May SEO and Social Update

Here is our latest SEO and social update:

General Trend

Looking over our rankings at a high level we had a fairly flat (stagnant) month. These kinds of months aren’t bad. They simply mean we didn’t have any major drops or improvements. Instead, we had steady success with 22 out of 30 positive days during the month.

There was a confirmed core algorithm update for Google search on 4/16/2018. We did note some fluctuation but didn’t see anything major until 4/26/2018 which was really small compared to previous core algorithm changes. The exact algorithm changes remain unknown but it was reiterated that these updates are geared towards helping ‘undervalued websites’.

What does this mean for a business owner?

It simply means there was a core algorithm update that most likely was geared towards more national queries. It also means to keep doing standard SEO work. Building links and optimizing pages will help you weather any future algorithm changes. If you saw some impact with this last update it is important to remain consistent and keep your users in mind. If you remain focused and help make your site better and easier for customers to use, you will see benefits from any future algorithm updates.

Expanded Content and Rankings

Do you want more traffic? How about more keyword rankings? Of course you do, which is why I am going to outline how you can increase both with one action.

The way to do this is rather simple and can make all the difference when it comes to success online: expand the content on your websites. This could mean expanding the content of individual services or products. It may be building out a FAQ page or even expanding vertical or category pages. Either way, expanding the content around your business offering is a great way to become relevant for tons of keywords. It is also a great way to become an authority and resource for potential users.

If you feel you have tapped out your services/products or don’t have much more detail to provide look at creating or expanding blog content. Blogs are a great way to help produce engaging and relevant content without exhausting or overkilling your service/products. Often in very large sites or companies, it is the blog that drives 70%+ of the organic traffic coming to the website. While blogs are not as targeted towards immediate conversions they can open a larger pipeline to ranks, links, and users which eventually helps expand a business through direct conversions or even sheer notoriety. This is something Boostability does really well on our blog.

Another thing to consider when expanding content is the various types of content that should be used. Text-based content is great and should be the vast majority of content created. However, it is good for users and other traffic sources to create a variety of content. Things like pictures, information graphics, cartoons, videos, audio files, etc. are all great ways to expand and diversify content creation.

A good way to think and convey the way content can help expand a websites reach is by comparing it to building a castle. Where each brick represents a piece of content. Links act as the mortar used to solidify and hold the bricks in place–although good to have they are not necessarily vital. Once you have built a large enough castle you can expect more users to visit and even stay. Until you have something substantial not much can be expected.

What does this mean for a business owner?

Boiled down it means to get more content on your website. You can expand core content or become an expert with a blog. Either way, you need more copy on your site, not only to increase rankings but to also show you’re an authority in your space.

One last tip to help here is creating multiple pieces of content from one topic. As an example, you could create a blog around how to fix or do something. From this content, you can create a how-to or step-by-step video. Knowing the steps you could create an infographic in the process. You can also break it down into a few social posts.

Principles of Social Success

If you have been considering doing social or have been doing social and are looking to get more out of it. Here are a few quick tips to keep in mind when trying to dominate the game of social media.

• Social Focus – Conquering social does not come from being on 14 different social platforms. It comes from creating killer content on a select few. Consider choosing 2-3 social channels you like and focus on just those (for now).
• Be Original – This is nothing new and there is a reason for it. Your customers hate rehashed or duplicate content, which why originality always wins. Being original is as easy as being yourself, create content with your flare and preferences. It won’t please everyone but those who like it will become loyal over time.
• Post Regularly – Consistency is key when it comes to gaining organic followers, likes, and shares. If you post regularly it helps create a channel others can rely on which helps drive more action on your social channels. Strive to post at least once a week, if possible post 2-3 times weekly.
• Create Connection – Once you have an audience and they start interacting with your content, connect with them. This can be as simple as saying ‘thank you’ or answering a question. Show you care about your social interactions and they will become more frequent.

What does this mean for a business owner?

Simply put, find a few social platforms you enjoy using. Create content in your style and add your own bit of finesse to it. Share this content in a regular and predictable manner. Then respond, chat, and interact with those that engage with your content. If you can take a few minutes out of your day to do this you can dominate social media.

This can help expand your business social reach. Increase potential customers coming to your social profiles and eventually increase your conversions and profits.

Key Articles

SEO

• Text to HTML Ratio – It was reiterated that there is no text to HTML ratio used to judge the value of a page. (Source)
• Structured Markup and Rankings – It was also restated that having structured data does not boost rankings, instead it can allow for more potential rankings. (Source)
• Core Algorithm Update – It was noted and eventually confirmed that a core update was done to Google’s search algorithm. (Source)
• Subtle Boost for HTTPS – Google’s John Mueller confirmed that the HTTPS boost for rankings is very subtle and is URL specific. He also stated that it does not offer more benefit for one industry vs another. (Source)

Social

• Facebook & Cambria Analytica – Looking for an in-depth look at what happened and why? This is a great article that covers it all at a high level with resources to dive deeper. (Source)
• Unskippable Snapchat Ads – Snapchat is trialing some unskippable ads for videos/shows that appear on their platform. (Source)
• Twitter Winning Video – Twitter released its quarterly earnings for Q1 and revealed more than half of their revenue was driven from video. (Source)