Proliferation

Mar 22
0

So You’ve Been Hit with a Google Penalty — Now What?

By | Google, SEO, Utah SEO | No Comments

Any search engine marketer from the East Coast to Utah knows the feeling of dread that sets in when traffic to your website suddenly takes an unexpected nosedive.

Lower traffic numbers aren’t necessarily a sign of a stiff penalty from the search engine giant, however if you’re experiencing significant drops in traffic on individual pages, for certain keywords or a number of your pages suddenly get de-indexed, it’s probably a good sign the SEO gods have come down to Utah to smite your website. In the world of search engine optimization, Zeus has got nothing on Google.

If you suspect you’ve been hit with a Google penalty, don’t panic. The first thing to do is to figure out if you have actually been hit with such a penalty, and if so, what kind. There are two types of SEO penalties — manual penalties and algorithmic penalties.

Manual Penalties

Manual penalties are pretty easy to figure out. Take a look at your Webmaster Tools — If Google’s Webspam team has assigned you a penalty, it will appear as a warning under Search Traffic/Manual Actions. Manual penalties are typically accompanied by lower search engine rankings or site de-indexation.

Manual penalties can be difficult to recover from, but the good news is Google rarely doles out manual penalties for your overage site for some small company in Utah; they’re really only reserved for truly sketchy websites.

Algorithmic Penalties

Algorithmic penalties are less straightforward to identify; however, they can actually be easier to fix. The penalty could be related to offsite factors (most likely due to Penguin) or onsite factors (Panda).

Determining exactly which update caused the penalty can be tough though, so dive into Google Analytics to figure out what went wrong. Fruition Google Penalty Checker offers a good visual representation of penalties across time, and how each update affected your website traffic.

Now What?

Nobody likes getting hit with a Google penalty, but it’s really not the end of the world unless you make it out to be. Review both your current and past SEO strategy, do some serious backlink analysis, get rid of useless or duplicate content and perform a full SEO audit.

With the proper time and dedication, anyone from the East Coast to Utah can recover from a Google search penalty.

Mar 21
0

The Worst Websites for Mobile

By | Mobile marketing, SEO | No Comments

In 2016, mobile is continuing on its path to take over the Internet, from mobile holiday shopping to checking the latest Utah-area news. In an effort to boost search engine optimization — also known as SEO — and stay in the good graces of Google, most reputable websites work hard to make their websites mobile-friendly.

That said, not every website does a good job of optimizing for mobile. While some websites just don’t really seem to grasp the concept of mobile, others appear to be actively working to intrude upon consumers’ mobile experience as much as humanly possible.

Some of the worst offenders are the websites of local news stations in Utah and throughout the country. Local news websites are often littered with photos, advertisements and clickbait news stories. Some small-town news websites in Utah will inundate the viewer with pop-up information, or even highjack the viewer’s ability to scroll—resulting in a cluttered, jumpy mess of a mobile site. Not exactly great for SEO.

Other websites that offer a mobile app — such as YouTube — will upon entering the mobile version of the website present the viewer with an obnoxiously large plug for the app version. Such pop-up ads often have a very small ‘x’ in the corner that is rather difficult to hit just right on a tiny phone screen.

In these cases, the viewer is often unable to exit out of the advertisement on the first try, and instead gets redirected to an app he or she had no intention of downloading in the first place. Luckily, Google has recently released SEO penalties for sites that do this; however many mobile sites are still guilty of this infuriating practice.

Other mobile sites are simply not optimized for mobile. High school and university websites are notorious for this; it’s nearly impossible to use a university’s website on mobile, even the more reputable ones. In 2016, that’s simply unacceptable; if mobile is the next big thing, webmasters need to get with the program — just say no to unoptimized mobile websites.

Mar 17
0

SEO Tactics to Thwart Hackers

By | SEO | No Comments

For anyone used to the Internet, hacking is nothing new. Hackers — people who seek and exploit weaknesses in a computer or network — are present everywhere from Anonymous to 4Chan, releasing private information about high-profile companies such as Sony, targeting ISIS’ social media accounts and leaking nude celebrity photos.

Every now and then, innocent websites will get hacked and stuffed full of spammy backlinks in an attempt to increase the page rank of some random hacker’s website in Utah. This can result in some serious Google penalties — even if the spammy backlinks were someone else’s doing. Here are some SEO tactics to help protect against Internet hackers.

Reliable Hosting

When it comes to website hosting, it pays not to go for the budget option. A quality hosting provider will offer professional support and safety measures to prevent against hacking.

Update Software Regularly

While it can be easy to get behind with software updates or have your website running on an outdated version of WordPress, not updating frequently leaves your website open and exposed to potential hackers who can highjack your SEO. Software updates exist for multiple reasons: for maximum security and for keeping everything up-to-date.

Keep Good Backups

There’s nothing as important as having frequent backup copies of your website. Keep website backups separate from your usual computer; for best security, store backups on an external drive or on a separate network altogether. This makes it harder for hackers in Utah to completely derail your website and wreck your SEO.

Have a Strong Password

As this famous comic from xkcd illustrates, the strongest passwords actually don’t use a combination of numbers, letters and punctuation — instead, the strongest passwords employ a mix of random common words. Absolutely do not use passwords such as “12345” or “Password!”

Remain Vigilant

Always make sure to monitor your website regularly. Look out for any suspicious activity, and run regular security scans. Consider employing professionals in Utah who know exactly what a compromised website looks like.

Hackers can be a Webmaster’s worst nightmare. Help protect against hacking by following these important steps. And never ever use your work computer to browse websites of questionable integrity — that’s just stupid.

Mar 15
0

How to Grow Your Small SEO Agency to the National Level

By | content marketing, SEO | No Comments

For agencies specializing in search engine optimization (SEO), life is all about getting the client’s website to the top of a search engine’s results pages (SERPs). Yet while the goal of any small SEO agency in Utah or elsewhere is to bring to the client Internet fame and fortune, what about the SEO agency itself?

Most SEO agencies start out small; they may employ only a handful of professionals. Yet even the smallest of SEO agencies has the potential to grow into a regional, national or even multi-national force. Here’s how.

Start with Referrals

For the infant SEO startup, the best way to get those first few influential clients is through referrals. In the beginning, referral clients may not be your biggest clients, but they are without a doubt the most important. Gain both clients and a professional reputation going forward by treating your first clients really, really well.

Use Content Marketing

In the current era of the Internet, content marketing and SEO go hand in hand. Today’s search engines only care about keywords and backlinks so much; the real driver of search engine results is high-quality content. And lots of it.

Not only should a good SEO agency provide content marketing for its clients, it should also use content marketing to promote the agency itself.

Blog Well, and Blog Often

The quintessential aspect of content marketing is blogging. You should blog about everything from SEO to content marketing (meta, I know) and social media marketing. By blogging well and often, you aim to establish your agency as a thought leader in the industry.

Get Out There

Once you’ve established your agency as an industry leader of sorts, the conference invitations will come rolling in. Go to conferences everywhere, from Utah to the East Coast. Speaking at conferences only serves to further solidify your place as a leader in the SEO industry — so put yourself out there.

Get Specific

Once your agency is really beginning to thrive in the SEO community, you can start making bigger moves. The best way to bring your agency up to the national level is to specialize in one very specific industry in particular.

Don’t just do SEO in general, do SEO for rodeo services or office suppliers in Utah, for instance. Pick a niche market, and then dominate it. By going niche, you become the sole resource for that market — and that’s truly powerful.

Capture the Niche Market — and then Go from There

Once you’ve captured your niche market, the only way to go is up. From being the lead SEO agency for one particular market in Utah to the go-to agency for that market at the national level, the best way to get there is to go niche.

So what are you waiting for? Get started on your SEO empire today.

Mar 14
0

Negative SEO Might Just Be Black Hat Tactics, But We’re Not Fooled

By | content marketing, SEO | No Comments

Black hat SEO is slowly (and thankfully) becoming a thing of the past; however, its replacement is just as threatening. A new, more cunning type of search engine optimization has emerged in the shoes of black hat tactics: negative SEO. As with all things search engine-related, it doesn’t matter if you’re geo-targeting specific keywords in Utah or running a full-fledged campaign across the Midwest — negative SEO can affect the rankings of any business or retailer.

Negative SEO Is Black Hat SEO 2.0
Negative search engine optimization is basically just an updated version of black hat SEO; in a nutshell, it’s a series of unethical tactics that can be used by almost anyone (with the appropriate skill set) to successfully sabotage a competitor’s search rankings. Negative search engine optimization can be aimed at local competitors from Utah to the East Coast — it makes no difference to negative SEO.

Some of the tactics employed during a negative search engine optimization attack can include website hacking, the generation of a large quantity of inbound spam links to a website, content duplication and distribution and the creation of false social media profiles with the intention of destroying a company’s online reputation. A business on the West Coast can use any of the above tactics to target a competitor across the nation — whether they’re located in Utah or on the East Coast — to negatively affect their rankings and online reputation.

How to Treat Negative SEO Bullying
All of the above-listed tactics sound like an intense dosage of SEO-bullying; however, how successful are these tactics? Are they tangible enough to be considered an actual threat? Absolutely. And to make matters worse, negative SEO is cheap — it can cost as little as five bucks for someone to initiate a series of negative search engine optimization tactics. Your best bet? Invest in the necessary tools to prevent an attack from happening in the first place.

Mar 07
0

How to Make a Competitors’ SEO Strategy Your Own

By | digital marketing, SEO | No Comments

Search engine optimization, informally known as SEO, is a complex and multi-faceted field that requires expertise in several different areas in order to be successful. It doesn’t matter if you’re attempting to rank your site among search results in Utah or those on the East Coast — the playing field shows no preference when it comes to quadrants such as keyword competitiveness, inbound site traffic and user-friendly content.

So with SEO being such a competitive field (In Utah and in surrounding areas) how can you successfully (and legally) navigate the task at hand? To be frank, try taking a cue from your competitors. As much as you might view competitors as business rivals, competitors can be your best friends when it comes to search engine optimization.

Re-Spin Your Competitors’ Content

Although the phrase “content is king” still reigns in the digital kingdom of SEO, the phrase itself could benefit from a bit of a facelift. Although content certainly is one of the integral components of search engine optimization (whether you’re ranking for Utah-centric search terms or otherwise), the playing field has added a new referee: ideas. To take search engine optimization seriously means you absolutely must be aware of the content ideas your competitors are spinning, and then execute them with more precision and appeal.

Track Competitor Traffic with Link Mirroring

The advent of easy access to search engine research tools such as Moz’s Open Site Explorer have made it easy to not only track your competitors’ inbound links, but to mirror them. Although you should refrain from completely mimicking the strategy of your competitors, it’s vital that you become privy to where your competitors are getting their information. To beat a competitor, you must first get inside the mind of a competitor. Tracking and analyzing competitor links is the first step in accessing the thought processes of serious, major-league competition.

Mar 04
0

Can’t-Miss Steps of an SEO Audit

By | SEO | No Comments

SEO audits are notorious for being time and labor-intensive. There are numerous ways to improve your website’s SEO — from high-authority backlinks to properly-optimized images and website URLs. While an SEO audit can go in different directions depending on a business’ needs, there are some things an SEO audit simply can’t do without.

Mobile First

It’s 2016, and mobile is king — if your website isn’t mobile-friendly by now, you’re going to have a bad time. From Utah to the East Coast, Americans can’t get enough of mobile Internet; 75 percent of Americans now bring their phones with them to the bathroom. Start by taking Google’s mobile-friendly test, utilize a mobile sitemap and Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) and put a focus on responsiveness.

Data, Data, Data

This is SEO we’re talking about, so data is huge; performing an SEO audit means going through Google Analytics, AdWords data and Webmaster Tools, to name a few. All this data gives you insight into cost metrics, conversion rates, useful keywords, traffic metrics and more. Need to know how much traffic comes in from Utah, the West Coast or from other websites? You got it. Without the support of hard data, your SEO audit will go nowhere.

Tackle 404 Pages and Duplicate Content

You know what good websites don’t have? Error pages and duplicate content. Eliminate or redirect error pages as needed and get rid of duplicate content as soon as possible; duplicate information doesn’t look good to Google, much less to your users.

A Fast Website is a Good Website

Slow loading times can kill Web traffic: not only will users hate you, but search rankings will be negatively affected as well. Run PageSpeed Insights tests, enable browser caching and enable compression to reduce space. And as for any reputable website, finding a good Web host is absolutely essential.

SEO audits are a complicated business, and with all the little details it can be easy to miss the forest for the trees. Whether you’re a small business in Utah or a larger corporation, focus on these essential steps to make your next SEO audit a rousing success.

Feb 18
0

How Market Research Effectively Enhances SEO Efforts

By | SEO | No Comments

Market research is a pivotal aspect of any vibrant search engine optimization campaign. Market research finds relevant data about competitive landscape, customer values, demographics, effective mediums and market trends while providing enrichment across several platforms. By employing current market research, reports and methods, you can substantially enhance your current SEO efforts. Whether you’re in Utah or the Midwest, market research can help you accomplish three major things.

1. Market Research Provides Relevant Keywords

If you aren’t using the right keywords or keyword phrases to optimize your website, then you’re going to have a difficult time getting it to successfully rank within the first three pages of a search engine results page. SEO efforts, whether done in Utah or on a national platform, will need to be custom-tailored to fit your target audience and to retain an edge over your competitors.

Market research exposes you to current industry keyword trends, overall keyword competitiveness and the monthly search volume for each term. Being aware of these factors before you launch a SEO campaign in Utah or elsewhere will help you achieve the most profitable results.

2. Market Research Creates a Competitive Edge

Market research and specific, tailored search phrases will help attract organic traffic to your site while giving you beneficial insight about your competitors. By understanding which keywords and keyword phrases your competitors are targeting, you will simultaneously be able to recognize which keyword topics they are not focusing on. By utilizing market research to cue you in on your competitor’s weak spots, you will be able to substantially increase your overall SEO rankings.

3. Utilizing Research for High Value Content

Last but not least, market research can help you hone in on the specific wants and needs of your consumers. As a result, you will be able to craft more focused, relevant content — which will ultimately do much more for your rankings than mediocre content stuffed with keywords. In the process, you’ll also position yourself as a trusted, veritable industry expert.

Feb 15
0

A Beginner’s Guide to a Quick SEO Audit

By | SEO | No Comments

SEO auditing is a multi-faceted way to make an in-depth and accurate evaluation regarding the health of your website while simultaneously recognizing any specific areas that need to be developed. A thorough audit of your site can quickly help you diagnose any issues while helping you tackle your toughest SEO competition, whether that competition is in Utah or on the East Coast.

Assess Organic Traffic, Keywords and Competitors

One of the first things you should do while conducting an audit involves getting a comprehensive overview of your current traffic situation. For example, SEMRush and other tools allow you to search for your root domain, providing a graph of organic traffic and where it comes from, PPC traffic sources, your top keywords and main competitors. This overall assessment can give you a beginning look into where you should direct your SEO efforts, whether you want to be at the top of your game in Utah or in a surrounding area.

How Fluid Is Your Navigation?

Another way to look at the search engine optimization health of your website involves taking a look at the content on your page, specifically the navigation. Is the navigation easy to follow? Does it make sense? Make sure that the links within your navigation contain industry-specific keywords.

If your webpage is difficult for visitors to navigate, you’re going to have a difficult time ranking, no matter how aggressive your SEO efforts are. It doesn’t matter if you’re implementing search engine optimization tactics on a local level in Utah or on a nationwide platform—well-orchestrated navigation will make a huge difference in your traffic levels.

Some beneficial ways to check the health of your navigation involve checking to see how easily you can find your blog, shopping cart or other important pages. Also make note of whether or not you see any social media links within your navigation. How well are these links implemented? Is the blog frequently updated? These are all major areas related to content that should be thoroughly assessed to get you on the right track for a healthy search engine optimization campaign.

Feb 10
0

When Good Content Marketing Strategies Go Bad

By | content marketing | No Comments

There are a wide variety of tools available in the content marketers’ online arsenal—from social media and Web design to other digital marketing techniques. While any top content marketing agency knows how to use marketing tools to their best effect, all too many businesses aren’t getting the full potential from their marketing efforts.

According to the recently released 2016 State of Small Business Report, small businesses from the East Coast to Utah aren’t taking advantage of their online Web presence.

Social Media

While four out of five small businesses regularly use social media, 45 percent use it to promote products or services, and 38 percent use it for promotions, sales or services. Twenty percent of small businesses do not utilize social media at all.

Social media can be a powerful tool for online marketers, but social media’s power lies in its ability to connect and build relationships with a potential client base—not for sales pitches. Use social for content-driven marketing, sharing relevant blog posts and other owned content and addressing consumer concerns.

Company Websites

Every small business needs a good website. A company website should focus on providing information and showcasing products. Yet per The State of Small Business Report, only half of small businesses provide company addresses and phone numbers, and a mere 32 percent of small business websites are optimized for online purchases.

Only half of small businesses use their websites for marketing at all, which is bad news for small businesses in Utah and elsewhere. A company website is often a consumer’s first interaction with the business in question—a website that’s not optimized for marketing is a major missed opportunity.

SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) fares even worse among small businesses, with only a quarter of business owners focusing on SEO. No mater how great your content is, it’s useless if consumers can’t find it.

Small businesses need to step up their content marketing game if they want to reap the benefits of online marketing tools. For small businesses from the Midwest to Utah, marketing tools are only as good as the people that use them.