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Google Product Reviews Algorithm

Google Product Reviews Algorithm

Google Product Reviews Algorithm Update. Google has rolled out the March 2022 product review algorithm update, adding new criteria to the updates launched last year. This product review algorithm update in the search results, builds on the product review updates introduced last year. The first product review algorithm update, which is designed to reward content with first-hand research, went live in April 2021. A second product review update followed in December. This recent update continues Google’s efforts toward surfacing higher quality product reviews in search results. Google Product Reviews Update “Today, we’re launching another update that builds on that work to enhance our ability to identify high quality product reviews. This will make it easier for us to get sound purchasing advice in front of users, and to reward creators who are earnest in being helpful.” Google has said that the update will take several weeks to roll out in full and that it is likely to impact the ranking of English-language product reviews across “many” sites. New Guidance From Google For Writing Product Reviews In support of this new update, Google is publishing guidance on writing product reviews to ensure they meet the search engine’s quality threshold. Google recommends meeting the following criteria when creating product reviews: • Include helpful in-depth details, like the benefits or drawbacks of a certain item, specifics on how a product performs or how the product differs from previous versions • Come from people who have actually used the products, and show what the product is physically like or how it’s used • Include unique information beyond what the manufacturer provides — like visuals, audio or links to other content detailing the reviewer’s experience • Cover comparable products, or explain what sets a product apart from its competitors Google’s Guidance For Reviews With Multiple Products Since launching the first product algorithm update it hasn’t always been clear whether it applies to reviews of singular products, or reviews containing lists of multiple products. Google confirms the product review updates do apply to ranked lists and comparison reviews. “Yes. Product review updates apply to all forms of review content. The best practices we’ve shared also apply. However, due to the shorter nature of ranked lists, you may want to demonstrate expertise and reinforce authenticity in a more concise way. Citing pertinent results and including original images from tests you performed with the product can be good ways to do this.” If you’re writing a review of multiple products with the intention to recommend a “best” product overall, Google has additional guidance. When recommending a product as the best overall, or the best for a certain purpose, be sure to include the following information in your review: • What sets the product apart from others in the market • Why is the product particularly suited for its recommended purpose? • First-hand evidence to support your claims Finally, Google has also added that it is perfectly fine to create reviews for products individually, even if they’ve also been reviewed in a ranked list. However, if you choose to create multiple reviews, make sure there is enough useful content for each of them to stand on their own. Don’t just repeat the same points you already made in any previous review.

KEY Benefits of SEO for Small Businesses

KEY Benefits of SEO for Small Businesses

KEY Benefits of SEO for Small Businesses. SEO is essential for organisations of all sizes, but it’s particularly important for small businesses, start-ups and enterprises. Whilst large corporations and SMEs typically have very different budgets and resources, SEO enables smaller firms to compete against bigger companies and well-known brands. If you want to find out how to propel your business forward, check out the key benefits of SEO for small businesses now… 1. Increased Traffic Effective SEO brings an increased amount of traffic to your website. However, you won’t just get more visitors if you use the right SEO strategies. With high-quality search engine optimisation, you’ll benefit from an increase in targeted traffic. If you offer a local service, for example, attracting users from all over the world to your site may not do much for your conversion rate. With an increased emphasis on local SEO, however, your increased traffic will consist of local users who are far more likely to use your services or buy your products. By analysing your businesses, identifying your target audience and devising SEO campaigns accordingly, experienced SEO experts can boost the number of people visiting your site and ensure they’re part of your target market. 2. Enhance UX User experience, or UX, is key to keeping people on your site and motivating them to return. Poor functionality and non-intuitive websites can drive users to your competitors within seconds, so cultivating a site which delivers a great UX is vital. When you’re practising good SEO, this will naturally enhance your UX and improve the appearance of your website. Search engine optimisation can be categorised into on-page and off-page SEO, so there are plenty of ways a good SEO campaign can enhance your website. With improved internal links, you’re boosting your SEO, directing users to relevant content and making your site easier to navigate, for example. Similarly, an effective SEO campaign requires fresh, new content to be uploaded to your site. This ensures users benefit from original, engaging and informative content every time they visit your website, which keeps them coming back for more. 3. Higher Rankings People tend to assume that SEO is all about rankings. In reality, good search engine optimisation is about more than where you rank on search engine results pages, but this is a key area of your SEO objectives. When you rank highly for keywords which are related to your business, your organic traffic increases. As a result, achieving higher rankings is an integral component to securing increased targeted traffic and capturing a bigger share of the market. Your existing rankings are dependent on your current SEO practices and there’s always room for improvement. From carrying out in-depth research and determining which key terms are most coveted to producing relevant keyword-related content, top quality SEO will help you to fly up the rankings and soar to the top. Of course, good SEO isn’t a one-off task. Whilst your initial campaign may put you on the first search engine results page (SERP), on-going SEO activity will help to keep you there. 4. Multiply Conversion Rates When your site has been fully optimised it will be fully-functional, easy to use, intuitive on both desktop and mobile devices and be filled with rich, content. With so much going for it, it’s not surprising that your conversion rates should skyrocket! Whilst the appearance of your site and its ease of use will contribute to increased conversions, the ability to gain targeted organic traffic also plays a significant role. By identifying the right keywords, SEO experts can ensure that the users who are visiting your site are already actively seeking related services, products and content. As a result, the additional visitors you’re gaining are partway through the sales funnel. Unlike traditional advertising, you’re not trying to sell your services to a broad demographic who may or may not be interested. Instead, SEO enables you to connect with users who are looking for what you offer and who are ready to engage with a brand that can deliver. 5. Compete Globally The digital landscape has made it possible for all businesses to operate worldwide. Regardless of your size, budget or resources, you can compete with the most well-known brands in the world when you invest in great SEO. Indeed, the best SEO can see your website ranking higher than well-established brands and major companies. Effectively levelling the playing field, SEO gives you the opportunity to grow your business, increase brand awareness and boost your profits. To find out more about what SEO can do for your business, contact Direct Submit now on 0800 669 6848.

Optimising for “Near Me” Searches

Optimising for “Near Me” Searches

Optimising for “Near Me” Searches Google, on average, gets over 100 billion searches a month, with the majority of these queries coming from mobile phones. However, arguably the best feature Google boasts isn’t its search capabilities, but rather its ability to identify nearby locals through its “near me” query (when it can locate your mobile device’s location). Whether you’re going to lunch in a specific locale or cruising an unknown interstate out of town, Google can use your location to identify nearby restaurants, grocery stores, salons and more. Optimise your Google My Business search To improve how well your business shows up on “near me” searches, one of the first things you should do is get on Google My Business. This is a free tool that Google offers. The primary benefit of it is that it allows businesses to improve their presence throughout all Google applications, including Google Maps. Once on the Google My Business page, you’ll need to submit a complete profile of your business. Be as thorough as possible when filling out your business’s information. You’ll be asked to provide your business name, location, contact information and hours of operation. However, go beyond that and include other helpful details as well, such as your website URL. Essentially, all the information you provide will display on searches when your business name pops up. The more details you offer, the easier it will be for clients to learn everything they want about you from one place. Make sure your information is listed consistently Google is particular when it comes to determining which businesses make the cut for near me results (just like with any other Google search results). Essentially, it favours consistency and location. If you want to increase your chances of showing up in results, make sure all information relating to your business is consistent across the web. For instance, if your business displays one address in one online directory, another on a different website and a third on Google My Business, Google picks up on these inconsistencies and pushes you further down in its rankings. The SEO world calls these listings “citations.” That’s why it’s important that all pertinent details of your business remain consistent everywhere. This can be accomplished by hiring a local SEO company, such as Direct Submit. Make Reviews and Customer Feedback count When you show up on “near me” results, one of the first things that will display directly beneath your business name is your overall customer rating. This will be based on a scale of one to five stars with five being the best. This not-so-little detail is considered a key factor that influences whether or not a customer chooses to do business with you over your competition. Make sure your site is mobile friendly As I mentioned, the majority of your customers will perform “near me” searches directly from their mobile devices. This means that if you’re listing your website on your Google My Business profile, which you should, then it makes sense for you to optimise your site specifically for mobile. “Near me” searches aside, people nowadays predominantly use their smartphones, not desktops, to access the web, so optimising for mobile is good business sense. When you’re checking how mobile friendly your site is, make sure all elements of it display correctly on mobile devices. For instance, make sure your site loads fully, nothing is cut off, buttons are functional and your site can be fully navigated. Local resources and directories Many industries have online associations or business directories that list businesses in that industry. Research to see if you find any for your industry. If so, reach out to them. Unless they’re charging a fee, getting your company on these listings is definitely worth it. If they require a payment, consider how strong the site is and its likelihood of referring your customer. If it’s not a well-known site, it’s probably better to skip out. There are always other, free ways to have your site backlinked. If you do find an appropriate directory or association to go with, verify that they’ll share your business’s geographic location in their posting. When Google sees several backlinks, it’ll weight your business more seriously in search engine results, including for “near me” searches. Google is a unique science in its own right, but one worth mastering because of its innumerable benefits to your business. Increased exposure, heightened foot traffic, and more web searches are just a few things to look forward to when you optimise your business for “near me” searches. As an added bonus, “near me” is a great (and free) way to market your business in a unique way. If your business relies on traffic from the search engines, and it would benefit from the increase in traffic better rankings could deliver, we can help. Direct Submit are a digital marketing agency that specialises in all thing’s SEO. Set up over 15-years ago, we have been continually adjusting and tweaking our proprietary SEO strategies, which has made us leaders in our industry. Call Direct Submit today on 0845 2722350 or visit our website for further information on how we can help your business do more with local SEO.

Key Steps of an SEO Implementation Process

Negative SEO Attacks

Key Steps of an SEO Implementation Process. Almost every business wants its business to be found on the first page of the major search engines. Your business has to earn that right to get these results using an effective SEO process. The Search Engines, most notably Google, are continuously changing and updating how they rank for search results. To ensure your website remains successful within the search engines, you need time, expertise and energy to focus on recognising these changes. Here are a number of recognised steps for any successful SEO campaign: 1. Website Audit If you have a website for your business, the first step is to run an SEO audit on it. The audit will check your website for keyword ranking, content, current SEO level, inbound/outbound links, social media presence and how you rank against your competition. 2. Keyword Analysis Performing keyword research is not always a straightforward process. Some keywords, obviously relevant to your business and product, can be highly competitive, making it futile to use them for ranking. There are tools that you can use to analyse and research what keywords and phrases might work best, but sometimes it takes plain old logic to determine the best ones. For example, what will my target audience use in their search queries to find my product? And if they find your website using certain keywords, will they like what the results are; i.e., does your website answer their questions and fulfill their needs? Will the traffic those keywords bring result in a conversion to a sale or monetary gain? 3. Website Analysis Reviewing the details and underpinnings of your website design can reveal some areas that need modifications to improve SEO. Looking at page titles, meta descriptions and internal/external links are some areas that need review. Developing a content-to-keyword map helps as well. 4. Backlink Analysis Backlinks are links between websites; a backlink points back to another website. Backlinks are crucial to successful SEO, because they represent trust and confidence. Backlinks to your website are a signal to search engines that others vouch for your content. In this step of the SEO implementation process, your website’s backlink profile is analysed and a plan created for building quality links. 5. Content Optimisation This is where content is reviewed on your website, social media channels, blogs and wherever your brand name is mentioned under your control. A blogging calendar should be set up, to include dates and topics to be published. The keyword analysis results will be used to develop calls to action and other marketing opportunities. 6. Directories and Citations Claiming your business listing in Google My Business can boost your SEO considerably, so it’s important to do so. There are dozens of directories and review sites where you should list and claim your business. Search engines love these, and it will definitely work in your favour as long as they are relevant to your business. You’ll also need to make sure your Name, Address and Phone (NAP) is consistent throughout your listings and with your website. 7. Ongoing Reports, Reviews & Maintenance Reports showing the status of your SEO progress will help determine if the strategy is working well or if it needs some tweaks. Periodic keyword review and analysis should be conducted to ensure they are still working to your advantage. SEO Is a Journey Even if you’re lucky enough to achieve the coveted first page of Google results, you can’t rest on your laurels and hope that it stays there. Competition is fierce and you need to stay on top of the game to keep up. Direct Submit SEO Services can help you create and implement a comprehensive SEO implementation process. Start by getting your free SEO audit report. Once you know where you stand, we can help you maximize your online presence.

Overview of AI used in Google Search

Overview of AI used in Google Search

An Overview of AI used in Google Search How Google uses artificial intelligence in Google Search, from RankBrain, Neural Matching, BERT, and MUM – here is how Google uses AI for understanding language for query, content and ranking purposes. The following is a summary of a longer posting on the Search Engine Land blog. RankBrain It starts with RankBrain, Google’s first attempt at using AI in search dates back to 2015. Google told us RankBrain helps Google understand how words are related to concepts and can take a broad query and better define how that query relates to real-world concepts. While it launched in 2015 and was used in 15% of queries, Google said it is now, in 2022, widely used in many queries and in all languages and regions. RankBrain does specifically help Google rank search results and is part of the ranking algorithm. Year Launched: 2015 Used For Ranking: Yes Looks at the query and content language Works for all languages Very commonly used for many queries Here is an example provided by Google of how RankBrain is used, if you search for “what’s the title of the consumer at the highest level of a food chain,” Google’s systems learn from seeing those words on various pages that the concept of a food chain may have to do with animals, and not human consumers. By understanding and matching these words to their related concepts, RankBrain helps Google understand that you’re looking for what’s commonly referred to as an “apex predator.” Neural matching Neural matching was the next AI Google released for search, it was released in 2018 and then expanded to the local search results in 2019. In fact, we have an article explaining the differences between RankBrain and neural matching over here. Google told us neural matching helps Google understand how queries relate to pages by looking at the entire query or content on the page and understanding it within the context of that page or query. Today, neural matching is used in many, if not most, queries, for all languages, in all regions, across most verticals of search. Neural matching does specifically help Google rank search results and is part of the ranking algorithm. Year Launched: 2018 Used For Ranking: Yes Looks at the query and content language Works for all languages Very commonly used for many queries Here is an example provided by Google of how neural matching is used, if you search for “insights how to manage a green,” for example. Google said “if a friend asked you this, you’d probably be stumped.” “But with neural matching, we’re able to make sense of this quizzical search. By looking at the broader representations of concepts in the query — management, leadership, personality and more — neural matching can decipher that this searcher is looking for management tips based on a popular, colour-based personality guide,” Google told us. BERT BERT, Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, came in 2019, it is a neural network-based technique for natural language processing pre-training. Google told us BERT helps Google understand how combinations of words express different meanings and intents, including looking at the sequence of words on a page, so even seemingly unimportant words in your queries are counted for. When BERT launched, it was used in 10% of all English queries but expanded to more languages and used in almost all English queries early on. Today it is used in most queries and is supported in all languages. BERT does specifically help Google rank search results and is part of the ranking algorithm. Year Launched: 2019 Used For Ranking: Yes Looks at the query and content language Works for all languages but Google said BERT “plays a critical role in almost every English query” Very commonly used for many queries Here is an example provided by Google of how BERT is used, if you search for “if you search for “can you get medicine for someone pharmacy,” BERT helps us understand that you’re trying to figure out if you can pick up medicine for someone else. Before BERT, we took that short preposition for granted, mostly surfacing results about how to fill a prescription,” Google told us. MUM MUM, Multitask Unified Model, is Google’s most recent AI in search. MUM was introduced in 2021 and then expanded again at the end of 2021 for more applications, with a lot of promising uses for it in the future. Google told us that MUM helps Google not just with understanding languages but also generating languages, so it can be used to understand variations in new terms and languages. MUM is not used for any ranking purposes right now in Google Search but does support all languages and regions. Year Launched: 2021 Used For Ranking: No Not query or languages specific Works for all languages but Google not used for ranking purposes today Used for a limited number of purposes Currently, MUM is used to improve searches for COVID-19 vaccine information, and Google said it is “looking forward to offering more intuitive ways to search using a combination of both text and images in Google Lens in the coming months.” As explained above, Google uses RankBrain, neural matching, and BERT in most queries you enter into Google Search, but Google also has core updates. The Google broad core updates that Google rolls out a few times per year is often noticed by site owners, publishers, and SEOs more than when Google releases these larger AI-based systems. But Google said these all can work together, with core updates. Google said these three, RankBrain, neural matching, and BERT are the larger AI systems they have. But they have many AI systems within search and some within the core updates that Google rolls out.

Rank Higher on Google in 2022

Rank Higher on Google in 2022

How to Rank Higher on Google in 2022. For anyone with a website, one of the primary aims is always going to be figuring out how you can hope to rank more highly on Google. With Google being the only search engine that really matters when it comes to your SEO, it’s vital that you understand at least the basics of how it works and what Google looks for when ranking pages. Whether you are keen to drive sales to your business, improve the readership of your blog, or just monetize a static page, knowing how to rank more highly will always be important. And with the methods constantly changing and updating, it’s good to stay in the know. Here are some of the major things to bear in mind as you try to rank more highly on Google in 2022. Work On Your On-Site SEO There are a few major kinds of SEO, as you may already know, but one of the major and most important ones is on-site SEO. As you might imagine, this refers to all the optimization that actually takes place within the website itself, in the design and layout of the individual pages that make up your website. Generally, it only takes about two minutes to optimize a single page for SEO, and yet the results are significant, so this is definitely something that you’ll want to do. To optimize a page, you’ll first need to have researched your keywords. Then it’s all about utilizing those keywords in the right manner. For instance, you’ll want to make sure that you use your primary keyword for a page at the start of its title tag (otherwise known as ‘frontloading’). You should also aim for length and depth of content; ideally, you’ll want around 1,800 words at least, because the average results on the first page of Google contains 1,447 words. And remember that content is still king. It is much more effective to offer up some fantastic content, as this is going to ensure that it gets shared so much more. So make sure that you do this, rather than being tempted to keyword-stuff the page. Don’t Overlook The Technical SEO As well as the on-site stuff, there is also the whole catalogue of SEO known as technical SEO. This is often overlooked or ignored altogether, but it forms a vital part of trying to rank your pages higher on Google. Technical SEO is a simple matter, and if you have used a website builder then it is probably already mostly okay, but you do need to check. First of all, make sure that your website is completely optimized for mobile usage. The majority of browsing happens on mobile these days, so it doesn’t make sense to overlook this. Secondly, make sure your site loads as quickly as possible, as a site that is too slow is going to harm your bounce ratio and exit rate. Finally, make sure that Google is actually indexing your site in the first place. It probably is, but it doesn’t hurt to check just in case. Remember Search Intent If there is one clear buzzword for search in 2022, it is probably ‘search intent’ – and with good reason. This refers to the way in which Google knows how people actually interact with your site. If people are getting what they’re looking for from your pages, then you will find your Google ranking only improves, so you need to know what their intent is when they are searching for your specific keywords. In other words, you need to provide the information that people are actually looking for, otherwise, Google may penalize you by dropping your site in the rankings. One simple way to make sure that your page is competitive is to take a look at the top-ranking pages and see if there is any information there that you have forgotten to include. You’ll then want to find your own way to include that in your own page. Keep People On Page Bounce rate is one of the most important figures that you need to be aware of and improve if you hope for your pages to get more traction. The bounce rate simply refers to the percentage of people who go straight back to Google without clicking on the second page of your site, and without completing a call to action. This is a sign that they are not getting what they need from your site, and it’s something you, therefore, want to keep as low as you possibly can. To improve your bounce rate, push your useful content up a bit – before the fold – so that they can see you are offering something valuable right away. It might be a good idea to have a content page early on too so that people can click straight through to the information they are looking for. You’ll also find that having lots of visual stuff like images and so on can really help to keep people engaged. Find More Keywords Keywords are still the cornerstone of great SEO, and you need to make sure that you are finding as many keywords as you might be able to in order to make use of them. Of course, you still don’t want to stuff your pages with keywords, as that is not going to produce the best results. What you want to do instead is to find lots of keywords to create useful and compelling content from. If you can do that, you should find that you can get so much more out of them, and your pages will rank a lot higher in no time. It is therefore worth carrying out more keyword research on a regular basis, just to ensure that you are utilizing the best ones available. Those are just some of the major things you can do to improve your page ranking on Google in 2022. Make sure to focus on these elements and you

Google Confirms Update To Local Search Results

Google Confirms Update To Local Search Results

Google Confirms Update To Local Search Results. Google has confirmed several changes to the local search algorithm, which it recently rolled out. Calling this update, the November 2021 local search update. Google confirms an algorithm update began rolling out to local search results at the end of November and concluded on December 8. This update involved a “rebalancing” of ranking factors Google considers when generating local search results. The November 2021 Local Search Update The Search Engine Journal is reporting that this update is officially being referred to as the November 2021 local search update, although the changes likely wouldn’t have been felt until the first week of December. Google’s guidance regarding this update is to continue following local SEO best practices, which are linked to in the tweet embedded above. Keep in mind the weight of each ranking factor listed in Google’s help guide has been rebalanced. The ranking factors for Google’s local search results are: >>> Relevance: how well a local Business Profile matches what someone is searching for >>> Distance: how far each potential search result is from the location term used in a search >>> Prominence: how well known a business is Google never gives exact details regarding the weight of each ranking factor. So perhaps the best way to respond to this update is to rebalance your efforts. For example, if you were focused more on optimizing for relevance by beefing up your Google Business Profile with information, maybe now is the time to focus more on the prominence of your business November was an eventful month in SEO, with a number of Google algorithm shakeups. However, it should be fairly easy to determine if you were impacted by the November 2021 local search update specifically. A local search update would only impact the ranking of your Google Business Profile in the local pack. If the ranking of your business profile is unchanged, then chances are good you haven’t been adversely impacted by this update.

Keep 301 Redirects In Place For A Year

Keep 301 Redirects In Place For A Year

Keep 301 Redirects In Place For A Year. Google says 301 redirects should be kept in place for at least a year to ensure the changes are recognized permanently, saying year is the minimum recommended length of time. Why a year? Because it takes a while for Google to process a major change like a site move. If redirects are in place for less than a year then Google may not end up crawling the links enough times to recognize the site has been moved permanently. This topic is highlighted in the latest installment of the Ask Googlebot video series on YouTube. Featured Image: YouTube.com/GoogleSearchCentral, December 2021 How Long Should I Keep A Redirect For A Site Move? Google’s Search Advocate John Mueller addresses the above question by first clarifying 301 redirects are the correct ones to use in this case. There are two main types of redirects people use on websites: 301s and 302s. A 301 redirect signals to Google that a page has been moved permanently, while a 302 redirect signals a temporary page move. A site move is a permanent change, so 301 is the appropriate redirect to use in this case. Given that the web is constantly evolving, you may be wondering if permanent actually means permanent. Mueller says: “At Google we try to reprocess all pages at least every few months. Most pages are checked more often. However, the amount of crawling is limited and there are many pages that we’d like to crawl, so we have to prioritize. When a URL changes our systems need to see the change in the form of a redirect for at least a few times in order to record that change. To be certain that a redirect has been seen a few times, we recommend keeping the redirect in place for at least one year.” With regard to site moves, it’s not as simple as redirecting the old domain to the new domain. You have to set up 301 redirects from every individual page on the old site to the equivalent page on the new site. If there are pages on the old site you don’t intend to keep, then it’s not necessary to redirect those to a new URL. It’s also important to update all references to the old URLs, such as critical links from outside of the website. Just to be clear, it’s perfectly fine to keep redirects in place for longer than a year. You can keep them up as long as you want to. To reduce the potential negative impact a site move can have on your SEO, a year is the bare minimum length of time to keep 301 redirects in place.

Google Cancels Mobile-First Switchover

Google Cancels Date For Mobile-First Switchover

Google Cancels Date For Mobile-First Switchover. Google has announced that the deadline for the switch to a completely mobile-first index has been cancelled and there is currently no date for a final switchover. Postponing the final switch to a mobile-first index was done to accommodate the remaining websites that have not yet been updated to a mobile-friendly version. The mobile-first index was intended to be an index of web pages that are mobile-friendly to be used for ranking purposes and for search-related features like the snippets. Delay in Date For Mobile-First Switchover The reason for moving to a mobile-first index was to better serve the majority of Google search users who primarily used mobile devices to access Google. The problem Google was solving was the one of showing search results from websites whose desktop version that was indexed varied significantly from the mobile versions shown to searchers on mobile devices. Google noted in 2016: “…our ranking systems still typically look at the desktop version of a page’s content to evaluate its relevance to the user. This can cause issues when the mobile page has less content than the desktop page because our algorithms are not evaluating the actual page that is seen by a mobile searcher.” The original idea was to completely move website indexing and web page ranking to 100% mobile-friendly documents and not use the content from the desktop versions for ranking and indexing. However that goal has been set aside for the time being and the timeline, according to Google, is being left open-ended. The date for the switchover to a fully mobile-first index was March 2021. However, that date came and went. A new blog post from Google (written by John Mueller) announced that the final date for a switch to a 100% mobile-first search index has been set aside, essentially cancelling a launch target date for a switchover. The announcement stated: “..after analyzing the sites that are not yet indexed mobile-first, we’ve determined that some of these sites are still not ready to be shifted over due to various, unexpected challenges that they’re facing. Because of these difficulties, we’ve decided to leave the timeline open for the last steps of mobile-first indexing. …we thought that we could complete the move to mobile-first indexing by March 2021. However, we found that some sites were facing unexpectedly difficult challenges and we wanted to accommodate their timelines. We currently don’t have a specific final date for the move to mobile-first indexing and want to be thoughtful about the remaining bigger steps in that direction.” Google’s indexing in the News Google’s indexing has been in the news lately and is a topic of concern and discussion on social media, with the perception being that Google’s indexing has changed. The search marketing community has been concerned about search indexing for the past month, with many sharing that it has become increasingly difficult to have content indexed by Google, with search marketers from around the world sharing data that seemingly proves that Google is indexing less content. Bing announced a new crawling protocol called IndexNow that promises major changes to how web pages are discovered and indexed. Google subsequently announced that they will study if there are any benefits to adopting the new IndexNow crawling and indexing protocol. It appears that for now, Google does not currently have firm plans for switching over to a fully mobile-first search index. Google did not share statistics for how many sites have failed to develop a mobile-friendly web presence but it must be a significant number for Google to resist leaving those websites behind in a move to a mobile-first index. Source: Search Engine Journal

Grow Your Business With SEO

Grow Your Business With SEO

Grow Your Business With SEO. Most new businesses are on the lookout for ways to help grow their business in ways that can be done with little or no money. Search Engine Optimisation, or more simply SEO, is one of the best ways to do this. SEO doesn’t require a big budget and, if done correctly, brings free traffic that grows and grows. What’s more, it can boost other marketing tactics and influence every phase of the marketing funnel. So if you want to start doing SEO for your business, you’re in the right place. So who do you need to convince to start doing SEO in your startup? Whoever it is, the managing director, sales director, or the aspiring Bill Gates, it all boils down to improving the bottom line, right? First of all, SEO is an investment that won’t pay for itself overnight. Like most things that are worth doing, it takes time. Looking at keyword research, creating content, and then how to promote it. It also takes time for Google or any search engine to crawl and index your content. Whoever the person you need to convince to embark on SEO, a great way to convince people of its merits is to start with the benefits of SEO. You can explain the benefits of SEO by illustrating the marketing tactics that it fuels: >>> Creates awareness and attracts potential customers >>> Helps engage your audience and build credibility >>> Helps convert customers >>> Helps you build loyalty and retention Reasons to Grow Your Business With SEO In 2014, Google and Millward Brown Digital conducted a study on the research and purchase habits among B2B decision-makers. That study revealed that 71% of B2B researchers start their research with a generic search (instead of a branded search). As Google, itself said, “They’re looking for a product or service first, not for you.” Local SEO – A Way Forward for Your Business When it comes to a typical small business online marketing campaign, Local SEO is arguably the most important component. This is a great way to work your way up in the search engine rankings—and stay there. When people search for the products and services you offer, you’ll be the first name they see and the first click, call or contact they make. Around 86% of customers use Search Engines to discover a business, demonstrating the importance of connecting with these customers. Our Local SEO experts will ensure that your business is seen by more of your local target audience, helping you achieve more local traffic than ever before. Once the visitors start landing on your website you have a chance to convert them into customers. This step requires a lot of thought and hard work. A lot of visitors will just leave your website, often because the website doesn’t look good/trustworthy or it doesn’t answer their search query. We at Direct Submit believe that effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) offers the best way to drive qualified traffic to your website. We are among the top SEO Companies in the North East & the UK, offering cutting-edge SEO services that will position your site to experience exponential growth in traffic. We deliver more customers — not just more website traffic!