Reporting A Wrong Number Is Requested

August 18, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Google Local Is Now Asking Searcher To Report Any Incorrect Phone Numbers Immediately After Calling

Recently Google has provided the option for reporting whether a business phone number is right immediately after the business is called from their Google local listing or map. Anyone who has ever had difficulties getting in touch with a business knows how even more frustrating it can be to finally find the contact information and then reach a wrong or dead phone number. Wrong numbers hurt both business owners and consumers at the same time. They result in lost customers and the customer’s needs are ultimately unfulfilled, which sends them elsewhere in order to get their needs met. That is why it is so important to practice professional SEO in Houston to ensure that all of your business contact in your listings is correct. On Google maps and local listings you now can report a wrong phone number immediately after calling through a new prompt that is displayed after the call is completed.

The prompt so far is visible only on a local listing, and available only when you use a mobile device to make a phone call. After you have made your call, go back to the browser window where you made the search – there will be a small yellow box asking if the number that you just called is correct. Let Google know if it is a working and accurate number and pay it forward.

Optimistic Benefits

What is so good about being able to report wrong numbers? It can be very hectic to run a business, and the owner might not always have the time to keep their information correct and updated with help from an SEO firm. Google has provided consumers with the opportunity to help other prospective customers out in addition to business owners, by giving them a way to report false information simply and quickly. It will definitely help to cut down the number of wrong phone listings that are out there, which will make life easier for both business owners and consumers. The option for reporting incorrect phone numbers might sound brilliant from a local marketing perspective. Unfortunately, not all SEO teams and internet marketing companies follow the rules. This new pop-up potentially could be the next nightmare for Google’s local listings similar to the “anonymous reviewer.”

Pessimistic Uncertainties

So will Google notify a business owner whenever a customer reports that a phone number is inaccurate or inactive? That is the big question. Also, what options will be provided by Google to the business owner for fixing the problem if one is reported? Will the phone number be changed by Google based on other information in the listing? Will the business profile be pulled from the local listing results by Google if a phone number gets reported as being incorrect? Is this question caused by Google for both non-verified and verified phone numbers? What if the reception on a phone is bad rather than the actual number being bad? Will Google be punishing business due to potential customers having bad cell phone coverage?

These questions have many different possible answers to them, but Google hasn’t revealed the information so far. With local listings being so highly competitive these days, and the removal of everything except the highest ranking local businesses from local search recently, the conditions are prime for competitor sabotage to take place. It is going to be very interesting to find out what other new features will be tested and integrated into the new Google+ Local listings in the upcoming months. In particular what other user-based information will be used for ranking quality of the local listings as well as what weight the information is going to carry.

For more information please call or contact SEO Houston Pros today!

Google Securing Search For Ad Clicks

August 14, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Recent Changes To Google Search

Google announced last week that they are moving to secure search on paid ad clicks and that all searches were being switched to encrypted searches. AdWords advertisers until recently were provided with complete access to keyword data, either through Google itself or via a third party tool that uses the API for the data. In the future, you can expect that even paid search keyword data is going to be blocked and you will see “Not Provided” instead.

What Do These Changes Mean?

What this means is that keyword data will no longer be passed on to website owners. The change eliminates a website’s ability to track its users based on keyword searches. This makes it harder for organic searcher marketing professionals to have the ability to which keywords are driving traffic to websites. That is why it is essential to have a reputable Houston SEO company to work with to adjust to these important new changes. Specifically, what this will mean is that the search query that is typed in by a user before they click on now will get passed through using a Google redirect over to the destination URL without the data being passed on to Google Analytics or any other software except for Google AdWords.

Why Is Google Doing This?

According to Google Adwords’ Product Management Director Paul Feng, this change is mainly due to security.

Feng said in an announcement that they worked hard for a long to keep searches secure on Google. Since 2011 SSL encryption has been provided for signed-in searches and that has been rolled out to searches made in the Chrome browser from the Omnibox. Feng added that they were extending their efforts for keeping search secure by removing the query from the ad click refer the originates from SSL searches at Google.com.

Advertisers will still have access to a lot of useful data for optimizing and improving their landing pages and campaigns. For example, detailed information can be accessed in the AdWords search term report along with the Search Queries report in Google Webmaster Tools.

The aim of this move is to homogenize search query referrer data from organic clicks and ad clicks. Last year when search terms in organic searches were encrypted by Google, it leads to claims of the hypocrisy of advertisers continuing to get access to the terms while others did now. Now that there will be across the board secure search, Google is effectively closing those claims of hypocrisy when it comes to paid and organic search terms.

How Are Users Affected?

Advertisers still will have access to paid search query data through utilizing the search terms report inside of the Google AdWords dashboard. Those advertisers who don’t utilize third party management tools might not notice any difference either, other than maybe needed to have access to AdWords tags.

Google is effectively removing the referral keyword string in order to prevent keywords from being displayed in website logs and providing secure search. All data, however, will continue being stored in the AdWords dashboard and advertisers will still have access to it.

Call or contact SEO Houston Pros today for further information.

A Guide To Link Building for SEO Beginners

August 14, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Link Building For Beginners

If you are currently searching for ways to integrate effective SEO strategies into your website, you may have come across the concept of link building. Any Houston internet marketing services provider can explain to you what link building is and why you need to start doing it sooner rather than later. This is a brief guide to link building which aims to offer you a better understanding of the concept, as well as a few actionable ideas and strategies.

Houston Internet Marketing Services Provider Explains Link Building To Small Business Owners

Link building is the process of obtaining links from other websites to your web pages, with the purpose of improving the authority of your website, and therefore its search engine rankings. Whenever a website with high authority and with lots of readers links to you, a little bit of this authority gets transferred to your website. This is the online equivalent of expert recommendations.

When a website links to another one, the two web properties become associated. This is why not all inbound links are good for your website, and why you should seek for links from high authority websites in niches or industries that have a connection with your area of activity or with the main topics of your website. For instance, if you sell flowers, you won’t benefit too much from a real estate website linking to you, as the two industries aren’t related in any way. On the contrary, a link from a wedding planner or from a funeral home will boost the relevance of your web pages for their main keywords.

Similarly, if a low-quality website links to you, this link may do more harm than good, as it would be a signal that your web property is associated with low-quality service providers. Too many links from such sources and you may notice a negative effect on your rankings. This is why smart business owners choose to hire Houston internet marketing services to help them identify local websites with high authority and establish a connection that would enable them to obtain some high-quality links to their websites.

There are multiple ways to build solid relationships with high authority websites in your industry. One surefire way to get noticed is to use information from the high authority website, and give them credit for it. Another method is to ask the website author for an interview which you can publish on your own website. Guest blogging is another effective way of building long-lasting relationships with other website owners. If your website doesn’t have an associated blog, it’s time to set up one and start blogging.

These are only a few ideas to help you understand the essence and the basic principles of effective link building. If you use the above advice, we would be happy to hear from you. How is link building working for your website? Which of the tips we’ve provided here has helped you the most?

Contact or call SEO Houston Pros today for more information regarding link building and link building strategy. We encourage you to visit here so that we may start by providing you with a FREE website audit to get started.

Be The Best When It Comes To SEO Content Marketing in Houston

August 14, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Content Marketing Tips

Content marketing is not a walk in the park especially if you are new to it. However, if you are able to master it you will be able to drive the right customers to your website. You will have new ideas and numerous questions along the way. So, to make it less of a hurdle, here are a few expert content marketing tips to make your campaign a success.

Simple Communication

Don’t write your articles or posts like a novel. Most people like it when such information is straightforward and simple. Make it a conversation with your audience and offer value in a way they can comprehend.

Write Excellent Headlines

Your headline is what grabs the audience’s attention. Your headline should be able to attract and encourage the target audience to read your content. So, come up with informative and relevant headlines like “tips for content marketing..”, “what business owners need to know about..” “The benefits of..” etc. Ensure they are catchy and always give the readers an idea of what they can expect in the post.

Always Have SEO in Mind

When it comes to content marketing, search engine optimization is a tool that you cannot afford to overlook. Yes, content is king, but it is useless if it can’t reach the right audience. Proper optimization of your content will make it easily reachable to your audience.

Share the Content

As mentioned, your content is almost useless if it has no readers. You can reach your target audience by sharing your posts across various platforms such as social media and forums. Pushing your content out there can make a world of a difference.

Test Your Posts

This is an excellent way to test picture posts, headlines as well as your social media content. Share it on different social media platforms but not in a similar manner. However, ensure you share them at the same time and day of the week. This will help you know the ideal delivery method as you analyze the results.

Recycle the Content

You want to give your readers posts that bring value and are relevant to your niche, but you do not want to reuse the same content. So, brainstorm and find fresh and unique content, so that the readers stay interested in your blog or site. If writing’s not your thing, you may want to consider hiring a team of writers to do the job.

Content marketing can be hard for some, but if you implement these tips properly, it will become simpler. Remember that doing business online requires consistency to stay relevant. So, be smart and take the expert advice and your business will certainly flourish.

Providing your website with the best Houston SEO services and staying relevant with any and all of your content is key. Contact SEO Houston Pros or call us today to learn more about how search engine optimization can benefit your business in all of the right ways!

A Guide To Increasing Website Conversion Rates

August 14, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

A Plan of Action When It Comes To Increasing Website Conversion Rates

The success of any website is highly dependent on website conversions. If you consider the hype about visitors to a website or page views, one may assume that this is the means of online site success; however, this is untrue. The effectiveness of a company’s website is not about how many people you can attract to the site, but the number of conversions. Of course, first you need to build an effective SEO strategy to dominate your market, but it is quickly followed by using this strategy to make your new website the money maker.

How does a conversion work? Conversions are relatively simple concepts to grasp. A conversion is a sale or subscription performed by a visitor who comes across the website.

Why is this important? If, for example, you were to receive 10,000 page views per month but one conversion, what good are the remaining 9,999 views? Conversely, if you receive 1,000 views per month but twenty conversions – well, you can see the point. A successful website is about conversions and to achieve conversions you will require qualified leads.

One of the most effective means of directing high-quality traffic to a website is by using a search engine marketing plan. The high-quality traffic is typically likely to convert into sales and, therefore, increase the website’s conversion rate. As is mentioned above, the conversion rate refers to the percentage of visitors to the website that makes purchases or subscribes to services. By taking the above examples, a conversion rate from 10,000 visitors with one sale would be 1/10,000 or 0.01%. The conversion rate from 1,000 with 20 sales would be 20/1,000 or 2% which is far more substantial.

How Can Conversion Rates Be Increased?

A strong or positive conversion rate is highly dependent on the company’s industry, but the typical good rate ranges from 2% – 5%. Regardless of the industry, there are two stages to any conversion or sale.

1. Attracting The Qualified Leads Or Traffic

If you are attracting visitors who are already interested in the company’s product or service, then it is easier to “work the sale” before a visitor’s arrival.

2. Completing The Sale

The second stage of the sale takes place on the website. To successfully complete a sale, it is important that the website uses the correct graphics, verbiage and usability tools to persuade the visitor to purchase the product.

Tips To Increase Conversion Rates

1. Targeting The Correct Search Terms

When attracting visitors to a website, it is important to consider the terms people will be typing into a search engine to locate your service or product. You will want your website to be ranked on the first page on a search engine results list, but what search terms can contribute to this? It is always detrimental to focus efforts on the broadest search terms – for targeted leads; it is recommended that you focus on targeted search terms.

For example, if you sell Dalmatians you should not focus all SEO efforts on reaching the first page of a “dogs” search engine results list. Consider the different requirements people searching “dogs” could be looking for and how they may overlook your service. If you targeted a search term as “Dalmatian puppies in Houston”, this would attract more targeted leads with a higher rate of conversion.

2. Pay Attention To The Website Titles And Descriptions

It is important to remember that the website title and description displayed on the search engine page acts as a ‘mini-ad’ promoting your site. It must accurately describe what the visitor will view when clicking the link or the potential conversion may be discouraged.

To receive the best website SEO in Houston call or contact SEO Houston Pros today!

Staying Up To Date With Googles Search AI

August 3, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Google Continues Improving Search AI

In order to keep current with the SEO world, it is very important that you keep a close watch on Google’s plans. Last month John Giannandrea, who is the vice-president for search at Google, spoke about the increasing role that artificial intelligence was playing in search engine optimization. We have gained some very valuable insights from this interview as to what is on the horizon for the world of SEO.

In fewer than 20 years, Google went from processing approximately 10,000 searches on a daily basis to 40,000 per second (or about 3.4 billion per day). Both the Internet and Google have changed significantly over the past 18 years; there were about 2 million websites when Google first started, and there are more than 860 million today. Even more shocking than that, there are now more than 3 million Internet users – or nearly half of the world’s population that are online now. A majority of them use Google on a daily basis.

For Google, all of this has caused huge challenges for the search engine giant. It can not only rely on a search engineer team to adjust algorithms and monitor trends manually in order to provide search engine results that are the most relevant. The solution to this problem is a combination of machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Six years ago, before John Giannandrea joined Google, he was CEO for Metaweb Technologies Inc. That company was acquired by Google. He now leads Google’s Computer Science Research and Machine Intelligence that is at the heart of driving change for Google.

Google has made advances within many of the key aspects of AI already, like translation, natural language processing as well as image and voice recognition. However, it is now looking to use AI for improving how it ranks websites.

Giannandrea discussed what it means for both Google as well as its customers ultimately. He said the machine learning helps them improve the products they offer and makes things possible that only a couple of years ago were impossible. It is now possible to use your smartphone to talk to Google’s app. Deep learning has improved speech recognition, while natural language process (NLP) assists with understanding what someone means. Gamil is now able to block more than 99.9% of spam through the use of neutral networks, including some spam that has never been seen before.

Google being able to block email spam also is connected with being able to properly identify web spam. Already we have seen that algorithms like Penguin and Panda have been able to significantly reduce how much web (search) spam there is on the Internet. However, one thing that Google has been quite cagey about so far is in revealing how much of it is due to manual programming and how much machine learning governs.

Over the past few years, one of the largest changes at Google has been the Knowledge Graph’s increasing importance, which was the reason why Metaweb Technologies was purchased by Google.

Google Search will definitely continue focusing attention on either one or both of these two core aspects: improving the breadth and quality of instant results, or the Knowledge Graph, and the development of more reliable and faster machine learning algorithms for eliminating web spam as well as helping to rank the best websites and businesses at the very top of the search engine results pages (SERPS).

Google has definitely made impressive progress with its algorithms with the likes of RankBrain and Humming Bird. Giannandrea said that Google has gotten a bit smarter and doesn’t rely on only matching keywords any longer. Over just the past year alone we have seen plenty of evidence of this – many old SEO techniques such as SEO services that in the past used to help vault companies up to the top of the SERPS for their most important keywords are not working as well as in the past. This is where reputable SEO services in Houston can come into play.

How Google Has Been Changed By RankBrain

Giannandrea offered some critical insights on RankBrain as well, stating that it has helped Google better understand complex or long questions. And it is tied to real-world people, things and places by the Knowledge Graph.

Within the SEO world, it is a fairly gray area still. We just know that it exists and that it is massive, but what exactly is Google Rankbrain? No one really knows how it works or what it does! That poses one of the great challenges faced by SEO in many years and is no doubt something that Google is deliberately doing. Google doesn’t like SEO much – it wants to completely control its search index, and doesn’t like having any reliance on SEO professionals to assist businesses with ranking well.

Allo is the most recent update. It isn’t directly linked to search currently. However, since Giannandrea was discussing it, we can be confident that the data collected from the Allo app (which is a chat app) will be used for improving Google’s artificial intelligence even further. Giannandrea said that as they are developing their Google Assistant, that they will be using all of the experience they have from building Search, and that it will be extended to all types of other things that need to be done on a regular basis. And that they were still in the early phase of the journey.

So it appears that the future of search includes more machine learning, more artificial intelligence, and more user data being harvested to feed into the systems. SEO is becoming increasingly more challenging. However, ultimately, if best SEO practices are followed, then a website that is well-designed and has search optimized quality content, will be able to perform quite well.

Let our team at SEO Houston Pros keep you up-to-date on all algorithm updates from Google and better your online exposure within Google’s search engine. By calling us or contacting us today you can rest assured that you are provided with ahead of the curve SEO services in Houston. One of our architects is waiting to hear from you, don’t wait any longer!

Scan or Spam: Free Website Audit Emails

July 10, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

How You Can Determine Whether Or Not A Free Audit Solicitation Email Is Legitimate

It can be difficult to determine whether or not a ‘no obligation’ audit email is really legitimate. Our SEO firm in Houston is here to provide you with some tips on how scams can be identified and how you can get free basic website audit information on your own.

We had a small business client of ours forward one of their emails, asking us whether they should accept a no-obligation audit.

We definitely stand behind all of our work, so I don’t have any issues when a client of ours wants to use reports or tools from other firms to find out how their websites are stacking up to their competitors.

However, in this case, when I saw the email I immediately thought, “no don’t don’t it!” So why is that? Because it was a scam/spam-type of email.

I receive these kinds of emails from my clients regularly, so I was thinking it would be a good idea to break down how fast you can recognize a scam email. Also, I will be showing you how easy it is to find the audit report information you are looking for on your own, through using the Search Console.

The ‘No Obligation’ Free Audit Scam

The email looks like it is coming from a real individual: John Doe, Marketing Consultant. He tells my client that there are tons of errors on his website and that they can all be fixed by the consultant’s large design team.

There are three easy clues in the email that can help you spot that this is really a scam and not legitimate:

Clue No. 1: Gmail “from” address

Here is a dead giveaway: The last name of Doe doesn’t match with the Gmail address, which is something you should take note of immediately.

If John was really a marketing consultant professional, then instead of using a Gmail address he would have a domain name of his own.

Clue No. 2 Domain name within the salutation

Their email is addressed impersonally to “business owner of [domain name].” Also, the To: field has the email address that is listed on their website instead of my client’s name. What that means is the scam artist is sending bulk emails to addresses that bots have scraped from various websites.

Clue No. 3: Lacking in any other credible or identifiable information

There is no information on what firm John works with, and there is no website link or phone number or any other information.

How You Can Find Free Audit Information On Your Own From Google

A lot of the information that the “no obligation” audit promises to you is available – with no strings attached and absolutely free – right from the Google Search Console.

So many of the small business clients that we work with either don’t understand how Google Search Console works or are unaware that it exists. Search Console is officially a free service that Google offers that helps you maintain and monitor the presence of your website within the Google search results.

So you don’t need to have anyone give you an audit report since Google gives it to you directly. Search Console offers plenty of information on how your website is viewed by the search engine – from issues on meta and title description tags to 404-page errors and malware that “Google has found.

In order to find this information, you need to do the following:

Step 1: Go to the Google Search Console and verify your website there

You need to verify your website first before this information can be accessed. You can verify your website within Search Console in just a couple of minutes if you have your Google Analytics admin login. The help pages for Google Search Console have a video and instructions for you to follow.

Step 2: Review all relevant reports

After logging into the Google Search Console, do a bit of exploring. For any small manufacturing clients working with my SEO firm Houston, Huff Industrial Marketing, we offer a custom monthly dashboard and it includes Search Console information pertaining to indexing status, site health, and other important information.

Improving HTML For Search Appearance

When you’re provided with these reports they will generally tell if you have an issue with your titles or meta description tags and if those tags are too long or too short and when you have duplicate tags or tags that are missing.

Special Note: You’ll need to understand that those reports are generated by spiders and they’re unable to tell if your title tags are not optimized properly. These spiders can see if there is a description or title and the character count they have but it can’t tell you if those tags are optimized or if they have the right keywords in them. As an example, in one instance the spiders indicated that there were no problems and yet there were numerous issues with the tags. In this example, they had ‘Company Name – Home’. Get the online marketing Houston help you need with a professional SEO expert.

Manual Actions For Search Traffic

If Google finds that you’re doing something that breaches their rules they will contact you in some instances and let you know. Usually, if you’re using whitehat techniques this won’t be an issue but it is something you should keep a check on just in case.

Mobile Friendliness For Search Traffic

This is how you find out how well optimized your site is for mobile. If there are any errors with usability then Google reports it here. Mobile is an increasingly important factor for search engine rankings. If you need help with your online marketing Houston, call us.

Index Status With Google

This is where you come to find how many pages Google has indexed of your site. Unless you’re adding or removing lots of pages every month then this will usually stay flatlined. If you suddenly have any decrease in the pages that are indexed then it could be an indication that there are some problems somewhere.

Crawl Errors

Here you will find if you have any 404 error pages or pages that are not found. It’s not uncommon that a scammer will contact you saying they can fix your 404 errors but you can easily check to see if you’re having any problems from this report by Google. In most cases, if you have a new page to replace one that’s being removed, you should do a permanent redirect but if you don’t then, of course, having a 404 page is correct.

404 errors will not have any direct effect on your search engine rankings but if you are not sure how to make redirects or to fix inbound links, then it’s recommended that you work with an SEO expert who can walk you through the process or do it for you.

Sitemap

On this report, we want to know if Google is showing any warnings or indicating that certain pages can’t be crawled. Once you see a warning from Google on this matter you should work with a quality SEO person who can help you to walk through the process of fixing it. Sometimes these issues can be a bit tricky and for that reason, they require advanced knowledge.

One example of a client for whom we did a site-wide audit, had warnings from Google about 403 errors. The programmer found that the hosting company had added some code to the .htaccess file. The code was the problem as it was blocking scrapers and spiders including those from Google.

Security

If your site has any type of malware this is where Google will report that information. It’s extremely necessary to keep wordpress plugins and its basic installation up-to-date to prevent malware from easily being able to find its way on your site.

Tip: It’s necessary to keep your login information private. When someone contacts you offering to give a free audit that has no obligation to it, they will still need your login and your password. If you don’t know this person it’s a risk to give them that information.

Once someone has the information to access your Google Analytics or your website, it’s extremely easy for that person to do things that they shouldn’t do. For this reason, it’s highly recommended that you only give that information to someone you truly trust. Otherwise, they could do anything from putting malware on your site to even removing your access to your own website.

They could set things up so that they’re able to use your site for spamming and other things that might be difficult to recover from. If you do have to give them access, make it restricted or limited access and give them a separate login while maintaining your own with full administrative rights.

Conclusion

For a small startup or one man show, it can often be quite difficult to know if an offer to give a free audit for your website is legitimate or not. Very often you’re busy with other aspects of your business and if you get an email saying there are problems on your website then, of course, you’re going to worry about it. But before you jump the gun and respond, take the time to look the email over and see if it’s professional and if they provide you with direct contact information. If you have even the slightest concern then you should not have any contact with that company or respond to the email.

Contact or call SEO Houston Pros today if you have any more questions regarding the free audit email you have received. Keep in mind that although you are provided with tools to run a very limited audit on your website, we are able to address every facet of your website and provide a well-rounded audit and an appropriate plan of action to increase your online exposure.

PPC Is Getting A New Wardrobe in 2017

July 10, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

The Most Significant Changes in PPC for 2017

From changes in targeting to the latest products available, following are the need-to-know changes in PPC this year from your expert SEO company in Houston.

2016 was the year that brought mobile advertising to a new level when it surpassed the searches completed from desktops and increased search spend by $6 Billion. Since we know that mobile will be even more important this year, let’s take a closer look at the most significant news, trends, and launches seen from Google AdWords and Bing Ads. We’ll begin with this key: Machine Learning.

Machine Learning

Frederick Vallaeys, the former Google technician and founder of Optimyzer mentioned in his column, Adwords 201 is all about dealing with an artificial intelligence. Today machine learning is behind every significant revolution in search marketing.

One good example would be the earlier announcements for smart display campaigns from Google. These specialized campaigns depend on the capacity for machine learning to automate each feature of the campaign.

In March 2017, there was another important development on the machine learning frontier. Google has announced that it will be expanding the meaning of “close variants” for exact matches. In the future, word order will be ignored and functions words in exact matches can be added or ignored as necessity demands.

Here is a short story about how this industry will be such a great place to be right now. This all happened on a Friday before the SMX West was launched. I had the pleasure of hosting a last-minute conference session with fellow moderators Matt Van Wagner and Brad Geddes. The previous night we were wondering if we would spend the session talking amongst ourselves, but at 7:55 on the following morning the conference hall filled and we were the center of a lively discussion filled with important questions and tips, you can hear parts of the conference in this podcast. Sometime after the conference, I learned that an important project manager from Google had also arrived to hear about feedback. The feedback showed that over 100 people had risen early to talk shop and cross-cultivate many ideas a true testament to the nature of this important industry.

In May, there was an important update made for the AD Rank thresholds that works to determine the context of a query, for example, if this relates to a recent news article or a specific product.

Conversion Tracking & Attribution

Another important event in the first half of the year was the advent of AdWords Converted Clicks and the initial presentation of Google Attribution. This was the biggest product launch mentioned at Google Marketing Next. Search marketers have had some experience with Google attribution data in the Analytics and Adwords, but the latest introduction pulls in more data from across different channels and makes this essential data available for bespoke bidding strategies.

Another important addition was that of the Maximize Conversions tools that were added to the suite of automated strategies sometime near the end of May. If you regularly use the offline conversions tools you can schedule these Adwords imports today.

These new releases and tools have a host of different advantages to lend. Google can now track and provide reports on visits made to store that come in from a large selection of YouTube campaigns.

Google launched another important pilot and dubbed it “Ads Added by AdWords”. Over 2000 accounts were invited to participate in the campaign that adds ads which are tested in each different ad group.

The green outline featured in the Google ad label became an official symbol at the end of February. Those interested can see the entire history of the Google ad labeling at his exclusive trip down memory lane.

Then in March, expanded text ads can begin receiving support through Dynamic Search Ad very own page feeds. This means that headlines can now be generated in a dynamic way, and the extra characters are all available to the advertisers in a unique type of description.

Not long back Google decided to test a second description line for text ads. So far it’s only a limited test. Price extensions are available on all devices. You’ll find those extensions in carousels that are swipeable on mobile. Google is in experimental mode with that format and experiments include the extensions found in a carousel.

There’ve been a number of announcements by Google concerning call ads. Headlines for the call only ads where the default and the extensions are set at the account level. These are the kind of issues that a quality local SEO Houston service can help out with.

Ads with AMP are ramping up and Google is testing AMP enabled landing pages. Mr. Vallaeys recently wrote a column expressing the value of using AMP landing pages. That column was entitled ‘The Best Kept Adwords Secret: AMP and your landing pages.’ An e-commerce company has decided to develop a full AMP experience for their audiences on mobile search. They made the decision to do so after testing the landing pages orf mobile using AMP. You can find where I profiled about that test case.

In mid-May Google open things up so that when someone buys from PLA’s they can do so faster. In addition to that, they also added extensions for automated calling and those additions are rolling out to more and more advertisers. For those advertisers that don’t have call extension set up, Google actually pulls their phone numbers into the ads. These actions came after Google had announced that they would automatically display any local phone numbers instead of using a central number.

Audiences

From this year forward targeting specific audiences will be a major action. During the first half of 2017 Market audiences for search and shopping became available in AdWords. Bing ads followed up by allowing marketers to exclude list and their retargeting campaigns and is testing custom audiences.

Shopping

Bing ads can now query reports for products. It’s also added promotions for shopping in the US and now allows merchants to show special offers in any product Ads they have. Anyone who is not able to do so can fill out a form and apply. It’s now possible to find shopping ads on the Display Network And Google is experimenting with home design and fashion sites to show shopping on display.

Google made the choice to include all advertisers in that test program. Any advertiser who wants can opt out but it’s not possible to set up any type of separate shopping campaign because the volume is still low. Google shopping was also the main reason for the record fines applied against Google by the EU for being in breach of antitrust laws. It’s my opinion that the ruling against Google is outrageous. If you’re interested you can read more at Crealytics.

UI Changes

It is now finally possible to view a company’s historical quality score information inside of Adwords. You’ll also find that the interface for bidding inside the UI will show suggestions for bids and a variety of page positions. Adwords Next is rolling out, and recently a million advertisers gained access to the new interface. It is scheduled to be released to everyone before the end of the year.

Bing ads now have more device targeting. This allows advertisers to create mobile-only campaigns. All advertisers on the Bing Network now have access to the new ads editor for Mac. When you need help with these changes you can contact your local SEO Houston expert to get the help you need.

Playing Your Cards Right When It Comes To Content

July 10, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Dealing with Duplicate Content

The first thing to know about duplicate content is that it is not the same things as plagiarism. You can feel the effects of “duplicate content” simply by having URLs that are too closely matched on your website. As a matter of fact, this is a fairly common occurrence, but it must be addressed posthaste before the search engine begin to drop your rankings and you lose those hard-earned visitors.

Following is a guide to addressing duplicate content:

The Essential Guide to Dealing with Duplicate Content

If a search engine is met with a choice to choose your site or the one with original content, there isn’t chance your site will make the cut. You might even have the best SEO campaign ever assembled, but if you have duplicate content your work is in vain. Following are some effective ways to handle duplicate content.

1. Redirect Various Pages to a Single URL

The majority of duplicate content errors are the result of a bad URL distribution. Bad in this case means you have many pages that lead to a single URL and the differences between them too small to be noticed. If you are using the 301-redirection option, you may point some people in the right direction. This is the first way to address this problem.

But, the duplicate will still exist, the only difference is that searchers have a better chance of finding the page they are looking for. Duplicate like this is the result of a way of collecting session ID cookies. Redirects are an effective way of fixing this oversight.

2. Double Check Your Content … Twice

The most obvious type of duplicate content is the sort that has been “borrowed” (plagiarized) from another site. Even though blog sites sometimes guess that introducing a particular piece of content as being taken from another source covers this issue, but it doesn’t.

Perhaps, in the ethical and legal definition you have absolved yourself of plagiarism but in the eye of the search engines, not so much. Your URL will receive the kick if the search engines are to choose between honoring your site or the site in which the original content can be found.

Making a simple investment in Copyscape a couple times a year is the best way to avoid this type of trouble and it is well worth the cost. The good bonus is that if you find others boosting your content, Copyscape will point them out.

3. Adjust Duplicate Content with A Rel=” Canonical” Tag

If you are running an online retail outlet, you are probably fully aware of the difficulty in distinguishing products that are so similar except in maybe size and color. You could have a website full of duplicate content simply because you have so many products that are similar.

This duplicate content can be changed by adding a canonical tag. Use a rel=canonical tag that will redirect users and accomplish the same purpose as redirects in less time

4. Check That All Links Conform

By the same measure, you can use the canonical roots for all your pages and eliminate duplicate content this way. Just be sure that every new page on the website features a URL address that conforms to its domain.

5. Link Back to Original Work

Just about the easiest way to eliminate duplicates, especially if you are sharing content with other sites, is to link back to the original content. Of course, the search engines will have to make a decision when looking at links that reach the same content. Be sure that the link you use is reaching the original site and content.

6. Collect Similar Content onto One Page

Another problem is when similar content like listings for products seem similar and end up creating duplicates. It has been estimated that 25% of all content on the web has been duplicated in some manner. Trying to come up with unique descriptions for all your products and listings will be virtually impossible. Instead, gather all the content that is similar and place this on one page.

7. Try A Search Tool to Find Duplication

Finally, there are some tools online that can help you locate pieces of duplicate content so you can choose how best to deal with each instance. You can try the webmaster tools available from Google or any other search engine.

Bonus: Get Help from the Experts

Maybe you understand all this already and simply don’t have the time or experience to handle the duplication efficiently on your own. This is when calling in the best SEO in Houston can help. Our experts have plenty of experience and can get your SEO campaign back on the road. Contact us or call today!

Class Is Now In Session: Content Management for SEO

July 10, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Manage Your Content Using These 4 Enhancements

Building Your Brand Using A Blog

Anyone who has a business in Houston Texas is looking for that edge to set them apart from the competition. If you have found yourself trying out every strategy you can find and feel that you’re just spending good money after bad without getting the promised results, then you might consider getting a Houston SEO consultant to help you create a working plan. It may appear that managing content is a small piece of the puzzle but using a blog for your company is a simple but powerful way to enhance results. We will explain how important content is when it comes to SEO or your businesses online exposure.

How Content Management Works

In the recent past, it wasn’t especially difficult to build your brand and market it. It was simply a matter of having great products and services and a professional commercial that would catch viewers attention along with enough budget to schedule air time. Whenever your target market would watch TV they would see your commercial and a percentage of them would respond to it. But technology has changed and along with it the way in which people engage and consume information has also changed.

Invasive marketing such as the commercial that would interrupt the TV show worked fine until recently. But now when consumers are asked if they were given a choice, they say they don’t like invasive marketing. They want more control over when and what they watch. But of course, you will still need to get your message in front of as many people as possible. That’s how and why you need to have a company blog that promotes your brand while giving the viewers the type of content they want.

The Benefits Of A Company Blog

One of the benefits of a company blog is the ability to start conversations with customers and those who might become customers. It’s one of the best chances your company will have to build rapport between you and your clients. The blog is available for viewing by your target audience around the clock so even when it’s past normal business hours you can be engaging with your audience.

Your articles should be entertaining when it’s appropriate and they should always be useful and interesting and in most cases, those articles shouldn’t try to sell anything. You can use the blog as an opportunity to establish yourself as an expert and allow the audience to see your special knowledge and skills in your industry. It’s also a great place to give related insights on various areas of interest.

You will want to be consistent with the delivery of your content. Here you will not be selling, only connecting with your audience. They will feel a connection to you when they see that you’re giving them value. Then, when they’re in need of what your business offers, they will think of you first when they’re ready to buy.

Anytime you introduce new staff, use that opportunity to show your values and cultural interest along with community awareness and any charitable activities you’re involved in. Allow your audience to meet your team and see them in action. Let people know why you do what it is that you do. When people trust and believe in you, they will remain a loyal customer for life.

If you need help with exposure consider getting SEO Houston Pros to help you gain likes, shares and client referrals. People enjoy sharing the things they find valuable and interesting. Anytime someone finds your post to be particularly useful or entertaining or if they find it highly interesting they will gladly share it with their family and friends. They will actually help you to market your business because they like your content. Using a professional consultant in Houston can help you understand how to tweak your content to get the results you’re looking for.

Build Relationships

Although you’ve likely heard this before it’s worth repeating that people buy from people they like. A company blog is an ideal opportunity to make and build relationships with customers, clients, and those who could become a customer. The effective use of content management gives a company the opportunity to engage with their audience in a way that they never could through other venues.

One of the major keys to successful content management is consistently posting content that is of high quality and that engages the audience in an interesting and entertaining way. SEO Houston Pros can help you with putting together the type of quality content management services that you need to produce blog articles that are compelling. Simply contact us today to start getting the help you need to generate content that can connect with your audience from your company blog. Feel free to call with any questions that may have gone unanswered here.