Category Archives: SEO News

Announced earlier this year, Google's "Speed Update" is officially beginning its rollout. This means that loading times on mobile will now affect search rankings, especially for the slowest sites.

Many webmasters are likely already trying to increase their site's speed on mobile if for no other reason than to improve user experience. If you're in this position, you may be ahead of the game - a new report from Searchmetrics indicates that load speed has already been affecting Google rankings. However, your pages may need to load even faster than previously thought to see any SEO benefit after this update.

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Content marketing can often seem like an unapproachable strategy that only big businesses can benefit from. With so many advertising and marketing options currently available, why would a local business spend their limited resources on planning, creating and promoting content - especially when the ROI can be difficult to prove?

Well, if a new report from local SEO software provider BrightLocal is any indication, the majority of local businesses still consider operating a blog to be highly beneficial. If your local business has abandoned its blog, this survey may make you reconsider the benefits you're missing out on.

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Mobile usability has been a Google ranking factor for years, but the algorithm was primarily focused on desktop versions of sites when indexing. Now, however, the mobile-first index is officially rolling out following a promise by Google in 2016.

Put simply, this means that Google's algorithm will now view the mobile version of your site before anything else when making indexing and ranking choices. For sites that (wisely) use responsive design instead of a separate mobile version, Google will view your site through the lens of a mobile device, at least initially. Here's what you need to know:

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Earlier this month, content marketing firm Buzzsumo released their extensive Content Trends 2018 report, which analyzed the effect of 100 million different articles published last year. Unfortunately for anyone trying to market their business with content, the results are less than encouraging.

To sum it up, content shock is starting to take a toll on the ROI of content marketing. Too much competition, combined with platform updates, is leading to drastic drops in social engagement and backlinks. Luckily, there are still many ways to keep your content effective - but you might have to adjust your strategies and set new goals.

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Email marketing, while sometimes considered outdated, has actually been exploding in popularity over the past few years. It remains one of the most effective ways for brands to communicate with customers and promote their content, while also driving traffic, leads and sales.

But while email can be very effective, any business that's tried an email campaign knows that engagement is often very low. According to Mailchimp, open rates for marketing emails are rarely above 25 percent, and click rates are usually less than 3 percent in any industry. Luckily, a new survey suggests that engagement can be increased with a simple adjustment in strategy.

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