Dr. Peter J. Meyers says, “People often ask me if they should change domain names, and I always shudder just a little. Changing domains is a huge, risky undertaking, and too many people rush into it seeing only the imaginary upside. The success of the change also depends wildly on the details, and it’s not the kind of question anyone should be asking casually on social media. Recently, I decided that it was time to find a new permanent home for my personal and professional blogs, which had gradually spread out over 5 domains. I also felt my main domain was no longer relevant to my current... [...]

MOZ team says, “When writing headlines and title tags, we’re often conflicted in what we’re trying to say and (more to the point) how we’re trying to say it. Do we want it to help the page rank in SERPs? Do we want people to be intrigued enough to click through? Or are we trying to best satisfy the searcher’s intent? We’d like all three, but a headline that achieves them all is incredibly difficult to write. In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand illustrates just how small the intersection of those goals is, and offers a process you can use to find the best... [...]

Dr. Peter J. meyers says, “Last year, Google expanded the Knowledge Graph to use data extracted (*cough* scraped) from the index to create answer boxes. Back in October, I wrote about a failed experiment. One of my posts, an odd dive into Google’s revenue, was being answer-fied for the query “How much does Google make?””. How We Fixed the Internet (Ok, an Answer Box) MOZ Blog  [...]

Baer says, “Search engine optimization (SEO) audits have the unfortunate reputation of being time-consuming and tedious. However, most people who have owned a website for very long know their importance. Since 93% of online experiences start with search engines (SEJ), you need regular audits to keep your site relevant and ranking well. Even if you have consultants take care of your SEO, it’s still a good idea to understand these seven steps. SEO is a constantly changing landscape. The search engines keep forcing companies to reevaluate their SEO strategies. The good news is, SEO audits... [...]

Cyrus Shepard says, “I love SEO. I love talking about SEO. Most non-SEO folk you talk to are generally very nice people. They may not understand everything you say, but they often nod their head and smile. The open-minded may even ask you to look at their site. On the other hand, there’s the non-SEO “expert” (loosely defined as someone who has a cousin in marketing) who represents a different beast altogether. Well intentioned but misinformed, they believe SEO is urban legend, no better than a Ponzi scheme. 10 SEO Myths that Friggin’ Tick Me Off MOZ Blog  [...]

Ruth Burr Reedy says, “Finding your next SEO hire is hard, but it’s only half the battle. Growing a team isn’t just about hiring—it’s about making your whole team, newbies and experts alike, better marketers. It’s almost impossible to build a one-size-fits-all training program for digital marketers, since the tasks involved will depend a lot on the role. Even “SEO” can mean a lot of different things. Your role might be highly technical, highly creative, or a mix of both. Tactics like local SEO or conversion rate optimization might be a huge part of an... [...]

Rand Fishkin says, “Imagine a world where even the high-up Google engineers don’t know what’s in the ranking algorithm. We may be moving in that direction. In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand explores and explains the concepts of deep learning and machine learning, drawing us a picture of how they could impact our work as SEOs“. What Deep Learning and Machine Learning Mean For the Future of SEO MOZ Blog  [...]

Eric Enge says, “Let’s face it. Getting slapped by a manual link penalty, or by the Penguin algorithm, really stinks. Once this has happened to you, your business is in a world of hurt. Worse still is the fact that you can’t get clear information from Google on which of your links are the bad ones. In today’s post, I am going to focus on the number one reason why people fail to get out from under these types of problems, and how to improve your chances of success. The mindset Success begins, continues, and ends with the right mindset. A large percentage of people I see... [...]

Bill Slawski says, “There are many pages on the Web that are filled with data in the form of tables. It’s possible that if you weren’t paying attention you may have missed Google Table Search entirely—it hasn’t gotten a lot of press as far as I can tell. If you include tabular data on the pages of your site, though, you may be able to find tables from your site included in the results from a query in Google Table Search. Imagine that I am looking to buy a new camera lens, except I’m not sure which one to purchase. I’ve heard good things about Nikon lenses,... [...]

Jami Oetting says, “We are creatures of habit, especially when it comes to buying behavior. We know the location of our favorite products in the store, and we trust that they will work, year after year. In fact, Americans buy the same 150 items, which accounts for 85% of household needs. People don’t like change. And it is a battle to get someone to switch to an unknown brand. When a client is looking to launch a new product, get into a different market, or open a new store location, the odds are stacked against him. Consider this: Only 3% of consumer packaged good exceed the sales... [...]