Wesley Parker says, “Long tail keywords are widely considered to be fundamental to search marketing success due to the low-cost traffic that they generate, however should this still be the case in 2017? This article is going to analyze data from case studies conducted by Clicteq and PPC Hero that suggests that long tail keywords are now almost obsolete when it comes to AdWords. For the sake of this article we are going to classify long tail keywords as being four-words-long or more, though there is some debate with people arguing that keywords that are three or more words long should be... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “High keyword rankings are the most sought-after achievement in the world of search engine optimization (SEO). Small businesses and brands alike strive to obtain the first organic listing in search results because of the lucrative traffic and lead opportunities that are associated with this position. But with the evolution of paid advertising and expansion of universal search, as well as Google’s continuous efforts to provide consumers with content that resolves their demands directly in search results, the opportunities attached to traditional keyword rankings are... [...]

David Zimmerman says, “Did you sigh when you heard Google is revoking free full access to its Keyword Planner? Your first reaction was probably like mine: Google is sticking it to SEOs, once again. What are we going to do? Of course, we could invest in a third-party tool. Some of those tools might help fill the gap, but they are expensive and only as good as their sample size. And that got me thinking: If I would have to pay for a keyword research tool anyway, why not use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising for my keyword research? If I create a small PPC campaign, I can get keyword data and... [...]

Dr. Peter J. Meyers says, “This story starts long before RankBrain, but the action really kicked in around May of 2013, when Google announced conversational search for desktop. At the time, voice search on desktop may have seemed like a gimmick, but in hindsight it was a signal that Google was taking natural language search seriously. Just a few months later the Hummingbird update rewrote Google’s core engine, and much of that rewrite was dedicated to dealing with natural language searches. Why should you care about voice? For most sites, voice is still a relatively small percentage... [...]

Matthew Barby says, “Content marketing has seen a lot of changes over the past few years, in particular around the way that marketers have went about actually developing their content. A lot of this has come down to the rapidly evolving search engine landscape, as well as a huge shift in the way that people are discovering content. All that said, I still hear the same pain points coming from content producers that I did over five years ago: “I struggle to measure the ROI of the content I create.” “We create great content but we still don’t seem to rank high in Google for... [...]

Britney Muller says, “Keyword research, the blueprint to any successful SEO strategy If you’ve been doing keyword research for a while, you’ve probably fallen into a routine. And that routine has likely been recently disrupted… thanks, Google. If you’re new to keyword research, getting comfortable with new keyword research tools will come more easily to you. Lucky pups. But us change-averse old dogs can still learn new tricks when we need to. Are you ready to see which tool is right for you? –Woof. My hesitations about writing this article: I’m new to Moz and don’t... [...]

Amy Bishop says, “A great way to expand your PPC account is by performing keyword research in order to uncover untapped opportunities. Keyword research is a key tactic for growing an account — especially new accounts, but even mature accounts can stand to benefit from ongoing expansions. When keyword research does & does not make sense Keyword research is sometimes debated as being unnecessary, and it is fair to say that certain methods of keyword research are futile. Back in the day, it wasn’t uncommon to hear search marketers taking pride in the number of keywords managed, but... [...]

Jawad Khan says, “Having a blog means you generally want more traffic to your content. No matter how many monthly blog visitors you have, you still want more. Better traffic means more opportunities to build relationships, generate leads, and ultimately make money. The problem with most of the conventional traffic generation advice is that it’s either too expensive or it’s just simply outdated, ineffective and useless. Writing high-quality content, guest blogging and blogger outreach are all great tips for a long-term traffic strategy. But what if you need something to create an immediate... [...]

Asim Mughal says, “If we talk about website optimization, keyword research is an essential part for both PPC marketing and search engine optimization success. The internet is choke full of articles by search marketing experts who tell you that it is necessary to optimize your site for the terms that people are actually searching for. But when it comes to finding those terms and turning them into profitable keywords, this whole process is no easy feat. You have to put a huge effort to prepare a robust keywords list for your website. But here’s the thing… Keyword research doesn’t... [...]

Kayli Kunkel says, “Not all keywords are created equal. Some, like “marketing,” draw in huge crowds of searchers each month. Others, like “marketing tips for small shoe store companies,” might squeak out a couple hits. As marketers, we’re often conditioned to go after attainable high-volume keywords. You know, the kind that pull in over a hundred Google searches per month? The rationale seems sound: We’ll attract more traffic, generate more leads, and close more customers. More clicks = more business, right? Not always. We always knew that targeting some... [...]