Author name: sathish

Structured data

Just How Fresh is Your Structured Data?

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As you already probably know, structured data is basically any data you add to your website that makes it easier for search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing to understand, identify and prioritize when an individual conducts a search. Structured data works as the translator between your pages and the search engines looking for data they can promote as answers to the user’s search query. So structured data makes sense if you are looking for “rich” results…but the question remains: How fresh does your structured data need to be? On the one hand, the whole concept of structured data is still in the stage where its optimal potential remains unknown, so yes, any structured data you incorporate in your website pages is a plus. But, in order to be a structured data visionary and ride on its magic carpet to the future, it makes sense to maintain and update your structured data rather than simply setting it and forgetting it. Here are some examples of Rich Results – structured data that cues search engines to pick up on your site, that you should be incorporating and updating regularly on your website: Any information that can be scaffolded into action by the user – This would include recipes that can be downloaded, apps that allow the user to order, make reservations, show interest, give feedback or reviews, etc Feature Logos, accreditations, awards, certifications and rankings – Search engines are being tweaked to pick up on any authenticated information that proves legitimacy, expertise and trust. In this age of “fake news” the customer needs these anchors of authenticity now more than ever. Go Mobile – Make sure your mobile sites are as interactive and user friendly as possible. Users think and utilize their phones as mobile computers. Make sure your mobile site meets their needs. If you have a highly interactive mobile page, search engines will notice. When it comes to being interactive don’t focus on reinventing the wheel – instead of trying to implement an interactive element that no one else has, focus on improving user friendliness, ease and convenience to existing elements. For example, if you feature the ability to make reservations at a restaurant on your site, feature the ability to time them to activities after them, such as movies or theatre, and expand on the convenience and user-friendliness by offering a nearby parking discount or a free snack drink coupon at intermission. These are all hooks that both users and search engines will look for and hand on to. Always offer additional information in several forms – If you are trying to educate your consumer about your business, keep their interest, and their custom with e-books, articles, blogs and newsletters. They offer the opportunity to learn more about the subject matter that drew the user to you in the first place, all the while acting as a subtle but powerful sales tool that promotes your business without hitting the user over the head with a hard sell attitude.

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Google medic

The Google Medic Update: What You Need to Know

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At the end of July 2018, Google basically started rehauling their algorithm, in what is now known as the Google Medic Update. Here are the essential changes and highlights: This particular algorithm update targeted almost exclusively sites in the medical, health and wellness industries. Hence the name “medic”. YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) pages also were affected. These types of pages are typically themed around subjects that are impactful to a person’s future happiness, health and wealth as well as user’s safety. Such pages typically solicit personal information that could potentially be used for identity theft, entail monetary transactions, i.e., requiring your bank account or credit card number, or offer medical information or advice on important lifestyle decisions such as purchasing a home, how to parent or legal and financial guidance Early observations of this update appear to have negatively affected a large group of health sites, which is an historically unusual result for the type of “broad core” update Google defined this as. Google isn’t giving much information about this update but has noted it was not to increase page speed, contrary to a July announcement from Google that page speed would become a ranking factor. So, the question is: WHY did Google update their algorithm? The short answer is that they needed to clean up the system. Actually, Google updates algorithms all the time, but usually in a manner that is undetectable to the user. While we will never uncover the exact proprietary ingredient list of the Google algorithm, it is common knowledge that it is made up of several hundred ranking factors, including page speed, keywords in title page, mobile responsiveness, etc. It makes sense then, that when they go in and modify even a few of those factors, there is going to be a ripple effect throughout the algorithm that may result in unforeseen ranking gains or losses. In the case of the Medic Update, all we can say at this juncture is that whatever Google “tweaked” it seemed to affect health, wellness and lifestyle pages. If You Have Been Affected By The Medic Update, How Do You “Recuperate” From It? Unfortunately, Google basically says you CAN’T Fix it! You can however follow the guidance and advice of Google as you look to the future of your page: Follow Googles guidelines – their latest guideline update stresses expertise, authoritativeness and trust (E.A.T.) – make sure your information is credible, evidence based and formulated by experts. Always include a detailed “About Us” section and brag openly, but honestly about any official awards, rankings, certifications or notable successes you have received or earned. Make sure you can source the authenticity of everything you include on your page. Do your fact checking! Use actual customer reviews and feedback to support your credibility and your reputation. Happy customers are your best calling card! The bottom line advice to counter any negative results of the Google Medic Update? Devote your analysis to making sure your content matches your desired users’ intent as closely as you possibly can.

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SEO!

Five Questions to Ask Before Hiring an SEO Company

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Once you’ve made the decision to go to the next level with your online business presence, here are five important questions to ask SEO company candidates: Are you able to explain SEO in laymen’s terms? Ideally, an SEO consultant who is at the top of his/her game should be able to talk in the language of digital marketing with fluency. The hard part is finding an SEO consultantwho can translate these sometimes overwhelming and indeed, code like terms so that you and your business fully understand just what it is you are paying for and why you need them for a digital presence that stands out from the crowd. You also need an SEO consultant who has the ability to actually understand your business: it’s no good having an SEO genius at your command who doesn’t “get” what makes your business special. Take the time to find an SEO consultant who is “bilingual” and able to scaffold between the jargon of his or her specialty and the everyday language and idioms you use in your business and you will be rewarded with a match made in digital heaven. Have you researched our company, and do you have ideas on how to take us to the next level? If you are interviewing a prospective SEO candidate and they HAVEN’T researched your business, have at least a minimal working knowledge of how it works and what it sells, AND have suggestions or even projects to put forward to improve your online presence and b2b PPC (translation: business to business pay per click) , you need to pass and move on to the next, hopefully more prepared candidate. How can your impressive track record help me? Successful SEO consultants are only as good as their evidence-based rate of success. A great SEO consultant will not only have a consistent data trail of wins, but they’ll be eager to share their knowledge and strategies, tailoring them to your particular needs and wants. Do you have the ability to shift your focus from minute details to the Big Picture? When an SEO consultant is overseeing the research and planning targeted strategies for your business, no detail should be too small to be scrutinized, as long as they don’t lose sight of the overarching end goals of the project. An SEO consultant who can’t see the trees for the forest is going to be a concept savant who can’t oversee practical implementation, but an SEO consultant who gets lost in the “forest” will never be able to bring your business to the forefront of the digital landscape. You need an SEO consultant who is a detail-oriented visionary. Never accept any less than that. Are you a hands-on consultant? A Good SEO consultant can tell you what to do to make your business presence pop online. The SEO consultant YOU want to hire will roll up their sleeves and dig right in to your website, doing the work necessary to bring your numbers up.

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