Dr. Peter J. Meyers says, “Just over 9 months ago, I wrote that 30% of page-1 Google results in our 10,000-keyword tracking set were secure (HTTPS). As of earlier this week, that number topped 50%. While there haven’t been any big jumps recently – suggesting this change is due to steady adoption of HTTPS and not a major algorithm update – the end result of a year of small changes is dramatic. More and more Google results are secure. MozCast is, of course, just one data set, so I asked the folks at Rank Ranger, who operate a similar (but entirely different) tracking system, if they... [...]

Laura Forer says, “It’s hard enough for marketers to keep up with email trends and shopping trends, but keep up they must. And one of the most fickle channels marketers need to follow is SEO. We wrote about SEO predictions earlier this year, and now we’re highlighting an infographic by web agency KOL Limited with seven more trends to watch. User intention will be a key focus, the agency predicts, meaning that the context—and not just the keywords—of the user’s search will gain importance. The infographic also predicts that brands will revisit the use of HTTPS in their... [...]

Annie Pilon says, “Chances are, you use some type of social media or content strategy to market your small business. But since so many other businesses use those same platforms, you have to constantly find new ways to make your business stand out. For ideas and tips on using social media and content marketing for your small business, check out these tips from members of our small business community. Prepare and Execute a Social Media Crisis Management Plan If you’ve been in business for more than a day, you’ve likely experienced a crisis or two. And when that happens, it’s important... [...]

Jordan Kasteler says, “You might disagree, but I see Search Engine Optimization as both an art and a science. You need to be creative in your approaches to please search engines and outsmart competitors while also applying solid research and analytics-based strategies. To do this, you need to employ a variety of techniques and tools. Unfortunately, however, most people tend to stick to what they know. That can be dangerous in the rapidly evolving SEO space, as the search engines continually adjust what they’re looking for and how they display results. Following, some of the significant... [...]

MOZ team says, “Net neutrality is a hot-button issue lately, and whether it’s upheld or not could have real ramifications for the online marketing industry. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand covers the potential consequences and fallout of losing net neutrality. Be sure to join the ensuing discussion in the comments!”. Why Net Neutrality Matters for SEO and Web Marketing MOZ  [...]

Serge Stefoglo says, “If you work on an enterprise site — particularly in e-commerce or listings (such as a job board site) — you probably use some sort of faceted navigation structure. Why wouldn’t you? It helps users filter down to their desired set of results fairly painlessly. While helpful to users, it’s no secret that faceted navigation can be a nightmare for SEO. At Distilled, it’s not uncommon for us to get a client that has tens of millions of URLs that are live and indexable when they shouldn’t be. More often than not, this is due to their faceted nav setup. There are... [...]

Marcus Miller says, “Your website is the center of your digital marketing world — the place that all digital rivers run toward. And of course, the largest of its traffic sources is generally organic search. Yet all too often, businesses don’t think about SEO until after having a website designed (or redesigned), and these sites are often sadly lacking on the SEO and digital marketing front. They may look shiny, but if the marketing smarts are not cooked in at design time, then you will be running the marketing race with a wooden leg. Or at the very least, faced with going back to the... [...]

Ronald Dod says, “As a small business, your website is your greatest marketing tool and asset. You need to leverage it as such. It is the first thing that your customers are going to see. It can also be a strong customer acquisition tool to acquire customers through search engines, social media, etc. Regardless of your size, it is always a good idea to redo your website and its design. My small business redesigns our website every year and a half. It is such a long process that, basically, once we finish the design, we start working on the next one. The reason for this? We see how much value... [...]

Jodi Harris says, “One of the greatest benefits of content marketing is its ability to play matchmaker: to help eligible businesses find and engage with its most desirable consumers – i.e., those who might have an active interest in what they have to offer. And because it is such a powerful driver of awareness, search is one of the main contributing factors to how successful your content will be at attracting those qualified leads. While it’s not always fully transparent how or when Google’s search bots will crawl and index your content – let alone exactly how its search algorithm... [...]

Dmitry Dragilev says, “It’s tough out there for SEOs and content marketers. With the sheer amount of quality content being produced, it has become nearly impossible to stand out in most industries. Recently we were running content marketing for Pipedrive, a sales CRM. We created a content strategy that used educational sales content to educate and build trust with our target audience. This was a great idea, in theory — we’d educate readers, establish trust, and turn some of our readers into customers. The problem is that there are already countless others producing similar sales-focused... [...]