http://www.rankranger.com/RSS/ UTF-8 Fri, 16 Dec 2022 08:37:56 UTC Fri, 16 Dec 2022 08:37:56 UTC https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-business-partners-for-your-clients How much time do you take to better understand your clients' businesses? Are you just a service provider or are you a true business partner? In this episode, Jake Guntley shares five ways to be better business partners for your SEO clients, including: Is SEO the right choice for your business? Make all digital media more efficient  Use SEO data to answer brand questions Be honest when it's time to pivot strategy or resource    Explore internal processes and work to make them more efficient Tue, 13 Dec 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-structure-seo-training-sessions When setting up SEO training for your team, how do you decide what training to deliver and how should you structure those training sessions?  In this episode, Billie shares how to structure SEO training, including:    Picking the right SEO training for your team  Review your matrix    Face-to-face vs. self-taught  Training non-SEOs    Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-create-link-bait How should you be building links in 2023?  In this week's episode, Bibi shares three key elements to creating linkable assets, including:    Focus on your audience      It doesn't have to be epic  Outreach Tue, 29 Nov 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/tiktok-seo We’ve all heard the TikTok stats. Around one billion people use the app. Now for context, there are about 8 billion people in the world. That means one in every eight people (on the entire planet) use TikTok.  What’s more, as you can see from Similarweb data, Tiktok’s audience growth is exploding. There is a question that comes up regularly. Is TikTok a real search engine? And of course, the follow-up: If it is, how do I create a TikTok SEO strategy? In this post, I’ll address the first question. I’ll save actionable TikTok SEO tips for another post. Wed, 23 Nov 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/content-inventory-helps-audit-content-quality In a world of increased content scrutiny, how do we effectively manage our content portfolio? Even at a basic level, content inventories are great to understand the challenges your site faces. In this episode, Charlie Williams shares 5 ways to use content inventories to improve your site's content quality, including: Understanding how much content you have and how popular it is Checking what Google has indexed at scale  Finding hidden sections of poor quality Auditing on-page SEO elements Scraping key page attributes Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-the-tiktok-algoritm-works TikTok is surprisingly addictive. Ever wonder why? It all comes down to one word. Data. Yes, TikTok has extensive data on its users, and this helps the platform to continuously deliver content that its users love. Now, as a digital marketer, if you are marketing to Gen-Zers, you might want your business on TikTok. Maybe users will become addicted to your content. To do that effectively, you must know how the TikTok algorithm works. In this post, I’ll cover how the TikTok algorithm works so that you can gain massive traction. Wed, 16 Nov 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/being-transparent-with-seo-clients How transparent are you with your SEO clients about what you're doing? How do you measure its true value and the SEO industry in general? In this episode, Taylor shares four ways to be more transparent with your SEO clients, including: Building long-term relationships Educate your clients on the value of your services  Improve the reputation of SEOs        Raise your own value and give yourself an advantage over your competitors   Tue, 15 Nov 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-agency-work-vs-seo-in-house Are you currently working in an agency and quietly wondering what life might be like working in-house? In this episode, Paige Hobart shares some key differences between SEO agengy work and in-house SEO, including:     Work-life balance  Being the sole SEO vs internal collaboration    Your future career    Selecting your ideal role    Paige: Thank you, David. Lovely to be here. Tue, 08 Nov 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/using-machine-learning-to-create-seo-strategies How do you incorporate machine learning into your SEO strategy? In this episode, Si Shangase shares six machine learning steps to creating successful SEO strategies, including:    Signing up for a Google Cloud account    Creating a Google Cloud platform using the Search Console API    Using BigQuery, create a schema for your data set      Get access to Forecast Forge for your business    Run your data set at regular day intervals    Connect to Bigquery with Looker Data Studio   Tue, 01 Nov 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-fix-xml-sitemaps What are the common issues found in XML sitemaps? What impact do they have and how do you fix them? In this episode, Katherine Nwanorue shares four common XML sitemap issues and how to fix them, including: Listing ineligible URLs    Unsupported HTML format error    Not declaring a page and its alternate version correctly    Having one larger sitemap for Separate Sections of a Website Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/five-steps-to-build-an-seo-team Have you ever struggled to bring senior business stakeholders with you on your SEO journey? That’s what we're going to be discussing today with a man who after seven years in general SEO now specializes in app-store optimization.  In this week's episode, Luis Bueno Tabernero shares five key steps to building an SEO team from scratch, including: Build confidence    Manage expectations    Build your strategy  Your resources    Your team Thu, 20 Oct 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/explaining-seo-value-to-clients Have you ever struggled to justify the value of SEO to your clients? In this episode, Pam shares three ways to explain the value of SEO to your clients, including: Timing Targeting Transactional Tue, 11 Oct 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-image-optimization Are you taking advantage of visual searches on Google? If not, you may well wish to pay attention to this episode. In this episode, Bipin Padhiar will share five ways to optimize your images for visual searches on Google, including:      Structured data XML sitemaps Alt tags Image sizes Clear and clutter-free images  Tue, 04 Oct 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/enterprise-seo-tips Are you a successful SEO that works for small or medium-sized businesses? Would you like to work for an enterprise but are you a little scared of enterprise SEO versus what you're currently doing? In this episode, Gus shares five things you must know to be successful at enterprise SEO, including: How to pitch    Business acumen    Test and document everything Meet everyone you can      Find ways to do things at scale  Tue, 27 Sep 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/core-web-vitals-tips What do you really need to be looking for in a Core Web Vitals report? That's what we're going to be discussing today with Jan-Willem Bobbink.   In this episode, Jan shares five key elements to improve your Core Web Vitals, including:      The difference between specific segments    Comparing different page templates      Understanding the difference between Pagespeed Insights scoring and CWV scores    Be creative    Prioritizing page types by benchmarking against competitors Tue, 20 Sep 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/three-key-seo-element What makes SEO different for news publishers? And how much organic traffic might you be able to drive as a news publisher? In this episode, Barry shares three key episodes of SEO for news publishers, including:      Top Stories Boxes on SERPs    Speed matters      The headline is the key to optimization Tue, 13 Sep 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-and-nlp-copy Yes, we all know that Google is a semantic search engine.  What this means is… Using Natural Language Processing, Google attempts to understand the meaning of your content rather than just looking for literal keyword matches. The reason is, that Google is attempting to improve the user experience by attempting to bring results that more accurately satisfy the searcher’s intent. In this post, I’ll attempt to answer: What is natural language processing? How does natural language processing work? How do you use natural language processing in SEO? To do this, I’ll be focusing on theoretical knowledge as well as putting on my scientist hat and doing a little experimentation. (Yes, I love tinkering.) My goal for this experiment is to have a deeper understanding of how to create on-page SEO for NLP. Wed, 07 Sep 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/five-steps-to-boost-video-seo So you started publishing videos on YouTube. But are you truly optimizing your videos for organic reach as you painstakingly optimize every piece of written content that you publish for your website? In this episode, Dre De Vera will be sharing five steps to boost your video SEO, including:      Pre-publishing  Establishing expertise Establishing authoritativeness  Establishing trust Post publishing Tue, 06 Sep 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-ux-and-seo-overlap UX is a wide umbrella that extends across the digital world. But how does it overlap with SEO? That's what we're going to be discussing today with one of the few ex-Google Search Quality team members currently working in SEO, Pedro Dias.  In this episode, Pedro shares five ways that UX overlaps with SEO, including:    Website architecture and internal linking Friendly URLs    Alt text    Organize internal linking and breadcrumbs  PageSpeed and Core Web Vitals Tue, 30 Aug 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/things-to-know-about-eat Most SEOs have heard of E-A-T but why has there been such a big emphasis on E-A-T? How does Google actually use E-A-T? And how do you optimize for E-A-T? That's what we're going to be discussing today with a New York City based creative and passionate SEO professional Lily Ray. In this episode, Lily shares seven things every SEO needs to know about E-A-T:                                             What is E-A-T?      What is YMYL?      How does Google use E-A-T?      Why is there such a big emphasis on E-A-T?    Can you see your E-A-T score?      How do you optimize your E-A-T?        Can you influence E-A-T in areas other than content? Tue, 23 Aug 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/content-localization-warnings Does your website offer translated localized versions of content targeting different countries around the world? If so, you need to be aware of a few warning flags that may mean that your localized content isn't performing as well. In this episode, Isaline will share four content localization red flags, including: Unusually low KPIs for a translated language Receiving traffic from another country that's not in your target market Translating keyword research When customer support receives an unusual amount of requests in a translated language Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-analytics-4-integration In March this year, Google announced that as of July 1, 2023, they will no longer be supporting Universal Analytics. This means the digital marketing community will be moving over to Google Analytics 4. Now, it’s important to understand that GA4 is not built on the old Universal Analytics platform. This is a whole new platform with a whole new interface. And, a new interface means a steep learning curve. That said, who can live without Google Analytics? Realizing that you are most likely moving over to the new platform, we want to give you an opportunity to integrate your GA4 property with your Rank Ranger account. This will give you the power to play with your data, presenting it any way you want. Wed, 10 Aug 2022 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-on-the-edge In episode #117, Chris Green shares five SEO tasks that are better handled on the edge. The five tasks are: Split testing    Redirect management    Bot access logging    Sitemap building/management    Injecting content Tue, 09 Aug 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/people-also-ask-vs-things-to-know Over the last few months, our SERP Team has been keeping an eye on a new SERP feature using our Mobile SERP Features Tool. Things to Know. This feature is designed to give the searcher well-organized Featured Snippet style information on a topic as well as click through to specific URLs to dig into those topics and read more. Our CEO Shay Harel recently asked a question about the Things to Know feature. Surely the new feature plays the same role as a People Also Ask box, just with fewer options? Personally being a curious person, the question kept me up at night. After looking at the data and doing a little SERP analysis, I found an answer. In this post, I explain what I found. Wed, 03 Aug 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-ppc-working-together How can you become more effective at SEO by working more closely with PPC? In this episode, Jay will share seven tips to help SEO and PPC to work together. The tips are: Not viewing each other as competitors    Common goals and taking credit for brand revenue    Using SEO to reduce PPC costs    Using PPC to test an SEO Strategy    Landing page development  Using dynamic search campaigns to find keyword ideas    Keyword level SERP features from your rank tracking tool      Tue, 02 Aug 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/content-marketing-traffic-conversions Okay, you’re convinced that content marketing can improve your business. The question is… How exactly do you create an effective content marketing strategy? I mean, let’s face it, just publishing blog posts or videos is not a strategy. Successful content marketing requires the right content delivered at the right time. This will allow all your content to work harmoniously together providing a great user experience for your target audience. So to get you on your feet, I decided to create an in-depth digital content marketing strategy step-by-step guide. Wed, 27 Jul 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/backlink-types What link types are you actively trying to build your website right now? Do you even differentiate between the different types of links that you build? In episode #115 of the In Search SEO Podcast Alexandra Tachalova explains three backlink types you need to be building. The backlink types are: Links that bring SEO benefits      Links that boost your authority      Links that build brand awareness Tue, 26 Jul 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-the-serp-is-changing How closely do you keep an eye on how the SERP is changing? And how is the changing SERP changing the way that SEO should be done? In this episode, Gerald Murphy shares nine ways the Google SERPs are changing.  The nine ways are: SERP-Less Complex SEO behaviors      SERP feature evolution      Quality importance for ranking  Integration of different engines on each engine    Keyword/Query understanding    Devices/Mobile    Zero clicks    Personalization Tue, 19 Jul 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/ai-generated-content-tips Is it really possible to create all of your content on an automated basis using AI? In this episode, Arpad Balogh will be sharing five steps to creating successful AI-generated content. The steps are: Research, research research Make an outline    Use an AI writer to generate content    Make a standard operating procedure (SOP)  Optimize AI content with Surfer SEO Tue, 12 Jul 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/zero-serch-volume-keywords Do you ignore zero volume keywords? If so, that could be a big mistake. That's what I'm discussing today with Mark Williams Cook, the director of Candour, a digital agency based in Norwich in the UK.  In this episode, Mark will be sharing four steps to getting started with zero search volume keywords. The tips are: Forecasting with Zero Volume Keywords Researching Zero Volume Topics Planning Zero Volume Content Discovering New Zero Volume Opportunities Mon, 04 Jul 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/may-2022-update-vs-june-update After a long wait, we finally saw the May Core Update. When the update started, the Rank Risk Index reported violent SERP fluctuations starting on May 26th. Fluctuation levels quickly returned to normal the following day and remained that way until Google announced that the update was over. However… The story was far from over. We then saw violent SERP fluctuations starting again on June 20th. What’s more, the fluctuations continued all the way to June 29th. We can only speculate that the updates are related. Fri, 01 Jul 2022 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/harmonic-seo Is it really possible for other marketing channels to positively impact your SEO efforts? And if so, how? That's what we're going to be discussing today with the founder of the Atlanta-based digital marketing agency Hum JAM, Joseph Kahn. Joseph shares five steps to creating a harmonic marketing campaign powered by SEO. The steps are: Keyword Intention SEO Content Email Campaigns    Social Campaigns CRM Tue, 28 Jun 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/things-to-know Now that the May 2022 Core Update is officially rolled out and the dust is settling, we are all looking at the Google SERPs wondering what has changed. Yes, there are always rankings that change based on quality signals. But, as Google adds and changes its many SERP features it really pays to be aware of those changes. In the aftermath, a SERP feature caught my attention. Things to Know From what I'm seeing, the new feature could change how you do SEO moving forward. Here is my analysis. Thu, 23 Jun 2022 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-migration-mistakes Have you ever been involved in a catastrophic website migration? Maybe you've been brought into a project to deal with the effects of a badly thought-through website migration. In this episode, Sara Moccand shares five site migration mistakes to avoid. The mistakes to avoid are: Poor planning Not testing redirects Not auditing the staging Migrating in a period of high demand Having the staging indexed Tue, 21 Jun 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/topic-cluster-tips How do you go about building and honing topic clusters? And how do you measure their effectiveness? In this episode, Begum Kaya shares six simple steps to creating topic clusters so that you can boost your SEO traffic. The steps are: Understanding topic clusters Understanding the benefits of topic clusters How to strategize your content clusters Mistakes to avoid Promotion and distribution Measure the impact Tue, 14 Jun 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-create-a-social-media-dashboard When creating a social media campaign, tracking is crucial. The reason? Social media marketing generally consists of many working parts that exist on multiple platforms. This means you’ll find your data in many different places. There are two problems with this. It’s almost impossible to understand your data if you look at the parts separately It makes client reporting a long and painful process The obvious solution is to set up a social media dashboard that incorporates all your KPIs based on your business goals. In this post, I’ll be covering what a social media dashboard is and how you should set it up to take your business to the next level. Wed, 08 Jun 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/search-intent-for-b2b-audience How much do you consider search intent when developing your SEO content strategy? Why is it so important to understand intent as it is? And how do you cater for intent? In episode #108 Adriana Stein explains four ways to determine search intent for a B2B audience including: Streamline buyer personas Keyword research and clustering Keyword mapping    Create your content Tue, 07 Jun 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/shopify-seo-strategy What are the key elements of successful Shopify SEO? In this episode, Iky Tai gives us five essential Shopify SEO tips. The key elements are: Collection or category vs product pages Product page writing (don't copy) Keyword cannibalization Wise internal linking strategy Common tech SEO issues Tue, 31 May 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-beginning-with-similarweb Last week, we made a big announcement and our excitement is just starting to settle in. Rank Ranger has been acquired by Similarweb. This isn’t just exciting for those of us who have worked tirelessly to build our beloved Rank Ranger product, but for our customers, this good news is just the beginning. This marks a great investment in the enablement of all SEO managers and will allow for new functionality in the coming months. We understand that an acquisition can raise questions for our long-term users. Especially if you rely on our dashboards and reporting for the success of your business. First, we want to let you know that our number one priority is you, our customers, and our continued investment in our relationship. Here are the key questions I’ll be answering for you in this post: Will there be any big changes to the Rank Ranger functionality? Will there be significant pricing changes? Will there be any changes to customer service? Wed, 25 May 2022 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/things-to-include-in-seo-strategy What are the key items that you need to include in your SEO strategy? That's what we're going to be discussing today with Irina Serdyukovskaya.     The elements are: Website structure Content for Commercial pages Content for a blog or news section Create a sitemap Internal linking External links and brand mentions PageSpeed optimization Solve any security issues Conversion optimization Go beyond the text Tue, 24 May 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-tracking-for-video-seo It’s no secret that video has a big ROI. The question is… Can you use video as an SEO strategy? The answer is, absolutely. In this post, I’ll be showing you how to make the most of video in SEO. I’ll be getting into how to research video topics that are designed to rank in both YouTube and Google. I’ll also get into some video optimization best practices. Wed, 18 May 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-for-restricted-industries Do you work in an industry that's heavily restricted in terms of what you're able to do from an SEO perspective? That's precisely the challenge that my guest today faces. The considerations are: Images Videos Age-gating Geo-fencing Tue, 17 May 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/knowledge-graph There is no question that semantic SEO is the future of SEO. The reason? As search engines evolve towards semantic search your SEO strategy should evolve with them. The problem is the barrier to entry is high. In other words, to do semantic SEO you must have a basic understanding of how semantic search works. Unfortunately, as things stand at the moment, if you do a Google search for simple easy-to-understand resources for the layman you’ll find yourself scratching your head. To deal with that, I’ve attempted to create some semantic SEO resources that anyone can understand. In this post, I’ll be dealing with the question: What is Google’s Knowledge Graph? Wed, 11 May 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-report-optimization Do you work in an SEO agency? And if so, when was the last time you improved your monthly reports? Today we're talking about how you can positively improve your monthly SEO reports. The steps are: Revenue from organic traffic  Reason for the increase or decrease in organic traffic  Incorporate pending tasks    Add a top-level summary    Ranking report summaries split into categories and rankings Tue, 10 May 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-use-google-search-console Google Search Console is a great rank tracking tool. In fact... Even if you use a paid rank tracker, you should still start your rank tracking journey with Search Console. The reason is... Search Console gives you an inside scoop into how Google understands your content (which is difficult to see when using a paid rank tracking tool.) Using this data, you can make your first optimizations and then move over to a paid rank tracker for a more detailed analysis. In this post, I’ll show you how to use Google Search Console to boost your rankings and improve your content strategy. Wed, 04 May 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/news-content-for-linkbuilding How much of the content that you publish is newsworthy enough to earn links? In episode #103, Amanda Milligan explains three ways to create newsworthy content that earns links. The steps are: Building Brand Authority with Contextualization Customize/Personalize Your Pitch with Localization Backup Your Pitch with Trustworthy Data Tue, 03 May 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/linkbuilding-email-outreach People are bombarded with hundreds of emails every day, and this is not an exaggeration. According to the most recent statistics, a person receives 200 emails a day on average. Surely, you can expect some of these messages to go right to the trash folder if the recipient finds them irrelevant - hardly anyone can handle writing as many replies. So, obviously, the tactic of overwhelming your recipient with emails until they cave no longer works. The same goes for social media and LinkedIn, in particular. Thus, the only way to cut through that noise is to start doing exactly the opposite, namely, adjusting your link prospecting angles and pitches so that they target the right group of people, speak their language, and ultimately help you build a relationship with them. If you’re not sure how this approach works in practice, here’s a short guide you can follow. Wed, 27 Apr 2022 00:00:00 UTC Alexandra Tachalova Alexandra Tachalova https://www.rankranger.com/blog/b2b-blog-seo-strategy Does your B2B blog bring your site a steady stream of organic traffic? Is the content that you publish underpinned by a premeditated SEO strategy? In episode #101 of the In Search SEO podcast Andrea Paternostro explains 5 steps to turn your B2B blog into an SEO machine. The steps are: Absorb Plan your content Execute Reach Analyze and restart Tue, 26 Apr 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/site-speed-tips How speedy is your site? We all know that a slow site negatively impacts user behavior. But are you really doing everything you can to minimize your site speed? Today, we're discussing eight essential elements of fast websites with Jono Alderson. The eight steps are: Core Web Vitals Cloudflare Chrome Developer Tools Advanced Image Optimization Techniques Advanced Font Optimization Techniques CSS and JavaScript Tricks Caching and Versioning Clever Third-Party Kit Tue, 19 Apr 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/creating-content-clusters Semantic SEO is the most exciting area in SEO. There is no doubt that it's the future of SEO and that means no matter what area of SEO you are in, it pays to spend time learning semantic SEO strategies. One of the main SEO goals is to achieve topical relevance by creating a thorough network of content about your main topic. But... Just writing a lot of content is not likely to bring your site traffic. There is another piece of the puzzle. Content clustering. In this post, I’ll cover: What content clusters are and I'll show you two opposite approaches to creating cluster content. Wed, 13 Apr 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/getting-started-with-schema Is schema an active part of your SEO strategy? Maybe it's something that you were involved with a couple of years ago when you were setting up a new website, but you haven't thought about much since. In this episode, we're going to be looking at what works effectively in schema right now. And if you're not actively using schema, we'll share four steps to getting started with schema right now. The steps are: Identify the Schema Opportunity Implementing Schema Verify your Schema implementation Measuring your success Tue, 12 Apr 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-feature-opportunities Are you targeting SEO SERP features? If not, you are wasting a big opportunity. The reason? As Google and other search engines evolve, they seem to be doubling down on SERP features. Search engines use SERP features as both a way to bring immediate answers to user queries as well as a way to help users explore a topic. In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to find SERP feature opportunities and show you some ways to optimize your content to get into them. Wed, 06 Apr 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/technical-seo-audit-tips How much are you missing out on with your technical SEO audits? How reliable is your data? And what does your website look like in the eyes of Google? These are just three of the topics that we'll be discussing in episode 99 of the Insearch SEO podcast with Olga Zarzeczna. The steps are: Don’t rely on just one tool Start with data from Google Search Console Look for high-impact, low-effort quick wins Have your own SEO checklist Look at your site through the eyes of Google Tue, 05 Apr 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-write-content Living in this day and age, we’re all oversaturated with one word. Content. Content this, content that, it’s so widely used that it's beginning to lose all meaning. And this is completely understandable since the term is used in a myriad of different contexts - creative content, sales content, functional content, etc. Yet, real content writers, people who know exactly what this type of writing demands - both content-wise and formally - need to keep their focus very sharp. They need to know what the priorities of content marketing really are, and to stick to them. In this post, I'll go through both the content side of things - the actual substance of what you should be writing, and the "marketing” side of things - the way it needs to be organized, formatted, and marketed, in order to be accessible. Hopefully, by the time you’ve finished this article, you’ll know exactly what you need to do in order to become a quality content marketing writer yourself. Wed, 30 Mar 2022 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/machine-learning-seo How much of your SEO are you automating? And did you know that automating what you're currently doing could help you do it faster and with a greater level of accuracy? In this episode, Lazarina Stoy explains how to get started with machine learning in SEO. The steps are: Understand Your Limiting Beliefs and Overcome Them Understand Common Task Specifications, Solution Specifications, and Data Specifications in Machine Learning Practice Daily and Start Going Through the Motions Asses New Tasks, Their Solutions, and Data Characteristics to Understand When Machine Learning is Needed Understand the Limitations and Scrutinize the Output of Machine Learning Work Collaboratively and Set Reasonable Expectations Tue, 29 Mar 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/social-media-content-strategy Social media marketing is crucial to promoting your SEO content. Why? Let’s say your goal is to get SEO traffic. Yes, SEO traffic is the gift that keeps on giving. The problem is, even if you have a stellar SEO strategy, SEO is slow. It takes time to see rankings. Especially if your site is relatively new. So if you are not the kind of person who enjoys watching dust settle, it may be time to create a social media marketing content strategy that complements your SEO and earns you a huge audience of raving fans. To be as useful as possible, I’ll be breaking this post into two parts. In part one I’ll share a strategic approach to social media marketing that could potentially generate thousands of views and massive engagement. In part two I’ll share a step-by-step checklist to implement your social media strategy. Wed, 23 Mar 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/translations-for-seo Have you ever managed an international site yet failed to drive as much traffic and convert as many sales abroad as you do in your own country? That's the challenge that we're looking at in this episode, where Julia-Carolin Zeng will explain six steps to effective SEO translation. The six steps are: Have an In-Market Expert at Hand Know Your Market Get the Right Translation Budget for Your Market Don't Just Translate, Localize Brief Your Translators Correctly Find the Right Translator Tue, 22 Mar 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-basics-sitemaps The importance of SEO sitemaps nowadays is undeniable. Getting content exposure online is a difficult thing in and of itself, especially when you consider the mind-boggling amount of content being created and uploaded on a daily basis. For that reason, there exist various ways to influence SEO, ensuring that you get a proportional recompense for your effort. Some focus on you mentioning certain words or phrases in their pages, which will make them more relevant for search engines. Others recommend adding more external and internal links to your content. And these are all valid, smart, and useful ways to get people to see your content. Yet, there comes the issue of how to make your content easily manageable and recognizable to search engines. With incredibly big websites, this can prove to be quite difficult. Hence, the existence of sitemaps. We shall now explain what sitemaps are exactly, whether they’re essential for your website, and how they are meant to be used. By the end of this text, you’ll be an SEO sitemaps expert. Wed, 16 Mar 2022 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/genuine-content-vs-high-volume-keywords What do you do when you find the perfect keyword but according to Google the keyword has no search volume? According to Eilish Hughes, there are times when you should target those keywords. When should you try this approach? In this episode, Eilish gives you 5 reasons why writing genuinely relevant content beats targeting high-volume keywords. Tue, 15 Mar 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-basics-robots-txt Robots.txt files are elements on your websites that you don’t want to throw out. They allow and block entrance to unwanted bot visitors trying to "snoop" through your website content. This is more or less a simple way to define robots.txt files. In this post, I'll get into the robots.txt for SEO basics. You'll learn: When you should use them How to implement them Mistakes to avoid Wed, 09 Mar 2022 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/managing-client-expectations Have you ever been confident in the SEO results that you're delivering for a client but actually find out when you've spoken to them, that they're not quite that satisfied with you? In this episode, Mindy Gofton will explain Six Steps to Managing an SEO Client's Expectations. The steps are: Understanding Your Client's Pain Points Understanding What to Reasonably Expect Understanding What Will Delight Your Clients Make Sure Your Clients Understand What They Are Getting for Their Money Make Sure Your Clients Understand Their Given Timeframe Make Sure Your Clients Fully Understand What You're Doing for Them Tue, 08 Mar 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/offpage-seo-checklist Getting off-page SEO right is crucial to your site rankings. In other words, what happens after you publish your latest blog post is almost as important as the blog post itself. The problem is, to effectively write, publish, and promote content, you must see to a seemingly endless list of tasks. To help you stay focused, in this post, I’ll be sharing a comprehensive off-page SEO checklist designed to get your content in front of your intended audience. Wed, 02 Mar 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/customer-data-seo Customer data is one of your most valuable metrics. Because... The goal of SEO is to generate sales. And... Speaking to actual customers is the best way to work out how to get more sales. What's more, most SEOs start the SEO process by looking at keyword data. The problem with this approach is it assumes you'll be able to predict how your potential customers think about your product or service. This is making a big assumption. The better way to do SEO is to research how actual potential customers relate to your product and then build your SEO strategy around that. In this episode, Eli Schwartz explains three ways to use customer data to build SEO strategies. Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-find-your-target-audience Understanding your audience will boost your effectiveness exponentially. This applies to every marketer, whether you are an SEO, PPC expert, or even marketing via snail mail. (Even my son who sells gum to his classmates when the teacher isn’t looking can benefit from this lesson!) Everything starts there. The reason is simple. Once you know what makes your audience tick, you can design a sales funnel that’s personalized to their needs. What’s more, understanding your audience applies to every aspect of your marketing. In this post, I’ll be getting into how to find your target audience and do better marketing. Wed, 23 Feb 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-kpis-to-scale-your-business How do you pick the right SEO KPIs? With so many tools and so many metrics, what should you be tracking? In this episode, Crystal Carter shares five metrics that actually make a difference to your clients. Track these five SEO KPIs: Conversions and your benchmark Revenue and transactions Target keywords and what you are actually ranking for Ranking position changes Traffic that brings conversions Mon, 21 Feb 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/site-architecture-for-seo What is site architecture? How does it affect SEO? Site architecture is one of those best practices that makes sense on so many levels. It not only helps search engines crawl and categorize your content, but it also helps your users find exactly what they're looking for. And... At the end of the day, your content exists for your users. In this post, I’ll get into: What site architecture is What the two main benefits are The relationship between site architecture and semantic SEO Wed, 16 Feb 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/social-media-for-brand-serps It used to be that SEO was the antithesis of brand. Brand is the thing that you couldn't measure and SEO brought the free traffic. But nowadays, both can do so much more if they work together. In this episode, Jason Barnard discusses: How social media can amplify your brand image How is social media used for SEO Tue, 15 Feb 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-marketing As an SEO or digital marketer, I’m sure you’ve heard about sales funnels. Ever wonder what a sales funnel is or how they affect your SEO? Sales funnels are at the heart of your marketing and sales and this means as an SEO you should be focused on far more than just rankings and visibility. SEO is a form of marketing. And by building funnels into your SEO, you are creating a true SEO strategy. Without funnels, SEO is just a tactic to drive traffic, nothing more. I mean, you wouldn’t spend your client’s money setting up paid ads without thinking about where that traffic is going to, so why should your client pay you month after month to generate organic traffic that has no chance of converting? Wed, 09 Feb 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/improve-your-seo-strategy-using-three-channels In this episode, Laura Hogan shares three channels that you can leverage to improve your SEO strategy. Discover: How to find targeted queries your audience is searching for using Google Ads How you can set up enhanced free listings in Merchant Center to drive traffic to your products How to find blog content that your customers are desperately searching for by talking to your customer service team Tue, 08 Feb 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/python-for-semantic-seo Nowadays SEO is seeing the rise of concepts such as semantic SEO, Natural Language Processing (NLP) and programming languages. Speaking of which, Python is a huge help for optimization and most of the boring tasks you may want to carry out while working. Don’t worry, coding can seem daunting at first but it’s way more straightforward than you think thanks to some specialized libraries. We have already discussed semantic search, as well as topical authority, and Python is a good solution to explore new insights and for faster calculations, compared to the usual Excel workflow. It’s no secret that Google relies a lot on NLP to retrieve results and that is the main reason why we are interested in exploring natural language to get more clues about how we can improve our content. In this post I clarify: The main semantic SEO tasks you can carry out in Python Code snippets on how to implement them Short practical examples to get you started Use cases and motivations behind Pitfalls and traps of blindly copy-pasting code for decision making Wed, 02 Feb 2022 00:00:00 UTC Marco Giordano Marco Giordano https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-find-keyword-opportunities How do you pick the right keywords that are easy to rank for in Google? Although one of the tried and tested ways to find keyword opportunities is to focus on keywords that your content is ranking for on page two, in this episode, Lukasz Zelezny has a counterintuitive keyword strategy. Look for keywords that your content is ranking for on position 50 or more. In this episode, discover why it works and how to implement it. Tue, 01 Feb 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/crawl-budget-optimization How effective is your crawl budget optimization? That's what we're exploring today with Alina Ghost, SEO manager from Debenhams. In this episode, Alina explains: Why crawl budget optimization is important Why robots.txt is important for crawl budget optimization How to improve your crawl budget through internal linking Checking for errors and redirects Using log file data to improve your SEO Tue, 25 Jan 2022 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-search-console-entities When looking at Google Search Console search queries, you might see something interesting. When you scroll through the queries, you’ll sometimes notice that your content is ranking for queries that don’t actually appear in your content or your metadata. Ever wonder why? The answer is semantic search. In this article, I’ll be sharing a simple Google Search Console SEO strategy that can easily be implemented to improve your topical relevance and scale your ranking potential.  Wed, 19 Jan 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-entities When starting your journey into semantic SEO, there are many concepts that you need to understand before getting started. But, many of the resources online are painfully difficult to understand.  So, to help you out, I decided to create content that spells everything out in simple English. Also… I generally try to give practical tips and strategies in my blog posts. But, since I was confused, I assume others are too. This is my attempt at giving you a clear understanding of some important concepts. And, that brings us to the subject of this post. If you were wondering what a Google entity really is, this post is for you. In it, I hope to clarify: What an entity is What the various component parts are What the Topic Layer is Once you understand these points, you’ll have both the knowledge and vocabulary to research the topic on your own. And since semantic SEO is not just a few tactics and best practices, having a real understanding can really help you get more traffic. Wed, 12 Jan 2022 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-basics-title-tags The importance of SEO cannot be stressed enough, or more precisely, the organic traffic that SEO brings. The reasons are pretty simple. If you venture into an online business, SEO is there to enhance customer traffic and raise your reputation, giving you an advantage on the market. But SEO is mathematics, and it has a proper way of doing things, which includes various technical details. One of those details is title tags. So, the question then follows - why are title tags so crucial for building your SEO? First things first, if you didn’t know by now, you should learn what title tags are and what’s their primary function. Title tags are coded HTML tags that involve selecting a specific title for a website. The location of the title tag is always on the title bar of the selected browser and the Search Engine Result Page, or in short - the SERP. This was a simple explanation of what precisely SEO title tags are. We’re going to discuss the significance of title tags for organic SEO traffic in-depth. Wed, 05 Jan 2022 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-basics-url-structure SEO practices change and evolve - this is no secret. So, when it comes to URLs, they usually aren’t a top priority for ranking high. But do URLs matter for SEO in the long run? Yes! This element might be less significant than titles, headings, and keywords, but it plays a vital role in helping your website rank high. Therefore, excluding URLs from your SEO strategy could cost your website to perform poorly. URLs help browsers and crawlers access and shine a light on your webpages, so their structure and the overall site architecture are vital for SEO. There are multiple ways to structure your URLs, and they will help in complementing your SEO strategy. That’s why we’ll be going over the basics to show you how you can structure your URLs and help your website rank higher. Wed, 29 Dec 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/topical-map As Google and other search engines progress, SEO is constantly evolving. One of the biggest evolutions is semantic SEO. Semantic SEO is a branch of SEO that seems to have flown under the radar for many. What’s interesting is that semantic search is here to stay as Google is doubling down on semantic search with many of its algorithms. For instance: Hummingbird Rank Brain Bert Mum This means understanding how Google structures entities in its Knowledge Graph and incorporating that knowledge into your site structure is becoming more important every day. In this post, I’ll cover what a topical map is and how you can use it to structure your content so that your site content can be easily understood by both users and search engines. Wed, 22 Dec 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/what-is-seo Today, the use of digital marketing tactics is in full swing - and SEO is leading the pack. There are thousands of enterprises that implement SEO techniques into their websites, all to maintain an active online presence - and scale their business. But, what is SEO and just how relevant is it to your online business? In short - far more than you might have anticipated. In long - below is a detailed overview of all-things SEO and how a properly implemented SEO strategy can land your business on Google’s first page. Wed, 15 Dec 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/related-entities-vs-related-queries Topical authority is a semantic SEO strategy that could bring massive traffic to your site. To achieve topical authority, you must create authoritative content that covers an entire topic. However, to be successful it really pays to first understand what entities exist in Google’s Knowledge Graph and how they are structured. In my previous post, I covered how to research entities in Google's Knowledge Graph.  The point of this analysis is to give you the information to figure out not only what content assets to make but also how to create a structure that not only makes sense to your readers but also to Google. I explained that you are looking for: Related Entities Related Topics Related Queries In this post, I want to clarify the difference between related entities and related queries and why the difference makes a difference to how you do SEO. Wed, 08 Dec 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/topical-authority-research There is a basic semantic SEO strategy that can help your site gain massive traffic. That strategy is called topical authority. This SEO paradigm shift is a result of search engines attempting to understand the meaning of search queries to bring the best results for those queries. This has changed SEO as we know it. Instead of optimizing content around keywords, we should now focus on optimizing content around entire topics. When we do that successfully we achieve topical authority. But… How do you actually research your chosen topic? In this post, I’ll show you some clear actions you can take to easily understand how Google organizes entities in its Knowledge Graph so that you can design a semantic SEO strategy that could position you as the authority in your chosen topic. Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/keywords-vs-topics Okay, so you’re getting into semantic SEO. Great idea. In my last blog post, I explained what semantic search is. It’s now time to understand how to build a semantic SEO strategy. In this post, I’ll get into the difference between keywords and topics and explain why focusing on topics could revolutionize your SEO and potentially bring you way more traffic.  I don’t intend this post to be my final word on covering topics. It’s intended to be a general overview that will give you a solid understanding that you'll need to build content silos that get massive traffic. Wed, 24 Nov 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/what-is-semantic-search We all feel it. SEO has changed dramatically. What used to work when I started out (when the world was still in black and white), is not working like it used to. And, as the search engines evolve we SEOs have to evolve with it. When trying to find answers, I discovered semantic SEO.  I discovered that semantic search influences all of the SEO basics, including: Keyword research Search intent Content creation Site architecture Internal linking And more In this blog post, I’ll be giving you an overview of semantic search. My goal is to give you a solid foundation to work with so that when you learn semantic SEO strategies you’ll understand why they work. Wed, 17 Nov 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/optimizing-wordpress-seo-tips WordPress is an excellent CRM-designed platform to help you optimize your content for SEO. It's packed with up-to-the-minute tools that help users build, structure, and publish content while maintaining SEO. But, building a site on WordPress alone won't put you on the top of search engines. There are many things you need to take into consideration if you want your website to rank high and boost relevant content for your audience. In other words, when WordPress gives you the opportunity - you have to seize it. To help you with this, we've curated the most effective tips for WordPress SEO. If you're ready to put in the work and bring your pages to the first page then let's get right into it. Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/introducing-core-rank-tracking Picture this… You’re running an SEO agency and you’ve just landed a big client. How big? We’re talking about a big franchise that has hundreds of locations country-wide. Okay, so before you break out the champagne, you might want to think about a few issues first. I mean, how on earth are you going to manage the data or performance of so many locations? Each location has its own SEO issues to deal with. Are you going to track each one separately? Can you imagine how cumbersome that would be? Well, one of our brilliant brand ambassadors, Jenny Halasz, has been asking us for a solution to this problem for years. Our response? Rank Ranger Core Rank Tracking. In this post, I’ll show you how Core Rank Tracking: Elegantly deals with the complexity of big business by giving you unlimited locations all in a single campaign Allows you to create your own big database Has no keyword limit Allows you to easily filter your data to present it any way you need Wed, 03 Nov 2021 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/latest-seo-trends After chasing after content, this month’s SEO trends roundup is finally here. While compiling this roundup, I was really happy to discover some big-picture strategies that can help you integrate your SEO into an overall marketing strategy and some out-of-the-box thinking that can exponentially increase the value of your site, all while dispelling a myth or two. In this post you’ll find: How Customer Journey mapping can effectively help you understand the "conversation your prospects have with Google” so that you can easily see what intents you have overlooked A profound paradigm shift that’ll help you avoid sudden traffic losses when Google updates its algorithms by treating your site as its own search engine What Google updating their Quality Raters Guide means to your SEO, what you should do about it and what myths you should avoid Wed, 27 Oct 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-repurpose-old-content If you’re in the writing world, you probably understand how challenging it is at times to come up with new and relevant topics. Some blogs are so good that they can stand the test of time. But, behind those blogs is an idea, and ideas are bulletproof! So, next time you’re struggling to present your audience with something meaningful, consider scraping through your archives. Careful, though - reusing old content is tricky and oftentimes, it can be like playing with a loaded business gun. Stay tuned to learn how to identify and then repurpose old blog posts the right way! Wed, 20 Oct 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/email-outreach-strategy "My email outreach sucks; I get absolutely no replies.” I often get similar messages from outreach novices, and I want to say that I feel your pain. It takes a while for the results to come around, and most outreach opportunities don’t bring any partnerships until you form a relationship with a prospect. If you can relate to this problem, let me share with you a few lessons I’ve learned throughout my experience on how to approach a prospect and actually get them interested in replying. Here is what we’ll be talking about: How to find relevant outreach opportunities. How to do personalization the right way. What it takes to put together a winning follow-up. Wed, 13 Oct 2021 00:00:00 UTC Alexandra Tachalova Alexandra Tachalova https://www.rankranger.com/blog/7-ways-improve-onpage-seo On-page SEO is crucial for the success of any website. It doesn’t matter whether you’re working on an existing one or launching a new one - on-page SEO strategies apply to all websites. On-page SEO optimization is a powerful tool that helps your site rank higher on Google. Not just that, it also adds more value and interaction from every visitor to your website; increases content quality, keyword targeting, and more. However, nailing that on-page SEO is easier said than done, and we can start by saying that it’s all in the details. In this blog post, we’ll focus on seven effective ways to improve your on-page SEO that also enhances user experience. Wed, 06 Oct 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/understanding-user-intent When creating content, understanding user intent is key. Now as an SEO myself, I have been analyzing user intent for a while. The more time I spend trying to understand it the more I realize that the search intent Google presents is multi-layered. In other words, search intent is far more complex than looking for informational, commercial, navigational, and transactional intent. With that in mind… In this post, I’ll show you how to easily spot some of the various user intents that appear on a Google SERP so that you can generate more traffic by targeting more users. Wed, 29 Sep 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/title-tag-optimization Google’s latest page title update has caused a storm in the SEO community. I’ve seen SEOs claim that the changes to their titles have dramatically impacted their client’s click-through rates. This means knowing what exact changes are happening to your titles in search is crucial to your success as an SEO. In this post, I’ll explain what Google changed with this update. I’ll also show you how your keyword rank tracking software can show you: All the changes Google is making to your page titles and descriptions How to see if title changes affect your CTRs If there is any impact on your rankings Wed, 15 Sep 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-social-media-harmony What’s the main benefit of SEO? Simply put, SEO turns your website into an entity. This entity could eventually become your biggest business asset bringing in high-quality traffic to your business. That said, let’s address the elephant in the room. SEO is not only competitive, but it’s also slow. What’s more, the days of content farm and keyword stuffing are never coming back (thankfully). So, how do you speed up your content marketing execution? One of your best options is social media content promotion. In this post, I’ll get into an easy four-step social media strategy that will help support your SEO content so that your content marketing can quickly get results. Mon, 06 Sep 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/semantic-search-seo This month’s episode of the SEO Trends for 2021 roundup covers some big topics. All of which could make a fundamental shift in how you do SEO. Yes, times are changing. SEO is maturing and as SEOs, we must mature with it. In this post, you’ll learn: Why covering all aspects of a topic will help your site deal with competitive and volatile SERPs What topical relevance is and why it’s one of the most important ranking factors today How semantic SEO will change the way we do SEO (forever!) Wed, 01 Sep 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-content-marketing Content marketing is a powerful way to sell. Content marketers are able to interact with potential customers before they are ready to buy. Instant connection. However, content marketing is completely ineffective without an effective distribution strategy. In this post, I’ll show you why implementing a well-thought-out SEO content marketing strategy could power your business for years to come (and how to get started). Wed, 25 Aug 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-analysis There is no question, search engines are becoming more and more intelligent with every passing day. This means optimizing content needs an intelligent approach. Today, when you do keyword research, you have to do much more than find a keyword with some search volume. You have to also go through a thorough analysis to understand how to rank your content. How do you do that? SERP analysis. In this post, I’ll show you how to easily find big insights just by eyeballing the SERPs. I’ll also show you how your rank tracking software can take your SERP analysis to a new level. Wed, 18 Aug 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/wordpress-to-gatsby Migrating a WordPress site to a different provider might seem like a handful but more and more blogs are derailing from what used to be the most popular content management system online. As new technology begins to grow, so do the options, and in recent years, WordPress has faced its fair share of competitors, the most promising of which is Gatsby. Whilst operating in a relatively similar fashion, there are various reasons why many site owners prefer Gatsby to WordPress. From functionality and service to the quality of performance and available perks, here is a closer look at both WordPress and Gatsby, followed by a detailed guide on how to safely migrate a WordPress-based site to the Gatsby framework without losing SEO quality in the process. Wed, 11 Aug 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/off-page-local-seo Local SEO has changed over the years. The days of simply plugging keywords into a piece of content that you want to rank are gone. Nowadays, your client’s digital marketing strategy needs to be robust and well-thought-out, utilizing various SEO tactics. It’s a lot to keep track of but failing to employ modern techniques leads to disorganized results (if any) that are near impossible to replicate. What’s more, any number of web analytic tools can help track the SEO metrics you care about. However, to be genuinely effective, digital marketers also need to interpret data quickly, adjust when necessary, and identify opportunities when they arise. In this post, I’ll get into three basic off-page local SEO strategies to improve your rankings. What’s more, I’ll show you how you can easily manage all of your off-page SEO data in Rank Ranger. Wed, 04 Aug 2021 00:00:00 UTC Dan Foland Dan Foland https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-trends-for-2021-part-five In this month’s SEO Trends for 2021, we take a look at one of the most important elements in SEO. In fact, this factor might be more important than all the others. And that factor is quality. The reason quality is so important is that quality content is the lifeblood of any search engine. Without it, our user experience would be terrible. And if the user experience isn’t good, the search engine won’t attract any users. What’s more, we’ll also discover that site speed and how users interact with your site is rapidly becoming an important part of SEO in general. In this post you’ll find: How focusing on serving Google users will help you create content that search engines love (rather than chasing after the latest Google updates) Why improving your page authority will give you an edge over your competitors in the crowded SEO market How even though Core Web Vitals metrics are important, they should always be balanced by a good user experience Wed, 28 Jul 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/SEO-SEM-Powerhouse-Your-Business SEO vs SEM. Which is better and why. Now, before we let them fight it out, perhaps I should mention that SEM and SEO can and in many cases should work together in harmony. In reality, they are two different sides to the search engine marketing coin but the implementation of each one is completely different. In this post, I’ll get into: What’s the difference between SEO and SEM? What are the benefits of each? What are the best applications for each? Wed, 21 Jul 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-pick-seo-keywords There is a point in every SEO's development where you graduate from Google Search Console to a paid Rank Tracking tool. That point usually comes when you realize that rank trackers don’t just offer you an accurate picture of your rankings, but also give you a host of analytics tools you can use to get a deeper understanding of your rankings. And who doesn’t love gleaning actionable insights from data? However, one of the difficulties you might find when making the transition is that Search Console picks keywords for you. Rank Trackers, on the other hand, only give you data based on the keywords you choose. This leaves you with the difficulty of deciding which keywords to track. In this post, I’ll show you a tried and tested method of finding laser-focused keywords (so that you don’t waste your time tracking low-impact keywords). Wed, 14 Jul 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-automation-for-beginners There is no question, effective SEO can be a gigantic task. With content marketers flooding the internet with weekly and even daily content it’s becoming more and more difficult to stand out from the crowd. What’s more, if you regularly publish content your site will rapidly gain in size, making SEO optimization an unwieldy task. And... If you imagine an enterprise site with literally thousands of pages, it isn’t difficult to see why SEO automation is a necessary part of your SEO strategy. With that in mind, in this beginner’s guide to SEO automation I’ll be getting into: What SEO automation is How you can easily get started with SEO automation Some basic tasks you can quickly automate to speed up your SEO process Wed, 07 Jul 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/pixel-rank-tracking A few months ago I was looking at our Twitter mentions and I saw a Tweet by Christopher Hoffman. Christopher made three bold points: Rank tracking tools should be tracking pixels and not just rank Rank trackers should also be tracking SERP features As digital marketers, we should adapt our SERP strategy based on what’s ranking on the SERPs The points he brings up are all crucial for SEO as it stands. In other words, not understanding this could mean you’re missing out on some obvious opportunities, or worse being left behind by focusing on outdated metrics. To help you out… In this post, I’ll explain why you must implement pixel tracking and target SERP features in your SEO strategy. I’ll also show you some case studies using Rank Ranger’s pixel tracking secret weapon. Wed, 30 Jun 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-trends-2021-part-four In this month’s SEO Trends for 2021, we take a deep dive into the human side of SEO. Yes, as SEOs we all love optimizing pages, applying canonical tags, and trying to figure out the latest algorithms. But, we should never lose sight of the fact that SEO is a form of marketing. And… As marketers, we are marketing to people. People buy your products. People use your services. So, to help you out... In this post you will find: Three sound strategies to help you keep control of your organic traffic as Google becomes more competitive How listening to your audience can substantially boost your SEO results How focusing too much on Google algorithms might hurt your SEO in the long run Wed, 23 Jun 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/what-is-enterprise-seo I have a question for you. If you were hired to do SEO for a big brand like Cisco Systems or Sony, how would you approach it? Would you do anything different to any other SEO project? I mean, the search engines don’t differentiate between small sites and big sites. So would you do anything differently? In this post I’ll answer: What is enterprise SEO? What is an enterprise SEO strategy? What enterprise SEO tools should you know about? Wed, 16 Jun 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/what-are-core-web-vitals Core Web Vitals. Just the sound of it strikes fear into the hearts of SEOs. This is most likely because it’s probably the most hyped Google algorithm update so far. The question is, should you be worried about it? How do you know if your site is ready for Core Web Vitals? In this post, I’ll be explaining what Core Web Vitals are, how you can analyze your site, and how you can easily optimize for it. Wed, 09 Jun 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/featured-snippet-volatility When looking for an opportunity to win a Featured Snippet, should you swim upstream like a salmon, or should you just go with the flow? Well, I’m always a fan of the second option. I love it when I get a push from the outside. How this relates to Featured Snippets is, when trying to win a Featured Snippet, you should always look for a snippet that Google isn’t ‘happy’ with. In other words, look for cases where Google is looking for a better alternative and then show up with that perfect solution. An easy way to do this is to look for a volatile Featured Snippet. One where Google is consistently changing URLs. In this post, I’ll show you two different types of Featured Snippet volatility through the lens of the Rank Ranger SERP Features Monitor and how you can deal with it. Wed, 02 Jun 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/data-from-serp-analysis Did you know that search engine results pages are more than just a ladder to climb? They can give us much more than just a ranking number and are a regular feature in discussions. But why are SERPs so important? And what types of data can you gather from the SERPs that can help your SEO? In this post, I'll show you six ways that SERP analysis can help you create content with higher ranking potential that can better satisfy the user intent. Wed, 26 May 2021 00:00:00 UTC Rebecca Todd Rebecca Todd https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-trends-2021-part-three "I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” - Jimmy Dean There is no question that Jimmy’s words are true for every successful SEO. Due to the ever-changing nature of the Google SERPs, an SEO has to constantly adjust their sails. So... In the interest of helping you adjust your SEO sails this year, here is this month’s episode of SEO Trends for 2021. This month’s SEO trends post features some stellar content that you can take action on. In this post you will find: How to understand user intent by doing manual searches and looking as SERP feature data Why you should be leveraging video content in your business How to quickly identify the best quality sites for your link building campaigns Why you need to do SERP feature and SERP competitor analysis to win on today’s Wed, 19 May 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/python-for-seo Learning Python can drastically improve the quality of your SEO. By abandoning Excel and the use of spreadsheets you can use it to automate the implementation process of machine learning algorithms and leveraging APIs. Primarily intended to amplify coding readability, Python can come in handy when optimizing a website’s SEO. To show you exactly how this can be done, here is a detailed guide on learning Python for SEO and implementing the right tools along the way. Wed, 12 May 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/link-building-strategy Backlinks. One of the foundations of any SEO strategy. However, just running out and trying to build links will leave you spinning your wheels and going nowhere, fast. To see your site traffic growing month after month, you must be strategic about your link building. Your strategy must be built on sound research. In this post, I’ll be showing you how to create a well-thought-through link-building strategy. Also, I want to use this post to announce our new Link Explorer. Using the link explorer together with our link tracker will give you everything you need to run a successful link-building campaign. Wed, 05 May 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/backlinks-explained If you are new to SEO then most likely you’ve heard how important backlinks are. But… Before running out to earn links or worse yet, buy them on Fiverr, you must have a good understanding of: What backlinks are and how they improve your SEO How to create an actionable SEO strategy that skyrockets your site How to build high-quality links Which links you should go after and which ones you should avoid like the plague I’ll cover it all in this post. Wed, 28 Apr 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-trends-2021-part-two About a month ago, I reached out to some highly successful SEOs to find out what SEO trends to keep an eye on in 2021. I was specifically interested in publishing trends that you the reader could turn into actionable insights. Wondering if anyone would reply, I waited... After a few days, I was literally swamped with great content. So much so that I had to break it up into different parts. This is part two. In part two you'll learn: Google’s long term content goals and how that could affect your content strategy today How Google uses machine learning to understand your content and how you can easily use this to your advantage How to can easily use online reviews to scale your local business rankings How to broaden your SEO strategy to include other tools and platforms  Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/bing-seo-optimization SEO takes on a major role in the world of digital marketing. When we think of SEO, though, Google seems to be the first thing that comes to mind. For those of you who might have forgotten - Google isn’t the only search engine out there. Microsoft’s Bing, for instance, is the second most used search engine in many countries worldwide. According to Statista - Bing captured 6.5% of the global search market in July 2020. Also, according to ComScore, traffic converts better at Bing's Network and their audience spends 6.8% more money online than Google searchers. No matter where your loyalty lies, through this blog post we’ll get deeper into the advantages of Bing SEO. Wed, 14 Apr 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-api Every good digital marketer loves data. The reason is as a marketer, every decision you make should be backed up with data. Think of data as the instruments on your aircraft. Without instruments, on a foggy day, a pilot literally doesn’t know what direction they’re flying in. The same is true of SEO. With that said, there are many different ways to present data. Each presentation tells a different story. Each story gives you unique insights. This means not every tool or data set will help a marketer find the insights they are looking for. You can’t build a cabinet with just a hammer. This brings me to the subject of APIs for SEO. There are times when the standard toolset just isn’t enough. Many marketers turn to APIs when they need their data presented in a specific way. In this post, I’ll be covering what an API is and how you can use one to improve your SEO. I’ll also show you how you can get started using Rank Ranger’s API.  Wed, 07 Apr 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/pinterest-seo-guide A picture is worth a thousand words! That’s the philosophy behind Pinterest, and the sole reason the digital image pinboard gained so much popularity. Pinterest has more than 250 million monthly users and has emerged as the biggest social media site that acts as a digital pinboard. But why did Pinterest become so popular? What makes it stand out from the other social media sites? What makes it so interesting? In this blog post, you’ll learn how to use Pinterest SEO in your favor and get your brand noticed by relevant audiences - which just might be the game-changer for your business! Wed, 31 Mar 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-trends-2021-part-one It seems like just yesterday when 2021 rolled in. Although it’s already March, we decided to reach out to SEO experts to pick their brains. We wanted to know what SEO trends to look at for the rest of 2021. Now you might be wondering… What’s the point in creating another expert roundup? I wanted to create a resource that will help you the reader really scale up your SEO for 2021 by understanding the emerging trends. A resource that will help you turn knowledge into actionable insights. Without further ado, here are the emerging SEO trends for 2021 part one. Wed, 24 Mar 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-get-quality-backlinks Search engine rankings are an intensely competitive space. Every brand wants to be on the coveted first page of the search engines. One of the essential factors to get you there are links. Authoritative backlinks are a signal to search engines that your content can be trusted. A strong link building strategy can help you gain trust and authority to jump to the top ranks on the search engine result pages (SERPs). Getting there is a gradual and sustained process, but you can create an excellent link profile with the right approach. This guide will look at the importance of link building. We will also look at five effective link building strategies. Wed, 17 Mar 2021 00:00:00 UTC Matt Diggity Matt Diggity https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serpulator-blog Having the perfect meta title and description, like a great book cover, are essential in getting users to continue to your website. They’re also a part of having a well-optimized page for Google to drool over. However, all too often the content that makes up a meta tag is truncated when it appears on the SERP. How can you hook users by your clever copy when it’s cut off before it even gets going? To keep your meta tag content crispy we’re happy to offer a free SEO tool, the SERPulator. Here’s a quick look at what this SERP preview tool can do for your meta tags! Wed, 10 Mar 2021 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/13-seo-tips-new-site-launch Having worked in a small marketing agency, I’ve had the opportunity to work on many sites in many different industries. Seeing a site gaining traffic and eventually, organic conversions is a really rewarding experience. However, there was one thing I never got to work on. A brand new site. When I finally got my hands on one I discovered… It took ages to get any traction. I discovered there are some concrete steps you can take that will set your site up for success. Getting this right in the beginning, will substantially speed up your site’s progress and get you out of the sandbox as quickly as possible. Wed, 03 Mar 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-trends-for-seo Google Trends is an excellent free tool that can be used to boost your SEO. It shows you what people are thinking about throughout the world at a specific time. It can spot all types of events, ranging from local to global, small to big, and everything else. This online research tool analyzes search data samples to measure user interest on various topics and presents it all as a graph. Google Trends can also store tons of information from as far back as 2004. All this data is updated in real-time thanks to the expansion of the search giant back in 2015.  Let’s learn more about Google Trends so that you can use it to its full potential and get the right insights for your customers and their interests. Wed, 24 Feb 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-advanced-search-guide How well do you know Google search? The question may have caught you off-guard, as you're likely thinking about how simple it is. All you need to do is browse to the Google homepage, type in your question, and with that, you're done, right? Though you only see a small, fixed amount of search results at any time, looking at the total number often reveals millions of hits. The chances are that most of those results have nothing to do with what you want to see. What if there was a way for you to focus on the information you wanted while stripping away all the noise? It's time for you to meet Google Advanced Search. When you finish reading this, you'll never look at Google the same way again. Wed, 10 Feb 2021 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-feature-rank-tracking There is no question, SEO has changed dramatically over the last few years. Traditionally, for any given search Google would simply show ten blue links. This meant that where your link was positioned would influence how much traffic your page would get. In that world, getting to the top of Google meant everything. Fast forward a few years and Google Search is now filled with visually distracting SERP features that dilute the power of your blue links. Instead of moaning and lamenting about how things were once better, a good SEO needs to build out a strategy that now includes SERP features. In this post, I’ll show you how to use your rank tracker to find insights that will help improve your site’s traffic potential. Wed, 27 Jan 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-create-an-seo-dashboard As an SEO, it’s crucial to understand how your campaigns are bringing your site sales. To understand this, you must set up reporting dashboards that not only show how your site is performing but also help you to create a strategy to improve your sales moving forward. The question is... What metrics should you track? Start with general sales data, and then work your way into more specific data. This structure will give you solid foundations for understanding your overall SEO sales strategy. To help you do this, I’ll show you how to set up a marketing dashboard using a combination of Google Analytics and Google Search Console data. Wed, 20 Jan 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-analytics-data Important question. How many businesses have blogs and produce content? Now, this follow-up question might be a little disturbing... How many businesses actually track their content marketing success? There is no question that effective tracking is crucial. I mean, would you run paid ads without knowing how effective your ads are? The same is true of your content marketing. The problem is content marketing usually requires many steps before resulting in a sale. This makes it difficult to track.  In this post, I'll show you some key Google Analytics reports that show you how well your content is doing.  Wed, 13 Jan 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/non-us-search-engine-rank-tracking Business owners often fight for every bit of Google traffic they can get. The problem is, with so many businesses going online, Google is becoming more competitive with each passing day. However, there are two traffic sources that are all too often overlooked. Traffic from search engines other than Google Global traffic What’s more, these traffic sources tend to be less competitive than the US Google traffic. The question is should you take advantage of these traffic sources? In this post, I’ll be looking at the global search engine market share to show you how much you could potentially expand your business.  Wed, 06 Jan 2021 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/guide-to-marketing-dashboards Marketing joins two worlds. On the one hand, there is the creative side which connects with the end-user. Wedded to the creative side is the analytical side. Analytics and data tell marketers if their creative efforts are paying off.  Any online business that has a presence on multiple channels and platforms will have many sources of data all reporting on different aspects of the campaign. Keeping track of all of these data sources is difficult. Making sense of it all is almost impossible. To solve this problem, marketing dashboards were created. In this post, I’ll be going through what marketing dashboards are, how they work, and why you need them. Wed, 30 Dec 2020 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/ppc-marketing-strategy There comes a time when a website owner wonders when it’s time to start running paid ads. There is no question that paid ads can really move the needle for your business. Ads not only get your offers to the top of Google almost instantly but they can also help move traffic from one stage of a sales funnel to another. The big question is: How do you effectively run ads without wasting your hard-earned money? In this post, I’ll be sharing some strategic thinking to help you get your paid traffic off the ground in the most cost-effective way. If you’re already getting organic traffic and you want to get started with paid ads, this post is for you. Wed, 23 Dec 2020 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/december-2020-core-update-themes After looking at some initial data for Google's December 2020 update, the general consensus is this one was big. As powerful as the update was, wouldn’t it be nice to know what happened? What did Google change? What were they looking for? Why did some sites win while others saw ranking losses? These are great questions and if you want exact answers, there aren’t any. However... In this is a post I attempt to find themes within the update by qualitatively analyzing some of the pages Google swapped out on the SERP. Wed, 16 Dec 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/canonical-tag-tips Canonical tags aren’t new. Although they've been around since 2009, they are still highly relevant today. Implementing them correctly can really boost your SEO. So, why do many site owners fail to implement canonical tags? The reluctance to add them may be attributed to a lack of understanding of what they are, what their purpose is, and how to implement them. I wanted to provide some knowledge and understanding regarding canonical tags as a whole. In addition to this, I’ll give you some practical tips that may prove to be incredibly useful when incorporating canonical tags into your SEO strategy. Wed, 09 Dec 2020 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-keyword-planner-keywords If you're using Google Keyword Planner to do keyword research, you might notice something strange. When searching for keyword volumes for certain terms, you might find there are simply no results. Now, I’m not talking about obscure terms. I’m talking about terms that should get thousands of searches every month. We tried performing searches for many random terms and many of them got no results. After getting in touch with Barry Schwartz we discovered this… Google Keyword Planner won’t show data for keywords that fall under its restricted content policies. In this post, we'll cover what these policies are and how to do keyword research with Keyword Planner if you happen to be in certain niches. Wed, 02 Dec 2020 00:00:00 UTC Leah Akbashev Leah Akbashev https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-web-stories-tracking There is no question that winning a SERP Feature is one of the most effective ways to increase your site’s SERP visibility. So, when Google rolled out Web Stories on May 1st we took it as a new SERP feature opportunity. Since Web Stories offer big SEO opportunities, we felt we wanted to help you take advantage of this new format. In response to this, we’re really excited to announce that Rank Ranger is now tracking Google Web Stories in our rank tracking suite. In this post, I'll be sharing what Web Stories are and how they are now seamlessly integrated into Rank Ranger's software. Wed, 25 Nov 2020 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/monitor-backlinks The digital world is growing at an alarming rate. With each passing day, we find new and improved ways to grow our online businesses, such as off-page optimization. One of the most effective ways to increase your online business is through backlinks. In this beginner's guide to backlink tracking, I'll be sharing how to manage your backlinks effectively. Wed, 18 Nov 2020 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/audience-research-for-blogs How do you do keyword research when creating new blog content? Do we look at the same old metrics, or has something changed? From my personal perspective, with every passing day, Google gets better at understanding the user. What this means is… As content creators, we are no longer Search Engine Optimizers. In this post, I share some strategies designed to truly understand the reader so that you can draw them toward your brand by offering helpful blog content. Wed, 11 Nov 2020 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/what-is-schema-markup Schema markup is one of the most underutilized aspects of SEO. Not implementing it could mean missing out on big SEO opportunities. For instance, implementing schema markup could dramatically increase your site's chances of achieving rich snippets. Results with rich snippets generally tend to get higher click-through rates which could lead to more traffic and even higher rankings. This guide is an introduction to schema markup and how it can be used to boost the visibility of your website on SERP. Wed, 04 Nov 2020 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/share-of-voice As a marketer, it's important to track how your brand compares to your competitors. Not knowing this is like navigating a ship without plotting where your current location is. You’ll never know if you are nearing your destination if you don’t know where you currently are. Wouldn't it be great if you had a 30, 000-foot view of your marketing campaign demonstrating where your brand stands in comparison to your competitors? Hope no more, we just released a brand new metric designed to give you the big picture. Introducing... Share of Voice (SoV). Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-tracking-strategy You have your rank tracker all set up. You’re tracking your URLs. Now what? If you’re wondering how exactly to use your rank tracking data to improve your rankings, this post is for you. In this post, I’ll be sharing an SEO experiment I’m currently working on. I’ll be showing you where the experiment is currently at and what strategy ideas I’ve come up with to move the project forward. I’ll be touching on: Google Search Console vs paid rank trackers How to choose which keywords to track Some strategy ideas based on the data Wed, 21 Oct 2020 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/understanding-bounce-rates Bounce Rate is one of those new-age SEO terms that seemingly came out of nowhere to confuse everyone in the content marketing industry. As much as you may not like the idea, you're eventually going to have to add Bounce Rate to your search optimization dictionary, whether for yourself or for your clients. Google's definition of a bounce is that it is a "single-page session." What does that mean and how does it affect your site performance. In this post, I'll be giving you everything you need to know about Bounce Rates and why you need to know it. Wed, 14 Oct 2020 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/schema-generator-blog Many people want to get Rich results on the SERP, but don't know how to write the necessary structured data code. This article walks you through using our free structured data generator tool. Wed, 07 Oct 2020 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-and-growth-marketing The famed Yuriy Yarovoy explains how adopting a growth mindset has helped him take his SEO and marketing overall to another level:  How a growth mindset relates to SEO and how it opens new opportunity  What does a growth mindset in the context of SEO actually look like?  Why SEOs have not yet adopted the growth mindset  Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-stability-studies What do you do when your rank tracker is showing you unstable pages? Firstly... Don't panic. Yes, on the one hand, rank stability could be a sign that Google is thinking about demoting your page. However, did you know that rank volatility could also be an opportunity? That being said it is essential that you first diagnose the problem. Knowing what the cause is, will help you figure out the next steps. In this post, join me in exploring three possible causes of rank volatility and strategies for dealing with each one. Wed, 23 Sep 2020 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/site-audit-guide So you’ve got a new website. It’s fab! Like, really, you’re showing it to all of your friends and colleagues, printing new business cards... but nothing really happens. You’ve got some visitors coming in, but something seems to be stuck. What are you missing? SEO is essential for marketers and is a primary focus of inbound marketing. Since everyone else is already doing it, you should be too. When you don’t, you’re inadvertently losing sales or missing out on them. However, it’s hard to know where to start. The good news is that a simple assessment of your website is the first step, and it’s quite easy to do with an SEO audit. This allows you to see how your site ranks and what you can do to improve those statistics. In this post, you'll learn what to do and when to do it. Wed, 16 Sep 2020 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/amazon-paid-search-targeting Jason Dodge joins the podcast to share his discovery around Amazon's use of Search Ads to compete with SMBs: How Amazon might be leveraging Search Ads to compete with local suppliers in unexpected ways What Amazon's paid search strategy implies about the overall direction of the platform How Amazon's use of search ads might impact competitor's ad budgets negatively Tue, 15 Sep 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/white-hat-link-building Hayk Saakian joins the podcast to share novel ways to build links, offer value, and stay within Google's guidelines all at the same time! Creative ways to build links and offer added value How to think outside the box when it comes to link building How to use niche level strategies to legitimately gain links Tue, 08 Sep 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-september-2020 I'm not one to quote (or even listen to) Katy Perry, but her "adage" of "you're up then you're down" is quite applicable to the rank fluctuations seen on the Google SERP in the recent past. There was some downright bizarre movement on the SERP in August... on multiple occasions... There have also been changes to how Google extends 'Search Journeys' (and how Google promotes its own shopping experience), the schema supported by Google, scroll to text highlights, etc. I'll be diving into all this and more! This is the September 2020 edition of the SERP News! Mon, 07 Sep 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/why-is-google-so-good Love it or hate it, Google is very good at what it does. While it certainly has had its share of flops (G+), it's main product, search, is head and shoulders above everyone else. The question is, why? Sure, I could go into all the algorithmic underpinnings that make Google unique. We could go through a history of Google and how PageRank was entirely novel, and so forth. But instead of that, in this post, I'd like to take a more thematic look at everyone's favorite search engine. Let's pop the hood and take a deep look at Google's traits and how that translates to it being the best search engine and more. Wed, 02 Sep 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-repurpose-google-reviews GatherUp CEO Aaron Weiche joins the podcast to share novel ways you can repurpose online reviews! How to repurpose your reviews in ways you never thought of How to get smart with repurposing the right reviews at the right time Where you should be showcasing your Google reviews and how to do it Plus, why the age-old advice of writing content for Featured Snippets might not be the best idea. Tue, 01 Sep 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/meta-description-length-by-position All good things start with observations. In this case, I thought I noticed that Google was showing much longer meta-descriptions towards the top of the SERP. In fact, the more queries I ran the more it seemed that Google was showing longer meta-descriptions at the top of the SERP and shorter ones towards the bottom. Is this true? Is Google showing longer meta-descriptions for those URLs that rank better? To find out I analyzed 5,000 keywords... for a month. Wed, 26 Aug 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-for-ecommerce-sites The fantastic Nik Ranger joins the podcast to discuss what goes into doing SEO for eCommerce sites: From technical elements to content – what should eCommerce SEO focus on? How changes in online shopping impact SEO for eCommerce A look at structured data and Featured Snippets for eCommerce Plus, we dive into the entity sites Google shows inside the Knowledge Panel! Tue, 25 Aug 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/featured-snippet-guide-2 Back in 2019, I was trying to please a difficult client. I’m sure you know what that’s like. At some point, he threatened to fire us. He wanted better rankings. By next week. Let’s just say he wasn’t the most reasonable person to deal with. Nothing we said could persuade him. Since his site was ranking on page one of Google for many terms, Featured Snippets seemed like a great option that could yield results within a week. After a stressful week of running tests and experiments on my own, I was able to get some impressive looking Featured Snippets for the next meeting. Crisis averted. Having gone through that experience, I wanted to create a deep and comprehensive guide that could help you come up with strategies for winning Featured Snippets. This is part 2. Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-write-authoritative-content It's shocking but in a way not surprising. We have "SEOed" creating authoritative content. What do I mean? We have turned the very task of understanding what it means to create authoritative content into another cliched and superficial analysis filled with endless amounts of buzzwords. It's not only incredibly ironic, but it is quite the accomplishment. You can already guess what I'm going to do with this post.... I'm going to explain what I think the foundation of actually creating authoritative content is while I rant and rave about some of the outlooks and ideas being floated around out there. Let's get this fun started. Wed, 12 Aug 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/commerce-blog-stategy The wonderful Orit Mutznik joins the podcast to share her thoughts on what makes a commerce blog effective (and what doesn't): Aim to sell or aim to inform, what are you really trying to do with a commerce blog? How hard do you push your commerce content on your commerce blog? What works, what doesn’t, and why so many commerce blogs are ineffective! Plus, what makes a good SEO study good? Tue, 11 Aug 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-august-2020 Cosmic balance. It exists in reality (perhaps) and it exists on the SERP (evidently). Just as Google announced a new verification badge that could set businesses back 50 bucks the search engine forwent its commission on sales made via Buy on Google! How's that for bringing balance to the SERP? Plus, has COVID-19 become the norm on the SERP? With less COVID related updates to features and more consistent COVID rankings, that seems to be the case (for better or worse). Of course, there were like a gazillion other tests, changes, and updates to the SERP. So let's have at it... Here's the SERP News for August 20 Wed, 05 Aug 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/john-mueller-talks-seo The great John Mueller joins the podcast to share his thoughts on interacting with the SEO industry: How talking to search marketers of all levels impacts the SEO dialogue Handling the problems of SEOs and the complications that come with it On dealing with SEO controversy Plus, we take a look at Google’s ability to update entities in a flash! Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/featured-snippet-guide-1 SEO is a long term game. No question about that. Although there generally are no shortcuts, Google has given us a unique opportunity. Featured Snippets. Not a magic bullet, Featured Snippets tend to attract more attention than regular organic rankings. This means they have potentially higher click through rates than even the top-ranking URLs. This two-part guide is a thorough how-to manual to winning Featured Snippets. In part one of this guide, you'll learn why Google creates Featured Snippets in the first place and how to find Featured Snippet opportunities. Wed, 29 Jul 2020 00:00:00 UTC Darrell Mordecai Darrell Mordecai https://www.rankranger.com/blog/local-seo-strategy Mark Bealin joins the podcast to discuss how to differentiate your local SEO strategy: How to think strategically about local SEO Why strategic local SEO beats out a more tactical approach How links and reviews fit into the strategic mindset Plus, we take a look at why the COVID-19 SERP seems to have stabilized! Tue, 28 Jul 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-ecosystem-needs-to-evolve From its algorithm updates to its overall approach to the SERP, Google has been latently encouraging us to take on new content constructs and patterns. In fact, Google has been covertly pushing for the creation of more refined and targeted content. However, that nudge towards more targeted content leaves content creators and SEOs in a bit of a tough spot as Google has yet to adopt an ecosystem that truly supports the kind of content they're pushing for. Here's a look at the content environment Google has been creating on the SERP, the problems with it, and what the search engine might do going forward Wed, 22 Jul 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/are-google-updates-effective Lily Ray is here and she’s spinning out depth into Google’s core updates! We get into: The relationship between the core updates and E-A-T Are the core update effective? How should you approach Googles massive updates? Plus, we talk about the mindset needed to create truly authoritative content! Tue, 21 Jul 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/keyword-research-metrics When creating content with the goal of attracting traffic from Google, keyword research is a must. Good keyword research will not only inform you what users are typing into Google, but it will also inform you what questions users want answered. Including answers to these questions in your content is the first step in creating high-performing content. Find out, what numbers matter when performing research, and where you should trust your gut when it comes to creating content. Wed, 15 Jul 2020 00:00:00 UTC Carolyn Lyden Carolyn Lyden https://www.rankranger.com/blog/tracking-google-changes The great Dr. Pete joins the podcast to share his experiences and thoughts on analyzing Google's updates and SERP feature trends: Why analyzing Google's algorithm updates are even more complex than many think Why SERP feature trends play an important role in SEO How to understand Google by looking at what's changing on the SERP and in the algorithm Plus, we look at how effective Search as Journey really is and how it can improve dramatically! Tue, 14 Jul 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-create-brand-identity What is brand identity? Where does it come from? How do you build it?  There's a lot that has been said about building brand identity. Unfortunately, a lot of it is just plain wrong.  Here's my personal take on where real brand identity comes from and how the average company can build it in a lasting way.  Wed, 08 Jul 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-metrics-that-matter Steven Long joins the podcast to offer his insights on which SEO metrics make your clients feel secure (and to share some content wisdom as well): What metrics should you be sending your clients? How to smooth things over with new clients who have been burned by fake metrics What works when creating content for a very niche local business? Plus, Google's free product listings are putting the search engine between a rock and a hard place... here's why! Tue, 07 Jul 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-july-2020 This was one of my favorite months on the Google SERP. Not because the changes Google made "broke the way of the SEO industry." Rather, it's because the changes Google made may seem slight or even negligible. But that would underestimate the search engine. Sometimes, the most innocuous changes to the Google SERP harbor the biggest impact. Such was the case on the June SERP. Get ready, get set, here comes the July 2020 edition of the SERP News! Wed, 01 Jul 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/using-faqs-for-seo Ashley Segura the mad hatter of Top Hat Rank joins the podcast to offer a fresh look at FAQs for SEO! Why a good FAQ is super helpful for your SEO One massive FAQ? Multiple categorized FAQs? How to craft your FAQs! From markup to media, how to enhance, track, and judge the effectiveness of your FAQs! Plus, we look at CTR on the SERP when ranking above the fold vs below the fold! Tue, 30 Jun 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/absolute-visibility-pixel-rank-tracking Is there was a way to give you a better sense of what ranking at a given position on a given SERP actually means? After all, ranking #2 on a SERP with an ad at the top is not the same as ranking #2 on a SERP with a Featured Snippet, Video Box, and an ad at the top! To help you better understand what your rankings really mean, we are pleased to introduce Absolute Visibility - pixel-based rank tracking without the problems of pixel-based rank tracking! Wed, 24 Jun 2020 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-google-patents SEO legend Bill Slawski joins us today for a sweeping look at what patents tell us about Search! We get into: How to approach a Google patent Why the information within patents is incredibly important to doing SEO What trends the patents have revealed about what Google is looking for Plus, Google just released something that’s set to change the content landscape… here’s why top-level content will die a horrific death by the SERP! Tue, 23 Jun 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/above-the-fold-ctr What does Click-Through Rate (CTR) look like above the fold versus below the fold? The question, being as good as it is, doesn't make it an easy one to answer. In fact, it's more than a little complicated. After all, you have to discount the first organic result being above the fold to a certain extent considering it's the first result folks see regardless of its "fold" status. Complications aside, for the moment, let's explore what CTR is above and below the fold for sites on page one of the Google SERP! Wed, 17 Jun 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/creating-high-performing-content Yosef Silver, SEO and culinary expert, joins us to talk about creating that content that coveted content that ranks well, reads well, and shares well! We’re getting into: Search-ability, shareability, and how to create content findable content that pops! Tips and tricks for a content structure that engages How to achieve content zen. Finding a good content balance Plus, why refusing to look at content, the SERP, and SEO with fresh eyes is killing you. Tue, 16 Jun 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/what-is-google-manual-action Nothing can be worse for a site than being hit by a manual action! But what exactly are Google's manual action penalties? How do they differ from ranking losses at the hands of an algorithm update? More than that, how do you go about getting out the penalty box and removing the grasp that a manual action has over your site, your revenue, and your life?!  Wed, 10 Jun 2020 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-for-content-syndication This time we’re talking syndicated content and SEO with Alli Berry who knows the dark inner-workings of syndication! We’ll get into: Is content syndication right for your site? Is it even worth it? What happens when your syndicates outrank you with your own content?! Does Google do a good job handling syndication and what can you do when it doesn’t? Plus, there’s so much to talk about as Google has officially invaded your site with text highlights! We’ll jump into all the drama from Google’s expanded use of scroll-to-text + highlight from the Featured Snippet. Tue, 09 Jun 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-june-2020 May 2020 has come and gone and so has another core update. Google's May 2020 Core Update brought a blast of rank volatility to the SERP the likes of which we have not seen for some time. A lot to talk about here from the update's timeline to who and what were most impacted. Beyond algorithmic changes, Google's adjustments to the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic continues as a few curious tests and updates made their way to the SERP recently. Get ready to explore a month of Google SERP intrigue.... This is the June 2020 edition of the SERP News! Wed, 03 Jun 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-feature-data-analysis Kevin Indig is here to work your brains with a SERP feature deep dive! We’ll get into: SERP features and the notion that they are organic The topic layer, what is & why you should care Google's targeting users via SERP features Plus, we ask if the ranking signal is a thing of the past (relatively speaking)! Tue, 02 Jun 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/website-local-performance-analysis Getting a clear and easy understanding of your website's organic performance at the local level can get complicated really quickly. If you're looking for something a bit more accessible than extrapolating data from a series of tables and graphs then do I have a treat for you... Rank Ranger's Geo Insights report! Here's how you can survey your site's performance across local markets around the world from multiple perspectives without driving yourself nuts in the process. Wed, 27 May 2020 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/finding-new-seo-clients Deepak Shukla of Pearl Lemon stopped by to talk about targeting new SEO clients. We get into: How to find more good leads for more good SEO clients Has the market shifted? Is SEO passé and should you be peddling "organic growth?” How to push hard to get those new clients without coming off as spammy Plus, we show why you should not take a new course of action based solely on trends data! Tue, 26 May 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-news-carousel-analysis Back in December 2019, Google's BERT algorithm made its way to the Top Stories Carousel. Ever since then I've been dying to get my hands on the newly segmented carousels to see what makes them tick, where they hit the mark, and where they fall a bit short. It's only taken me a few months, but here's a bit of thematic analysis on what's happening with the Top Stories carousel now that BERT is part of the picture. Wed, 20 May 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/building-seo-career Rich Tatum joins us to talk about something very important for your career… your reputation! In this episode we cover: How to build sustained credibility in the SEO sphere How to leverage your SEO credibility to the benefit of your career How being a specialist or generalist plays into your reputation within the SEO community Plus, we go deep into what Google may have been looking for during the May 2020 Core Update. That’s right… site-level patterns from the core update! Tue, 19 May 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-seo-tools-q1-2020 It’s hard to believe we’re already into Q2 of 2020. How time flies when you’re in quarantine! While we release dozens of updates over the course of a quarter, we figured we’d highlight the biggest product releases of Q1. Here are the most notable SEO tools and reports we’ve released during the first four months of 2020! Thu, 14 May 2020 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/may-2020-core-update While the May 2020 Core Update is certainly not the first core update we've seen, it might just be one of the most unique. For Google's second core algorithm update of 2020, we were delivered one of the strongest and most impactful updates we've seen in quite some time. Throw in the fact that the update rolled-out in the middle of a global pandemic and we're left with a lot of data, patterns, and insights to chew on. In this post we'll: Analyze the way the update rolled-out Break down rank volatility increases per niche Dive into some of the site-level patterns embedded within the update Look at what role COVID-19 may have played Wed, 13 May 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-do-seo-audits Matthew Tenney of GlassesUSA joins us to talk about all things SEO audit! When and how to run the most efficient SEO audit possible From among the piles of data, how to know what to focus on when doing an SEO audit How to best qualify the data you get back from an SEO audit Plus, we go into the May 2020 Core Update... its roll-out, its impact, its scope and size, etc! Tue, 12 May 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-may2020 As COVID-19 continues to rage on Google has been quite adept at updating the SERP accordingly. While March saw the introduction of major COVID-19 elements to the SERP, this past month saw Google refine the way it handles the pandemic. But wait, that's not all. April also saw Google set its shopping experience free... literally. Add on a few notable tests and changes and you have yourself quite the brimming month on the Google SERP. This is the May 2020 edition of the SERP News! Wed, 06 May 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-covid19 The podcast welcomes Simon Cox who shares how he’s handled sites in the wake of COVID-19: What changes have COVID-19 brought to both local and non-local sites? How to approach content generation during COVID-19 as intent has changed so drastically What to consider about working on your site’s optimization post-crisis Plus, how to stay in touch with what Google’s up to… tips on keeping your ear to the SEO ground! Tue, 05 May 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/top-local-seo-questions-answered As someone constantly immersed in SEO questions, audits, implementation, and troubleshooting all day, every day, I think many SEO specialists often forget that what seems like basic, general knowledge to us is often completely foreign to small businesses (SMBs). This is especially true as they’re often juggling many things like running their businesses, managing finances, marketing, hiring, and much more. Here are the top questions that local SEO agencies and consultants should make sure to answer for prospects and clients. Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:00:00 UTC Carolyn Lyden Carolyn Lyden https://www.rankranger.com/blog/building-optimal-ux Today we have a UX aficionado for you! Khalid Saleh, CEO of Invesp opens up the world of using psychology to create a UX that converts! How to speak to user psychology with your UX in order to boost sales How to drill deep into the user mindset and build UX that aligns with it What messages do you want your UX to send & how do you send them? Plus, we take a look at what’s likely competing with your Featured Snippets for user attention! Tue, 28 Apr 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-coronavirus-changes-marketing There's been an abundance of content production on how the Coronavirus changes marketing, content, and SEO practices. Unfortunately, I've found that a lot of it is simply fluff meant to capitalize on fear in the hope of driving clicks. I personally think a topic like this should be addressed in a careful and considerate manner. To this, I've reached out to some of the industry's top marketing and SEO professionals. I've asked them to share nonsense-free, fluff-free, agenda-free ideas on how COVID-19 is changing the digital marketing industry, both now and moving forward. These are their thoughts.  Wed, 22 Apr 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-my-business-tips SEO whisperer Colleen Harris of Sincro chats with us about the finer points of your Google My Business listing. We’ll cover: Why department listings in the Local Panel are super important and how to set them up without screwing them up How to expedite the listing verification process, no pain tips How local SEO can show value to a website Plus, how the COVID-19 SERP is a glimpse at all future SERPS! Tue, 21 Apr 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/understanding-google-rankings Every once in a while, 'rank tracking' will enter the SEO conversation in a serious way. It can be some sort of study that relates to rank position or one of Google's many changes but whatever the catalyst, rank tracking is one of those SEO topics that rears its head with some regularity. The problem with rank tracking is that we tend to relate to it as an entirely automated process. So, leave it to the guy who works for an automated rank tracking tool to show why and how tracking rank properly means looking beyond automation per se. Tue, 14 Apr 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-authority-focus It's obvious, Google is no longer a search engine. Rather, Google is all about offering answers and guiding users on their search journey. That's why Google has evolved into an "answer" or "discovery" engine, right? Wrong. I used to think the same thing. Until I realized Google isn't an answer engine, it's not a discovery engine... or any other catchphrase that focuses on Google offering content directly to the user and discouraging clicks. For Google, it's all about "authority." Here's why Google is, in reality, an authority engine & why getting this right actually matters! Wed, 08 Apr 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/covering-seo-news George Nguyen joins the show to discuss what goes into covering the SEO news. Does Google frustrate the news reporting process? How to see past the facade and find the SEO truth How to balance reader intrigue while not sacrificing your soul - tips on staying SEO objective no matter what! Plus, 15 days of insane rank fluctuations! We dissect one the weirdest and most bizarre algorithm update patterns we’ve ever seen… and of course… tie it all back to COVID-19. Tue, 07 Apr 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-april2020 As a result of COVID-19 there are a significant number of changes to the SERP, to Google My Business listings, to Google Ads, etc., that arise from the current pandemic. So we'll get to that. At the same time, Google has made other serious changes to the SERP including the migration of right-side Featured Snippets and the release of stricter FAQ markup guidelines. So we'll get to that as well. This is the April 2020 edition of the SERP news. Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/confirmation-bias-seo We welcome the podcast’s first-ever repeat guest, the one the only, the magnificent and always pleasant Carolyn Lyden joins us to chat it up about the pros and cons of confirmation bias in digital marketing! How can confirmation bias both help and hinder your digital marketing efforts How far can you push confirmation bias in your marketing without being unethical? Where are the lines? How does confirmation bias impact our favorite search engine? Plus, they’re here, they’re there… Google is spraying COVID-19 results around everywhere…. We dive into what’s happening, why it’s happening, and what it might mean for you! Tue, 31 Mar 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-core-updates-prevention-and-recovery There's a lot of advice out there on how to recover from and even prevent your site from being hurt by one of Google's core updates. Some of the advice is pretty good... some of it is a bit cliche. So let's go down the rabbit hole a bit by analyzing the data on the core updates, some site-level patterns that the updates have produced, and what you might want to consider for your site as a result. Here's a data-packed (yet holistic) look at what you can do to prevent ranking and traffic losses at the hands of a core update. Wed, 25 Mar 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-team-management Rachel Slovin of Kahena Digital chats with us all about how to push your SEO agency and/or SEO team forward: How to handle hard times while maintaining a growth trajectory How to best allocate resources and teams and stay current so your team doesn't become stale! And when times are good... how do you know when it’s time for your SEO team to grow? Plus, we get into life under the weight of COVID-19 and some tips on working at home from two serial remoters… our own hosts! Tue, 24 Mar 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/reputation-management-seo You really don't want to give a potential consumer an excuse not to trust you. This makes knowing what shows on the SERP for your brand extremely important. Nothing can be worse for brand trust than a branded query that yields negative sentiment. With that, I am both happy and proud to present Rank Ranger's new Reputation Management Rank Tracking Suite designed specifically for tracking brand sentiment on the SERP! Wed, 18 Mar 2020 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/local-site-traffic-app-competition Amy Toman is here to chat about apps stealing your local traffic away! What threat do on-demand apps pose to local search traffic? Which niches are most susceptible to losing local traffic to apps? How can local businesses recapture traffic lost to apps? Plus, we dive into how rank tracking has changed and how you might want to reconsider how you monitor your rankings. Tue, 17 Mar 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/best-free-seo-tools When it comes to search engine optimization, there are seemingly endless tasks to complete. You have both on-page and off-page considerations, as well as content audits, competitor research, tracking and monitoring, and technical issues. Of course, once that is done, you’ll have to do plenty of research on keywords, find out what the competition is using, and much more. There are some really great tools every marketer decides on paying for but you can find some of the best SEO tools for free, which can help with a variety of tasks. Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-work-life-balance Special guest Kelly Stanze joins the podcast to talk mental health in the SEO sphere. How to create a work/life balance How to deal with the demands of an SEO life while struggling internally What needs to change in the SEO world for there to be a better mental health environment Tue, 10 Mar 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-march2020 Havoc. That's how you might describe the February SERP, particularly the unconfirmed update that hit mid-month. With reversal upon reversal, the rankings resembled the sort of discombobulated u-turn a 16-year-old would make on their way to failing their driver's test for the umpteenth time. Throw on such SERP spectaculars like new entity pairings and a new multi-image carousel for Google Posts and you have yourself a month of SERP changes to remember. This is the March 2020 edition of the SERP news! Wed, 04 Mar 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/handling-bad-backlinks Super awesome, craft beer drinking, link profile analyzing guest for you today! Cass Downton is here to get your bad backlink profile expunged: To disavow or not to disavow, of course, we asked that question! At what point does Google say enough is enough when looking at low-quality links? What’s the deal with links and authority? How links factor into the E-A-T equation! Plus, if you want to avoid being clobbered by a core update, here are some content creation tips for you! Tue, 03 Mar 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/featured-snippet-feature-competition So you've won a Featured Snippet... let the traffic flow, right? Not so fast there! What other SERP features are showing alongside your Featured Snippet? What other features are competing for a user's attention? What SERP features most commonly appear with Featured Snippets? How strong is a Featured Snippet win... really?! You've got questions... we've got data... Wed, 26 Feb 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/tf-idf-seo-tool TF*IDF for SEO... depending on who you talk to it's either the most over-hyped thing in Search since the last over-hyped thing in Search or it's a great way to boost your SEO efforts. What I'd like to do here is take a look at both sides of the argument and show you how you can use TF*IDF analysis for your benefit in a legitimate way... all while highlighting Rank Ranger's new TF*IDF tool! Sounds like a plan to me! Wed, 19 Feb 2020 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/onboarding-seo-clients We sat down with the magnificent Heather Physioc to discuss how to get your clients on board with your SEO program: How to get your SEO clients to invest more time into what you’re preaching! The nitty-gritty details of what good client communication looks like! How to get into your client’s head so that you know how to speak their language! Plus, BERT is back! We pick apart Google’s segmented news carousels. What’s working, what’s not, and what’s really freaking interesting! Sun, 16 Feb 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-volatility-2020 Is rank more volatile in 2020 than it was before the latest string of core updates arrived? Is the continued presence of both Google's confirmed and unconfirmed updates making rank stability harder and harder to come by? As machine learning progresses are we seeing more and more rank volatility? Has August 2018's Medic update put us on a new path of increased rank fluctuations? Let's find out! Wed, 12 Feb 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-write-targeted-content The great Jessica Levenson joins us to talk about how to actually doing what we say we ought to do when trying to create targeted content: How to take the dream of targeted content and then actually write it How to make sure your content actually aligns to your target audience Where targeted content is heading as SEO evolves Plus, we put Google’s relationships on the couch as the search engine has taken yet another entity understanding advancement! Tue, 11 Feb 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-february2020 It seems like everything and everything that was once the Google SERP has been turned on its head in what has been a downpour of serious changes to the results page! Featured Snippet URLs have been pulled from the organic results, the desktop SERP started to look like the mobile SERP only for it to not look like the mobile SERP, and life just got a bit more complex for retailers with Google's Popular Products extravaganza. Oh, and we got our first core update of 2020 to boot! Welcome to the February 2020 edition of the SERP News. Wed, 05 Feb 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-and-ppc-working-together The one and only Navah Hopkins joins us to talk about the relationship between SEO and PPC: Dispelling the myths about SEO and PPC as marketing opponents How to create a unified approach to SEO and PPC How SEO and PPC work together uniquely in specific verticals Plus, everything and more of everything on Featured Snippet de-duplication. Tue, 04 Feb 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-accurate-is-google The wonderfully wonderful Jenny Halasz chats it up about Google’s ability to offer nuanced results on the SERP: Is Google living up to the hype? Does it consistently offer clear and nuanced results? How’s that whole BERT thing working out at this point? Where are the gaps in Google’s interpretation skills and what does that mean for your site? Plus, we breakdown how Google uses its entity understanding and Story expansions for pure marketing genius! Tue, 28 Jan 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/featured-snippet-tracking Google's removal of the URL that appears within its Featured Snippets from the page one organic results has thrown the SEO world into a bit of tizzy. As things begin to settle down, one of the questions we have to deal with is how to consider Featured Snippet URLs when tracking our ranking progress. With only one instance of the URL on page one of the SERP many are now considering Featured Snippets as the new position 1. But tracking rank with Featured Snippets as the #1 organic result presents its own problems.  Learn how to track rank with Featured Snippets as position 1 and how you can identify when a top-ranking result is a Featured Snippet vs. an organic result. Mon, 27 Jan 2020 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-january-2020-core-update It did not take long for Google to release its first confirmed core algorithm update of 2020. Just two weeks into the new year, Google announced the release of what it has called the January 2020 Core Update. Right from the get-go, all signs pointed to this update being on the larger and more impactful side. Here is a look at the update's overall impact on rank stability, a per niche rank volatility analysis, and a comparison in scope and size to a recent unconfirmed update. In other words.... How big was the January 2020 Core Update and who did it impact the most? Wed, 22 Jan 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/local-competition-analysis Cori Graft of Seer Interactive joins the show to talk about how to analyze the competitive field at the local level: What metrics should you focus on when analyzing the local competition? How to find, analyze, and track local competitors at scale! What going beyond proximity means for your local competition analysis!  Plus, we have the data! Jump into the data on the recent Jan 2020 Core Update! Tue, 21 Jan 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/confirmation-bias-in-digital-marketing If you’ve logged on to any social media account recently, chances are you’ve seen confirmation bias in effect. Confirmation bias is everywhere nowadays though you may not always see its effects directly. As confirmation bias is often not easily observed, it can cloud our marketing decisions and cause us to treat our potential clients poorly. Keeping confirmation bias at the forefront of our decision-making processes is critical to being both an effective and ethical marketer. Wed, 15 Jan 2020 00:00:00 UTC Carolyn Lyden Carolyn Lyden https://www.rankranger.com/blog/bert-seo Big time guest with us as The Women In Search SEO Series continues with the one and only Dawn Anderson who gets into everything BERT and SEO: Clear & understandable details on how the heck BERT actually works The real story on how BERT’s implications will hit SEO What better contextual conceptualization means for content Plus, we take a look at how the very fabric of the SERP might be changing! Tue, 14 Jan 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-january2020 It's 2020 and what better way to kick off the new year than by looking back at the December 2019 SERP! Don't think for a second that Google took it easy as 2019 wound down.... The last month of the year saw Google take BERT international and use the natural language processing (NLP) technique to take the Top Stories feature to places no news carousel has gone before. Couple that with an onslaught of local changes to the SERP and you have yourself a mighty month of SERP madness! And away we go! Wed, 08 Jan 2020 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode54 It’s 2020 y’all and we’re kicking it off with a living legend. Jennifer Slegg chats it up with us about the Quality Raters Guidelines! Why Google has changed its language around YMYL The meaning of Google shuffling around its categorization of YMYL sites The ever-controversial relationship between the Quality Raters Guidelines and Google’s algorithm Plus, we jump into the crap people are saying about doing SEO in 2020! Tue, 07 Jan 2020 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/best-seo-podcast-moments From the nuances of E-A-T to when you should consider SEO automation to Fraggles to having a diverse professional background when doing SEO... these are our top 10 moments on The In Search SEO Podcast in 2019! Mon, 23 Dec 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-research-2019 The best part of my job is the ability to spend time pondering, analyzing, and researching anything and everything within the world of Search. It's in these moments where I feel I'm making a difference by helping advance the SEO conversation. With this sentimentality, let's have a look back on 2019 and revisit some of the insights we've uncovered here at Rank Ranger over the year. Wed, 18 Dec 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode52 This week we talk about being discoverable with the CEO of Directive Consulting, Garrett Mehrguth! How to be discoverable by gobbling up as much market share as possible Taking advantage of review sites for discoverability Where Search fits into the discoverability picture Plus, we take a look at the impact of the holiday season on the presence of PLAs on the SERP! Tue, 17 Dec 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-tools-recap2019 Every year we say the same thing and this year is no different... 2019 was one for the ages here at Rank Ranger with scores of new innovative SEO insights hitting the platform over the course of the year! 2019 wasn't only special to us due to the depth of SEO reporting we brought to the market but for the series of new free SEO tools we developed so as to offer anyone and everyone access to great SEO insights. What do you say we skip the small talk and head right to the new SEO data, reports, and tools we brought to you in 2019?! Wed, 11 Dec 2019 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode51 This week we talk content opportunities with the author of Marketing Now, as the one, the only David Bain joins us! Where the emerging content opportunities lay How to best utilize audio and video content Unifying online and offline content Plus, we talk about the impact of the November 2019 Google Local Update on Local Pack Rankings - get ready for a wee bit of data! Tue, 10 Dec 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-december2019 Did you blink? Because if you did you may have missed Google's clandestine algorithm update that mystified not only the SEO industry but every single rank fluctuation weather tracker! How does it connect to the November 2019 Local Update? We'll cover the latest update incarnation as well as changes and tests to the SERP that brought Google's travel domination to all-new levels, kicked Featured Snippet URLs out of the organic results, and gave recipe hunters one less reason to click on your site! It's on. Welcome to the December edition of the SERP News! Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-year-in-review-2019 Ross Tavendale of Type A Media joins us to reflect back on the major trends in SEO brought to us in 2019! Where we’re at with links, nofollow hints, news links, spammy links, and the future of links Featured Snippet clicks, no clicks, more clicks - everything clicks in 2019 and how to move forward The role of the Quality Raters Guidelines, links, and technical SEO in ranking now and going forward Plus, what you can learn from Google when designing and creating content for your site! Tue, 03 Dec 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-google-understands-content How does Google differentiate between good and bad content? Google is not merely adding up all the backlinks a site has and deeming it quality content once a certain quantity of links has been accumulated. Rather, all things considered, Google is doing a very good job profiling content. That is, Google is quite adept and knowing what good content looks and sounds like and what bad content looks and sounds like within a specific vertical. Here's how they do it! Wed, 27 Nov 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode49 The great Ari Roth of Five Blocks joins us to talk about crafting your online reputation from an SEO perspective! How to maintain control of your brand’s narrative using Search Using the SERP to manifest your brand positively Handling inaccuracies that impact your brand’s identity when they appear within a Google property Plus, is Google evil? The Wall Street Journal seemingly thinks so! We pick apart their article and the industry’s peculiar response to it! Tue, 26 Nov 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-find-keywords Research. It’s simply not possible to run a thorough promotion plan without first doing some solid research: audience research, content research, and so on. The same holds true for SEO. Everything rests on solid and substantial keyword research. It’s the bones of search marketing. But where do you start when doing keyword research? How do you find the most pertinent keywords and topics? Here are the basics of how to do keyword research so that you can start the process of getting your web content on the right track! Wed, 20 Nov 2019 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode48 Former Search Engine Land editor and current AimClear VP of Product Innovation, Michelle Robbins, joins us to talk about online brand reputation in the modern web era: Online reputation beyond links - expanding the SEO mind How to handle negative brand presence online Beyond gimmicks - how to build positive brand sentiment Plus, we go into what might be a new way that Google is rolling out its algorithm updates! Tue, 19 Nov 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/off-page-optimization Are you struggling to rank higher on Google even though you’ve double and triple-optimized everything under the sun? If you’ve mastered the content on your page the problem might be your off-page SEO... or lack of it. Let's get into what off-page SEO is and how can use it to bring your rankings up!  Wed, 13 Nov 2019 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode47 Matt Giovanisci joins the show to explore the wide world of SEO when building a new site: What technical and design considerations should be on your mind when creating a new site so that you rank well? How to take an abstract plan and turn it into a concrete content and branding strategy for your site! How to build links for a new site and rank for keywords when you’re the newest site on the block! Plus, we explore BERT… Google’s new and super-advanced algorithm for understanding the words to, of, and for…. Well, it’s more complex than that… all in good time.  Tue, 12 Nov 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-november2019 Another month... another series of changes to the SERP with far-reaching implications....but this month is special. This month Google says they've reached a breakthrough... and it's live on the SERP! On top of that, Google has dispensed a new set of enhancements aimed at making users salivate over Google Shopping. But wait, there's more! Google is giving you far more control over how your rich results appear on the SERP. And, of course, we'll get to a whole heap of changes to the SERP and its features! This is the SERP News covering October 2019! Wed, 06 Nov 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode46 This week we have the wonderful, the delightful, the musical, Jason Barnard here to talk with you all about rich results & structured data markup: Why the "block construct” is so important to Google & what it means for your rich results The changing relationship between rich results and traffic to your site Thinking about structured data beyond clicks Plus, we take a look at what you could do after being hit by a core update! Tue, 05 Nov 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-handle-zero-click-searches By now you've probably heard the news... over 50% of all Google searches do not result in a click! You've also probably heard things like this is the end of organic traffic and that Google is killing 'the website'. You may have even heard a few tips on how to handle this new age of the zero-click search. But between freaking out, blaming Google, and looking for the next organic SEO hack... we've missed the boat entirely. It would be a bit braggadocious for me to say that I'm going to show you how to really handle zero-click searches and why most of the things you're hearing are a bit misguided.... That said, here's the real truth on how to handle zero-click searches and why a lot of what you're hearing doesn't pass muster. Tue, 29 Oct 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/featured-snippet-url-match So you've won a Featured Snippet on desktop, does that mean your URL shows within the zero-position box on mobile? How often does the URL that resides within a mobile Featured Snippet match the desktop URL? Is there even a desktop Featured Snippet? What is the likelihood that a Featured Snippet win on desktop equals a Featured Snippet win on mobile? Here's a look at how often Google shows the same URL on desktop and on mobile. Wed, 23 Oct 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/complete-guide-to-aso Apps are insanely popular. Since 2017, the number of apps developed and found in Google Play and the Apple App Store has grown massively. In fact, statistics suggest that there are at least 2.8 million apps out there! With that many apps, there is bound to be serious competition no matter what vertical your app falls into. Given the saturation of apps, it can seem almost impossible for your app to stand out and entice people. Well, worry no more (or just a bit less) – there is a way to help your app thrive! The answer is called ASO or app store optimization. Here is everything you need to know about ASO! Tue, 15 Oct 2019 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-core-update-september2019 On September 24th, Google sent forth its latest core algorithm update incarnation - the September 2019 Core Update. The third official algorithm update of 2019, like all other core updates, presented a unique set of ranking data at the niche level. More than that, a look at some of the site's impacted may shed some light on how Google looks at Your Money Your Life content. Here's a look at what the data says about the September 2019 Core Update's size, scope, and overall impact! Mon, 07 Oct 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-october2019 Looking back at the Google SERP in September and all I can say is... Holy cow! Another core algorithm update landed, reviews on the SERP have tanked like an airplane made of lead, the nofollow attribute is no longer a directive, & original news reporting now ranks at the top of the SERP (or does it?)! Throw in an overhaul to Google's Quality Rater Guidelines and... holy cow! Here are the juicy details! Thu, 03 Oct 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-rank-your-videos-on-youtube Creating YouTube videos has become one of the most effective ways to promote anything online. While pictures speak a thousand words, videos can convey whatever message you want to get across much faster. Whether it be a tutorial on how to fix your washing machine or a review of the latest Hollywood blockbuster, video is the dominant media! But how do you ensure your content is what YouTube users initially see? How do get your content towards the top of the YouTube results? After all, there’s no sense in creating videos no one is able to find or watch! Wed, 25 Sep 2019 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode45 This week we talk to the great Nati Elimelech, the CEO of SEO Israel, all about SEO automation: Why you’re really not taking advantage of SEO automation as you should! Who should be using SEO automation and when! How to make sure you don’t go too far & get too lost in the world of SEO automation! Plus, we explore Google’s new "original source” algorithm modification and the complications that arise from it! Tue, 24 Sep 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/full-guide-to-google-keyword-planner If you want to reach a wider audience, drive more traffic to your site, and increase conversions then you definitely want to rank higher on the Google SERP! For you to rank higher and bring in more traffic, the very first thing you need to do is keyword research. Lucky for you, the 'keyword research road' is not overly complicated (at least it doesn't have to be).  Here's how you can access and use Google's very own free and powerful keyword research tool... Keyword Planner!  Thu, 19 Sep 2019 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode44 Featured Snippet aficionado, Nigel Stevens, joins us to discuss his outlook on the zero-position box! What tips the scales when Google chooses content for its Featured Snippets? How to use Featured Snippets to understand keyword intent How should you structure your Featured Snippet strategy & what should you expect from it Plus, we look at the whole nofollow attribute kerfuffle. What happened, what’s going on, and what to make of it all! Tue, 17 Sep 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-updates-ymyl-sites No matter how many times Google denies it, we keep coming back to the idea that the search engine's broad core algorithm updates are targeting Your Money Your Life (YMYL) sites with a vengeance. It's a conversation that just won't die. With each new broad core algorithm update, we're left to wonder... is Google targeting YMYL sites? Is it not targeting YMYL sites? And if Google isn't targeting YMYL sites then why does it seem like it is? And the reason for all of this is.... Wed, 11 Sep 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode43 The legendary Stephan Spencer joins us to offer a truly holistic, if not downright spiritual look at doing SEO at scale and doing it successfully! The role of team building when doing SEO at scale How to find the right team for the right SEO tasks The actions you can take to develop your SEO team the right way Plus, subdomain leasing…. Are you kidding?! Tue, 10 Sep 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-september2019 Mobile continues to be the pied piper to desktop's SERP layout as Google seems to have moved on from the URL in favor of Breadcrumbs. Google Ads brings the meaning of "close variants" to a whole new level while it announces the average position metric will die. Plus, a new podcast carousel hits the SERP while Google moves its "Featured Snippet anchor highlights" beyond AMP and gives hotels access to edit their amenities inside the Local Panel! Oh, and there were more Google bugs too... Welcome to the September edition of the SERP News covering the memorable month of August 2019! Wed, 04 Sep 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-episode42 Do not blink because we have the industry’s fastest and brightest here for you today… the one, the only Aleyda Solis will join us to talk all about SEO consultancy! Why SEO consultants should specialize How to build a healthy working relationship with SEO clients How to bring true value to your clients Plus, zero-click searches... are they really the end of the world? And no, Featured Snippets are not the great savior, so what is? Tue, 03 Sep 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/ultimate-on-page-seo-checklist On-page SEO is one of the pillars of a sound strategy to get your pages ranking on the Google SERP. While over time some of the elements that fall under on-page SEO may no longer be as vital as they once were... there's no way around making sure the content on your page, its URL, etc. are properly optimized. Here's a list of 31 essential elements to check in order to get your on-page SEO right! Wed, 28 Aug 2019 00:00:00 UTC Liraz Postan Liraz Postan https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode41 Get ready and get set as Matthew Woodward joins us as we get into your blog’s performance. How to decide on your blog’s identity & purpose (and find your niche)! Being active & out there in order to find the right topics for your blog Where and how does SEO fit into your blog’s success? Plus, we take a data-filled look at Google’s core updates to see if they are really that much more impactful than your run-of-the-mill Google algorithm update. Tue, 27 Aug 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/entity-understanding-advances How good is Google at understanding entities? It's an important question since so much depends on exactly that, especially since Google now profiles sites (i.e., treats them as entities). While Google has some hangups when it comes to understanding entities, it's also made some giant leaps.  Have a look at how Google is reaching deeper than ever into entities and why it might be on the verge of taking things to a whole new level. Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode40 The founder of Klientboost, Johnathan Dane, joins us to share his wisdom on how to optimize those landing pages for Google Ads! How to set up your landing pages for optimal Google Ads performance How to get users to click that CTA once they move from an ad to your site Ad copy or landing page copy? Which is more important & how closely does ad and page content have to align? Plus, how does Google know which health content is quality and which health content is quack?! Tue, 20 Aug 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-feature-strategy When should you target a Featured Snippet and when is it not worth your while? What queries are open for a serious 'People Also Ask' win? What keywords are more consistent and which are less consistent at bringing up Google's Video Box? Which sites win in the Top Stories carousels and what are the topics and stories that are propelling them? Learn how you can use our fresh out of the oven SERP Features Monitor to help propel your SERP feature strategy and gain the deepest feature insights you've ever feasted your eyes on! Wed, 14 Aug 2019 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode39 This week we have master webinar creator, Anton Shulke, the head of Video Content at SEMRush, who comes on to discuss SEO webinar creation: Which guests make the best guests & how to handle difficult guests Which webinar and video formats are the most engaging What technical considerations are the most important when creating a webinar Plus, we get into some tips for building SEO knowledge and insights! Tue, 13 Aug 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-august2019 What if I told you Google unleashed an algorithm update that pushed rank volatility to levels we haven't seen in years, fixed bugs that weren't really fixed while denying their cause only to have that cause accidentally revealed?! You'd think I was nuts, right? Well, that's pretty much what happened in July. Throw a stream of changes to the Knowledge Panel, Featured Snippets, and Image Search into the mix and you have one absolutely wild month on the Google SERP! Wed, 07 Aug 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode38 This week the brilliant, the magnificent, the noble, Barry Schwartz will talk SEO shop with us as we get into: The state of the SEO industry according to Barry The state of Google and its approach to search and the SEOs who optimize for search The state of the man himself, we get into what it’s like to be Barry Schwartz! Plus, is your SEO strategy playing right into Google’s hands? Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-entity-profile Google has gotten really good at recognizing entities and how various entities relate to each other. There's no doubt about it. That said, how well can Google truly profile an entity? What happens when an entity has more than one profile? Is Google able to pick up on entity sub-profiles? What if someone is both an actor/actress and a director? What happens when a celebrity goes into politics? How does Google view the secondary profile of these entities? Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode37 VP of Content Strategy at AimClear, the great Mark Traphagen will join us to talk about how Google’s shift to being a discovery engine changes the content landscape: How does ‘search as a journey’ impact your content creation? How can you develop a content strategy that aligns to Google’s tendency to guide users to a greater extent? Why having a ‘content mindset’ is more important than ever & how to prioritize your content efforts in this new world of Google! Plus, we pick apart the latest Google algorithm update, the unconfirmed July 2019 update, which as you shall see was quite… weird. Tue, 30 Jul 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-algorithm-update-july2019 Almost out of nowhere, Google unleashed one of the most volatile days in SEO history. July 18th, 2019, saw an unprecedented amount of rank fluctuations unlike the industry had seen for years. Yet, the unconfirmed algorithm update left as quickly as it came when rank fluctuations returned to normal levels on a dime. It all begets the question: Who was impacted and what in the world just happened? Here's a look at the data on Google's unconfirmed July 2019 algorithm update. Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode36 This week we speak to CRO specialist and table tennis champ Dave Hyman all about: Which traffic sources convert at the highest rates? Site speed, UI, UX… which technical elements can kill your conversions if not optimized correctly? What tests to run and how to create surveys to ensure your conversion program is on the right track Plus, we take a look at PageRank and links and why Google wants to move away from both. Tue, 23 Jul 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/technical-content-serp-features Technical content and the how-to queries that bring this content to the SERP is the bread and butter of SERP features such as Featured Snippets, Related Questions, and Video Carousels. As a result, technical content creators should be very concerned about search, and in particular SERP features. More than being concerned, they should know what SERP features to focus on and how to hone in on them! Let's have at it then! Wed, 17 Jul 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode35 This week we welcome video marketer extraordinaire, Itamar Blauer who comes on to share his expertise on: Tips, tricks, and general advice when optimizing your videos Breaking down video creation barriers How to get your videos to rank well on both YouTube AND on the SERP Plus, why you should start thinking of EVERYTHING from an entity perspective! Tue, 16 Jul 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/content-gap-tool-analysis A true content gap analysis does much more than point to the keywords you either need to target or need to better optimize for. There is an endless number of deep insights that emerge from the woodwork when getting into the nitty-gritty of a content gap analysis. Here are some advanced (if not out of the box) ways to utilize a content gap analysis! Wed, 10 Jul 2019 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode34 This week we welcome Investing.com’s Igal Stolpner who joins us to shed light on search competition analysis: How to know which competitors you should or should not focus on How to qualitatively gauge a competitor’s threat level How to be both innovative and effective when creating an SEO strategy based on your competition analysis Plus, we look at how the length of Featured Snippets has changed and what that might mean for your site’s traffic! Tue, 09 Jul 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-july2019 Finally, a month of endless updates to the Google SERP! I've been complaining ever since 2019 began that Google has slowed down its production of changes, updates, and tests to the SERP. No more! June 2019 was a month for the ages with changes to domain diversity at the top of the SERP, additional layers of sub-topical information in all sorts of SERP features, and some good ol' updates to Google Ads! And away we go with Google's whirlwind of SERP alterations made in June 2019! Wed, 03 Jul 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode33 This week we are going local again with the most electric personality within the world of local SEO the great, the grand, the gifted Greg Gifford who comes to discuss: From copy to images; how to optimize your Google Posts How to use Google Posts to promote your business What mistakes you should avoid when working with the Local Panel’s Q&A feature Plus, we talk about the need for uniformity within the SEO industry. Tue, 02 Jul 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/featured-snippet-length It's always nice when theory meets reality. Not too long before I undertook the research for this study I wrote an article about why I thought Featured Snippets would be getting shorter. When I noticed that Google was throwing content barely a few hours old into Featured Snippets it seemed the content within them was a bit on the thin side. Thus, I took to analyzing 150 Featured Snippets to see if my anecdotal observation was correct. Long story short, Featured Snippets are shorter... sort of. Wed, 26 Jun 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode32 This week we have none other than the grandmaster of local SEO, Professor Maps himself, Mike Blumenthal to share his local SEO wisdom with us: Do local marketers need to hop on the paid search bandwagon? What is the real story with Google My Business monetization? The role of reviews in local ranking Plus, we take a look at how Google is further developing its Topic Layer. Tue, 25 Jun 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/june-2019-core-update On June 4th, 2019, Google released its second official broad core algorithm of 2019 (which was appropriately dubbed the June 2019 Core Update). At the same time, and further complicating the ranking picture, Google made a significant change to the top of the SERP by increasing domain diversity. Combined, the two "changes" created quite the substantial "ranking event." With that, let's have a look to see how the June 2019 Core Update impacted rankings and how to look for signs of top-of-the-SERP domain diversity within your rankings! Wed, 19 Jun 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode31 Today we speak with Glasgow’s most prominent SEO expert, the straight-talkin' Craig Campbell about the myths of black hat SEO: Can black hat SEO techniques be effective if done properly? Where are the lines between white hat and black hat SEO? Is black hat SEO's bad reputation justified? Is it really "immoral?” Plus, we look at a new level of customization on the Google SERP! Tue, 18 Jun 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-mobile-serp-favicons On May 22nd, 2019, Google's mobile SERP officially welcomed favicons. Many are touting the brand-building power of having favicons appear within your organic result. But is a picture really worth a thousand words? Who is helped most by the insertion of favicons onto the mobile SERP? Are there any losers? Does having a favicon make up for your site's name having less prominence? Simply, are the new favicons on the mobile SERP good or bad for your page's organic result? Wed, 12 Jun 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode30 In this episode, we welcome the fantastically fantastic Alli Berry of the Ascent to talk all about E-A-T - "Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.” The difference between expertise, authority, & trust How to build up your E-A-T profile for different types of YMYL sites Beyond the bio, how to build up your authorship credibility Plus, we dive into some data on the latest Google Update, the June 2019 Core Update! Tue, 11 Jun 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-june-2019 A plague of Google bugs has reached biblical proportions, the mobile SERP now contains favicons, & ads have hit the Discovery Feed! It's been a peculiar month in what has been a peculiar year thus far on the Google SERP. We're talking a barrage of announcements, a few bugs, and a whole heap of changes to the SERP that throw tradition out of the window! Plus, even though we're covering May... let's touch on the June 2019 Core Update as well! Thu, 06 Jun 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode29 Big time guest this week as we welcome Stoney deGeyter who shares his wisdom on the right language for the right UX: Creating language to deal with Google’s multiple intent targeting  The right language for the right UX for both traditional AND voice search The role of UX within Google’s algorithm Plus, we breakdown the mobile’s SERP’s new design… Are organic result favicons really a win for sites? Tue, 04 Jun 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/machine-learning-impact-search-user How do we relate to search? It's really a simple question: What preconceived and latent notions do we hold in regards to search? Of course, how we answer this question will also determine how we view the searcher and what we conceive they are doing when they search for something on Google. Now you can see why this little, perhaps out of place question, has far-reaching consequences. And away we go. Wed, 29 May 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode28 The great SEO experimenter and innovator Dan Petrovic hits the airwaves with us to explore the deep dark depths of Google’s algorithm: Is there something new brewing within Google’s algorithm? Are Google’s confirmed updates a red herring that distract us from even bigger algorithmic changes? What’s the best way to approach a Google update? Plus, we look at rank stability trends over the past few years to see if maybe there is something deeper to Google’s recent "quiet” period! Tue, 28 May 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-tracking-best-practices Rank tracking is one of the most basic elements of SEO performance monitoring and reporting. Yet, as much as we've talked about how the world of SEO has evolved into what it is today, we still think of rank tracking as well... rank tracking. However, if SEO has moved past a linear look at "the keyword" then why do we still undertake a monolithic approach to rank tracking? That's why I'm going to show how the situation on the Google SERP has changed and why it means a new approach to rank tracking is needed! Wed, 22 May 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode27 We have an amazing show for you! Content all-star Kameron Jenkins comes on to talk about the ever-versatile full stack content writer. The advantages of having a content generalist over a content specialist How to find balance when writing any and all forms of content How content marketers can compensate for a lack of topical knowledge Plus, we analyze the implications of the announcements made at Google I/O 2019 and Google Marketing Live! Tue, 21 May 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-my-business-monetization The conception of a pay to play Google My Business (GMB) recently hit DEFCON 1. While many in the industry have considered the notion of Google asking small businesses to open up their wallets to be inevitable for some time now, recent developments have blown the conversation wide open. As an uncovered Google survey clearly implies, monetization of Google's local business listings could very well be on its way! Take a look back at how a heck of a lot of Google's updates to local features over the past year (or so) all point towards GMB monetization! Wed, 15 May 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode26 We speak to link building maven Garrett French all about local link campaigns: How to target a local site for link outreach Making even the blandest local business a linkable proposition Making sure your local link campaigns are diverse and location appropriate Plus, we take a look at the development of Google’s Topic Layer in the Knowledge Panel Tue, 14 May 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-may2019 Another month has come and gone and in some respects, the Google SERP is not what it once was. As April becomes a distant memory, the SERP is now a far more visual place with multiple search features showing display level increases. AMP also eked its way back into the news throughout April with a motley collection of announcements & updates. Of course, there were various spikes in rank fluctuations and a myriad of changes to a plethora of SERP features! Ready to jump into the thick of it all?! Wed, 08 May 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode25 In this episode we talk to Jeannie Hill, the founder of Hill Web Creations all about intent & how it shapes the consumer's search journey: The role of intent in the consumer's path towards conversion Addressing consumer bias as part of the intent equation The advantage of targeting intent gaps Plus, we discuss the possibility of Google heavily monetizing Google My Business. Tue, 07 May 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-intent-targeting I'm on the hunt for user intent insights in 2019. I've resolved to make this year about going deep into intent and how Google handles it. Instead of getting into the finer points of user intent and Google's proficiency in meeting it on multiple levels, I'm going to showcase where it doesn't work. Meaning, while I generally think Google's increased ability to parse user intent and pick it apart is a fantastic step forward, it does not work universally. As Google offers users results that would satisfy any number of intents the search engine is going to increasingly be faced with the issue of not meeting any of them adequately. Allow me to demonstrate. Wed, 01 May 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode24 Joining us is Zack Bedingfield of CallRail who shares his wisdom on all things automation inside of Google Ads: What should you automate in your Google Ads campaigns? What shouldn’t you? What automation works best for what Where is the future of Google Ads automation heading! Plus, we talk about the long term impact of Featured Snippets on your site’s traffic. Tue, 30 Apr 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-for-jobs-data-survey Google's job listing search engine, Google for Jobs, has been around for a nice while at this point. Though, despite having spread to markets such as India and Japan, not much is known about how vast of a resource Google's job compilation database is. For job sites such as CareerBuilder, how big a traffic determent is Google's job SERP feature? For job seekers, how deep does this canyon of job listings go? Is the job depository growing or is it stagnant? Simply, what is the state of Google for Jobs? Care to find out? Wed, 24 Apr 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/people-also-ask-intent Related Questions, or as most of us know them, People Also Ask (PAA), has developed into one of the more intriguing features on the Google SERP. The feature is both prominent and powerful. This dynamically loading set of what are all but Featured Snippets has the potential to seriously alter a user's search process or search 'journey' if you will. I wanted to qualify that potential a bit by analyzing what intent looks like inside the PAA box. How many intents are represented by the initial four PAA questions? Does Google prefer to dig deep into one specific topic or does Google prefer to offer a broader topical look with its PAA questions? Does Google give one intent more attention than another? Does Google treat one keyword category and type differently than another in regards to the PAA? Wed, 17 Apr 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode23 Joining us is Niki Mosier of SEER Interactive to get us caught up on the hidden world of local SERP features. What to consider when creating Google Posts What local features are we all forgetting about & how can you capitalize on them? Where we stand in tracking local SERP feature progress Plus, we take a hard look at how advantageous it is for multinational companies to focus on voice search. Tue, 16 Apr 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/neural-matching-rankbrain-difference When Danny Sullivan recently tried to explain the difference between neural matching and RankBrain I was initially left scratching my head. I thought, why does this have to be so complicated? Couldn't the difference between neural matching and RankBrain be explained in a tangibly concrete well structured and "scaffolded" manner? Wed, 10 Apr 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode22 In this episode, we welcome LinkedIn expert Yoel Israel of Wadi Digital who discusses: What you can do to get your LinkedIn and your business's LinkedIn profile on the Google SERP Getting your LinkedIn content noticed How to make your LinkedIn profile more "linkable” Plus, we analyze the effectiveness and purpose of getting into a Google update at the site level. Tue, 09 Apr 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode21 In this episode, we welcome the world-renowned Lukasz Zelezny who discusses all things "organic" with us: Why organic search is stronger than ever Organic brand building What still works on social media without having to pay for it Plus, we delve into how machine learning has changed what keyword research should look like! Tue, 02 Apr 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-platform-2019 Yet another year has come and gone and with it one of the most dynamic years in SEO report and tool creation here at Rank Ranger. 2018 was all about offering you a new way to navigate search data. That meant we sat down and reflected on some of the things being said within the SEO community about where search is heading and created an array of new tools to help your site flourish in a new ranking environment. Without further adieu, here are the highlights from Rank Ranger's year in SEO & digital marketing reporting! Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-april2019 Well, the SERP is quiet no more as Google has confirmed its first algorithm update of 2019! Of course, the news of the March SERP was more involved than just the latest incarnation of Google's broad core updates. The month saw multiple data shifts for multiple image oriented SERP features (as well as some really interesting image search announcements/changes). With that was a pretty substantial increase in Featured Snippets in a wide variety of markets within Europe and beyond. All things considered, I'd say March was the most intriguing month on the Google SERP 2019 has brought us thus far! Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-do-keyword-research Oh no! Here comes another post boding how to do [insert SEO tactic]! I bet they just took whatever standard tips and just regurgitated them! But you know better than that by now! In fact, this is the first "how to do [whatever in foundational SEO process]" that I've written (I think). Which means, there's a good reason. A lot has changed in SEO. These changes have been so subtly dramatic that I believe it has created a new mold for executing some solid keyword research. Wed, 27 Mar 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode20 In this episode, we welcome content strategist supreme Liraz Postan who: Analyzes the latest trends in content & voice search Breaks down which content marketing KPIs are worth your while How to consider your audience’s post-click behavior Plus, we bite into some of the data we analyzed on the March 2019 Google Core Update! Tue, 26 Mar 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode19 Today we smash enterprise SEO cliches with all-star expert Eli Schwartz! Going beyond writing more content... how enterprise sites should think about content creation The issue of user intent facing enterprise sites What brings true efficiency to an enterprise SEO team & how they can best allocate limited resources! Plus, we discuss large-scale increase to mobile Image Thumbnails! Tue, 19 Mar 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-core-update-march2019 The first official Google algorithm update of 2019 has arrived! With it, of course, comes much speculation over its enormity as well as what niches and sites were the most impacted. Throw the Medic Update into the mix and we have ourselves quite a bag of potential SEO tinder on our hands here. However, just how big was this update compared to the Medic Update? Were YMYL sites targeted? Were certain niches more affected than others? Was the March update some sort of reversal? Once the dust settled who were the big winners and losers? Let's have at it then, shall we? Mon, 18 Mar 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-podcast-episode18 In this episode we hear from content and SEO expert Carolyn Lyden as we get into content strategy: Thinking about brand identity when setting up content pillars How to best target users with your content while keeping a dash of inner creativity alive! Learn a great way to create harmony between your content and SEO teams! We’ll also have a look at the most recent Google Update and some new SERP feature trends data. Tue, 12 Mar 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/product-image-thumbnails For the second time in a year's time, Google has dramatically increased the number of mobile SERPs that contain an Image Thumbnail. As before, the increase focuses on a specific keyword demographic. In this case, product keywords have pushed mobile Image Thumbnail to an extraordinary display level. As a result, both the percentage of page one SERPs that contain a minimum of one Image Thumbnail as well as the average number of mobile Image Thumbnails on page one has seen a significant increase. Mon, 11 Mar 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-episode17 This week we speak to the internationally renowned Shane Barker all about influencer marketing and how it intertwines with SEO: How influencer marketing can impact your SEO efforts Engaging in meaningful influencer marketing all while staying entirely white hat Staying on target with your influencer marketing for strong SEO Plus, we weigh in on Google using CTR when looking to rank sites! Tue, 05 Mar 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-march-2019 The year kicked off with a slew of Featured Snippet changes and it now continues with Google, the search engine of search engines, adding some hefty elements to its local SERP features. As it has done so the search engine may have stepped into a bit of "Featured Snippet controversy" along the way. Here is the March 2019 edition of the SERP News! Mon, 04 Mar 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/local-pack-seo-insights What would our recent release of beta reports (or Beta Blitz as we refer to them) be without something crafted specifically for all you local SEO? That's rhetorical questions, by the way! Thus, I am quite happy to say that we have just released a new local SEO report to our Rank Insights Report! In simple terms, Rank Ranger is now offering quicker and deeper insights into your Local Pack performance! Care for a tour? Thu, 28 Feb 2019 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-episode16 In this, our 16th episode, we talked with Stephen Alemar and Russell Jeffrey of Duda all about site speed and mobile UX: Why site speed and mobile UX are more important than ever! Where does mobile page speed and UX sit on the SEO totem pole? Has AMP faded out of relevancy? Was it ever really relevant? Tue, 26 Feb 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/featured-snippet-market-share To what extent do URLs share a Featured Snippet? What happens when Google uses more than one URL inside a Featured Snippet? Is there one URL that dominates the zero position box? What happens when Google oscillates between more than two URLs - how much visibility does each URL get? Based on the results of our last Featured Snippet study, which analyzed how often Google changes a URL inside of Featured Snippets, we wanted to know what the market share of a Featured Snippet URL looks like. Here's what we found. Thu, 21 Feb 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-episode15 This week we talked to the king of Local SEO SERP features the one and only Sergey Alakov! What role does proximity play when optimizing for local intent? Will Reserve with Google become a must for local businesses? Why might local be the optimal way to monetize voice search? Plus, where do the richest SEO insights lay, Google updates or the Quality Rater Guidelines? Tue, 19 Feb 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-episode14 This week SEO guru Cindy Krum joins the podcast to discuss how mobile-first indexing might have more to do with entities than mobile! Go deep into some heavy SEO theory as Cindy shares how Google's focus on entities changes everything from how Google crawls the web to how Google is creating a more universal understanding of entities! Tue, 12 Feb 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-february-2019 Welcome to an all-new year for the SERP News! To kick start 2019 Google gave us multiple changes to Featured Snippets while a bug has kicked AMP results off the mobile SERP! At the same time, we've added a new segment of local data to our SERP Feature Trackers that lets you see the scope of hotel Local Packs. Might I add that January also saw the first algorithm update of the year! Let's dig in, shall we? Wed, 06 Feb 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-episode13 This week the CEO of the ClickGiant SEO agency, Jerry Cahalan, comes on board to discuss keyword and content strategy for small and mid-sized brands: What can these brands do to win the keyword war? Where should their focus be? How can small & mid-sized brands ensure their keyword research produces relevant content? How do you best measure your progress here? Tue, 05 Feb 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-feature-stability-2018 Whether you score or compete with SERP features, it behooves us to know how stable they are. How consistent is Google with its SERP feature showings? Which features tend to display at consistent levels from one month to the next? Which features are subject to heavy amounts of display fluctuations? This is your comprehensive look at SERP feature stability, volatility, and consistency. This is your look at SERP feature fluctuations in 2018! Thu, 31 Jan 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-episode12 In this episode we talk to Brodie Clark and delve into how businesses can best take advantage of Google’s Local SERP features: How can a business best leverage some of Google’s latest updates to the Local Panel and Local Pack?  Should you opt-in to the message feature in the Local Panel?  How can you capitalize on Google Posts and to what extent?  How should brands go about product placement in the Local Panel?  Also, we look at some new and exclusive data on hotel local packs! Tue, 29 Jan 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/featured-snippet-url-stability Scoring Featured Snippets is just one of those SEO topics that has become almost mythological. Getting your URL into a zero position box is the win of all wins. But while we're all talking about winning, Google is shifting URLs in and out of Featured Snippets much the way a disc jockey switches music tracks during a radio broadcast. This, of course, begs the question... how often does Google change URLs within its Featured Snippets? Thu, 24 Jan 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-seo-episode11 This week we interview Andrew Optimisey and get his take on what small brands can do to compete on the SERP: What role does a unique selling proposition/point play when competing with a multinational brand? How can you keep up with the link building of big brands? Where does technical SEO fit into brand competition on the SERP? Tue, 22 Jan 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/site-audit Performing a technical site audit doesn't really have to be all that intimidating. To ensure it isn't we went ahead and created an all-new Site Audit Report aimed at simplifying the barrage of data normally associated with technical SEO audits. Here's how to use our new Site Audit to gain straightforward, clear-cut, helpful, and emboldening technical analysis and insights (so that you can breathe easier the next time you need to do a site audit). Wed, 16 Jan 2019 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-episode10 This week on the podcast our hosts focus on both user intent and confirmation bias. Specifically, Determining Google keyword intent: 3 easy steps to getting a solid intent understanding Google or users? Who’s responsible when it comes to confirmation bias?  Tue, 15 Jan 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/determining-google-intent What is the intent of a user when they enter a search term? Rather, what are the multiple layers of intent that Google sees in that query? What has Google determined to be important when showing results for a given keyword? Google has gotten far better at parsing search terms according to the multiple intents embedded within them. But how are you supposed to determine how Google understands intent for a search term? How do you know what content Google thinks is relevant to users? How can you determine how Google understands intent? Here's a simple method that's worked for me. Wed, 09 Jan 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-episode9 This week our hosts Mordy Oberstein and Jacqueline Harkam reflect back on SEO in 2018: What were the three most important developments in SEO during 2018? Where is SEO heading in 2019? How did voice search stack up over the course of the year? Tue, 08 Jan 2019 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-year-in-review-2018 What a year in the world of SEO. Sure, I say that every year, but 2018 certainly had its share of game-changing developments. Predisposed to a high volume of SEO themes, be it mobile-first or Google's new "journey" outlook on search, 2018 has a flavor all unto itself. Now then, there are just way too many stories for me to cover in one post to catch everything that we saw hit the floor in SEO during 2018. What's to come is my best crack at grabbing all of the major stories, the biggest changes, and the most interesting advancements that came out of the world of search in 2018. Here we go! Thu, 03 Jan 2019 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-research-2018 Each and every year we're humbled by the additions we're able to offer to the SEO industry's understanding of the "search environment." Whether it be a deep dive into a Google algorithm update or a case study on Google's use of SERP features, we feel honored to offer a bit of insight into how Google is treating the SERP and so forth. With the year coming to a close, here's a review of the original research Rank Ranger has brought to the forefront of SEO consciousness. Thu, 20 Dec 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-episode8 In Episode 08 of the In Search SEO Podcast our hosts Mordy Oberstein & Jacqueline Harkham explore:  Tue, 18 Dec 2018 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/above-the-fold-ranking As time has gone on, how we measure effective Google rankings has evolved. We're at one of those moments in time (again) where the ranking paradigm is changing/has changed. As you'll see, ranking above the fold is more important than ever. It's why we created a tool as part of our Beta Blitz SEO reporting initiative that tells you just that: Are you ranking above the fold or can no one see your site despite it ranking so well? So then, why is ranking above the fold so important and how do you get there? The experts weigh in. Thu, 13 Dec 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-episode7 In Episode 07 of the In Search SEO Podcast our hosts Mordy Oberstein & guest host Kim Rognes explore: Search filter bubbles & the possibility of Google's approach to search resulting in them Huge decreases in ads on the SERP worldwide! What happens when Google tries to meet too many user intents on the same SERP? Is the Reserve with Google program heading towards monetization? Tue, 11 Dec 2018 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-episode6 In Episode 06 of the In Search SEO Podcast our hosts, Mordy Oberstein and Jacqueline Harkham, explore zero result SERPs! Why Google brought them back How this instance is different from when Google first tried zero organic result SERPs The overall impact of no organic results on the SERP Tue, 04 Dec 2018 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-november-2018 November did not disappoint as Google unleashed a series of SERP feature data downgrades amid not one, not two, but three algorithm updates all while officially doing away with organic results in certain instances! During the month we also saw multifaceted Featured Snippets show up in all-new places, hotel Local Packs become picture perfect, and AMP Stories get an advertising addition. Mon, 03 Dec 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-episode5 In Episode 05 of the In Search SEO Podcast we explore: What is Google's ethical duty towards its search results? Will SERP commenting for live sports events have an SEO impact? Data on video carousel and Image Box drop-offs How to properly frame the question surrounding Google's ability (or lack thereof) to use authorship as a ranking factor Tue, 27 Nov 2018 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-seo-reports-beta Things have changed so drastically in the world of SEO that we reached a tipping point that made us ask, how could we best serve the needs of the industry in this new world of search? So, we enhanced all sorts of reports to give you insights that would help you day in and day out. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't drastic. It didn't offer a new way to provide SEO insight, a way that matched this new ranking environment. So we returned to the drawing board and came up with a set of new reports to track rank and site performance in all-new ways. Now we're testing the waters in what we're calling Beta Blitz! Mon, 26 Nov 2018 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-episode4 Episode 04 of the In Search SEO Podcast our hosts, Mordy Oberstein and Jacqueline Harkham tackle: Is offering a mention, with no link, enough when citing a source? When Google mentions 'linking naturally', is that really possible? The implications of the rise in the People Also Ask SERP feature What user trust in chatbots means for voice search commerce Tue, 20 Nov 2018 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-fix-keyword-cannibalization Keyword cannibalization is one of those SEO buzzwords that carries with it a certain myth and mythology. But behind the commonly held ethos of how keyword cannibalization is perceived lies a real problem that could impact your site and more importantly your bottom line. If you're wondering what keyword cannibalization is, what it's not, why it's a problem, and what you can do about it, then this post was written for you. If not, give it a read anyway, what do you have to lose? Wed, 14 Nov 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-episode3 In episode 03 of the In Search SEO podcast our hosts, Mordy Oberstein and Jacqueline Harkham dive into: New Discover More Places data How impactful are Multifaceted Featured Snippets... really? Are SEOs too focused on RankBrain? What's new in the world of voice search and what is the SEO industry still glossing over? Tue, 13 Nov 2018 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-october-2018 Here we go, yet another month of all sorts of changes to the Google SERP and the features found on it! In the great month of October, we were privy to see Google start to roll-out its 20th birthday updates, the coming of an all-new way to hunt down the best hotel, and some more Google update action (yep, more updates... again). I've also got an exclusive look at the first set of data on the relatively new Explore Panels! Wed, 07 Nov 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-episode2 In this episode of In Search our hosts, Mordy Oberstein and Jacqueline Harkham discuss: How often does the Explore Panel appear on the SERP? Is AMP a ranking factor? Google's Knowledge Panel relationship building The latest SEO news with full analysis Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-reporting-widgets-analytics Back in August, we released a slew of widgets that made analyzing your Google Analytics data easier than ever. We've been busy since then creating all-new widgets for all-new purposes with one common theme: to make showcasing comprehensive SEO and marketing data within white label reports as simple as possible. Here's a look at what we've been up to as far as widget development is concerned. Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/amp-hitting-a-wall Back in 2016, AMP, Google's open source project to make a speedier mobile web , was all the rage. AMP was going to be the next big thing. Fast forward three or so years into the future and AMP, while still significant, is not the dominant force we thought it would be. AMP seems to have lost a bit of steam. Though still very much a part of the search marketing dialogue, AMP has faced some pretty significant obstacles that have downgraded its "SEO prestige." Here's why I think AMP has hit a wall. Wed, 31 Oct 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/in-search-episode1 In this, the first episode of In Search: Making SEO Small Talk, a weekly SEO podcast, we analyze the latest news coming out of the SEO industry, talk tips for creating authoritative authorship when lacking official credentials, and whether or not you should focus first on Featured Snippets or creating highly clickable titles.  Mon, 29 Oct 2018 00:00:00 UTC The In Search SEO Podcast The In Search SEO Podcast https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-google-my-business-reports-added You've asked for it, and you got it .... a prolific set of Google My Business reports are now available inside Rank Ranger! While you've been able to access Google My Business data as part of your Yext integration for some time, now you can directly access the data via some really deep and really colorful reports (who doesn't love color?). In fine Rank Ranger tradition, there are numerous and highly customizable ways to dig into your Google My Business data. Let's go for a tour! Tue, 23 Oct 2018 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/top-100-sites What are the top sites on the web? Which sites accumulate the most traffic month in and month out? How much would it cost to compete with these sites by utilizing ads? And of course, where does your site's traffic rank among the site traffic prowess of 500K other sites? As an SEO data freak, I am both excited and honored to announce Rank Ranger's Top 100 Websites Ranking on the Web - A free resource giving you access to the top 100 sites each month and an explorable database to see where your site's traffic ranks! Thu, 18 Oct 2018 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-20th-anniversary-search-changes Google took its 20th anniversary as an opportunity to hang a pinata of search updates that have already begun to rain down on us. From "topic layers" in what is an all but transcendental Knowledge Panel, to Google pulling site content to create its own version of AMP Stories, the updates announced at Google's 20th birthday bash event are set to change the way users interact with search. Here's what I think the common denominator between the changes is, what it means for search, and what you might want to do about it! Mon, 15 Oct 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-september-2018 There was no major Google algorithm update this past month that shook up the entire SEO community. Instead, we got a few shorter "bursts" of rank volatility that had their own story to tell. On top of that, mobile indexing multiplied by immense proportions, Chrome's update brought us more direct answers, and a good dozen or so SERP feature tests and changes popped up. Oh, and Google announced a slew of some pretty big changes that could change the entire way we think about search and go about optimization vis a vis the user's experience. Mon, 08 Oct 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-rank-with-google-serp-features Dealing with feature heavy SERPs is a big problem for a lot of folks. I went around and asked some pretty smart people what they thought the best way is to handle ranking amidst Google's SERP features. The idea was to combine the different pieces of the puzzle into one resource. To be blunt, this is not another roundup so that a bunch of people can walk away with links where nobody really says much of anything. These are the best thoughts these fantastic folks have on how to deal with a SERP where Google is a formidable competitor. Tue, 02 Oct 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/ranking-factor-studies-machine-learning In the not too distant past, I wrote a piece highlighting how machine learning has impacted rank volatility (in that rank is considerably more volatile). At the time, we touched on what machine learning means for understanding how ranking works and how the process directly influences rank. Here, we'll get into the nitty-gritty of it all by analyzing the holy of holies of optimization information, ranking factor studies, particularly niche ranking studies by asking one very simple question .... Do ranking factors studies still apply in a world where machine learning and intent reign supreme, and if so, to what extent? Tue, 25 Sep 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-create-seo-reports Most SEO professionals know the ins and outs of the trade – that content is king, that technical SEO optimization is a must, and that you can’t get serious rank traction without quality backlinks. The thing is, that succeeding as an SEO agency is not just about knowing SEO, it’s about understanding how to manage the client relationship, a central part of which is knowing the right way to prepare SEO reports. Mon, 17 Sep 2018 00:00:00 UTC Tzvi Barish Tzvi Barish https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-rank-stability There's this sentiment that rank has become increasingly more volatile. To a large extent, we've chalked this up to machine learning, or RankBrain in specific. That said, what does the current ranking landscape actually look like? How does it differ than the allegedly more stable past? What new ranking dynamics has machine learning left us with? What can we do about them? Wed, 12 Sep 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-august-2018 August was a month for the Google SERP record books and it's not all thanks to the monster of an update that rolled-out. Yes, the early August Google Update, commonly referred to as the Medic Update, was massive and I'll surely discuss it and how it has changed the name of the game in many ways. However, one of the most exciting things to develop over the month has been Google Posts and it's move towards independence. Welcome to the SERP News covering August 2018! Tue, 04 Sep 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-site-profile Google's early August update was one the most drastic changes I've ever had the 'pleasure' of studying. No site within any niche was safe. Not even the top results on the page could withstand its algorithmic inertia. Amidst the waves of rank fluctuations, a peculiar site pattern emerged, one that had us wondering... Can Google now profile your site? Mon, 27 Aug 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/youtube-rank-versus-google-rank What's Google showing in the new desktop carousel? Where do the carousel's YouTube URLs rank within YouTube itself? Is the SERP getting the best YouTube has to offer? Can you optimize for YouTube and the desktop video carousel simultaneously? Does top spot YouTube placement guarantee carousel priority?  I took 155 video carousel keywords and compared the rank of the top 6 cards in each carousel to the URLs rank inside of YouTube - these are my results. Wed, 22 Aug 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/august-google-core-update I don't think I need to say that Google's August 2018 broad core update was a big deal. You can judge an update by the buzz it gets... and this update was thunderous. Of course, anyone and everyone is grasping at straws trying to 'figure the update out'. How impactful was the update? Which sites did it hit? What kind of sites were affected? While I can't definitively explain the update (Can anyone?), I did some digging and came back with some small trinkets of algorithmic treasure. Here's what I found. Mon, 13 Aug 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-july-2018 When it rains it pours, or in SEO terms, when Google showers us with changes to the SERP, it follows them up with even more adjustments! The June SERP's big-ticket momentum rolled right into July as the SERP continued to evolve at break-neck speed... a Speed Update that is. Not only did the search engine roll out its highly anticipated mobile speed update, but it made a splash with some serious SERP feature shifts and a series of tests to hotel Knowledge Panels that make all previous tests look like child's play! Tue, 07 Aug 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-analytics-report-widgets There are two things we don't need to tell you: your time is limited as well as valuable and Google Analytics is beyond important for good SEO. So, we would like to tell you that you can more easily and quickly access your Google Analytics data with the new and dare we say 'nifty' widgets that have been recently added to Rank Ranger! Join us for a quick survey! Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-serp-features-user-intent Have you felt it? Google's SERP features have bulked up and have moved from being a concern to sites ranking organically to being a competitive juggernaut that every SEO needs to constantly consider. Now, the search engine is going all-in with a new tactic: hybrid SERP features that combine elements from multiple features (so as to better hone in on a legion of different user intents). At the same time, it feels like Google is using its "traditional" features to offer a more powerful SERP feature punch these days. Let's take a walk through the SERP as I've seen it and see what's perhaps going on. Wed, 25 Jul 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/local-search-image-thumbnails Image Thumbnails, a mobile SERP favorite, are now present on far more SERPs than they had been just days ago. The proliferation of the thumbnails on the mobile SERP does not appear to be a simple across the board increase in the SERP feature. Rather, the data indicates that the uptick is heavily due to the feature now being relevant to local queries on mobile. Mon, 16 Jul 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-local-search-feature-bidding The recent past has been an adventurous snapshot in time on the Google SERP. There seems to have been a shift in how Google uses its SERP features on a variety of levels. Due to the dynamism of these adjustments, I don't think we as an industry have fully been able to define the current construct, both in terms of the actual changes that have been made, and in terms of the unifying elements that make them a part of Google's larger strategy. With that, I'd like to present one of the many missing pieces of this puzzle, a new bidding system for Google's Local Pack and Featured Snippets. Wed, 11 Jul 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-june-2018 Here we go again! Google shakes up the SERP with an unexpected move that saw YouTube lose some significant organic visibility (among a slew of other implications that seem to keep piling up). Not only that, but June gave us more information on two major Google mover and shakers, the mobile-first index and the Speed update. Oh, and there was another onslaught of SERP feature changes. Tue, 03 Jul 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/smx-advanced-2018-machine-learning Learn how machine learning changes the rules of the game for ranking on page one of the Google SERP. As Google becomes better at understanding intent, Google's machine learning properties have a greater impact on ranking itself and how we go about the optimization process. Get insight on how to identify the way Google sees user intent. At the same time, you'll better understand the role of niche ranking factor studies, and how to go beyond them with query specific analysis.  Wed, 27 Jun 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/video-thumbnails-replaced-by-carousel In what was all but one fell swoop Google has largely done away with Video Thumbnails on the desktop SERP. In its place, the search engine is favoring a video carousel that has until this point been mainly relegated to mobile. Perfectly merging two worlds, the move over to the carousel not only offers a new look for the desktop SERP, but brings a whole host of implications for both sites and YouTube creators. Let's have a look at what exactly is going on. Tue, 19 Jun 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-may-2018 Not too shabby. At least, that's my sentiment when looking back on the moves Google made on the May 2018 SERP. After analyzing the changes made to the Google SERP over the course of the month, I'm left wondering where we are heading and what is Google pushing towards? Not that most of us are not always concerned about those two questions, but there were quite a few tests that seem uniquely "interesting." Add on a major change to meta-descriptions and the continued push towards a mobile-first world, and we have ourselves quite the month for this, the latest edition of the SERP News. Wed, 06 Jun 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/machine-learning-featured-snippets Two words can either make or break your day... Featured Snippets. For those that score them with consistency the SERP feature is a godsend, for those that don't... well that's another story entirely. In either case, combining the position zero boxes with yet another two-word term... machine learning... might send some of us into a tizzy. Yet, tizzies aside, that's precisely what I intend to do as I strongly believe that Google's machine learning properties are touching Featured Snippets in all new ways. Wed, 30 May 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/yext-new-metrics Thirteen new metrics have been added to the Yext integration for display in Insight Graphs and Single Metric widgets. The new options include data from Facebook, Instagram, Yelp and Yext, giving you the ability to create impressive marketing performance dashboards. Creating graphs and widgets with the variety of data available from Yext can be a fun and creative adventure, learn more in this post. Wed, 16 May 2018 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-organic-results Organic is old news. If I would have said something like that five years ago, you might be looking at me all cross-eyed. However, in today's SEO world, one in which SERP features dominate, such a statement actually contains an air of viability. I mean, for crying out loud, Google has tested zero organic result SERPs. Why? Why does it feel as if Google is increasingly giving more weight to its own SERP properties? Why would Google even test a SERP with no results? I have a theory. Wed, 09 May 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-april-2018 Get set to explore another wild month on the Google SERP as the search engine continues its trend of both confirming algorithm updates (with what is perhaps some ambiguity) and making major changes to what the SERP and its features look like. April, in particular, came with a change that has some serious potential to alter how users interact with sites on the mobile SERP. Wed, 02 May 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/digital-marketing-evolution How will the tech giants handle privacy concerns? Who poses the biggest threat to Google’s empire? Which social media platforms are too saturated? Get an expert understanding of the ever-changing digital marketing landscape in this interview with Blue Thread Marketing co-founder Mordecai Holtz. Wed, 25 Apr 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-more-results-button After extensive testing, Google's 'More results' button officially does away with mobile pagination. With the new mobile format users can quickly load the equivalent of another page of search results with just one click and without wait, but what are the consequences? Who benefits from this considerable change to the mobile SERP? Who loses out? What are the implications? Wed, 18 Apr 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-local-pack-ranking-patterns It's funny what you start seeing when you look at enough Local Packs. Stare at enough of them and you'll notice some interesting patterns that highlight Google's emphasis on search location within its local SEO algorithm. What happens however when this pattern is perhaps too prevalent? Is Google over-relying on search location when showing Local Pack results? We'll take a look at a Local Pack listing pattern that has not been previously discussed and delve into the implications. Tue, 10 Apr 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-march-2018 Whoa, Nelly! It's here, mobile first indexing! However, that wasn't the only shocker. Do you hear that sound? That's the sound of Google confirming an update to their core algorithm! We'll take a hard look at these big ticket items and all of the notable changes and tests Google ran in the merry month of March. Tue, 03 Apr 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-optimize-content Learn how to consider the needs of both your readers and Google when drafting web content. Delving right into the problems that face content creators when trying to engage their readers without befuddling Google, gain some actionable tips to help bring balance to your content.  Mon, 26 Mar 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-mobile-first-index-roll-out We've noticed some big changes to the HTML structure of the mobile SERP over the last few days. Admittingly, this is not the first time we've seen structural changes to the mobile SERP. Thing is, the last time we did, Google announced that they were significantly testing the mobile-first index. Add on that for the first time in years the structure of the desktop SERP has changed and you have quite the case for asserting that, indeed, the mobile-first index is quite near. Wed, 21 Mar 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-february-2018 Google was firing on all cylinders last month. The February SERP was just brimming with new data trends and some major changes to both the SERP and the features found on it. Of course, Google threw in an algorithm update of some significance just for good measure. Join me as I explore the ins and outs of the Google SERP for the frigid month of February (unless you're in Australia and the like, where I would imagine February is quite warm). Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/deepcrawl-partnership We've partnered with DeepCrawl to form one of the most formidable SEO alliances in the galaxy! Accessing DeepCrawl within the Rank Ranger software means you have greater access to all of the data pertinent to any SEO campaign (i.e. it's really convenient to have all your data in one place). At the same time, utilizing DeepCrawl within Rank Ranger opens an entirely new reporting world. Get ready for a new take on the site auditing experience. Tue, 27 Feb 2018 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-increase-adwords-knowledge What is the best way to monitor your Google Ads competition? Is there even a best way to monitor your Google Ads competition? It's complicated, and anyone that gives you a one-size-fits-all list is just yanking your chain. I don't have all of the answers, and I am not going to pretend that I do. What I do have is a unique take on a piece of the process that might broaden the way you approach monitoring the Google Ads field, or, as the title of this piece claims, increase your Google Ads IQ. Tue, 20 Feb 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/ecommerce-site-rank-changes How have the how major eCommerce sites fared on the Google SERP over the long haul? Rumor has it that some of the biggest players in online retail have suffered majorly in the rankings in the recent past. A notion, that as it turned out, is quite true .... Let's have a look at the data for e-commerce and all-around retail juggernauts, Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. Wed, 14 Feb 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-january-2018 A new year in the world of SEO is upon us. Breathe in that new and refreshing air. Can you smell it? The air of change is upon us. Change to rank on the SERP as one long, and I mean seriously long, Google update helped kicked the new year off. Not enough change for you? Not to worry, Google also released a slew of SERP feature tests that dominated the first month of the year. My, my! Aren't we off to a fast start?! Welcome to a new year, welcome to the SERP news for January 2018! Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/content-marketing-truth While most of the advice content marketers get revolves around topics such as how to promote on social media or choose the best content automation tools, we've in a way forgotten what it means to be a content marketer. The most basic truth is that content marketers are educators. Creating content means to teach. If a piece of content doesn't teach anyone anything, it's worthless. So how do you go about effectively educating? Tue, 30 Jan 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/guide-mobile-knowledge-panels In this guide, we'll go through the various formats and types of mobile Knowledge Panels, highlighting what has changed and been upgraded along the way (when applicable of course). We'll also pay special attention to some of the newer formats of the panel as well. So sit back and get ready to explore Google's magnificently malleable mobile Knowledge Panels. Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/guide-google-mobile-local-knowledge-panel Take a look at the various forms of Local Panel Knowledge Panels Google offers on mobile. Explore the different features Google includes for a variety of different local entities. Wed, 17 Jan 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-feature-volatility Throughout 2017 we reported on what must have been nearly a dozen major SERP feature increases or decreases. These near-constant SERP feature gains and losses piqued my curiosity and made me wonder, just how stable are some of the most important features on the SERP? Is the perception that many features undergo significant fluctuations accurate? Just how volatile are SERP features likes Featured Snippets, Knowledge Panels, Local Packs, and AMP?  Mon, 08 Jan 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-december-2017 While we may be in the new year, we're not done with 2017 just yet. Google closed the year off on the SERP with a heavy hitting algorithm update and some of the most interesting SERP feature tests and upgrades that we've seen all year. Whether it was images in AdWords ads or more content inside Featured Snippets, Google capped the year off in a way that was anything but boring.  Tue, 02 Jan 2018 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/review-seo-year-2017 Another year in SEO has come and gone and it's time to look back at the stories that helped shape the industry in 2017. From algorithm update bombshells to ever-morphing ad abilities and a hint of mobile-first madness, 2017 definitely had a flavor all of its own. Thu, 28 Dec 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-research-2017 There were a lot of important changes and updates that had an impact on the industry in 2017. We're both honored and humbled to be a part of reporting and analyzing the big stories that affect the industry. With another year behind us, let's have a look back at some of the weightier findings we brought to the forefront in 2017. Tue, 19 Dec 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-ranger-yearly-review-2017 Our mission was to make 2017 unique, so we set off on an adventure to create new tools and reports that would give you additional insight and enlightenment. Along the way we threw in a serious set of new integrations so that you could create a fresh set of custom comparisons. Of all the years we've been bringing you the best in SEO and digital marketing reporting, 2017 was by far the most fun! Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-november-2017 November was one wild month on the Google SERP. Google's update to its ccTLD policy sent SERP feature trends into an international whirlwind. On top of that Featured Snippets saw a mobile loss while Knowledge Panels jumped off the charts. If that weren't enough, Google revamped product search on the SERP with what was nothing less than a strategic SERP feature strike force aimed at its retail rivals. This, and a deluge of SERP feature data changes and upgrades! Mon, 04 Dec 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-product-search-strategy What would Google do just to siphon some product search volume away from its retail rival? How far would it go? What tactics would it resort to? With Amazon under no real threat of having its kingdom toppled, Google has taken dramatic action to make sure it expands its piece of the retail pie. What might surprise you is how Google's going about doing cutting itself a larger slice of the retail pie, right under your nose. Wed, 29 Nov 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-algorithm-updates-mistakes-to-avoid Month in and month out, industry news sources report on what seems to be a constant stream of rank fluctuation events. In such an environment, it's easy to become fixated on a website's single visibility spike (or hit) and attribute the site's fluctuations to a single algorithmic act and declare insight victory. But that's not how Google's algorithm updates really work.  In this case study, I'll highlight why analyzing a site's fluctuations in relation to one specific update often creates an incomplete picture that discounts Google's overall algorithmic relationship to the site (i.e. get ready for some myth busting action). Tue, 21 Nov 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-feature-trends-change Accessing country-specific Google search results has been turned a bit on its head recently. When Google announced that you could not use a specific ccTLD to access a country's search results, international SEO underwent a dramatic change. Though, in typical Google fashion, accessing international search results was not the only thing to change. With the domain change, Google changed the data trends of some of the most important features on the SERP across the globe. Beyond the inherent interest in tracking such changes, these alterations present both new SERP feature trends as well as insight into the very domain-level change Google made in late October. Wed, 15 Nov 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/all-in-one-email-marketing-suite Email marketing is not dead. Far from it, email marketing is an integral part of any marketing plan. If done right, pushing your brand, service, or product via an email campaign can score big payoffs ranging from increased sales to increased brand awareness and authority. That said, email campaign effectiveness hinges on learning what went right, as well as what went wrong, during an email campaign. To give you the ability to track your email effectiveness we were set on integrating a series of automated email marketing platforms into Rank Ranger. We looked at a whole heap of platforms and narrowed our integration partners down to Constant Contact, AWeber, and MailChimp. Mon, 13 Nov 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-track-google-international-results At the end of October Google made a huge change that had an enormous ripple effect on international SEO. No longer can you enter a specific Google ccTLD in order to see how search results appear in different countries. Meaning, you can no longer enter a country-specific Google search engine URL into the browser with the hope of seeing the SERP for that country. Google is now showing you results for your location, no matter what. Thus, you would need a VPN in order to see Google SERPs from various countries... or do you? Here's how you can easily view Google search results internationally without using a VPN. Tue, 07 Nov 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-october-2017 It's hard to believe another month has gone by. With a new month comes a new set of SERP news to sort through. The October SERP saw one of the year's biggest SEO story-lines move onto the next chapter while Google's recent revenue narrative continues to evolve. These newsworthy SERP scoops, plus a slew of SERP feature tests and changes, made October's Google SERP quite the provocative place! Mon, 06 Nov 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-track-google-top-stories-rank Where does a news publisher rank within Google's mobile Top Stories news carousel? Is the outlet's article the first card Google shows or the 15th? Tracking rank within Google's mobile News Box is not easy, but it is well worth it. If you're an SEO who is working with a news publisher, tracking rank within Google's mobile Top Stories carousel can really set you apart. Allow me then to show you how to best track mobile Top Stories rankings. Mon, 30 Oct 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/adwords-daily-explorer If you're running Google Ads ads, then you probably know that tracking your paid search competition is not only vital but exhausting. Tracking who your top PPC competitors are on the Google SERP is not a one stop, one metric ordeal. It requires thorough research and monitoring for multiple vantage points. Knowing this, and to help you simplify analyzing the competition, we wanted to add on to your Google Ads arsenal by following up our recent release of the Google Ads Monitor with the all-new Google Ads Daily Explorer. Now, besides for in-depth competitor discovery on a per keyword basis, you can track every single Google Ads ad your competition is running on a daily basis across all of your keywords. Here's how. Tue, 24 Oct 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/future-google-revenue-strategy Google's very own SERP features provide it with a subtly powerful way to supplement its traditional form of income, i.e. ads. In fact, there are some unique advantages to garnering income via SERP features that ads can't provide Google with. Such advantages could be why Google has bolstered those features that do currently, and may in the future, provide it with additional sources of revenue. In fact, I would be so bold as to say that in-feature revenue is the future of Google's monetization strategy. Here's why. Mon, 16 Oct 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-september-2017 The September SERP was a doozy! The month was just downright interesting with Google throwing some real curve balls out there. Whether it was pushing an algorithm update or altering SERP feature trends, Google did not seem like its traditional self. On multiple occasions it seemed as if Google had shifted course a bit this past month. All I can tell you is, this one is going to be interesting. Mon, 09 Oct 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/understanding-google-mobile-strategy Google not only has totally unique SERP features on mobile, but also quite often trends those that also appear on desktop differently than it does on mobile. The fundamental premise of this study is that by isolating the instances where Google diverges from its desktop SERP feature patterns, the search engine's entire stance on the mobile web slowly emerges. Working under the assumption that any mobile data divergence is purposeful and meaningful, mobile's unique SERP feature trends work to illuminate Google's overall relationship to the mobile SERP. Tue, 03 Oct 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/adwords-monitor If you've ever invested time manually checking search results for your keywords in order to analyze your competitors' Google Ads ads, then we think you're going to love our new Google Ads Monitor. Allow me to take you on a tour of the Google Ads analysis features you'll find in the Google Ads Monitor. Mon, 02 Oct 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-removes-search-box Dearly beloved we are gathered here today, on Google's very own birthday, to announce the departure of the Search Box SERP feature from the face of the earth. In less dramatic terms, Google has removed its Search Box feature from the SERP on both desktop and mobile. The removal is uniform, and as such, applies to every country that previously carried the feature. Wed, 27 Sep 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/brightonseo-takeaways-2017 For those of you who could not make the recently held brightonSEO conference, I wanted to share some overall takeaways and highlight some of the sessions I enjoyed the most. The conference is massive, and obviously I did not hear all of the great speakers. As such, this is not some sort of definitive list, but rather a spotlight on the sessions I personally enjoyed the most during my first trip to the conference. Mon, 18 Sep 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/callrail-integration-call-tracking-analytics CallRail customers may be excited to learn that you can now add call performance reports and graphs to white label reports and dashboards via one of our latest third party integrations. CallRail is a marketing tool for tracking and measuring call conversions from search, social, PPC, digital marketing campaigns, and even offline marketing activities. Tue, 12 Sep 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-august-2017 August made for quite the interesting month on the Google SERP. At first glance you might not think of August as being SERP spectacular. Don't be fooled however, amidst the multitude of SERP features tests and changes Google revealed a big card that gives us a nice look at what's in store for the future of Google's monetization strategy. Welcome to your ticket to the August SERP train. Hold onto your wallets because this is going to be a wild one! Wed, 06 Sep 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/complete-guide-to-featured-snippets Featured Snippets are short, direct answers shown by Google at the top of the first page of search results in response to search queries in the form of questions, or which imply a search for specific information. Recently, the race to grab Featured Snippets has turned into somewhat of a feeding frenzy in the SEO industry. This article provides you with insights into what Google is looking for, valuable statistics and guidelines on how to "win" Featured Snippets. Tue, 05 Sep 2017 00:00:00 UTC Tzvi Barish Tzvi Barish https://www.rankranger.com/blog/knowing-google-knowledge-panel Take an in-depth look at the content available within Google's Knowledge Panel. See the significance of the prolific nature of mobile Knowledge Panels. Explore the Knowledge Panel within the always entertaining Ignite format.  Wed, 30 Aug 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/competition-analysis-myths Watch the SEO Lounge with Mordy & Joel who discuss some myths about competitor intelligence and clarify how to use competitor data to optimize your website. Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/track-featured-snippets Though it goes without saying, scoring a Featured Snippet can put you at a significant advantage. With zero ranking superiority being so significant, tracking your Featured Snippet progress, especially as compared to the competition, becomes a central priority of any sound SEO strategy. To facilitate this process we've designed a comprehensive Featured Snippets center of sorts where you can track your Featured Snippet performance across all of your keywords. The all-new Featured Snippet Tool provides you with deep and comprehensive daily insights that cover your, and your competition's, Featured Snippets across all of your keywords. Tue, 15 Aug 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-july-2017 After June's monumental algorithm update you might have figured that Google would lay low for a bit. Not so. The search giant merely shifted its focus from fine-tuning algorithms to adjusting the proportions of its SERP features. More than that, it would seem that Google took this lull in algorithm activity to bring some of its SERP features into the shop for a series of readjustments.  Tue, 08 Aug 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/can-google-fight-fake-news It's the one story that Google would like to shake, but can't seem to, Fake News. With underlying ethical underpinnings that bring into question where Google's content responsibilities begin and end, along with the technical boundaries fighting fake news stirs up, the issue is in a way epic. Over time Google has released a series of statements, and even the announcement of a new project, all indicating it is on top of the Fake News faux pas. But are they really? After taking a hard look at how Google goes about broadcasting information media, that would be news to me... Wed, 02 Aug 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/guide-to-google-jobs-feature The Google for Jobs feature is a massive conglomerate that is set to corner the online job listings market. Follow me as I show you how the new feature is set up, what it does, and why it is sure to be the go-to job search tool (I'll even throw in a bonus theory as to why this matters so much to Google). Wed, 26 Jul 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/track-rank-google-for-jobs The new Google for Jobs SERP feature is both novel and grandiose. Not only is the Google for Jobs feature a new SERP environment, but is one that ushers in a new set of rules for the sites both appearing and absent from it. In addition to optimizing to rank #1 for an employment query organically, recruiters are now faced with the greater competition of ranking in Google Jobs. Fortunately, you can now track your position within Google for Jobs in Rank Ranger. Wed, 19 Jul 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-serp-feature-guide Get a better understanding of what Google SERP features are and why they are important to SEO in an easy to understand and visually focused way. Explore the world of Google SERP features within the Ignite format. Mon, 17 Jul 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-june-2017 For the second month is a row, Google has rolled-out a significant algorithm update. Following a May 18th Google update, the end of June heralded in an update that just kept on going, and going... and by month's end still had not entirely run its course. As expected, the impact on rank was no small matter. Truth be told, this elongated algorithmic anomaly nearly eclipsed the rest of June's SERP news. Not to fear, it will all be covered here in the latest (and possibly greatest) edition of The SERP News. Mon, 10 Jul 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-update-serp-feature-changes Google's recent update impacted more than rank. A series of Google's more prominent SERP features saw changes in their data paths during the update. Here we'll take a look at how Google tacked on SERP feature trajectory shifts onto its latest update.  Wed, 05 Jul 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-algorithm-update-june-2017-explained After a relatively considerable period of quiet, Google has rolled out its latest algorithm update. Not since October 2016 have we seen a Google update as long running, lasting five or more days. In this context, the current rendition of Google's ever-changing algorithm has a degree of esteem that is not common to all updates. Like its counterparts though, discerning the actual impact of the update on rank is intrinsically elusive. That is, determining the character of the update, as well as what sites in what positions were impacted is challenging. Allow me then to offer some context and a bit of understanding of what transpired, specifically what ranking positions were most impacted by this update. Wed, 28 Jun 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/landing-page-monitor-pro-tracking With fluctuation trends within the industry being what they are due to increased Google algorithm updates, we wanted to make sure you have the right tool for the right job at your disposal. With that, we announce the release of our most in-depth landing page tool to date, the Landing Page Monitor. Tue, 27 Jun 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/track-quarterly-rank Tracking rank can often be a micro-moment, micromanaged, process where the nuances in change over the period of a day, week, or even month take on extreme significance. However, what if you wanted to track rank within a whole new context? What if you wanted to track rank within the corporate setting at the executive level using traditional business reporting? With this in mind, we're happy to announce the release of our newest Enterprise level report, the Quarterly Rank Snapshot. Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-may-2017 Nothing says fun like tracking Google hit some big time retail sites as part of an algorithm update. Should such an endeavor sound like fun then this article is for you, because that's exactly what happened last month on the Google SERP. To be sure, that's not all of the SERP news that's fit to print. The month of May also saw the introduction of a whole new way to approach Google reviews that could be a "ratings" game changer. Of course, the month was filled with your usual parade of tests and changes to Google's rainbow of SERP features. Mon, 05 Jun 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/multi-channel-funnel-reports Everyone knows that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. That's why understanding a user's path towards conversion is just as important as the conversion itself. Delving into the path that a user took towards making that conversion helps to isolate what worked well and what didn't work well along the way. It tells you not only what channels are driving your success but what conversion affinities your users have, so that you can bolster your methods and replicate your success going forward. Due to the significant insights afforded by seeing a user's path towards conversions, we've launched four new multi-channel funnel reports that will help you determine what's behind your conversions. Mon, 29 May 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-sheets-integration When it comes to your data, you are the hub that the various outlets storing and tracking your information must channel through. Which is why we're giving you full control to display whatever data you need, want, or would otherwise enjoy seeing with our Google Sheets integration. Unlike any other third party data integration, unifying Rank Ranger with Google Sheets puts you in control of what data you want to track. More than that, by integrating Google Sheets you can display data that you, and only you have, affording you the ability to create graphs that are beyond unique, but rather exclusive. Data that is entirely complete and comprehensive. Wed, 24 May 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-hits-major-sites-may-2017 Recently, there has been some industry speculation that Google rolled-out an algorithm update circa May 18th. Indeed we tracked an increase in rank fluctuations on our Rank Risk index, indicating that an update was pushed over at Google. Making use of a unique SEO tool that we plan on bringing to the market in the upcoming future, we've determined that Google has hit some major sites within the retail and consumer goods industry that has shaken the rankings a bit. Tue, 23 May 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-features-monitor Have you been wishing for a tool that would notify you every time that a SERP feature displayed or changed for your keywords in Google search results?  If so, we have good news for you... easy, no hassle, automated email alerts!!  Mon, 15 May 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-april-2017 Some big news on the Google SERP in the month of April. The month saw some interesting SERP feature milestones that included HTTPS reaching new heights and AMP in organic results taking its first real dip. Of course, there were also a few SERP feature tests, and even a new character whose SERP personality is yet to be determined. Thus, despite the fact that Google seemed to have taken a break from major algorithm updates, we have much to talk about and talk we shall. Thu, 11 May 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/balancing-content-and-seo What's needed to develop catchy content is not always in-sync with the more technical considerations of SEO. As a content creator I often find myself straddling the fence and seeking resolution to this epic cosmic content conundrum. As such, I'm happy to share my pain in finding the right balance between SEO and content with you (light tips will be served). To do so, I'll explore a few common situations of content development tension that I personally find myself struggling with as I create content.    Thu, 27 Apr 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/cross-source-data-for-seo-marketing Not all data is equal, both quantitatively as well as qualitatively. Data is not merely the acquisition of statistical information. While obtaining such numbers and figures are important, it lacks the qualitative depth data can afford. In its essence, data helps paint a picture of health and performance, it is ironically holistic in nature. The question is how can rich data be accessed? How do we take data from being a linear experience to a holistic one that paints an overall performance picture? The answer is multiple data sources. Wed, 19 Apr 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-march-2017 Beware of the Ides of March! For sites that harbored low quality content, March 15th was something to be wary of. Due to a powerful Google algorithm update, March proved to be an eruption of SERP significant action. Combined with some interesting SERP feature shifts and tests, the March SERP has quite the story to tell. Mon, 10 Apr 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/ultimate-competition-analysis-tool Bringing an unprecedented degree of substance to SEO competition analysis, we're excited to announce the release of the SEO Monitor for a real and penetrating competitor insights experience. This new competition discovery tool goes beyond tracking the rank of a few of your competitors, offering you deep competitive insights. What truly sets this competition analysis tool apart is that it offers useful, genuine, and intelligible insights into how your competition approaches the SERP and their pursuit to push you off of it. The SEO Monitor, without any gimmicks or extravagant promises, gives you an avenue of insight towards analyzing how your competitors aim to claim dominance on the SERP. Thu, 06 Apr 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/compare-bing-ads-to-adwords We thought it would be not only nifty, but impactful to see your Bing Ads performance alongside that of your AdWords campaigns. As such, we're announcing that you can now integrate your Bing Ads data into Rank Ranger. The upshot, (other than being able to access all of your data in one place and sharing it within white label reports) is that you can plot your Bing Ads and AdWords data together on our custom graphs or within the same series of widgets. Here's how to do it. Thu, 30 Mar 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-my-business-integration Bringing all of your local SEO data to one place, we are truly excited to announce that you can now access Google My Business data within Rank Ranger. This standout data source within our seemingly endless series of third party data integrations joins and emboldens our prolific set of local SEO abilities. Thus, you can conveniently access the full spectrum of your local SEO data without ever leaving Rank Ranger's software. Further, viewing Google My Business data within Rank Ranger enables you to create custom local SEO insights that can be shared in any one of our white label reporting options. Tue, 28 Mar 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-serp-feature-motivations Why does Google invest so much time and energy into their SERP features? While of course the features improve the user experience, does that really explain why Google is constantly releasing a series of perpetual SERP features changes? There is simply way too much of an emphasis on SERP features over at Google to chalk their efforts up solely to "improved user experience." If so, why then does Google go to such lengths for the sake of SERP feature perfection? Wed, 22 Mar 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-algorithm-update-fred-explained There has been a lot of Google algorithm update activity as of late, and it would be nice to get some perspective on what's been going on, as these algorithms can seriously impact your rankings. Now, as you may well know, Google has said it unleashes and roll-outs thousands of updates a year. However, the algorithm updates that have come out of Google recently seem to be weightier than usual, and it's important to realize that. So let's then take a look at the recent updates, including last week's roll-out that has become widely known as 'Fred', to see what these updates have in common. Perhaps we can even speculate as to what Google has in-store for the SEO industry. Tue, 14 Mar 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-february-2017 It seems no month is spared significant SERP and SERP feature changes. February, was an exceptional example of the continuously evolving nature of Google's SERP. The simple fact that Google changed its PPC ad label for the second time in less than 10 months is testament to the fact that Google views its SERP as malleable, an ever-changing experiment. Tue, 07 Mar 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-audience-analytics-data Obviously knowing the customer is of the utmost importance, and as such Google's Audience Interests is well... of self-evident interest. The question is how to make it work for you in a way that is efficient, effective, and easy. With the custom display options we've built you can see the Audience Interest data that you want to see and how you want to see it. What's more, by including Audience Interests in your white label reporting you can offer your clients a deeper look at the makeup of site traffic all while considering and catering to client specific needs and reporting preferences.    Tue, 28 Feb 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/amp-results-mobile-carousel-preference Google's AMP has been making a lot of noise on the SERP for a good while now. Most recently, and as we reported, AMP results have come to dominate Google's News Box on the mobile SERP. As it turns out, that's not all AMP is dominating these days. After a bit of research I've determined that Google is giving heavy preference when it comes to showing mobile carousels to organic AMP results. In this case study, I'll show you how some heavy-hitting and quite prominent websites are not showing up on the mobile SERP with carousels simply because they have not gone AMP. Mon, 27 Feb 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/guide-to-understanding-click-fraud This past December the largest ad fraud scam to date was unearthed. Methbot, operated by a group of Russian hackers, was estimated to have sucked anywhere up to $5 million a day from the pockets of online advertisers. Is click fraud, a as general problem, as sensational as the plundering that was executed by Methbot? What precisely is the monetary significance of click fraud? How long has it been a problem? What is being done about it? Are we doing enough? Can we do enough? Simply, how old, big, and daunting is the problem of click fraud? Mon, 20 Feb 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-tell-marketing-success-stories Each and every month you put a tremendous amount of time and effort into guiding your clients towards success. However, without effective communication with your clients, your efforts, noble and colossal as they may be, could be laid to waste. So then, what do you need to do in order to effectively communicate your success stories to your clients? What steps can you take to make sure that your client knows exactly how hard you've worked and how far you've taken them? What can you do to ensure that your best efforts are not wasted and ruined as a result of lackluster communication? Mon, 13 Feb 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-january-2017 The first month of the new year began without much noise on the Google SERP. Perhaps the festive spirit that comes with the new year ran counter to the volatility and malleability that so often characterizes the Google SERP. Have no fear true believers, the SERP did show considerable activity as the month progressed, eventually evolving into one of the more dynamic months on the Google SERP. Thu, 09 Feb 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/mailchimp-reports-marketing-dashboard In an effort to always ensure that our users have access to a broad and comprehensive range of digital marketing tools and reports, Rank Ranger now offers a MailChimp integration. Widely considered to be a leader in tracking and measuring email marketing campaigns, MailChimp offers a pervasive set of email marketing data that can now be accessed right in Rank Ranger. With this, our latest in a long list of third party integrations, Rank Ranger continues to enable our users to effectively track and manage the progress of their digital marketing and SEO campaigns. Wed, 01 Feb 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/alex-tachalova-interview-digital-olympus The Digital Olympus online conference gears up for its fourth installment on February 6th. This up and coming free conference series is masterminded by none other than digital marketer and frequent industry speaker, Alex Tachalova. In a one on one interview, Alex outlines how the Digital Olympus conference series has evolved and how it offers unique added value for those seeking to broaden their industry know-how. She'll also discuss the importance of gender equality within the SEO and digital marketing industry, as the latest conference is headlined solely by women in what has been dubbed as the "Female Edition" of the conference. Tue, 31 Jan 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/amp-google-news-results-spikes Back when AMP first entered Google's mobile News Box in early 2016, the faster loading, lighting bolt indicated, cards were a rare novelty. All of that has now changed as the number of AMP optimized news articles appearing within Google's Top Stories on mobile has skyrocketed across the globe. Mon, 30 Jan 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/calltrackingmetrics-rank-ranger-integration We promised that 2017 would be a year full of new third party integrations and Rank Ranger reports. With our first integration of the new year, we didn't disappoint. Expanding the digital marketing reach of Rank Ranger's software into new territory, we're quite excited about integrating CallTrackingMetrics into our platform. An industry leader, CallTrackingMetrics enables users to track call attribution across multiple channels such as PPC ads, social media, etc. Now, with our CallTrackingMetrics integration, users can track their incoming call data in unique ways that only Rank Ranger can offer. Mon, 23 Jan 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/2016-review-seo-digital-marketing As another year has come and gone, Rank Ranger has continued to develop and expand with full throttled force. 2016 saw our most prolific year to date with the development of what felt like an endless slew of updates and additions. We've kept to our core value of providing the most comprehensive and customizable SEO and digital marketing software available. Having set sail in 2016 with our own vision, as well as that of our customers (via the WeDevelop program), our development team doubled-down on their efforts to bring you a set of superlative additions to Rank Ranger's already rich SEO and digital marketing platform. Tue, 17 Jan 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-december-2016 Now that we've entered the new year, I guess taking a look back at December's SERP is a bit nostalgic. For those of you who eagerly let go of 2016 and quickly embraced 2017, I promise this post will not retroactively kill another beloved celebrity, nor will it make any mention of politics. This post will however fondly review some interesting changes to Google's SERP as December 2016 presented us with some important happenings. Wed, 11 Jan 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-ranger-yext-integration In what is a highly competitive environment for local businesses, maintaining a competitive edge is more important than ever. One of the major obstacles local businesses face has been ensuring their local citations are congruous and up to date. To help businesses manage this somewhat odious process, Yext offers local businesses the ability to track down and update any outdated or incorrect listings. But really, Yext offers a lot more than just that. With its array of analytics, Yext reports back on various aspects of your Facebook page, indicates Yelp page views, etc. As testimony to the efficiency of our WeDevelop program, Rank Ranger now enables you to integrate the range of analytics offered by Yext. Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/review-seo-year-2016 Well, it's been quite the year for the SEO world. Watching events unfold day in and day out, you almost forget just how significantly things have changed for those of us within the SEO community. Sure, there have been the sort of blockbuster breakthroughs (think Penguin 4.0 or organic AMP results). Still, a lot of the changes we saw in 2016 were brought in slow increments, piece by piece (just compare Google's Knowledge Panel as it is now to what it was a year ago). While there's no way to cover all of the significant changes 2016 has brought, I'll do my best to highlight the ones I think mattered most... and you might be surprised to see what made the list. Tue, 03 Jan 2017 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-problems-voice-search The vast differences in the language of voice search when compared to written search truly precludes dual optimization. There is no way simply using long tail keywords is going to bridge the linguistic divide as many in the SEO world have expressed. Unless Google can bridge the gap for us, creating content that meets the linguistic requirements of both search mediums is going to be rough. Don't believe me? Read on... Wed, 21 Dec 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/bing-webmaster-tool-reports The availability of Bing Webmaster Tools insights within Rank Ranger makes our platform a one-stop shop when analyzing Bing rank and page traffic performance. Per usual, we've made an effort to afford you data insights in a customized and visual manner that is not only aesthetically pleasing but allows for easy data navigation as well. Wed, 14 Dec 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-november-2016 It's interesting to see Google hone in on a specific SERP feature(s) in such a concentrated manner the way it did this past month of November. Couple all of the format changes and additions to SERP features with the removal of Notable Online and a bug that decimated SiteLinks globally, and you have yourself a really interesting month on the Google SERP. Mon, 12 Dec 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/history-of-the-google-penguin-algorithm-update As Google's Penguin 4.0 update recently completed its rollout (according to Google), I thought I would take this opportunity to provide the complete history of this Google algorithm and its updates. Up until recently, an update to the Penguin algorithm was a very big deal (particularly for those penalized by it). Until the most recent version, the only time a site could recover from a Penguin penalty was when the algorithm underwent an update. Now Penguin operates in real time (more on that later), but the question is how did we get to this point? Tue, 06 Dec 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/difficulties-optimizing-for-voice-search Voice search is the latest and greatest craze to hit the SEO world. If you've been keeping up on your SEO reading it's very likely that you may have come across some sort of article testing out some sort of voice search device, be it Google Home or Amazon Echo, etc. But with this latest phenomena to enter the search universe has come concern of how to optimize for the new search medium. Almost uniformly the SEO community has taken an approach for how to best optimize for a future that includes voice search, but what if we're all wrong? Just in case you were wondering, I think we're way off base here as an industry and in this two part series I'll tell you why. Thu, 01 Dec 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/cyber-monday-deal-marketing-dashboard In honor of the Monday of all Mondays, Cyber Monday, we're going all out with Marketing Dashboard mania!   Take dashboard reporting customization and communication to a new level - this Marketing Dashboard gives new meaning to the term "white label"!  Check out the demo dashboard and lock in your special Cyber Monday pricing. Tue, 22 Nov 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/web-marketing-dashboard-release The new Marketing Dashboard is a tool for presenting data in an enhanced manner with style - your own custom style. Whether for internal or external communication, this white label marketing dashboard can be set to display organic, local and mobile rank tracking data as well as Google Analytics, Search Console and Social Media analytics (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram), plus you can embed your own ancillary media and information. The Marketing Dashboard finds its identity in its unique ability to provide a new level of data reporting communication that is combined with Rank Ranger's commitment to comprehensive customization and ease of use. Mon, 21 Nov 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/target-rank-dashboard At Rank Ranger we like to think of ourselves as "inventors" who are constantly creating new ways to make our SEO software that much better. In addition to the completely new tools we roll out, we are continuously developing enhancements to our existing ones. As such, we are quite pleased to introduce our Target Rank feature, a new feature that we have added to our popular Rank Tracker.   Tue, 15 Nov 2016 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-my-business Managing Google My Business listings for a business with multiple locations is no easy task. Now tracking rank for a business across multiple locations has gotten that much easier and it's no small deal. If you're running a campaign for a site whose business is spread across multiple geographic locations wouldn't you want to be able to track which locations are ranking in a Local Pack or if more than one location is ranking? Well, now you can! Mon, 14 Nov 2016 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/important-notifications As you probably know by now, we think it's important to continuously work on making our platform even better. This means that we're constantly updating, revising, and introducing new features to the Rank Ranger software. This time around we thought we'd tackle making it that much easier for you find report options in a jiffy. Creating this new feature got us to thinking, there has to be a super-effective way to let you know about our update zeal, so we created another feature to do just that!  Mon, 14 Nov 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-october-2016 The month of October saw a dramatic decrease in AdWords appearing on the SERP for desktop searches while AMP appearances grew steadily in European countries. Although these developments were not as unsettling as the algorithm updates and rank fluctuations last month, these changes and others are definitely significant and worth following. Tue, 08 Nov 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/notable-online-removed-from-google-serp Making my way down the list of those features that are embedded within Google's organic results on our SERP Features Tool, I was shocked to see that Notable Online had made an abrupt and complete exit from the SERP stage. Thu, 03 Nov 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-health-feature-justified Recently, I wrote a post giving readers a virtual tour of Google's Health Panel. As a part of a series I'm writing on Google's Knowledge Panel, the main focus was on how the SERP feature functioned and what information it offered. In this post I will raise some practical and moral questions like "is the Health Panel good to have on the SERP, and if not, what justification is there for it appearing on Page One when searching for medical conditions?". These are legitimate questions considering that Google, no matter how you slice it, is at the end of the day offering Page One medical content that people will use to evaluate serious medical conditions.  Tue, 25 Oct 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-health-feature-guide Out of the various Knowledge Panels none stands out more than Google's Health Panel, also known as Health Cards, also known as Dr. Google. In this installment of my "Knowledge Panel" series we'll explore just how prolific and unique Google's health feature is. Tue, 18 Oct 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-september-2016 The September SERP was action-packed to say the least. Just when all seemed quiet, Google rolled-out several algorithm updates, added a SERP feature to the mix, and took one out of the fray. Last month's SERP was anything but typical both quantitatively as well as qualitatively. Tue, 11 Oct 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-local-results-still-plagued-by-spam-despite-possum-algo Google definitely has a strong vested interest in ensuring that its search results are not dominated by spammy results. That’s why they rolled out the Penguin algorithm a few years ago to combat websites employing manipulative SEO techniques to boost their ranking. That’s also why at the beginning of September they rolled out an algorithm update, dubbed Possum by the SEO community, focused on improving local search results – particularly in the Local Finder and Google Maps, but they still appear to be plagued with spam. Mon, 10 Oct 2016 00:00:00 UTC Tzvi Barish Tzvi Barish https://www.rankranger.com/blog/effect-of-interstitial-penalty-on-revenue Google's August 23rd announcement outlining a new and upcoming penalty on mobile sites employing interstitial ads had everyone talking. Just how big and how powerful are these ads and just how significant would a Google penalty on them be? Is Google about to penalize an under-performing peon or are they going after a golden Goliath? Wed, 05 Oct 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/uncovered-google-algorithm Try as they may to hide it, but on September 7th, Google began rolling out an algorithm update that had a serious impact on Page One ranking. The algorithm was broken into two phases over the course of a week and correlated to the drop off in Page One Image Boxes. Thu, 29 Sep 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/penguin-update-4.0 After months of speculation and anxious anticipation, the latest incarnation of the Google's spammy website killing algorithm is upon us. But what does it all mean for you and your site? What makes Penguin 4.0 different than Penguin 3.0? What can you expect and how should you act now that Penguin has been updated and modernized. Tue, 27 Sep 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/googles-new-local-search-update-possum Google’s new algorithm update that began rolling out at the beginning of September is filtering the results in the Local Pack and Google Maps and is aiming to week out duplicate and spammy business listings  Find out what it is known so far.  Thu, 22 Sep 2016 00:00:00 UTC Tzvi Barish Tzvi Barish https://www.rankranger.com/blog/amp-mobile-organic-tracking True to its word, Google has placed AMP pages within the blue organic results. As speedier pages with their lightning bolt icons begin to appear within organic links, our Mobile SERP Feature Tracker has been tracking their frequency. We are happy to announce that Rank Ranger is now monitoring AMP within both news and organic results on mobile. Wed, 21 Sep 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/image-box-data-placement Between September 13th and September 14th the SERP feature saw a more than 50% drop off in its Page One appearances. Such an unusual drop off left us wondering, where have all the images gone? Did they just fall off the face of the Earth? Did they get pushed down? Were they replaced with another feature? Were all Image Boxes affected or simply those that related to certain topics or categories? Mon, 19 Sep 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/keyword-planner-changes-search-terms The Rank Ranger team has discovered that Google's keyword research tool, Keyword Planner, is now altering search queries, presenting results that don't exactly match the initial search phrase. As a result, at times it shows results that not only don't match the query exactly, but may seriously deviate from the original intent behind it. Mon, 12 Sep 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-news-august-2016 August was a month with SERP news aplenty. In fact, last month had everything you could possibly want, hot summer days, the coming of the school year (a parent's best friend), and a multitude of SERP features coming and going. In any event, all of the news and happenings on the SERP last month made for quite a rich SERP experience, so without further adieu may I present to you the very much altered August 2016 SERP. Tue, 06 Sep 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-marketing-strategy If Google is good at one thing (other than search of course) it's marketing strategy. Though you'll never see an ad for the king of the search engines, this query behemoth employs some of the most subtle, yet fantastically impressive marketing strategies out there. Strategies that you should definitely take a look at and work in your own marketing tactics. There's no need to reinvent the wheel when you can learn from the Grandmaster of subtle marketing. Tue, 30 Aug 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-knowledge-panel-complete-guide Knowledge Panel... just the name itself sounds smart. Join me then as we explore what this Google SERP feature does, how it functions on both desktop and mobile, as well as how it has recently evolved to offer an in-depth Google experience. Thu, 25 Aug 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/keyword-research-brand-analysis-advertisers Keyword research is a uniquely dynamic way to perform brand analysis and in the first installment of this blog series, you saw exactly how brands and content creators can take advantage of this far-reaching method. In this second part in the keyword research for brand analysis saga, we'll get into the heart of the matter by seeing how employing keyword research in this manner can change how advertisers approach their trade. Mon, 22 Aug 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/keyword-planner-data-restriction The SEO community has been abuzz with discussion about Keyword Planner's recent data restrictions that have deep implications for SEOs and digital marketers. Due to the significance of the data limitations Google has rolled out I thought it pertinent to update you as to the exact issue you may be facing and how to most effectively deal with it. Mon, 22 Aug 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-olympic-feature I love the Olympics and I'm the first to admit that I have Olympic fever. There's something about the Games that excites just about everyone even those who aren't regular sports fans. There's also something interesting happening on the Google SERP with the introduction of a "deep" knowledge panel about the Rio Olympics. Wed, 10 Aug 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/keyword-research-brand-analysis Considering the broad economic value that brands can carry, performing thorough brand analysis is an essential and common business practice. As odd as it sounds, keyword research is a viable and potent way to perform brand analysis. For those of you who may be skeptical of the ability of keyword research to serve as a valuable tool to analyze brand power, allow me to demonstrate! Wed, 03 Aug 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-july-2016 Just in time for a SERP fluctuation frenzy, the newly released Mobile SERP Feature Tracker saw a seesawing series of SERP features over the course of July. Join me as I investigate what went up, what went down, and which SERP feature data trends on mobile corresponded to desktop. Tue, 02 Aug 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/mobile-serp-features-tracker The mobile web is growing in importance to all marketers, causing us to realize that there is a need for a tool that monitors the existence and trends of mobile search. Since such a tool did not exist, we decided to build one. It was a challenging project because Google continued to launch many new updates throughout the development, causing us to build a tool that is able to quickly adjust for new mobile search features as Google releases them. Creating the first Google Mobile SERP Features Tracker was a great experience and we are happy to share it with you today. Wed, 20 Jul 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/keyword-finder-new-powerful-keyword-research-tool We are proud to announce the release of our new keyword discovery tool, Keyword Finder. Powered by a dataset of half a billion keywords, Keyword Finder helps you discover and deploy high performance keywords. Tue, 12 Jul 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-july-12-2016 As July began to truly set in with the passing of its first full week, Google SERPs around the world displayed some odd data patterns. Join me as I employ the ever potent SERP Features Tool to pull in last week's Google SERP features data from around the world in an effort to reveal the latest Google SERP fluctuation patterns. Mon, 11 Jul 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-july-05-2016 As June faded away what enduring SERP legacy did it leave behind? What SERP significance did the first two days of July bring with them? As always the SERP Features Tool is ready, willing, and able to help decipher the latest SERP data coming out of Google. Tue, 05 Jul 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-june-27-2016 SERP features continue on their path towards world domination as the SERP Features Tool shows an old feature in new countries. A familiar feature gets a face-lift and a new addition while Google pursues its medical degree. So without further adieu, may I present to you, last week's SERP. Mon, 27 Jun 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-june-20-2016 The green eyed monster of PPC makes its global appearance while the mobile SERP gets a taste of summer's scorching heat. With a SERP significant introduction and heat generating shifts, last week's SERP has an interesting story to tell. Lift the curtains, activate your SERP Features Tool, and let the music start to play as we venture off into the drama that was last week's SERP. Mon, 20 Jun 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-june-14-2016 Offering a SERP bounty of sneak peeks, surprises, and all around SERP treats, this Snapshot is not one to miss! While the SERP offered some interesting surprises, the SERP Features tool was reloaded to track new and powerful data. Dilly-dallying no further let's hop to it and get into the data (and closer to our sneak peek). Tue, 14 Jun 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/campaign-export-tool-update In an effort to offer extensive data exporting abilities we are happy to announce that our Campaign Rank Export tool has been updated to field a prolific set of new options and capabilities. Thu, 09 Jun 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/understanding-twitter-metric-terms Our Twitter Analytics report is a powerful tool for monitoring your progress on the social media giant. But with terms like Replies Reach, Favorites Gained, and even Retweets Gained, it's no wonder why trekking through Twitter data can feel more like trudging through mud than skiing down a beautiful slope fancy-free. Not to worry, we're here to help take the mystery out of, and bring meaning to, those metrics that comprise your Twitter life. Tue, 07 Jun 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-june-06-2016 As June rolled in and May ebbed away the SERP continued to change, evolve, and serve as Google's guinea pig. In this SERP Snapshot we have the distinct honor of welcoming in the month of June and saying goodbye to dear 'ol May. In what SERP shape did May leave us and where is June seemingly taking us?  Mon, 06 Jun 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/single-metric-widget Customize marketing dashboards using Single Metric Widgets with rank, landing pages, domain backlinks, Google Analytics, AdWords, Search Console, Social Analytics or SERP data metrics. Wed, 01 Jun 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/semantic-web-brand-search With the semantic web greatly changing the way we find and consume web pages, new rules were imposed on companies and brands aiming to provide insightful information for their online readers. This means adopting techniques beyond engaging in a bit of ‘subtle’ keyword/synonym stuffing and actually understanding the ways the semantic web works before producing any type of content. Wed, 01 Jun 2016 00:00:00 UTC Radomir Basta Radomir Basta https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-may-31-2016 Over the past few weeks there has been an overabundance of volatility on the SERP. Whether it be major tests to the SERP's layout or hot risk levels on the Rank Risk Index, etc., the SERP has been anything but boring! Though not as dramatic as weeks past, last week provided us with some strange patterns as I dig deep into the SERP.  Tue, 31 May 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-rich-cards-types The mobile SERP is certainly richer today than it was previously as we have found Rich Cards undeclared by Google appearing in results. As you may know, we use a 500K keyword dataset in order to monitor SERP Features on desktop. What you may not know is that we also use a 100K dataset to track mobile SERP Features. As part of our daily mobile SERP foraging we came across two new forms of Rich Cards.  Tue, 24 May 2016 00:00:00 UTC Laura Campbell Laura Campbell https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-may-23-2016 Yet another surging risk level spike as Google shakes up the SERP with a surprising test. Are things simply as they seem or is Google distracting us from the real story with bells and whistles?  Mon, 23 May 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-may-16-2016 The Rank Risk Index continued to be hot for the majority of last week (before finally cooling off). Did increased space between results on the SERP play a role? Could Google's test to the length of titles and descriptions on the SERP be a factor? What other tests to the SERP has Google rolled-out?  Mon, 16 May 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/account-campaigns-pro-view-launch In our quest to provide you with a pleasant and efficient work space, we are excited to announce the launch of our new account-wide campaigns summary Pro View, highlights of which include: Personalize display settings per sub-user Set targets for visuals upon goal achievement Possibility to view Rank, Traffic, PPC, Social, Search Console, and Backlinks data all in one screen Join us for a tour of these new features and more... Mon, 09 May 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-may-09-2016 The Rank Risk Index rises off the charts. What was responsible? Was it the colorless organic results? Data dips in the features? Also, Ads in various countries show quite the interesting intertwining, coincidence? Take a tour of New Zealand's SERP and see what went up near the land down under.  Mon, 09 May 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-may-02-2016 Which SERP Feature was resurrected from the dead? Why did SiteLinks nosedive? How did the globe perform on the SERP for HTTPS? What were some overall SERP trends for April? In this Snapshot we wrap up SERP performance for April 2016. Mon, 02 May 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-april-25-2016 Featured Snippets show in Spanish speaking countries, Local Pack goes off the deep end, and a plethora of SERP Features take an inverse twist to each other. Take a tour of last week's SERP situations as we uncover what went down (and up) on the SERP.  Mon, 25 Apr 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/citation-consistency-impact In high tech days like these, your search engine rankings are vital for your sales and lead generation strategy, especially if you are a local business. Having inconsistent citations won’t help. Your citations could turn against you, if they are inconsistent. Giving search engines, Google especially, mixed signals is never a good thing. If only a small portion of your business citations are carrying your correct business NAP data and the remaining ones list outdated, mistyped or incomplete data, then you’d most definitely feel the devastating impact of that citation inconsistency. Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 UTC Nevyana Karakasheva Nevyana Karakasheva https://www.rankranger.com/blog/featured-snippets-in-spanish-countries Features Snippets have spread across the Spanish speaking world, appearing in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Venezuela, etc.  Mon, 18 Apr 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-april-2016 Join me for a quick tour of the wide-world of SERPs with our weekly snapshot of trends, news, and data events related to Google organic search results and special SERP features. Mon, 18 Apr 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/amp-seo-perspective Other than quicker load times and their appearance in a nifty carousel, do AMP pages have a deeper SEO impact? Are they applicable to 'non-newsy" sites? Are they to be regulated only to mobile pages, as funny as that sounds? Thu, 14 Apr 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/linkedin-new-on-insight-graph The addition of LinkedIn to the available social analytics metrics that can be plotted on our Insight Graph provides the opportunity to trend and compare the effectiveness of social media marketing activities. In truth, LinkedIn has become a marketing giant of sorts, with over 400 million users how could it not be part of any marketing strategy? Wed, 13 Apr 2016 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-snapshot-first-week-april-2016 Join me for a quick tour of the wide-world of SERPs with our weekly snapshot of trends, news, and data events related to Google organic search results and special SERP features. Mon, 11 Apr 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/ads-monitor-email-notification We are proud to announce our new Ads Monitor Email Notifications service that offers a simple way to be alerted of AdWords advertising displaying on page one of the SERPs for your brand and keywords, including your competitors' ads. Rising above the competition can seem to get harder with each and every passing day. Maintaining your advertising edge and marketing magic can mean the difference between being in the red or blue, but how do you stay on top of it all? Thu, 07 Apr 2016 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/featured-snippets-found-in-europe We've noticed a significant shift in the data on the Featured Snippets in the European countries of France, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands. While the frequency of their appearance in these European countries might not compare to Featured Snippet Goliaths like the United States or oddly enough Nigeria, this is significant news qualitatively as the Insight Graph data indicates. Thu, 07 Apr 2016 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/insight-graph-serp-features We are excited to announce that our recently rolled-out SERP Features Tool data is now available in the Insight Graph. The inclusion of these search metrics enables you to analyze Google's SERP Features in a newly profound and customizable manner. Wed, 06 Apr 2016 00:00:00 UTC Laura Campbell Laura Campbell https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-dashboard-serp-filter Which keywords are ranking for a landing page that's scoring Google SERP Features and which search indicators are displaying for that landing page - local, ratings, images thumbnails, search box, etc.? The addition of our new SERP Indicators Filter to the Rank Tracker Dashboard enables deeper analysis into specific SERP features displaying in Google search results for your keywords. Thu, 31 Mar 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-mobile-friendly-increased-weight-on-rankings In an effort to get everyone to make nice and play together well in the sandbox, Google is raising the mobile-friendliness stakes. Hoping for liberty and justice for all and in bringing device equality to the universe, Google announced it will increase the weight of mobile-friendliness on page ranking. Starting in May, Google will be adding more weight to its mobile-friendly algorithm upping the ante on the relationship between mobile-friendliness and SERP rankings. Tue, 29 Mar 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/facebook-video-metrics Facebook revamps its video metrics to provide a more in-depth analytic picture. With its new features Facebook enables videos to become an even greater marketing force. Mon, 28 Mar 2016 00:00:00 UTC Mordy Oberstein Mordy Oberstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/Google-Analytics-pie-chart-list-widget Comparing Google Analytics data just took on new meaning with the release of our Google Analytics Pie Chart/List widget. We’re excited to offer this new and innovate widget that will undoubtedly change the way you see and compare Analytics data. Wed, 23 Mar 2016 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-analytics-stacked-columns-widget Getting a quick, user-friendly, and dynamic view of your Google Analytics data has never been easier… or this much fun! In a loud and colorful rebellion to dreary and overwhelming data, Rank Ranger is offering its new Stacked Columns widget to bring life to your analytics. We’re excited to launch this new tool that is sure to make evaluating your Google Analytics data more dynamic and more accessible. Mon, 21 Mar 2016 00:00:00 UTC Shay Harel Shay Harel https://www.rankranger.com/blog/penguin-proof-anchor-text Utilizing anchor texts properly is essential for "good SEO." Comprehensively building links by using anchor texts isn't as simple as it may sound. What are the do's and don'ts of anchor text link building? What are the various options that are available? Simran Puttar of SEO Professionals India shares her strategies about these and other link building questions.  Fri, 18 Mar 2016 00:00:00 UTC Simran Puttar Simran Puttar https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-serp-features-search-intelligence We're happy to provide online marketers and researchers with free access to our big data search intelligence. Learn more about our free Google SERP features research tools. Mon, 29 Feb 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-serp-sidebar-ads Our Google SERP Features Search Intelligence confirmed early this morning that there are now ZERO ads to the side of Google search engine results anywhere in the world. Tue, 23 Feb 2016 00:00:00 UTC Laura Campbell Laura Campbell https://www.rankranger.com/blog/adwords-daily-performance-report The new Daily Performance Report is a deep dive opportunity for AdWords buyers. It’s data is a sure fire way to track and maximize your PPC campaigns. Using the full breadth of Rank Ranger’s PPC and AdWords reports, you can keep your Google Campaigns profitable and Key Performance Indicators at high levels. Mon, 15 Feb 2016 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/asian-search-engine-support This week we've added rank tracking support for three more Asian search engines: Haosou and Sogou in China join our Google, Google Maps, and Baidu rank tracking for the Chinese market. Coc Coc in Vietnam increases our Google, Google Maps, and Bing rank tracking for the Vietnamese market. Wed, 27 Jan 2016 00:00:00 UTC Darren Goldstein Darren Goldstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-core-algorithm-update Google and John Mueller confirmed yesterday, January 12 that Google ran an update to its core algorithm, the first major shift in 2016. Thu, 14 Jan 2016 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/2015-seo-marketing-year-in-review 2015 was a terrific year at Rank Ranger - thank you for sharing it with us!  Development of new features and reports was our top priority and we were happy to fulfill many requests that were submitted through our WeDevelop program. We truly enjoyed brainstorming with customers and beta testers to create new SEO and marketing reports and features. In this post we'll take you on a tour of the new SEO tools and marketing reports we created for you. Tue, 05 Jan 2016 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/Google-HTTPS-by-default Over time Google’s way of measuring SEO friendliness has changed several times. The Panda, the Penguin, The Pirate, The Mobilegeddon - you name it. To provide its users with an even better experience, including online security - HTTP vs HTTPS - has been a trendy topic lately. For a while Google’s own pages: Gmail, Google Search and YouTube have all been HTTPS sites - and from now on, I think it’s time for you all to consider changing to a secure connection. Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-brain-update-related-search Google has not confirmed a major algorithm update, yet something big is happening based on our analysis.  Rank Ranger's Features Graph analyzes SERP page 1 features data and stability for more than 100,000 select keywords per day, and it's reporting that RankBrain has ratcheted up its influence in Google’s Special SERP Features - especially Related Search.  Thu, 17 Dec 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-mobile-serp-carousel-mobile-friendly For every day that passes by, more and more Google searches are performed from mobile devices. Therefore, mobile keyword tracking has become an essential part of every SEO's daily work; to monitor improved SERP rankings on mobile devices (in addition to desktops). In order to make the mobile tracking easier, and less time consuming, I'd like to share our latest platform update in regards to mobile tracking - that Rank Tracker Dashboard now provides indicators of when a Google carousel is included in the mobile SERP, as well as a mobile friendly confirmation from Google. Tue, 08 Dec 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-local-search-filter-retired Google removed the local search filter from its graphical user interface last week, thus preventing users from manually checking rank for a location other than their own.  Previously in the Chrome browser, there was a custom search setting that allowed you to filter search results based on a specific locale. That feature setting is now missing from most countries. How will this affect your rank tracking reports? Mon, 07 Dec 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/bing-search-trends-2015 Several times before I’ve spoken about Google, Yahoo and Bing - Google being the main (and for many of us, the only) search engine. But recently things seem to have happened, especially from Bing’s side, and the company behind them, Microsoft. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about them launching their own Mobile Friendly Test tool, in similarity to Google earlier this year - and just a few days ago they released their top search queries for 2015, sorted by different categories. Another interesting and exciting happening from their side. Thu, 03 Dec 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-uses-humans Google is hands on in the beginning stages of algorithm changes. Did you know that Human evaluators take Google's website quality guidelines and then look at different webpages and grade the Search results accordingly. These evaluators, take web pages that Search delivers and rate them. Tue, 01 Dec 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/yandex-mobile-friendliness-test A while back Google launched their mobile friendliness test and made the entire SEO world aware of the importance of optimizing for mobile devices. Not long ago, November 12th, Bing announced their Mobile Friendliness Test Tool as well. Next on the list to announce their mobile friendly label is Yandex, Russia's main search engine. Mon, 23 Nov 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/landing-page-traffic-insights Our new Landing Page Traffic Insights report reveals deep dive analytics to discover the trending landing pages in your domain. That way, you can keep tabs on performing blog posts and content pages, to make sure they continue to deliver. Wed, 18 Nov 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/bing-mobile-friendly-test-tool Generally speaking, there are three main search engines: Google, Bing and Yahoo. Don’t get me wrong, there are more search engines available, I know, for example Yandex (popular in Eastern Europe), Baidu (common among Asian users) and many more. But they are all secondary. Even more so, when talking about "a search engine”, we’re usually talking about Google. The biggest and most popular of all available search engines. Therefore, I am going to talk about Bing today, and their newly launched Mobile Friendliness Test Tool. Even the competitors should get some media space - not only, "the one”, Google. Mon, 16 Nov 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/smx-israel-news Two topics of interest came up at SMX Israel during separate talks I attended. One was Rank Brain and the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning. The second was details about the new field of Apps Search Optimization. Tue, 10 Nov 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-penalty-app-promotions With one day’s delay beyond the previously announced November 1st update, on November 2nd Google announced their latest update in regards to mobile friendly user experience. A while back, in September 2015, it was announced that showing big ads promoting apps on mobile devices may lead to a decrease in ranking - and that is now a reality. Wed, 04 Nov 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/smx-israel-recap A couple of days have passed since SMX Israel took place at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem, a very exciting event where we had the opportunity to meet old, and hopefully new customers - as well as inspiring speakers from near and far.  Rank Ranger had a great opportunity to share our deepest insights and secrets regarding our rank tracker, our newly launched social analytics, and the latest platform updates including the social media integration into the Insight Graph and much more.  Tue, 03 Nov 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/social-analytics-insight-graph If you've been searching for that final piece of the puzzle to help you tell your social media success story, I've got great news for you!  In addition to the launch of an awesome variety of colorful Social Analytics reports containing rich metrics from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram, you can now create Insight Graphs with a blend of social media account data too.  For example, perhaps you'd like to show your client the affect that social media marketing on Twitter and Facebook has had on site traffic... Fri, 30 Oct 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-seo-marketing-features While leaves may still be bursting with colors in the mountains, many of us work in places where the cold, windy rains have caused a dreary naked tree landscape. To counteract the lack of color, the Rank Ranger team harnessed an enormous amount of creative energy and launched an amazing new site that we hope you'll find both attractive and easier to navigate. Allow me to take you on a little tour... Thu, 29 Oct 2015 00:00:00 UTC Laura Campbell Laura Campbell https://www.rankranger.com/blog/smx-israel-discount We are seriously excited about the upcoming November 1st SMX Israel search marketing expo!  The SMX agenda is full of interesting topics and dynamic presenters including our own Joel Janovsky.  In addition to a great presentation, we're hosting an SMX Tweet-a-Thon and participants can qualify for a 10% lifetime discount off Rank Ranger SEO & Marketing Platform plans Thu, 29 Oct 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/insight-graph-google-search-metrics This week's massive platform and site update gave the Insight Graph a new user interface and a boost in Google Search metric options with the addition of Event Tracking from Google Analytics search traffic data and a set of AdWords and Search Console KPIs. Wed, 28 Oct 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/developer-search-intelligence-api We've got some cool API packages that allow Developers to code search data and our SEO and Marketing platform functionality into your applications.  If you're creating custom dashboards, elaborate analytical reports or mobile apps, Rank Ranger's powerful and versatile search APIs provide a great solution for obtaining accurate organic, local, mobile, video and app store search engine data for you to integrate into your application. Tue, 27 Oct 2015 00:00:00 UTC Darren Goldstein Darren Goldstein https://www.rankranger.com/blog/social-media-kpi-analytics We're excited to announce the public beta launch of Rank Ranger Social Analytics! Along with our new website design, you'll now find a Social Dashboard in the Reports gallery containing comprehensive KPI Analytics reports with integrated data from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram. Mon, 26 Oct 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/volatile-google-SERP-fluctuation The Rank Ranger Risk Index has really shown large fluctuations over the past two days. On October 20th it red lined over 100+.  Wed, 21 Oct 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/Google-song-knowledge-graph Just a few days ago Google announced one of their latest updates, a newly added feature to their already existing knowledge graph. This time the update is only beneficial for people searching for music lyrics, and Google geeks like myself. But if you'd ask me, I strongly believe similar updates will be launched for additional searches too, soon. What do you think? Tue, 20 Oct 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/click-fraud Today a large portion of Internet traffic consists of non-human bots. Click-fraud is a scam on the Internet that is a big problem for many companies that advertise online since they pay for fraudulent clicks. Mon, 12 Oct 2015 00:00:00 UTC Daniel Larsson Daniel Larsson https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-hacked-site-update Google announced, that they are now making efforts to remove sites that have been hacked from search results to improve the quality of search. Wed, 07 Oct 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/webmaster-tools-transition-search-analytics Google announced at the end of August that their new Search Analytics API  would be replacing the Webmaster Tools data that has been used in your reports. Our Developers have been testing the new Search Analytics API since the beginning of August with plans to release an update before Google deprecated Webmaster Tools, which was reportedly scheduled to happen on October 20th. Our team quickly responded to an unexpected change in Google's scheduling and over the weekend rolled out of an update that will allow you to integrate the new Search Analytics data into your Rank Ranger account by disconnecting the old Webmaster Tools integration and connecting to the new Search Analytics.   Sun, 20 Sep 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/optimize-website-for-local-rankings When Google talks about local, there's two different aspects, Geo-location by country and geo-location by city or local area, zip code, town or city. To begin with, national geo-location can be set up from the top level URL, using country specific URL extensions. Local search for a city or zip code can be enhanced by great content highlighting local service. Tue, 08 Sep 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-logo Google's logo change presents Rank Ranger with a creative question that we hope you will help us with. Currently our SEO platform displays the old Google icon with the younger, lower case "g", should we change it? Wed, 02 Sep 2015 00:00:00 UTC Laura Campbell Laura Campbell https://www.rankranger.com/blog/duck-duck-go-google-privacy There are two distinct types of search engines that we are to cover today. On one hand we have the search engines that offer the so-called personalized search service. They filter their search results to a custom version that varies depending on the given user profile. On the other we have the search engines that respect their users’ privacy and offer them uniform results. Tue, 01 Sep 2015 00:00:00 UTC Nevyana Karakasheva Nevyana Karakasheva https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-maps-for-android-user-friendly Last week I posted about improvements Google has made to provide great user experiences and I highlighted the variety indicators for Google's SERP features that are now available in the Rank Ranger dashboard as SERP icons. This week I’d like to cover their latest update regarding Google Maps for Android. Wed, 26 Aug 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-ranking-factors-marketing-KPI Marketing KPI, SEO and ROI, can be described as the most important factors for a website's popularity and profitability. In a Webmaster Hangout with John Mueller recently, Google emphasizes that clicks, conversions and time on page are good measures that users like your site, but they don’t influence your website's SEO rankings one way or the other. Those conversions while not ranking factors in themselves are important indicators of your return on investment of your website. Mon, 24 Aug 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-google-serp-icons Google's goal of improving user experience shines through with many of the latest features they've added to search results. Since knowing if your SERP listing includes these special features, we've added 4 new SERP Icons to the Dashboard report: Answer Box, Breadcrumbs, Notable Online and Search Box, in addition to the Events, HTTPS, Local Results, News, Rating, Site Links and Video icons that have been added to your reports during the past year. Thu, 20 Aug 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-maps-local-pack-results-rank-tracking-challenge We enjoy a challenge and Google served us a good one with the new version of Local Pack results. Learn how you can continue to achieve accurate local rank results. Wed, 12 Aug 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-knowledge-graph Google’s Knowledge Graph provides an easy reference and quality answer for people’s queries when they look for general answers to research questions. Learn some tips on how to coax the Google algorithm to recognize your website and information in the knowledge graph. Tue, 04 Aug 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-panda-4-2-update You may remember that I alerted you a few weeks ago that a new Google Panda update was coming soon - well it emerged on July 18th and is reported to be rolling out slowly in the upcoming months. Will it affect your site? Thu, 23 Jul 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/get-email-notifications Receive email notifications of changes in Rank or Traffic and tracked Links status based on the change type, threshold and frequency that you set to trigger alerts. Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/optimize-content-9-professional-blogging-tips To come up with the perfect blog post; SEO friendly, good readability score and interesting content, that can sometimes be very hard, even for the best of us. One of the main purposes of adding a blog to a website is to increase the organic traffic, as well as a sites' SEO, both On-Page and Off-Page. Here are 9 simple tips you all should keep in mind and remember, every time you’re writing a blog post - regardless of topic. Mon, 20 Jul 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/local-seo-mistakes Local SEO has become the way most consumers search, with a growing number of local searches being done on mobile devices. This is why it makes perfect sense for businesses, big or small, to invest time and effort in developing solid, efficient local SEO campaigns. Here is a list of 10 most common local SEO mistakes and how you can properly set up your website and local business listings so your products or services reach your target market online. Thu, 16 Jul 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michelle Anne Leah Custodio Michelle Anne Leah Custodio https://www.rankranger.com/blog/googlebot-mission-site-cache Did you know you can view Google's cached versions of your sites?  In addition to crawling, indexing and ranking the web, Google saves snapshots of sites and the actual page code. Wed, 08 Jul 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-advice-when-to-launch-websites Google's John Mueller was asked in the Webmaster Hangout, what's the best method of launching a new site? Do you wait until every ALT tag, lang ref, meta tag is added and every page is keyword optimized? Or do you launch when the site looks solid, acts responsibly in all links and purposes but is not perfected from a SEO standpoint? Tue, 07 Jul 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/keyword-trends-research-report-release Google Trends can be a fun and useful tool for determining what's hot and trending in the SERPs now, and also for reviewing what was trending at other points in search history.  A Trends visitor can view interest over time, regional interest and even related searches, but what if you want to work with that data for all the keywords in your SEO and marketing campaigns? Simply access Rank Ranger's Keyword Trends Research report. Mon, 06 Jul 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-panda-update-coming-soon When Google employees talk about the Panda update being run across the web in the next two to four weeks, we all want to understand more about how the algorithm changes might affect the sites we manage because historically, Google Panda and Penguin updates have disrupted rankings across the entire web. Thu, 02 Jul 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/on-page-optimize-improve-serp-rankings While Google is constantly changing their algorithm, their content guidelines aren’t changing as much. So make sure to on-page optimize all your content to improve your chances for top rankings. Wed, 01 Jul 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/successful-online-marketing-budget Successful marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. With the right mindset, the right tools and basic SEO skills you can create your own success story without any budget. Wed, 24 Jun 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/wikipedia-to-https-rankings-fluctuations For some time Wikipedia, Google’s highest ranking website has been planning a change in its domain protocol; from HTTP to HTTPS. Now that it's happened, the new Google Search ranking signal, HTTPS, has created ripples across the web when Wikipedia's new website took effect. Tue, 23 Jun 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/dominate-serp-without-seo-knowledge Ten months ago our marketing department barely worked with SEO and our rankings were not something I would brag about. Today 10 months later we still don’t work with SEO but we have increased our organic search by more than 300% and are dominating one of Sweden's toughest SERPs. Mon, 22 Jun 2015 00:00:00 UTC Arim Salci Arim Salci https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-talk-seo-to-clients Communication is one of the keystones for success in SEO and digital marketing. Whether you are an in-house SEO Specialist, or an SEO Specialist who works with multiple clients, clear lines of communication and consistent reporting are key factors in maintaining client buy-in and retaining clients. Most clients do not understand the many technical factors that go into making an SEO campaign successful. They are looking for results and ROI. Thu, 18 Jun 2015 00:00:00 UTC Larry Madill Larry Madill https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-maps-local-guides You know the feeling when you’re running for your life, only to find out that your favorite store closed 5 minutes before your arrival? Or when you’re typing a destination for a special occasion into your smartphone’s navigator and shortly find out that the GPS obviously did not tell you that the store isn’t open on Sundays. From now on this situation is history... Wed, 17 Jun 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/yahoo-shuffle What is the Yahoo Shuffle? It's difficult to accurately define without having access to the actual search algorithm, so I'll take you through the symptoms. It's sort of like a casino game, and you can play too... simply enter a search phrase in Yahoo and click the Search button to spin the roulette wheel for search results.  Now open a different browser and conduct the same search in Yahoo.  If I were a gambler, I think it would be a pretty safe bet you won't find matching results. Join me on a journey through Yahoo search... Mon, 15 Jun 2015 00:00:00 UTC Laura Campbell Laura Campbell https://www.rankranger.com/blog/brand-visibility-report-universal-search Monitor daily rank position for brand-related pages that are ranking in the top 20 search engine results, along with their position distribution, visibility trending, Page 1 coverage and universal results type in our new Brand Visibility report. Discover the actual Top 20 rank results, Top AdWords and Google Related search phrases for your keywords in the SERP Snapshot. Thu, 11 Jun 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/inbound-marketing-without-seo Is it possible to be an inbound marketing expert without including SEO in your marketing tactics? How can you help people come to your website, if they can’t find you when looking for you in a Google search? If you ask me: inbound marketing without SEO equals McDonald's without burgers, let me explain... Mon, 08 Jun 2015 00:00:00 UTC Håkan Persson Håkan Persson https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-algorithm-landing-page-flux Often Google Search Results will include links and descriptions that are not for the target page you intended your audience to reach as the result of a search.  That landing page may not be optimized for conversion and therefore can lead to higher bounce rates and less time spent on the site, both detrimental to rankings. Thu, 04 Jun 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-geo-location-settings-bug If your local rankings have demonstrated extreme rank changes recently, it's quite possible that the site you're managing has been bitten by a Google Geo Location bug. Wed, 27 May 2015 00:00:00 UTC Laura Campbell Laura Campbell https://www.rankranger.com/blog/mobile-friendly-landing-pages Mobile optimized sites rise higher in SERPs than non-mobile sites when a visitor searches from a mobile device so the Mobile Device Accessibility Test in our On-Page Keyword Optimization Audit has been upgraded to include the key factors in Google's Mobile-Friendly test. Thu, 21 May 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/increase-clickthrough Googlebot is scanning your site constantly, pulling SERP descriptions, and a lot of algorithmic information to create Organic Search results, snippets, Knowledge base graphs, local map results, etc. John Mueller advises that improving clickthrough rate can help rank. Thu, 21 May 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-guiding-seo Google's Webmaster Central hangouts demonstrate that they have a powerful, yet caring hand in all matters related to internet and search,but can we reconcile AdWords Paid vs. Organic search? Tue, 12 May 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/webmaster-tools-search-analytics Google's new (beta) version of their Search Analytics report is cool, but the user-experience leaves much to be desired. Mon, 11 May 2015 00:00:00 UTC Laura Campbell Laura Campbell https://www.rankranger.com/blog/adwords-analysis-reports Business has been paying mega bucks across the web on keyword based advertising.  Google made $59 billion in 2014  in AdWords revenue. If you contributed to those billions, you owe it to yourself to analyze your AdWords ROI. Thu, 07 May 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-fluctuations-may2015 During a recent Google Webmaster Central hangout, in addition to fielding questions about keyword stuffing, emojis in page titles, mobile friendly tags and predictions regarding Twitter receiving preference in SERPs, when asked what's up with these troublesome Google Desktop SERP fluctuations... Google's John Mueller's response was confusing. Thu, 07 May 2015 00:00:00 UTC Laura Campbell Laura Campbell https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-local-classic-maps-dropped Despite giving the impression several months ago that they might leave the Classic Maps version alive for old browsers, Google has pulled the plug on Classic Maps!   Anticipating this change, our updated Google Places rank tracking has been rolled out. Thu, 30 Apr 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/interactive-google-algorithm-timeline Northwestern University published a fun and helpful interactive Google Algorithm History Timeline Wed, 29 Apr 2015 00:00:00 UTC Helen O'Keeffe Helen O'Keeffe https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-mobile-serp-fluctuation Mobilegeddon hype has been sweeping the web for weeks, will it really be all that disastrous? We wonder... Although Google announced the roll-out of their new mobile search algorithm would begin today, our Rank Risk Index for Google Mobile indicates that they've been testing the algorithm in recent days. Let's take a look at how Mobilegeddon is/might be affecting rank. Tue, 21 Apr 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-user-interface-2015 One of our goals is to provide you with a pleasant and efficient user interface that’s uncluttered and user-friendly. So with Spring in the air our development team decided to redesign our SEO software interface to make moving between reports and finding pertinent information and options effortless. Join us for a tour of the new UI... Thu, 16 Apr 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-use-keyword-and-url-tags When it comes to data management, organization is key to being able to perform at your best. Rank Ranger wants to make this as simple as possible, therefore, in many reports, you are able to filter your data according to tags that you have added to your campaign. Follow the basic steps in this post to add tags to your campaigns. Tue, 07 Apr 2015 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-track-your-app-in-the-apple-app-store The world is moving to mobile, and we need to move with it. Rank Ranger is excited to announce the newest addition to the Search Engine list, the Apple App Store! Read on to discover how to set up your App Store Tracking campaign. Tue, 31 Mar 2015 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/top-serp-competitors New Competition Intelligence available with Top Organic Competitors report that provides valuable insights into which competitors are ranked in the top organic search engine results. And Top Paid Competitors report that details ad ranking data including the keywords the competition is focusing their advertising budget on. Thu, 26 Mar 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/march-2015-algorithm-activity The Rank Risk Index has been red hot for nearly a week, and with no word yet from Google, we are wondering what is causing such strong SERP fluctuations. Tue, 24 Mar 2015 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-changes-format-for-local-results Google has thrown a new local result page into the mix in some categories and in some markets. Our findings show that when a person searches for a local food or hotel, Google has replaced the old local maps, that detailed location, phone and balloon, with a new version of the local pack. Thu, 19 Mar 2015 00:00:00 UTC Michael Lerner Michael Lerner https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-taking-action-on-doorway-pages In Google's ongoing efforts to improve user experience by cutting down on webspam, they have announced that they plan to take action on Doorway pages. What are Doorway pages? Read on. Wed, 18 Mar 2015 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/webmaster-tools-fetch-render Google Webmaster Tools has updated their Fetch & Render report show you how GoogleBot sees your website and has launched a new Blocked Resources report to help webmasters research and resolve problems. Mon, 16 Mar 2015 00:00:00 UTC Joel Janovsky Joel Janovsky https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-widgets-performance-at-a-glance Add life and color to your reports with Rank Ranger’s SEO Widgets. Adding an SEO Widget to your report is quick and easy and gives them an added level of interest for managers or clients who are reading your reports. You can use one or more widgets to provide a performance summary as a perfect introduction to your impressively detailed SEO reports.  Tue, 10 Mar 2015 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/app-indexing-mobile-friendly-rank Google has made many moves towards promoting mobile-friendly sites, including allowing their algorithm to detect if a mobile site is configured correctly and viewable on mobile devices, making it easier for users to identify mobile-friendly content. They have also introduced app-indexing which allows them to surface useful content from apps to display in search results. Tue, 03 Mar 2015 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/tips-for-building-amazing-content-marketing-strategy Digital Marketer Matt Janaway believes that "content is the voice of your brand. If you want your voice to be heard, you need to consistently create and share great content - both on your own website and on other high-profile websites in your niche".   And  in this post he generously shares his vision, along with recommendations for a kickass content marketing strategy. Tue, 24 Feb 2015 00:00:00 UTC Matt Janaway Matt Janaway https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-intelligence-search-api We're on a roll with new SEO Intelligence Search APIs that can provide you with that online marketing edge you've been seeking to beat the competition in search engine results!  Released so far this month are the new Rank Top 50, Rank Top 100, Google Suggested Search and Google Related Search results APIs. Mon, 23 Feb 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-add-your-logo-to-rank-ranger Whether you are sharing SEO reports internally or externally with clients, branding those reports with your logo can add an impressive level of professionalism. With Rank Ranger's white label solutions you can brand automated PDF reports and white label web portals by adding your account logo, and even individual campaign logos, in a few simple steps. Thu, 19 Feb 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/analytics-target-audience-demographics If you invest time and money optimizing content and advertising to a specific audience, it would be beneficial to know if you're actually reaching that target audience, right? Our Analytics Audience Demographics report provides both a quick graphic view of traffic by age and gender, and a detailed analysis of sessions, segments and goal completions. Mon, 16 Feb 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/marketing-tech-survey-wants-your-opinion Marketing Tech Blog is gathering reviews of the Rank Ranger SEO platform in order to help SEOers get a better understanding of how you use and benefit from Rank Ranger’s multitude of tools and reports. Sun, 15 Feb 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/filter-rank-data-with-keyword-tags Rank Ranger’s Tagging feature is extremely useful when trying to group certain keywords by category, website, industry or a variety of other options. In this blog post you can learn how to sort these tags by numbers such as 5, 10, 30... Wed, 11 Feb 2015 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/audience-geo-location Do you know what countries your website visitors are from?  Our new Analytics Audience Geo Location report provides valuable online marketing data that can be used to determine whether or not your site is correctly addressing the needs of visitors from various parts of the world.  Mon, 09 Feb 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/app-store-optimization-google-play As the world moves towards mobile, it is increasingly important to be available to potential users on the medium they are most using - their mobile phones. Using Rank Ranger's Exact URL tracking method, you are able to track your mobile app in the Google Play store, and therefore able to monitor and improve your ASO - App Store Optimization. Thu, 05 Feb 2015 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/video-track-youtube-videos Many companies perform video SEO and therefore it’s important to be able to track how those videos are ranking for your target keywords. In this video we’ll show you how simple it is to set up a video rank tracking campaign in Rank Ranger. Thu, 29 Jan 2015 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-mobile-to-show-sites-that-are-blocking-googlebot In the past, Google has warned against blocking Googlebot from crawling specific aspects of your website, and now the warning has been extended to mobile sites. Google's Zineb Ait Bahajji announced on Google Plus that blocking Googlebot for Smartphones will have a negative effect on your snippet in the mobile SERPs.  Tue, 27 Jan 2015 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/2014-seo-year-in-review Release of our blended metric Insight Graph rounds out a big year of new features and reports for Rank Ranger's SEO Platform. Are you utilizing all of the time-saving customizable and visually impressive reports and tools we've created for you? What's on your 2015 SEO wishlist? Wed, 31 Dec 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/insight-graph-free-form-seo-metrics Imagine having the flexibility to create custom SEO graphs in free-form style - any way you choose. Which features would be included in your ultimate SEO graph creation tool? Mon, 29 Dec 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-pigeon-update-going-global New Google Maps and Classic not matching up, Packs reduced from 7 to 3 - the Pigeon has reached most English speaking countries, causing upset in the local SEO world. Wed, 24 Dec 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-report-presets In the spirit of the season we began reviewing users' SEO Platform Wishlists (aka our WeDevelop program) last month and chose one that awesomely expands the options to individualize graphs and reports - introducing Report Presets. Mon, 22 Dec 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/https-serp-icon-in-rank-tracker-dashboard Google emphasized several months ago the importance of switching a site to HTTPS for many reasons, including a possible ranking boost. So are they serving links to your HTTPS site in their search results? Check your Rank Tracker Dashboard for a special SERP icon to find out. Mon, 15 Dec 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/steady-stream-of-google-penguin-updates-ahead Google has indicated that they will now be making continuous updates to the Penguin Algorithm, rather than their current method of making fewer major updates.  Thu, 11 Dec 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-track-multiple-locations We've heard from SEO agencies responsible for rank tracking of sophisticated sites in the travel, hotel, healthcare, real estate and various franchise industries, that they found the task of reporting keyword rank for one website with hundreds of locations to be very complicated and time consuming - before they discovered Rank Ranger. Our platform provides several simple and time-saving solutions for generating automated reports for businesses with multiple location tracking needs. Here's how... Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-is-rewarding-mobile-friendly-sites Google is experimenting with using mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal, so it is now more important than ever to confirm that your site is mobile compatible. Learn more about the requirements and use our On-Page Keyword Optimization tool to improve your landing pages and confirm that a page is eligible for Google's Mobile-friendly label. Wed, 19 Nov 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-panda-update-history The Google Panda Algorithm originally rolled out in February 2011, and has been given a number of refreshes since then. It was rolled out to target link farms and low quality content sites. In this post you are able to follow the history of the algorithm, view more information about it and get tips on ways to recover from Panda related penalties. Tue, 18 Nov 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/video-use-rank-track-dashboard The Rank Tracker Dashboard provides a complete overview of your primary domain plus competitor domains, and is rich with options including Rank Change filters, Keyword Metrics, Domain Metrics and Landing Page Metrics including social signals. This video guides you through all the current options offered to help you get the most out of this rank tracking report. Mon, 10 Nov 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-webmaster-hangout-penguin-3 In yesterday's Google Webmaster Hangout, John Mueller confirmed that the Penguin algorithm update is still rolling out. Launched more than 2 weeks ago, it is slowly rolling out to index all sites that have made improvements after being affected by the previous Penguin, and to target new sites that may have been missed in the last update. Tue, 04 Nov 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/on-page-optimization-preview-speed-top10 Our On-Page Keyword Optimization report has become more comprehensive with the addition of an editable Google SERP Preview tool, Page Speed check and Top 10 keywords.  We've also added Report Options because with the growing number of page analysis tools in this report we realize that not everyone wants to display everything when exporting this report to share with a client. Mon, 03 Nov 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/bing-emoji-search With Bing's latest search update you can search using emojis and get the results you're looking for. As mobile devices become a permanent attachment to our lives, emoji have become an everyday form of communication from text messages to social media posts. Bing realizes the importance of this language and therefore have included this functionality into their search engine.  Wed, 29 Oct 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/googlebot-javascript-css-images Google Webmaster Guidelines have been updated with instructions to allow Googlebot to access Javascript, CSS and image files for optimal search results. Tue, 28 Oct 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-pirate-update-2 Have you noticed a major drop in rankings for sites that host pirated content or violate copyright laws? We've learned that Google has rolled out a new Pirate Update, similar in behavior to the one they pushed out more than 2 years ago with the goal of helping copyright owners fight pirates. Mon, 27 Oct 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-penguin-update-is-here Are you one of the many webmasters and SEO professionals who have been anxiously anticipating the arrival of the latest Google Penguin Update?  Google has confirmed that they rolled out the Penguin 3.0 update on Friday and our Rank Risk Index accurately reported major Google SERP fluctuations. Mon, 20 Oct 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/video-create-white-label-portal Reports that you’ve created in the Rank Ranger SEO platform can be shared with others for viewing in your branded web interface. Learn how easy it is to create a custom White Label Portal for clients, colleagues or managers who prefer a more hands-on interactive experience. Tue, 14 Oct 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/keyword-research-suite The launch of our Keyword Suggestion tool last week rounds out a suite of time-saving research tools that we hope will help improve your search engine optimization efforts. Tue, 07 Oct 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/video-create-white-label-cover-template Continuing our White Label video series, this tutorial shows how easy it can be to create a cover page template that can be re-used for multiple white label PDF reports. Mon, 06 Oct 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/is-the-penguin-2014-update-here In September John Mueller announced that a Penguin Update would most likely happen before the end of 2014. This meant that we needed to monitor our Rank Risk Index more closely, and it paid off. Take a look at this weekend's activity... Sun, 05 Oct 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-measure-overall-rank-performance Learn the answer to this question: "What's the easiest way for us to measure keyword rank performance over the course of our online marketing and SEO efforts for the sites that we manage?"  Tue, 30 Sep 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-panda-4-1-targets-low-quality-content Panda 4.1 is set to improve the algorithm by identifying low-quality content with better precision, resulting in greater diversity of high-quality sites in search results. Mon, 29 Sep 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/farewell-to-the-yahoo-directory Nearly 20 years ago, the Yahoo Directory was born. With a hand-compiled list of websites, it was something revolutionary for its time, and was certainly the industry leader for a number of years. The only site to overtake Yahoo! has been Google. Yahoo's announcement reflects the end of the web directory era. Sun, 28 Sep 2014 00:00:00 UTC Barry Schechter Barry Schechter https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-google-search-result-structured-snippet Google's constant upgrading of search results has gained a new addition, the Structured Snippet. This is an addition to regular results, giving more information that is relevant to the query. The information comes from the knowledge graph and is shown within the search result snippet.  Tue, 23 Sep 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-brings-back-my-maps Google is constantly introducing more personalized features across its products and maps is no different. Now with the upgraded My maps, you can also share routes and destinations with the public, and get some inspiration from other people's maps!  Wed, 17 Sep 2014 00:00:00 UTC Barry Schechter Barry Schechter https://www.rankranger.com/blog/get-ready-for-google-penguin-3 In the latest Google Hangout an interesting question was asked, with an even more interesting answer: "Will the Penguin 3.0 launch in 2014?" John Mueller's guess is yes. It seems that there will be an update, and we will be told when something is happening.  Sun, 14 Sep 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/video-create-automated-white-label-pdf-report A few weeks ago we explained why White Label SEO reporting is important and today we're going to demonstrate how easy it is to create automated white label PDF reports with Rank Ranger's SEO platform. Tue, 09 Sep 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/updated-search-box-within-results-on-google You may have noticed when searching for certain sites that have a built in search, the search box appears along with sitelinks on a Google SERP. Now, Google has updated these search boxes in three ways. Mon, 08 Sep 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/twitter-analytics-for-everyone In July I posted about Twitter introducing analytics for organic tweets, however that was only for business and verified accounts, meaning if you had already run ads with Twitter, you could access this. Now Twitter has introduced analytics for everyone, giving people more information about their Twitter accounts without using a third party tool. Tue, 02 Sep 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-authorship-is-no-more In June we reported that Google was dropping the images from Authorship results. This showed that Google was definitely moving away from authorship, so it is no surprise that now the entire authorship result has been removed.  Mon, 01 Sep 2014 00:00:00 UTC Barry Schechter Barry Schechter https://www.rankranger.com/blog/facebook-click-baiting-is-no-more Facebook has announced two major improvements to the news feed. While these improvements are aimed at customers, it is beneficial for companies in the long run. They are taking a stand against click-baiting and a move toward video sharing in this update to their algorithm. Tue, 26 Aug 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-easter-eggs-query-refinements Now you can search any query and get the same effects that are returned when search for one of Google's "Easter Eggs". This makes for fun games with friends and messing with your colleagues! Sun, 24 Aug 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/white-label-seo-reporting White Label SEO reporting was created to free up time for digital marketing agencies and website optimization companies to do what you do best - marketing and site optimization. Join me and I'll show you how it works. Wed, 13 Aug 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/something-is-up-with-google Possibly the most significant update of 2014 has hit Google! Our Rank Risk Index has been showing fluctuations since August 8th and today a major spike is clear. Google has not yet made an announcement but it is clear that something is going on. Wed, 13 Aug 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-count-as-is-vs-explicit-domain-count Make a better informed rank tracking decision when setting up an SEO campaign, let's explore the SERP (count as is) and SERP (explicit domain count) ranking system count options. Mon, 11 Aug 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/embed-tweet-within-twitter Twitter has come out with a new feature (currently only available on the mobile app) where you can "Copy link to Tweet", in other words embed another tweet into your new tweet. This is a great alternative to simply retweeting or even quote retweeting, because you now have the opportunity to give your own complete opinion on another tweet, while still giving your followers the reference of the original tweet.  Thu, 07 Aug 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-track-exact-website-rankings Rank Ranger offers three ways to track rankings: counting SERP as is, explicit domain count without duplicate results or Exact URL. Today we'll explore what you can accomplish with the Exact URL option. Mon, 04 Aug 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-pigeon-update Google's July 24th algorithm update has been dubbed "Pigeon" by both Search Engine Land and some SEO professionals who feel their site rankings have been bombarded with pigeon droppings. This response is not unusual as most updates have caused a certain level of anxiety (refer to our Google Algorithm Updates History page for more details). Thu, 31 Jul 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/need-keyword-ideas Rattling your brain over new keyword ideas?  You don't have to do that anymore, simply log in to Rank Ranger and access the new Keyword Research Tool.  It doesn't get any simpler than this... Thu, 24 Jul 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/baseline-overall-rank-change The Rank Tracker Dashboard was upgraded today with a new feature that demonstrates keyword rank progress by comparing the baseline (first tracked rank for a keyword) to the current report date rank. Wed, 23 Jul 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-compare-keyword-rank-to-website-visibility The Rank Ranger daily rank tracker shows changes in domain rankings per keyword, giving important insight into the success of a website. However that is only indicated by the single keyword, it is also important to gain a holistic view of the success of a website across all keywords being tracked, which is why Rank Ranger has included the Visibility Score.  Mon, 21 Jul 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/website-rank-distribution-update The Website Rank Distribution report has undergone a face-lift recently to provide more information in an easier to read format. Included in this update is the addition of the Visibility Score and a variety of domain and social metrics. Come in and have look. Fri, 18 Jul 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/beyond-authorship Should you keep implementing the authorship tag or not? Jean-Christophe Lavocat of Elokenz thinks that users should keep adding their authorship to articles when it is relevant and in this article he details five reasons why: Google can turn Authorship Photos back on, Byline can still Increase CTR, Author Rank still counts, ... Tue, 15 Jul 2014 00:00:00 UTC Jean-Christophe Lavocat Jean-Christophe Lavocat https://www.rankranger.com/blog/organic-twitter-analytics Twitter is bringing an analytics dashboard to organic tweets! This dashboard has a variety of information to view and analyse in order to make better decisions about your future tweets.  Sun, 13 Jul 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/will-removal-of-authorship-images-affect-ctr Recently Google has taken the decision to remove Google Authorship images from SERPs. This comes as quite a surprise to many and has become a large discussion on forums. I am now at a crossroads in deciding whether this was a positive move or not. Here are my thoughts, please add your own in the comments. Mon, 07 Jul 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-my-business-local-tracking In addition to encouraging local businesses to utilize their services, behind-the-scenes Google's My Business involved a dramatic update to Local search results, integrating them into maps and connecting them to the My Business platform. Rank Ranger caught this change and adjusted the Google Places search engine tracking accordingly. Thu, 26 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-removing-authorship-images-in-serp Google is changing the SERP's look by removing the image showing who the author of the article is. The new results will remove the image as well as the number of Google+ circles the author is in. This means that only the author's name will appear, but it will still be a clickable link to take you to a search for the author. Thu, 26 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Barry Schechter Barry Schechter https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-my-business-local-and-maps Recently Google rolled out their My Business platform to make it easier for businesses (particularly local businesses) to reach their customers. It connects your Google+ page, Google Places and Search Results. Now they have gone a step further and connected the Google Places and Maps to become the one interface through Google My Business. Thu, 26 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/facebook-video-ranking In the last six months, the number of videos being watched on facebook has doubled, meaning that the number of videos being uploaded is also steadily increasing. So, facebook has updated their algorithm to rank videos more effectively, showing more relevant content to users. Tue, 24 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-does-bing-choose-a-title-to-display-on-a-serp Sometimes when you search for your website, you see a title appearing on a SERP that you did not create, and you wonder how it got there. Bing has released an article answering this problem and giving tips on how your chosen title may be shown. Tue, 24 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/white-label-portal-multiple-campaigns Rank Ranger's White Label Web Interface (Portal) has a new single sign-on feature for customers with multiple campaigns who would like to log into their custom web interface once and view SEO reports for all of their campaigns in one convenient location. Wed, 18 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-brings-world-cup-to-you It's World Cup time and Google has the fever! As always Google is ahead of the curve, making tomorrow's trends easily accessible today, and today they're bringing you the World Cup directly to your smartphone, tablet or PC so that even if you're not in Brazil, you won't miss out on the action.  Thu, 12 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Barry Schechter Barry Schechter https://www.rankranger.com/blog/connect-with-google-my-business Google wants to help you connect with your customers, all in one place and that's why, according to the Inside Adwords blog, they are introducing Google My Business. Thu, 12 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-look-for-analytics The Rank Ranger Analyse section provides an array of reports featuring data integrated directly with your Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools accounts, presented in a simpler and more appealing format for you to share with clients, management or anyone else who might need to see them.  These reports have recently received an upgrade that provides even more impressive visuals that we think will help those who are less SEO-savvy to better understand the results of your efforts. Tue, 10 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/webmeup-alternative Recently we've been contacted by a number of SEO professionals seeking an alternative to WebMeUp because they were notified that WebMeUp is shutting down on July 11th.  Since so many people are asking how Rank Ranger’s SEO platform compares to WebMeUp, we're providing this high-level view of Rank Ranger features that are similar to basic rank trackers, plus a few of the many extras that our SEO platform offers. Tue, 10 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-mobile-faulty-redirects Google has announced that they will now be monitoring mobile redirects to continue to deliver high quality results to end users. These sites will not be penalized in their rankings, but will rather be shown on SERPs with an additional line stating "May open the site's homepage". Fri, 06 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/custom-domain-for-our-seo-reports Rank Ranger offers its White Label Portal so you can impress your customers with professional and personalized SEO reports in an interactive cloud-based platform, and a new premium feature allows you to do so using your own domain. Thu, 05 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/introducing-visibility-graph Introducing Rank Ranger's Visibility Graph! This revolutionary new report gives you a look at your site's visibility on Search Engines and allows you to easily compare to your competitors. Tue, 03 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/improving-api-methods New Rank Ranger API Methods include Market Reach API and White Label Portal API, plus an overall improvement has been made across the platform with the addition of a Reference ID option you can use to link your internal customer IDs with your ranking campaigns. Tue, 03 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/weekly-snapshot-rank-color-scale Get a colorful view of your rankings by week with Rank Ranger's new Weekly Snapshot report. Featuring our Rank Color Scale, the results of your SEO efforts are highlighted across a red to green spectrum as rank from the end of each weekly period is color-coded and displayed. Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-ranger-may-updates Over the past month, we have introduced many updates to our platform. To help you integrate these updates into your everyday SEO activities, here is a short summary with links to resources to help you learn more about each update. Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/facebook-cuts-down-app-shared-content There have been more and more apps sharing content from personal facebook profiles without explicit action required, creating a more crowded News Feed and often surprising users by the content that they have shared. Now, facebook is taking action (by tweaking their algorithm) and cutting down on the number of these posts that will appear in your News Feed. Wed, 28 May 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-reads-javascript For many years webmasters have struggled with the issue of using Javascript as it could affect their SEO efforts and position in SERPs. The many benefits of using Javascript and similar languages needed to be weighed against having content on your site that Google could not read and therefore could not boost your SEO. Now Google has announced that this is no longer the case as, after a lot of hard work, they are now able to analyze Javascript and read a page better and more closely, like a real browser, and include this information in their algorithm. Tue, 27 May 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/what-is-undisclosed-acitivty Google is constantly upgrading and amending their algorithm, often affecting ranks and SEO efforts. At Rank Ranger, we want to be sure that you are always aware of these changes in order to tweak your efforts accordingly. Unfortunately, Google often doesn't let us in on these changes, but luckily we have our Rank Risk Index telling us what is happening in the Google Algorithm world.  Sun, 25 May 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/panda-4-0-is-here Yesterday, we noticed another large disruption in our Rank Risk Index, indicating some activity in the Google Algorithm. Today that was confirmed when Matt Cutts announced on Twitter that Google had launched Panda 4.0 and will be rolling out updates, so keep your SEO heads on and monitor your rankings carefully over the next few weeks. Wed, 21 May 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/speed-up-on-mobile-sites Google has updated their PageSpeed Insights tool to offer more information into the speed of mobile sites, helping to make sure that your site is running at an optimal speed and therefore will avoid penalties from Google. Tue, 20 May 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-landing-page-performance-includes-social Tracking performance of a website's landing pages can be a challenging task, and it is becoming increasingly more important to track where your keywords are sending customers as well as which pages users are sharing around the web. That's why we have expanded our Landing Page Performance report features to include rank distributions, social metrics, backlinks and analytics - giving you all the landing page information that you need, in one report.  Wed, 14 May 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-dashboard-landing-page-metrics Since the launch of our Landing Page Performance Report in February, many of you have let us know just how important landing page metrics are to you! So we're now excited to announce that Social Signals and Backlink Landing Page Metrics have been added to our Rank Dashboard. Thu, 01 May 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/news-at-facebook-f8-2014 April 30th was Facebook's annual global developer conference in San Francisco, f8, and they had a number of exciting developments to announce. Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will be focusing on developing of apps, privacy for users and cross platform tools. These developments offer more than ever to developers and to users. Thu, 01 May 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-seo-utilities We are constantly improving and expanding our platform and today we're happy to announce the retirement of the old Tools section and the introduction of our new Utilities section. This feature is packed with useful utilities to make using your Rank Ranger account even simpler than it already was. Tue, 29 Apr 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-does-google-choose-a-title-to-display-on-a-serp Matt Cutts' new video looks into where Google takes the titles and descriptions that are found on SERPs from. He received questions from people claiming that different titles are shown for different queries and that an H1 title is sometimes showing. The simple answer is, Google chooses the best title and description for your site appropriate to the query being searched. Tue, 29 Apr 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-features-for-google-adwords Google has made a big announcement concerning Google AdWords. However it's not as scary as some may have thought it would be. There are 10+ new features that are being introduced into AdWords to help the user get more value out of their AdWords account. These enhancements will be rolled out over a few months and will also be optional, so there is no need for marketers to get scared or change their ways completely. Wed, 23 Apr 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-serp-fluctuations-apr2014 The Rank Risk Index has been in the danger zone for more than a week, indicating that something's brewing at Google. We're hearing reports of drops in rank of 50% or more for certain niche sites. Has there been another upstream copyright infringement update or is this something different? What have you heard or experienced? Wed, 23 Apr 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/four-types-of-seo If you spend much time reading about SEO, you are sure to run across people talking about a variety of tactics and organizing them into the categories of white, black, and grey hat SEO. If you take some time to think about what Google tells us, which is any link building intended to manipulate the SERPs is not an approved tactic, it won’t take long to realize that the only true white hat SEO is writing content and hoping for the best. I don’t know about you, but writing and hoping does not seem like much of a strategy to me. Wed, 16 Apr 2014 00:00:00 UTC Travis Bliffen Travis Bliffen https://www.rankranger.com/blog/add-phone-number-in-google-results Every customer wants to speak to someone directly when they are having issues and it's up to the company to make that as easy as possible. That's why Google wants to help you out with this by including your phone number in your knowledge graph on a SERP. Thu, 10 Apr 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/adwords-goes-not-provided Yesterday the rumors proved to be true as Google announced that it would be expanding Not Provided keywords to also apply to AdWords campaigns in an attempt to improve privacy for users. Thu, 10 Apr 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-profile-on-twitter Twitter is rolling out a new profile that will allow users to show themselves better. The new profile includes a large cover photo and more features, including pinned tweets, to personalize your page. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-twitter-ads Twitter is keeping in the game by bringing in 15 new types of ads to entice advertisers to use their platform to gain a larger customer base. With their great targeting methods this is sure to be the next big way to reach users that you want. Sun, 06 Apr 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-algorithm-update-march We saw some fluctuations that were higher than usual in our Rank Risk Index March 25 and 26, and are wondering what Google could be up to.  Thu, 27 Mar 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/track-google-local-news-author-video-results Rank Ranger is dedicated to making sure that our platform gives you everything you need with the most in-depth information possible. We have therefore revamped the visual representation of Dashboard Reports by including icons for you to see if a website ranked with any 'different' Google results, including news, local places, authorship, ratings, video and events results. Tue, 18 Mar 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/knowledge-graph-update-for-musical-artists Google offers more information than ever before on their SERP's, including performance dates for your favorite artists. Now these performance dates will be the official dates, coming directly from the musical artists' websites. This gives the musicians another platform to promote their live performances and gives users more information by simply viewing a SERP, rather than having to look through a website for the correct information. Thu, 13 Mar 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/yahoo-maps-indoors Yahoo Maps is going indoors! Now on Yahoo Maps you can search around the globe and see floor plans of buildings such as shopping malls, train stations and airports. Yahoo is helping you find your destination, no matter where you are. Mon, 10 Mar 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/Google-Tracking-Social-Signals Matt Cutts is back with another very refreshing and informative session. Ever find yourself wondering if social signals from Facebook and Twitter are tracked by the Google algorithm?  At one time Google did track the signals, and they used Twitter and Facebook links in rankings. Wed, 05 Mar 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/Google-Analytics-Adds-New-Remarketing-Feature New Google Analytic Updates!   Google has added new features to their Google Analytic tools. Remarketing lets you re-engage with your site visitors using the power of Google Analytics and the reach of the Google Display Network. Tue, 04 Mar 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/hashtag-search-on-google Have you noticed that when you search a #hashtag on Google, you get to see options to search the hashtag on Twitter and on Facebook, as well as having a stream of Google+ mentions on the right hand side? Tue, 04 Mar 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/blizzard-seo-platform-update An upgrade to Rank Ranger's SEO Platform began with a flurry effect in November that has escalated into a blizzard of new reports, features and apps during February!  If you're as busy as I've been you may have missed a few of the announcements, and since I personally prefer to read snippets of info and click thru only to things that pique my interest, I'm going to give you a quick rundown of recent headlines with snippets and screenshots that cover some important changes and enhancements to our SEO platform. Mon, 03 Mar 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/scraped-content-report Last week Google decided to take a hard line on sites that are using scraped content and provided a form for the general public to be able to report such websites that they have found are scraping their content and, if applicable, are outranking them on SERPs. This was sent out in a tweet by the head of Google’s web spam team Matt Cutts, which caused quite a stir when Dan Barker replied showing Google scraping content from Wikipedia and outranking them. Sun, 02 Mar 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/opportunity-for-brands-on-facebook Facebook announced that as of February 24th 2014, they are introducing a new feature that will show Page posts tagging other brands to some fans of the brand tagged. This is a huge opportunity for brands to reach out to new audiences who are interested in their offerings.  Tue, 25 Feb 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/not-provided-market-reach With the implementation of Google ‘secure search’ (Not Provided) in 2011 blocking 10% of the keyword data and impacting a whopping ~80% through the end of 2013 - thrusting yet another new challenge in the face of SEO - user clicks on SERP links are redirected through a Google masked keyword data process. Rank Ranger heard an enormous outcry from SEO experts and we responded with a new approach, an alternative to (Not Provided). We're pleased to introduce the Market Reach report. Mon, 24 Feb 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/yahoo-mail-upgrade Yahoo Mail bringing in 3 major upgrades with auto-suggestions for email recipients, storing all email addresses seen in your mailbox and seeing a photo and full name of your contacts when adding them as recipients. Fri, 21 Feb 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/domain-analysis-statistics The Domain Analysis report provides a comprehensive overview of domain statistics in living color. Choose from a variety of report options and launch - the domain home page displays in living color and a Google Supplementary Index Ratio pie chart comes to life beside the latest Social Metrics from Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook. Integrated data from third-party providers completes this presentation that we think you’ll be proud to share with your clients. Fri, 21 Feb 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-google-maps With real time traffic, directions with multiple stops, 3D satellite images and more, the new Google Maps looks great! It's time to get where you're going, faster and with much more detail, so get ready and go somewhere. Thu, 20 Feb 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/is-your-seo-working It has become increasingly difficult to stay on top of Google Rankings, especially with a number of landing pages to track. With Rank Ranger’s new Landing Page Performance report, you can see in one glance how well all of your landing pages are performing, while at the same time confirming which keywords are responsible for the performance. This simple way to track the success of your SEO efforts will show you which pages are performing well and which need work. Wed, 19 Feb 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/Technical-Site-Audit As a business owner, you probably get generic emails all the time stating there are many things wrong with your site. These emails come with a promise to fix up your site so it ranks number one for just a few hundred dollars. You know you need to spiff up your site, and you are leery of these unsolicited emails. But on the other side of the coin you have SEO agencies that may charge $1000 or more for a site audit. So what do you do? What should be included in a site audit and how do you know if you got your money’s worth? Mon, 17 Feb 2014 00:00:00 UTC Michelle Anderson Michelle Anderson https://www.rankranger.com/blog/multi-axis-search-queries A multi-axis graph coupled with a detailed search query table makes Rank Ranger's new Search Queries Keywords and Search Queries Pages reports unique.  In Google Webmaster Tools this data is displayed on a one axis graph that merges both Clicks and Impressions, while Rank Ranger's new Search Query reports provide a separate axis for each making it possible to visualize the ratio between Clicks and Impressions and identify wide gaps. Mon, 17 Feb 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-top-heavy-update-3 Google's Top Heavy Update #3 targets websites that spam or overuse ads on their pages. Our Rank Risk Index was displaying Code Orange activity and we noticed webmaster & SEO forums had some chatter about significant traffic drops. So we ventured over to Matt Cutts' blog and Twitter feed in search of some answers and finally the announcement was made. Tue, 11 Feb 2014 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/increase-seo-roi While working in Search Engine Marketing, there is a constant need from clients wanting to maximize profits, increase goal conversions and lower spend. In other words, increase their ROI with as little spend as possible.   This has been a key factor when handling client paid search presence on search engines.  I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting a few key factors to focus and improve on, while doing this. Here are a few factors to remember to improve PPC and Google AdWords campaigns... Wed, 05 Feb 2014 00:00:00 UTC Vaughn Forbes Vaughn Forbes https://www.rankranger.com/blog/Rank-Tracker-iPhone-App It is officially available, the Rank Tracker app on the Apple App Store was created for SEOers who have a need to check rankings while away from the office. The application works on both the iPhone and iPad.  Mon, 03 Feb 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/magento-seo Magento is an amazingly versatile piece of e-commerce software. You can download and use it for free. Unfortunately for marketers it requires a little cajoling to help you with your SEO efforts, but that's to be expected as we all know SEO isn't in the forefront of most developer's minds! So here are a few tips to make life with your Magento site that bit easier. Thu, 30 Jan 2014 00:00:00 UTC Owen Radford Owen Radford https://www.rankranger.com/blog/Be-Careful-of-Affiliate-Programs Chris Nelson, from Google's search quality team, issued a warning about scraped content and especially affiliate sites containing no original content - which Google reads as no added value.  His post provides guidance for sites using syndicated content. Tue, 28 Jan 2014 00:00:00 UTC Shiri Berzack Shiri Berzack https://www.rankranger.com/blog/defensive-seo Matt Cutts' announced that Google is considering a great deal of guest blog posting to be spammy, and therefore possibly a target for future Penguin updates. This is just another example of how Google has declared war on old-school SEO tactics. Unfortunately, as with all wars, this means a lot of innocent civilians will get caught in the cross-fire. The purpose of this blog post is to first, give you some history behind Google’s updates and secondly, to show you that even the innocent have to change their SEO tactics in order to avoid becoming a casualty of war. Also, I’ll walk you through an easy step by step process on what your defense should look like and how it can protect you. Tue, 28 Jan 2014 00:00:00 UTC Levi Lewis Levi Lewis https://www.rankranger.com/blog/author-over-site-authority Google Authorship has been under severe scrutiny for the past month or two and deservedly so. When it was first speculated in early 2012, there was great excitement among many content marketers triggered by the fact that Google Authorship would enable them to build their author trust in the eyes of Google and be regarded as authority content creators in their respective niche. Now a year later after authorship was officially rolled out, Google is cutting down on the authorship rich snippet in the search results as Matt Cutts announced during his speech at PubCon. Mon, 27 Jan 2014 00:00:00 UTC Mashilo J Mothemane Mashilo J Mothemane https://www.rankranger.com/blog/Using-Google-Trends-to-Improve-SEO-Content-Strategy Google Trends gives you the most popular topics and keywords on the Internet. They are all relative, they don't compete with other terms, and they only compete against themselves. This means that you can adapt your ongoing copy (e.g., blog) to capitalize on the trending topics and integrate associated keywords. Mon, 30 Dec 2013 00:00:00 UTC Melissa Eisenberg Melissa Eisenberg https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-risk-index-dec2013 Google changes its search algorithm hundreds of times per year and each time there's a chance that those changes can negatively affect search results. The Rank Ranger Risk Index is showing a huge fluctuation in risk level. What's Google up to? If you think you know, comment below. Thu, 19 Dec 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/Keyword-Research-The-Essentials Choosing the important words and phrases to rank for is the first step in any SEO campaign. The ways that search engines use keywords may change over time but the process and importance of keyword research itself is fairly endemic to the way the internet works. So here’s a step-by-step guide to choosing the words you want to rank for. Thu, 19 Dec 2013 00:00:00 UTC Magnus Linklater Magnus Linklater https://www.rankranger.com/blog/november-2013-recap November saw the launch of a new user interface and many new features and tools like the Rank Ranger Android Mobile App for SEOers who need to check rankings while away from the office. That announcement triggered a flurry of messages asking for an iOS App for various Apple devices and we’re happy to let you all know that we already had that in development with plans for a December release. Today we’ve released a small update... Sun, 01 Dec 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-rank-ranger-mobile-app Launched this week in the Google Play store, Rank Ranger's new Android mobile app was created for SEOers who have a need to check rankings while away from the office. The application scales from Android smart phones to full-size tablets. Tue, 26 Nov 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/smart-backlinks-tracking Backlinks tracking and management just got smarter with Rank Ranger's upgraded Link Tracking feature and Chrome extension. Customize your Link Dashboard, Link Distribution and Management Reports by selecting dates, users, link profiles, suppliers, and the specific link data that's important to you. Manage multiple users and suppliers, and monitor their activities and expenses. Tue, 26 Nov 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/on-page-keyword-reports Our Beta Testers' enthusiasm about the new On-Page Keyword and webpage analysis & optimization tools we're launching this week is contagious! I'm excited to share these feature-rich tools with you: On-Page Keyword Optimization, On-Page Keyword Density Analysis and a comprehensive On-Page Readability Test. Mon, 25 Nov 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/new-link-tracker-chrome-extension The new Link Tracker Chrome Extension integrates with our Link Manager & Backlink Tracker that allows you to track and analyze backlinks, monitor supplier/employee activity & expenses with link and project management tools, review backlink SEO stats & metrics, and more. Mon, 25 Nov 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/multiple-google-analytics-connections We've got some impressive upgrades rolling out this week! Learn about an update that will make connecting multiple Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools to Rank Ranger faster and easier. Sun, 24 Nov 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/local-rank-tracking We've been bombarded lately with questions about local results tracking, so here's the scoop… Google Local results - such as Google Places/Maps results that appear in between universal results, carousel results or just Google Maps results - are supported by Rank Ranger and I'll show you how. Mon, 28 Oct 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/youtube-rank-tracking Rank Ranger allows you to track YouTube video rankings with a few simple steps and using our URL tagging feature makes your reports easy to understand. For companies that perform SEO for YouTube video URLs, YouTube's watch?v=  URLs were creating a challenge on video rank tracking reports with confusing results. Rank Ranger to the rescue!  We've added a URL tag that you can use to identify each URL with descriptive text that's meaningful to you. And best of all we'll show you how simple it is to implement. Thu, 24 Oct 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/5-social-media-habits People have said time and time again that old habits die-hard. This shouldn’t be much of a problem if the habits in question have little to no effect on others. However, if you’re an SEO company working on social media campaigns and the old habits you have are among those users consider annoying, then these habits may have a significantly negative impact on your business. Wed, 23 Oct 2013 00:00:00 UTC wael makhoul wael makhoul https://www.rankranger.com/blog/on-page-keyword-density Whether or not you have intentionally attempted to manipulate the search engines with your keyword usage, what matters is what the search engines "think".  Search engines can factor keyword density into their formula for determining the degree a web page may - or may not - be relevant to a specific search keyword or keyword phrase. To help you proactively prevent penalties for what a search engine might deem to be keyword stuffing (i.e., overuse of keywords), Rank Ranger's On-Page Keyword Density tool measures the keyword density of any web page. By analyzing the number of times a keyword or phrase appears on a web page vs. the total number of words on that page, we calculate and display the number of occurrences and keyword density percentage. Tue, 22 Oct 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/find-keywords-traffic-research Rank Ranger's new Keyword Traffic Research tool utilizes proprietary algorithms to help you find strong keywords for your campaigns, and keywords that can drive traffic to your website.  Sun, 13 Oct 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/save-load-options Have you ever perfected your SEO report options for one campaign and wished you could apply those same settings to all of your campaign rank tracking reports?  Or perhaps you decided to play with the settings to obtain different results but wished you could revert back to your previous research or analytics report options?  Well now you can with Rank Ranger's new Report Save or Load feature for Campaign or Account-wide options! Mon, 23 Sep 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-fluctuations-widget We're happy to see that so many of you are using our Rank Risk Index that tracks SERP fluctuations of the 10,000+ domains and keywords that we monitor daily. By providing you with this Google algorithm monitoring service, you can be alerted when potential negative results need to be addressed quickly.  And since some of you have been asking, we've created a widget so you can easily add this service to your website. Mon, 16 Sep 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-traffic-source-analysis Organic? Paid Search? Direct Links? Referral Links? Social Media? Email Marketing? Where is the site traffic coming from and does the source fluctuate from month-to-month?  Summarizing traffic sources in one colorful easy to understand report seemed like the perfect addition to the monthly reports SEO professionals send to important clients, so we are happy to present Rank Ranger's awesome new Traffic Sources report. Mon, 09 Sep 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/keyword-rank-distribution The Keyword Rank Distribution graph provides an analysis that visually demonstrates results of strong SEO efforts and/or lack thereof. One-click export to PDF makes it easy for SEO professionals to share this high impact graph with customers - or to add to your portfolio to attract new customers. Mon, 02 Sep 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/competitive-traffic-analysis Gain traffic insights for any website- yours or a competitor's - using Rank Ranger's new Traffic Analysis report.  Simply enter a domain name to view a website's traffic stats, geographic audience map, leading referral sources, top organic and paid search traffic data, social traffic, display advertising traffic, and information about the categories and topics the site's audience is interested in.  Export the report to PDF and impress prospective customers by adding it to your portfolio or SEO proposal. Mon, 26 Aug 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/white-label-logo-update We've launched another update!  I thought the developers were going to take a break with summer upon us but they've released a new interface for uploading your account and campaign-specific logos for your White Label PDF reports and White Label Portal that you share with your clients.  Easily select and re-size the logo you want to appear in each campaign. Mon, 15 Jul 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/recap-reputation-management-social-metrics June was a wild month at Rank Ranger! I want to make sure you didn’t miss learning about the new SEO tools and updates to our software so come on in for brief recap covering: Link Ranger Link Management & SEO Metrics tools Social Metrics & Domain Analysis Risk Index measuring Google algorithm changes New online Reputation Management package New Analytics Conversions & E-Commerce Transactions report Tue, 02 Jul 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/analytics-conversions-transactions I'm happy to share with you our new Analytics Conversions report which provides an enhanced analysis of your Google Analytics Goals Conversions and Ecommerce transactions including number and rate of conversions, top Referral Sources and Top Keywords. Tue, 25 Jun 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/announcing-rankranger-reputation-management Rank Ranger's new online Reputation Management tools can help you track search engine rankings of web pages that you've determined are producing positive, neutral or negative impact to a brand and its reputation. Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-serp-fluctuations-rank-index We're happy to announce the launch of our Ranger Risk Index which measures SERP fluctuations for 10,000+ domains and keywords that we monitor daily. We hope that by providing you with this Google algorithm monitoring service, you'll be alert to address potential negative results quickly. Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/link-management-sofware-released You work hard to create quality backlinks with quality relationships but how do you monitor that investment?  Link Ranger to the rescue!  Link Ranger is our new Link Management and SEO Metrics tool. Track and analyze backlinks, monitor supplier and employee activity and expenses with our link and project management tools, review backlink SEO stats and metrics, and more! Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/how-to-analytics-keyword-filter New feature in Rank Ranger's Analytics Overview report allows you to quickly and simply filter Analytics traffic results using multiple positive and negative keyword parameters. Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/white-label-seo-report-upgrade Rank Ranger's White Label PDF SEO Reports have been upgraded with new options to provide a more customized user experience.  Language options, PDF output styles, multiple recipients, custom email message and subject, and automated scheduling help integrate your Rank Ranger reports into a custom branded solution that you can use to inform and impress your customers. Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/target-rank-projected-traffic Rank Ranger is happy to announce the new My Notes feature, Target  Rank Projected Traffic report and a few upgrades to the Rank Graph. My Notes  was in development and planned for release later this year, but because many customers were requesting a feature like this, our team moved up the launch date and worked quickly to make My Notes available now. Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-places-hybrid That's what the farrier said when he overheard the team tossing around ideas to solve the challenge Google Places and personalization presents to search engine rank monitoring.  Now the farrier obviously isn't an SEO expert, but we were pumped by his enthusiasm and after a little more brainstorming we added a new feature that we believe provides you with the options you need. Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/state-of-the-art-SEO-tools Don’t know what a farrier is?  S/he’s the gal or guy who provides expert hoofcare and is the shoer of horses. So while our farrier was out on the range caring for some horses, we got to shooting the breeze about the importance of top quality horseshoes because they serve as the horse’s footing and stability.  That led the team to discussing Rank Ranger’s foundation and we got to work on some improvements, as well as new features we hope you’ll like. Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-ranger-update-feb2013 I've held my horses as long as humanly possible and am excited to finally be able to do some Show & Tell with you about Rank Ranger's exciting new SEO software updates!  Several of these came as a result of customer requests, so you've really gotta see 'em! Sun, 03 Feb 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/white-label-pdf-reports-update I wanted to tell you everything about the new improvements Rank Ranger is launching on February 3rd, but the big boss told me to hold my horses a few more days!  Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/2012-achievements-2013-seo-goals While some companies do a physical inventory at the end of the fiscal year, at Rank Ranger we're taking stock of our intellectual inventory while setting goals for 2013.  The Rank Ranger Team has made some impressive achievements this year, but those might just pale in comparison to what's on the horizon. Take a sneak peek... Mon, 31 Dec 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/raven-rank-tracker-import-tool Rank Ranger has released it's new automated Raven Rank Tracker Import tool to make it simple for you to migrate rank data from Raven Tools to your Rank Ranger account. Wed, 26 Dec 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/migrating-raven-serp-tracker-data Our staff has geared up to help SEOs who need to quickly get their data migrated from Raven to Rank Ranger so you can get on with the business of providing top notch services to your clients. We’ve heard that Raven users are concerned about the features they’ve grown accustomed to, so in this post I’ll provide you with a high level outline of some of Rank Ranger’s key SEO, PPC, Metrics and Reporting tool features. Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/serp-tracking-position The web is buzzing with people talking about what's going to be with SERP tracking and we feel it’s important to let you know that SERP Tracking is where we dedicate most of our resources, it is a core service in Rank Ranger's SEO toolkit and we will not consider discontinuing that service for any reason. Fri, 14 Dec 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/share-rank-ranger Share your Rank Ranger SEO Platform experiences in your blog and send us a link to the article to qualify for your choice of a free 6-month subscription (valued at $19 per month) or a discount of $19 per month for 6 months off any larger subscription package. Sun, 09 Dec 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-basics-404 When you arrive at a 404 page, it can be disorienting;  a good 404 page can help curb the confusion. To fully understand what a 404 page is good for, what it means, and how to use it, read on. Sat, 17 Nov 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/google-local-rank-tracking Out on the range horses and dogs are used to round up the cattle, but in the massiveness of the Internetthe site that’s found first rounds up the majority of the traffic and business. Since your success is important to us, Rank Ranger is proud to announce our new Google Local Ranking feature that enables you to track site rankings in Google’s personalized results by selecting a few custom parameters. Tue, 06 Nov 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/upgraded-rank-dashboard-rank-ranger There’s been so much NEW going on here at Rank Ranger lately that today’s launch is bursting out stampede style with new features and reports chock-full of the customizations customers have requested.  Breaking out of the corral ... Thu, 26 Jul 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/rank-ranger-and-majesticseo-partner-up Hey guys. I just wanted to give you all a heads up about one of the exciting developments afoot at RankRanger - our partnership with MajesticSEO. Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/what-is-google-venice What is Google Venice? Simply put, it is Google ranking its results based on where you are located, at the time of making your search, in much higher rankings in the results pages. But why is Google doing this now, and does it really make a difference? Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-basics-keyword-density The importance of keyword density has been disputed ever since it was found to be a ranking factor. To understand why it is important, what it means, and how to use it, read on. Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-basics-content-optimization   The phrase "content is king" is as relevant to the internet as it has been to other media. If your content is well optimized, your website will likely rank higher. To fully grasp the implications, definition, and uses for content optimization, read on.   Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/blog-guidelines Whether you’re a full-time professional blogger or an SEO expert with something important to share with the world, you can have your thoughts published in the Rank Ranger blog. Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/multiple-package-subscriptions We are happy to announce that Rank Ranger now supports multiple package subscriptions, and we have categorized them in an intuitive way.Here's how: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger https://www.rankranger.com/blog/seo-basics-meta-description There is some disagreement among SEOs regarding the exact influence the Meta Description Tag has on how successful your webpage will be. Some say not to bother with one, while others say they are vital. To understand why there are so many different opinions on the matter, let's understand why Meta Description Tags are important, what they are, and how you can use them. Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:00:00 UTC Rank Ranger Rank Ranger