by admin | Feb 29, 2020 | Baltimore SEO, Local SEO
Ranking for Topics in Your Industry
Are you frustrated that your ranking never seems to improve? Do you feel as if you have given readers quality content while utilizing your industry-specific keywords? Are you tired of coming up with new ways to talk about the same information? Are you out of ideas on what to write about in your business’ blog?
We know you are tired and frustrated with your ranking. It’s challenging to improve your situation when Google periodically changes the rules. And it seems as if your competitors are continually producing more and more content that attracts shares, pins, and comments.
Let us give you some more avenues to try. First, take a deep breath. Grab a cup of tea. And let’s improve your ranking!
Have you tried improving upon what your competitors are offering?
After doing a quick search of keywords in your industry, you notice that your competitor ranks high with an article that offers valuable content. Perhaps the article is titled “5 Tips for Getting Your Kids to Sleep Through the Night.”
We recommend that you use the same general idea, but improve upon the content. First, consider hiring an industry expert with credentials and experience to write your content. Next, if your competitor’s article offered five ideas, you should provide 50 insights. If their content didn’t include any high-quality external and internal links, add some to your article. If their content didn’t include any sources, make sure you add a source page. Finally, make sure your report includes eye-catching photographs and easy-to-pin infographics.
In essence, use the same general idea, but make your content ten times better!
Have you tried using Google trends?
Let us warn you if you are new to Google Trends. It is easy to become sucked into playing around with this tool.
Google Trends allows you to see what topics are trending across the country. Some of the trends probably make sense to you. You know that following the Superbowl, a lot of people searched for commercials.
Some of the trends may cause you to scratch your head. You may wonder why Bob Marley had appeared in over 50,000 searches when he died in 1981?
Additionally, Google Trends allows you to see how much your keyword has garnered over time.
I typed in “sleep through the night” and learned that this topic received consistent attention throughout the last year. I also learned which state’s residents are the most likely to search for that term (Idaho!) Oddly enough, the state whose residents were least likely to search for that topic was nearby Montanna.
Next, I learned about related topics that were trending. People were also adding the words “weaning,” “bassinet,” and “wake” to their search. I also learned that two brand-new related topics were trending. Apparently, users began to look for smiling/sleeping topics as well as rhythm/sleeping topics.
Additionally, I was able to see related queries to my topic. I learned that many people were wondering, “how to get my puppy to sleep through the night” and “how to sleep through the night without waking.”
Finally, this fantastic tool enabled me to test two similar keywords. I compared the phrase “sleep through the night” and “sleeping through the night.” I learned that the previous term was almost twice as likely to be used rather than the later topic.
Use Google trends to analyze your industry. Perhaps you can cover a topic that is loosely related (but a trending) topic to drive people to your website. In my example, maybe I would want to provide content about sleep problems that come from weaning a child off of breastfeeding. Or I could write about how to get your infant to sleep through the night after moving from a bassinet to a crib.
Have you tried using Google News?
Perhaps you should try to use Google News to find new topics for your website’s blog. Although this may not be as informative as Google Trends, it will tell you about the latest stories relating to your industry.
When I typed in “infant sleep” in the search bar, I was informed of a new study that was recently published on the criteria for good infant sleep. This would be great information to write about on a website about sleeping infants.
I also noticed more trending studies showing how to keep infants safe while sleeping.
Within a few keystrokes, I have two new topics for my website.
Use these three tips will help you in improving your rankings.
This article was originally posted at Virtual Surge.
by admin | Feb 14, 2020 | Baltimore SEO, Local SEO, Recent News
What To Know About Google 2020 Update
We have perused the websites of SEO experts to see what they have discovered about Google’s new update. Apparently, the update rolled out during the second week of January.
Many reported that the update affected a large number of websites. Google labeled the update a “broad core update,” which means that it was not specific to a category of sites or regions.
Maybe you weren’t even aware that the update was taking place, but you noticed that your ranking seemed to have changed over the last few weeks. Now you know a possible reason for the change.
When Google introduced massive updates in June of 2019, the company said there was little you could do to fix your site if you saw a decline in ranking. The good news is that Google has been a little more forthcoming this time around in posting advice on what you can do to fix your site. Here’s what we know so far.
Don’t overhaul your website.
We know this answer is not very satisfying. But when writing about the updates, Google representatives state, “There’s nothing wrong with pages that may perform less well in a core update.”
We know how frustrating this answer is. If your website previously appeared on the first page, and now it is buried on page three, you will receive fewer clicks. When Google representatives tell us to relax, that is not very satisfying.
Google representatives used an analogy to describe the process. We are instructed to think of a “Top 100 Movies” list that was published in 2015. If that list was re-examined in 2019, there would be new movies that were made in the last four years to replace some of the previous films on the list. Over those four years, movie viewers would have time to think about other movies that hadn’t made the list previously that they now view as contenders.
While the movies that were removed from the list weren’t bad, others may have been more deserving of the top-ranking four years later.
Apparently, we are to think of the Google update the same way. It’s not that your website is poor quality, but perhaps others have come along since the last update that are better. Google says that these websites now are more deserving of a first-page rank.
We know how unsatisfying this explanation is. You have been working hard on your website, and you thought you were doing everything in your power to earn your rank.
It’s all about the content. Google goes on to reiterate the advice that they have given time and time again. Focus on your content. Google says that its algorithms reward websites with good content.
Here are some things to think about regarding the content on your website. The questions that we pose are written in our words, but they are based upon the questions that Google provided.
These questions can be summarized by the acronym EAT, which stands for Expertise, Authoritative, and Trustworthiness. Whether or not your website has these traits can be determined by the answers to the following questions.
Is your content original?
Do you comprehensively cover the topic?
Do you provide original research or reporting?
Does the information come from quality sources?
Is the headline descriptive and offer a summary of the content?
Do you avoid exaggerations and shocking headlines?
Does your content seem like something that would be published in an encyclopedia or book?
Does your content provide information that you would want to share?
Do we learn about the author of the content?
Does the author seem like someone with authority?
Do you feel as if the author could be an expert on the topic?
Is the content free of factual errors?
Do you trust this content?
Is the content free of grammatical and spelling errors?
Does the content follow the same style?
Is the webpage mobile friendly?
Is there an abundance of ads on the page?
Is the content engaging?
As you go through the list of questions, you may feel as if you are checking off all the necessary boxes to achieve a high-ranking website. If you aren’t getting the clicks you think that you deserve, something must be wrong.
If nothing obvious jumps out as being wrong with your content, visit the higher ranking pages. Analyze what they are doing to achieve the top spot.
Are they providing a list of sources for each of their articles that come from government or education websites?
Do they provide biographies of their authors? Do they seem as if they could be experts on the topic?
Are the articles longer than what you have provided your readers?
If you have tried your best at improving your ranking, but to no avail, maybe it’s time to consult with an SEO expert. The future of your company may depend upon it.
This article was originally posted at Virtual Surge.
by admin | Feb 12, 2020 | Baltimore SEO, Local SEO
Hire a Reputable Baltimore SEO Professional Today!
Are you frustrated with your business’ Google ranking? Do you look at the website of your competitors with dismay, wondering why their website ranks higher than yours? Do you struggle to find the time to perfect your company’s online presence?
Your concerns can be answered by hiring a Baltimore SEO Expert. Here are the reasons you should hire a search engine optimization expert for your Maryland business today.
An SEO expert will give you ideas on how to improve your Google ranking
You hire accountants to do your business taxes. You turn to software developers to write your business’ applications. You hire professional cleaners to maintain your office. Why would you leave your Google ranking to chance? An SEO expert will give you ideas on how to improve your Google ranking
Your customers will only know that you exist by their online searches. If you do not appear on the first page of an online search, you may struggle winning new clients or customers.
An SEO expert will analyze your website’s content to make sure it includes essential keywords and phrases that will help customers find you. Instead of hoping that your content is good enough, hire an expert so that you know your website will be optimized for the latest Google algorithm.
Hiring a local Baltimore SEO expert will ensure that your website’s content sounds authentic.
Have you ever read an article on a business’ website and thought, “the person who wrote that article has never been to Baltimore.” We have too. That’s why if you own a business in Maryland, you need to search for a Baltimore SEO expert to assist you with your website’s content.
Hiring local experts will ensure that your website’s content seems authentic. Local experts will also be more familiar with the competition you face in your industry. Plus, it’s always a good idea to hire someone familiar with the peculiarities involved with working and living in the D.C. area.
Working with a local company also ensures that you can have a face-to-face meeting with the consultant.
An SEO expert can analyze your website regularly.
An SEO expert should monitor your website’s ranking periodically and make adjustments to make sure your page ranks well. The person you hire should routinely analyze essential metrics, including the ranking of keywords and phrases and conversion rates associated with searches.
Whoever you hire to optimize your website should work as your consultant should be vigilant about the changes in your industry. He or she should understand how trending topics may affect your ranking.
Your Google ranking is affecting your bottom line.
At the risk of sounding repetitive, your Google ranking affects the amount of business you receive. According to a study done in 2019, only 0.78% of users click on websites found on the second page of a search. If this statistic doesn’t frighten you, it should.
What are you doing to make sure your company appears on the first page? You should be hiring an SEO expert to assist you.
Following the advice of amateurs may hurt your ranking.
Did you know that over-optimization and keyword stuffing could harm your ranking? Naming images in your blog post incorrectly can also damage your website. SEO is too important to rely on the advice of amateurs.
For SEO advice in Baltimore or elsewhere across the country, contact the experts at Virtual Surge today.
Visit Virtual Surge’s knowledge panel with Google.
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by admin | Feb 7, 2020 | Digital Marketing, Local SEO
Using Quora for Your Blogs
For those of you not already getting daily emails from them, Quora is a question and answer website that started in 2009. It’s owned by Quora, Inc., which is based out of Mountain View, California. The company has between 200 and 300 employees and reported $20 million in revenue in 2018. Quora is not just for English-speaking audiences. In fact, Quora has 24 different languages, including English and Dutch, as well as Marathi and Tamil.
Quora has changed throughout its history, but its goal has remained the same. It wants to become the best answer database in the world. Unlike other question and answer websites, Quora seeks high-quality responses to questions requiring a factual answer as well as answers based off of opinions.
One only has to spend a little time on Quora to see how it compares with other question sites like Yahoo Answers. Most of the time, Quora’s responses are well written.
Four years into its history, Quora allowed the search stats to become public. This leads us to today’s topic: how to use Quora to find topics, headlines, or keywords for your blogs.
To utilize Quora for this purpose, you do not have to become an active user. But if you would like to increase your online recognition, this might be something that you would consider doing.
Sign up for Quora and create a profile. Add credentials to your profile to give your opinions and knowledge more validity. You can also add your education, job title, and location. Write your profile description so readers can learn a bit more about what makes you tick. Then, start answering questions about your favorite subject.
Ask questions as you familiarize yourself with the website. The more time you spend on the website, you will see how helpful it can be to gather data for your SEO projects.
For example, let’s say you have a website that reviews competitive swimwear and accessories. It’s an affiliate marketing website, and you are trying to write high-quality content that will draw people into your site.
You’ve written about googles and tech suits. You’ve compared Speedo suits versus those made by TYR. You’ve written about innovative practice techniques, and how to find a quality swim team in your local area.
Once you have followed competitive swimming on Quora, a wealth of topics is immediately at your disposal.
One Quora user asks if she should quit competitive swimming if it stresses her out a lot?
Another person asks what body styles are suited to specific swimming strokes.
Someone asks how to stay fit after quitting the swim team, and another asks if competitive swimming techniques have changed much in the past 20 years.
BOOM! You have dozens of new topics about your subject.
Besides having new topics, Quora will also help you figure out headlines and subheads to use for your blogs.
Of course, all of the headlines on Quora are formatted as questions. Perhaps this is one reason Quora has appeared at the top of your most recent searches. You and everyone you know are changing how you search the internet. More people are asking Siri questions with a voice search. Perhaps this means you, like Quora, should begin using questions in your headlines or subheads as well.
While you are at it, make sure your blog answers the question succinctly and clearly, and if you have a high organic ranking for your website, you may find yourself in Snippet territory.
Finally, Quora can also help you do basic keyword research, as well. When writing about competitive swimming, is it better to refer to the sport as “competitive swimming,” “competitive swim,” “USA swimming,” or “swim team?” Perhaps those who are just beginning their search about what it’s like to be on a swim team may use one form over another.
For some subjects, people from varying parts of the country may use different labels or names for the same item.
Of course, all of this advice is for a person who is an SEO amateur. Your topics, headlines, and keywords will come from observation rather than data or statistics.
For more detailed information, consider going through the process of opening a Quora ad account. Even if you decide not to advertise your website through Quora, as you go through the process, you can complete a test campaign for free. This will enable you to type in keywords to see whether “USA Swiming” or “competitive swimming” receives more traffic.
Whether you utilize Quora to increase your web presence, come up with topics, or help with your keyword search, understand that Quora is doing something right to bring in viewers. It is the 115th most visited website in the world.
This article was originally posted at Virtual Surge.
by admin | Feb 3, 2020 | Baltimore SEO, Local SEO
How Hiring an SEO Expert Helped You
Are you a business owner who is struggling to bring in customers to your website? This article is for you!
Are you an SEO expert who needs help with explaining to your customers why they should hire you to increase sales? This article is for you, too.
Here are five reasons that most businesses need an SEO expert and why this industry is here to stay.
1. SEO Experts make your business easier to find online.
Search engine optimization experts bring people to your website. Why is this a big deal?
Let’s say you bake pies. You run a small shop that is tucked away in a quiet part of town. There’s not a lot of foot traffic that goes by your bakery, so you struggle letting people know you even exist.
An SEO expert will help your local customers find you by improving your online presence. SEO experts know how to use social media, blogs, review websites, and local influencers to increase the foot traffic into your shop.
Maybe you specialize in making jewelry from the cremated remains of a person or pet. (Yes, there is an entire industry based around making jewelry and ornaments from cremains.) Of course, your business is a niche industry, and you need to reach out to people all over the country to find enough customers to keep you in operation.
An SEO expert will figure out what your potential customers would type into a search engine that will lead them to your website. They would then work on adding content to your website that is valuable enough that others will want to link to from their own websites.
As you can see, an SEO expert can assist any sort of business — either local or national.
2. SEO Experts will help you build links to your website.
There’s a lot of junk on the internet. A link is one way that Google learns that your website is not full of garbage. If someone links your website to his or her page, this tells Google that your website is valuable and a good source of information.
It is important to understand that more links aren’t always better. Don’t let your brother-in-law go crazy with your website and spam a bunch of discussion boards with links. Doing so will tell Google that your website is junk. Instead of getting more people to visit your website, Google will bury your page in the basement of the internet.
3. SEO Experts are experts in determining keywords and phrases that you should use on your website.
SEO experts are knowledgable on how to use specialized tools to determine which keywords and phrases real-life customers are using to try to find your website.
Sometimes business owners are too familiar with their own industry that they don’t understand what phrases a layperson may search for online. Sometimes specific keywords are incredibly competitive, and targeting less-popular keywords is a strategy that a business owner may consider. Sometimes the keywords must include the business location if you want to drive foot traffic into your brick and mortar business. Perhaps adding a descriptor to the keyword may take your website into a different (but helpful) direction.
4. SEO Experts stay current with industry trends.
Life would be easy for SEO experts if Google didn’t change their rules. But Google tracks how people do online searches, and they change the rules periodically on what makes a website obtain the top rank.
For example, SEO experts know essential it is that your website is optimized for mobile searches. They also know how to bring users to your site who use voice commands to find content. Down the pike, Google knows that more people will use visual searches to find products online. SEO experts will help you prepare for that shift.
As a business owner, you are too busy managing your team, developing relationships with customers, and providing quality goods and services. You don’t have time to keep up with these latest SEO trends — especially since many of the changes come without warning.
5. SEO experts know how to balance strategies.
Unlike the enthusiastic brother-in-law who wants to link your website on the comment sections of popular YouTube videos, an SEO strategist understands the importance of balance. SEO strategists know how many links you should use in your content without making it seem spammy. They know how many times (and where) you should use keywords in your blogs to drive traffic to your website. They know how to write compelling Meta descriptions to get users to click through on your content.
These strategies must be carefully choreographed, or else Google will penalize the website.
Hiring an SEO expert makes as much sense as hiring a tax expert for your business. Not every website strategist is equal. Make sure you do your research before entrusting someone with your website. They can do more harm than good.
This article was originally posted at Virtual Surge.
