Episode 15 Podcasting for SEO Dominance

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the SEO Tear Down with Scott GombarEpisode 15 Podcasting for SEO Dominance

In previous episodes I talked about ways of getting backlinks. One of those ways is appearing on podcasts as a guest.

We have also talked about developing content in the past. Creating your own podcast and adding it to your website is a great way to add content to your site.

I talk about both of these on this episode of The SEO Tear Down.

Learn a tactic that will develop your personal brand while improving your SEO efforts.  Become the recognized expert in your industry and drive more traffic to your site and more revenue to your business.  It’s a win/win.Learn a tactic that will develop your personal brand while improving your SEO efforts.

Episode 14 | Dominate the First Page of Google

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Episode 14 | Dominate the First Page of GoogleSEO Tear Down

This week I talked about dominating the first page of Google.  Have you ever googled something and discovered a number of listings back to the same site?  That’s Google dominance but how does a website owner dominate Google?

There are 3 areas of opportunity when it comes to the first page of Google.  At the very top is Google AdWords.  There are 4 spots there.  Capture one of those spots through advertising and you are on your way.  You have to create relevant, high quality ads to make this happen.

Second is Google Maps.  Set up your business on Google.com/mybusiness (I talked about this in a previous episode) and get reviews.  Show up in the 3 pack and you have accomplished step 2 of Google Dominance.

Finally you have the organic results.  The difference for organic results is you have an opportunity to rank more than once in the top 10.  I used my own results to make a case.  My website is first followed by LinkedIn, Facebook, Reciproty, Business 2 Community, Slideshare and other sites.  That means not only does my website rank on the first page but my social profiles do as well.  You can also have multiple pages on your site show up on the first page.

That’s Google Dominance!

We also analyzed a website for it’s SEO. This was our first episode using Twitter Live along with Huzza and Facebook Live.  Someone on Twitter asked that we analyze a chiropractic site live and of course I obliged.  Have a listen to see what opportunities exist for the site.

Episode 12 | Optimize Your Business for the Google 3 Pack

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SEO Tear DownEpisode 12 | Optimize Your Business for the Google 3 Pack

How do you get your business in the Google 3 Pack, also known as Google Maps?  When you do manage to get your business listed how do you dominate the Google 3 Pack section of the Google Search Engine Results Page?

This week I talked about that very topic.  Adding real estate to the Google SERP by dominating the Google 3 Pack helps you dominate Google.  Here’s what you need to know to succeed on the Google 3 Pack.

First, the Google 3 Pack is managed by going to google.com/mybusiness.

Once you’ve created an account here are the items to ensure your success on Google Maps:

  • Thorough & Detailed Description including relevant long tail keywords
  • Profile Image, Logo and Cover Photo
  • Website URL
  • Phone Number
  • Email
  • Address
  • Hours of Operation
  • Have Clients Review Your Business
  • Connect to YouTube and Upload Videos

Episode 10 Two SEO Hacks You Can Crush Your Competition With

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the SEO Tear Down with Scott GombarEpisode 10 Two SEO Hacks You Can Crush Your Competition With

I wrote a blog post about an SEO hack that you can use (ethically) to increase traffic by 95% (or in some cases 200-300%).  I discovered some other hidden benefits to this SEO hack so that was the focus of this weeks episode.  Then I remembered that I wanted to talk about another SEO hack that I have used successfully several times now.

The first SEO hack involved repurposing existing website blog.  Read the blog post here to learn more about what I did and what the results were.

The second SEO hack involved your domain purchase and keyword strategy.  Basically if you research your long tail keywords before domain purchase you can get a domain with exact match keywords.  I have successfully ranked #1 within a few days on all major search engines.  I launched a new site 6 days ago with the same strategy and so far I am number 15 on Google, and number 1 on Yahoo and Bing.

I also talked about Google separating their index into 2 indexes.  One for mobile and one for desktop.  What will that mean to your business and website.

Can I build SEO friendly websites on Wix?  You can but you don’t get access to everything you need to win the SEO battle.

 

Episode 7 | The Future of SEO in 2017

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the SEO Tear Down with Scott GombarEpisode 7 | The Future of SEO in 2017

2017 is rapidly approaching so it only seemed logical that it was time to discuss the near future of SEO and what business owners need to look out for.  SEO evolves all the time.  The days of keyword stuffing and adding your website URL to every website possible no matter the relevancy or quality are gone.  Shockingly some website owners…and SEOs, are still using these methods.

Here are the 7 areas that we discussed during this episode of the SEO Tear Down:

  1. The ImportanIce of Social Content (Sharing)
  2. Videos Rule the Roost
  3. Mobile Optimization Becomes Critical
  4. Voice Search Functionality
  5. Content Aggregation Becomes Bigger & Badder
  6. Mobile Apps Continue to Grow
  7. Local SEO Dominates Your World

 

I found this infographic to use as a discussion point.  Thank You, Caliber Marketing

7 SEO Trends for 2017

 

301 redirect for SEO

The importance of 301 redirects for SEO Google Yahoo Bing

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page not found erroThere’s so much crap to worry about with SEO.  One of those things is web page redirects.  Before I get into what a 301 redirect is, and why they are important, let me first say you should have your website added to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools so that you will be alerted to errors within your website structure.

If you’ve had your website for a while it’s likely that you have made changes to the content or structure of the site.   You may have changed the URL structure of a web page or two in your efforts to improve your on-page SEO.  You may have even deleted a couple of pages that were no longer relevant to what you do.

I run into this all the time when a new website client wants me to rebuild their site and tells me we no longer offer this service or product, or the name of the service or product has changed.   To help drive traffic that means changing some of the on-page SEO elements.  One of those elements is the URL.

The Problem with Changing the URL

Changing the URL of a page is very simple.  The problem comes in when you have to deal with the backlinks to your old URL.  How do they know where to go now that technically the old page no longer exists?  The answer is they don’t.  That is unless you add 301 or 302 redirects.

What is the Difference Between a 301 Redirect & 302 Redirect?

To put it simply a 301 redirect is a permanent redirect.  A 302 redirect is temporary.  The type of redirect you use indicates to the search engine whether or not to make the change permanently.  A 301 redirect tells search engines to forget the old page and only worry about the new page while a 302 lets the search engines know that they need to keep the old page information as well.  In most cases, you would use a 301 redirect.

What Do I Do?

the importance of 301 redirects for your SEOSetting up a 301 redirect is actually pretty easy but can seem scary to someone with no website building experience.

You will need to access a file on your website host.  The file is .htaccess and should be in the same folder as your index (home) page.  This also assumes you are using an Apache server for hosting.  Once you have located the .htaccess file you will need to open it using a Unix text editor like notepad.  Most cPanels have a built-in editor you can use.  Once the file is open add a line that looks similar to this.

RedirectPermanent /oldpage.html http://www.yourdomain.com/newpage.html

Replace oldpage.html with your old web page and replace http://www.yourdomain.com/newpage.html with your new web page URL.  Keep in mind that html may actually be PHP or another extension.

And then save the document.

Before doing this I would strongly encourage you to save a copy of the .htaccess file just in case you make a mistake.  Also, if you are uncomfortable doing this on your own, which is understandable if you have no experience building websites, then I would hire someone to do it for you.  A professional can add a redirect in less than 5 minutes so long as they have all the necessary login information.

I hope you find this helpful.  I am including a quick video to help further understand how it is done.

 

 

 

 

Frustrated at Google

Are You Making a Big Mistake With Google?

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CT Social Media ExpertThe face of search is Google.  It still is today and it shows in the metrics.  Nearly 70% of all search queries take place on Google but you may be making a huge mistake by putting all your eggs in the Google basket?

Consider this.  You’re the passenger in a car.  The driver says I’m hungry and could go for some Chinese food.  You’re not in an area you’re familiar with when it comes to restaurant options.  What do you do?

Today many people ask Siri, Cortana or Google using a voice search.  Unless you’ve been under a rock you know that iPhones have a large share of the smartphone population.  This means that when an iPhone user uses Siri to perform a search they may not be using Google for their search results…a decrease in their search dominance.

With one example you can see that the face of search is evolving.  However, it goes so much further than that.  There are numerous ways to for things now.  Let’s cover a few.

Google Search Alternatives

Voice Search on Your Smart Phone-As a mentioned earlier many smart phone users will use Siri, Cortana or Google to perform a voice search from their phone.  Obviously if you’re using an Android then you’re still using Google to search but if you use Siri or Cortana you can change the default search engine.  Keep in mind that a large share of the smart phone market belongs to Apple so Siri is used often to perform a search.

siriYouTube-The second biggest search engine today is YouTube.  Yes, I know it’s owned by Google but it is still a different platform.  Many people use YouTube to find how to videos, DIY videos, entertainment and much more.

Facebook-Do I need to go into details?  Facebook is by far the largest social media platform on the planet.  That means people are searching for things.  They’re looking up people, businesses and asking questions and so much more.  Facebook has been developing their search functionality for years in an effort to be the face (pun intended) of the internet.

Pinterest-Pinterest has a very large audience of women.  That means that when it’s time to look for recipes, clothes, shoes, home décor and things often associated with women they may be using Pinterest before going to Google or Facebook.  I smell opportunity for blue collar businesses!

Bing, Yahoo, Ask-Some of the other search engines.  I say some because there are more.  These are the more popular ones.   Bing has been chipping away at Google for years but has gained very little ground.  Can you guess what the default search engine is for Cortana?

LinkedIn-It’s where the professionals go.  If I want to find information on a business owner, sales person or solopreneur LinkedIn is the default search engine.  If you’re a business owner not on LinkedIn there’s a good chance you’re hurting your business.  It’s not enough for you to be on LinkedIn though.  Your company should also have a presence on LinkedIn.

People also use LinkedIn for Job Search.

Reddit, Digg, Delicious-These are social bookmarking sites.  Essentially they’re another way to share content.  However many people on the internet use these to “discover” the web.

Twitter-Twitter as a platform has a large number of users but also may have the largest number of idle or abandoned accounts.  However that is changing as people who once ignored their Twitter accounts are suddenly seeing the value thanks to Periscope and Blab.  Twitter has also introduced moments in an attempt to keep people on the Twitter platform.  Searching hashtags (#) started on Twitter and it’s still a relevant search mechanism today..on most social media platforms.  Twitter search is used in large part to discover currently relevant conversations.

In fact Google recognized Twitter’s popularity and partnered with them.  Tweets are now indexed on Google…..again.

green-twitteriTunes-Speaking of conversations..iTunes is currently the most popular place for Podcasts.  If you’re seeking information on a particular topic and you think a podcast on the way to work or a meeting might be the perfect way to gain knowledge then you’re likely searching on iTunes.   Google is going to add podcasts to Google Play in 2016 but for now its iTunes or a plethora of 3rd party podcast submission sites.

About(.com)-says they are the largest source for expert content on the internet.  You can get questions answered, and find resolutions to some of your problems.  There is also Quora which is a social platform that basically does the same thing.

Yelp, YP, Angies List and others-These are local directories, and there are hundreds.  Generally speaking there are probably 5-10 high quality local directories.  The rest are largely ignored by marketers and most businesses.

Industry Specific Social Media Platforms-Just about every industry has their own platform to participate on.  For example Avvo is a platform for attorneys while Bigger Pockets is one for Real Estate Investors.  If you’re looking for a business or person in a specific industry there’s likely a resource for it.

There is a ton of other ways to search the internet for information.  This is by no means an exhaustive list.

The Madness

Frustrated at FacebookOne thing I do want to point out is Google does index most of these sites and directories as well.  That means if you take to Google to look for something then it may show up on the first page in one of the aforementioned sites.  However you won’t always find what you’re looking for that way.  If you’re like me then when you search on Google you probably ignore the directories and social sites in most cases.

You’re probably wondering why a Google Certified Partner would write a blog post to talk about other ways to search the internet.  Well, there is a method to my madness.  Yes it’s true I am a Google partner and some would even call me an expert.  However it’s important to understand the changing landscape of search for your business.

I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up all the options as they exist today, and in the future.  I can compare this to the SEO companies that still practice link spamming and keyword stuffing.  These methods today will hurt you, but five years ago they worked.  It was wrong to do these things but it worked if you wanted to rank on Google.  Today your site probably doesn’t exist if you haven’t updated your methods.

I have always looked to the future to ensure that my clients and my business are prepared.  Clients are listed on local directories, all of the major search engines, relevant social media platforms and anywhere that will work for their business…even iTunes in some cases.

SEO is not just optimizing for Google.  It’s optimizing for the user.  Google recognized this about 5 or 6 years ago.  So should your marketer or SEO provider.