Frank Spohr says, “Optimizing websites so they rank high in Google’s search engines is big business. Ranking in the number one position for a popular keyword can bring in roughly 36.4 percent of that keyword’s traffic to your website according to Optify’s 2010 CTR study. Ranking in the second position may seem like a safe bet, but study data revealed it only yields around 12 percent of the keyword’s traffic. The picture becomes grimmer as you drop into position three and below where click-thru rates drop into the low single digits with rank 10 bottoming out at 2.2 percent. With a... [...]

Cyrus Shepard says, “The folks at Groupon surprised us earlier this summer when they reported the results of an experiment that showed that up to 60% of direct traffic is organic. In order to accomplish this, Groupon de-indexed their site, effectively removing themselves from Google search results. That’s crazy talk! Of course, we knew we had to try this ourselves”. Experiment: We Removed a Major Website from Google Search, for Science! MOZ Blog  [...]

Verónica Maria Jarski says, “As search marketing’s importance increases, more companies need to create room in their budget for search marketing. But are they doing so? The following infographic, based on the State of Search report produced by Econsultancy in association with SEMPO, highlights key statistics about budget trends in search marketing from 2012 to today. One finding is that 54% of responding companies spent less than $1 million per annum on digital marketing in 2014. (By contrast, 4% of companies spent more than $100 million.) “Nearly half of digital marketing... [...]

Travis Bliffen says, “If you have been working in or around SEO very long, you already know that even the best laid plans can get you into hot water. Article directories, SEO press releases, guest posting and thin content Web 2.0 sites are just a few examples of effective strategies zapped by Google. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but if you are using SEO as a marketing strategy, you have to be prepared for the day that you lose organic rankings for a while why your strategy is revised and you work to please the almighty Google SEO Gods. That being said, today we are going... [...]

David Towers says, “On August 6 2014, Google announced that it is starting to use HTTPS as a ranking signal within the search results. While on the face of it, this might not seem like big news, it’s another instance of Google using its influence to put pressure on websites to conform to what it considers best practice. Google has said that right now HTTPS is a very lightweight signal which will affect less than 1% of search queries globally, but it has stated that this may change over time as Google encourages all site owners to switch from HTTP to HTTPS. As a result of this, we anticipate... [...]

Anthony Coraggio says, “PPC and SEO go better together. By playing both sides of the coin, it’s possible to make more connections and achieve greater success in your online marketing than with either alone. That the data found in search query reporting within AdWords can be a valuable source of information in keyword research is well known. Managing the interaction effects of sharing the SERPs and capturing reinforcing real estate on the page is of course important. Smart marketers will use paid search to test landing pages and drive traffic to support experiments on the site itself. Harmony between... [...]

Louis Gudema says, “Despite all the research and writing on the B2B buyer’s journey, quite a lot of B2B marketers still believe that “my buyers aren’t looking for us in search.” Their assumption is that the customer in a position to buy a six- or seven-figure (or larger) piece of equipment or service is going to be deeply experienced and already know who the main providers are, and that’s who they’re going to request bids from. The evidence suggests otherwise”. How big ticket B2B companies use search marketing ‘Econsultancy’ Blog  [...]

Adam Hansen says, “The SEO and online marketing tactics that we discuss on this blog can be used for much more than making your own websites and running your own affiliate campaigns.  Applying your skill set to SEO consulting can not only make you a lot of money — it will also help you diversify your income stream and protect your business. Even if you’re just beginning your Internet marketing journey, you still know a whole lot more than the average Joe. While you may not think of yourself as a bona fide”. 5 Tips to Diversify Your Income with SEO Consulting Mark Ling’s  ’Affilorama’... [...]

Eric Enge says, “It’s hard to foresee a lot of benefit to your hard work creating content when you don’t have much of a following, and even if you do, scaling that content creation is difficult for any marketer. One viable answer is syndication, and in this Whiteboard Friday, Eric Enge shows you both reasons why you might want to syndicate as well as tips on how to go about it”. Syndicating Content – Whiteboard Friday MOZ Blog  [...]

Mark Traphagen says, “Most of us who work in content marketing have felt the strain that scaling puts on our efforts. How on Earth are we supposed to keep coming up with great ideas for new pieces of content? The answer is, in some sense, all around us. In today’s Whiteboard Friday, MozCon community speaker Mark Traphagen shows us how to see the world in a different way—a way that’s chock full of content ideas”. I See Content Everywhere – Whiteboard Friday MOZ Blog  [...]