Dr. Peter J. Meyers says, “This story starts long before RankBrain, but the action really kicked in around May of 2013, when Google announced conversational search for desktop. At the time, voice search on desktop may have seemed like a gimmick, but in hindsight it was a signal that Google was taking natural language search seriously. Just a few months later the Hummingbird update rewrote Google’s core engine, and much of that rewrite was dedicated to dealing with natural language searches.Why should you care about voice? For most sites, voice is still a relatively small percentage... [...]

Matthew Barby says, “Content marketing has seen a lot of changes over the past few years, in particular around the way that marketers have went about actually developing their content. A lot of this has come down to the rapidly evolving search engine landscape, as well as a huge shift in the way that people are discovering content.All that said, I still hear the same pain points coming from content producers that I did over five years ago:“I struggle to measure the ROI of the content I create.”“We create great content but we still don’t seem to rank high in Google for... [...]

Britney Muller says, “Keyword research, the blueprint to any successful SEO strategyIf you’ve been doing keyword research for a while, you’ve probably fallen into a routine. And that routine has likely been recently disrupted… thanks, Google.If you’re new to keyword research, getting comfortable with new keyword research tools will come more easily to you. Lucky pups. But us change-averse old dogs can still learn new tricks when we need to. Are you ready to see which tool is right for you? –Woof.My hesitations about writing this article:I’m new to Moz and don’t... [...]

Amy Bishop says, “A great way to expand your PPC account is by performing keyword research in order to uncover untapped opportunities. Keyword research is a key tactic for growing an account — especially new accounts, but even mature accounts can stand to benefit from ongoing expansions.When keyword research does & does not make senseKeyword research is sometimes debated as being unnecessary, and it is fair to say that certain methods of keyword research are futile. Back in the day, it wasn’t uncommon to hear search marketers taking pride in the number of keywords managed, but... [...]

Jawad Khan says, “Having a blog means you generally want more traffic to your content. No matter how many monthly blog visitors you have, you still want more. Better traffic means more opportunities to build relationships, generate leads, and ultimately make money.The problem with most of the conventional traffic generation advice is that it’s either too expensive or it’s just simply outdated, ineffective and useless.Writing high-quality content, guest blogging and blogger outreach are all great tips for a long-term traffic strategy. But what if you need something to create an immediate... [...]

Asim Mughal says, “If we talk about website optimization, keyword research is an essential part for both PPC marketing and search engine optimization success. The internet is choke full of articles by search marketing experts who tell you that it is necessary to optimize your site for the terms that people are actually searching for.But when it comes to finding those terms and turning them into profitable keywords, this whole process is no easy feat. You have to put a huge effort to prepare a robust keywords list for your website.But here’s the thing…Keyword research doesn’t... [...]

Kayli Kunkel says, “Not all keywords are created equal. Some, like “marketing,” draw in huge crowds of searchers each month. Others, like “marketing tips for small shoe store companies,” might squeak out a couple hits.As marketers, we’re often conditioned to go after attainable high-volume keywords. You know, the kind that pull in over a hundred Google searches per month? The rationale seems sound: We’ll attract more traffic, generate more leads, and close more customers. More clicks = more business, right?Not always. We always knew that targeting some... [...]

Ben Davis says, “If you are a low spender on AdWords, Google Keyword Planner now shows only very broad traffic ranges for suggested search terms.This is inconvenient for the many writers out there who like to use this tool to plan their content.Here’s a really quick roundup of five genuinely useful and fun alternatives if you are looking for content ideas.They don’t all show traffic figures either, but are easy to use and will hopefully provide inspiration.NB click on the images to visit each of the sites.1. KW FinderA very impressive tool that gives a wide range of data,... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Beginning the week of September 12, new keywords and keywords that haven’t received any recent clicks and impressions will have a reported Quality Score in AdWords of null, represented by dashes (“–“).By default, any keywords with null Quality Scores will be excluded from reports and automated rules that have Quality Score filters unless you check a new box that will appear with this change to include them. Google recommends reviewing any reports, filters, rules and scripts that include Quality Score before September 12 to be sure they will function properly”.Google... [...]

MOZ team says, “Is the practice of tracking keywords truly dying? There’s been a great deal of industry discussion around the topic of late, and some key points have been made. In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand speaks to the biggest challenges keyword rank tracking faces today and how to solve for them”.Should SEOs and Marketers Continue to Track and Report on Keyword Rankings? – Whiteboard FridayMOZ [...]