that have featured snippets. Under the Keywords column, you’ll find the number of keywords for which these domains have a featured snippet. Mine shows that marketingevolution.com owns 13 featured snippets, lumenlearning.com owns 11, and so on.

![Featured snippet competitor analysis charts](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1uxepUGqhUZ6qReI5UbpNa/b0ccc114177847cf5fc43c3e384374c9/Charts.png)
![Featured snippet competitor analysis table](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5KYvz9CsscT2CdOIW5shgd/da04d68d59d3c4a260cb2f2cd1e8969d/Table.png)

## Diving Deeper

This bird’s eye view of the featured snippet landscape is helpful, but to get even more information about specific domains and their featured snippets, click on one of the domains or brands in the table. I prefer to right click and open it in a new tab in case I need to refer back to this table.

Doing so will take you to a performance overview page for that domain or brand. Make sure your previous segment is applied, then scroll down to the Keywords table at the bottom to see the exact keywords for which this specific competing domain has featured snippets.

I clicked on vocabulary.com. You can see the 8 phrases for which vocabulary.com holds featured snippets, along with their corresponding URLs (for this particular domain, only one URL is ranking for all 8 of these keywords) and other helpful metrics like Search Volume, <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/pixels-from-top-a-nozzle-feature" target="blank">Pixels from Top</a>, and <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/nozzles-crackerjack-calculation-of-clickthrough-rate" target="blank">Click Through Rate</a>.

![Featured snippet domain performance overview keyword list](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5oNunMIZFIWjP4Fgg0wY3z/57d07503626ac56f78f36a340c38bd4e/Domain_Performance_Overview_-_Keywords.png)

Since featured snippets appear at the top of the SERP, you can see that they are all ranked #1. Every once in a while, featured snippets are pushed down to position 2 or 3 by other featured snippets and suggestions.

Clicking on one of these URLs will open it in a new tab, so you can analyze a competitor’s webpage and strategize accordingly. If you click on one of the keywords, you will be taken to that single keyword’s performance page.

On a keyword’s performance page, scroll down to view the SERP Results displayed in a functional table format. Below that you’ll find the SERP HTML--exactly how the SERPs look in Google. Play around with the <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/introducing-nozzle-vision" target="blank">Nozzle Vision</a>, <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/the-functionality-of-side-by-side-serp-html-comparison" target="blank">SERP history comparison</a>, search, and zoom tools to make the most out of the SERP Results and HTML.

Let’s look at the SERP Results and HTML for the phrase “receptivity definition” above.

![Featured snippet individual keyword SERP results table](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5pETK7ASTUVtO2QnX1UWDS/40a9cc03e6cfa542e24df510aa511ccd/Individual_Keyword_SERP_Results.png)
![Featured snippet individual keyword SERP HTML](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6CveyJKoo3XDSocLMritEH/63642ee2678583f58a319e6cc90366f2/Individual_Keyword_SERP_HTML.png)

## Analyzing Featured Snippet URLs Directly

Earlier, we looked at the domains that owned the featured snippets, then we dove deeper and found the keywords for which they held featured snippets, along with their corresponding URLs.

Alternatively, you can directly examine what URLs are ranking as featured snippets by changing from Domain to URL in the dropdown menu.

This will pull up a new table with data about the URLs that are ranking as featured snippets. Under “Keywords” you’ll see how many featured snippets each URL is ranking as.

![Featured snippet competitor analysis by URL](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5Ap1sHuNW3eR2OhNyvKHv/bdaacea6dc0a86fd909d5e3e8f22a1e9/By_URL.png)

Click on a URL to see the keywords for which it has featured snippet status. I clicked on the third URL, vocabulary.com/dictionary/receptivity, to see its keywords, which matches the data we saw for vocabulary.com above.

![Featured snippet URL performance overview keyword list](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3dXuhOoeeyok0JSqLqS3x7/419687fa96ba9479997bab09fb6b0f60/URL_Performance_Overview_-_Keywords.png)

Checking out the URLs directly is an easier way to see if your competitors have one URL that is dominating several featured snippets or if there are multiple. This helps you know real quick which specific URLs you need to analyze and beat out of the featured snippet spot.

## Analyzing Featured Snippet Keywords Directly

Like directly filtering for featured snippet URLs, it can be very useful to pull up a list of the keywords that serve up a featured snippet--because not all keywords do. Such a list will point you to where you have the opportunity to take a competitor’s featured snippet spot.

To see a featured snippet keyword list, you’ll use the Explore by Keyword dashboard, which will be available in a future update, so stay tuned.

And there you have it! Featured snippet competitor analysis with Nozzle. As you can see, Nozzle is a very useful tool for analyzing featured snippets in terms of your competitors. 

New to Nozzle? <a href="https://nozzle.io/trial" target="blank">Try out our tool</a> today!

Featured snippet individual keyword SERP HTML

Learn how to analyze the domains, URLs, webpages, and keywords of your competitors' featured snippets with Nozzle. 

Analyzing the domains, URLs, webpages, and keywords of your competitors' featured snippets

Featured Snippet Competitor Analysis with Nozzle

Featured Snippet Competitor Analysis -- Analyze Featured Snippet Domains, URLs, and Keywords

It's important to know who your top SERP competitors are if you intend to beat them for the best SERP positions.

Since Nozzle monitors the whole SERP for all of your keywords, we can easily show you who has the most top 10 rankings across a keyword set. And since it’s all customizable, you can easily see the same for top 3, top 5, top 20 rankings, and more—whatever fits your needs.

To see your competitors filtered by certain rankings, use any of the “Rank =” or “Rank between” built-in segments in the Competitive Share of Voice dashboard.

![Use "Rank =" and "Rank between" Nozzle segments to see your competitors who rank so](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/fZ95SnqkfmTgMCVJ0zuzk/fcdd713b5b78a0ca44341a27ec8d15ec/New_-_rank_segments.png)

To view which of your competitors have rankings in the top 10 or so, create a custom segment for each range. For step-by-step instructions for creating segments, visit our <a href="https://help.nozzle.io/how-do-i-add-segments" target='blank'>help center</a>.

For a “Top 10 Rankings” segment, use the condition “Result Rank <= 10”. You can add additional conditions to filter by device and more. Name your segment descriptively so you’ll remember what it’s for.

![Top 10 rankings on desktop Nozzle segment](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3e5tiNop8WXX9CLUHYR9OQ/a5d313bd1671009ad2a307e3667deb2d/New_-_top_10_rankings_on_desktop.png)

For other top ranking ranges, use similar conditions: “Result Rank => 3”, “Result Rank => 15”, etc. 

You can also make segments for other ranges that you want to keep track of: “Result Rank >= 11” AND “Result Rank <= 50” for rankings from 11 to 50, for example.

![Use Nozzle segments to narrow rankings to a custom range](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1APGoSDdfxjXwDQ8MNUfvI/5bfa2970203c2f6c4bdf12dd92bbcb87/New_-_segment__rank_between.png)

After creating your custom segments, navigate to the Competitive Share of Voice dashboard to discover your top SERP competitors.

Just select your "Top 10 Rankings" (or equivalent) segment in the Segment dropdown. Click on the Keywords tab and sort by keywords to show which of your competitors rank in the top 10 in descending order.

![Top 10 rankings in Nozzle](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7D0V6Cy4NMXfw3vASQOMsY/cb1e103831390420d78ef73f40856ba8/New_-_select_segment_on_dashboard.png)

You'll see helpful charts and tables below showing your top competitors by top 10 postitions. You can choose to show 10, 25, 50, 100, or 200 results and paginate through to see even more. That's a lot of data, if you ask me.

![See Nozzle's helpful competitor charts](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7aC2cYyQZ2ip8xWxhBNEME/aca56ba8db1ce2686d1be630d62264f2/New_-_charts.png)
![See Nozzle's helpful competitor table data](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/30ZqB8SkfUJGkQjcnUxTYc/13e2f3123f83bfc6c1f1ee9aef5b8115/New_-_table.png)
![Show between 10 and 200 results in Nozzle](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3ZfpVGdWdvvneHT0BloFSj/123b8465c7eaccd0b1e07211bc51868c/New_-_show_25.png)

Switch between brands, domains, and URLs at your leisure in the Rollup dropdown. Try filtering by keyword group using the Keyword Group dropdown for a more targeted approach to viewing your top competitors.

Can your <a href="https://nozzle.io" target='blank'>keyword rank tracker tool</a> do that?

<a href="https://nozzle.io/trial" target='blank'>Give Nozzle a test drive today to find your top SERP competitors.</a>


Find your top SERP competitors across all your keyword groups

How to use Nozzle to easily find your top competitors in the SERPs.

Find Your Top SERP Competitors Across All Your Keyword Groups

Find Your Top SERP Competitors Across All Your Keyword Groups - SEO Competition - SERP Competition Ranking Tool

Google Search Console performance overview

Like most free tools, Google Search Console is limited. A paid rank tracking tool is often what you need to take your SEO to the next level.

Do you really need a rank tracker? Read on to find out

Do I Need a Rank Tracker?

Do I Need a Rank Tracker? | Rank Tracker vs. Google Search Console

![Core-Web-Vitals-Heading-Image](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6WJhTUUDEYkSdVBlYLIgUF/f67c451084a34680b94d85aa7774469f/Core-Web-Vitals-Heading-Image.jpeg)

As we all know, Google updates its algorithm quite frequently. In 2019, [Moz reported](https://moz.com/blog/how-often-does-google-update-its-algorithm "How often does google update algorithm?") an average of nine algorithm changes per day! This is partly what makes our job so tricky as SEOs. Constant change requires constant education. 

Most of these algorithm adjustments produce negligible changes, and nearly all of the updates are kept secret. However, there is one algorithm change for 2021 which [Google warned us about](https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2020/05/evaluating-page-experience.html "Evaluating Page Experience for a Better Web"), core web vitals. 

![LCP-FTP](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4Y5wvQIfnL41f8b7SryB6q/ff423d7a91ec9a372eaf515f01fed8dd/LCP-FTP.jpeg)

## What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core web vitals are a set of three different website performance factors which Google sees to be important. Core Web Vitals are made up of three specific page speed and user interaction measurements: largest contentful paint, first input delay, and cumulative layout shift.

Simply put, it is a crucial part of Google’s assessment of your overall user experience.

### Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Largest Contentful Paint is the time it takes for a web page to load from a user’s perspective. This is different from other methods of measuring loading speed because it bases itself on the user’s perspective.

### First Input Delay (FID)
As the name implies, this refers to user input or interaction over the actual loading speed. The exact definition of FID is the time it takes for a user to interact with your page. Interactions include clicking on a button, filling out a form, or even scrolling on a page.

Google says FID is vital because it takes into account the actual user interaction taken on a website. 

### Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Cumulative Layout Shift refers to how stable your website stays as it loads. Some people call this metric visual stability. 

## Why Are They Important?
As I have said multiple times [in my writings](https://renderresults.com/blog "Blog - Render Results"), Google’s primary goal is to provide its searchers with the best content and best experience possible. Now, I don’t know about you, but I can’t tell you the last time I was __*happy*__ to wait twelve seconds for a terrible web design to load.

This is why core web vitals are essential. Google wants to provide searchers with websites with excellent user experience.

## The Dos And Don’ts
### DON’T Expect To Rank #1 For Loading Speed Alone
No, good core web vitals will not magically send you to the number one spot on Google. Google made sure to point out that core web vitals will simply be an additional ranking factor. I believe it will be comparable to ranking factors such as content depth or schema markup.

### DON’T Ignore Other Web Vitals
![Dont-ignore](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5tvVyDFyAKrdf0gpiV4Whj/23d8a42c33cc38b65d5a51a841a5627d/Dont-ignore.png)
*Source: [Backlinko](https://backlinko.com/ "Backlinko")*

Having the word “core” implies there are other web vitals. This is true. Other web vitals include mobile-friendliness, HTTPS, and safe browsing. With the set of core web vitals, the other vitals can be easily determined or estimated, leading to them being most important.

### DO Measure Your Core Web Vitals
You can view your core web vitals directly within Google Search Console. Other tools such as [GTMetrix](https://gtmetrix.com/ "GTmetrix") have begun prioritizing core web vitals over different speed or user interface metrics. However, Google has its own tool, [PageSpeed Insights](https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/ "Google PageSpeed Insights Page"), for testing your core web vitals.

I would recommend you focus on the data provided in the search console because it is real-life data. It is as accurate as it gets. Another good reason to use the search console is it allows you to view your entire website’s data compared to one page at a time. 

If your website is new or has low traffic, you may not be able to view core web vital traffic in your search console. Instead, you must rely on tools like PageSpeed insights. 

### DON’T Worry Too Much About FID
If I were to choose the least important core web vital, it would be FID. FID refers to interaction on a page, like a button click or form submission. For blog posts, you don’t expect interaction very often. Google realizes this and has said it will primarily use FID for other types of pages. 

### DO Prepare to Change Web Hosts
![do-prepare](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1SsRDRyVqmnJRiS4FCcUEH/6ba7c2515f6706b9a504b7cf059d4d81/do-prepare.jpeg)

A crucial part of loading speed and primarily LCP is your web host. Hosts such as Bluehost and Hostgator are known for overcrowding their servers, leading to slower loading speeds and overall performance. 

If you are using WordPress, I would recommend checking out [Siteground](https://www.siteground.com/ "Site Ground: Web Hosting Services Crafted With Care") or [WPEngine](https://wpengine.com/ "Managed Wordpress Hosting, Perfected. WPengine"). I have seen the best results with both of these services. Another option is to purchase a dedicated server, but for most small-medium-sized websites, that might be unnecessary.

As for builders ([Squarespace](https://www.squarespace.com/ "Squarespace: Build a Website"), [Wix](https://www.wix.com/ "Wix.com: Free Website Builder"), [Weebly](https://www.weebly.com/ "Free Website Builder: Build a Free Website or Online Store"), etc.), you just need to hope that they give you the best results possible. Unfortunately, you can’t just take your Wix site to a different host. All we can do is hope.

### DO Use Speed Enhancement Plugins (WordPress)
If you are not a web developer, actually improving your core web vitals will be difficult. The best and easiest way to quickly and affordably fix most of your problems will be speed enhancement plugins. 

![speed-enhancement-plugins](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6RziFtjcHbPGK6CTlVFsjq/fd1689a2f846d1fd3c4a097e1fe269cc/speed-enhancement-plugins.jpeg)

Without a doubt, the best speed plugin is [WP Rocket](https://wp-rocket.me/ "Caching Plugin for Wordpress | WP Rocket"). It combines the features of multiple plugins into one and does a great job of optimizing your site. Yes, there are free alternatives, but they do not compare. 

### DON’T Expect to Understand Everything
Unless you are a web developer, you will not understand everything. __*Don’t expect to understand everything*__. This is a very technical update with a lot of technical terms. This is where collaboration is critical. 

As an SEO, communicating and interacting with a web developer is key to succeeding through this update.

### Conclusion
In conclusion, it is rare for Google ever to tell us about an update. Let alone tell us almost a year in advance. This has led to a lot of press attention, but I do not feel this update will make that big of a difference. 

We can only wait and see.


Core-Web-Vitals-Heading-Image

CORE WEB VITALS: The Dos and Don'ts

Below you'll find an __interactive report__ that contains the biggest list of SEO related questions ever compiled; 40,894 questions to be exact. This list covers questions about anything SEO related, all of which were extracted from People Also Ask boxes from the SERPs.

If you write content about SEO topics, then this list can help you brainstorm.

__Type in any phrase in the "keyword contains" filter__ to find all the questions related to a specific SEO term. __Click on page two__ to find which phrases served up which questions in the SERPs.

To learn about the methodology for compiling the list, scroll down below the report.

<iframe width="600" height="650" src="https://datastudio.google.com/embed/reporting/fbf984cb-5660-4ef9-9d9b-609383e2676d/page/rqTxB" frameborder="0" style="border:0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<hr>
<center>__Would you like to generate your own PAA deliverable related to your website's keywords?__</center>
  <span class="hs-cta-wrapper" id="hs-cta-wrapper-71331ac3-4ce4-4b10-ae9a-3745c940ce07"><span class="hs-cta-node hs-cta-71331ac3-4ce4-4b10-ae9a-3745c940ce07" id="hs-cta-71331ac3-4ce4-4b10-ae9a-3745c940ce07"><a href="https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2030303/71331ac3-4ce4-4b10-ae9a-3745c940ce07"  target="_blank" ><img class="hs-cta-img" id="hs-cta-img-71331ac3-4ce4-4b10-ae9a-3745c940ce07" style="border-width:0px;" src="https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2030303/71331ac3-4ce4-4b10-ae9a-3745c940ce07.png"  alt="Give Nozzle a Test Run Today!"/></a></span><script charset="utf-8" src="https://js.hscta.net/cta/current.js"></script><script type="text/javascript"> hbspt.cta.load(2030303, '71331ac3-4ce4-4b10-ae9a-3745c940ce07', {"region":"na1"}); </script></span>
<hr>
<p>

__Collection Methodology__
I first jotted down a list of terms related to SEO. I tried to cover all aspects of SEO and ended up with a list of 203 SEO-related phrases.

I then put each of those terms into Google's Keyword Planner and exported the whole list of terms that Google served up for each of the 203 original phrases. (scroll down to see that list.)

This turned into a list of 22,059 SEO-related phrases (although we all know that by exporting everything that Keyword Planner served up, some unrelated phrases were bound to creep in.)

I then took those 22,059 phrases and input them into a workspace in Nozzle to pull the SERP data for all of them.

Next, I then extracted all of the unique People Also Ask questions (16,363), the unique Related Searches (36,436), and the uniqe People Also Search For terms (13,902) that showed up across all 22,059 SERPs. 

Then I eliminated any of these terms or questions that appeared only 3 times or less which left me with a list of 49,866 phrases/keywords to run through Nozzle which generated the 40,894 unique People Also Ask questions in the report above.

<p>
__Original List of SEO Terms:__

- 301 redirect
- 302 redirect
- 404 link building
- advanced seo
- algorithm update
- alt attribute
- alt tag
- alt text
- anchor text
- backlink
- backlinks
- baidu seo
- BERT update
- bing optimization
- bing sandbox
- bing seo
- bing webmaster tools
- bingbot
- black hat seo
- blog seo
- bounce rate
- bounce rates
- branded keywords
- broken link building
- broken links
- cached page
- canonical tag
- canonical url
- comment spam
- competitor keywords
- crawl budget
- crawler
- custom robots meta tag
- de-indexed
- directory submissions
- disavow tool
- dmoz
- dofollow
- domain authority
- doorway pages
- duplicate content
- dwell time
- editorial link
- exact match domain update
- external link
- featured snippets
- footer link
- google algorithm update
- google analytics
- google analytics bounce rate
- google answer box
- google entities
- google hummingbird
- google position
- google rank
- google rich snippets
- google sandbox
- google search console
- google search query
- google webmaster tools
- googlebot
- gray hat seo
- guest blogging, guest posting
- h1 tags
- head terms
- heading tag
- homepage seo
- htaccess redirect
- html sitemap
- image link building
- inbound links
- indexability
- indexed page
- internal links
- keyword
- keyword cannibalization
- keyword density
- keyword optimizing
- keyword planner
- keyword research
- keyword stuffing
- keyword tags
- keywords
- knowledge graph google
- latent semantic indexing
- link acquisition
- link attraction
- link bait
- link building services
- link building strategies
- link building tactics
- link building tips
- link building tools
- link buildingideas
- link equity
- link farm
- link graph
- links building
- local pack seo
- local seo
- log file analysis
- long tail keywords
- low quality links
- magento seo
- manual action penalty
- map pack seo
- meta description
- meta keywords
- meta robots
- meta tags seo
- mobile first indexing
- mobile friendly seo
- mobilegeddon
- natural backlinks
- natural links
- navigation seo
- negative seo
- nofollow
- noindex
- noodp
- noreferrer
- not provided
- off page seo
- on page seo
- optimizing blogs
- organic ctr
- organic search
- organic traffic
- outbound link
- page loading time
- page speed
- pagerank
- panda update
- penguin update
- permanent redirect
- position zero
- private blog network
- rank brain
- ranking factors
- ranking signals
- reciprocal linking
- responsive design seo
- robots.txt
- sandbox effect
- schema markup seo
- search engine optimization
- search engine optimization tool
- search engine optimization tools
- search engines index
- search visibility
- seo
- seo blogs
- seo cloaking
- seo competitors
- seo content
- seo content optimization
- seo entities
- seo for bloggers
- seo index
- seo link juice
- seo link profile
- seo reputation management
- seo service
- seo share of voice
- seo structured data
- seo tool
- seo tools
- serp
- serp competitors
- serp ctr
- serp features
- SERP listings
- serps
- shopify seo
- site breadcrumbs
- site crawlers
- sitelinks
- sitemap
- sitewide links
- sitewide navigation
- subdomain seo
- subdomain vs subfolder
- technical search engine optimization
- technical seo
- temporary redirect
- time on site
- time to first paint
- title tags
- trustrank
- ugc seo
- universal search
- unnatural link
- vince update
- voice search seo
- website navigation
- webspam
- white hat seo
- wix seo
- wordcount seo
- wordpress seo
- xml sitemap
- ymyl update
- yoast seo

SEO Related PAA Questions

Use this list to find the most popular SEO related questions that you should be answering on your website if your target audience are SEO practitioners.

The Ultimate List of SEO Questions

The Ultimate List of SEO Questions - Extracted From People Also Ask Boxes on the SERPs

Nozzle is __*the*__ enterprise-level rank tracker. That means we can accommodate any number of keywords and keyword groups for agencies big and small, and we excel at providing sizeable businesses with large-scale keyword monitoring. 

A keyword in Nozzle consists of a phrase, a device, and a locale. Unlimited keywords mean you can track as many phrases as you need on any device, in any locale and language, and on any schedule. 

### Device

Nozzle offers tracking on 5 devices:
- Desktop
- Mobile (iOS)
- Mobile (Android)
- Tablet (iOS)
- Tablet (Android)

![Unlimited SERP tracking on 5 devices](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/63nRygos98mhdR6dMm2NZD/dcc35954f07bfb7bc621ea97d7fed72b/Devices.png)

Mobile and desktop searches for the same keywords very often pull up SERPs with different rankings. And with the increased prevalence of searching Google using smartphones, tracking on multiple devices is important. The graph from <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet/united-states-of-america/#monthly-201301-202103" target="blank">StatCounter</a> below shows just how drastic the change has been over the last decade. 

![Mobile searches have drastically increased over the years - StatCounter](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5KaK4tFgQhK9U4IlbXUAKl/d9aacf78fb7caf9d4a53c7a15710d384/StatCounter-comparison-US-monthly-201301-202103.png)

### Locale

Nozzle allows for tracking in any location and in any language. You can track as broad as country, as narrow as neighborhood, or something in between.

![Unlimited SERP tracking for any locale and language](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3gP0wVChnk5VAJCXayiTGa/dbfbd5e95b3a53d3667361f5280c0584/Locales.png)

This can be incredibly useful for multi-location businesses or local companies that need to dominate their local SERP landscapes.

### Scheduling

Nozzle offers multiple <a href="https://nozzle.io/features#scheduling" target="blank">scheduling</a> options, from <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/hourly-rank-tracking-the-when-the-why-and-the-how" target="blank">hourly</a> to quarterly. And you can track different keywords on different schedules, depending on what you want. We can even set you up with an unique tracking schedule to fit your company’s needs when you contact us.

![Unlimited keyword tracking on any schedule](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/MrzFUm50L2QjEAo8ziPFe/419d1f1b85a16454028746e2d5a361f1/Schedules.png)

### Pricing

We’re committed to getting you the best deal possible for the amount of keywords you need, so be sure to take advantage of our intuitive <a href="https://nozzle.io/pricing" target="blank">pricing calculator</a>.

![Use our pricing calculator to get the best deal on unlimited SERP tracking](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/rAM9J0OwuKeGBHFGnpW08/4f0aa29c13ac0c196ba701121aafb78f/Pricing_Calculator.png)

No limit on keywords means endless possibility and personalized functionality. Who wouldn’t want that?

<a href="https://nozzle.io/trial" target="blank">Try it out</a> today!


Unlimited Keyword Tracking - Devices, Locales, Keywords

Being *the* enterprise-level rank tracker, Nozzle lets you track as many keywords as you need--there's no limit! Plus track on any device, in any location, and on any schedule. When you customize to fit your needs with Nozzle, the possibilities are endless!

Nozzle was made to handle all the keywords you can throw at it

Unlimited Keyword Rank Tracking with Nozzle

Unlimited Keyword Rank Tracking | Track Unlimited Keywords with Nozzle

Nozzle Vision is an awesome new feature that allows you to analyze the SERPs in a more visual manner.

We rerender the SERP HTML for every keyword that you are tracking and then overlay Nozzle Vision on top of that to better help you report on, and understand more fully, Nozzle's metrics like Pixels from Top, SERP %, Above the Fold %, CTR, Rank, etc.

Watch the video to see pure awesomeness!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZGQpPhfS_4c" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Nozzle Vision will help to enhance your SEO reports giving you the ability to visually show the results that have occurred because of your SEO efforts.


Nozzle Vision - SEO Reporting Feature

Introducing Nozzle Vision

Introducing Nozzle Vision - A Great Visual Addition To SEO Reporting

Monitor all of your keywords with Nozzle's keyword position tracker tool

There are so many approaches to the keyword tracking strategy and it is not as straight-forward as a specific number of keywords per client or per website.

30 SEOs Share How Many Keywords They Monitor Per Website In Their Keyword Position Checker Tool

30 SEOs Share How Many Keywords They Monitor In Google Per Website In Their Keyword Position Checker Tool

When it comes to tracking keywords, you usually hear about doing it on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. But there are certain scenarios where you need to track your keywords more than just once a day in order to keep up with your competitors. 

Nozzle is the best hourly rank tracker, offering all the scheduling options you may need in these situations, like tracking every hour, every 6 hours, or even every 10 minutes! You can customize your schedule to fit your needs.

To learn how to set your hourly or so tracking schedule in Nozzle, click <a href="https://nozzle.io/faq#9" target="blank">here</a>.

But when would it make sense to track your keywords more often than daily?

# Reasons to Track Keywords More Often than Daily

We asked a bunch of SEO practitioners why they would track their keywords more often than daily, and here are their reasons.

### Time-Sensitive and Ever-Changing Content
One reason to track keywords on an hourly or custom schedule is when you’re dealing with content that is fast-paced or in need of regular updates. This includes content for news, forums, short sales, and so on. 

According to John Bedford, Founder of <a href="https://vivaflavor.com/" target="blank">Viva Flavor</a>, “very frequent rank tracking makes sense when you're handling fast-moving, high-impact industry events. If you've identified a critical, time-limited topic within your niche, it's worth keeping a closer eye on performance and updating content where necessary.”

Similarly, it's important to track keywords more often than daily “if the subject is ever-changing or in the presence of new information. This is crucial when writing an SEO-optimized blog post or article; you need to know what your audience is asking and talking about in order to produce high-ranking content,” says entrepreneur <a href="https://www.milesbeckler.com/" target="blank">Miles Beckler</a>. 

### For Quick Reactions to Rank Fluctuations
Just a few hours of lower ranking can take a toll on your business. Having a lower position in the SERPs means lower traffic, lower conversion rates, and therefore lower income. Your website rank is tied to so many other important factors in your business. 

If you’re running paid ads for a top keyword it would be good to know if you have a drop in rank, according to <a href="http://storespace.com/" target="blank">Store Space</a>’s Greg Birch. He says, “If you're ranking #1 for a keyword that consistently brings you high value leads/customers and you drop to #2, you'll start losing out on valuable clicks. You may want to immediately resume ads for that keyword or increase the amount you're already spending on paid ads for that keyword. This will help soften the blow of losing the #1 position while you work on regaining that top spot, because if it is a true ranking drop (and not just a temporary fluctuation), it'll take at least a few days for you to retake that position.”

Your reactions can be much faster when you track your keywords on an hourly basis. Another scenario requiring a quick reaction is if your site is hit with negative SEO. “Google is pretty good with ignoring a ton of bad links spammed to a given page, but if for some reason that sparks a sudden drop in rankings, you'd want to disavow asap,” remarks Drew Mann, CEO of <a href="https://drews-review.com/" target="blank">Drew’s Review</a>.

### To Monitor Updates and Get Immediate Feedback
__Major Announcements:__ As Elizabeth Weatherby, SEO Specialist at <a href="https://www.ah-inc.com/" target="blank">AH Management</a> puts it, “tracking keywords more often than daily could be a good idea if your business or your client has made some major updates, announcements, or released new products. When you make a major business announcement, you may want to track brand mentions in specific locations, or you may want to see how other keyword rankings are increasing/decreasing due to ranking for new keywords.”

__Site Changes:__ “Any time you make significant changes to your website, you're going to want to pay extra, extra attention to how those changes may impact your keyword rankings,” Justin Smith, CEO of <a href="https://www.outerboxdesign.com/" target="blank">OuterBox</a> spells out. “Did the update cause some kind of unforeseen technical issue? Unless you're monitoring your keywords like Mission Control Center, you may not even know your keywords have dropped.”

__Optimizing for Featured Snippets:__ Says <a href="https://www.zyro.com/" target="blank">Zyro</a>’s Domantas Gudeliauskas, “If you're optimizing posts for featured snippets, you should definitely start checking almost right away and do so every few hours. Snippet updates are much faster than SERP updates, meaning if you're doing it right, already have a post ranking high, you're likely to see almost instant results.”

### High-Volatility Keywords
If your ranking for a certain keyword fluctuates a great deal throughout the day, your traffic--and eventually revenue--will follow suit. Hourly rank tracking can help you keep track of this, so you can work on keeping your position consistently high in the SERPs. CEO Bill Joseph of <a href="https://frontierblades.com/" target="blank">Frontier Blades</a> shared a real-life example with us of this type of strategy in action:

> “SEO plays an essential role in our business's performance, as our business solely relies on SEO and organic traffic for generating conversions. Keywords which need to be tracked on an hourly basis are keywords which experience increased volatility in search and are responsible for procuring a notable amount of traffic or conversions for your website.
> 
> “For instance, one of our highly converting long tailed keywords experiences increased volatility in search throughout the day, ranging between the first three positions in search. At certain times during the day, our product category page which ranks for the given long tailed keyword can be found in position one, two or three within search results. The position of this category page within search results is crucial, as it significantly impacts our conversation rates. In the event our category page is found in position one of search, we experience increased conversions and organic traffic. On the other hand, when our category page is found in position three of search, our conversion rates and organic traffic decrease.
> 
> “To ensure our category page remains at the top of search, mainly in position one, to maintain increased conversion rates and search traffic, we continually update the page every 4-6 hours. This comprises adding new products to the category page which are optimized for the given keyword, updating old product listings, changing product images, and editing the category page's description. Implementing these strategies every few hours secures our category page's top ranking position throughout the day.”

But how do you know if one of your important keywords has a high volatility in the SERPs? 

Tracking it hourly or so will help you determine whether you need the kind of strategy used in the example above; plus, you’ll learn valuable information related to “volatility and/or content creation in a specific segment of your niche,” says Sara Bernier, Founder of <a href="http://bornforpets.com/" target="blank">Born for Pets</a>. “By tracking the keyword hourly, you can determine whether it fluctuates dramatically (i.e. new content being added all the time) or stays settled (i.e. likely not as active). It can also shed light on how well-optimized the keyword is especially in competitive niches.”

### Physical Location and Hours
As reported by Kevin Pike, President of <a href="http://rankfuse.com/" target="blank">Rank Fuse Digital Marketing</a>, “one reason you might want to track keywords more often than daily would be competition hours vs. your hours. For example, if your competition is open from 6am-5pm and your business is open noon-9pm, it would be interesting to measure how Google uses this GMB info to rank organic and map results.” 

Likewise, “brick and mortar stores can use this to see how they are faring in the SERP when they are open for business,” explains <a href="https://thisisnovos.com/" target="blank">NOVOS</a>’s Xavier Harley-Rudd.

### To Better Understand the SERP Landscape
“Overall, hourly rank tracking can give you a nice insight into algorithmic responses for certain search phrases,” says Janis Thies, CEO of <a href="https://seolutions.biz/" target="blank">SEOlutions GmbH</a>. 

It also gives you “a much deeper understanding of how Google perceives your pages and their relevance for given keywords,” according to <a href="https://www.tidio.com/live-chat/" target="blank">Tidio Live Chat</a>’s Content & SEO Specialist, Maciej Duszynski. “As the ranks are constantly fluctuating, you might often miss when your page is tested by Google and temporarily is ranking much higher than usual (usually on multiple occasions throughout the day). It doesn't necessarily come down to either brining or not bringing traffic but rather on understanding what your page might be missing and how to improve it (for example optimizing for mobile) to get it ranked higher in SERP for longer.”

__Core Google Algorithm Updates:__ <a href="https://jamestaylorseo.co.uk/" target="blank">SEO Consultant James Taylor</a> describes how helpful hourly rank tracking can be for understanding Google algorithm updates: “Like any SEO, the term 'algorithm update' strikes fear into my heart. Naturally, for the weeks following a large update I am going to be monitoring fluctuations on an hourly basis to look for any commonalities and decide what to focus on if a website has been negatively affected.”

### For Tracking in Amazon
Amazon is one place where products and product keywords are especially pronounced. Averi Melcher of <a href="http://averimelcher.com/" target="blank">OSO Content</a> explains, “I could see hourly tracking working if you are on Amazon and looking at keyword rankings for your products specifically in the Amazon ecosystem.”

<br>

---

<h6>Need to track your keywords on an hourly or custom schedule?</h6>
Nozzle is the tool for the job!
<span class="hs-cta-wrapper" id="hs-cta-wrapper-34c7a501-83e8-4b08-96f2-34f1a4ca42b4"><span class="hs-cta-node hs-cta-34c7a501-83e8-4b08-96f2-34f1a4ca42b4" id="hs-cta-34c7a501-83e8-4b08-96f2-34f1a4ca42b4"><a href="https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2030303/34c7a501-83e8-4b08-96f2-34f1a4ca42b4"  target="_blank" ><img class="hs-cta-img" id="hs-cta-img-34c7a501-83e8-4b08-96f2-34f1a4ca42b4" style="border-width:0px;" src="https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2030303/34c7a501-83e8-4b08-96f2-34f1a4ca42b4.png"  alt="Try it out for free!"/></a></span><script charset="utf-8" src="https://js.hscta.net/cta/current.js"></script><script type="text/javascript"> hbspt.cta.load(2030303, '34c7a501-83e8-4b08-96f2-34f1a4ca42b4', {}); </script></span>

---

# Types of Keywords to Track More Often than Daily

Now, the cost of tracking keywords on a shorter-than-daily basis can stack up if you’re not careful. But tracking certain keywords very regularly can give you an edge against your competitors. 

Therefore, you need to be strategic about which keywords you give this increased attention. Such keywords should include those that are time-sensitive, highly profitable, ultra relevant, or high ranking.

### Time-Sensitive Keywords
According to <a href="https://www.getspace.digital/" target="blank">GetSpace.digital</a>’s Founder & CEO, Rebeca Sena, it is important to track keywords that are “related to fast-paced events covered by the news outlets. They would usually include location, names of people or organisations involved and a brief reference to the type of event that happened.” 

Other time-specific keywords, like those related to sales or content requiring regular updates, would be good candidates for custom-schedule tracking.

### Highly Profitable Keywords
“Money keywords--those that drive most of your revenue--are extremely important to keep an extra close eye on. Says Baidhurya Mani, Founder of <a href="https://sellcoursesonline.com/" target="blank">Sell Courses Online</a>, “The main reason why tracking these keywords more closely is important is that fluctuations in rankings of these keywords can significantly affect our revenue and so we prefer to track them twice a day. Another reason why we track these keywords more frequently is that search engine rankings fluctuate all the time. Google is constantly tweaking its algorithm and testing different changes and as a result, keyword rankings move multiple times a day.”

__Top Performing Keywords:__ One group of highly profitable keywords that should be tracked on a regular, even hourly, basis is the kind that usually gets you high conversion rates. <a href="https://serverguy.com/" target="blank">ServerGuy</a>’s Faizan Fahim has put this to action. He says, “We track the keywords of a high converting article regularly because they are bringing leads and customers to us. Highly profitable keywords demand more attention, and we gladly give it to them.”

__Transactional Keywords:__ Keywords related to buyer intent are essential to keep careful track of. <a href="https://www.depreneurdigest.com/" target="blank">Depreneurdigest</a>’s Chuks Chukwuemeka explains, “Most of the keywords I track more often than daily are transactional keywords. These are keywords with commercial intent. And as a blogger they are more valuable to me since it is through them that I earn a commission from affiliate marketing.”

__High Traffic Keywords:__ More traffic leads to more profit; therefore, “the most important keywords to track on a more often than daily basis are the essential keywords which send the majority of traffic to your website,” as Jessica Rose, CEO of <a href="http://www.copperh2o.com/" target="blank">Copper H2O</a>, puts it.

### Keywords Directly Related to your Business or Products
Keywords that are closely related to you or what you’re selling influence the amount of money you make, so you should always be ranking high for them. 

As reported by <a href="https://solutionscout.com/" target="blank">Solution Scout</a>’s Founder, Blake Bobit, “it would make sense to check more regularly on keywords circling around product pages and product/services directly. These are the pages that are closest to the end of the sales funnel, and if you rank for irrelevant keywords, or ranking for misleading content, it will increase the bounce rate, which will ultimately make a huge impact on the site's authority, and thus - ranking.”

__Branded Keywords:__ Branded keywords are important to watch closely to maintain a good online reputation. Alan Rabinowitz, CEO of <a href="https://seoimage.com/" target="blank">SEO Image</a>, explains his strategy for this, saying, “What we monitor daily and as often as possible are brand mentions to ensure that no negative branding is happening online at any time. We use Google Alerts to assure we are notified on Google and a service called mention, that monitors social and search activity for brand mentions.”

__Long-Tail Keywords:__ “Some keywords that relate directly to your business should be tracked every 5-10hrs, such as long-tail keywords,” according to <a href="http://www.dollarcreed.com/" target="blank">Dollar Creed</a>’s Lily Ugbaja. Long-tail keywords--longer and more specific than your run-of-the-mill keywords--should be tracked very often because they are used when a searcher intends to narrow in on a product or service like yours.

__Product-Defining Keywords:__ Ugbaja also endorses very regular tracking of product-defining keywords, which are keywords that “are very product-specific and the customer is already at the first level of being a lead.”

### Your High-Ranking Keywords
When you’re ending up on the first or second page of the SERPs, raising your ranking position has exponential benefits. Hence, Lora Bovie of <a href="https://directory.choosingtherapy.com/" target="blank">Choosing Therapy</a> says, “keywords that are more important to track more closely than daily would be the ones that are hanging around on the first and second page, and that you are trying to push up in the rankings with different strategies like content updates, keyword research, and more intentional efforts.”

<br>

As you can see, there are many reasons why you would want to monitor certain keywords more than once a day. Implementing hourly rank tracking can be a great help if you do it well. The key is to be strategic, stay focused on why you're doing it, and use tools whose data you can trust, like Nozzle.

Hourly - Featured Image

Certain scenarios require tracking on an hourly or so basis. Use Nozzle's flexible scheduling to get ahead of your competitors.

Some scenarios require you to track your keywords more than once a day. Find out what they are

Hourly Rank Tracking: the When, the Why, and the How

Hourly Rank Tracking | Nozzle Rank Tracking Software that Does Hourly

Here’s one feature you don’t want to miss and is perfect for a search engine position report!

<div class="wistia_responsive_padding" style="padding:57.5% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><div class="wistia_responsive_wrapper" style="height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;top:0;width:100%;"><iframe src="https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/lm3ypi4bnn?videoFoam=true" title="Tanner's video" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" class="wistia_embed" name="wistia_embed" allowfullscreen msallowfullscreen width="100%" height="100%"></iframe></div></div>
<script src="https://fast.wistia.net/assets/external/E-v1.js" async></script>

---

With Nozzle, you can view the full Google SERP HTML for any single keyword. 

![Single SERP HTML](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/Llzf5XyjRp9uFlw3WdwGz/add6807678050c95a5edece4ffae8873/One_SERP_HTML.png)

But that’s not all! You can compare the HTML from several dates to get a visual idea of how the SERPs have changed over time. This can be an extremely useful tool for identifying changes in the SERPs over time, such as the placement of PAA boxes, the content of featured material, the text in the descriptions, the quantity of results, and more.

Using this visual comparison in conjunction with the keyword ranking data that Nozzle provides above, it gives you the resources to make the most of your rank tracking and to spice up your search engine ranking report you share with your clients or boss.

![Three Column SERP Comparison](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7evTCpfKrYRg246pZGbhMn/21c92cc1068652bd686dbf384ed6bd8c/SERP_HTML_Changes.png)

To use this feature, select the Single Keyword mode under Explore, then pick your keyword. Scroll down to the SERP HTML section.

![Navigate to SERP HTML](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3wpolImIASzt2Nb3ZQUrA3/0265e9a9db4bb7d5ac9b3ae688421d35/Navigate_to_SERP_HTML.png)
![SERP HTML Pick Keyword](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6EKPL6N3GUuFKZT9v1RXip/4e76b36b66b853e5d10fd1f73f050264/SERP_HTML_Pick_Keyword.PNG)

You can compare as many windows as you like using the Compare button, although 5 or fewer is the best for maximum functionality. Using the Zoom bar, drop down list, and Fit to Screen button above the SERP HTML, as well as the horizontal scroll bars at the bottom of the page, you can adjust your view of the SERP HTML to fit your needs. Use the date drop down lists to select the dates you want to compare. 

![Nozzle SERP HTML Controls](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1MnFKutQpgdI4GbsCWuDWh/4853f964de2740e559f8f12c38ee5005/Nozzle_SERP_HTML_Controls.PNG)

You can click on the links in the HTML directly to view their corresponding web pages within our software. This is valuable if you want to look at several different web pages at the same time and compare their content to inform your onsite optimization strategy--all in one place!

![SERP HTML Webpage Comparison](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2B8LWjzz9wB6WtyrDUd5KP/e581bd2559c75068a5dd15f82479442a/SERP_HTML_Webpage_Comparison.PNG)

Being able to view the SERPs for multiple dates side by side can also be helpful for SEO ranking reports and presentations, especially for reputation management campaigns. Just pull up your SERPs from the applicable dates in our tool to show your clients how effective your campaign has been in lowering the negative results. This visual representation will be more powerful than just a list of ranking changes for each result.

![SERP HTML Comparison for Reputation Management](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2dw7WnZVEztyg6VjRkksW3/24e1a96c62d4346b039973767a2dc411/Reputation_Management.png)

Welcome to functionality!


Boyd Norwood

Boyd's headshot

Three Column SERP Comparison

SERP comparison is now so much easier with Nozzle's SERP HTML comparison feature. Try it out today!

Find out the amazing things you can do with this SERP comparison feature. Here's how to use it

The Functionality of Side-by-Side SERP HTML Comparison

SEO Keyword Ranking Report - The Functionality of Side-by-Side Google SERP HTML Comparison

Ian Campbell

Ian Campbell Pic

Favorite Competitive Analysis Tools

What are the best SEO competitive analysis tools? Find out what 80+ SEOs are saying!

80+ SEOs weigh in on competitive analysis tools that can be used in conjunction with Nozzle.

The Best Tools for Unstoppable Competitive Analysis

SEO Competitor Analysis Tool - The Best Tools for Unstoppable Website Competitive Analysis

## Emojis in Sitelinks 

By adding emojis alongside your site links it will help grab the searcher's attention when scrolling through pages on google. Adding the right emojis with the right features could lead to more traffic to your website. In the photo below Ventureharbour.com shows the use of emojis next to their site links. This helps their ad copy stand out and is visually appealing enough to command the users attention. 

![Serp Features using emojis in sitelink ](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5Q0eYNEPBPvD70mxqbCuGX/cc0bf352856d62a9ef5de61d18ddbc2a/Screen_Shot_2021-01-20_at_8.15.04_PM.jpg)

## Video Packs

You can also rank for the videos within Google's search results. When doing this you want the content of the video to be related to the question the searches are looking to answer. For example, if someone typed sewing clothing within google. You can see that people have titled their videos according to the searchers phrase. When trying to rank in the video section of the search results you should set a strategy to create a video answering the users question and title your video accordingly.

![Video pack-SERP feature ](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1ddM2sDukUUVDPWlZM4ujP/ffff43ca85e280d120bcf68c34a45cb1/Screen_Shot_2021-01-20_at_8.12.03_PM.jpg)

## Featured Snippets

Being in the featured snippet is by far the best way to boost brand awareness organically. The featured snippet usually takes up a lot of real estate on the page. This means people are more likely to see it and click on your website to gather more information about a specific question from their google search. Here's an article you can read about this topic to better <a href=" https://nozzle.io/blog/what-are-featured-snippets" target="blank">understand the importance of featured snippets.</a> And here's how to <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/featured-snippet-competitor-analysis" target="blank">analyze who owns the featured snippets</a> for your keywords.

![SERP features- understanding featured snippets](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5a2oLUJmKytdKOXoLyABuq/8793fe59bf51dcc1214e61a2597e16ce/Screen_Shot_2021-01-20_at_8.19.39_PM.jpg)

## FAQ Schema
The process in which questions are being pulled from your website into the SERP and showing up within google search results under your meta description. You can see Link- Assistant is using FAQ schema from this google search result.
![SERP feature- using FAQ schema on webpages ](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/0YArwXWUbiUxZdK2SKPsm/9b386461c2595c793c5aaaae77632596/Screen_Shot_2021-01-20_at_9.07.49_PM.jpg)

If you go to their website and inspect the question (What is rank tracking?) that shows up on the SERP you'll  see within the code surrounding the question they are using schema markup software within the backend of the website.
![using SERP features like FAQ Schema within the back end of website code](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/62uBNU43RxWyZF9x2z0vPa/731392404f81ba174310e4d44091035e/Screen_Shot_2021-01-20_at_9.09.08_PM.jpg)

## Image Packs

Images can be shown in both the featured snippet and stand-alone image packs. When the user clicks on the image it will lead to a google image search instead of to a particular website. 
![Serp feature- Image pack of chocolate vegan desserts](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/789cFLGC2vMSpRkUk531J2/7fa7e95464d43f01ded09c5d1089cf6c/Screen_Shot_2021-01-20_at_8.13.56_PM.jpg)

When searching for the phrase video games for kids. You can see within the featured snippet is an image pack above the answers to the searchers request.  
![Image packs within featured snippet is a common Serp feature on google](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4qa6SSA7Wc0xBgBOeM7Zll/2e9e443704cbdf47ce476e5909fc493c/Screen_Shot_2021-01-20_at_8.09.06_PM.jpg)

## People Also Ask Boxes

Showing within the people also ask section is another way to help boost your site's visibility. First, you need to know what keywords are being ranked for in the people also ask section. Then a strategic strategy needs to be created in order to overtake one of the questions. 
![Overtaking SERP features like People also ask boxes](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6TkfbZ7nEyGHkGpzGqJdgZ/f9dfb2c37fff8e4a0ad75afab77b9f50/Screen_Shot_2021-01-20_at_8.16.31_PM.jpg)

Since Nozzle extracts data from the whole SERP, you can easily see which of your keywords contain any of these unique SERP features. Then you can set a strategy to obtain any of these  SERP features along with which keywords should be used when optimizing your images and videos. It will also help you figure out which pages to answer specific questions for in order to obtain featured Snippets and people also ask listings. You can also generate a list of all of your SERP results that contain sitelinks to help you know which pages to focus your emoji efforts. 


SERP features every SEO should work on obtaining 

SERP features you should be using in your SEO strategy

SERP Features Every SEO Should Work on Obtaining

Major SERP features every SEO should know 

<div class="wistia_responsive_padding" style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><div class="wistia_responsive_wrapper" style="height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;top:0;width:100%;"><iframe src="https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/0eeyfvt219?videoFoam=true" title="Nozzle CTR Calculation Video" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" class="wistia_embed" name="wistia_embed" allowfullscreen msallowfullscreen width="100%" height="100%"></iframe></div></div>
<script src="https://fast.wistia.net/assets/external/E-v1.js" async></script>

<br>
<hr>

Nozzle has a very robust way of calculating clickthrough rate. Our calculation is made up of over 2,000 lines of code spread across 7 different files. Let’s take a look at what goes into our CTR calculation.

First, we look at several up-to-date CTR studies to create a solid CTR curve that we can use as the foundation for both branded and non branded keywords and for both desktop and mobile.

From there, we look at the individual SERP for each keyword looking to see if there are one or two columns, an ads section, or zero click features like dictionary results or direct answers.

![Nozzle evaluates columns, ads, and zero click features as part of its click through rate formula](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5yDqE8MbuXhxpH4Ze9Hkup/cb8fc40cc212e49de8a8f9f610eee3eb/2_Columns.PNG)

We then assign a certain portion of the overall page clicks to the ads section, column 2 and to no click or zero click type results.

Next, we look at the size of each individual result in terms of size. More weight is given to listings with larger pixel coverage like featured snippets, video packs, image packs, People Also Ask, Top Stories, etc.

![SERP features with high pixel coverage are given higher estimated click through rate](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6AyULRvMmL2uNPoTWSZ0Xf/f8abea27b3aefa7f4112e2742b9cc291/Size.PNG)

We assign clickthrough percentage to every link on the page. Even sitelinks and extra buttons, like the View All button pictured below, are assigned some percentage of the total page clicks.

![sitelinks and buttons are assigned some percentage of total page clicks in Nozzle's CTR calculator formula](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3snXuv5anXcUhDjV4YGyQ4/d4c6319524cfd649e848a4bed4393b4b/View_All_Button.PNG)

Furthermore, certain items are weighted more according to their position within the pack. For example, People Also Ask questions at the top of the box are given more weight than those at the bottom, and videos or images on the left side of a pack are given more weight than those at the right.

All of these calculations are summed up and normalized so that each clickable item is given a realistic CTR.

See the gif below for an example of CTR for a specific SERP. The no click or zero click CTR percentage we gave this page was 13%. The paid section was given 10%, column one 67.5%, and column two 9.5%.

Some CTR is assigned to the listings in column 2 and some to the ads. Scrolling down a ways, we assigned 0.1% to the highlighted sitelinks. Down further, the first local listing gets 0.9% clickthrough rate, and the next two get a 0.5%. The first top stories result gets a 0.9% clickthrough rate, the second gets 0.6%, and the third gets a 0.4%.

![Nozzle example of click through rate distribution for a specific SERP: seach click through rate](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3X8sbwsGJ92EZKjLTgkhLS/3f9fd75ec8057f882edad2c35716aca7/Assigned_CTR.gif)

And that is how Nozzle comes up with highly customized CTR percentages for each individual result.

CTR Nozzle

Calculating CTR: Nozzle uses complicated coding to calculate accurate clickthrough rate for your SEO needs.

Take a look at the foolproof methods Nozzle uses to calculate clickthrough rate.

Nozzle’s Crackerjack Calculation of Clickthrough Rate

Nozzle CTR Calculation | How Nozzle Determines Clickthrough Rate Distribution | Check CTR with Nozzle

## What is a featured snippet?

Featured snippets are brief snippets of text that aim to answer the user's question more quickly when doing a google search. The content that is used in the featured snippet section is usually pulled from the website itself within google's index to quickly be accessible to the searchers.

![Featured Snippet example picture](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/SAxylakXiQpcmDIoZPP0f/8df97bc0bb4fa7c30b4a37233a410fd5/Screen_Shot_2021-01-17_at_11.02.25_AM.jpg)

## How does a featured snippet work?

Featured snippets can help to boost your brand's visibility. Usually, you will see an increase in your site's activity by organically showing up at the top of Google within the featured snippet section. Being in the featured snippet section can greatly put you ahead of your competitors.

## What does a featured snippet do?

The featured snippet is there to help assist the users in what they are searching for. For example, if someone is looking for information on how to build a greenhouse. You will see that Lowe's is at the top of the featured snippet section answering the user's question in a video with a step-by-step process on how to build a greenhouse. By Lowe's doing this it helps them get more eyeballs on their video and inevitably more clicks.

![Featured Snippet Google Search on How to Build a Greenhouse](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6tFKhvgLNYfrOKucbM0qFF/e73c3b3d0bc51367ed5c5d13eb06f63b/Screen_Shot_2021-01-17_at_10.42.55_AM.jpg)

## Why is a featured snippet important?

Featured snippets are important because they're always in the number one position on google. The number one position will typically get more clicks to their site and conversions. Also, it takes up a lot of real estate on the page. This compels people to click on it because it's the first thing they see when searching for an answer to a question on google.

## What are the different types of featured snippets?

Generally, there are three commonly used feature snippet types.

  - __Paragraph__ (answers the question in a text format)

  - __Table__ (data is pulled for a structured answer in table format)

  - __List__ (Ex: answers are given in a step by step process)

## Use Nozzle to monitor all the featured snippets in your industry

Since Nozzle is a full SERP monitoring tool, our data can show you who owns every single featured snippet in your space.

![Domains that own featured snippets](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3Qhf9zJ2ApgPzSnNOT3etk/ac026636c76755526cdba2a8086dbce1/Domains_that_own_featured_snippets.jpg)

![Featured Snippet filter for dog toys keywords on desktop](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/601thZKtTzKm1OkW9lRCza/6c5afbe35d44407b021bec306276ed1d/Featured_Snippet_filter_for_dog_toys_keywords_on_desktop.jpg)

Check out our <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/featured-snippet-competitor-analysis" target="blank">deep dive article</a> on this subject to learn how to do it.

Armed with this info, you can set an SEO strategy to overtake the featured snippets that you deem most important. Every month or quarter, you can showcase the efforts of your campaign from within Nozzle’s UI or by sending the data to Google Data Studio.


Google Search on Featured Snippets

Understanding the Power of Featured Snippets

Google Featured Snippets- The Importance of Ranking for Them 

People Also Ask boxes are becoming increasingly important in the world of SEO. In fact, PAA boxes now appear in the results for nearly half of all Google searches, according to studies by <a href="https://www.semrush.com/blog/how-to-maximize-people-also-ask-seo-opportunities-study/" target="blank">SEMrush</a> and <a href="https://ahrefs.com/blog/people-also-ask/" target="blank">Ahrefs</a>. This is interesting information, but how much does it really help you? The studies were conducted with a broad range of keywords, many of which are completely unrelated to your line of work.

When it comes to setting SEO strategy for your specific industry, you need to take a more personalized approach and look at how often PAA boxes appear in your keyword sets to determine where to focus your efforts. If they appear in 80% of the SERPs for your keywords, for example, you’ll want to spend a lot more time optimizing for PAA boxes than if they show up in, say, 30%.

That’s what we’re here to help you with. Let’s take a look at PAA frequency in several industries.

We analyzed 15 keyword sets from multiple different industries. Using Google’s Keyword Planner, we found hundreds of keywords for each of the following topics:

- Accounting software
- Auto repair
- Basketball training
- Couch
- Dog toys
- Drones
- Earbuds
- Health insurance
- How to Cook
- Mortgage
- Office leasing
- Potted plants
- Saving tips
- Sewing
- Ski equipment

And here’s the drill down:

![industry-specific people also ask data](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1jhu22Viffu7gAU80BIcip/37800bef3a753e769856117bb6442424/Industry_Comparison.PNG)

As you can see, the number of PAA appearances ranged from about 32% to nearly 93%. That’s a whopping difference!

The percentages also varied by device, as shown in the graph below:

![industry-specific paa data device comparison](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6a3ns4TqsQzzMdNxt7bJRB/65050f070651bbecb8d8e703b2337eb9/Device_Comparison.PNG)

When you do the deep dive analysis for your specific industry it becomes clear if you should spend more or less time optimizing for PAA questions. In this case, if you sell health insurance, make cooking tutorials, or offer accounting software, make optimizing for Google’s People Also Ask boxes a high priority. With office leasing, on the other hand, you should probably focus your efforts elsewhere.

What's more, Nozzle can analyze industry-specific PAA data over months to give you a magnified view of how important People Also Ask boxes are for your industry over time.

We tried this with keywords related to camping equipment over about 6 months. Check out the results:

![paa frequency over time for a specific industry](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3JVKgjs8fK4roYSc9x0tV2/8e9515728d8f80e0fb902825e9535b24/PAA_over_time.PNG)

The PAA frequency varied by over 15%! But what exactly does this mean for the industry? If there's an increase in PAA box appearances, companies in that industry should <a href="https://nozzle.io/paa" target="blank">use Nozzle to extract the PAAs</a> again and get the new questions to send to their content team. If there's a drop, your SEO strategy might shift away from PAA optimization. Furthermore, you can look for seasonal trends and strategize accordingly.

Find more information about our keywords and data on our <a href="https://datastudio.google.com/reporting/de9a4331-ca52-4669-bd33-a8a8e058ce74" target="blank">interactive report</a>. 

If you’re interested in other industries for a future blog post, let us know in the comments.

Like what you saw above? Nozzle can generate <a href="https://nozzle.io/paa" target="blank">PAA data for your own keyword set</a>, including an extracted list of all the questions that Google serves up! It’s a highly targeted list of content ideas that your content team will appreciate.


PAA by Industry: Featured Image

It is important to analyze PAAs by industry and take a personalized approach when setting SEO strategy.

We analyzed 15 keyword sets to break down why analyzing People Also Asked frequency by industry matters.

The Importance of Analyzing PAAs by Industry

Use Industry-Specific People Also Ask Frequency to Help Set SEO Strategy

SEO tactics and strategies are constantly evolving due to ongoing advancements in Google’s algorithm and machine learning drastically changing how search results appear. eCommerce enterprise sites especially, have an even bigger challenge understanding which terms are seeing the biggest fluctuations and more importantly, why they are seeing fluctuations. 

For example, when we looked at the term “one piece swimsuit” over a 7 month period, the websites that ranked on page one of Google fluctuated week to week. We know seasonality, location, personalization and numerous other factors play into what will show up for each person, however, we wanted to see how a search engine results page (SERP) for a specific 
search query changed over time.    

Here is what that result looks like when comparing September 2019 (average results that showed up on page one compared to March 2020). The image below shows what that looked like over time.   

![Sept. 2019 Page 1 Ranking Image 1 URL](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7Kw5UOXm43vdx6cVclgMc7/c1691c33b1b4f8ead6a5b3556b3e4521/Sept._2019_Page_1_Ranking_Image_1_URL.png)

Nearly all of the results saw a drastic shift in ranking over a seven month period. The websites that remained relatively untouched were pacsun.com, macys.com, swimoutlet and nordstromrack.com. Three sites (victoriasecret.com, roxy.com and ae.com) are now ranking on page one of Google. 

Tracking a single term doesn’t take much, but when you multiply that by thousands of search terms on page one it becomes overwhelming. Take the massive eCommerce site macys.com. Macys as of June 2020, has 416K+ keywords the entire site ranks for just in position 1-3. They have another 964K+ terms ranking in position 4-10. 

![Enterprise SEO keyword traffic](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6o2GYmeBWOVocAKx5CjqV/69e87be57e54e33468ceb1e5bb6df90b/nozzle_image_2.png)

With all this change comes a need to have a robust enterprise SEO strategy that helps you to not only maintain but grow search visibility 

We will walk you through our top enterprise SEO strategies designed to <a href="https://www.stryde.com/ecommerce-seo-guide-rankings-google/" target="blank">improve your ecommerce Google rankings</a>. Keep reading to learn how to succeed in 2020.

## Increase Your Focus on Second Page Keywords

Keywords that rank on the second page of Google (rankings 11-20) are often coined as keywords in “striking distance.” These keywords are low-hanging fruit and have the potential to give your site a needed boost with a little SEO optimization. 

How do you find the keywords that are in striking distance? The process is quite simple.

![organic SEO keyword research](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3HQUWsqDJyIjIB7RZFQotF/27f49f7e2edde7e071d094b857f28c9c/nozzle_image_3.png)

1. Enter your domain in the Organic Research Bar of a tool like SEMRush.
2. Select the Positions Tab.
3. Filter by selecting 11-20 in the Organic Keywords Trend graph.

It is likely the data set is too large so you will need to filter down more and look at a specific bucket of keywords. Sticking with macys.com as an example, they have 5,002 terms on page two that contain the word “swim” in them. 

![Enterprise SEO strategy page rank](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6Xr9r84kXziRvELi5ghN0I/97931c0e505d61be555bf206962c3a91/nozzle_image_4.png)

Or you can look at your focused keyword set in Nozzle and get more granular to know how many phrases are in the 7-10, 11-15, and 16-20 buckets.

![Number of Phrases within Striking Distance](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/rkGnLm8URFEFDbVYGFSaF/fb7f567cac40ad12a860de48fa1e486c/Number_of_Phrases_within_Striking_Distance.JPG)

1. Go to the Single Domain dashboard
2. Add a filter to show rankings between 7 and 20
3. Add a filter to display results for only one specific keyword group

![Number of Phrases within Striking Distance filtered to one keyword group](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7uJN9mzrVnlyAQnA3b55p0/80a09ef2646916599f0a5dcdf15e2788/Number_of_Phrases_within_Striking_Distance_filtered_to_one_keyword_group.JPG)

__Main Goal:__

Keywords sitting on page two of search results have the best opportunity to make the jump to the first page with the least amount of effort. Second page results have proven they are relevant to the selected search query, reviewing how the keyword relates to the ranking page and optimizing the landing page for the selected keywords along with synonyms  can provide that needed boost to make it on the first page. 

Focus on reviewing how the keyword is being used on the ranking page. Make sure the keyword is in the title tag,  H1 tag, used throughout the copy and has internal links with the keyword as anchor text pointing back to the ranking page. These small adjustments can greatly improve your ranking. 

__Key Benefit:__
- Increased Traffic
- Potential Boost in Revenue
- Increased Brand Visibility 

## Improve Content on Ranking Pages

After you have identified striking distance keywords that you would like to focus on improving, you will want to look at what content you can create and expand to not only meet your end-users expectations but exceed them. 

This tactic will be extremely beneficial to sites that have thin copy or no content on their pages. Why? Google search bots are not able to see visuals while they crawl sites for ranking purposes. Instead they look for words that describe what each page is about and rank sites based on how well they answer an end-users question. Using the example above, macys ranks on page 2 for the term “swim shorts”. Both the mens and womens pages rank but neither are on page one. In this example, the search results seem to be more geared toward womens swim shorts rather than mens as shown by the sponsored product listings, even though mens do show up in the organic listings. 

![improving SEO content on ranking pages](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/PvH6Nqg0gTMv8EeTPk6n1/568db7f779826863ec5fbf39582f5d19/nozzle_image_5_Screen_Shot_2020-06-17_at_10.07.50_AM.png)

The page that ranks is the following: 
https://www.macys.com/shop/b/womens-swim-shorts?id=72487 but they link to a similar page (https://www.macys.com/shop/b/swim-shorts-for-women?id=73380) using internal links with the text “swim shorts”. No bueno.  

![SEO strategy content examples ](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2Fay7Furvg95ElJZS32Unl/e7bad7cb1a6575ed901113b01b974afa/nozzle_image_womens_shorts_13.png)

There are a number of issues with the content above, but we recommend they could make some small tweaks to include things like:
- Activities the swimwear is good for such as jogging, paddle boarding, etc. 
- Include similar terms in the content such as board shorts, swim bottoms, etc. 

## How do you find pages with thin content?

- Review your domain with an SEO tool such as DeepCrawl, ScreamingFrog, or Botify.
- If using DeepCrawl you can use the following process:
  - Once the crawl is complete, navigate to the Content section and select Body Content > Thin Pages.

![SEO tool instructions within DeepCrawl](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3aELkorLJWcCfo1OiUOvKt/9a28e9915cdcdbc14901f093e9efafb0/nozzle_image_6.png)

- Export the list of URLs into an Excel file or Google sheets (if the amount of pages is less than 500.) Large data sets are not good for using Google sheets. They will crash when trying to run filters and formulas when the data set is large. 
- Run an SEMRush pages report in the Organic Research section to see how many keywords each URL ranks for. Export those URLs and match them up with your DeepCrawl data set to see how many  keywords your thin pages rank for. 

![Enterprise SEO strategy organic research](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6VoGu0uAhvcJlnUQD5fwS4/a57d530cadb833e6907b288fb04f2c76/nozzle_image_7_Screen_Shot_2020-06-18_at_1.30.15_PM.png)

- In Nozzle below, you can then analyze each thin page separately to see which keywords are in striking distance and should be considered when improving upon, and adding to, the content of that page.

![single URL keyword rankings](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6klCgbfGBDKHp9KxzfCrEH/606bb6b78615c9c00ebec949d1fb52d1/single_URL_keyword_rankings.JPG)

- Note keywords that are relevant and in striking distance to rank for page one search results. 

__Main Goal__
Google’s algorithm rewards websites that provide end-users with expertise, authority and trustworthy content. Recent Google algorithm updates have been targeting websites with thin content and reduced their rank. 

<a href="https://digitalmarketersworld.com/content-marketing-guide/" target="blank">Quality content</a> provides users with a satisfying experience. Brands that work to provide a one-stop shop to answer all questions a user might have pertaining to the subject will be most rewarded. Content that provides little insight neither ranks well or provides your end user with a satisfying experience. 

This concept boils down to one simple thought: Focus on support and let the sale follow. 

__Key Benefits:__
- Increased traffic to websites. 
- Increased session durations.
- Stronger domain authority.
- Positive end-user experience.

## Increase Content to Support Current Pages

SEO strategists will be first to tell you content plays a significant role in rankings and brand awareness. Many prospects begin their customer journey by researching a solution to their problem. This means it's crucial your website not only focuses on building transactional content but educational content as well. 

Brands that want to rank on the first page or have content pulled as the featured snippet on Google must continue to create and expand their content library to include pieces that speak to a customer at each stage of the buyer's journey. 

Enterprise SEO looks to create all types of content. Content goes well beyond a blog post, it also can be images, videos, polls, infographics and webinars. All pieces of content you create should be built with the purpose to answer a user’s questions. 

Let’s take a look at a specific example:

![SEO tips on how to increase page content ](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4t96GdxUH3GAv4m8bfvsap/2de0e0d9d164ffca3351a9c7ad569187/nozzle_image_8_pasted_image_0.png)

![Enterprise SEO content creation](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2Q07t9CUROzK8BuiAvuxtc/a9f52f5f7985992d826354ae71b3c1ab/nozzle_image_9_pasted_image_0.png)

![Enterprise SEO video content creation](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2uvytcuGdIANUtOtoftTSi/d8dde2e5435cdeb942c82200f414d7c4/nozzle_image_10.png)

Immediately upon searching how to clean cloth diapers, you are flooded with resources to walk you through your question. You are immediately struck by a featured snippet that contains a detailed step-by-step process. As you scroll down you will see additional questions that commonly appear with the query and videos to walk you through the washing process. 

Long-form content consisting of approximately 1,500 words consistently <a href="https://searchengineland.com/seo-user-science-behind-long-form-content-230721" target="blank">rank higher than short-form content</a>. Long-form content has the ability to get to the bottom of multiple questions and provide deeper insight into the topic at hand. 

However, short-form content has the ability to provide resourceful information. Testing long-form and short-form content on your website will provide you deeper insight into what your audience better responds to. 

A simple take away is to focus on user-experience. 

  __Key Benefits:__
      - Improved user experience. 
      - Increase in session duration.
      - Increase ranking opportunities.
      - Increased brand awareness.
      - Attract top-of-funnel prospects in the research phase.

## Featured Snippet Optimization

Enterprise SEO strategies must include featured snippet strategies if they want to be most effective. Featured snippets are the text boxes that are not only attached to voice search queries but they also appear at the top of organic search page results. Pulling up as the featured article gives your brand maximum exposure and traffic. 

![Enterprise SEO strategy using featured snippet](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/JXx7IkT2f9ujmQiQefQgM/d2a226ff206c2e7e31be2ed02988e2f2/nozzle_image_11_pasted_image_0.png)

__Featured Snippet Recommendations:__

There are two things you can do to best optimize your content to be considered for a featured snippet: Immediately answer the end-users question in the first H1 tag and mold your content to your end-users preferred format. 

Ask yourself if your content is specifically answering your prospects question. Are your headers clearly guiding your users throughout the article? Is the solution front and center? 

Using SEMrush you can review queries that have featured snippets. You will be able to see what article is being rewarded the top spot, and you will be able to see if lists, tables or paragraphs are specifically ranking. 

This knowledge can lead you to audit your content to see if your message is formatted in the way end-users prefer. If the featured snippet contains a bullet-point list that is concise and to the point, you may want to adjust your content to mimic the rewarded format. 

__Key Benefits:__
- Maximum exposure to brand content.
- Rank for voice assisted search queries.
- Increased brand exposure.

## Optimize website for voice-search

As of 2019, there are <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/973815/worldwide-digital-voice-assistant-in-use/" target="blank">approximately 3.25 billion voice assisted devices</a> in homes around the world. This innovation has introduced a new way for users to search and get connected with your brand. 

Organizations should add voice-search optimization to their enterprise SEO strategy. Voice search goes beyond implementing keywords; it focuses on adding content around conversational questions.

![Enterprise SEO strategy to Optimize website for voice-search](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/WwM9GWsyXB4XQYNoNi8zT/1e5d1f78c3a4d06dffea9e7f5c37cc8f/nozzle_image_12.png)

Source: <a href="https://moz.com/blog/how-voice-search-will-change-digital-marketing-for-the-better" target="blank">https://moz.com/blog/how-voice-search-will-change-digital-marketing-for-the-better</a>

If you have a smart device in your home, you have likely asked Alexa a long-winded question instead of two concise keywords pieced together. 

An example may include: 

When we search on our mobile phone or desktop, we might type, “make homemade facemask.” 

When we use a voice assistant we might ask, “Hey Google, what do I need to make a homemade facemask?”

These queries are focused on obtaining the same information, yet their structure is different in nature. Incorporating more conversational keywords into your website copy will greatly benefit your business as voice search is constantly increasing. 

__Key Benefits:__
- Increased brand visibility through voice assisted search.
- Rank for voice assisted search queries.
- Increased brand exposure.

## __Internal Link Building__

SEO strategists should continue to focus on yielding the power of internal linking. 

As you continue to build and improve content, linking pages that relate to one another will improve the SEO health of each page by passing link equity to multiple pages on your site. 

Websites that take advantage of internal linking make it significantly easier for Google search bots to crawl, understand and properly rank your site for relevant search queries. Links can direct bots to crawl through multiple pages on your website giving you a better chance to rank for additional keywords. 

Companies should also take advantage of internal link building because they have the ability to dictate where the link is directed to and what anchor text they will use for the link. 

__Key Benefits:__
- Improves user-experience through descriptive anchor-texts.
- Distributes link authority.
- Internal linking can increase the number of pages a user visits.
- Internal linking helps with search bot crawling and indexing.
- Internal linking can help increase page rank.

### __Conclusion__  

Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving and keeping SEO strategists on their toes. This means ranking on page one requires an in-depth and well thought out enterprise SEO strategy that will help them remain competitive in the changing landscape. 

While there are several elements that go into an effective SEO strategy, these are recommended strategies that will help boost enterprise brands. 

<a href="https://www.stryde.com/" target="blank">Stryde</a> is an Enterprise SEO Agency helping businesses perfect their eCommerce SEO and content marketing strategy. See how you stack up with a free analysis of your business.

Number of Phrases within Striking Distance filtered to one keyword group

While there are several elements that go into an effective SEO strategy, these are recommended strategies that will help boost enterprise brands. 

Enterprise SEO Strategies for eCommerce Sites

<a href="https://nozzle.io/paa" target="blank">Click Here to generate your free PAA Report!</a>

Every SEO and content team knows that your website needs more content. But not just any content; content your targeted audience wants to know.

As a content marketer or SEO, you have probably asked yourself the something like the following:

How do I generate ideas for content creation?
Where can I find content ideas?
How do I get ideas for blog posts and articles?

The answer is: __WRITE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS "THE PEOPLE" WANT TO KNOW!__

What are those questions, you ask?

Introducing... 

## The PAA Expansion Method

<a href="https://nozzle.io/paa" target="blank">Click Here to generate your free PAA Report!</a>

Everyone has seen a "People also ask" box. Google shows them on almost half of all SERPs.

Here is one that appeared for the term "track the whole SERP":

![People also ask - track the whole SERP](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1pRvKmjybb11FVQ8R1XFVQ/cb96aca6ea16ac15fbbeb5d979aa9752/People_also_ask_-_track_the_whole_SERP.png)

Google deems these questions to be very related to the searcher's intent which is why your website should be answering these questions for all of your keyword topics.

And yes, that could potentially be hundreds or thousands of questions depending on how many topics/categories/products/services you have on your website.

More importantly, you need to know which of these questions appeared the most across each of your keyword groups.

Using Nozzle's PAA Expansion Method, you can generate this very powerful list.

### First example:

In the first example below, an initial list of 250 phrases turned into 417 unique questions.

![PAA Expansion Method - 250 camping phrases](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5VdZZyxy2bawDiS403IdGV/c8a94e55671f24c2b3e19e6690da4121/PAA_Expansion_Method_-_250_camping_phrases.JPG)

Then I took those 417 questions and put them in Nozzle and ran a one time pull to generate an even bigger list of related questions. The result being 1,131 unique questions.

![PAA Expansion Method - 2nd iteration for camping phrases](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4QAT1iJuBjbbsP53YBsalw/23ce1cd9fd6979d24d0bf2cf57271eb2/PAA_Expansion_Method_-_2nd_iteration_for_camping_phrases.JPG)

You can play around with this specific <a href="https://datastudio.google.com/reporting/81e73d89-0a3d-49d6-a726-69ad97d76383" target="blank">REI Demo PAA Report here.</a> 

Use the filters to see questions specifically related to each keyword group or to pull up a list that only includes specific terms like "cooler", "chair", or "butane".

### 2nd Example:

In this example, I started with only 3 phrases and used the PAA Expansion Method 4 times to end up with a list of 1,033 unique questions related to Christmas.

![PAA Expansion Method - starting with 3 christmas phrases](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6xJqpA8uUtLmrbNy6HjXsY/3b89df64bac8d08a6ebd6b5f76f5f22e/PAA_Expansion_Method_-_starting_with_3_christmas_phrases.JPG)

Play around with the <a href="https://datastudio.google.com/reporting/b6142666-ac80-4bf9-b13a-57669d29f515" target="blank">Christmas PAA Expansion here.</a>

Lets end with a quote from a happy PAA Deliverable recipient:

> You just gave me a year's worth of content ideas for this project!

To generate your very own PAA deliverable to give you the warm fuzzies, <a href="https://nozzle.io/paa">click here.</a>


PAA Expansion Method - 250 camping phrases

PAA Expansion Method

The PAA Expansion Method - Build A People Also Ask Question List

Once upon a time, the search engine was like a fishing rod that would pull content up based on how keyword-dense it was.

Website owners were more focused on writing content that included lots of keywords that they inserted everywhere they could. This meant that a reader was greeted with the same key phrase in the title of the article as well as in the first line, the first heading, and repeatedly throughout the content.

However, in the past few years, Google has made it increasingly clear that it has grown smarter with age. It no longer rewards a higher position based on how many keywords you’re sprinkling throughout your content.

Starting with Panda, Google takes into account content quality ranking factors to position your content in the search engine results pages (SERPs). For instance, content gets ranked based on how reader-friendly and useful it is.

The days of inserting a keyword that doesn’t make much grammatical sense are over. Writers have to make sure they write content that pleases humans to attract Google’s attention. And they also have to play smarter – insert relevant keywords more strategically than just follow a laid-out formula.

## What most websites get wrong

Consider John. He has recently created a new business website and has a blog page for it. John sets out to find writers who can write him SEO-friendly posts for his site with the hopes to attract more traffic to his business. But, because he’s so desperate for success and he’s not up to date with the latest Google guidelines, his focus is on creating keyword-rich posts.

Question is, even if John’s writer adds the correct keywords and uses them wisely throughout the content, do John’s blog posts have a chance of ranking immediately?

Not really. Even if John’s content contains a good load of keywords placed in a 2500-word guide, Google still wouldn’t tug it up to the first or even seventh page. 

This is because the algorithm also looks at other factors than just how detailed and keyword enriched a content piece is. You see, there are more than <a href="https://backlinko.com/google-ranking-factors" target="blank">200 ranking factors</a> that Google looks at to determine where it should place your page in the results.

Majorly, it looks at the authority and credibility of a site. Therefore, if a website has <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/building-backlinks-should-be-building-your-brand" target="blank">more links from authoritative sites</a> pointing toward it, the higher its spot will be in the SERPs. Furthermore, you want as many links as possible to each piece of content on your site to build up your website’s authority.

Now, building authority and credibility takes time. And this process requires you to write unique, evidence-based, and worthy content that speaks to humans. After all, other high-quality sites will only give you backlinks when they find your content to be a helpful, educational resource.

Put simply, don’t merely focus on keywords when you start out. Write conversationally and provide value in your posts. Most importantly, have a proper, well-thought-out content plan to crawl your way up in the SERPs.

As for other ranking factors, here’s a look at the <a href="https://ahrefs.com/blog/google-ranking-factors/" target="blank">top 10 Google ranking factors</a> that you shouldn’t ignore.

## So, you should write for your readers. But how to go about that?

Think of it like this – how do you, as a reader, react to content that chokes your throat with its obvious keyword volume? You roll your eyes and leave the page to go to another that serves you with an in-depth solution to your query. Even better if the article packs in some additional tips.

If you understand what you, as a reader, expect from the content you come across on the web, then you’d be able to nail what Google (and your readers) want from it. But content that is filled with jargon, difficult words, and hasn’t been structured well repels you.

Google gets this which is why it positions content that is authoritative, valuable, and readable at the top. Put simply, your content should be:

-  __Well researched and full of value__ – readers should leave with actionable takeaways from what you’ve written.
-  __Easy to read__ – write in simple language and shorter paragraphs. Also, use bullet points + headings, and structure your content properly.
-   __Interesting__ – add relevant images such as graphics and screenshots to explain your point and make your content clearer and more interesting.
-   __Conversational__ – speak to your audience by addressing them and be natural in your writing.
-   __Properly edited__ – cut out fluff and make sure your piece <a href="https://alafiyamemon.com/2020/04/13/how-to-edit-your-writing/" target="blank">doesn’t include any grammatical or other errors.</a>

Look at how properly structured this Evernote blog post is. It has short paragraphs, uses heading tags, bullet points, and simple language:

![ Should you write for your readers or the search engine?](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3pFD1BLQWYYOCW9tdqnjWX/82aa5009c151cbe0d1a5ff2198f7d0b8/PICTURE_1_Should_you_write_for_your_readers_or_the_search_engine)

<a href="https://evernote.com/blog/capture-ideas-accomplish-more/" target="blank">source</a>

## Don’t forget to optimize for the search engine too

Yes, you should write for humans and Google bots are adapting more to measuring your article based on how reader-friendly it is. But this doesn’t translate to completely forgetting about keywords and other algorithm-attracting guidelines.

Google wants you to write content that answers people’s queries in-depth, which is often better achieved with longer content. It also appreciates if you use relevant and applicable keywords at the right places. Moreover, you get brownie points for adding internal and high-quality external links.

So, along with writing for your readers, also make sure you pay heed to the following SEO factors:

- __Content length__ – as per HubSpot’s latest data, your blog post should ideally be 2,100 to 2,400 words long. The length of your article can vary depending on whether you are writing a how-to guide or a listicle. <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-long-should-your-blog-posts-be-faq" target="blank">Here’s what HubSpot has to say</a> regarding the length of your blog post. 

- __Links__ – make your article more resourceful or evidence-based by adding outbound links to credible sources. Also, link internally to other relevant, informative blog posts you’ve written.

- __Focus keyword__ – use tools like <a href="https://www.semrush.com/" target="blank">SEMrush</a> or <a href="https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/" target="blank">Ubersuggest</a> to find your keywords and then <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/where-to-add-keywords-in-your-content-to-improve-your-ranking" target="blank">place these keywords naturally</a> in your title, image tags, URL, and meta description. Keep in mind finding the right keywords isn’t easy. Consider using long-tail keywords too and ponder over a reader’s search intent before finalizing which keywords to include.

Take a look at how strategically the focus keyword has been used in this Visme blog post that also happens to be conversational and easy-to-read.

![Choosing the right infographic for your blog post](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/n1dAJeIRmKbFtTLRqxxWp/246035f2211ccc63008c4206952ad9f2/PICTURE_3_Should_you_write_for_your_readers_or_the_search_engine)

<a href="https://visme.co/blog/infographic-dimensions/" target="blank">source</a>

## Summing Up – user and Google friendly writing practices can go hand in hand

Once you get the hang of it, it won’t be challenging to create content that is pleasing to both your readers and search engines. If anything, Google wants you to write for your readers, which is why it insists you use keywords intelligently rather than forcefully.

The only reason Google favors long-form content is that people want more detailed solutions when they enter a query. You’re unlikely to be able to jam in all the value and information that cover a topic within just 250 words, isn’t it? It also wants you to add links for offering further value to readers – they should be able to dive deeper into a topic with just a click. In short, write for both your readers and the search engine. 


Choosing the right infographic for your blog post

Once you get the hang of it, it won’t be challenging to create content that is pleasing to both your readers and search engines. If anything, Google wants you to write for your readers, which is why it insists you use keywords intelligently rather than forcefully.

Important tips on how to write an SEO optimized blog post.

Should You Write For Your Readers Or The Search Engines?

How to write an SEO optimized blog post

<a href="https://nozzle.io/paa" target="blank">Click Here to generate your free PAA Report!</a>

All great marketers and content strategists know that your website needs to contain answers to every question your target audience is asking themselves. The first step is to collect all these questions. How do you do this?

By asking:
- Your sales people what questions they are constantly answering
- Your existing clients
- Your client fulfillment or customer service teams
- Your product managers

Or you could just ask Google. Well, you should still do all of the above but using Nozzle to extract questions from thousands of SERPs is the fastest way to generate a solid list.

A high percentage of SERPs contain a search feature called People Also Ask. When a PAA box is present, there will be four questions by default.

![People Also Ask Box - Questions to Answer In Your Website's Content](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7HQvx9ik2F6okDSUCPZgk7/0d0ed5f1e54d8ddbfaf1b5eacb1d9fb9/People_also_ask_-_Michael_Jordan_is_the_greatest__1_.png)

Google increasingly does a great job at understanding the searcher's intent for every keyword.

<img src='//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3GskWGs821pNzVGxaRzpmI/40dfaf7db1002673cb6f011ff7662bbd/1.21_Gigawatts' style='float: left; margin: 1rem;' /><br><br>Google has a ton, and I mean A TON of data and 2 decades of a lot of very smart people working on algorithms to understand the searcher's intent for every query.

<br>

When Google serves up a People Also Ask box, it means those four questions are extremely relevant.

Imagine if you could extract all the questions for hundreds, or even thousands, of SERPs and sort them by most appearances across your huge keyword set.

<img src='//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/QYtfZjdobB4nGZekkqLhd/a693ea1bcdcf9e6424f6421583219d02/Ignite_those_questions_on_your_website.gif' style='float: right; margin: 1rem;' /><br><br><br><br><br><br>Well then you'd have, what Alexander Hamilton would call, an extremely useful list of questions to answer within the content of your website.

<br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

Below is an image of a list of PAA questions that I extracted from a list of a hundred camping stove phrases. I then sent the data to Google Data Studio to organize in a nice, clean report.

<a href="https://datastudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/6a3202fc-6ec9-4a6c-a5a5-cef9ec3a7617/page/ytUbB" target="blank">Click here to peruse this Data Studio Template.</a>

![Unique Questions from PAA Search Features in Google Data Studio Template](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6Ody1YWpLlq3kEHWMe2IC7/13c4949a144737ccc2c911b406d0a405/Unique_Questions_from_PAA_Search_Features_GDS_Template.png)

<a href="https://nozzle.io/paa" target="blank">Click Here to generate your free PAA Report!</a>

Unique Questions from PAA Search Features in Google Data Studio Template

Collect questions from People Also Ask boxes from as many SERPs as your content marketing heart desires.

How To Find All The Questions Your Target Audience Is Asking

![New SEO Jokes 2020 Edition](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/62uv1Xc0UKLKK5jXnmFvdp/57750ebffdfed998ad13895c49484c4b/SEO_Jokes_2020_Edition.JPG)

SEO can be stressful at times and <a href="http://workplacementalhealth.org/Mental-Health-Topics/Workplace-Stress" target="blank">stress is bad for your health</a> so lets all sit back and relax and live longer by reading the following SEO jokes.

All of these jokes are brand new and original as of this year, 2020 and created by the author unless otherwise noted. 

So without further ado...

> 1. What did Jesus say to the SEOs? "Come (do)follow me."
> What did Satan say in response? "Nofollow Him!"

![Funny SEO Jokes about links](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/oqz7cLAG1A8hm7D50xhIP/616f49f2758a80612cc686e80d39422b/Why_did_the_search_engine_receive_a_lawsuit__Because_it_was_a_creepy_crawler.__2_.png)

> 2. The surgeon general told some SEOs to stop smoking because there is a link between smoking and cancer. The SEOs replied, "Well...is the link between smoking and cancer followed or nofollowed?"

> 3. What did Googlebot tell all the hyper links? "Calm down!"

![Googlebot and Hyper link SEO Joke](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2TGTwVqbtcxZuCSg8A5wfc/7a3d7b9bc25a8e317d6a058320d15a9c/An_SEO_invited_me_to_a_business_meeting_at_his_house._It_turned_out_to_be_a_Pyramid_Schema.__1_.png)

<center><h5>Is your current rank tracker a joke?</h5></center>
<span class="hs-cta-wrapper" id="hs-cta-wrapper-87cce768-4031-4dff-bbfa-43ad5c96d50b"><span class="hs-cta-node hs-cta-87cce768-4031-4dff-bbfa-43ad5c96d50b" id="hs-cta-87cce768-4031-4dff-bbfa-43ad5c96d50b"><a href="https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2030303/87cce768-4031-4dff-bbfa-43ad5c96d50b"  target="_blank" ><img class="hs-cta-img" id="hs-cta-img-87cce768-4031-4dff-bbfa-43ad5c96d50b" style="border-width:0px;" src="https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2030303/87cce768-4031-4dff-bbfa-43ad5c96d50b.png"  alt="Check Out Nozzle&#39;s Free Trial!"/></a></span><script charset="utf-8" src="https://js.hscta.net/cta/current.js"></script><script type="text/javascript"> hbspt.cta.load(2030303, '87cce768-4031-4dff-bbfa-43ad5c96d50b', {}); </script></span>

> 4. Why did the search engine receive a lawsuit? Because it was a creepy crawler. 

![ Search Engine and Creepy Crawler SEO Joke](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1QcMdzMlaF3TdOv0gQSnD9/a1e870b795944a51dcf3fad684a3c765/Why_did_the_search_engine_receive_a_lawsuit__Because_it_was_a_creepy_crawler..png)

> 5. SEOs prefer canonical tag over freeze tag or laser tag.

> 6. What do you call an SEO sitting up in a tree branch overlooking a field full of sheep? Above the fold.

> 7. What is an SEOs most important question before he bungee jumps for the first time? "Can you please tell me what my bounce rate is?"

![Bungee jumping SEO Joke](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3UAdOxZQe93gLhLMtBqJaX/e2a9bf03584ee9093f963941583e8755/An_SEO_invited_me_to_a_business_meeting_at_his_house._It_turned_out_to_be_a_Pyramid_Schema.__6_.png)

> 8. Why are black hat SEOs horrible at hockey? Because they spend a lot of time in the penalty box.

![Black Hat and Hockey SEO Joke](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2clcgTdiIvhEPr9yMHcywa/6e93d9147ae71dfe979e7d4cc1695667/An_SEO_invited_me_to_a_business_meeting_at_his_house._It_turned_out_to_be_a_Pyramid_Schema.__3_.png)

> 9. The general state of everything and everyone makes me think that "discontent" is king not "content".

![Funny SEO Joke about Content Making ](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2g24AWn7N1T1OTYgl6nFY/a21e3c71ed2069c2f43f4b28e0f4279e/An_SEO_invited_me_to_a_business_meeting_at_his_house._It_turned_out_to_be_a_Pyramid_Schema.__4_.png)

> 10. What did the 1 YEAR OLD SEO teach the 8 month old? "Don't waste your crawl budget going for that toy. Just scream until your mom 301 redirects you to it."

> 11. What did the mom do to the naughty SEO child who kept picking his nose? She de-indexed him.

![Funny SEO Child Joke About Being De-Indexed ](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3hJF1O2hB4NnF7qtSs7Go5/38c6131eaf42cef73d539604d9d2b152/Why_did_the_search_engine_receive_a_lawsuit__Because_it_was_a_creepy_crawler.__1_.png)

> 12. What do you call getting a haircut to look good for your online profile pictures? A featured snippet.

![ Featured Snippet and Profile Picture Funny SEO Joke](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3ed2ruiHFQ1Zsj8CWe5ejY/67b1d6479ace5d695366d11697bb52f5/Why_did_the_search_engine_receive_a_lawsuit__Because_it_was_a_creepy_crawler.__3_.png)

> 13. What is it called when Larry Page or Sergey Brin get a haircut? A rich snippet.

> 14. SEO: Yes! My time on page is increasing.
Parent: Why are you happy that you are now reading slower?

> 15. When Google launched its Universal Search many people were excited that we will finally discover alien life.

![Google's Alien life Universal Search SEO Joke](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/31Ji6HCbURDqQh2NJlMiZT/d42bde956e32982f610820f850d34d70/An_SEO_invited_me_to_a_business_meeting_at_his_house._It_turned_out_to_be_a_Pyramid_Schema.__5_.png)

> 16. My new GA-bot is awesome! Unfortunately, batteries and keywords are "not provided."

> 17. An SEO invited me to a business meeting at his house. It turned out to be a Pyramid Schema.

![Business Meeting Turned Pyramid Schema SEO Joke](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/60qSpl03t7HkdkZIjSv9xA/9d41066b181e0c50da5bcecca07f72ae/An_SEO_invited_me_to_a_business_meeting_at_his_house._It_turned_out_to_be_a_Pyramid_Schema..png)

> 18. Why did Google cut it's finger nails? Because a lot of websites were complaining about being scraped.

Also, here is some more <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/seo-humor-from-the-twitterverse">SEO humor</a> from the twitterverse that you might enjoy.

New SEO Jokes 2020 Edition

I guarantee you'll either chuckle or eye-roll. :)

SEO Jokes (Brand New and Original in 2020)

SEO Jokes FTW! - 18 New SEO Jokes from 2020

Pixels From Top is a new metric that can tell you your visual position on a search engine results page measured in--you guessed it--pixels from the top of the page.

We measure the pixels in the SERPs from the top and left to every listing on the page. Furthermore we measure the width and height of each listing so that we can calculate it's SERP % which, is the pixel coverage each result occupies per SERP.

<a href="https://nozzle.io/trial" target='blank'>Click to give Nozzle a trial run.</a>

![hourly rank tracking nozzle vision pixels from top](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2agYINPX1ozKNSz8ZPFcxM/d3e23689d5c3743baccee8ff685a1b9b/pixels_from_top.png)

## Why is Pixels From Top Important? 

Gone are the days where the SERPs contained only ten blue links. With SERP features like Featured Snippets, People Also Ask boxes, Local Listings, Video packs, etc. occupying SERP real estate, ranking #3 is very likely to be below the fold these days. Pixels From Top is going to help you identify which #3 rankings are more valuable to your business.

Also, Pixels From Top is a valuable metric to help you understand why you may be dropping in traffic even if your rankings haven't dropped.

This siutation can occur for a number of reasons including: an increase in the number of ads displayed, the addition of a new featured snippet for queries that previously displayed none, a change in the layout to a featured snippet that makes it taller, or the addition of site links to a listing that ranks above yours.

Most SEOs include in reports to clients or bosses, some sort of historical rankings graph, maybe even sorted by different keyword groups, to show general improvements over time. You will want to include Pixels From Top in the same report as another way to show movements up the SERPs.

![Pixels From Top comparing top competitors](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/295zb9ZQwPDmM9nISxCzgF/23c0f46d6444bd94bd61bc940d0ab620/Pixels_From_Top_comparing_top_competitors.png)

In the image above, the Pixels From Top is showing the average pixel distance from the top of the SERP to the highest ranking result for each domain across their whole keyword list.

Below, you can see where realtor.com ranks in terms of Pixels From Top for specific search queries. For example, as of the date that that data was pulled, they ranked in the first position for 'condos' which was located 155 pixels from the top. This means there were no ads showing up at that moment in time because the first result (whether ad or organic listing) usually sits between 155 and 172 pixels from the top.

![Pixels From Top Specific Keyword Rankings](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6OsCq6H1NrHo5TCLOku4rk/a3f5b3c4c4807fd184e25a0213282436/Pixels_From_Top_by_keyword.png)

<a href="https://nozzle.io/trial" target='blank'>Sign up for a free trial today to see your visual location in the SERPs for your keywords.</a>

hourly rank tracking nozzle vision pixels from top

Pixels From Top - A Nozzle Feature

PR opportunities abound. You just need to know where to look. Every business should take a few moments to setup the two following processes to be alerted to new PR opportunities which will help in <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/building-backlinks-should-be-building-your-brand" target="blank">building your brand</a>.

These two PR tactics are simple and free. They just require that you set aside a little time and effort.

1. HARO
2. #JournoRequest and #PRrequest

__HARO__

HARO stands for Help A Reporter Out and is a free service you can sign up for at <a href="https://www.helpareporter.com/" target="blank">helpareporter.com</a>. You will receive 3 emails a day that include requests from journalists looking for quotes or answers to specific questions around topics the following broad topics: 

- Biotech and Healthcare
- Business and Finance
- Entertainment and Media
- General
- High Tech
- Lifestyle and Fitness
- Public Policy and Government
- Sports
- Travel

You just need to find the inquiries that apply to your brand and email your response before the deadline. Deadlines are typically 1-4 days from the receipt of the email so you need to set aside some time every other day or so to answer relevent inquiries.

If your submission is used in the journalist's article, typically they will mention your name and brand and link to your website in the response.

__#JournoRequest and #PRrequest__

These are hashtags used on Twitter by journalists looking for info on a specific topic.

There are 3 ways you can find these types of tweets related to your industry.

1. Manually do a search on Twitter for one of those hashtags followed by a keyword in your industry. For example, I found the following tweet when searching on twitter for "#journorequest seo".

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hi <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DigitalMarketing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DigitalMarketing</a> friends, I&#39;m looking to write an article on regulating the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SEO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SEO</a> industry. Anyone willing to provide an expert comment? Are you for or against the idea? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/journorequest?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#journorequest</a></p>&mdash; Helen Pollitt (@HelenPollitt1) <a href="https://twitter.com/HelenPollitt1/status/1108976044122521606?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

2. Use <a href="https://ifttt.com/" target="blank">IFTTT</a> to setup an auto response to email you everytime someone tweets using #journorequest or #prrequest and one of your keywords. This way you don't have to schedule time each day or week to remember to search Twitter for PR opportunities. You just need to take action when you receive an email.

Below is a quick tutorial from <a href="https://rofe.co.uk/" target="blank">Mark Rofe</a> with <a href="https://riseatseven.com/" target="blank">Rise at Seven</a> on how to setup IFTTT properly for this purpose. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PR tip: How to use Twitter to land coverage. <a href="https://t.co/HOsLJmvE6U">pic.twitter.com/HOsLJmvE6U</a></p>&mdash; Mark Rofe (@iamrofe) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamrofe/status/1220095133410037761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

3. Use a nifty Google Sheets Add-on called <a href="https://gsuite.google.com/marketplace/app/tweet_archiver/976886281542" target="blank">Tweet Archiver</a>. This tool will monitor your Twitter search query once every hour and pull in any new tweets to your spreadsheet. You can then open any tweets that you want to respond to and engage with the journalist.

![Tweet Archiver Google Sheets Add on Tool: Find PR opportunities](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/LUqwFfHXSJ81vbVHejLxv/0de845b7ad184261952216978c3b4aee/Tweet_Archiver_Data.png)

Below is a video that shows how to install Tweet Archiver on a Google Sheet. Start watching at 2:08 for installation instructions.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MGU7azCYFpw?start=128" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<br>__Take away:__ Spend 10 minutes right now to set up the alerts for these two PR strategies and set aside 30 minutes each week to follow up on any new PR opportunities that come your way.

Happy brand building!


Tweet Archiver Google Sheets Add on Tool: Find PR opportunities

PR opportunities abound. You just need to know where to look. Every business should take a few moments to setup the two following processes to be alerted to new PR opportunities which will help in building your brand.

PR Strategies for Businesses: Build Your Brand and Acquire Links Simultaneously

PR Tactics and Strategies for Businesses: Build Your Brand and Acquire Links Simultaneously

To be competitive in today’s digital world, your brand needs to stand out from the crowd and engage effectively with your audience. Custom graphics that are consistently on-brand can take time to develop--precious time that you may not have. 

Creating custom graphic designs to support your brand doesn’t have to be a daunting task. The days of purchasing expensive software with a serious learning curve (*ahem--Adobe) are basically over. Today’s digital marketer or entrepreneur has much more user-friendly options at their fingertips. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an Adobe fan for sure, but not everyone wants or needs to go to those lengths for simple branding designs. 

Two products available right now aim to make graphic design much more approachable for the Average Joe--Canva and Snappa. These products share a lot of similarities, which may make it tough to decide which one’s right for you. That’s why I’ve broken down some of the key components of each to help ease that analysis paralysis.

Even their logos are undeniably similar.
![Canva and Snappa logos: Twinning?](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2ofuItOpQb5gHNnbLUOO96/0f3e5e2af877f8e4fe19fba55e191593/Untitled_design__1_.png)
   
__Here’s the breakdown: __

### __Let’s Begin at the Beginning__
Both Canva and Snappa sign users up in roughly the same way; you’ll enter your name, email and a password for your account. With Snappa, you’ll then receive a confirmation email. Right away, you’re sent an email with a video link to a quick Snappa tutorial, guiding you through account set up and beginner creation of custom graphics. This is certainly helpful if you are a complete beginner.

While Canva doesn’t send an onboarding video, they do send emails with tons of tips and tricks, and always route you to their robust help center and knowledge base if you can’t find your way. __In terms of onboarding support, Snappa wins.__
 
 
### __The Dashboard__
Once you’re logged in, the experience begins to diverge. The look and navigation is quite different at first.

__Canva__
![Canva Dashboard](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1mmtrxjQGBIc2j5Exx5v7z/7052711a833511082b953ab8a0d74434/Screen_Shot_2020-04-12_at_8.52.32_PM.png)

Canva is instantly colorful and whimsical and provides ample visual inspiration in the form of templates (for a variety of digital and print applications) that can be customized however you need. You can also start with a blank canva if you choose. Canva also offers a navigation menu on the left hand side to help you find your way, some of which is only relevant for pro users, such as the custom brand kit. 

Once you decide on the type of content you want to create you click on it and travel down the rabbit hole of the endless ways you can edit and customize it. Users can upload their own images and icons, and switch fonts as needed. You can also search through tons of other templates if you change your mind about your initial choice.

__Canva__
![Canva - You can search templates](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/WFtTvTKpabvHPrkol9Ayu/80befd881f794842030c0f0dfb26939b/Screen_Shot_2020-04-12_at_9.10.24_PM.png)

__Snappa__
![Snappa's Dashboard is a blank canvas](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/a7sYm0vEu3zJWHaMmZTEe/508454c96b653cd7ae3cc452874d00da/Screen_Shot_2020-04-12_at_8.52.51_PM.png)

Snappa’s dashboard is essentially and effectively a blank canvas; knowing right off the bat what you want to create is key. Once you decide if you’re, say, building an Instagram post vs. a Twitter post, you can click on it, and THEN you’re offered the option of starting a design from scratch or using one of Snappa’s colorful and enticing template designs. 

![Snappa templates](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5pw1NhINw5wbBSmHjnAnBR/9d1463f02981ce068c2bada4adca28fe/Screen_Shot_2020-04-12_at_9.07.44_PM.png)

Both Canva and Snappa eventually get users to the same point--of selecting from numerous professional design templates or starting a design from scratch. They just have slightly different routes to get you there. Canva immediately splashes you with color and ideas, while Snappa’s dashboard design urges users to be a bit more premeditated in how they start their design. It’s really a matter of choice, depending on your personal style. I will say that __Canva’s left-hand-side navigation menu provides a slight usability edge here, so I dub Canva the dashboard interface winner.__
 
 
### __The Content__
Canva has waaaay more design ideas and templates that transcend just the digital, including brochures, book covers, cd covers, posters, resumes, newsletters and more. Snappa doesn’t appear to have templates for physical printed designs - or maybe they are buried somewhere? Snappa’s focus is clearly on the digital; they even have templates for display ads, which is really helpful! After a bit of digging, I did find that display ad templates are available through Canva as well, though they are not right on the front page. 

__Canva__
![Canva design ideas](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/26aJj9VeEu4Mi5NUBJOyIg/26e79fc7bfe542e3596770c113565724/Screen_Shot_2020-04-12_at_9.50.52_PM.png)

__Snappa __
![Snappa design ideas](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7xhEoCJCzvVF2qmEvFJBKR/4c3ac8ffc917e84f1b5fb810c2daaa29/Screen_Shot_2020-04-12_at_9.50.14_PM.png)

In terms of content variety, it’s apples and oranges. Snappa’s focus is strictly on the digital realm, and they cover all the bases there. Canva offers templates for both print and digital applications. 

However, when it comes to the editing dashboard, Canva appears to be more versatile and user friendly as well. The selection of backgrounds, fonts, and other design elements is more vast and therefore superior in my opinión.  Also, once you’ve entered Snappa’s editing dashboard, you can’t get back to the home dashboard easily, which I found a bit annoying, because sometimes you need to backtrack! __The verdict: Canva winds up on top in terms of design template variety and editing options.__


### __The Pro Upgrade__
Both Canva and Snappa offer a pro upgrade for about $10 monthly. Canva Pro is free for 30 days, Snappa Pro doesn’t have a free trial window. Both of these pro upgrades unlock vastly greater options for templates, stock imagery and the opportunity to upload custom fonts. 

__Canva__
![Canva upgrade options](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3bQA2mZdYLAE9F8mBFOYtp/bcb72091b4ff178e5de8a210ef31c6a1/Screen_Shot_2020-04-12_at_8.41.47_PM.png)

__Snappa__
![Snappa Upgrade Options](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6zTZkSMgptcNfOPP9Yr5pn/ec20383ea1bee022a28097e6e147da50/Screen_Shot_2020-04-12_at_8.38.26_PM.png)

The pro pricing is similar, which makes it a tough choice at a glance. However, there are a handful of distinctions. Snappa includes social media integrations at the pro level, which could be pretty handy. Snappa limits the number of users at every subscription level, and Canva doesn’t have an explicit user limit. 

Canva also cleverly organizes customizations (fonts, logos, color palettes) to help build a “brand kit” for consistency across users at the pro level. And if you don’t feel like upgrading? Well, Canva seems a slightly better value. At the free level, Snappa limits users to 3 downloads monthly. If you’re working on audience engagement with your brand, 3 designs monthly might not hit the mark. Canva doesn’t limit downloads of designs at the free level. Canva also offers a few more templates to choose from at any level. __The winner? With a 30 day free pro trial and more design variety, it’s Canva again, folks.__


### __Bringing it All Home__
Marketing pros and digital entrepreneurs (and pretty much any brand or business out there) need custom graphics to make their brand soar.
Obviously, not every brand can afford the cost of advanced graphic design software like Adobe Creative Suite. Depending on your unique needs, either Canva or Snappa would work beautifully for you. 

If your needs are strictly digital, you are a solo user, and you are ok with limited monthly downloads, Snappa would be a fine choice. 

__If you want more bells and whistles, greater design versatility, numerous users, and unlimited monthly downloads--like the ability to build print designs in addition to digital--Canva is where it’s at.__ Canva is the clear leader, in my opinion. But, hey, see for yourself--both of these awesome, user-friendly design programs are super easy to take for a spin.
 


Creating engaging graphics to promote your brand doesn't have to be a daunting task - Canva vs. Snappa 

Canva vs. Snappa

Managing your brand's digital designs is easier than ever before. The simple online design program Canva, and alternatives like Snappa, make it super easy to create and share all sorts of creative designs. Canva vs. Snappa: which team are you on?



The Best Digital Design Bang For Your Buck? Canva vs. Snappa

Canva vs. Snappa - Snappa is a Program Similar to Canva

Backlinks, love them, or hate them, are a critical component to doing search engine optimization.

While there are a variety of methods that have changed over the years as Google rolls out more algorithm updates based on feathered and furry animals or Sesame Street characters, one thing is for certain—backlinks still remain an integral part of how a website ranks.

## Creating High-Quality Backlinks
One of the most common questions for most people in digital marketing is "how to create quality backlinks."

Unfortunately, for a lot of marketers, this is where things start to get confusing. 

After all, how do you create “quality links?”

Here are a few things I’ll be discussing in this article:
- [Common link building pitfalls](#pitfalls)
- [Why entities matter when building links](#buildYourBrand)
- [Actionable link building](#actionableLinkBuilding)
- [Content juicing](#contentJuicing)
- [Leveraging automation](#leveragingAutomation)
- [Link continuity and UX](#walkingAMile)

<a name="pitfalls"></a>
## Backlink Pitfalls
Typically, there are a couple of common pitfalls when people build backlinks.

### Pitfall 1: Content Only Strategy
It’s true, content is king. However, content without links is a lot like having a car without any fuel. Sure, it looks nice and may get the attention of a few people—but how far can that really get you? 

Even with the most experienced wordsmith at the helm, content without links may be overtaken by sites that are seen as more authoritative and trusted. 

So how the heck does a site become more trusted? 
In spite of all the advancements Google has made in its algorithm, links still provide one of the clearest signals that a website can be trusted. The more links from quality sources can equate into traffic increases and additional authority within a particular market.

### Pitfall 2: Link Only Strategy
If you’re relying on links alone to rank your site it’s probably not going to happen. 

That’s not to say you can’t brute force a website up in search results, there are plenty of case studies showing how this can be done. However, using this method, will most likely not stick without a lot of additional effort. Additionally, you’re probably going to be penalized depending on how aggressively you’re seeking those links. This approach is commonly classified as a black hat tactic.

The problem is that many people in this camp tend to have horrible content (looking at you lazy spinner). It's blasé and uninspired. In order to get a link from someone, you must have content worth linking to.

The sad reality is that, without quality content, links alone won't get you very far. You must have something worth linking to if you want a link from a quality site. 

To be truly effective, you need *both* content and links.

## Build Your Brand

Before building links, I cannot underscore the importance of getting your on-page SEO dialed in.

Making sure your on-page SEO is correctly implemented will help ease the process of backlink building. In fact, you’ll need far fewer backlinks to rank well.This means you’ll need to spend some time on your titles, descriptions and headings, adjusting site architecture, improving internal linking, and structured data. 

As Google moves from the web of strings (search queries) to the web of things (relationships) working on your entity becomes increasingly more important. Similarly, an understanding of natural language processing (NLP) and semantic search can provide a competitive edge.

Brand building, or building links around a brand is a fundamental part of marketing. If done properly, it can weather the storm in spite of algorithm updates. Wouldn’t that be nice—"worryless SEO?"

<a name ="buildYourBrand"></a>
## Building Your Brand Using Entity-Based SEO

In case you’re not familiar with what entities are and how they relate to SEO, I’d recommend checking out this article on <a href="https://www.searchenginejournal.com/entity-seo/277231/" target="blank">Search Engine Journal.</a> Entities are defined as, “A thing or concept that is singular, unique, well-defined and distinguishable.”

To illustrate this in something less abstract, entities often trigger knowledge panel results or additional SERP features. Unfortunately, Google doesn’t always get this correct. In most cases, this is due to multiple results that may be unclear.

As a simple example, the word “cars” could mean a lot of things. By itself (without any kind of clarification) you could be talking about any of the following:
●	An automobile
●	The Disney-Pixar movie
●	The 1970’s new wave band (You’re just what I needed…🎶)

![cars-image-carousel](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6qaYVk8xREa34y9gsGB9Zh/c1207d10db4bbfae91b9c7551236c665/cars-image-carousel.jpg)

However, when we provide additional context and add keywords to the page like, “1964 Shelby Cobra,” “muffler,” or “transmission system” it becomes quite clear that the keyword “cars” is clearly talking about an automobile.

![cars-disambiguation-image](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/14Z67XgL9HrKudpGCVa0mW/a4d901a4791c0561aece4eb190125580/cars-disambiguation-image.jpg)

Disambiguation can be a powerful thing when paired with the implementation of structured data markup.

## Brand-Based Link Building

<a href="https://www.link-assistant.com/news/entity-case-study.html" target="blank">Using entity-based SEO</a> can have a significant impact on brand visibility. When you get your entity right, it only takes a few links to provide a decent amount of “push.”

So how is this done? Connecting relationships between your brand and other keywords that are so strong, you’re seen as the definitive result.

Think about brands like Kleenex or Google. You’d never say, “I’m going to get a facial tissue”—you’d say please get me a Kleenex. This is because Kleenex has become synonymous with the brand. Some could even argue that they are THE brand and others are the generic version.

The same could be said about Google. We rarely say “I’m going to run a search query” on a particular topic. We say, “I’m going to Google that.”

While this is an overly simplified way to look at brand building, the concept should be quite clear. You want to be the definitive brand that represents the entity.

To start brand building, obviously consider all of the profiles that any business should have. These can provide additional signals that validate your entity:
- Google My Business (if a local business)
- Facebook
- Instagram
- Twitter
- Linkedin
- YouTube
- Yelp
- Pinterest
- Vimeo
- Foursquare
- Crunchbase

Branded properties help provide signals that can serve as a foundation for your link building efforts. Like our example of Kleenex and Google, we want to be ubiquitous. You don’t need to be active on each of the platforms, but claiming these profiles increases your brand’s footprint as well as prevents your competitors from hijacking your brand.

Next consider places in which you can start building brand signals. These could be places in which you share photos, whitepapers, resources, or news. You could also consider building citations as long as the site isn’t too spammy. 

To get you started, consider the following:
- Press release news rooms
- Whatsapp
- Tumblr
- Flickr
- Blogger
- Slideshare
- Issuu
- Medium
- Alignable
- Upcity
- Paper.li

When building these additional profiles, remember that you’re creating signals about your business. At this point, I’m not too concerned with follow vs nofollow links—it’s simply getting your name out there.

<a name="actionableLinkBuilding"></a>
## Actionable Link Building

Before embarking on a link building campaign, take a moment to develop your plan. Having a blueprint in place can help you identify potential pitfalls.

A blueprint can also serve as an anchor point that you can refer back to. I’ve found this to be invaluable, especially when you’re in the middle of a campaign and things get crazy.

Sometimes, you need that reference to keep the campaign focused and on-track.

The key questions to ask when creating your plan are:
1.	__What do you hope to accomplish with the campaign?__ This should follow SMART goal setting (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-based)
2.	__Who do you want a link from?__ Before starting a link building campaign, ask yourself who/where you want a link from‒this could be another website, social shares, public relations or brand recognition.
3.	__Is this time-sensitive or evergreen?__ I almost always opt for links to evergreen content, since they’re easier to obtain when content juicing.

<a name="contentJuicing"></a>
## Content Juicing

One of my favorite link building techniques is a repurposing technique I refer to as “content juicing.” 

This method leverages off-page branded assets that can pass link equity back to your primary property.

When you have a piece of content, think of the various ways that you could repurpose and leverage it on as many mediums as possible.

![content juicing diagram - link building technique](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5xdwzVnEAZhG97TRTHkBzY/585678e78e81b0da6559e43b63950193/content-juicing-diagram.png)

As an example, you might consider the following:
1.	Create a vlog or video interview
2.	Cut the vlog into short clips for snippets or social posts
3.	Separate the audio from the video and create a podcast
4.	Convert the audio to text using a service like Rev
5.	Add additional content to the text as necessary and use as a blog
6.	Create an infographic, incorporate visuals, and create a video thumbnail
7.	Create additional resources for your blog (Google slides can work very well for this purpose)
8.	Before publishing the blog, use the previous assets you’ve created to allow users to read, listen, or watch your blog—whichever happens to be their preferred medium

The key component of content juicing is to provide multiple platforms in which a user can engage with your content. Additionally, a call to action should assist in driving traffic back to your website. Ideally, this would be in the form of a link or call to action.

When considering this method, it’s important to run your properties through a link tracer, such as wheregoes.com or Link Redirect Trace Extension, to make sure that you’re getting value from the links you’re building.

<div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0;"><iframe src="https://www.loom.com/embed/c3ff8981a4174699a621ccd18096089b" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;"></iframe></div>

![link redirect trace Chrome Extension Example](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3c8V1Ks0Jaqvf4GALNPePW/f888499256605459b980628bb04233b0/link-redirect-trace.png)

<a name="leveragingAutomation"></a>

## Leveraging Automation

This is more of a content syndication method, not necessarily a link-building strategy. Still, it can enhance your brand signals, which can have an effect on people linking to you.

It goes without saying, but consider the platform you’re publishing content to. Facebook users consume content in a different way than Instagram users. 

Also, it’s important to note there’s no substitute for personalized engagement. Using automation to schedule or promote your content can buy you a ton of time!

Whether you do this manually or through automated processes is irrelevant. The point is that you want to promote your content on several channels and create signals that point back to your primary entity. 

Another benefit of automation is that you can schedule many top-of-funnel activities, such as posting your content and focus on engagement. Imagine, spending 2-3 hours on developing the content for the entire month, then interacting with users—this allows you to spend more time cultivating meaningful relationships.

<a name="walkingAMile"></a>
## Walking A Mile In Your Customer’s Shoes

Be honest, when was the last time you did a top-to-bottom screenshot of your website or social media page and analyzed it. 

For that matter, when was the last time you’d evaluated the engagement of a page?

It doesn’t have to be a laborious process. I’m talking super-simple, knee-jerk analysis:
- Is there cohesiveness in the links and messaging?
- Does your content elicit a reaction from people? If so, what does that look like?
- Is your content and backlink strategy in-line with what other big players in your industry are doing?

Doing something this simple can uncover some opportunities.

Consider interlinking content together using traditional silos throughout your branded properties. This is one way to funnel authority to your primary pieces of content. It’s also a powerful link building method that you can control.

Also, just because you’ve promoted a piece of content once or twice, doesn’t mean you have to stop. Keep building links to your evergreen content on a monthly basis. This will help increase the relevancy and authority of not only the link, but also your entity.

### Conclusion

Link building doesn’t have to be difficult. By focusing on your entity, creating quality brand signals, repurposing content into multiple mediums, you can create quality links. 

Quit thinking of yourself as an SEO or link builder. Instead, think of yourself as a marketer and focus on places you can promote the brand. This can help uncover opportunities you may have previously overlooked.

Remember: create for humans, optimize for bots.


content juicing diagram - link building technique

Backlinks still remain an integral part of how a website ranks. Build your brand and your backlinks at the same time using the 'content juicing' method and more.

Backlinks, love them, or hate them, are a critical component to doing search engine optimization.

Building Backlinks Should Be Building Your Brand

Are you wondering how to use keywords for search engine optimization (SEO)? Do you find yourself at a loss when figuring out where to put keywords in your content? Then you’re at the right place because we’ve dedicated this guide to telling you exactly where you need to use keywords for SEO so Google can rank your pages higher for those keywords.

Before we dive in any further though, let’s get this right off the bat – you need to use keywords in your content. Organic search is responsible for over half of website traffic, <a href="https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-101/seo-statistics/" target="blank">51% to be specific.</a> So it makes sense to conclude that your business is losing out on potential traffic, leads, and sales when you aren’t paying attention to adding keywords in your content. I suggest using a <a href="https://nozzle.io/" target="blank">rank tracker</a> to organize your keywords and monitor their performance. 

Now that we’re on the same page regarding the importance of keywords for better ranking, let’s talk key placement.

By the end of this guide, we’re hopeful you’ll learn exactly how to use keywords in your content naturally and strategically.

Let’s get started:

## Where to use keywords in your content: 7 different places to pop your KWs in

Here’s a handy infographic showing you the exact places you need to add keywords for SEO, followed by a detailed look at why you need include keywords in the places identified:

![Where to add keywords in your content for on page optimization](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6hXVqixeCkvxI8474uQyvq/977e623a117e00bf01e25c161e74b52e/Where_to_add_keywords_in_your_content_for_on_page_optimization.jpg)

### 1. Use keywords in your title tag

Your title tag is the first thing Google looks at when determining what your page covers. It’s also an invite for your readers, which helps them decide whether they’ll find what they’re looking for on your page.

As is common practice, invites are better off when they’re direct, which is why you need to add your keyword to your title tag.

Here are two proven tips for you to correctly use keywords in the title tag:

Use the keyword in the beginning of your title

- Although a title is worth a 100 characters, Google truncates the last 35 characters when displaying it.

![Use keywords in title tag for Keyword optimization - SERP screenshot](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/716KNvNEzzHOTgzkB2g1Vw/6caf9ea4d396a934475327da6e59954b/Use_Keywords_in_Title_Tag_-_SERP_screenshot_with_truncated_title_tag.png)

This means you need to add your keywords within the first 65 characters of your title so it shows up in search.

One good way of doing so is using the keyword right away. This is why you’ll find the following headline style common:

__Example keyword:__ Content repurposing

__Example title tag:__ Content Repurposing 101: Your Guide to Reusing Your Content for Maximum Reach

- Use the Yoast SEO plugin to differentiate your title tag and headline
You also need to know that there's a difference between the title tag and headline. The title tag is the title that displays on a search engine results page (SERPs). A headline, on the flip side, is your content’s title, displayed on your web page, and you can make both different using Yoast.

### 2. Add the SEO keyword in your meta description

The meta description is the small snippet that shows up below your title tag on a search results page.

![SERP Screenshot - Add the keyword in your meta description for on-page optimization](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7diSOZSr2ZeUFBOOkQpchu/df73551d2aecaf9944ddc1046b1d1130/On_page_optimization_-_Add_the_keyword_in_your_meta_description_-_SERP_Screenshot.png)

I like to think of it as a couple of enticing words that support the invite (your title tag), encouraging people to read your content. That’s what it technically does too.

Come to think of it – how many times have you found yourself reading the meta description to get a sense of what the content includes? In the example above, the meta descriptions give a quick idea of what’s included, like calendar, noting taking, and to-do lists apps in the piece by CNET.

You’ll find yourself clicking on the result with the meta description that speaks to you the most. This is also the exact reason why you need to add your keyword in the meta description – for the reader – encouraging him to click.

Of course, the more the clicks, the better your chances of ranking.

On a side note, Google does not pay attention to keywords in meta descriptions for ranking purposes. You’ll be adding your keyword here for the humans, not the bots that crawl the content for ranking.

Always keep the following trick in mind when adding keyword in meta description:

- Use keyword in the beginning of your meta description
You have between 55-160 characters in a meta description before it’s chopped off by Google like a title tag. Therefore, a keyword toward the start of your meta description is a better idea.

### 3. Include your keyword in the URL

The URL is another important place Google looks at when figuring out what your page talks about. From a reader’s lens, the URL needs to be simple so it’s easy to recall.

Think of it like this – a visitor enjoys your content, even remembers your site, but not the exact title of your content. He has two options. Either he heads back to your site and does a site search or he remembers your URL and types it in.

Even typing the basics like “Visme how to make an infographic,” for example, can instantly spit out your piece (because how to make an infographic is what’s in the URL)

![SERP screenshot showing keyword in the url for keyword optimization](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7Gfn6xjEXZAr6T2tFZHaX6/7fc1ac42ae2bc83f357d2d07da61162f/SERP_screenshot_showing_keyword_in_the_url_for_keyword_optimization.png)

Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Plus, here are your tips for adding keywords for SEO in your URL:

- Add nothing but the keywords in your URL
- Remove any extra hyphens or punctuation marks so it’s clean and crisp – ideal to remember

Note the difference between an SEO-optimized URL and one that’s not tended to:

❌  __Bad URL example:__

https://xyz.com/content-marketing-tips-that-will-blow-your-mind-away-in-2020

✔  __Good example:__ 

https://contently.com/2020/01/08/content-marketing-2020-tips/

### 4. Don’t forget to include keywords to your content headings

Heading tags like the H1, H2, H3, and other tags guide Google regarding what’s on your page.

As for the reader, headings and subheading improve reading experience. How, you ask? One, by dividing the piece into readable blocks of text so readers don’t run into an ugly, I’d-rather-not-read wall of text (remember, you’re writing for the web – not an essay for your English teacher). And, two, by showing readers what’s covered on the page. This way, your reader can scan and tell if your piece is worth reading or not.

Here’s how to play with keyword placement when it comes to headings:

- Add your keywords in the H1 heading
You have two options here. Either include your keyword-packed H1 heading straightaway. Note how Fingerprint for Success does that:

![How to use keywords for SEO - Keywords in heading tags](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/542nWo3NCkSVrIhsq7mYB6/36033752eb806192bc4f29c0d7374e05/How_to_use_keywords_for_SEO_-_Keywords_in_heading_tags.png)
<center><a href="https://www.fingerprintforsuccess.com/blog/defeatist-attitude" target="blank">Source</a></center>

Or, include your H1 after the intro just as G2 Learning Hub here:

![On page optimization in SEO - keywords in H1 tag](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1dIfENgGMpQ5YZmIgoPACN/2868cd99913068912d04ba71674ac03f/On_page_optimization_in_SEO_-_keywords_in_H1_tag.png)
<center><a href="https://learn.g2.com/graphic-design-mistakes" target='blank'>Source</a></center>

- Keywords in your subheadings H2, H3, and so on
This one’s important because keywords in your subheadings can show up in Google’s answer boxes or featured snippets like here:

![How to use long tail keywords - keywords in subheading H2, H3, H4](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/54xCFziep3qttrClmgI652/786173230a96e45440645f5c0ea6f1b8/How_to_use_long_tail_keywords_-_keywords_in_subheading_H2__H3__H4.png)

__Tip:__ Make sure you add keywords in your subheadings at least 2-3 times.

### 5. Sprinkle in keywords throughout the content

But don’t be a douchebag about it. Meaning: use them naturally + subtly. Here’s where your keywords will go:

- First paragraph
This requires you to be creative to get the keyword in the first line. If not, keep it to the first paragraph. 

- Throughout your content
It’s best to use keyword variations and long-tail keywords here. One quick way to find these is to conduct a quick Google search and see what results show in the search box:

![Using long tail keywords for seo within content - Find them in Google search dropdown](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/76xWtVDuMa33aU3I8xq4IB/95858f0dbd8d45ddb62ec57673241590/Using_long_tail_keywords_for_seo_within_content_-_Find_them_on_Google_search_dropdown.png)

Also look at the related searches and use them as your keywords variations. Find these at the bottom of the SERP:

![Search engine optimization keywords - Screenshot of bottom of SERP](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7u8tVTju20cjHkJYaEef5u/952420773b05de518be6e89f4deb05e0/Search_engine_optimization_keywords_-_Screenshot_of_bottom_of_SERP.png)

- Last paragraph
Bonus points for slipping your keywords in your last subheading too.

__Tip:__ Don’t be spammy and overstuff keywords. Remember you’re writing mostly for humans while ensuring the bots see your page too.

### 6. Include keywords with images too

Google indexes images. So when a reader clicks on the ‘images’ search option, he finds all the images with the keywords. Naturally, this makes your content more findable.

Here’s an example: My featured image for ‘email writing tips’ is ranking among Google’s images, but not in the SERPs. 😀 See the difference using keywords in your images can make?

![SEO keyword optimization - Use keywords in alt text and image file names](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3OQFcDwMMhIwnUTtTAvGgg/5c71d86bd417f57361ad027188156482/SEO_keyword_optimization_-_Use_keywords_in_alt_text_and_image_file_names.png)

You have two places to work your keywords with images:

- Image file name
This helps you get your images indexed on Google. A handy way to go about doing this is naming your image files and screenshots with the keyword or its variations as you save them.

- Alt text
Keywords in alt text play another important role – they make your content accessible. Wait, what? Yep. Alt text are small tags that pop up when you hover your mouse over an image. This is, particularly, helpful for those with visual impairments. Alt text is also great for making content readable for those who block images.

__Tip:__ Don’t use the main keyword only. Use variations and synonyms so people and search engines can better understand what your image talks about.

### 7. Last on how to use keywords: add them to links

Links? Yes, you heard that right. This applies to both incoming and outgoing links.

Let’s elaborate. Incoming links are links that come to your site. Of course, you have little control over these. But, when you’re consciously building links, say using any of the <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/5-proven-off-page-seo-tactics-to-help-you-build-powerful-links-in-no-time/" target='blank'>off-page SEO tactics</a> like guest posting, you can have a say.

In that case, request the site linking to you to use your keyword phrase to link to your page. The keyword-packed text used here is the anchor text and it’s <a href="https://www.wordstream.com/anchor-text" target='blank'>an important signal Google uses to determine</a> what a web page covers. Don’t forget to make sure the linked page talks about the keyword. Otherwise, you’d be linking to the wrong page – misleading readers. That’s a big no-no.

On the other hand, outgoing links are links that go from your page to another one of your pages. Hence, when you’re internally linking content (just as I did above with off-page SEO tactics), make sure you use the right keyword too.

But here’s an important __tip__: always vary the keyword text linking to you. Using the same text for every internal link sends the wrong signal to Google, which can get you penalized.

### How to use keywords for SEO: Best practices

The truth is – an important difference between good content and poor content is that the former uses keywords as naturally as possible. Poor content, on the flip side, adds a chock-full of keywords in the content and throws it to their reader. How well do you think a reader will receive it? Pretty bad, if you ask me.

So here’s what you need to do:

- Always use keywords natural and subtly. This way your readers learn your content is answering their questions and isn’t written to please the search engine solely.

- Write for humans. Ultimately, Google appreciates and rewards in ranking the content that its users click, spend most time on, and link to. So if your post doesn’t satisfy them, it won’t be long before your ranking tanks. Or, like Wendy Piersall says, “Google only loves you when everyone else loves you first.”

- Stick with using keyword variations, synonyms, and long-tail keywords. These are different versions of your primary keyword. Using them comes with a serious advantage – you don’t sound repetitive and unnatural with your keyword usage.

### Go on and use keywords in your content

So what are you waiting for? Now that you know where it’s best to use keywords in your content, you’re in a better place to create content that ranks. Remember, keywords go into your title tag, meta description, URL, headings, and images. Slip them into the rest of the content and add keywords to anchor texts too.

Where to add keywords in your content for on page optimization

Are you wondering how to use keywords for SEO? Nozzle presents a comprehnsive on page optimization guide plus infographic. Optimize your pages today to get more traffic tomorrow.

Keyword placement guide for on page optimization. Get optimizing!

Where to add keywords in your content to improve your ranking? [Infographic Included]

Keyword Optimization: Where and how to use keywords in your content to improve your ranking

![Top SEO Tweets of 2019](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5szGbN7kR7YvyJtVC2jwjA/af19af52a9de473566ee6687c9985258/___2_.gif)

I personally scoured over 700 twitter accounts to find the most popular SEO related tweets during 2019.

To be including in the list, tweets had to meet the following criteria:

- Included more than 600 likes, retweets, and comments combined 
- Related to SEO in some way, shape or form
- Was tweeted from a personal twitter account
- Was not negative towards another human being
- Was found by me 😊😉 

(If you know of any tweets that meet the criteria above that I failed to include, please message me on twitter: @boydnorwood.)

This post was supposed to be published in late January but it took longer to do the research than anticipated (and then a pandemic threw things off), but I'm glad I stuck with it because there are some great gems in this list. Also, doing all this research is how I found almost all of the tweets I included in my <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/seo-humor-from-the-twitterverse" target="blank">SEO humor article</a>.

> [[[<a href="https://nozzle.io/paa" target="blank">We interrupt this blog post to announce that you can get a list of all the questions listed in PAA boxes across 200 SERPs for free and for funsies.</a>]]]

And now, without further ado, lets look back at what the SEO world was like last year so we can reminisce what occupied our brilliant SEO minds before the pandemic.

By default, the tweets below are sorted in ascending order according to total engagements.

<center>__Click on any of the filter buttons below to see only tweets related to specific topics.__</center>

Top SEO Tweets of 2019

Come on in to find a list of the 57 most popular SEO tweets of 2019.

Tweet List

Top SEO Tweets From 2019

If your company offers a scholarship to prospective and current college students, then good on you. Now you need to advertise your scholarship opportunity in as many places as possible to reach as many of your targeted students as possible.

![Scholarship Link Building](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/tgxej5RwuY9xVBeEKH8vV/d04d0cf4d014cf1abc85f32796bb95a2/Scholarship_Link_Building_smaller_size.png)

Below is a list I compiled that will get your scholarship seen. Some of them will turn into links back to your website which is also a side benefit.

- https://www.fastweb.com/

You can submit scholarships for free as long as you follow the following criteria: https://www.fastweb.com/content/scholarship-provider-guidelines

It doesn't appear that it will become a link but it will be a brand mention and potentially get some exposure.

- https://studentscholarships.org

An example with a followed link: https://studentscholarships.org/2020_college_scholarships.php

Adding a scholarship appears to be free: https://studentscholarships.org/scholarship_upload.php

- https://www.honorsociety.org/scholarship-directory

Followed links and category pages like, https://www.honorsociety.org/scholarship-directory?tid=38905 and company/scholarship pages like, https://www.honorsociety.org/scholarships/king-charles-lucille-family-foundation-undergraduate-scholarships

I can't find an easy way to submit a scholarship. The best option I found so far, besides calling them, is https://support.honorsociety.org/hc/en-us/requests/new

- https://brokescholar.com/scholarship

The scholarship page includes a nofollowed button link to your scholarship page on your website. Click on any of the scholarship by study area pages, then a scholarship listed to see an example.

Fill out their contact form here: https://www.brokescholar.com/contact

- https://scholarshipowl.com

Submit scholarship here: https://scholarshipowl.com/list-your-scholarship

There directory appears to hide behind a login so it won't count for links but it can still get you some exposure to students.

- https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Training/find-scholarships.aspx

Followed link from scholarship listing page: https://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/training/find-scholarships.aspx?keyword=textile&sortcolumns=BestMatch&sortdirections=&lang=en&scholarshipid=9998315

How to submit scholarship: https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Training/scholarship-finder-help.aspx. "How can I add, remove, or change scholarship information provided by Scholarship Finder? Requests for additions, removals, or any other changes can be sent to info@careeronestop.org."

- https://www.tuitionfundingsources.com/

Directory is hidden behind membership account but still worth submitting.

- https://www.chegg.com/scholarships

There is a followed link from the scholarship listing page. Example: https://www.chegg.com/scholarships/james-j-burns-ca-haynes-textile-scholarship-2380

I could not find a contact form. So call or fill out form to find out how to submit scholarship opportunity. https://www.chegg.com/press/contact-us/


- https://www.scholarships.com/

Several individual scholarship listing pages did not link to their website. Here is one example: https://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarship-directory/artistic-ability/art-furnishing-and-design/agl-over-the-rainbow-foundation. 

But I found this, https://www.scholarships.com/scholarship-providers-resources/scholarship-provider-guidelines/, which says, "Scholarship URL must link directly to provider’s scholarship page. Scholarship information landing pages must be hosted on a web page specific to the scholarship, at a domain/URL registered to the scholarship provider." So it seems like you can get a link.

The submission form is here: https://www.scholarships.com/scholarship-providers-resources/list-your-scholarship/create-account

- https://www.listsofscholarships.com

This site lists your scholarship with a followed link. Example: - https://www.listsofscholarships.com/avalaunch-media-scholarship/

To post your scholarship, go here: https://www.listsofscholarships.com/post/

Scholarship Link Building

If you have a scholarship opportunity, you need to advertise it properly to get as many links as possible and to be found by as many college students as possible.

Learn how to advertise your scholarship opportunity as many potential students as possible can apply.

Scholarship Link Building and Getting the Word Out

How to Properly Advertise Your Brand's Scholarship Opportunity - Scholarship Link Building

## What is a SERP and why does it matter?

SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. When you enter a search term into Google, the search engine will return a list of matching results based on their algorithms. Google’s <a href="https://nozzle.io/features">search engine position analysis</a> is based on keyword rankings and how well the content is displayed to the user. This allows Google to show the user what is most related to their search. For example, when you enter the search phrase, “What is a SERP” into Google’s search engine, it will return about 7 million results. Google will also tell you how long it took them to return that many results, in this case, just 0.74 seconds. 

![What is a SERP](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1mlK5mCwFKJtxYo2nmJRp1/a07453d11956fa10004afa6de146a514/what_is_a_serp.png)

Right below that, you’ll see what Google’s algorithm has decided is the best match for your search term, such as a definition from Wikipedia. You may get results for similar queries, which Google outlines in a box called “People also ask” with dropdown selections for answers. Depending on what you searched for from recipes to products, you’ll get a variety of different results designed specifically for that kind of query.

![What is a SERP image](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4yhU0Pm0TXMls56CbHSML4/da56ca3bc6e53e9204c9af5a1d035802/What_is_a_SERP_Google_Search.png)

Below the boxed results, you’ll see the illustrious top nine pages of Google’s indexed pages that its algorithm has deemed most relevant to your search. If you’re trying to be found on the Internet through a Google search, your goal is to appear on page one of the SERPs. This is important because most users don’t look at anything beyond the top five results, let alone venturing onto page three or four of the SERPs. 

Of course, it wasn’t always this way. During its early days, Google simply returned a set of 10 links per page for users to browse through. This is how Google a SERP looked in 1998.

![Google Search 1998](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6kQnX4nrKF9a2VDP7GeEY3/a6124cb56e8fa30c16ce9c894aedf9d9/Google_Search_1998.png)

As search became more sophisticated, so did the SERPs. In 2005, sitelinks appeared in search results for the first time. Engineers at Google determined searchers’ eye patterns when looking at SERPs started basing results on the Golden Triangle -- eye patterns that start in the upper left corner of a screen and then down to the third or fourth search result and back up to the first result. 

![Google eye tracking - Golden Triangle](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4gAawjKJm23ZZL1ReOJXdM/2c50cd7fd965be7c6f938bbe9b716b8d/Golden_Triangle.jpg)

In 2007, Google’s universal search was introduced. In what was considered a radical change to search at the time, Google implemented a universal search system that blended listings from news, images, video, local, maps, and book search engines. Google purchased YouTube in 2006, so results from videos were also included in this new universal search integration.

![Universal Search](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/zOycZalYLD2CdQbnwGLfo/0b4260205f60d812a5eac5312709a2f1/Universal_Search.jpg)

In 2008, Google introduced the auto-suggestions feature in the search bar. Using predictive text, Google started auto-completing searcher’s queries as a way of speeding up the process by attempting to predict what a user is trying to find.

![Google Auto Suggest](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/GnpongyzUcGDNaPoXRNw7/a4e446ae0fa4533d848c47b8dbf7aca9/Google_Auto_Suggest.PNG)

Google Search results included images as early as 2000, but became exceptionally dialed in 2011, when the “Search by Image” feature was added. This allows users to reverse search images in the search bar to find similar results from an uploaded sample image. They also created a way for users to sort by subject to help them find what they were looking for. 

![Google Image Search](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5ntuRf09mWQhL4EVl58mVo/eb3c97574e6ab20a401f65df3527b782/Google_Image_Search.jpg)

In 2012, Google debuted the knowledge graph with the intent of eliminating the need for users to visit another website, such as Wikipedia for general information. 

![Google Knowledge Graph](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2rZihO8us7NU7ii3bZbm5C/d94b1e44a840dd6a440deed213f61519/Google_Knowledge_Graph.png)

The “3-Pack” appeared in 2014. Also referred to as the Snack Pack, this was Google’s way of highlighting the top three results for local SERPs based on a user’s location and query. This was a game-changer for local search. The local 3-pack appears in the first position 93% of the time so businesses optimized for local search have a much better chance of ranking at the top of the SERP. 

![Google snack pack](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/14WS9glgczyDYnp9gBjzFU/e3224691b1ddad3d3a24b2a54043fd71/snack_pack.png)

In 2019, Google started labeling advertisements more clearly for mobile search. They created black “Ad” labels to help searchers sift through results faster. They also added a local “search by photos” option that enables users to get visual results along with descriptions for their searches, which is helpful for restaurants and other businesses.

![Pizza on Google Search](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7rTT2IQCeOYCs76Q1q10mt/9133fefceb512a332df4efa5e417e40c/Pizza_on_Google_Search.png)

Google has made many changes to the SERP over the yaers and will continue to do so. If you want to be alerted real time to new Google changes, then you need a <a href="https://nozzle.io">keyword rank checker tool</a> that tracks the whole SERP. 


Image of Google Search - image was labeled for reuse in Google Image Search

Google SERP

SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. When you enter a search term into Google, the search engine will return a list of matching results based on their algorithms.  During its early days, Google simply returned a set of 10 links per page for users to browse through. Since then, Google has radically changed the way users find information.

Evolution of the Google SERP

Evolution of the Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page)

In order to try and obtain some more links for Nozzle, I found a list of startups from a blog posted by Twoodo.

![list of startups tweedo blog post screenshot](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1uGXRKvPViIAtYwBpRXMfB/96a68f95115aa71afbf29cdd92e91c05/twoodo.jpg)

As a SaaS startup, we have been looking for places to promote Nozzle and get more brand exposure, traffic, and links.
We came across Twoodo’s list of 33 startup directories that are mostly geared towards SaaS and web apps.

Out of 33 websites, I was able to submit Nozzle to 10 of them with mixed results. Some of the submissions are still pending review. I'll come back and update the following information as we hear back from those sites.

## The 10 sites I submitted to:

1.       Alternative To- This was a really easy submission process. I entered information about Nozzle, as well as added competitors of our product.
![AlternativeTo nozzle submission screenshot ](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/33MXafrHgMNyG0jriBTqzW/ea7809fc991ab65444fbda53f1013c74/alternative_to.png)
 
2.       CrunchBase- Another easy submission asking for company name, description and location. I also recommend connecting founders and employee profiles to the company profile and adding your company’s LinkedIn and Twitter profiles.
![Crunch base nozzle submission screenshot](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/11qmZAN8P39uyAzv42licX/12a7fac7e527628b8adc396d6b2fb998/crunchbase.png)
                                                                                
 
3.       Listly- Listly is unlike the previous two. It’s a website where people can create lists about products, services, and so on. I made a list of 5 rank trackers, and included Nozzle. Listly was more difficult to navigate compared to the others. The list I made as well didn’t come out in the order I wanted it to. I’ll try and see if that can be fixed.

![Listly top 5 rank trackers including nozzle](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6DLJVdSMlBEqDt1mHdTYlg/d82883829ad58923d8741080e1dc3b31/listly.jpg)


4.       BetaList- BetaList was an easy website to navigate, and I was able to submit Nozzle to be reviewed. I have not heard anything back yet, and BetaList said it could take a month or more for my application to be reviewed.

![Betalist home page screenshot](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6DlMK341Hg40Fb1E3s568e/45608a1cf33ac772e65b95ca346e5164/betalist.jpg)



5.       Top Alternative- Top Alternative easily allowed me to submit Nozzle for a review. I haven’t heard anything back since my submission.
 
 
6.       Launching Next- Launching Next had an easy submission form in order to submit a startup. Once submitting Nozzle, I had a message pop up on my screen telling me it could be 2-4 months before our application is reviewed. 7.       Killer Startups- Killer Startups was another easy submission to fill out with our information. Once submitted, I was told that it could take up to 90 days to review. 

![Launching next home page](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4F9Fj5ODYzhbxUe0RYeXPd/2e8b0419281ed1d8a39439c3693507e6/launching_next.png)


Capterra- Capterra’s submission process was easy. After going back on the site, I couldn’t find the exact place where I had submitted our application. I received a  message back that they needed more information about Nozzle in order to process our application. I’m waiting to hear back about what the next steps are.
  
Hacker News- Hacker News is like Reddit, where you submit different ideas or questions as threads. I submitted a question asking if people are looking for a rank tracking tool. 
I don’t recommend submitting to this site unless you are going to invest some time to learn how to properly engage with its audience.

Addictive Tips- On Addictive Tips, I sent in a  message talking about our work here at Nozzle, being an enterprise level rank tracking tool and how we stand out against our competitors. At this time, I haven’t received a link or a message back.

![Addictive tips tip us page](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7fuJeWArOaTss1pcnWRzFP/f76baf59ff3951f8c1ae99fd5bfea161/addictive_tips.jpg)

 Mashable- On Mashable, I submitted a  “Hot Tip” about Nozzle. I haven’t heard back yet at this time regarding if Nozzle would be featured or not.

## Some of the sites I didn’t submit to:
The following sites require payment and I haven’t tested any of them as of yet: GetApp, Erlibird, Top Alternative, and App Appeal. This next group of sites don’t exist anymore: Maqtoob, Start Up Vid, The Next Web Marketplace, About Your Startup, Launch Sky and Startups FM.
![Money](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4A5Fw5LRl8c6vCK077D0th/ecdb720180a20dcce5b9e7f763861d73/giphy.gif)

I tried submitting Nozzle to New Big What but after filling out the application I was denied because my browser was a “spambot”. I found that funny.

# And finally, the following sites weren’t a good fit for the industry that Nozzle is in:
Product Hunt, AngelList, All Web 2, TechCrunch, Startup Tank, AppStorm, Upload.com, Fuel Up, Reddit, Gust, and Clpud base 3.

![Not a good fit](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1Wt49vKl2OeGWA3w4YZOhh/ae8acaecc86ab0de95b2dd24f782c297/giphy.gif)

Overall, submitting to these start-up, SaaS directories was okay. Hopefully my successes and findings above will help you save time so you can focus only on the handful that worked. 


Tanner Linsley

tanner

Finding SAAS Directories from a Blog Post

Our results from submitting to various SAAS directories off the Twoodo Blog

Our Results Submitting to SaaS Directories

Have you ever pondered the time disparity between how long it takes to build something versus destroy it?

For example:

- I spent dozens of hours over the course of five months putting together a 5,000 piece puzzle; it took only 2 minutes to destroy it and put it back into the box.
- A building takes months to construct and days to demolish.
- A great marriage takes years to nurture and develop but can be ruined in a matter of weeks, days, or even minutes.
- A wooden marble track I build with my kids takes minutes to construct but one accidental movement knocks it down in seconds.

The same fast-acting destruction can happen to all of your hard work and efforts in SEO. It takes weeks, months, and years to build up a well optimized site with tons of authority and backlinks and buttoned up technical SEO. In a matter of minutes, it can all be destroyed because of a simple mistake, oversight, or decision made by the upper brass.

Let's take a look at five destructive SEO tactics--er--mishaps that can ruin all your SEO progress before you finish reading this post.

## 1. Noindexing your whole site

![car crashing into garage door is like noindexing your website](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3CEjn5gIFrO1Lna0DYpMao/0a90efcf44da1694285bd4e8ee904bd2/car_crashing_into_garage_door_is_like_noindexing_your_website.gif)

I've seen this happen several times over the years, mostly by accident.

One website I worked on a few years back launched some site updates with their robots.txt file disallowing their whole site. This company lost weeks of organic traffic before anyone realized this huge oversight. Unfortunately, this happened twice.

It makes sense to have your staging site disallow search engine indexing but you need to have a process in place to change that when you launch. Since this time, they have added an automated process that corrects the robots.txt file when moving from staging to launched.

## 2. Deleting all of your informational pages

![shooting a pole at a window pane is like deleting all of your informational and authoritative web pages](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2qxfOayNOxVc4Ytv6LkM8X/e5c8a1ad426d0d07106a4adac23f9bfb/shooting_a_pole_at_a_window_pane_is_like_deleting_all_of_your_informational_and_authoritative_web_pages.gif)

Rankings and organic traffic can suffer as a result of business decisions. Eoghan Henn, co founder of <a href="https://www.searchviu.com/en/" target="blank">searchVIU</a>, shared a case study that showed the <a href="https://searchengineland.com/case-study-the-true-value-of-informational-content-for-e-commerce-seo-327692" target="blank">negative impact of deleting informational pages with link authority</a> from a website.

The homepage and category pages lost most of their top rankings for search queries responsible for generating revenue for the company resulting in a loss of about one-third of its overall visibility in the SERPs. Ouch! 

## 3. Failing to redirect an old domain to a new domain

![knocking down shelfs with a forklift is like not implementing 301 redirects properly](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/PWv0RVJUaC8A4qJJdb5oe/3d5942acf73dd3e91d514c2c411e01c0/knocking_down_shelfs_with_a_forklift_is_like_not_implementing_301_redirects_properly.gif)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A disappointing few months on this one...client moving domains wouldn&#39;t redirect the previous domain. Even worse, they then let the old domain expire &amp; it&#39;s been grabbed by someone else. We gave them *plenty* of warnings...it had 1 million links pointing to it 😱 <a href="https://t.co/Zbd0hC44W2">pic.twitter.com/Zbd0hC44W2</a></p>&mdash; Will O&#39;Hara 👨🏽‍💻 (@willohara) <a href="https://twitter.com/willohara/status/1132750204661305351?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This has to be one of the saddest SEO stories out there. Unfortunately, it happens way more than it should.

Here's another example from the same twitter thread. As you can see, we SEOs like to commiserate with each other.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Been there. Site&#39;s blog had 800k links, 10k pages of content, and back when we measured those things? A PR10. <br><br>They moved it to Tumblr, carried over none of content, and redirected none of the pages. <br><br>I nearly cried lol<br><br>So hard to save clients from themselves at times :)</p>&mdash; Kristine Schachinger (@schachin) <a href="https://twitter.com/schachin/status/1132952136730308608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


## 4. Removing a large quantity of valuable backlinks

![exploding a watermelon with rubberbands is like deleting your backlinks one by one](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5FUWKi8EPbH76qBlTVXARV/ec96b5e5d586b0226393d63b70b191fc/exploding_a_watermelon_with_rubberbands_is_like_deleting_your_backlinks_one_by_one.gif)

One healthcare company, after an FDA inspection, decided to immediately ask hundreds of websites to remove the link pointing to their website until approved content could be verified.  As a result, a large quantity of their links disappeared over night.

Eventually, most of those links were reacquired once they could verify that all verbiage on each individual site was compliant with the FDA's approved messaging.

## 5. Not adding optimized content to every important page

![house falling into a river is like ignoring adding optimized content to your web pages](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7LfeTRdr7tSLSLCMQPCwL2/f0dffbbf4ac70eecc3d23b798371cba9/house_falling_into_a_river_is_like_ignoring_adding_optimized_content_to_your_web_pages.gif)

Every important page on a website will fare better with optimized content. Choosing to not add more content to important pages can hurt your ability to rank for more keywords.

I recently wrote about the <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/success-story-adding-content-to-ecommerce-category-pages" target="blank">results of one ecommerce site</a> that added a few paragraphs of content to all their ecommerce category landing pages. After it was all done, they ranked in the top ten for 800 more phrases than before they added the content.

__In Conclusion:__

Sometimes frustrating decisions are made that affect your job as an SEO. Do your best to communicate to the decision makers the ranking and organic traffic consequences and what that will mean to the bottom line. You can't win them all but you can come out looking like you know what you're talking about.

In the end, if you can avoid any of the above SEO disasters, then give yourself a pat on the back.


car crashing into garage door is like noindexing your website

In business, decisions sometimes are made that will impede or destroy all of your SEO progress. Look out for these and good luck.

5 Destructive SEO Decisions

What are the benefits of tracking your competitors rankings alongside your own with a <a href="https://nozzle.io/features">SERP tracking tool</a>?

- To identify, in realtime, any big fluctuations in the SERPs for your keywords so you can analyze those URLs to see what has changed
- To know which competitors show up the most in the top ten across the board for all your keywords
- To easily see which domains own spots in featured snippets, video packs, image packs, local packs, etc.

![Monitoring all of your SERP competitors](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/ZkYdP0KaUYmx56LmxUuKt/e6993f2bf39196673c0f7507e8db324b/Monitoring_all_of_your_SERP_competitors.gif)

Why does Nozzle allow you to track an unlimited amount of competitors?

- When a new competitor pops up in the top ten that you haven't noticed before, you can add them to your list of competitors and we'll rewrite history for you so you can see the history of their movements as if you'd been tracking them from the start.
- With reputation management, it's sometimes tricky to know which of the sites in the top 30 have the ability to move up to page 1 to push down the negative results. This is why you'll want to keep an eye on 30-40 "SERP competitors"--to be able to have the data on which of these you should continue to put more resources into higher rankings.
- You are not just competing against known brand name competitors but any URL that shows up in the same SERP that you are working to climb. And when you multiply this across thousands of keywords, you're going to want to use a <a href="https://nozzle.io/" target="blank">keyword rank tracker tool</a> to monitor more than just a few competitors. 

So <a href="https://nozzle.io/trial">start tracking unimited competitors today</a> with Nozzle and don't listen to anyone who claims <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/is-seo-dead/">SEO is dead</a>, otherwise your competitors will win.

Monitoring all of your SERP competitors

Why does Nozzle allow you to track an unlimited amount of competitors? Because we can. :)

Track SERP Rankings for an Unlimited Amount of Competitors with Nozzle

Track SERP Rankings for an Unlimited Amount of Competitors with Nozzle | SEO Competitor Rank Tracker Tool

As with almost all things SEO, there are varying opinions about adding content to e-commerce category pages.

Some argue that a few paragraphs of content on a product category page isn't going to make much of a difference in terms of rankings and could distract people from clicking through to the product pages.

My counter-argument is that you can always place the content below the product listings to not distract from the products or write better content that visitors are happy to read.

Another argument is that successful e-commerce sites like REI.com and Zappos.com don't include content on their category pages so, why should I?

In response, I would ask: do you have as many inbound links and as much authority as they have? Furthermore, just because other sites are doing something a certain way doesn't mean that you shouldn't try something different.

Anywho, you should always be testing different tweaks to see what works best for your site, in your industry to get the best ranking results that you can.

Let's take a look at the results for one e-commerce website in terms of number of keywords ranking in the top 10 before and after adding a few paragraphs of content to their category pages.

Back in August of 2018, I began overseeing this campaign. At this time, none of their category pages contained any content other than their product listings.

We began adding 3-5 paragraphs of content to 20-30 pages a month starting in September, and finished the content additions to all category pages in January 2019. 

First, let's look at sitewide gains.

This first image shows the growth in number of phrases ranking in the top ten from August 2018 to February 2019.

![growth of total number of keywords in top 10 positions](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/Dv67HrMHbVqB1ecmoMseb/8e2f23084b32b528f60d73e3a44e9d84/growth_of_total_number_of_keywords_in_top_10_positions.jpg)

Here is the increase in just top 3 positions:

![growth of total number of keywords in top 3 positions](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6YyHIfqGTLCd3MvyrmiPX8/348f85e6c1d7a594f494e8b60ddc884f/growth_of_total_number_of_keywords_in_top_3_positions.jpg)

Here is the increase in positions 4-10:

![growth of total number of keywords in positions 4-10](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5wxnpwdzKhBHzf33mg53pj/a6b187117f5a4d9db0c4c44c7d636908/growth_of_total_number_of_keywords_in_positions_4-10.jpg)

To be fair, there were more SEO things happening on the site during this time period too but I can assure you that only a handful of new links were acquired during that time frame and all of them pointed to the homepage. We also added canonical tags to the site in September. And we also used the opportunity to add a couple internal links to other pages from within the new content that we added.

But to get more granular, let's take a look at 5 specific category pages that we added content to and their keyword ranking improvements during this time period.

![1st Category Page ranking improvements](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5WWNaTcoKxM6OIqbHJrWse/78d99622fd8ebd902abcb395ff52d661/1st_Category_Page.jpg)

![2nd Category Page ranking improvements](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4uvX73eI2f5e6tjtG7cCjL/8797c2496ef1cb3f7a9377dedd910453/2nd_Category_Page.jpg)

![3rd category page ranking improvements](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/E8VNNrgi9eeq3jhacKzE6/936636396e8e7285b3b286631486ec7a/3rd_category_page.jpg)

![4th Category Page ranking improvements](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5Hi9u3kmRSQ8pqUT8xQV8H/a68cb22cdc613fdcd869b5f226f1d075/4th_Category_Page.jpg)

![5th Category Page ranking improvements](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4aE3aIarUmQFfIgaRzChPm/337498f1c8ca41bd8f0cb0b3c7e5d1ba/5th_Category_Page.jpg)

There are dozens of more examples of category pages with similar increases. Some of the increases started in November, December or January based on the timeline of when we got to those pages.

These increased rankings obviously resulted in more organic traffic to the site and has proven to be one example of why you should test adding content to e-commerce category pages.

Now go learn <a href="https://www.searchbloom.com/blog/6-ways-smaller-companies-can-keep-up-with-ecommerce-giants/" target="blank">6 additional ways to compete with ecommerce giants</a> in your same industry.

growth of total number of keywords in top 3 positions

Success story from adding content to an ecommerce site's category pages.

Success Story: Adding Content to eCommerce Category Pages

Funny SEO Jokes and Humor from the Twitterverse

SEO Humor from the Twitterverse

SEO Humor from the Twitterverse - Funny SEO Jokes, Moments & Memes 

In the video below, Ty Kilgore shares his experience with personas and how spending time to create in-depth personas will create a strong foundation that will help guide the rest of your marketing efforts.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SfxixxZUC8I" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<p>
All right guys, one mistake that so many digital marketers make early on in their career, and I know I kind of made this mistake as well, is figuring out and fine tuning who your target demographic is and who you’re actually trying to target as a business owner or as a marketing strategy. 

You’re trying to understand who you’re trying to reach and sometimes what happens is that people are making things too broad. 

In today’s marketing world, in order for you to have success, you have to narrow in on who you’re trying to reach and what their pain points are. 

So understanding who your target demographic is, is everything when it comes to digital marketing. 

It’s something that I thought that as I got into it, I was learning the tactics and I was learning the strategies and I was learning how to do keyword research and how to do content creation but one of the big missing elements, looking back on my career now, is realizing the pain point of figuring out who I was trying to serve. 

I continue to see this as I audit sites and as I look at different people’s business models.

What I find in the marketing world is too many people have the 'me too' or a 'following' mentality meaning they are just trying to follow what other established businesses in their industry are doing.

In business, you absolutely have to make yourself unique. You have to have a strong 'why'. And you absolutely have to make yourself stand out amongst your competition. You cannot just follow what other people are doing and expect to have success. 

But when you look at people’s marketing strategies, they are mostly just following what other people are doing. 

So let me just break this down a little bit. Whether your selling B2B or B2C you have to know what is keeping your potential customer up at night? What exactly is their pain point and how can your product or service or information provide relief for that pain?

You need to spend the time to create in-depth personas for the people who will be buying from you.

In the beginning of my career, I did not really put a lot of emphasis on creating personas but I have since realized the importance of doing so. 

### The very first step in figuring out who you serve is to ask yourself some very obvious questions. 

- What is their name? 
- What is their age? 
- What is their education level? 
- What are their pain points?
- What are they trying to achieve? 
- What keeps them up at night? 
- What are some of their hobbies? 
- What kind of car do they have? 
- What kind of house do they live in?
- What type of individual concerns do they have on the weekend? 
- What does their weekend look like? 

Now, you might think that’s a little over the top. __*It’s not!*__

Once you understand everything about your customer, you can provide a better
marketing strategy for them. 

For example, if you’re creating a blog post, you absolutely need to know if you're targeting Persona A, Persona B, or Persona C and then provide them with the specific information that they can relate to.

I see many businesses get this wrong and are not writing to specific personas. 

__Writing to personas will make the difference in many aspects of your marketing efforts. __

When you understand who you’re trying to reach, the pain points they have, their 'why'--in additon to knowing why you are in business--you can address and target so much more effectively.

So beyond the tactics of keyword research, page copy, ad copy, SEO, social media, etc., you need to understand on almost an emotional level why your product/service is helpful. When you get down to that level, you will absolutely attract the correct audience. 

As I work with companies and I talk to them about what their marketing strategy is going to be and why they’re coming out with a new product, I ask them the following:

- Why are you making this new product? 
- What is it going to do to your customer to <a href="https://www.liveagent.com/ticketing-software/" target="blank">help them solve a pain point?</a>

You need to start with the persona your trying to serve, not keyword research.

When you understand what makes you unique, how your uniqueness can benefit the overall market that you’re playing in, how you share that story, and how you help solve that pain point in the eyes of your customers--when you do that effectively and  have all of those things working together, it’s amazing to see how the marketing content will actually write itself. 

You’ll find that your voice and the reason why you’re in business, and how you are helping people, will become that much more clear. It drives all of your marketing decisions. It helps put pen to paper or fingers to keys and provides
you with clarity as compared to being all over the map when it comes to what you’re trying to do.

Do not be in the situation where you’re putting out content and just hoping that something is helpful. I audit too many sites, I work with too many companies where I see that a lot of the stuff they put out--nobody’s watching, nobody looks at. The reason why is because they missed this key important step. 

### Here are the steps you need to take to create value with your content:

- Create a persona. Go through the exercise of figuring out a name, age, education level etc.
- Figure out who is serving this demographic well. If they are serving it well, how are you going to be different? If they’re not serving it well? Why? And what can you do to serve them better?

Once you figure out those two things, then you can take a second to put yourself in their shoes. Then when you’re coming up with new content to write, new ads, new marketing material, etc., you'll better to be able to create content that will actually benefit their life.  And when you approach it that way, reaching your audience becomes a lot easier.

### In review

I want you guys to absolutely take a look at who you’re serving and who is your target demographic. 

Envision for a second, you are a college professor in a stadium type classroom setting and the chairs are all empty and you’re at the bottom. 

What is your product and service and who do you want walking through that door?

If you don’t know who you’re wanting to serve, then that is a huge reason why your marketing isn’t effective. 

And if your marketing isn’t effective, you’re not going to be able to make sales. 

And if your sales aren’t effective, you’re not going to be in business very long. 

It’s absolutely key that you know who you serve, not just that you have a great idea or that you have a great product.

Without knowing who you’re serving, you will not be able to market the way that you need to.

Creating User Personas in Marketing

You need to spend the time to create in-depth personas for the people who will be buying from you.

Creating User Personas In Your Marketing - Why Most Companies Get It Wrong

Getting your site to rank is tricky business. Just when you think you’ve multiplied your chances of ranking by using the right keyword in your content, you realize you haven’t been paying attention to off-page SEO.
 
Wasn’t on-site SEO enough? You sprinkled in keywords throughout your headings and content, added them to the Yoast SEO plugin, and wrote a tight meta description too. Now you’re hearing you’ve got to pay attention to off-page SEO too. What?
 
It’s simple, really. Off-page SEO means attempting to get backlinks from other, already-established sites so those links can signal Google your site is authoritative and get better ranking.
 
Now how do you get the links?
 
Let’s answer this in this post. We’ll talk about 5 off-page SEO techniques, which can help you get backlinks to your site. Before diving into these, however, let’s touch base with what off-page SEO is and some basics of link building.
 
Let’s start, shall we?
 
### What is off-page SEO?

Off-page SEO involves actions you take to improve your rankings in the search engine. The only thing is, you take these steps outside your website’s realm, much like dining out. On-page SEO is the exact opposite – steps you take on your website to improve your rankings. It’s the eat-at-home version.
 
Notice both off-page SEO, also known as off-site SEO, and on-page SEO share their goal – to get you to rank better on the search engine. A lower ranking reduces your odds of getting better traffic as your page is not very discoverable.
 
Webpages showing up in the first five organic results of Google search <a href="https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/seo-statistics" target="blank">take home 67.60% of the clicks</a>. Besides, people <a href="https://www.conversionguru.co.za/2017/05/29/90-people-dont-go-past-page-1-google-search-results-searching/" target="blank">rarely scroll past the first search results page</a>. So who wants to rank better?

### The basics of link building
It’s settled then – off-site SEO is your bat signal that tells Google you’re trustworthy, therefore, deserve a better positioning in the search results. But are all links created equal?
 
Certain links are trustworthy while others are spam (created through spammy off-page SEO practices). Since we’ll be covering only authentic off-site SEO tactics, you don’t need to worry about those.
 
For now, keep the following in mind:

- The links you’re attempting to get should come from a relevant site. 

If you’re a career coach, it doesn’t make sense to get a link from a food blogger. The link becomes irrelevant. 

- The linking domain and page should have good authority. 

Google’s page authority metric is called PageRank. Unfortunately there is no way to see that metric anymore, but some SEO tools have their own authority metrics, which can give us a good idea. For instance, keep tabs on Moz’s DA (domain authority) and PA (page authority) metrics. Alternatively, Ahrefs’ metrics of DR (Domain Rating) and UR (URL Rating) are also good indicators. A site with low DA or DR doesn’t have the I’ve-stood-the-test-of-time authority to tell Google you deserve better ranking. In short, it doesn’t bring much value to the table.

In a nutshell, you need links from high authority, trustworthy sites that are relevant to your niche. 

What’s next? Getting your hands dirty with off-page SEO. Here we go:


## 1. Build links by guest blogging

Guest blogging involves you writing content for another site in your niche as a “guest” on their page. You either add a link to your page in the content or get one in the author bio that credits you for writing the piece.

![Links in Guest Post Author Bio on GetResponse](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6pJrw2nhIjEhPsGyWGNNt/66f10015cf9fba5e9a693be13dedcc10/Links_in_Guest_Post_Author_Bio_on_GetResponse.png)

<center><a href="https://www.getresponse.com/blog/emojis-email-subject-line-best-practices" target="blank">Guest post for GetResponse</a></center>

<p>Some say guest blogging has lost its charm. Others, like <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=guest%20blogging%20(from%3AAaronOrendorff)&src=typed_query" target="blank">Aaron Orendorff</a>, promise it works, having guest posted for over <a href="https://copyhackers.com/2019/11/guest-posting/" target="blank">40 leading publications and gotten a job</a> as the editor in chief at Shopify Plus. The correct answer?
 
Done correctly, guest blogging can be a good source of solid backlinks and referral traffic to your site. Just as in the case of any other off-site SEO strategy, there are two ways to build links with guest posting:

❌ __The wrong way__: Writing meh content on every site that can link back to you, never caring if the site is relevant to yours or if its readers are interested in what you have to say.
 
✔ __The right way__: Contributing valuable content to a guest site in your niche on a topic that genuinely interests readers.
 
So how do you go about doing things the right way?

❌ The wrong way: Writing meh content on every site that can link back to you, never caring if the site is relevant to yours or if its readers are interested in what you have to say.
 
✔ The right way: Contributing valuable content to a guest site in your niche on a topic that genuinely interests readers.
 
So how do you go about doing things the right way?

### How to guest post the right way?

The best (and most effective) way to guest post starts with building relationships in your industry. Discover potential target sites by googling:
 
[Your niche] + [write for us] or [guest post] or [contribute to] or [guest writer]
 
For instance:

![SERPs Query - marketing write for us](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/dSMkXT5nvWiSrzO1bXob6/d4df25466c4b3f0c9b73f88fa8a91a2b/SERPs_Query_-_marketing_write_for_us.png)

(On a side note, find several dozen more search operators to use <a href="https://www.iqseo.org/search-operators-for-seo/" target="blank">here</a>.)
 
Next, start networking with editors of publications that are on your to-guest-post list. Eventually, <a href="https://bloggingwizard.com/the-best-guest-post-pitch/" target="blank">pitch</a> your topics.
 
I like to think you need to interact with someone at least 6-7 times before you pitch, it’s something I’ve picked from the <a href="https://www.krusecontrolinc.com/rule-of-7-how-social-media-crushes-old-school-marketing/" target="blank">marketing rule of 7</a>.
 
Pitching this way increases your chances of getting a reply from busy editors. But what confirms your chances of getting your pitch approved? Studying the target site to pitch topics that their audience will enjoy.
 
<a href="https://twitter.com/jennals" target="blank">Jenna Scaglione</a>, the Managing Editor for Foundr magazine <a href="https://foundr.com/how-to-pitch-a-blog" target="blank">shares</a>, “The goal is to show the editor that you did your homework and you understand the blog’s style and audience. You don’t have to even tell editors that you did this research. They will know right away from your pitch email.”

Alternatively, cold pitch editors of your target site. Use a tool like <a href="https://respona.com/" target="blank">Respona</a> to schedule an outreach campaign. However, warm your pitches by personalizing your emails to editors. How? Read about the person who you’ll be emailing to develop a personal connection or share what you liked in one of the pieces you read on the target site.
 
### Where should you guest post?

Go for sites with:

- High DA and PA
- Active presence on social
- Engaged audience (hint: look at the comments or, at least, the social shares)

### Best practices:

- Never pitch a site before first studying it.
- Pitch 3-5 topics to give the editor a choice.
- Don’t just pitch a topic. Pitch a short outline to show the angle the piece will take.
- Establish your credibility in your pitch, for instance, by sharing links to what you’ve written.


## 2. Tap into off-page SEO with HARO

<a href="https://www.helpareporter.com/" target="blank">HARO or Help A Reporter Out</a> is a platform where journalists get sources (aka quotes) from experts for their content. You can benefit by signing up as a source that offers valuable insights to pitches shared. For instance, Nozzle <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/haro-link-building-success-story" target="blank">acquired a link from a DA 53 (DR 75) site via HARO</a>.
 
Two ways to go about using HARO:
 
❌ __The wrong way__: Replying to every pitch with poor quality answers that lack depth and clarity.
 
✔ __The right way__: Replying to selected but highly relevant pitches where your expertise matters. Moreover, giving an in-depth answer that is clear, focused, and meets all requirements listed in a pitch.


### How to build backlinks with HARO?

Every pitch that accepts you as a source links back to your site. That’s a backlink. Bingo! So you need to kick things off by signing up for HARO and keeping an eye on the pitches pouring into your inbox. Once you spot a relevant pitch, hit reply.
 
### Where and how should you respond on HARO?

Respond to relevant pitches where you understand you can add value. For instance, I can best offer my opinion on writing, blogging, and content marketing. I can never offer advice on pet matters.

### Best practices:

- Take your time to craft your response. Journalists reject thin responses right away.
- Provide unique insights, an answer that you think others wouldn’t have covered.
- Read through the pitch to see if you meet the journalist’s requirements and answer everything they ask for.
- Wait. Don’t expect backlinks to roll in with your first reply to a HARO request itself.


## 3. Use Quora to build links

<a href="https://www.quora.com/" target="blank">Quora</a> is a Q&A platform where people connect to ask and answer questions in areas where they’re experts in.
 
But here’s the catch – Quora doesn’t offer do-follow links. Instead, it offers no-follow links which don’t pass on link juice..
 
So why should you chase Quora in the first place? Because you need no-follow links too. A link portfolio that includes no follow links looks more natural. Moreover, your answers on Quora increase your content’s exposure to niche-specific audiences, who can link back to you. That’s mission accomplished, except, indirectly.
 
So, what’s wrong, what’s right here?
 
❌ __The wrong way__: Responding to whatever questions you see in your stream with half-baked answers immediately linking to your content.
 
✔ __The right way__: Engaging with community members by adding to others’ answers and pairing this with answering relevant questions that link to your page.

![Imran Esmail on Quora](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6dnbvqp1XVxxqUF8mC18XE/75b68dce292799ea969bf46010922571/Imran_Esmail_on_Quora.png)
<center><a href="https://www.quora.com/profile/Imran-Esmail" target="blank">Imran Esmail on Quora</a></center>

### How to build backlinks with Quora?

You need to start with engaging on the platform just like you do on social media. Read responses and add your take to them. Eventually, start answering questions yourself. But the trick is in making your answer valuable enough for the viewer to click your link.
 
You have two options for this:
 
One, write a solid introduction that hooks the reader and gets him to click on your link.
Two, share pointers answering the question, but tell readers to get more details on your page.
 
### Which questions should you answer on Quora?

Answer questions with good followers. This shows several people are interested in the answer. You’ll also need to pick a question with as few answers as possible, so your response has a better chance of getting the exposure it deserves. Lastly, answer recently asked questions. Check the last asked date to learn how fresh or stale a question is.

### Best practices:

- Use a friendly, professional tone.
- Add visuals that supplement your answer. Not many people include visuals so it’s a good way to standout in the crowd.
- Don’t just write an answer, humanize it – share your experience, what you’ve learned, and so on.


## 4. Build backlinks on social media

Sure social media is a good place to promote your content, but it’s an equally good place for building backlinks. You only need to be good at making useful connections and become part of active communities.
 
Check out the wrong and right ways in this case:
 
❌ __The wrong way__: Spamming social media, for instance, joining Facebook groups and sharing your links there without context.
 
✔ __The right way__: Engaging with people, offering value, making meaningful connections, and building links when the opportunity arises.


### How to build backlinks on social?

Ready to get backlinks from social media? Let’s dig into networks individually. But remember, it all starts with engagement.
 
<a href="https://twitter.com/boydnorwood/status/1222956358535761920?s=20" target="blank">https://twitter.com/boydnorwood/status/1222956358535761920?s=20</a>
 
<h4>Facebook</h4>
Join niche-relevant groups. Certain groups offer PR opportunities. Others, put up collaboration threads where you can connect with people to guest post or exchange links. Still others, ask for contributions like in the example below:

![Contribution links Via Quuu Promote Facebook Group](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3LVVzf6HdKYZcj78mfb7tM/898231a8c412e3048cfd0ad8274f198d/Contribution_links_Via_Quuu_Promote_Facebook_Group.png)
<center><a href="https://www.facebook.com/quuuco/" target="blank">Via Quuu Promote Facebook Group</a></center>

<p><h4>Twitter</h4>
Connect with journalists and writers who are always on the lookout for contributors. Looking for a shortcut? Track the #journorequest #PRrequest #bloggerrequest hashtags. These are dedicated to connecting experts and writers.
 
<a href="https://twitter.com/inkandcopy/status/1207406658344882176" target="blank">https://twitter.com/inkandcopy/status/1207406658344882176</a>
 
<h4>Pinterest</h4>
<a href="https://venngage.com/blog/visual-content-marketing-statistics/" target="blank">42% of marketers</a> confirm infographics and original graphics are the most engaging. Naturally, putting them on a visual platform like Pinterest opens doors for backlinks for these infographics and images.
 
What’s more, you can also get links if your visual content ends up in a “best from Pinterest” article such as “<a href="https://www.translationroyale.com/top-content-marketing-pinterest-accounts/" target="blank">8 pinterest accounts every content marketer should follow</a>”.

### Best practices:

- Offer free value to establish yourself as a subject matter authority.
- Solve people’s problems by answering questions they have on social.
- Use hashtag tracking tools to keep tabs on important hashtags.


## 5. Get links by blog commenting

Although blog commenting became notorious some time back, Google’s former head of search spam, <a href="https://twitter.com/mattcutts" target="blank">Matt Cutts</a>, disclosed that even he built links with blog commenting in a video explaining the right way to do it:
 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNDRlVSWTRY&feature=youtu.be" target="blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNDRlVSWTRY&feature=youtu.be</a>
 
Here’s a summary of the wrong and right way of blog commenting:
 
❌ __The wrong way__: Leaving a large number of meaningless comments with your link.
 
✔ __The right way__: Making comments that add value on relevant sites with high engagement.



### How to build backlinks by blog commenting?
 
The first rule is to always comment on niche-relevant sites. And the second is to read the post before commenting. Take a point and expand on it by adding your experience to it.
 
Make sure your <a href="https://smartblogger.com/blog-comments/" target="blank">comment is offering value</a> and isn’t a mere “great post” or “excellent article.” See that you comment on an engaged, high-DA site where comments are common. For instance, this site:

![Example of blog with regular commenters](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/zlzWoBXwf2VMGWPXSBoqZ/301bfb4bde37d26c3ad0ed6ff71753b3/Example_of_blog_with_regular_commenters.png)

<center><a href="https://dispatch.m.io/" target="blank">source</a></center>

<p>
Don’t overdo comments though. If all the links to your site come from comments without any natural links, Google will sniff that as a link scheme.
 
Anna Crowe, Content Strategy Lead at Leadfeeder <a href="https://www.searchenginejournal.com/link-building-guide/blog-comments/" target="blank">shares a solution</a> to this end, “If you take the time to comment on two blog posts per day, with a backlink back to your website (even if the links are nofollowed), the end result will be roughly 60 backlinks per month, or 720 per year.”

### Best practices:
 
Make highly relevant comments on posts that are relevant to your niche.
Comment with your profile and image rather than a keyword or anchor text.
Avoid sending spam signals to Google by limiting the number of blog comments.

## Ready to make some backlinks?
  
Off-page SEO takes time, but reaps sweet fruit. Get to building links with these five proven strategies. But remember – in all instances, building relationships and basing those relationships on offering free value takes home the trophy. Now, go crush those off-site SEO goals. 🙌




5 Proven Off-page SEO Tactics to Help You Build Powerful Links in No Time

# A New Player Enters the Game: 

<a href=https://explodingtopics.com/topic/rankmath/?period=24 target=”_blank”>
![Rank Math SEO Plugin](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7qgaCHTnuIY4uiXlVadRIo/dd01975a210ed8b37955da0110e75274/rank_math.jpg)
      </a>

## 9 Features to Love About the Rank Math SEO Plugin

Released in November 2018, the Rank Math wordpress SEO plugin is fast becoming the favorite among SEOs. It was created by Suraj Vibhute and Bhanu Ahluwalia, who developed the plugin for their personal websites because they weren’t getting everything they needed from any of the SEO plugins for wordpess that were already available. 

The best part about this new plugin is that it does everything that Yoast Pro, Yoast Local, and WooCommerce does but for free. There is no pro version of the plugin and though one may be available in the future, the developers have promised that the current free version will continue to include all of the features it does now. Vibhute and Ahluwalia have offered this powerful free SEO tool as a way to compete with the heavyweight titleholder, Yoast SEO, which boasts more than five million active installations -- and it’s working. As of January 2020, Rank Math SEO has 100,000+ installs and counting. 

SEOs like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzN1qMagTEw" target="blank">Matthew Woodward</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/rankmathseo/status/1138288141947695104" target="blank">Cyrus Shepard</a> are singing its praises for being faster, easier, and more intuitive than Yoast. It’s also 66% lighter than Yoast, which means it’s more efficient with fewer PHP requests. When you’re ready to convert, Rank Math SEO will walk you through an easy to follow setup wizard and will import existing data from your site’s current SEO plugin before deactivating it. 

![Rank math vs yaost overview](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1eKQlKi1k3EUdmHkvikHOK/1f32cfd67486a05c90391092d3b15a4e/Yoast-SEO-Rank-Math-Comparison.jpg)

#### Key features that set it apart from other plugins:

__Better Rich Snippets & Schema Markup Support__
Rank Math SEO plugin allows users to easily add the right metadata for Schema markup so that search engine bots can get an accurate read of the content. It allows you to choose the Rich Snippet Type, such as article, recipe, product, service, etc., and then add relevant information such as title, description, and post robots meta. Users can also select a default category and taxonomies. The layout is very straightforward and examples are provided to help with clarity.

![Rank Math Rich Snippet Image](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4vffOaZg1Tb9D7IB3RLkK6/8e28d652c4433e923a9e127f3aa0d4b8/09-Rank-Math-Rich-Snippet-Support.jpg)


__404 Error Monitor & Broken Link Checker__
Rank Math SEO has a 404 checker with two modes, simple and advanced. The simple mode captures wordpress 404 error while the advanced mode tracks the error page, the referring page, the time of the error, and the user agent. Yoast doesn’t offer 404 support with the current free version of their plugin. Rank Math allows you to sort and redirect or fix the errors.

![404 Error Monitor and Broken Link Checker Image](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2OHfWy9fPmVowJ2g0h6gG3/a250b0374d5c7f64e6da1136295a49f4/404_Detection_Rank_Math_SEO.PNG)

![Rank Math SEO 404 Monitor](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5Ctsxc6eS4P3bKCIk6I71u/6a1a8b940a207b4a2c1eeac5a954aa46/all-options-in-the-404-monitor.jpg)
__Redirections__
Users can set up custom 302 , 301 , 307, 410, or 451 redirections and create automatic behaviors like a default 404 redirect to the Homepage. The plugin also allows for choice of redirection type, like a 301 redirect (permanent) or 302 redirect (temporary). 

![Rank Math SEO Plugin Redirections](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4tyOpfUc2NEvBFldZCJnvE/701a768f119b6cccf27928542c4d393f/Rank_Math_SEO_Plugin_Redirections_Screen.PNG)

__1-Click SEO Audit__
Accessed from the the SEO Analysis menu, it provides a fast and comprehensive analysis and tells you how to fix the issues. 

![Rank Math SEO Site-Wide Analysis](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4TNz4bVD31VKgVQ2uTiPjX/816ed61a8c379fb9616a69bf173d2e2a/Rank_Math_SEO_Plugin_Site-Wide_Analysis.PNG)

__Robots.txt Editing__

Rank Math SEO allows you to edit the virtual wordpress robots.txt file. It's automatically added to help a site index better.

![Rank Math SEO Robots Edit](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4RoeFlurE95n1sCH9rwZg9/e8fb2a1f95d40908c0bb28d0d7d0c7c2/Robots_Editing.png)

__Automatic SEO image optimizer__
Rank Math SEO allows users to choose whether to automatically add missing image alt text and missing TITLE attributes. If a screen reader is used, the site visitors may experience accessibility issues, but it’s ideal for when a post has only one image. Though WordPress does add an image name by default, this feature gives people the option to add title attributes for all images without a title.   

![Rank Math SEO Images](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/66ZCqhtBOgddNlncR8bQcQ/56bb63f1a9674b5cb568f2c7e19f120f/general-settings-images-corrected.png)

__Google Keyword Suggestions, Keyword Integration, and Click-Through Rank Tracking__
With Rank Math, you can choose up to five focus keywords for each post and rank multiple keywords. It tracks how they are ranking in SERPs. The plugin also integrates Google keyword suggestions and provides rank tracking info within the Google Search Console in the WordPress admin dashboard. 

![Rank Math SEO Rank and CTR Tracking](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1bFlDqgwF781dLc7tU1yNi/81bd23133604da9a0a987d38271136d4/Rank_Math_SEO_CTR_Tracking.PNG)

Though the keyword tracker is still in beta, when its launched, it will integrate with the Google Trends Tool to help users check keyword search trends. Currently, Rank Math provides an overview and detailed information about keyword search analytics including clicks, impressions, and click-through-rates for your site’s top-performing keywords. The Search Analytics tab in the Search Console provides an overview of data sets, search analytics for keywords, sitemaps, crawl errors, and the keyword tracker. 

![Rank Math SEO Keyword Search Analytics](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/GOUz68ZWsevKICAqKHkJM/ee08b912008f49ff0d0743c46448c946/Rank-Math-Search-Console-Full.jpg)

Shameless plug: While Rank Math SEO lets you track hundreds of keywords, if you want to track tens of thousands of phrases, you should start a [free trial with Nozzle](https://nozzle.io/trial). 

__WordPress Breadcrumbs__
If your WordPress theme doesn’t already include Breadcrumbs, this tool is very helpful not only for making your site easily navigable, but also for helping search engine bots read your content classifications. Once you’ve enabled the Breadcrumbs function, you can dial in the settings, like separator characters and homepage links. 

![Rank Math SEO Breadcrumbs](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6kh7jWtQRNCAyXQqL5FF9S/2d8daf8df7ed8981971e8fcee8be44ae/Rank_Math_SEO_Breadcrumbs.PNG)

So far, Rank Math is a free seo plugin for wordpress that not only passes muster but crushes Yoast SEO plugin in offerings and performance and it does so at the very good price of free. Rank Math SEO provides features that even Yoast SEO premium plan does not. This wordpress seo plugin also makes website data easily digestible and more accessible to amateurs and pros alike.  



Rank Math SEO Featured Image

The Rank Math SEO plugin for WordPress offers the same functionality of Yoast Pro, Yoast Local, and WooCommerce for FREE.

9 Features to Love About the Rank Math SEO Plugin

# <center>Why Use YouTube?</center>

Need help deciding if YouTube is right for your business? 

In short, it is. 

But if you're the kind that likes to have a list of reasons before taking action, then I just so happen to have a list of why your business should be using YouTube as part of your marketing mix.

## Audience Size

YouTube is one of the largest search engines in the world, second only to Google. Each day there are well over a billion searches performed on this video platform. There's a strong likelihood that your ideal customers are part of those.

## Double Rankings

YouTube videos can __rank in Google__ as well. So, plan it right and you can get rankings in both YouTube AND Google, capturing views and interested search traffic from both sources.

## YouTube Videos Rank Better

YouTube is owned by Google. Perhaps that is why over __80% of the videos__ that rank in the top ten for video-related searches in Google __are from YouTube__, as opposed to other video platforms, embeds on websites or natively hosted video.

## Qualified Leads

When visiting your site from your YouTube videos, people are much __more qualified__ as a lead or potential buyer because they have already decided they like what you do by watching your video(s).

So, it's decided then? You're going to stake your claim (nod to YouTube great <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZbvKhLl-I7UomMugaO24fw" target="blank">Brian G. Johnson</a>) on YouTube and begin attracting your ideal customer via YouTube?

Great!

Then how do you begin?

Start by familiarizing yourself with the following best practices checklist. It will put you in the right frame of mind to research, create & promote solid videos that actually reach your target viewer.

# <center>YouTube Upload Checklist</center>

## Create an Engaging Video

I don't claim to know what's most engaging to your business's audience, but here are 9 hot tips from my buddy Brian G Johnson on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovMrx68H5dY" target="blank">creating a winning YouTube video structure</a> that are guaranteed to tempt YouTube's algorithms to put you in front of more viewers.

### 1. Choose KWs that Show Specific Intent

The more you understand what a viewer wants, the more likely you'll create a video that keeps them engaged for the duration of the video. Ex: Instead of DIY Halloween Costume, target DIY Pirate Costume for Boys.

### 2. Hook the Viewer with the Promise

You HAVE to start your video with what the viewer wants if you want to keep them watching. Your video may be about YouTube Video Tags, but what those viewers really want is more views, so "You can absolutely get more views by using the right YouTube Tags on your videos." Start with what they're going to get out of your video. [15 sec max]

### 3. Branded Channel Intro
People don't care about your channel intro, so lead off with the hook and then roll your intro. [5 sec max]. Having your value proposition (if short) here too makes lots of sense. Brian Dean does a great job of this <a href="https://youtu.be/2bMbdWn1x-U?t=29" target="blank">here</a>.

### 4. Value Proposition w/ Subscribe Invite

Replace the underlined text in the following sentence with the answer to the question, *"What makes your channel awesome? If you're new here, <u>get more leads for your business for free</u> by clicking subscribe and then the bell icon and you won't miss anything."* Keep it short and to the point about why people should subscribe. This CTA simply plants the seed for later subscribe invitations and attaches it to the benefit of doing so.

### 5. Stimulating Video Delivery

Structure your video with bullet points or steps to keep people moving along and continuing watching. You can also encourage retention by saying things like "upcoming step that will help you get more subscribers," and "glad you made it this far by step 8 is a BIG DEAL," or by throwing in cultural references that you know your target audience will appreciate. Add stats if you have them to prove your points.

### 6. Subscriber Lower Third

Between 90 seconds to 2 minutes prompt the viewer again to subscribe.

### 7. Make it Easy to Comment

Embrace the community element of YouTube by asking simple questions that viewers can easily answer. Ex: *Do you like \_\_\_\_ or \_\_\_\_? Let me know in the comments below.* It's also like an ice breaker for new viewers to get them to engage.

### 8. End with Value Prop

DO NOT end with words like *Thanks for watching* or *To recap*. This will trigger people to leave your video, because you're telling them it's over. Instead, restate your initial value proposition and end with the call to subscribe (and click on the bell icon). Leave with the why. You can give them a little more at this point about how you plan on delivering on your value prop.

### 9. Ritual View Handoff

Tell the viewers what to watch next (another video of yours). Like the hook you started with above, state the benefit they'll get when watching the video you're inviting them to watch. Put that video with your verbal CTA in an end card so following through on your invite is simple and seamless. The next video should also somehow connect to the value the viewer is trying to get from the current video they just watched.

## Create a Clickable Title

If your video's worth watching, then it's worth spending a good amount of time in keyword/title research to entice the click with an intriguing title. Your first goal in YouTube is to get the click and this in part happens with a good title. 

__Keyword Research:__ Use keywords that your audience is searching for and make sure your video delivers on the promise of that keyword.  The most basic way to check this is typing your keyword into the YouTube search bar. If it auto populates in the dropdown, people are searching for it. You can also try using a tool like <a href="https://keywordtool.io/youtube" target="blank">KeywordTool.io</a> or <a href="https://ahrefs.com/keywords-explorer" target="blank">Ahrefs' Keyword Explorer</a>.

If the stakes are high and you're able, split test your video titles with Ads and use the one that gets the most clicks.

__Keyword Placement:__ Keywords used at the beginning of the title hold more weight than keywords at the end, so put your most important keywords up front.

## Make Safe, Clickable Thumbnails

__Safe:__ Upload image to <a href="https://cloud.google.com/vision/" target="blank">Google Cloud Vision</a> and check for Safe Search. If your video enters restricted mode, you WILL lose almost all your traffic. 

__Correct Size:__ Ensure that your thumbnail shows up crisp and clear on all devices by publishing a high resolution version. Google recommends your image to be 1280 x 720 pixels, with a minimum width of 640 pixels. A ratio of 16:9 is ideal as it's used most often in YouTube players and previews.

__Showcase People:__ Having a person in the thumbnail has been shown to get more clicks, specifically when you can see the whites of their eyes and also when they are displaying an emotion.

__Channel Branding:__ Tie all your thumbnails together with the same branding style. Ideally all thumbnails will include your brand colors, possibly your logo as well as other easily identifiable icons/imagery of your brand.

__Short Text:__ Shortening the benefit of your video into punchy text to overlay on the thumbnail can give your video the added boost it needs to stand out in search results and garner the click.

__Examples:__ 

- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/backlinko" target="blank">Brian Dean</a>
- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCytOqtKYpACcWMD14UjhSeQ/videos?shelf_id=6&view=0&sort=dd" target="blank">Income School</a>
- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZbvKhLl-I7UomMugaO24fw" target="blank">Brian G. Johnson</a>
- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/BYUTelevision" target="blank">Studio C</a>
- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvxDZJe1lbaZVnQrpwQCmpKqJWbTr4UpH" target="blank">Video Creators</a>

## Strategically Add Tags

Tags help YouTube determine how relevant your video is for any given search query as well as how relevant it is to other videos. 

The goal with your tag strategy is to own more of the suggested video spots on each of your videos. If you create videos with good viewer retention then the following tag strategy can help you show up more in search *and* own those coveted suggested video spots.

__Tag Research:__ You want to use tags that are keywords that both directly represent what your video is about *and* that people are looking for. While looking at what other creators are using in their top performing videos is best practice, simply copying those tags won't do the trick here. Make sure to research all potential tags.

__Three Sets:__ For each video you want to have three sets of tags: 

  1. One set that you use for all your videos. These should be a subset of your channel tags and represent what all your videos are about. You can set these in your upload defaults.
  2. One set that you use for all videos in the same category
  3. One set that are unique to each video

## Add a Keyword Rich Description

After your Thumbnail & Title, your video's description is the next most important factor in increasing your click through rate from YouTube search. 

__Increase CTR:__ Make sure that the first part, specifically the first 2 lines or roughly 100 characters, is enticing and shares why someone should watch your video over the others. 

__Include Keywords:__ Work keywords used in the video into a cohesive description that entices viewers to watch. Think of this as a mini blog post. 300 words is usually sufficient, but you can add more if you're on a roll. Test it out!

__Invite to Subscribe:__ Add a link for viewers to subscribe. Add "?sub_confirmation=1" to the end of your channel URL for higher subscribe conversions. You could even use a url shortener to track clicks on these links. 

__Display CTAs:__ Whether or not your video has a verbal CTA to opt-in for some sort of bonus or value add, make sure to do it here. Instead of asking them to "subscribe to our newsletter" simply tell them to go to the link for their free gift. Make the call to action enticing, stating the benefit to the viewer. Sell the free.

__Pitch Relevant videos:__ If you have other videos that could help someone learn more about what you just presented in the video, add a link to them here. You get bonus points for adding links to the videos inside a playlist.

__List Your Social Accounts:__ You may consider listing other ways for people to connect with your business. Some people may just be visiting YouTube while Instagram is their platform of choice. You can let them know you're there. Keep in mind however that YouTube prizes keeping people on YouTube as much as possible, so you'll have to weigh the importance of getting another Facebook like or having better YouTube rankings.

__Include Video Assets:__ If you mention any resources or data in the video, link to them in the description.

__Credit Other Channels:__ If you collaborated with other video creators, make sure to link over to their channels.

__Set Upload Defaults:__ You can add the basics that you'll use in each video to your upload defaults so that's set for all future videos.

## Add an End Screen

Those who stick around to the end of your video are highly interested (assuming they didn't push play and then head to the restroom), so take advantage of that with a custom endscreen and clear CTAs.

__Make it Custom:__ While it *is* possible to add an endscreen to existing videos, you'll want to design your video with these in mind.

__Use Verbal CTAs:__ While your endscreens can simply display the CTAs listed above, creating a custom endscreen where you directly invite viewers to take action increases those who will.

__Link to Videos:__ Directing the viewer to a related video of yours builds their affinity with your channel and they'll be more likely to see your videos suggested to them in the future. YouTube prizes watch time over just about any other stat. 

When your video keeps viewers watching longer and then keeps them on YouTube after it's over, that video will get promoted more by YouTube. This means higher rankings in YouTube search, better placement in suggested videos and more visibility in browse. 

*Pro Tip: Link to your own video playlist on your endscreen and all the next up videos will be your own.*

__Invite to Subscribe:__ Add a subscribe button (at the very least) on your endscreen to increase those who will be more likely to be alerted to new videos. Subscribers will often have higher retention rates on your videos and be more inclined to interact with them by liking, commenting and sharing (all signals to YouTube that they should show it to more people). 

Additionally, be sure to visually and/or verbally ask viewers to "click the bell" to be notified of when you post new videos.

__Offsite CTAs:__ For most videos the goal should be to keep people watching, but don't be afraid to invite your watchers to go to your site to see more information in an associated blog post, download a free report or tool, or even to signup for a free account to try your services. 

If you're creating solid videos that inform and entertain your audience, these kinds of CTA should feel natural and be welcomed. 

__Good End Screen Examples:__ 

- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io4ugroDedo&feature=youtu.be&t=415" target="blank">Ahrefs</a>
- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KmXPcSxz2g&feature=youtu.be&t=298" target="blank">Studio C</a>
- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_838Dk966Y&feature=youtu.be&t=785" target="blank">Brian Dean</a>
- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvmzDKXUfCA&feature=youtu.be&t=442" target="blank">The Slanted Lens</a>
- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F19G1oe4T-w&feature=youtu.be&t=456" target="blank">Derral Eves</a>

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64QbHfWh-EM" target="blank">How to make an end screen</a> (template included)

## Upload Accurate Closed Captions

Captions are how YouTube can tell the actual content of a video. Unfortunately YouTube's auto captions aren't so accurate. So be sure to take the time to fix the auto captions or upload your own. If you need help, here's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfJthDvcZ08" target="blank">a video to show you how</a>.

## Add Info Cards

Add Info Cards in order to provide relevant external information to your video - a related video of yours or your website, etc. Think of it as linking in a blog post to an article that goes more in depth on the topic you're mentioning. It's even best practice to call out this resource in the video. 

## <center>Promote! Promote! Promote!</center>

If a video is worth creating, it's worth promoting. Some spend double the amount of time promoting a video as they do creating it. 

As soon as you publish, be ready to drive as much traffic to the video as possible. During a video's initial 24 hours YouTube is taking notes on it's performance. If it does well, YouTube will begin recommending it more through their search & discovery system.

Consider each of the following ways to get your video in front of more people and add ways of your own to build your own promotion schedule for each video you publish. Not all of these tactics will apply for every video, but use what works.

- Send email to your subscribers
- Add to relevant Playlists 
- Revisit older videos and add as an end card where appropriate
- Add to YouTube descriptions of relevant videos
- Direct message or email leaders in the industry
- Paid promotion
- Share in Facebook, LinkedIn groups
- Post in relevant Forums
- Pin to relevant Pinterest group boards you're a part of
- Add to Featured Content widget
- Reach out to influencers to promote
- If this video was a collaboration, alert those involved
- Leave comments (and links) on other people's videos
- Promote on social media accounts
- Build out several social posts targeting different benefits of the video and share over the next week
- Create a dedicated post/page on own website and embed
- Submit to relevant sub Reddits 
- Contact 3rd party websites to embed
- Answer relevant questions on Quora with an embed/link to your video

  
*__If you're just beginning, you're bound to have questions after reading this. I'd be happy to answer those questions. Connect with me on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmendenhall/" target="blank">LinkedIn</a> and let me know how I can help.__*

Now that you've learned about best practices on Youtube, how about learning ways to navigate more efficiently on Youtube using <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/youtube-and-wistia-watching-hacks-keyboard-shortcuts-and-more/" target="blank">Youtube Hotkeys?</a> You're sure to learn hacks to improve your Youtube experience.

YouTube Best Practices for Beginners

Why your business should be using YouTube as part of your marketing mix.

I recently analyzed some of the links we acquired last year by responding to HARO requests. 

If you're unfamiliar with HARO, Benjamin Houy wrote a great write-up on <a href="https://growwithless.com/haro/" target='blank'>how to use HARO.</a>

I want to highlight the process of acquiring one specific link and look at the value of the link itself.

## The Process:

I received the HARO email containing the inquiry on April 29th, 2019 at 10:38 AM.

> "27) Summary: What's ONE important SEO metric all marketers should be tracking? (Besides Organic Traffic.)
> 
> Name: Databox Blog
Category: Business and Finance
> 
> Email: query-9a2j[@]helpareporter.net
> 
> Media Outlet: Databox Blog
> 
> Deadline: 11:00 AM EST - 30 April
> 
> Query:
> 
> We're looking to curate a list of important SEO metrics that
> marketers should track.
> 
> They could be the obvious ones. They could be more of the less
> common or unusual ones.
> 
> Either way, we want to provide marketers with a comprehensive
> list of important SEO metrics they should be tracking.
> 
> What's ONE important SEO metric all marketers should be
> tracking? Why? (Please share ONE metric, why it's important to
> track, as well as any insights around benchmarks marketers
> should aim for.) (Please share ONE metric, why it's important to
> track, as well as any insights around benchmarks marketers
> should aim for.)
> Requirements:
> 
> You have to be willing to answer additional multiple choice questions via email."


I responded with the following on April 29th, 2019 at 10:33 PM:

> "One important SEO metric to track is the click-through rate (CTR) of each landing page and how it fluctuates as you move up in rankings and as you tweak that page's title tag and meta description. Google Search Console tracks this for you automatically; you just need to pay attention to it. 
> 
> Given how simple it is to test title tag and meta description changes, it is wise to take the time to test many variations to find the best combination of highest ranking with highest CTR."

I got an email back on April 30th at 1:49 AM asking me to participate in an SEO tools survey:

> "Hey Boyd,
> 
> Just read through your HARO response. Good stuff. 
> 
> I'd like to include your response, as well as a link back to your website, in a report we're putting together. 
> 
> Before I do that, can I ask you to share what SEO tools you use? 
> 
> Can you tick all that apply via this link?
> (Just copy paste your input into the text box by the open-ended question)
> 
> Thank you"

I filled out the survey later that morning.

On May 8, 2019, the post went live here: <a href="https://databox.com/most-important-seo-kpis" target='blank'>https://databox.com/most-important-seo-kpis</a> and used only a portion of my quote (which is totally fine, I'm not complaining):

> "Given how simple it is to test title tag and meta description changes, it is wise to take the time to test many variations to find the best combination of highest ranking with highest CTR."

I got an email on May 9, 2019 at 1:54 PM announcing the use of my quote and the published article URL.

> "Hi Boyd,
> 
> Thank you for contributing to our greatest article on SEO KPIs so far!
> 
> With your help we compiled another insightful report:
> <a href="https://databox.com/most-important-seo-kpis" target='blank'>*The 49 SEO KPIs That Marketers Are Tracking Most*</a>
> 
> Along with your response, we included a backlink back to your website."

## The link value:

As of today (1/17/20), the Databox article has the following metrics:

- A Page Authority of 36 from Moz on a site with a Domain Authority of 53
- A URL Rating of 21 from Ahrefs on a site with a Domain Rating of 75
- 9 backlinks that I manually checked (3 are nofollowed)
- Those 9 backlinks have a total of 6 backlinks linking to them (4 are nofollowed)

![Link Trail from a Successful HARO Request](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2cDPJ6mdUIcXzRfQuAfKBc/caa873bd57d6b151d63813899b468427/Link_Trail_from_a_Successful_HARO_Request.png)

Update:

A more recent example from a post I was quoted in about <a href="https://flashpointmarketing.biz/get-featured-snippets/" target="blank">how to get featured snippets</a> on 2/11/30:

- The article has a Moz PA of 20 and a DA of 30 (ahrefs: UR-15 and DR-22)
- 7 backlinks point to this article as of 4/3/20
- Those 7 pages that link to the article have 17 total backlinks linking to them


## Proper Expectations from HARO Link Building:

Not all HARO links are created equal. Some are more valuable and some are less valuable but it can be a great use of time if done correctly.

Keep the following in mind:

- It can be time consuming to read through every HARO pitch, inside each of the three daily emails, looking for pitches that are relevant to you and your business.
- When you do send a response to a pitch, <a href="https://growwithless.com/haro/" target='blank'>"roughly 20% of pitches will get a reply and 10% will be used."</a>
- Most pitches have short deadlines so don't dawdle.
- HARO <a href="https://monitorbacklinks.com/blog/seo/haro-link-building" target='blank'>"[is not] a garden of roses" but is still good to include in your overall link and PR strategy</a>.
- But for others, <a href="https://www.contentfac.com/how-i-got-quoted-in-major-outlets-5-times-in-1-month-using-haro/" target='blank'>it's worked out tremendously</a>!




Link Trail from a Successful HARO Request

One example of a decent link from using HARO.