Mike Arnesen says, “Structured data has never been more important than it is today. We’ll talk about why briefly below, but that’s not what this post is about. This post is about giving you a new tool to add to your semantic SEO tool belt. My goal is to empower you implement semantic markup and structured data with greater ease and enable you to architect a more robust and complete web of linked data on your website (and beyond). Structured data is more important than ever I don’t think that’s an exaggeration. When Schema.org launched in June of 2011, search marketers gained access... [...]

Marcus Miller says, “We work with hundreds of local businesses — from hyperlocal, single-location businesses to nationwide, multi-location companies — at the company I run, Bowler Hat. One pattern we often see is that larger and seemingly more authoritative businesses don’t perform as well in local search as they should. There are many reasons for this, and having multiple locations amplifies the need for solid local SEO foundations. A common issue we come across is the lack of a well-optimized and well-performing landing page for local businesses. In this post, we aim to illustrate... [...]

Jeremy Gottlieb says, “Working in SEO, I always find myself poring over data and looking for ways to expedite the analysis process. Analyzing data can often be tedious, mind-numbing, and boring work, so anything that can be done to speed up finding that needle in the haystack is almost always a good idea. A few months ago, I began using a formula in Excel to categorize data and I’m constantly finding new ways to use it. It took a little bit of time and practice to remember the formula, to understand how it works and how to troubleshoot it if it breaks, but the time and energy put into... [...]

MOZ team says, “We don’t live in a world where we have the luxury of thinking about just user experience or just SEO. The two share many of the same spaces online, working in tandem and sometimes even clashing. In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand details the considerations and compromises that must be made for UX & SEO to coexist in harmony”. Managing the Tensions & Tradeoffs Between UX & SEO MOZ  [...]

Ronell Smith says, “The gentleman sitting across the table from me at a crowded lunch spot has what he sees as a workable business idea for a local business, a sound plan to get it off the ground, enough funds to weather the ups and downs of the current business climate in his area, and the determination to stick around long enough to be successful. However, what he doesn’t have are the answers to three questions pertaining to content marketing for his small business: – “What should I write about?” – “How do I [rank higher in local SERPs?]” –... [...]

Alexander Kesler says, “There’s an ongoing trend that’s undermining companies’ digital and search engine marketing efforts, regardless of the industries they’re in. They start out with good intentions and a strong strategy, putting large amounts of time and effort into building up their profile with search engines. Usually, doing so provides positive results: They’ll start ranking well for some competitive keywords, and a good share of traffic starts coming from organic search results. When that happens, many companies get optimistic and start dedicating even... [...]

Megan Hannay says, “Local marketing campaigns can feel like endless rounds of “Where’s Waldo?” — getting granular on the beach, in the mountains, at the circus and so on, leading to blurry eyes and a fuzzy return on investment. A 2015 study by Balihoo, a marketing automation agency, found that more than half of marketers believed the ROI of local campaigns to be higher than global campaigns, but they still only allocated 20 percent of their budgets to local. Why? Because local is a lot of work. Finding target customers on a national scale means you can zero in on a demographic. But... [...]

Brian Patterson says, “It was my first day at my new gig as a federal government IT consultant in Washington, D.C. I was slogging through the typical onboarding paperwork when a senior partner dropped by, introduced himself, and handed me a paperback book. “Read and implement this,” he said. The cover read The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, a book with a sole focus on “the ability to earn the trust and confidence of clients.” “Client management must be important,” I thought. This encounter occurred more than 10 years ago, in my previous profession. Before doing search marketing... [...]

Dr. Peter J. Meyers says, “It’s been almost two years (August 2014) since Google announced that HTTPS was a ranking signal. Speculation ran rampant, as usual, with some suggesting there was little or no benefit to switching (and possibly significant risk) while others rushed to sell customers on making the HTTPS switch. Two years later, I believe the data speaks for itself — Google is fighting, and winning, a long war. What’s happened since? If you only consider the impact of Google’s original HTTPS update, I understand your skepticism. Prior to the update, our 10,000-keyword... [...]

Winston Burton says, “Some SEOs and brands think that rankings are a very important metric to track for SEO success. But is this really the case? Some sites rank well for high-volume keywords but don’t get any benefit from it because the keywords do not meet user intent, and the user ends up leaving the site because they could not find what they are looking for. This leads to a bad user experience. High search engine rankings can be great — but only if the keywords drive traffic, deliver conversions and improve your ROI. Sometimes, a brand owner or client has specific keywords for which... [...]