Tag: tips

3 Ways to Boost Your Mobile and Content SEO Strategies

3 Ways to Boost Your Mobile and Content SEO Strategies by Jorge Chediak.  Available from <http://www.business2community.com/seo/3-ways-boost-mobile-content-seo-strategies-01766779> [Jan 30, 2017]

SEO is a bit like a chameleon, changing its colors as the marketing landscape evolves — or better, as the latest algorithm from Google deems necessary. Things like the URL, meta data, H1, and alt tags are known to affect ranking, with some saying there are nearly 200 different ranking factors that affect where your page will appear in that next search.

Regardless of the number of factors, there is no denying that Google constantly tinkers with and introduces new algorithms to better assess the quality of content and experience a webpage offers. Since search’s infancy, the effort to serve up content relevant to a user’s question has been at the core of many algorithm updates.

Google’s primary objective is to make the world’s information universally accessible and increasingly useful at a faster and faster pace. So content quality isn’t a new or surprising concept. It’s even debatable whether this even represents a true shift in methodology, given Google’s countless efforts to eliminate easily hackable signals.

The focus on mobile experience, however, is new.

According to eMarketer’s “US Digital Users: The eMarketer Forecast for 2016” study, more than 80 percent of individuals in North America will use a mobile phone, meaning the organization and accessibility of that information affects usability. Each element demands a unique skill set yet must also complement the others.

Keywords, meta data, and backlinks are no longer enough. Google now scans sites and content for usability and user experience. Marketers must consider this paradigm shift when developing their SEO game plans.

The Keys to Good SEO

Experience is a critical aspect of successful SEO, but the basics don’t have to cost tons of money or manpower. A simple, mobile-responsive design serves your brand until you can upgrade. Google’s mobile searches surpassed desktop queries for the first time in 2015, and there’s likely no going back. As always, you have to serve customers on their terms — or, in this case, at the tips of their fingers.

Once the mobile component comes together, you must consider your content. From blogs and branded articles to social posts, it — along with your publishing and sharing strategies — should align with your target audience’s interests.

Know how people interact with your product, and let that information guide your content. In the all-important world of mobile experience, these metrics indicate whether you’re on the right track:

  • Mobile tests: Run these to determine where you’re hitting issues with search engines. Is your usability not up to par? Does your mobile site have coding or syntax errors? Find out what’s causing problems under the hood. Do some diagnostics to determine whether your site is mobile-friendly.
  • Engagement: The big challenge is whether users are taking the actions you desire. This might include subscribing to an email newsletter or downloading a free e-book. If people reach your landing page but navigate away without acting, figure out why.Track engagement rates across various platforms, and adjust your strategies accordingly. A clothing retailer’s audience might favor one type of content, but a surgical hair restoration company’s customers might want something else entirely.
  • Bounce rates: Programs such as Google Analytics and Lucky Orange generate heat maps to help you see exactly the types of content and site components people gravitate toward. If they’re not taking the desired actions, these maps might help you solve the mystery. Analyzing bounce rates helps identify gaps between your goals and actual customer experiences.

Maximize Mobile and Content

Marketers know mobile is mandatory, but content creates other challenges. Combining both in the service of SEO is new territory for most brands, and it can be difficult to know where to begin.

You’re no longer solely worried about search rankings; you must also consider what’s being said about your brand on social and offline. Here’s how to master mobile while conquering content:

1. Hire strategically. Seek candidates with strong technical backgrounds, as well as creatives who can elevate your content. If you have an excellent technical website, put more money toward the content. If your content is great, do the opposite.

Use your resources to build a well-balanced, complementary SEO force. Consultants and independent agencies can supplement your in-house team if you lack the tools to hire more full-time staff. The key is to optimize the mobile experience with content that matters.

2. Make quality key. Content generation costs time and money, but it’s critical to your success. Many companies struggle to develop in-house blog posts, articles, whitepapers, and other materials.

If that’s the case for your team, don’t ignore the problem. Search engines reward brands that provide value to users, something at which content excels. News items, images, video, and other content make up 85 percent of Google search results, so don’t leave content out of your strategy.

3. Monitor traffic and leads. To determine whether your SEO strategies are successful, look to your organic search gross profits. Track lead generation and conversion based on your SEO touchpoints.

Know which landing pages drive new leads and which content pieces directly link to conversions. Traffic plays a significant role in search rankings, so ensure you hit your goals.

The more traffic a site generates, the more relevant it appears to search algorithms. Don’t look solely at overall numbers, though. Identify which keywords, pages, and content drive the most traffic to your site.

Mobile user experience and content are distinct fields, but SEO depends on both. They’re increasingly intertwined as marketers learn the ever-changing rules of search algorithms, and companies must hire talent that can keep pace.

Brands that invest in SEO content and mobile experts — and know how to leverage both resources — are the ones that will have the most success moving forward.

3 Ways to Boost Your Mobile and Content SEO Strategies by Jorge Chediak.  Available from <http://www.business2community.com/seo/3-ways-boost-mobile-content-seo-strategies-01766779> [Jan 30, 2017]

The best way to evaluate your Internet speed

The best way to evaluate your Internet speed by Eric Geier.  Available from <http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/technology/the-best-way-evaluate-your-internet-speed/lLnzlDaUy9wcEnqNtO33gP/> [12:00 a.m. Sunday, January 29, 2017]

The Internet is a necessity for many these days, and when it’s slow, it can be frustrating.

Complaining to your Internet service provider (ISP for short) often leads them to upselling you to a faster plan when it might not be needed. So here I share some tips on dealing with slow Internet issues:

Discover what speeds you’re paying for: ISPs sell their Internet access with varying speeds, typically represented in megabits per second (Mbps), often spoken as “megs,” for the download speeds. Since quoted upload speeds are usually much less than the download speeds, they can be less than 1 Mbps, which they would then be represented in kilobytes per second (Kbps). About 1,000 Kbps equals 1 Mbps.

First, find out exactly what speeds you should be getting for the plan you’re currently paying for. Sometimes your monthly bill or online account from your ISP will tell you, but other times you might have to call them.

Test your current Internet speed: Next, test your actual Internet speeds to ensure you’re getting what you’re currently paying for. There are many ways to do this, but my favorite testing website is www.speedtest.net. Go there and hit Begin Test, and within a minute or two it will show you the results.

Keep in mind, the computer you use to test the speeds and the way in which that computer is connected to the Internet can negatively affect the speeds. You should try to test using a computer that’s hardwired to the Internet modem/router gateway. If you must use a computer that’s wirelessly connected via Wi-Fi, you should ensure it’s relatively close to the Internet gateway.

Reboot your modem/router and computer: If you ever see test results much lower than what’s promised by your ISP or you’re having any other Internet issue, first try rebooting everything. Unplug the ISP modem/router gateway for a couple seconds, keeping in mind you might temporarily loose TV and/or phone service in addition to the Internet. Then reboot your computer and see if that helps.

Call your ISP to test your connection: If you’re still seeing problems after rebooting the equipment, give the ISP a call. Though they might try to just sell you a faster plan, insist on them testing your connection, which they can usually do remotely while you’re on the phone. They might detect a low signal or connection quality due to a problem in your home or with the lines outside, which then they will likely send a tech out to investigate further.

Call a computer pro to check it out: If you need help in testing your Internet speeds or are still having issues after talking to the ISP, consider calling a computer professional. A slow or corrupt computer can cause slowness. A poor Wi-Fi connection can also cause slowness for wirelessly connected devices.

In addition, don’t forget: Having lots of devices on the Internet at once and/or video streaming can certainly slow things down, and you might consider upgrading to a faster plan. On the other hand, if you have one of the faster connections, you might actually be able to downgrade your plan to save money if all that speed isn’t necessary.

If you do only simple web browsing and emailing, one of the slower plans with download speeds in the 1 to 5 Mbps range might be fine. If you do video streaming (like with YouTube or Netflix), I’d suggest the 10 to 20 Mbps range, or more if you have multiple people in the house regularly video streaming.

The best way to evaluate your Internet speed by Eric Geier.  Available from <http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/technology/the-best-way-evaluate-your-internet-speed/lLnzlDaUy9wcEnqNtO33gP/> [12:00 a.m. Sunday, January 29, 2017]

14 Ways You Can Use Google Analytics To Improve Your Website

14 Ways You Can Use Google Analytics To Improve Your Website by Forbes Agency Council.  Available from <http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/01/30/14-ways-you-can-use-google-analytics-to-improve-your-website/#4b643dc51ac9> [Jan 30, 2017 @ 09:00 AM]

Tracking the strength of website design has come a long way from the era of “under construction” animated gifs and text files on URL references. With the advent of tools such as Google Analytics, it is now possible to track how a visitor came across your site, including from offline or internet of things sources, as well as how long visitors stayed, and what kind of content or keywords kept them there.

When reviewing these kinds of details, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the breadth of information available, especially if you’re not quite sure which part, or a combination of parts, are important to you and your site. Forbes Agency Council members were asked to identify one valuable piece of data they look for on behalf of their clients and why it matters. Here’s what they shared:

1. Study Bounce Rate

One of the most important pieces of data is bounce rate. If there is a large percentage of visitors navigating away after viewing only one page, then we know there is a problem. This tells us that we need to go back and optimize that page with better call-to-actions or more engaging content, like video that will intrigue the visitor to dive deeper into our clients’ offerings.   – David Shiffman, Brandamos, LLC

2. Analyze Potential New Markets

By looking at the geographic breakdown of what traffic does when it gets to the client’s site, you can analyze new potential markets. We have a client who was looking at expanding their footprint in Australia and Europe, and by looking at their traffic and conversion rates, we were able to identify three other countries in the Middle East and South America they hadn’t identified.   – Dave Pavlu, AdsUpNow

3. Seek Resonating Content

By identifying what pages already have traffic, conversions or results – you can glean insights into what content is resonating. When you know what’s resonating — create more of that.   – Sara Davis, Foxtail Marketing

4. Attribution Is Important

The attribution data point within the “model comparison tool” section is one piece of data that is quite important. This data point allows you to gather better insight into which channels are assisting in the conversion. The default attribution is “last interaction,” but I find that using the “first interaction” allows you to understand how each channel assisted in the conversion.   – Matt Bowman, Thrive Internet Marketing

5. Study Behavior Flow

Beyond basic traffic and click-rate KPIs, valuable visitor intent insights can be extrapolated with the “behavior flow” tool in Google Analytics. Behavior flow moves beyond raw statistics to provide visual diagrams that can help decipher your web visitors’ intent by analyzing things such as what pages they interacted with and the page where they disengaged and dropped off your site.   – Mike Skeehan, Salted Stone, Inc.

6. Examine Trends

Every element of data in Google Analytics is dependent on additional dimensions to explain it. An infographic going viral will skyrocket bounce rates. Attaining ranking on a highly competitive term can drop pages per session. Neither is necessarily a bad thing. Focus on trending data; day over day, week over week, month over month and year over year!   – Douglas Karr, DK New Media

7. Discover Sources Of Traffic

Knowing where traffic is coming from (paid versus organic) can be huge insight into the future online marketing for the client. It can show what ad buys are driving traffic to the website, what organic efforts (such as blogs) are working and can also show what, if any, money spent on social media is effective.   – Duree Ross, Durée & Company.com

8. Study Users Flow

My favorite feature is the behavior flow, labeled as “users flow” in Google Analytics. Understanding customers’ behavior and interaction with the website is essential to study carefully to understand their likes and dislikes before making any changes. You can’t improve what you can’t measure.   – Ahmad Kareh, Twistlab Marketing

9. Leverage Attention-Grabbing Pages

The length of time that consumers spend on a single page is an interesting piece of data that can tell clients how to leverage their most attention-grabbing pages and content pieces into sales conversions. Reviewing traffic levels and traffic sources with the length of time that a consumer is on a page can help brands maximize their website conversions.   – Joey Kercher, Air Fresh Marketing

10. Set Priorities: Desktop Vs. Mobile

Google Analytics provides important data on whether your web traffic is coming from desktop or mobile devices. With mobile web browsing beginning to take over desktop browsing, mobile optimization should be a major priority for your business going forward, if it isn’t already. If you’re receiving a high bounce rate on mobile, fix it! Be sure to optimize your website for speed and responsiveness.   – Brock Murray, seoplus+

11. Watch Cross-Channel Attribution

Looking at aggregated data gives us a much better read about which channels influence performance. While last click remains the most common model, Google Analytics, especially Analytics360, gives a clearer view of channels driving introducer clicks and not just focusing on closers. With this data, we can make much smarter about how to position our clients to capture and close sales.   – Dan Golden, Be Found Online

12. Identify Keywords Driving Visits

Employ Google Analytics to reveal the keywords people are using to reach your client websites. What terms are people searching for when they find a client? And importantly, does the client want to be found for those words? If not, time to review and change up the website content. Google Analytics will also show when clients are not being found for the words they would like to rank for.   – Bernadette Coleman, Advice Local

13. Enable Google Search Console

The holy grail of organic search traffic data originates from Google Search Console. However, too few website owners take the necessary step to enable Google Search Console data to flow into Google Analytics. Once enabled, a treasure trove of data is made available to you for analysis, including keyword performance and what users see in Google search results before they decide to click to your site.   – Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com

14. Don’t Look At Only One Thing

There are pitfalls only looking at a single component. When only looking at one thing, you could miss the bigger picture, or experience a bias if you don’t have the other data to put the component in context. Solely looking at users in analytics tells you nothing of sessions, which could tell you if you have a high level of repeating visitors, or pages per session and engagement activity.   – Jon Simpson, Criterion.B

14 Ways You Can Use Google Analytics To Improve Your Website by Forbes Agency Council.  Available from <http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/01/30/14-ways-you-can-use-google-analytics-to-improve-your-website/#4b643dc51ac9> [Jan 30, 2017 @ 09:00 AM]

Four Best Practices For Successfully Onboarding Mobile App Users

Four Best Practices For Successfully Onboarding Mobile App Users by Michael Essany.  Available from <https://mobilemarketingwatch.com/four-best-practices-for-successfully-onboarding-mobile-app-users-70498/> [January 23, 2017]

The following is a guest contributed post from Amy Abascal, Head of Marketing, Americas, FollowAnalytics.

In the old days of software design, onboarding campaigns were considered a crutch to compensate for bad UX.  In some cases, the on-boarding workflow even interfered with your ability to use the application.  Anyone remember that talking paperclip in MS Office that always seemed to get in the way?  But mobile apps are a different beast.  Well thought out onboarding flows can be an essential tool to ensure user retention.

It’s fairly well established that most apps are deleted after their first use – over 80% to be clear.  And comscore reports that users spend more than 75% of their time in their three favorite apps. So unless you want your app to be deleted or forgotten about, it’s critical to ensure that users find immediate value.  Coaching screens and in-app messages that introduce key features can make a huge difference

In addition, many mobile apps are useless or crippled without permission to use external features provided by the smartphone.  Think of Instagram without camera permissions or Waze without GPS.  Unfortunately, smartphones don’t allow apps to access these by default.  The user must agree and onboarding campaigns can get them to do so.

Here are five tips to creating successful onboarding that will ensure your users love your app and keep using it.

I. Take the Pain Out of Logging In

Typing passwords on a desktop computer can be tough, but typing them on a mobile device can be downright maddening.  If your user opens your device, is immediately prompted to create an account and cannot get through the login process, it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll lose them.

Instead, don’t require users to create an account until it’s really necessary.  How much can they explore before a login is required?  Once they see the value of your app, they’re more likely to go to the trouble.

Next, provide as many options to login as possible.  Social media sign-ins through Facebook and LinkedIn are great, but if users store their passwords keychain tools and don’t remember them, you’ve added more complexity to the process than they may be willing to put up with.  Furthermore, ask your team if it’s really necessary to have strict password requirements?  Can you let them log in with a numeric pin?  My bank lets me login with my fingerprint.  I love them for it!

II.  Think About Context When Asking Permission

If you are going to request permission to send push notifications, use the camera or GPS, or access other external functions, then explain what the user is getting out of it.  When they sees the app is more useful by clicking “allow”, they’re much more likely to do so.

Likewise, the timing of your requests is just as important as explaining why you’re asking.  I’ve used apps that asked for everything from my social media profile to my location before I was even certain what the app did.  Let your user get addicted to your app first.  You might not need to ask for permission to use the camera until someone is ready to scan a barcode or take a picture.  If they understand that denying access will create an obstacle to whatever they are trying to do right at that moment, they are far more likely to agree.

III.  Segment and Personalize the Journey

Different users users are likely follow different paths through your app.  When you consider context as part of your on-boarding journey, you find out that there are now many journeys and not just one.

Not all users will respond to the same things the same way?  By leveraging a  best in class mobile analytics tool, you can understand your segments (down to segments of one!) and know quantitatively what messages and content appeals to each.  This allows you to tailor your onboarding campaigns, sending the right message to the right person at the right time.

Not only should you use your segments for demographics, but you can also use them to see where people are in the onboarding process.  If you have a group of users that have all opted out of push notifications at a certain point, then by experimenting with the process, you may be able to change their minds on down the road.  Or perhaps you learn that it’s appropriate to show coaching screens to certain subsets of users and not others – or at different points.

IV.  Analyze, Test and Optimize

Onboarding paths are no different than any other engagement campaign.  Be sure you test and optimize your messages.  First, use funnels and event flow analytics to understand where certain segments are dropping off.  Then split test your mobile messaging to improve results.  Perhaps calls to action can be written differently to appeal to different segments.  What can you test and optimize to boost successful adoption of your app?

The Takeaway

Well designed onboarding flows can be powerful tools that improve retention and help users get value from your app.  Put yourself in the shoes of your user.  Think of times that a login process was so cumbersome that you gave up.  When considering when and how to ask permission for external resources, be sure your timing makes sense and that the user perceives value in allowing the request.  Understand that not all users will follow the same hard coded path and use segments and personalization to be sure each person gets the best experience for them.  And finally, test your messages and calls to action.  By observing these practices, you can improve retention and be sure users get the most out of your app.

Four Best Practices For Successfully Onboarding Mobile App Users by Michael Essany.  Available from <https://mobilemarketingwatch.com/four-best-practices-for-successfully-onboarding-mobile-app-users-70498/> [January 23, 2017]

How To Create Your Business Website and Beat Google

How To Create Your Business Website and Beat Google by Anna Knorik.  Available from <https://indianceo.in/news/create-business-website-beat-google/> [Posted on ]

Setting up a website for your business may seem like an impossible task for many. However, with some guidance, it is doable without much frustration. Web development for startups may require some research and knowledge but there is nothing you cannot master. I remember being overwhelmed when the idea of creating a website for my business came up. Here are my tips to help you set up a successful and informative business website. Read more.

Creating a website

So you have come to the realization that your business needs to join the online world. These days there are many tools to help you create a website. The simplified version of creating a website goes like this:

  • Choose a domain name
  • Find hosting
  • Create a theme for your website
  • Content

This is the outline but there is more to creating a website than simply getting to the blank page. After you setup the actual page, there are a few important things you have to do in order for your website to be visited by potential clients.

Get your website listed

Creating a website is one thing. Having your website land in a Google search does not simply happen by one click of a button. You have to list your website on the Google directory by submitting your web address to Google. The submission form is free of charge but it is important to note that this is a requirement to get your business reached via Google.

Link your website

There are some websites that Google already crawls. Link your new website to one of the crawled sites. The next time Google crawl these sites your website is automatically added to the index. It is an easy way to get your website indexed.

Keywords

Every website needs informative content. Even if you are selling a product, it is still important to provide your visitors with good content. You can use this as an opportunity to be found in the searches. Carefully select the keywords for your site and pay attention to your SEO settings. You can use Google’s keyword planner to help you find ideas for keywords relevant to your website.

Meta descriptions

A Meta description is used to give your visitors a quick overview of what to expect on your website. This is the hook you use to have clients click on your website on the Google search engine. Your meta tag will appear just under your article headline in Google. It can also be described as a short summary of what the article has to offer. Based on your headline and Meta description, the potential visitor will decide if your article is worth clicking on.

These are a few tips you can use which will make the world’s difference in your site gaining more visitors. You want to use it as a foundation to build relationships with your clients. Make sure you provide your visitors with good content. You also want to make the experience worthwhile and be remembered by all who came across it. Read about cool tools for building a website.

How To Create Your Business Website and Beat Google by Anna Knorik.  Available from <https://indianceo.in/news/create-business-website-beat-google/> [Posted on ]