If you are wondering how sophisticated your blog posts should be when writing for SEO purposes, there are 3 rules to keep in mind. 1. Write at the lowest reading level that wouldn’t insult your audience’s intelligence. People like to understand the articles they read as quickly as possible. And since most SEO-driven writing is in…
One of the most brilliant things about Google’s algorithm is its ability to “read” content on a website. Google’s robots can determine the originality of an article you’ve written and even how interesting it is. They then use that information, in part, to determine the article’s ranking in the search results. When I tell people…
I examine at least a handful of business blogs each week in my capacity as a speaker and CEO of my SEO company, and it’s the rare, rare day when I come across one that emanates real quality. To be clear, many of them are perfectly good blogs; but I’m talking about crossing the line…
When I consult with companies on SEO, it is exceedingly rare that I come across a website that has effective geo-targeted pages. It seems that people either misunderstand the concept of geo-targeting or understand it just well enough to execute it in a spammy way. Well, it’s time to set the record straight on what…
If you’re considering whether to join Vistage, you’ve probably wondered: Is Vistage worth it? As a longtime member of Vistage and one of its speakers, I spend hundreds of hours each year with Vistage members, and visiting so many groups has given me a broad, unvarnished view across the organization. First off, this post is…
This blog post explains in detail what the results of an SEO campaign look like, using real screenshots from clients' Google Analytics accounts.
When I teach CEOs and marketers about SEO, the main strategy I advocate is to identify your highest value keywords and build readable, conversion-optimized pages around them. The pages you create can be static landing pages or thought leadership content such as blogs, white papers, reports, and compendiums. Above all, they must focus clearly and…
I’ve been watching Google’s algorithm on a daily basis for 13 years. Each December, I compile my observations on the latest SEO ranking factors into an annual report. Usually, there are only small changes from year to year, and the core factors -- links, meta title tags, and ongoing thought leadership content production -- stay…
If you’ve been following my articles on meta title tags - the single most important SEO element on your website - you know how important good titles are in Google’s algorithm, how bad titles can nullify the effect of your blogging, and the necessity of including transactional keywords in your titles. But you’re not quite…
UPDATE June 2020: Here is our most up-to-date list of the Google algorithm ranking factors. *** Google’s algorithm underwent some changes in the last few years, most of them relatively minor compared to the towering importance of the old mainstays of SEO: links, meta titles, and thought leadership content. Using data & analysis from the…
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