MOZ team says, “From search ads and SEO to display ads, content, and your social efforts, there’s a lot to consider when creating the correct marketing concoction. In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand goes over advice on how and why you should be auditing your funnel to ensure you have a balanced, effective marketing mix“. Creating the Right Marketing Mix – Whiteboard Friday MOZ Blog  [...]

Aaron Friedman says, “Thinking in templates We all judge people on first impressions. When we see someone for the first time, we’re quick to decide what type of person they are — based on the clothes they wear, how they style their hair, and anything else we notice that immediately puts them in a group. It’s certainly not fair, but it’s human nature. And I’d like to keep my faith in humanity and argue that lots of us try NOT to prejudge others. Google is judging you Believe it or not, Google is the same. It judges, too. Some might disagree with this theory, but our internal... [...]

Brian Wood says, “At Wayfair.com, we conduct a lot of SEO tests. We’re constantly measuring and evaluating our strategies, some of which were shared in our last post for YouMoz, Accidental SEO Tests: When On-Page Optimization Ceases to Matter. Sometimes, however, we stumble across what we call “accidental SEO tests.” This typically happens when a bad code deploy unintentionally hurts our SEO, and we end up learning something useful from our mistake. Tens of thousands of 301 redirects One of our accidental tests involved regularly 301-redirecting large batches (i.e., tens... [...]

Kelsey Libert says, “Did it feel like everyone you knew was watching “Making a Murderer” at the same time? It may have just been an illusion, thanks to a few key members of your social network. Researchers at the University of Southern California recently uncovered that when something appears more popular than it actually is, it can create the right conditions for it to be widely spread. They named this social network phenomenon the majority illusion, which happens due to highly-connected individuals within a social network skewing the group’s perception. These findings explain something... [...]

Tom Anthony says, “SEOs traditionally say that a specific search query can be classified as either navigational,informational, or transactional. The categories were originally published in 2002 in a peer-reviewed paper by Andrei Broder who worked for Altavista (remember them?!) at the time. The categories that Broder came up with have been invaluable to SEOs for many years, helping many of us explain the different types of search query that we should consider. However, it’s time to revisit these categories to see if we can improve their usefulness in a world of direct answers, apps,... [...]

MOZ team says, “B2B companies face different challenges than B2C companies. From which stages you target in the funnel to how you measure your success to the team you end up selling to, content marketing can be a horse of a different color when you’re business-to-business. In this week’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand shares his tips for successful content marketing when you’re a B2B“. Content Marketing Tips for B2B Organizations – Whiteboard Friday MOZ Blog  [...]

Tim Hand says, “Throughout my work writing with niche websites, I’ve discovered an unfortunate trend where many sites for small, local businesses haven’t been updated in years. While it’s clear they attempted to execute a content strategy at some point of time, they’ve since given it up for other marketing tools where a return of investment is more apparent. Content creation is an essential investment in the visibility and authority of your business. Other than the value that your content offers readers, it also increases the chances that consumers will discover you in search engines.... [...]

Derek Edmond says, “When Google first launched Webmaster Tools (now known as Google Search Console), I was more than skeptical of its value. I had a hard time buying into XML sitemaps as a must-have SEO asset, and the original results for keyword data were never close to what could be found in web reporting tools. Fast forward to the new year, and we all know Google Search Console has evolved significantly. One of the key areas where the platform has become essential is in the Search Analytics dashboard. With nearly all organic keyword data blocked due to “not provided,” this dashboard... [...]

MOZ team says, “Many small businesses see content marketing as something that you can only be successful with if you are a huge company with a big budget. I was in the same boat for a long time, but after much research, many (many) failed attempts, and a lot of perseverance, I’ve finally started to see some predictability in how to get results from content marketing. Nothing illustrates this better than a project we managed for a travel company that was inspired by the finale to the fifth season of the television series Game of Thrones. To sum up how effective this effort was, let me break... [...]

Winston Burton says, “One of the most common problems in the SEO industry is that clients often do not implement their agencies’ SEO recommendations — and then they complain when they don’t get the results they expect from their SEO campaign (i.e., increases in visibility, traffic and conversions). There are several reasons clients do not implement SEO recommendations, including: Not having the appropriate resources or time to make the recommended changes. Internal politics and red tape. Lack of qualified developers. High cost associated with the changes. No internal champion. Limitations... [...]