by Steve Scott | Feb 10, 2019 | SEO News, SEO Tips
I’d like to start by saying, if you haven’t already checked out our most recent article, it may be helpful to take a look! We introduce the new Google search console, and the basics of its functionality. So – check that out first, then come back this way, because you are going to want to switch over. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, time to discuss the comparison of its tools and reporting system!
How Do the Old and New Google Search Console Compare?
After checking out what Google has to say about the console, we’ve taken note of some key differences in performance. Keep in mind, Google warns on their Search Console Help site, “We strongly recommend using the newer version of each report, as it becomes available. Old reports with a new equivalent will soon be removed.” This tells us as Google continues to expand on, and update this tool, embracing the changes is essential!
According to Google, the biggest changes include:
- Individual Enhancement Reports
- Links
- Index Coverage Status
- Sitemaps
- AMP Status
- URL Inspection Tool
- Mobile Usability
- Links
- Crawl Errors Report,etc.
Sounds like a lot of new information, and ultimately, it is! However, it is all very easily understood. As long as you are staying up-to-date on any new changes, the transition from the old console to the new one, should be pretty pain-free!
Switching to the New Google Search Console
Once you’ve started the process of transferring your website to the new Google search console, you will almost immediately see similarities. The biggest changes come when you dig a little deeper and break down the features. Again, it may seem a bit intimidating, but it truly is one of the most convenient changes.
When switching to the updated console, you’ll have a much bigger time frame of information. Instead of three months of information, the new Google console provides sixteen – yes, sixteen – months of traffic data. This is incredibly useful for anyone trying to increase traffic and really utilize all data to further pursue digital success.
Additionally, you may find it helpful to know that submitting your site into the new search console is unnecessary. If you’ve submitted a reconsideration request while using the old console, there is no need to resubmit, as data is shared between both versions.
What’s Missing From the New Google Search Console?
Unfortunately, while several bonuses come along with using the updated console, there are still a few features not supported quite yet. If you are someone who uses one of the following, you should hang on to the old console for now, until the next update. This includes:
- Message management
- Preferred domain setting
- HTML improvements
- Android apps
- Crawl stats, etc.
For more information, visit the Google Console Help page!
You want your business to succeed, and at New York SEO Training Academy, we want the same for you! Ready for some SEO success? Sign up for one of our SEO Training Courses, now also available online! We bring the training to you, in the comfort of your own home with our remote online access!
Steve Scott is the CEO & Director of Training at the New York SEO Training Academy. He has taught SEO skills to people from around the world and currently offers his hands-on search engine optimization training workshops in New York to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Corporate SEO training classes and consulting are also available.
by Steve Scott | Jan 15, 2019 | All News, SEO Tips
Mastering link building is not something that happens overnight. It takes some time to get the hang of it. However, there are some ways to learn more about it! Whether you take link building classes online, or even read through some link building articles like this one, there are good ways to learn about link building and how it works.
What is Link Building?
As a beginner in the field of SEO, you’ve probably just begun doing your research on the various factors of optimization. One of the biggest – link building. So, what is it? Directly defined, link building is the process of gaining hyperlinks from different websites, leading back to yours.
Why is Link Building Knowledge So Important?
Everyone knows, or should know, that link building is important to your optimization. In fact, you’ve probably heard several times that a good link building strategy can make or break your digital marketing success. Well, that’s as close to the truth as you can get. Knowing about link building, and developing a good linking method will make a huge difference in the success of your website.
It may be helpful to know that search engines crawl pages link-by-link, and page-by-page. They take the content of your pages, and index them. In doing that, they decide the quality of the page to determine search engine rank. One of the biggest determining factors is the number of links pointing to your page. Naturally, if your links are being shown on high-quality, reputable websites, your chances of ranking are great.
If another website is linking to your website, you can likely consider it flattering. This is almost as if another website is saying, “we trust (your website) to provide some awesome or useful products or information!”. Therefore, making your website obviously look more attractive to the consumer.
Once you know what links you’re looking for, and which high authority websites to target, link building can be pretty simple. However, a good rule of thumb to remember: not all links are good links! Not every link obtained on other websites are beneficial to you. Sometimes, links to your website can be distributed by very spammy, or poorly developed websites. Receiving links that are poor-quality could potentially hurt your ability to rank, if the search engine doesn’t find it sufficient.
Identifying Link Quality
There are essentially two different classes of links quality: the good and the bad. Identifying which is which, is the trickiest part.
Good Links
You’ve probably been told a hundred times (and will hear it a hundred times more) to obtain only good links. What makes a link a good link?
- It is relevant to the focus of your website.
- It is placed naturally within the webpage, not just randomly put.
- The site is trustworthy/has high-authority.
- The link to your site is inside the content of the following site.
Bad Links
It is probably quite obvious that bad links are exactly the opposite of a good link. You may be wondering, what does a bad link look like then? Bad links are:
- Shown on spammy websites.
- On irrelevant pages or unrelated to your topic.
- Not on trustworthy/high-authority websites.
- Placed within very low-quality content.
On top of knowing which links are which, there are also a number of tools available to you to help make this process easier. Some of our favorite are:
- SEMrush
- Majestic
- Ahrefs
- BuzzSumo
If you’re not a fan of those tools, or unsure where to start with link building, there are other options available to you. At New York SEO Training Academy, we specialize in helping identify what could be happening behind-the-scenes with your website (bad links), making it harder for you to find SEO success. If you’re in need of assistance with your link building strategy, give us a call today at (888)736-7766.
Steve Scott is the CEO & Director of Training at the New York SEO Training Academy. He has taught SEO skills to people from around the world and currently offers his hands-on search engine optimization training workshops in New York to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Corporate SEO training classes and consulting are also available.
by Steve Scott | Nov 1, 2018 | SEO News, SEO Tips
When it comes to optimization, there is plenty you can do to supplement your page and improve your chances of online success. One of the biggest ways to help your business flourish is through the use of keyword research.
Did you know there are over 3.2 billion people using the internet? Naturally, that makes for a ton of competition when it comes to SEO. So what can you do to make sure that your page stands out? How do you ensure your page comes up on the top of a SERP (Search Engine Result Page)?
Keyword research has always been one of the leading SEO methods to do this. If you read through our last article about keyword research, you can probably gather why it’s become so vital for success on search engines.
7 Ways Keyword Research Trumps Other SEO Practices
We aren’t saying by any means that other SEO practices have become irrelevant. Because, trust us, they haven’t. Many factors go into optimization, we’ve just found a majority of goals are met when implementing a proper keyword research strategy. Which brings us to this question: What makes keyword research such a fantastic SEO practice?
- Competitive intelligence increases.
- Opportunities to understand your target audience.
- Optimization will be easier.
- You’ll learn more about Google and how to rank.
- The way your audience thinks will become apparent.
- Content marketing is simpler.
- Keyword research can also help decide your SEO budget.
Competitive Intelligence
You may think that keyword research ends at plugging words into your content. However, it goes much further beyond that. Keyword research actually gathers and analyzes information about your field, to show you what your competition is being noticed for. Competitive intelligence simply gives you a bit more knowledge on what companies, similar to yours, are gaining traffic from.
Target Audience
Perhaps you’ve tried using keywords before that you haven’t quite found successful. If that’s the case, it’s important for you to know that not every keyword works for every audience. Keyword research gives you a better idea of what your target audience is looking for. Once you know what they’re searching, you’ll know what keywords to push.
Easy Optimization
In general, keyword research can begin helping you with your overall optimization. If you’re trying to get top-ranking spots on search engines, plugging keywords into your content and pages (without keyword stuffing), can be extremely beneficial. When you use strong keywords, you begin to come up on search engines. The more searches you come up on, the more traffic you receive. Which, naturally, means more business!
Google Knowledge
Being noticed on search engines is paramount. Therefore learning more about Google and the needs Google presents, is unquestionably important. Getting into keyword research means you have a better chance to dig deeper into what search engines are looking for.
Thinking Like Your Audience
We mentioned above that keyword research helps you to find your target audience. Well in addition to knowing what your audience is looking for, keyword research can also help you to predict upcoming keywords. Similar to social media, you can almost see the trends developing. There are several keyword research tools that will show you what keywords are rising in popularity.
Content Marketing
Tools like WordPress focus heavily on helping your content marketing strategy be successful. WordPress even helps you to plug in the keywords you’ve found most popular when using a plugin like Yoast or All In One. After that, they’ll give you information on the usage, and any changes that should be made. If your keyword strategy isn’t up to par, your content marketing plan could fail.
Optimization Budget
Last, but certainly not least, is budgeting. When it comes to search engine optimization, certain practices could become costly. In our opinion, you should definitely set aside some funds to maintain your keywords on paid ads! Most tools will present you with the volume, position, and cost per click (the price you pay for each click in any campaigns you run).
Keyword Research Without Fail
It is never a bad idea to get the extra help needed for SEO success. There are keyword research professionals like those of us at New York SEO Training Academy who are standing by and ready to help when needed. We come with over 20 years of experience and knowledge in the field of SEO. Call us at (888) 736-7766, to get the process started!
What’s your goto Keyword Research practice?
Steve Scott is the CEO & Director of Training at the New York SEO Training Academy. He has taught SEO skills to people from around the world and currently offers his hands-on search engine optimization training workshops in New York to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Corporate SEO training classes and consulting are also available.
by Steve Scott | Oct 21, 2018 | SEO Tips, SEO Training
If you’ve been doing your search engine optimization homework, you’ve probably seen the phrase, “keyword research” everywhere. Keyword research is one of, if not the most, valuable aspects of SEO. Why? Because having the right keywords can actually make or break your websites success.
How Does Keyword Research Work?
It should come as no surprise that in the field of search engine optimization, things are constantly changing. There will always be new updates and algorithms from each search engine. However, one consistent optimization strategy has always been keyword research.
One of your biggest online goals is to have your page reach those who are searching for products or services similar to the ones you offer. You’ll want to be pinned somewhere at the top of a SERP (Search Engine Results page).
When someone searches for a certain keyword phrase, it’s good to show up in the top three results. Users will naturally click on your page, assuming you’re at the top, because your page is most relevant to their search. This is where you’ll receive a majority of your sales.
Bottom line, if you want your website to have a better chance of survival, implementing these keywords on your page will help you out. Find your keywords, and start plugging them in on your pages, allow users to find your web page, and wait for the traffic to start rolling in.
Types of Keywords
Keyword research helps you to find the best keywords to fit your niche. However, there are two types of keywords, each beneficial in their own way. The type of keywords you choose to use typically depend on the type of business you are running.
Short-Tail Keywords
Short-tail keywords will typically contain very general words. Someone looking to gain more knowledge in SEO may Google a generic keyword, such as “SEO classes”, or even “SEO classes near me”. Unfortunately, short-tail keyword phrases may not get you to rank quickly. In fact, most don’t find themselves at the top of SERP’s from the use of generic keywords.
Don’t get me wrong though, they could be beneficial. If you come up organically, in a top rank position, on a generic search, then you’ll find yourself with tons of traffic. Generic searches contain a ton of user volume. So essentially, the competition is high, but so is the volume.
Long-Tail Keywords
If you want to get noticed a little easier, you should definitely include long-tail keywords into your SEO strategy. Long-tail keywords are longer, very specific keywords. Users searching for SEO training classes would likely type something along the lines of “WordPress training classes in New York”.
With long-tail keywords, you aren’t going to get the volume you would get with short-tail keywords. For some companies, this could be a make or break. If you’re trying to cater to a specific audience, you’re going to find success in longer-tail keywords. If your audience is relatively broad, longer tail keywords may not work in your favor. Low volume, and low competition.
Finding Value in Keyword Research
Understanding which keyword phrases are best for you to use will eventually come second nature. You’ll start to learn what is working best for you and how to implement them. You want your business to be booming.
While there isn’t exactly a magic formula, there are ways to determine what keywords to use, which ones are being searched, and how to see if they’re working for your site.
Keyword Research Tools
Initially, you’ll want to check out some of the better keyword research tools on the market. There are plenty of them, and you’ll see they hold a lot of the same information. Some of the most popular ones are Moz Keyword Explorer, Google Trends, Google AdWords Keyword Planner Tool, and even Wordtracker.
When you type in a particular phrase into one of these tools, you’ll get a list of similar phrases that have been searched. You’ll typically also get information on how they’re found organically, or through paid ads.
Do Some Testing
Testing, testing – 1, 2, 3. At the end of the day, a good way to see what is working for you, is just start trying out different keywords or keyword research techniques. Try some things out. If its not successful, move onto the next set of keywords. If you’re noticing more traffic and direct sales, keep up the good work.
Reach Out to the Professionals
Sometimes, we just need an extra hand to help us get started. If you’re not seeing the success that you are looking for, there are SEO professionals, like New York SEO Training Academy, who will go above and beyond to make sure your business is on the right foot.
For more information on keyword research, or to enlist a little help for your business, give us a call today at (888)736-7766.
Steve Scott is the CEO & Director of Training at the New York SEO Training Academy. He has taught SEO skills to people from around the world and currently offers his hands-on search engine optimization training workshops in New York to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Corporate SEO training classes and consulting are also available.
by Steve Scott | Oct 2, 2018 | All News, SEO News, SEO Tips
Have you ever thought about what could happen to SEO if voice search technology didn’t exist? Take a second. Consider the benefits that voice search could bring to your optimization efforts. Whether you like it or not, the evolution of speech recognition could change SEO. Additionally, help you find a better rank.
Benefits of Voice Search Technology
Trends are important when it comes to optimization. You want to pay attention to things that are on the uprise. When you see something like Alexa, Google, Siri, or Cortana, and notice that they are changing things up, get in on the action! They could end up providing you with several benefits.
Speech recognition devices will pull the answers from the top-ranking positions on the search engine results page. Which means, the competition for top spots could be heavy. However, once that spot is yours, you’re more likely to stay there.
When implementing voice search technology, you’ll have a better chance to get noticed for a more direct niche. Due to an increase in voice searches over the past year, long-tail keywords are being implemented more and more. Adding long-tail keywords to your SEO efforts, you have an opportunity to get noticed for more direct searches. Voice searchers typically use long-tail keyword phrases. Usually someone who searches for something with long-tail keywords is more likely to purchase a product. After taking on this new strategy, you become more likely to sell a product or service.
Voice Search Strategies for SEO
After you know the benefits, it’s time to start using voice search in your SEO strategy.
- Start including long-tail keywords. Targeting phrases will be your best friend here. Add them to your content, headings, or even title tags.
- Pay close attention to user search intent. Know what your users are looking for. Try using a tool to get insights on the user search intent.
- Begin a local SEO plan. Many people use voice search while on the go. Searches that include “near me” are usually people who are ready to buy. Ensure your local SEO is all set, to gain extra business success.
- Make your site mobile-friendly. Most people who are using speech recognition to search for certain items are doing so from their mobile device. Making your site mobile friendly, gives you a better chance to rank. Update your structured data. Structured data helps search engines to know what the content on your site consists of. If your structured data is strong, and unique, you’ll stick out a bit more on websites.
The Future of Speech Recognition
We can never clearly determine what the future of SEO will look like. However, we do have a pretty good idea. Many tools, pages, and even Google itself, provide some updates or predictions ahead of time. A few of the biggest, or more noteworthy, are:
- Natural speech patterns will be a factor you will need to pay attention to. Users voice search differently than they search on a laptop or desktop. So speech patterns will become more relevant.
- More focus will be put on mobile-first indexing. This includes speed, compatibility, and design, all needing to be in tip-top shape, operating smoothly.
- Finally, customers, or users, will be happier. They will enjoy hearing or reading into more direct answers they searched for. Therefore, providing a better experience for them, and likely increasing your chance for them to revisit your page.
The possibilities are endless if you are effectively implementing speech recognition and voice search techniques. For more information on hiring SEO professionals that can help your transition into voice search strategies, give us a call today at (888)736-7766.
Sources:
https://kubix.digital/blog/how-to-optimize-for-voice-search
https://vtldesign.com/digital-marketing/search-engine-optimization/voice-search/
Steve Scott is the CEO & Director of Training at the New York SEO Training Academy. He has taught SEO skills to people from around the world and currently offers his hands-on search engine optimization training workshops in New York to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Corporate SEO training classes and consulting are also available.
by Steve Scott | Aug 30, 2018 | All News, SEO Tips
Have you ever thought that maybe you aren’t seeing the results you’d like, so you want to try something new? That happens often, especially in the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) field. There are times we come across SEO tools, use them for a few weeks, decide they’re ineffective, and find new ones. We’ve been through this too, so we know how it goes.
The Best SEO Tools for 2018
After all of our years in the business of optimization, we’ve been able to weed out the bad tools, and make room for the best ones. When it comes to optimization, the best SEO tools are:
- SEMRush
- Cognitive SEO
- Hootsuite
- Majestic
- SpyFu
- Moz
- RavenTools
- Google Analytics
Please always keep in mind; something that works for you, may not work for others. In the same respect, something that works for others, may not work for you. As an entrepreneur trying to tackle effective SEO strategies, you just have to do a little experimenting. These 8 SEO tools that we strongly suggest implementing, have become our favorites for a reason!
SEMrush
Hitting the market in 2008, SEMrush quickly became one of the more popular tools for SEO. Some of the most used SEMrush features include: backlink analysis, organic researching, keyword research, domain comparison, site audits, social media poster/tracker, etc. Ultimately, SEMrush positions itself as one of the best multi-functioning tools for online optimization.
Cognitive SEO
Cognitive SEO, much like SEMrush, is an all-around great tool. Whether you are looking to fix your backlinks, or run a content audit, Cognitive SEO can help. Don’t be intimidated, this tool is built for those at any level of online optimization. That’s right! Even the SEO newbies!
Hootsuite
One aspect of SEO often wrongly looked over, is social media! Having a good social media marketing strategy will boost your online presence almost single-handedly. Truthfully, let’s face it, we are social media addicts! So naturally, you want to be posting, and posting a lot!
Which, no doubt, can become overwhelming. Hootsuite is a tool created to help you create and schedule social media posts. Regardless of how many social media accounts you have, Hootsuite knows how to accommodate!
Majestic
As the “Largest Link Index Database”, you do not want to skip over what the Majestic tool has to offer. If you need some insight on link intelligence, or backlink history, or even domain exploring, this may be the tool for you.
SpyFu
Looking for more information than just links analysis and domain statistics? If so, you may want to look into SpyFu for your SEO tool belt.
At New York SEO Training Academy, we’ve come to love SpyFu for PPC information. Searching through the results, you will actually find information on your competitors paid keywords. You will see the amount of SEO click value, paid keywords, estimated monthly PPC, ad position, budget, etc. Definitely useful information, if you ask us!
Moz
Keywords, keywords, keywords. This is what typically comes to mind when you mention this tool. Mostly because, well, they are believed to have the most accurate search keyword database.
However, Moz does function as much more. If you sign up with Moz, you’ll have the chance to learn about competitive research, link building and link analysis. One of the coolest features? Moz also focuses heavily on your local business listings.
(Heads up: you can try this tool for 30 days, for FREE!)
RavenTools
Raven Tools, an “all-in-one” SEO platform, can help with just about anything you may need to get ahead of the competition. Keyword research, link building, competitor research, etc. It may sound pretty much like the other tools listed above. However, Raven Tools has one feature that most of the others do not have. A social media metrics tracker.
Yes, you heard correctly. Raven Tools will help you to track mentions, connections, followers, posts and even referral traffic!
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a big one. If you want to succeed at search engine optimization, you may want to stick with a tool developed specifically by a search engine. Learn about your audience, get detailed reports, and even test variations of your site!
Looking to find out which of your online campaigns is bringing in the most traffic and conversions? Trying to locate where a majority of your customers are coming from? Want to know what consumers are clicking on first on your page? Google analytics can show you all of those things!
We Want to Hear From You!
As we progress, and continue to optimize, new tools are constantly being developed and created. (Spoiler alert: Some of these tools are even preparing for some BIG updates!) At the end of the day, everyone prefers a different tool for SEO insiders. We want to hear from you. What are your favorite SEO tools to use? Which SEO tools have you gotten the most use out of so far in 2018?
Steve Scott is the CEO & Director of Training at the New York SEO Training Academy. He has taught SEO skills to people from around the world and currently offers his hands-on search engine optimization training workshops in New York to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Corporate SEO training classes and consulting are also available.
