Google searches now correspond to user location instead of domain

Users can still change their search settings to select a country service if desired.

Google announced today that it is changing the way it labels country services on the mobile web, Google app for iOS and desktop Search and Maps.
According to Google, one in five searches is now location-related. To make search results more relevant, Google says the country of service will no longer be indicated by the country code top level domain name (ccTLD) such as “google.co.uk” for the UK or “google.com.br” for Brazil, but instead will default to the country where the user is performing the search.
From the Google Search Blog:

So if you live in Australia, you’ll automatically receive the country service for Australia, but when you travel to New Zealand, your results will switch automatically to the country service for New Zealand. Upon return to Australia, you will seamlessly revert back to the Australian country service.

Google says that typing the relevant ccTLD into a browser will no longer return various country services. Instead, users must go into their settings and select the correct country service if they don’t see the country they want while browsing.
“This preference should be managed directly in settings. In addition, at the bottom of the search results page, you can clearly see which country service you are currently using,” writes Google.
Google says this latest update will improve the search experience by automatically providing users “… the most useful information based on your search query and other context, including location.”

Reference:https://searchengineland.com/google-searches-now-correspond-location-versus-country-services-attached-domain-285769?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed-main

Facebook Tests Splitting Its News Feed but Insists It Won't Be Rolled Out Globally

 

 

Publishers and content creators may soon be facing a new challenge if they want to broaden or even maintain the organic reach of their Facebook posts. The Facebook is currently testing out new changes that will drastically alter the way its news feed works.
And it may not be a good change for publishers at all, at least for those who rely on organic methods for their posts’ social media reach. Apparently, Facebook is testing out a new news feed algorithm which basically splits the news feed a user will see on his or her account upon opening it. The regular news feed will now only contain posts and updates made by Facebook friends or family members as well as paid advertisements. The rest of the posts, which will include all content that is not promoted on Facebook, will now be shown in a secondary post. Dubbed the Facebook Explore Feed, the move aims to enhance the visibility of promoted posts over those merely relying on organic reach.


Thankfully, for now that is, the news feed algorithm is still being tested only in a handful of locations. The new feature is being rolled out to six countries including Bolivia, Cambodia, Guatemala, Serbia, Slovakia and Sri Lanka, a testing phase that might take months to complete.
While it still remains to be seen if the news feed algorithm will be rolled out system-wide, initial results from the test are a bit worrying for online publishers and content creators. Apparently, user engagement on Facebook pages where the test is being conducted alarmingly dropped down to between 60 to 80 percent, a trend that might put small publishers out of business if the news feed changes get implemented worldwide.
The algorithm change seems to have affected publishers or ‘Buzzfeed-like’ sites which heavily rely on social media reach to drive traffic, according to Slovakian newspaper Dennik N journalist Filip Struhárik. On the other hand, larger sites were least affected due to their more diverse ways to secure readership.
Reacting to some concerns raised about the possible implications of the dual-news feed system, Facebook recently clarified that the company does not plan to roll the test out globally. As Facebook puts it, “The goal of this test is to understand if people prefer to have separate places for personal and public content.” Apparently, the company does not want the public to interpret the dual-feed system as a way to force publishers to shell out some cash to buy their way back into the much-coveted Facebook News Feed.

Reference:https://www.webpronews.com/facebook-tests-splitting-news-feed-insists-wont-rolled-globally-2017-10/

Instagram's New Video Feature Let's You Go Live With a Friend

 

Instagram is finally catching up with its contemporaries in terms of video streaming capabilities. The popular messaging app has recently joined the live video broadcasting trend with the introduction of its own feature that allows you to invite a friend for a live video broadcast.
After testing it out last summer, Instagram is finally rolling out the feature to the rest of its users, reports The Verge. With the feature now live, you can basically ask anyone who is currently watching to join your live video broadcast by clicking on the “add” button located at the corner of the screen.
To accommodate the second user, the screen will be split vertically so you and your friend can now broadcast simultaneously. At the moment, however, you can only add one person at a time so there is always that cap of two persons per simultaneous broadcast. To add another friend, you have to remove the first guest before you can replace them with someone else.
As with regular live videos, the resulting output using the new live video + guest feature can be discarded or saved as stories, reports Tech Crunch. Of course, they can also be shared on Facebook stories as well. The only difference is that the videos will be shown with two stacked circles on the stories status bar.
Instagram seems to be targeting some of its users who may be a bit hesitant to post solo videos of themselves on the platform. Not only will it become less daunting if you do a video with a friend but it will also make it more fun, interactive and, hopefully, will generate more engagement from your audience.
The live video feature is a response to similar features offered by rivals Snapchat and Periscope. The new feature is expected to be welcomed by users as Instagram announced that video viewing rose by 80 percent since last year.

Reference:https://www.webpronews.com/instagrams-new-video-feature-lets-go-live-friend-2017-10/

Keyword Rankings Are Meaningless: Learn How to Grade Your SEO

Like many business owners and managers, you probably test the effectiveness of your SEO campaign by Googling the keywords you think are most important to see if you show up on the first page. And when you receive reports about your website traffic, you focus on the chart that shows average rankings for your targeted keywords.
When you’re spending good money on SEO, it’s common to obsess over your keyword rankings. You’re competitive and, to you, winning online means claiming the top spot in Google results. The problem is keyword rankings are an irrelevant metric to gauge online success. To truly understand whether your SEO campaign is working, you need to learn which measurements deserve your attention.

Relevancy gets results.

Long-tail keyword phrases are among the building blocks of an SEO strategy. They are used to optimize copywriting, metadata and link-building strategies. They serve to boost your website’s relevancy so the right web pages appear among search results for the right people in the right places.
But it doesn’t matter how your website ranks for each exact search phrase because there is wide variety in how people search -- especially with the growth of voice searches -- and the results Google shows each individual based on his or her history, location, device and other data.
There is no universal "page 1." Google is customizing search results using RankBrain, artificial intelligence that analyzes search queries to provide better answers -- making results less predictable and giving websites less control over when and where they appear. This means your page 1 could be completely different than what your friend sees five miles away.
Google Search Console provides proof. This tool shows the actual terms people searched when your website was among results. You'll see your site's average rank for those searches too. Using this data, it's clear that you should not judge your SEO success on how one particular phrase ranks when several other similar search terms -- the phrases people actually used -- are showing your site in the top positions.
Related: The 7 Top Skills You Need to Be Good at SEO
An SEO strategy that builds your website’s relevancy and authority in the desired geographic area will ensure the site will be visible for a variety of search phrases. This increases the number of opportunities for your website to be seen among results.
High-quality content on and off your website and using strategic link-building tactics (internal links and backlinks) is a critical component to achieving relevancy. This strategy protects the website’s viability against the frequent changes in Google’s rules and priorities.

Measure organic growth.

Now that you know to ignore keyword rankings, how do you assess whether your organic search relevancy and visibility are growing?

• Ensure the number of new site visitors arriving via organic search is growing, month to month and year over year.
• Ensure the number of visits and new visitors from within your target market is increasing.
• Expect increased conversions, particularly those from visitors who arrived via organic search. Track the volume of unique phone calls to a website call-tracking number and the number of contact forms submitted.

Conversions count.

Don’t let ego fuel your obsession with keyword rankings. And remember that your personal search experience is not necessarily what your prospective customers see. Nor does it represent the effectiveness of other companies’ SEO campaigns or whether their websites successfully convert customers.
Focus on the outcome. Your goal is for the phone to ring and your inbox to be inundated with contact forms so your schedule is full. To get there, trust an expert who will build a campaign that uses a proven process, creates original branded content and monitors relevant metrics.


Reference:https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/300029

Google Calendar for Desktops Finally Gets a Facelift

 

Google plans to finally implement the long-awaited changes to the desktop version of Calendar. The makeover will not only enhance its aesthetics and put it on par with its mobile counterparts but also give the desktop app cool new features to boost user productivity.
One of the more visually noticeable changes in the revamped desktop Calendar will be its size. The new Calendar will now automatically adjust depending on the size of your computer screen which should make it easier to navigate.
But the Calendar redesign is more than just skin deep. The new version will be packed with useful features design to make your work life a bit easier.

Google Calendar on the web gets a fresh new look https://t.co/LBnJoV8P2W pic.twitter.com/ZIMf618Pjm

— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) October 18, 2017

For instance, users to are now able to link spreadsheets and documents for meetings directly to the Google Calendar, eliminating the need to open other apps.
The new Calendar app will also make scheduling meetings in the real world a bit easier as it now lets you search for available conference rooms and book them for meetings. According to Tech Republic, the upgraded app will also support conference room details. This will aid organizers in picking the ideal venue since they can search for rooms that have particular audiovisual equipment or ones that are accessible by wheelchair.
Time management gets easier too. At a glance, the new app will allow busy workers to see the status of each meeting invite as they are now color-coded, according to a Google blog post. They can assign a particular color for meetings with confirmed attendees and another color for invites that have not yet responded. On the other hand, meetings and that were answered a “maybe” will be shown with diagonal lines across them while events that they have declined will be crossed out.
Google is planning to roll out the updated Calender between Nov 14 and 28 but companies already had the option to manually update their desktop Calendar app since last Tuesday.

Reference:https://www.webpronews.com/google-calendar-desktops-finally-gets-facelift-2017-10/

Google My Business Pages Can Now Take Direct Bookings

 

Google is rolling out a new booking button for Google My Business pages that will allow businesses to take bookings directly through GMB.
“Booking buttons can help your business stand out from the crowd,” Google says as the company emphasizes the benefits of online bookings.
Google’s booking button is said to allow customers to make bookings in under a minute. Creating an easier booking experience could result in acquiring more customers.
In the Google My Business interface, admins can track how many bookings were made directly through the GMB dashboard.
Supported booking providers currently include:

• Appointy
• Bookatable
• Booksy
• Full Slate
• Genbook
• Mindbody
• Mytime
• Pike13
• Rosy
• SalonRunner
• Setmore
• Shore
• Supersalon software
• Wellnessliving
• Yocale

How to Set Up the Booking Button

Setting up the Google My Business booking button is a simple two step process.
Step 1
If you have an account with one of the supported service providers listed above, then a booking button has already been added to your GMB listing. Google will prompt you to sign up for an account with a supported service provider if you haven’t already.

Step 2
After you have signed up with a supported service provider then you can expect to see a booking button on your GMB listing within a few days.
Google’s new booking button for Google My Business will be available over the coming days to businesses in the US. The company plans to roll out this feature to more countries and business categories in the future.

Reference:https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-business-pages-can-now-take-direct-bookings/220803/

 

Whatsapp Introduces New Live Location Feature That Lets You Track Friends in Real Time

 

 

Pretty soon, it will be easier for family members and close friends to track the location of their loved ones to make sure they have safely reached their destination. WhatsApp has introduced a new feature that gives its users the ability to broadcast their location in real time.
Called Live Location, the new WhatsApp feature will be available on both Android and iOS versions of the application. Apparently, it is a feature that is similar to that of parent firm Facebook, which rolled out the temporary location sharing feature on Messenger last May.

To share your location temporarily with someone, you need to open a chat with that friend or family member on your contact list. The feature can be accessed by choosing the Location option within chat, and you will then need to choose the length of time you want your location to be known to the other party. The feature will start airing your location in real time once you hit the send button.
At the moment, there seem to be three options for the duration of the Live Location feature, according to Tech Crunch. Users can share their real-time location for fifteen minutes, one hour or eight hours but they can manually turn off the feature if they no longer want their location to be broadcasted or if they have already reached their destination safely.

Meanwhile, the receiving party will see a map with the broadcaster’s avatar at the center on their chat. There is also a “Live Until” message at the bottom indicating the time that the Live Location tracking will end.
With its introduction of the Live Location, WhatsApp has joined Snapchat and Foursquare which already have their own versions of the feature.


Reference:https://www.webpronews.com/whatsapp-introduces-new-live-location-feature-lets-track-friends-real-time-2017-10/

Google Chrome Improves Protection Against Phishing Attacks

 

 

Google has fittingly chosen October to make several security-related announcements. Dubbed as the Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the search giant announced that it will introduce a host of security enhancements to Chrome and Gmail for a more secure online browsing.
For instance, Google has improved Chrome’s Safe Browsing Technology to prevent unsuspecting users from unwittingly giving away their personal credentials also known as phishing. Chrome browsers will now enjoy an added layer of protection as Google deployed what it calls "predictive phishing protection."
With predictive phishing protection in place, users will be warned that the website they are trying to access could be problematic. According to Google, the technology could detect that a site is used for phishing even if it has only been recently opened and has not yet existed long enough to be tagged as a phishing site as an analysis of potential risks will be done in real time.

Google personalizes Security Checkup, adds predictive phishing protection to Chrome https://t.co/aKk1TtdcQC pic.twitter.com/6M1uayDnM9

— 9to5Google (@9to5Google) October 16, 2017

At the moment though, the predictive phishing protection only covers Google account passwords. However, it is possible that its reach may expand in the future to include all passwords and login credentials saved in Chrome’s password manager.
In addition, Google has recently added some antivirus functions to Chrome for Windows, according to The Verge. The browser has a new option to detect possible tampering to its settings caused by rogue extensions. The browser’s built-in cleanup tool has also been improved to allows users to remove harmful software at the press of a button. While the cleanup tool is now touted to be more powerful thanks to Google’s partnership with IT security company ESET, the search giant warns that the revamped tool should not be considered a total replacement for regular antivirus software since it only guards against violations to Google’s Unwanted Software Policy.

https://t.co/4hAE4d1inu
Google Chrome Cleanup Tool 19.0 is the Free cleaning Software and Malware Removal Tool for Windows PC pic.twitter.com/Pw9OTAblQe

— Windows Softwares (@Windows_Softs) July 14, 2017

Meanwhile, Gmail users who suspect they may be targeted online may now opt to use the recently rolled out Advance Protection Program. Basically, Gmail accounts enrolled on it will have another layer authentication protocol to prove to the system that anyone trying to access the mails is the legitimate owner. This is achieved with the use of a USB Secure Key for PC access while authenticating email access on mobile devices is done via a Bluetooth Security Key, which can be bought for $20.

Reference:https://www.webpronews.com/google-chrome-improves-protection-phishing-attacks-2017-10/

Google My Business Optimization: A Complete Guide

 

 

To achieve digital marketing success by leveraging a location-based strategy, most seasoned SEO professionals start at the same place: creating a Google My Business listing.
And for good reason.
Google My Business (GMB) — the free tool from Google that helps business owners manage their online presence across the search engine and its growing portfolio of utilities — offers the greatest impact for brands seeking local exposure.
Features like Google’s Local Search results (shown in the screenshot below), which break out with a list of nearby businesses and much of the pertinent information needed to find a specific business (e.g., address, business hours, category, reviews) and potentially buy something, further emphasize the need for a GMB listing for both new and established businesses.

Google’s Knowledge Graph also utilizes verified Google My Business information to help generate details for its database about businesses and related entities that are relevant to specific searches.
Once a new listing is created, a Google Maps location is then generated that synchronizes with traditional Google Search for easy access and searchability. It certainly helps that the clear majority of organic searches come from Google (around 90 percent for worldwide search engine market share), further illustrating the value of a GMB listing.
Use this guide to ensure you’ve completed your Google My Business listing correctly, and optimized all possible facets of the tool to get the most leverage for your business on Google and third-party platforms that use the Google Maps API to generate location information for users.

Basics of Google My Business

If digital marketing is a somewhat new endeavor for you and your business, there are some basics to recognize to ensure you fully understand Google My Business and the value it offers.
First off: yes, using Google My Business is free. And, no, a GMB listing doesn’t replace your business’s website.
Google My Business complements your existing website by giving your business a public identity and presence with a listing on Google, the most popular search engine in the world. The information you provide about your business can appear in Google Search, Google Maps, and on Google+.
If you’ve previously used certain Google tools to complement your business, or your business has been operating for a while, chances are your business is already listed on Google My Business. Google Places for Business and the Google+ Pages Dashboard were the best ways to manage your business information previously, but both have automatically upgraded to Google’s universal platform, Google My Business.

Starting Your Google My Business Listing

First step to getting your Google My Business listing up and running is to actually conduct a Google search to ensure your business doesn’t already have a GMB listing.
If your business has been around for a while (several years or more), it’s likely it already has a GMB listing and you just need to claim it.
Once successfully claimed, you can manage the information just as if you started the GMB listing yourself years previous.
Head over to the Google My Business page for adding and claiming GMB listings and enter your most important business information (business name and address) to ensure your business doesn’t already have a listing that you need to claim.
If there is already a listing for your business, it will notify you. It may also notify you that someone else already claimed your business. If that happens, follow these steps.

Fill out the remaining input boxes with your business details, ensuring everything is accurate and grammatically correct (capitalize your business name, street names, etc.), and be sure to find the best relevant category for your business (there are a lot of variations to choose from).
The last option listed asks if the business being created delivers goods or services to customers at their location. This is valuable for many businesses that operate away from their brick-and-mortar headquarters and, typically, at the home or business of the customer (cleaning services, construction companies, pest control, other home services, etc.).

Add or Edit Service-Area Business Details

To add or change your service area details:
Sign in to Google My Business and make sure you’re using “card view.” If you’re viewing your locations as a list instead of cards, switch to card view by clicking the cards icon on the right side above your locations.

1. Choose the listing you’d like to manage and click “Manage location.”
2. Click Info from the menu.
3. Click the “Address” section.
4. In the window that appears, select “Yes” next to “I deliver goods and services to my customers at their locations.”
5. Enter your service area information. You can set your service area based on the zip codes or cities that you serve, or on a given area around your location.
   • Select the box next to “I serve customers at my business address” if you want your complete address to appear on Google and your business location is staffed and able to receive customers during its stated hours.
6. Click Apply to save your changes.

Verifying Your Google My Business Listing

Once you have submitted your business info and your service area (if applicable), you’ll need to verify your listing. This is crucial for visibility and performance of your business listing.
It’s probably easiest to verify your listing by mail. By doing so, Google knows the address you’ve provided as a business address exists and you receive mail there. This helps Google weed out the false listings that will only misdirect users and derail the usefulness of Google Search and Maps, among other tools.
It’s important to recognize that Google won’t display your business or its edits until the business is verified.
You also can’t access any page insights/analytical information or business reviews.
Verification typically takes less than a week, in which Google will send you a verification code postcard that, once you receive, you verify with the enclosed code and your business will officially be live.

Publishing Your Google My Business Listing

It’s important to use all resources Google My Business offers within its listing details to get the most out of your business locations.
Some basic but crucial tips for optimizing your listing:

Enter Complete Data for Your Listing

Local search results favor the most relevant results for searches, and business offering the most detailed and accurate information will be easier to serve in search.

Don’t leave anything to be guessed or assumed; make sure your listing communicates with potential customers what your business does, where it is, and how they can acquire the good and/or services your business is offering.

Include Keywords

Just like traditional website SEO, Google uses a variety of signals to serve search results, and including important keywords and search phrases to your business listing will be incredibly helpful, especially since your business website is listed directly within your GMB listing.

Keep Business Operating Hours Accurate

It’s obviously important to enter your business hours, but equally important to update them whenever they change.
Google offers the ability to customize hours for holidays and other special events, and it should always be used to keep your site accurate and users happy.

Add Photos

Photos help business listings’ performance more than most business owners and marketers probably expect.
Businesses with photos on their listings receive 42 percent more requests for driving directions on Google Maps and 35 percent more click-throughs to their websites than businesses that without photos, according to Google.
(Read on for more GMB photo tips.)

Manage & Respond to Customer Reviews

Interacting with customers by responding to their reviews illustrates that your business values its customers and the feedback that they leave regarding it.
Positive reviews are going to have a positive effect on potential customers when researching your business, but they also increase your business’s visibility in search results.
Encourage customers to leave feedback by creating a link they can click to write reviews for your business.

Photos for Your Google My Business Listing

The most important piece of imagery in your GMB listing is obviously your profile photo. There likely won’t be an image that gets more exposure, and there likely isn’t one that will have more of an impact either.
Your business profile photo should not be the brand logo itself, but of something appealing and encompassing of the brand, what it stands for, and/or what it offers.
Other types of images that should be added to your GMB listing are:

• Logo image: Google recommends businesses use their logo to help customers identify your business with a square-sized image.
• Cover photo: Cover photos should really showcase a brand page’s personality. It’s the large photo featured at the top of the brand’s Google+ page, it will always be cropped to fit a 16:9 aspect ratio.
• Additional photos: Other, different kinds of photos are used to spotlight features of your business that customers consider when making purchasing decisions. These photos will differ and are dependent of the kind of business you manage. These photos may include the goods and/or services your business offers, business staff working and/or assisting customers, the interior and exterior of the business, and other general photos that summarize the business and what it can do for its customers.

All photos should follow Google best practices:

• Format: JPG or PNG
• Size: Between 10KB and 5MB
• Minimum resolution: 720px tall, 720px wide
• Quality: The photo should be in focus and well-lit, and have no photoshop alterations or excessive use of filters. The image should represent reality.

Monitoring Your Google My Business Listing Insights

Over the last several years, Google has made tremendous strides with available analytical data for Google My Business listings. Now called Insights, Google offers businesses a different way to understand how customers interact with you business listing, including:

• How customers find your listing
• Where customers find you on Google
• Customer actions
• Direction requests
• Phone calls
• Photos

How Customers Find Your Listing

This section of Insights shows how customers found you in a “Direct” search (they searched for your business name or address) versus a “Discovery” search (they searched for a category, product, or service that you offer, and your listing appeared).
These sections have the following labels in bulk insights reports:

• Total searches
• Direct searches
• Discovery searches

Where Customers Find You on Google

This section shows how many customers found you via Google Search or Google Maps.
Beside “Listing on Search” and “Listing on Maps,” you’ll see the number of views your listing received from each product in the timeframe you’ve selected. According to Google, “Views” are like “impressions” on other analytics platforms.
To see how many people found you on a particular product on a particular day, place your cursor over the appropriate segment of the graph on the day you’re interested in.
These sections have the following labels in bulk insights reports:

• Total views
• Search views
• Maps views

Customer Actions

This section shows what customers did once they found your listing on Google. “Total actions” gives the total of the following types of actions that customers took on your listing:

• Visit your website
• Request directions
• Call you
• View photos

The following labels are available as reports in this reporting section:

• Total actions
• Website actions
• Directions actions
• Phone call actions

Direction Requests

This part of Insights uses a map to show where people are that are requesting directions to your business. Your business location is identified on the map and some of the most common spots that people request directions to your business from are shown. It even breaks the total number of direction requests down by city or neighborhood.

Phone Calls

This section shows when and how often customers called your business via your listing on Google. At the top of the section, “Total calls” gives the total number of phone calls for the selected time frame.
The graph offers the ability to view trends by phone calls by either day of the week or time of day. This lets marketers and business operators know when customers are most likely to call after seeing your GMB listing.

Photos

Lastly, GMB allows you to examine how often your business’s photos are being viewed with the “Photo views” graph and “Photo quantity” graph. There are also lines on the graphs that compare your business’s photo data with photo data for other businesses similar to yours.
Section of this reporting component includes bulk insights for:

• Total owner photos
• Owner photo views
• Total customer photos
• Customer photo views

Referencehttps://www.searchenginejournal.com/optimize-google-my-business/218797/?ver=218797X2:

 

The Expert Online Marketer’s Guide to Sensible Real Estate SEO

Most real estate businesses ignore the power of SEO.

Reason being, they are either unfamiliar with it or applying negative SEO.

Having worked with a countless number of real estate companies, brokers, agents, and brands on their websites, I have learned to take the long view.

Some say, ‘SEO is dead and it is all wrong.’

You shouldn’t be shocked with this impractical view.

It’s a myth.

If you’re a regular ResultFirst’s reader, you know SEO has gone much deeper and become stronger than age old marketing strategy.

It’s the smart, cost-effective way to market virtually any product or service.

And the real estate is no exception.

If you’re a real estate professional, you should know that user experience on your website has always been a factor in the SEO world.

Let’s discuss whether or not the real estate industry is adopting SEO techniques. Then, we will cover strategies you need to consider to get the best out of SEO.

SEO for Real Estate

As a real estate professional, your aim would be to get your property before as many audiences as possible. The millennial property hunters have changed their way of searching homes, plots, flats, etc. They are searching any property via the internet and mobile devices have become their key search tool.

Studies have found that:

• 90% of home buyers are using the web during their home search.
• More than 60% of buyers are showing their interests in the internet instead of ads for searching a real estate company.
• 44% of homebuyers made purchase decisions, and owned their home that they found online. Source.

If truth to be told, the traditional, outbound marketing efforts are getting largely unnoticed.

There has been a massive change in the way people are looking for a property. So, being available on the internet can drive growth to your real estate business.

Hence, SEO techniques are required for the real estate business.

Below are SEO recommendations that work to make your real estate business experience better for the visitors who land on your site. It helps them know about your services, offers and pay for your property.

Local Keyword Phrases for Real Estate Websites

A large number of shoppers begin their research with a local keyword phrase, like “San Jose property.”

Don’t let visitors be confused about the place. As I have noticed, most Realtors multiply regions and cities that put the audience in a dilemma about searching the right property at the right place.

When you design your website, focus on the city you do your business. For instance, if you are doing your business in San Jose, optimize your website for search terms like:

1. San Jose Realtor
2. San Jose real estate agent
3. San Jose real estate
4. San Jose homes for sale
5. San Jose property

Avoid using the keyword phrase like ‘Realtors in San Jose’ or ‘homes for sale in San Jose’ etc.

Keyword Placement

Create a list of the keywords you want to rank. Then add pages to the site for all of them. Place the keywords properly.

First of all, make sure what page you want to rank. Then, place the keyword or keyword phrase in the following areas:

1. URL
2. Page Title
3. Images Title
4. Image Alt Tag
5. On the Page

Examples:

Assume your real estate keyword phrase, “San Jose Home.” Use it as listed below:

• URL: http://xyzcompany.xyz.com/san-jose-home
• Page Title: – The best San Jose home in the main market
• On The Page –It is important to use the same keyword or phrase around 1-2% of the time. If the page has 800 words, the keyword phrase should be repeated 8-16 times.
• Images Title – san_jose_home.jpg
• Image Alt Tag – If you have to upload the image on WordPress, set the alternative text. It should have some version of your keyword.

Keyword Stuffing

‘Content is the king’, and every internet marketer knows this. But, this sacramental phrase applies to only high quality, original piece of content.

Keywords, being a part of the content, are needed to be placed carefully.  Avoid using too much of it.

A good ratio is 1 to 2% for the real estate SEO.

Google docks the website if it has repeating of same keyword phrases more than required. The search engines consider it the keyword percentage or stuffing.

Come what may, the excess use of keyword appears unnatural. Never go more than 1-2%. A better way is to write freely without focusing on the keyword insertion in the content.

Make Your Site A Resource

Try to make your website a resource.

I have personally experienced that buyers research a lot, do investigate thoroughly, and physically visit the property location before making any purchase decision.

They aim to know about public transportation, schools, hospitals, electricity facility, etc. You should, therefore, provide complete information about all these facilities in your website content.

Suggestion: The content should be as long as required to make your point and satisfy buyers.

Mobile Friendly Website

Make sure your website is mobile friendly and responsive. It should be customized, and does fit all screen size.

Reports have found that maximum homebuyers search for real estate using smartphones. “The Digital House Hunt” – I have referred its report in this content before also – revealed the following facts:

• 89% property buyers search homes online, using their smartphone.
• There is a 300% upsurge in broker-related searches on tablets every year.

This is unhidden that buyers prefer using mobile real estate websites to compare price, get information, search for brokers, know features and facilities, etc.

Adding Links to Real Estate Website SEO

This is paramount in SEO strategy for the real estate business.

Reason being, internal linking lets visitors access more information about relevant topics. It gives search engines the opportunity to find other posts and use links to crawl the web, the links between the individual pages on your website and the links between entire websites.

It is advisable to add minimum five links to your pages or blog posts on every single topic you are writing for. But the link should be relevant.

For example,

If your topic is ‘Search Engine Optimization’, you should link to your post all your other posts with the text ‘Search Engine Optimization.’

This is will help search engine crawl your site, you earn higher rank.

To conclude, saying SEO is baseless for the real estate industry is myth. This myth is prevailing due to a fundamental misunderstanding of what SEO is about. If you apply the right way, it will work wonder for your real estate business.

Reference:https://www.resultfirst.com/knowledgecenter/the-expert-online-marketers-guide-to-sensible-real-estate-seo/

SEO Is A Small Business Necessity

As a small business owner, you may see SEO as an unnecessary expense. You may even believe it is not worth your time and effort because SEO is dying anyway — but this could not be further from the truth. SEO is constantly growing in importance and expanding into new areas. Before, it played a major role for large and midsize businesses. Now it is just as crucial for small businesses.
What Is SEO?
Many people think they know what SEO is but it is much more complex than it appears on the surface. For instance, although keywords and content are a big part of SEO, there are many other elements involved. These all fall into two categories:
• On-Page SEO. Any effort you take to improve individual pages to enhance your ranking in search engine results is on-page SEO. As well as keywords, this includes formatting, URLs, navigation, load speed, on-site blogging and responsive design.

• Off-Page SEO. You can also improve SEO by taking action off your website. The most well-known aspect of off-page SEO is link building, but this category also encompasses social media, business profiles and articles.
How To Get Started
Although it is true that SEO can be complex, this is no excuse to neglect it altogether. Much of SEO costs nothing more than your time, and it is much more effective than traditional marketing tactics. For example, inbound leads (like from SEO) cost 61% less than outbound leads (like cold calling), according to Search Engine Journal. It is also simple to put tactics in place — once you know how.
• Local SEO. Google favors local content, as it has extra value for users. As a small business, you may have an advantage over even the biggest corporations if you have a unique knowledge of your local audience. Much of local SEO is based around long-tail keywords. By researching potential terms with a tool like Google Keyword Planner, you can find phrases that describe what your business offers with a location included. Simply creating content based around these keywords will help you reach the top position in search engine results.
• Social Media. Social media is an ideal place to share content from your website or blog to drive traffic to your site. You need to post regularly and interact with users.
• Link Building. Another aspect to add to your initial SEO strategy is link building. Bear in mind that to Google, the size of your business is not important -- if you use black hat techniques, you will be penalized. Black hat techniques consist of any low-quality methods and spam. Instead, you need to use link building to show your authority, such as by guest blogging, sending pages to high-quality, relevant directories and creating content others want to share.

To put the above into practice, we use what we call the BoostSEO Method, which we created after realizing that traditional strategies of search engine optimization were failing small businesses. Although many strategies were able to provide a service that was comprehensive, high-quality or affordable, none were able to offer all three. We follow six steps:
• Keyword Research. Conduct even more keyword research than is normal to create an exhaustive list. From this, we are able to choose only the very best terms; quality is more important than quantity when it comes to keyword performance.
• Optimization Of Keywords. We add keywords naturally and strategically to the entire website (in the code and the content). We also create more high-quality content for the business elsewhere on the web. This shows that the business is relevant to the keyword terms.

• Earn Trust And Authority. We promote and market the website online to gain the trust of Google and prospects.
• Monitor Progress. We have a team in place to monitor keyword rankings and adjust the strategy as needed.
• Maintain Top Rankings. We continue our efforts to ensure SMBs are able to keep ranking at No. 1 in relevant search results.
• Start Again. Once we have completed step five, we return to the beginning, optimizing for new keywords and repeating the process.
We are able to do this using our in-house software platform, which allows us to apply our SEO method to individual tasks, sending each task to the appropriate specialist.
You can use the same method for your own SEO. Begin by brainstorming far more keywords than you will need. This will allow you to find the top-performing terms for your niche. Then, apply these keywords throughout your website — in copy, blog content, guest posts and tags. Next, promote your website by using social media, reciprocal linking, and Google Local Business. Throughout the process, regularly check your analytics to examine keyword performance and make the necessary changes to your strategy. Once you have gained top rankings for this first set of keywords, simply repeat the six steps.

How Can You Know SEO Is Working?
One of the best things about SEO is that it is measurable. With a tool like Google Analytics, you can find out who is visiting your website, how they are arriving and what they are doing. For example, if you notice many visitors are finding you through a particular search term, you can use this keyword in more of your content.
The Takeaway
To thrive and survive in the business world today, you need SEO. Whether you have a local business with a brick and mortar presence or you are a niche company with a specialized audience, you will fail without SEO. Without SEO, you have no visibility online, which means when a consumer searches for what you do, they can't find you and do business with you.
If your competitors are still relying on outbound marketing or are just hoping for the best with their websites, you have the perfect opportunity. There is no need to start big: Begin with the basics and build up gradually as your company grows.

Reference:https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/10/11/seo-is-a-small-business-necessity/#4aee592074ba

How Cloud-Based ERP Can Benefit Small Businesses

There's no question that small businesses have greatly benefited from today's technology. Ten years ago, many companies would not have considered placing their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems on a public cloud platform. But now it's a route that more businesses are taking.

Understanding Cloud ERP

Cloud-based computing utilizes the Internet to administer shared computing resources, like disk storage, memory, and processing power to run numerous software applications. Meanwhile, cloud ERP is software that is accessed via the cloud. It uses the Internet to connect to servers that are hosted away from a company's premises. This is in direct contrast to traditional ERP and business productivity software that is generally housed in the company's headquarters.

Benefits of Using Cloud ERP for Small Businesses

Image via AgileTech

Numerous businesses have turned to ERP solutions to automate their businesses, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular have discovered that cloud-based ERP provides multiple benefits.

• It's more secure: While some companies are admittedly still worried that cloud ERP can render their data vulnerable, more and more companies are placing their trust in cloud security. This is because companies have strict security requirements, which puts cloud ERP providers under pressure to ensure that their technology is always secure.
• It boosts productivity: Small businesses are often concerned that moving to a new technology will disrupt their work. But moving to a cloud-based platform is just a temporary inconvenience and will actually boost productivity in the long run. Cloud ERP is user-friendly and makes it easier for employees to collaborate in real-time. It also eliminates the need to get in touch with other employees just to ask for a single file since everything is accessible. And the less time is wasted on simple processes, the more time is afforded for innovation and improvement.
• Data flow is centralized: Small businesses often develop problems once they start growing and find that the various departments and their data are housed in different areas. For instance, inventory data is kept in one software program while financial information is saved in another. Cloud ERP ensures that every relevant data is in one area, giving all authorized users access to important files and data easily and quickly.
• It's affordable: When it comes to capital outlay, cloud-based programs and data storage cost less compared to implementation and maintenance of an IT system housed on company premises. This holds true even when taking into account the monthly service fee that a company would pay a cloud provider. By doing away with the yearly maintenance fees and just charging per month or per user, cloud ERP becomes more affordable than systems that demand expensive licenses and need constant software and hardware upgrades.
• Businesses become more flexible: Cloud ERP provides the accessibility, mobility, and flexibility that conventional ERPs lack. Since cloud-based ERP is managed offsite and on a system that's always available, management will find that ordering and delegating tasks become simpler and easier.

How to Ensure Cloud ERP Works

Using a new system in your business is admittedly tricky. To ensure that integrating a cloud-based solution will have a positive outcome, companies should start with a dry run before going live. This process includes testing the new cloud ERP system with select employees first and ensuring that they are well trained in using the new system. This will lessen any problems that might appear once there's a change in the infrastructure of the IT system. It also has the dual purpose of revealing which staff members will be free to manage other tasks. Company resources can then be reassigned or internal teams moved to maximize their potential.
Small businesses that are considering using cloud ERP will need a reliable cloud provider and the know-how to optimize the technology's best features. Once the transition to the cloud is successful, a company can enjoy higher productivity, enhanced business processes, and more success.

Reference:https://www.webpronews.com/cloud-based-erp-can-benefit-small-businesses-2017-10/

15 Must-Have Social Media Management Tools

Managing social media takes more than 15 minutes a day. This is true whether you work for an agency or brand, or you own your own business.The need to engage is at an all-time high. That’s because 73 percent of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that are responsive on social media.
Even the most experienced social media managers who have watched Instagram transform into Facebook are struggling to keep up with the engagement demand.
Someone needs to representing your brand all day on social media – responding to and engaging with users.
Without using tools to help manage social media, there truly aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything that needs to be done, from researching new content ideas to keeping an eye on your competitors‘ Facebook ads.
Luckily for you, we’ve compiled a list of some of the top and most practical social media management tools. All of these tools will help you work smarter, not harder.
If you discover a new tool (or a few tools), consider signing up for a free trial and taking a test drive.
After all, don’t you want to simplify and improve your social media life? #yaas

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1. BuzzSumo

Running out of ideas for your social media content? BuzzSumo is the perfect idea generator for new content topics and articles to share. Just type in a topic and see what they suggest.

You can use filters to see whatever types of content you want, whether you’re looking to share:

• Articles.
• Infographics.
• Videos.
• Giveaways.
• Interviews.
• Guest posts.

You can export this data and even set up alerts to receive a daily inspiration of content.
Another bonus? You can search for key influencers by topic and start following them directly from inside of BuzzSumo. Once you have followed a few key influencers, you can then see what content and topics they share most often and the domains they share from.
See what’s happening here? You’re able to follow and see influencer and competitor data all within the tool.
Pricing Tiers: $79, $139, $239, or $499 a month for enterprise and custom plans

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2. MeetEdgar

MeetEdgar is a lot of fun to use. You can pick topics like recipes, humor, or questions and schedule these types of topics to publish on whichever days you want.

If you ever get into a content lull with social media, which everybody does, MeetEdgar is a great solution. MeetEdgar will add a bit more fun to your social media calendar. It only publishes content that Edgar thinks is worthy of engagement.
One of the best features of MeetEdgar is that once your favorite topics are defined and scheduled out, Edgar makes sure the content never runs out. So you don’t have to constantly refill or pick new topics. Edgar does it for you.
Once everything from a topic has been published, Edgar starts to re-share old content that people may have missed the first time around. Considering the limited amount of organic reach on social media, resharing content gives it another chance for engagement. Thanks, Edgar!
Pricing Tiers: Free 2-week trial or $49 a month

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3. Post Planner

Post Planner is one of my personal favorite social media content tools. To see what types of content are being shared around a specific subject or person, search by:

• Topic.
• Trend.
• Keyword.
• Hashtag.
• Facebook.
• Twitter handle.

Search through their recommended feeds based on industry and interests and explore new content ideas.
The tool will also give each piece of content a performance engagement ranking. This ranking, which is based on Post Planner’s custom algorithms, helps determine whether a post is worth sharing.
Post Planner can determine such ratings by reviewing past performance and predict future engagement specific to your audience.

BONUS: You also get a scheduling calendar with Post Planner.
Pricing Tiers: $3, $9, $19, or $49 monthly, depending upon profiles

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4. Foursixty

E-commerce businesses and Instagram users will love Foursixty. This is a tool designed just for retailers who want to share user-generated content from Instagram on their website to help increase sales and monitor their brand.

The idea behind Foursixty is to showcase a company’s products by featuring Instagram posts that users share and tag about the company.
The product display from Instagram can be customized and displayed across shopping pages, email newsletters, and just about anywhere that you can embed code. Seeing these Instagram posts help encourage shoppers to add additional items to their cart and follow along on Instagram.
Aside from the UGC angle and sales increase, Foursixty also lets you schedule Instagram posts from the platform.
Pricing Tiers: $50, $100, or $300 monthly

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5. SEMrush

I’m a bit biased here as I do work for the company, but SEMrush is one of those one-stop-shop kinds of tools and they recently improved their social portion. Their emphasis is on keyword research and SEO, but the tool has over 30 different features for content marketers, link builders, social media marketers, and just about every other digital marketing role there is.
Which to add on to their new features, SEMrush recently launched a new addition to their suite of services that allows you to schedule and monitor social media posts.
Here’s a breakdown of their social portion of the tool:

• Social Media Poster: This brand new tool lets you plan, schedule and create posts and analyze your social media performance on Facebook and Twitter.
• Social Media Tracker: Need analytics? Head over here to the Tracker to track and analyze your competitors across major social media channels. This isn’t a new tool like the Social Media Poster but will give you some pretty sweet stats on what your competitors are doing socially.

Pricing Tiers: $99, $199, or $399 monthly. Discounted rates are available for yearly plans.

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6. Sprout Social 

Sprout Social is one of the best social media management tools. More than 19,000 companies, like the Hyatt and VICE, trust Sprout for:

• Social media scheduling.
• Engagement reports.
• Analytics.
• Brand monitoring.

Whether you’re a small business focusing on a few social media networks, an agency managing multiple brands, or an enterprise company who needs it all, Sprout Social will drastically help you save time and accomplish your daily social media tactics.
Pricing Tiers: Free 30-day trial, and then it’s on to a monthly plan of either $99, $149, or $249

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7. Hootsuite

Hootsuite allows you to connect, monitor, and schedule posts for 35 different social networks. They are also Sprout Social’s biggest competitor for social media management.
Very rarely will you meet someone who uses both Hootsuite and Sprout Social, and that’s because – frankly – you don’t need both. These tools are both fantastic and offer an array of social media features, but are very familiar in what they offer.

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Aside from their similarities, there are a few things that set them apart.

• Hootsuite is free up to 3 social media profiles. Sprout Social has a free 30-day trial, but then it’s time to break out the credit card.
• Sprout Social is completely international when it comes to languages. Hootsuite is slightly limited, but not by much.
• Hootsuite has a huge list of programs they integrate with, like Salesforce, Marketo, and SocialFlow. Sprout Social integrates with all of the social media networks, and then just five others (Uservoice, Bitly, Feedly, Zendesk, and Google Analytics).
• Both of their dashboards look completely different when you log in. Hootsuite offers more of a wide angle approach showcasing everything you need to see (scheduled posts, brand mentions, engagement, feed, etc.). Sprout Social has a cleaned up version of this and only displays one portion at a time with top menu and side bars offering the rest.

Pricing Tiers: Free for up to 3 profiles or $19, $99, or $499 monthly. If you need enterprise management then you’ll need to request a demo to grant access to Hootsuite’s custom solutions.

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8. SOCi

SOCi is another great scheduling tool for social media, though they offer something a little bit different than the normal Hootsuite and Sprout Social plans. It’s like if Post Planner and Sprout Social had a baby, they would have named it SOCi.

One of the best parts of SOCi is the Content Center. This is where SOCi scores the Social Web with its unique algorithms to tell you what social content is engaging and what’s not. SOCi then provides a numerical score and recommendations to you on what to post, similar to Post Planner.
In addition to content ideas and scheduling, they also provide review and reputation management socially, lead generation, reporting, and more.
Pricing Tiers: Unfortunately, SOCi doesn’t offer pricing details to the public. You’ll have to schedule a demo and discuss your exact needs to get a custom quote.

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9. Social Bakers

This is a tool every social media manager should have. Regardless of what scheduling tool you use, this is a tool you’ll want to log into on a daily basis to access everything you need to know about your social profiles.
With Social Bakers, you get real-time insights for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn. You can track engagement, share reports, and see social advertisement results all in one platform.

But this social media tool does more than just measure analytics. You can generate reports to compare the performance of up to 10 social media profiles or industries at a time, which means you can track your competitors and/or industry’s social performance.
What an incredible opportunity to one-up your social competitors!
Pricing Tiers: $20 per profile gets you started, but if you want a lot of flexibility with the tool you’ll need to request a demo to uncover additional options and pricing.

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10. TweetReach

Need to know how your Twitter account measures up?

TweetReach used to offer everything you need to know in terms of performance and engagement for Twitter. They’ve recently expanded with Union Metrics and now also provide analytics for Instagram and Facebook.
With TweetReach you can:

• Monitor any topics or profiles, even your competitors.
• Create Trackers for Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
• Track trends in sentiment and engagement rates.
• Export your data into CSV or PDF reports.
• Determine the reach and sentiment for any hashtag on Twitter or Instagram.
• Discover the hashtags that get your content in front of new audiences.
• Find influencers in any community.

Pricing Tiers: $99, $199, and $399 a month

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11. Tailwind App

When it comes to social media tools for Pinterest, there really aren’t a lot of options. But there is Tailwind.

Tailwind provides data for both Pinterest and Instagram, the two image-based social media networks. Once you have the tool, you’ll be able to track when someone pins an image from your website or engages with an Instagram post. It also lets you generate hashtag data, monitor brand mentions across the two social sites, and more.
You can start a free trial to see if this social media measurement tool is right for your Pinterest and Instagram accounts.
Pricing Tiers: Pricing starts at $9.99 a month and then jumps to $799 monthly. There is an enterprise option that you’ll need to request a personal demo to unlock pricing for.

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12. Bit.ly

It’s a must.
Not every tool gives you the option to shorten your ugly URLs, but Bit.ly does and they’ve done so for over 30 billion links so far. With the multiple social media networks, you’re going to want a unique tracking parameter on each URL, and not one that the social media users will see.
Bit.ly allows you to shorten, customize, and track URLs, making lengthy coded URLs into neat, pretty little URLs.

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Pricing Tiers: Free

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13. Buffer

Buffer is one of social media’s most famous tools. With one easy click you’ll be able to share content and schedule posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google Plus.

Basically, Buffer allows you to stagger content throughout the day so that your social media feeds are consistently updated. Plus you can schedule ahead of time, which is really handy.
Also, you can use Pablo Image Creator to create custom graphics. And you can review analytics about engagement and reach of your posts.
If you own or work for a registered nonprofit organization, you need to look into Buffer. They offer a 50 percent discount (on what is already competitive pricing) to all registered nonprofit organizations.
Pricing Tiers: Free, $10 or $99 monthly

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14. TweetDeck

Manage multiple Twitter profiles? This is the perfect Twitter tool for you!

The dashboard may remind you of Hootsuite, but it’s oh so different and customized just for your Twitter needs. TweetDeck:

• Organizes your Twitter account by building collections, filing lists, searches, activity, and more.
• Tracks topics, events, and hashtags to help with brand monitoring and to stay in the know of trending conversations.
• Manages multiple Twitter accounts and lets you tweet, monitor, and follow from one dashboard. TweetDeck completely removes the hassle of logging in and out.

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15. Crowdfire

Crowdfire is a wicked cool app. It’s designed to help drive traffic to your website and landing pages while increasing social engagement. They claim to be a “super-smart marketing sidekick” and do a darn good job living up to the claim.

Crowdfire will make recommendations designed to help improve your social media strategy. Here’s how:

• Crowdfire connects to your social networks and begins to get to know your brand.
• Then, Crowdfire takes you through a few quick tasks each day that are personalized to your goals.
• Finally, it begins to create and find content that your audience will love and posts it for you, once you give it the thumbs up to do so.

Reference:https://www.searchenginejournal.com/top-social-media-management-tools/215419/?ver=215419X3

Google's DeepMind Starts Ethics Group to Examine AI's Impact on Society

Google is finally taking steps to ensure that its rapid development in the field of AI will only bring about positive change for the whole of humanity. London-based company DeepMind, a subsidiary of Google parent firm Alphabet, has formed a new research unit called “Ethics & Society,” tasked to steer the group’s AI efforts.
“Our intention is always to promote research that ensures AI works for all,” DeepMind explains in a blog post. Promising to “help technologists put ethics into practice," DeepMind Ethics & Society group outlined the principles that will guide its future endeavors: social benefit, being rigorous and evidence-based, transparency and diversity.

DeepMind launches new research team to investigate AI ethics https://t.co/36wIrsve2k pic.twitter.com/QwhTZTCaHZ

— The Verge (@verge) October 4, 2017

The group is comprised of thinkers and experts from a variety of disciplines. They include Nick Bostrom (Oxford University philosopher), Diane Coyle (economist from University of Manchester), Edward W. Felten (computer scientist from Princeton University) and Christiana Figueres (Mission 2020 convener) to name a few, Gizmodo reported. The group lists some of the key issues it will address including AI risk management, setting up standards of AI morality and values as well as lessening the economic disruption AI will likely bring when it replaces real people in the workforce.
It still remains to be seen just how persuasive DeepMind Ethics & Society will be in terms of imposing its recommendations on Google’s AI ambitions. A clash between the two groups is likely to happen in the future considering that Google’s thrust of churning out potentially profitable AI-powered products may run counter to the Ethics & Society’s goals and principles.
The rapid development of artificial intelligence is a rather divisive issue even among industry titans. One of the most vocal opponents of unregulated research on AI is Tesla CEO Elon Musk who view artificial intelligence as a potential threat to mankind, calling for a proactive stance in its regulation.
“AI is the rare case where I think we need to be proactive in regulation instead of reactive,” Musk said earlier this year.” Because I think by the time we are reactive in AI regulation, it’ll be too late. AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization.”
https://www.webpronews.com/googles-deepmind-starts-ethics-group-focus-ais-impact-society-2017-10/ 

Reference:

How to Marry Your SEO & Content Marketing Strategies

As a digital marketing consultant, I often come across companies where content marketing and SEO strategies don’t go hand in hand like they should.

What’s even more shocking is when I come across companies where their SEO and content marketing strategies are in conflict with each other.
You’ve probably seen it yourself.
This is old style thinking that needs to die.

SEO & Content Marketing Work Best Together

Here are two truth bombs – especially when it comes to extremely competitive niches:

• Creating high-quality content alone doesn’t work.
• SEO alone isn’t enough.

If you were to do a Google search for [content marketing], what sites do you see?

• Content Marketing Institute
• Forbes
• Copyblogger
• Wikipedia.
• Moz

What do all these sites have in common?
They have built an incredible amount of trust among online users and website owners. As a result, these sites have gained top rankings and attracted tons of links.
It’s going to be one heck of a challenge to outrank them, no matter how great your content is.
And that’s why every time you want to publish a new article, not only do you need to keep in mind what’s really trending now and what answers your target audience is looking for. But you also need to consider what kind of posts have the highest chance to acquire more links and find the right type of keywords.
This post will show you exactly how to find the right keywords that will give you a competitive advantage and help you figure out how many inbound links your article needs to acquire to appear on the first page of Google.

Step 1: Evaluate Your Current Situation in Google

Find what kind of keywords have already been bringing you traffic and conversions. Such search queries can be found in your Google Analytics account if you have connected it with your Google Search Console account.

But there’s one little problem. Google Analytics, even after being connected with Google Search Console, won’t show you which keywords have converted. Unfortunately, Google only allows you to access this data for your landing pages.
And that’s where tools like SEMrush, SpyFu, SERPstat, or Ahrefs come into play. These tools will provide you with this missing puzzle of this data.
The aforementioned tools let you see for which keywords a particular URL appears in Google. They also show you how far from the top of Google your site is for a particular keyword. You’ll see this update displayed right next to the keyword.
For example, here’s a screenshot from SEMrush that shows all search queries one of my previous articles, How to Build a Content Marketing Strategy That Works in 5 Steps, was ranking for in Google:

To the right of each keyword, you can see the position this keyword currently has and its search volume.

Step 2: Find Related Keywords

Now you need to find keywords that are similar to those you discovered during Step 1.
Let’s say, it turned out that keywords related to content marketing strategy brought you the most conversions. So it’s a good idea to create more content using keywords related to that subject.
Why?
Because those keywords mirror your audience’s search behavior the most. These keywords also have the highest potential to bring you more paying clients.
There are several ways to find these keywords. One thing you can do is to simply check Google’s Autocomplete. You can look for autocomplete suggestions either manually, or using tools like AnswerThePublic.com. (A fun fact: guessing what kind of autocompletes made it to the top of Google has become a legit Family Feud-style game.)
Before you start brainstorming a title for your next piece of content, you need to know what subject resonates the most with your target audience. That’s when Answer The Public comes in.
The Answer the Public website is a tool that helps you discover what people are searching for in Google’s autocomplete. It has built a database from myriads of searches and it will predict what you’re going to ask, based on the data that’s already been put in.
The more variations of keywords you try, the more content ideas you’ll get. The results are demonstrated based on the variations used to build them, and can be downloaded as an image like the one shown below:

You should also look at Keywordtool.io. This tool scrapes Google Autosuggest and gives you the search volume for each keyword you entered. This tool can save hours of your time because you need to know the search volume for every keyword in order to estimate how many users this keyword can potentially bring on board.
Another tool you can try is the SEMrush Keyword Magic tool. It automatically provides you with the most important information about a keyword, factoring in metrics such as:

• CPC and volume (basic, but much-needed).
• Keyword difficulty.
• Competition level.
• SERP features.
• Exact and broad keyword matches (grouping keywords by the most frequently appearing words in phrases that include your search term or phrase).

This tool quickly gathers the data you need and offers a much wider range of analysis for both single keywords and groups of keywords. I spend less time doing monotonous work and can concentrate on something more complex.

Step 3: Check the Competition Level in SERPs

Now that you have the list of keywords that are related to your most profitable search queries, it’s time to choose the keywords (e.g., topics for your future articles) that will let you rank higher in Google.
For a quick check, you can use SEMrush Keyword Difficulty tool. It tells you how difficult will it be for you to promote based on the domain’s visibility in organic search results.
There’s one problem with this tool, though: it doesn’t consider the number of referring domains for the website or a page URL you’re trying to look up. So you’ll also need to spend some quality time with Excel.
Follow this quick and simple process to make this process hassle-free:
Start by collecting the list of domains and pages (URLs) that currently rank in Google for the list of keywords that you’ve selected during the previous step. To speed things up, use a tool like SEMrush that allows you to export such list of domains and pages.
The same action of finding and exporting domains and URLs can be performed in Ahrefs Site Explorer:

SpyFu has the same functionality:

The results show you the ranking difficulty for the keyword you entered, along with the explanation of how many keywords are in the title and in the URL, the number of monthly clicks, and search results. The green and red arrows displayed on the left from the URL show whether a particular page’s ranking has gone up or down.
After you collect all domains and URLs, you need to check the number of referring domains for each of them. This can be done with tools like Ahrefs or the Majestic Bulk Backlink Checker that allows you to analyze multiple links at once.
Finally, you can get a good understanding of what kind of keywords have more or less competition not only based on the number of searchers they have, but also based on the real situation in SERPs.
From this moment on, you know how many referring domains each of your content pieces need to receive in order to rank high in Google. You’ll be able to tell the number of referring domains by looking at how many links have already been acquired by other pages that currently rank well in Google.
Also, you can estimate the number of visitors you’ll attract on a monthly basis and calculate the conversions you will potentially earn because you researched more keywords related to your most profitable ones.

Conclusion

Outranking websites with a high level of trustworthiness and credibility is no easy task. But who says you have to do that?
Work with what you already have. Analyze which of your current keywords have been bringing you traffic and increasing your sales. Look for keywords related to those keywords.
Evaluate the performance of your site’s URLs to see exactly how many referring domains each of your pages needs to have to stay visible in the search results. Elaborate on the topics that your target audience takes the most interest in.
Take advantage of marketing tools to help you leverage the results of hard work you’re putting while doing other types of research for your online marketing strategy. And always be wary of your competition.
Play smart by taking small steps and using keywords that will realistically get you to the top of Google.

Reference:https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-content-marketing-strategies/215383/