Google recently announced that they will amend their “first click free” service for news publishing sites in favor of a “flexible sampling” model. The change also accompanies a new program where Google will selectively optimize search results for users based on how likely they are to subscribe to a particular news site. By looking at audience profile data, the search engine can identify audiences with high conversion potential for specific sites and influence their search results accordingly. These capabilities could signal a shift in the way Google provides lead generation options for businesses online. Although Google has not yet indicated whether they will bring their
Anyone taking a deep dive into SEMRush’s latest search engine optimization ranking study may be shocked to see conventional SEO ranking “wisdom” turned on its ear. The results of the study prove that many top-ranking pages have little difference when it comes to standard accepted SEO practices like keyword use in the meta description. Instead, what seems to matter most is that sites have high-quality content. This level of content quality drives traffic to sites and keeps users occupied, encouraging them to stay and read more. According to SEMRush, the following factors have the highest amount of differentiation between high-ranked pages and the strongest correlation
Google certainly has a way for getting attention, and displaying your site pages as “Not Secure” in Chrome is just the latest example. According to recent update notes, the Google Chrome browser will begin to flag certain site connections listed as HTTP rather than HTTPS as “Not Secure” in Chrome’s address bar. This warning will appear as red text whenever a site user begins to enter information into a text entry form, potentially scaring away visitors and shattering your marketing funnel. Since “forms” can include everything from an email submission widget to an in-site search query, sites that put off the switch will likely see
We stand for net neutrality. Let us repeat that. WE STAND FOR NET NEUTRALITY. Access to information on the internet in its entirety (even the Dark Web) is a basic American right under the First Amendment. No entity should be allowed to take that away. The Founding Fathers, particularly those who wrote and contributed to the Bill of Rights, were adamant about having an informed population. In the words of Thomas Jefferson: "I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is
LinkedIn is an incredibly powerful and useful tool for businesses --- mainly, white-collar businesses that provide a host of different services. For some users, it's simply a way to constantly update a resume and have a professional presence online. While this is fine and all, those who are not really active on the site are missing a massive opportunity to prove their knowledge in their field and, perhaps more importantly, farm one of the most valuable assets for SEO: Do-follow backlinks. Fortunately, setting up a do-follow backlink profile on LinkedIn is simple. In fact, it's three steps that take all of a few minutes to
The quest to find a suitable SEO / Digital Marketing company isn’t an easy one. Let’s face it: You probably don’t know too much about how the search engines work. Plus, you’re busy doing your job, and keeping up with the Google updates is a full time job. Unfortunately, this informational chasm has created an opportunity for bad search engine optimizers (SEOs) to pull the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting business owners and marketing managers. To the uninitiated, hearing lofty pitches about “keyword research” supported with Google Analytics reports can give the appearance of the kind of competency you’re looking for. But
A growing number of medium-to-large companies have been committing the same mistake when they decide to completely sever ties with their SEO agency partner. They look at their most recent invoice and say, “Why, we could be doing this all ourselves!” and opt to onboard a small but feisty SEO team full of ragtag go-getters and a tech wonk or two. And then, within eight months, that ragtag team is at wit’s end, and the company is breathing down their neck for more. More traffic! More reach! More attribution! We want to see where every penny is going! In the meantime, the technical debt
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Traditional Public Relations used to just be Public Relations --- the business of relating brands to the public via television, print and radio. Publicists and their agencies are responsible for reputation management, crisis communications, media outreach and general brand awareness. While public relations is not directly responsible for sales, it is a supporting character to build brand authenticity in the media for the trickle down approach to bringing in more customers. On average, it takes 13 exposures for a consumer to organically recognize a brand. Traditional Publicists work to increase the chances of print and media experiences through storytelling and delivering information, such
As mega-corporations spent a record amount on ads for the Big Game last Sunday to bring in more customers and website visits, local businesses may feel they are being squeezed out. Chances are, your deli doesn’t have $5 million to drop on ad space. The good news is, you don’t need to --- after all, Chicagoans aren’t going to fly to Atlanta just to try your reuben sandwich (sorry to crush your dreams). Yet even if you aren’t worried about targeting customers across the country, it can still be tough to stand up to other similar local businesses in your area --- much less