Kelsey Libert says, “Content marketers, does the following scenario sound familiar? You’re tasked with creating content that attracts publicity, links, and social shares. You come up with great ideas for content that you’re confident could accomplish these goals. However, any ideas that push the envelope or might offend anyone in the slightest get shot down by your boss or client. Even if a provocative idea gets approved, after feedback from higher-ups and several rounds of editing, you end up with a boring, watered-down version of what you originally envisioned. Given the above, you’re... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “As expanded text ads began rolling out, some advertisers noticed that the new, longer double headline is sometimes cut off. This can be frustrating and can have potential legal ramifications for businesses in highly regulated industries like pharmaceuticals. Google AdWords’ social team responded to the tweet above with a recommendation to keep the combined character count of the two headlines limited to a total of 33 characters to avoid having the second headline truncated”. Google reiterates suggested 33-character limit in ETA headlines to avoid truncation Search... [...]

Barry Schwartz says, “Gary Illyes, a Google webmaster trends analyst, said yesterday that using a 301, 302 or 30x redirect of any kind will not result in a loss of PageRank, that there is no PageRank dilution. Here is the tweet: 30x redirects don’t lose PageRank anymore. — Gary Illyes (@methode) July 26, 2016 Back in 2010, we reported that there is some PageRank dilution when you use a 301 or other form of 30x redirect. But in 2013, Google’s Matt Cutts said 301 redirects don’t lose value. Matt Cutts said then, “The amount of PageRank that dissipates through a 301 is currently identical... [...]

Dr. Peter J. Meyers says, “It’s been over two years since Google launched Featured Snippets, and yet many search marketers still see them as little more than a novelty. If you’re not convinced by now that Featured Snippets offer a significant organic opportunity, then today is my attempt to change your mind. If you somehow haven’t encountered a Featured Snippet searching Google over the past two years, here’s an example (from a search for “ssl”): This is a promoted organic result, appearing above the traditional #1 ranking position. At minimum, Featured... [...]

Clay Cazier says, “Many times, those choosing a new enterprise platform to serve their website to the world are not well-versed in today’s SEO requirements. Systems integration and indexation are the focus of many IT-minded project managers. CMS features will often be key to marketing directors’ and CMOs’ decision-making. Even for savvy marketers, some platform requirements may slip under the radar in their due diligence. To support all of those tasked with selecting a new website platform, let’s recap the top elements to consider when vetting different solutions. Platform SEO requirements In... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “The day has come: Google has officially launched expanded text ads. The extra-long ads with double headlines began rolling out across devices Tuesday morning. The rollout comes along with the availability of device bidding and responsive display ads for native that were first announced at Google Performance Summit in May. Expanded text ads rollout begins As Sundeep Jain, who oversees text ads at Google, told the audience at SMX Advanced in June, existing standard ads will continue to run alongside expanded text ads (ETAs). As of October 26, 2016, however, advertisers will... [...]

Khalid Saleh says, “There are few things more important for conversion rate optimization than your landing page copy. If your landing pages are struggling to turn visitors into leads, there’s a very good chance it’s because of your copy. More often than not, marketers are guilty of making several copywriting mistakes, and they don’t even know it. In this post, I’ll show you three copywriting mistakes you are probably making on your landing pages — and how to correct them. 1. Your copy focuses on features, not benefits Features tell your audience what your product is about. Benefits... [...]

MOZ team says, “We’re hearing a lot about voice search lately, and that trend doesn’t seem likely to disappear. But does it have a direct impact on how you should be thinking about your SEO strategy? In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand discusses what to expect when it comes to the future of search and what you can do to stay on top”. Does Voice Search and/or Conversational Search Change SEO Tactics or Strategy? MOZ  [...]

Ellen Bartolino says, “Setting up proper SEO for your website is no easy feat — especially when you’re dealing with constantly changing algorithms. However, as search engines continue to evolve, it’s becoming more and more important for marketers to keep their content fresh and properly optimized. While it’s tempting to implement a bunch of quick fixes to get your page ranking in the short term, it’s important that you’re also planning a strategy that will scale in the long term. This requires you to continuously redefine your strategy over time by using sustainable... [...]

JR Oakes says, “Machine learning is quickly becoming an indispensable tool for many large companies. Everyone has, for sure, heard about Google’s AI algorithm beating the World Champion in Go, as well as technologies like RankBrain, but machine learning does not have to be a mystical subject relegated to the domain of math researchers. There are many approachable libraries and technologies that show promise of being very useful to any industry that has data to play with. Machine learning also has the ability to turn traditional website marketing and SEO on its head. Late last year, my colleagues... [...]