Friday, December 29, 2017
How to Rank in 2018: The SEO Checklist - Whiteboard Friday
Posted by randfish
It's hard enough as it is to explain to non-SEOs how to rank a webpage. In an increasingly complicated field, to do well you've got to have a good handle on a wide variety of detailed subjects. This edition of Whiteboard Friday covers a nine-point checklist of the major items you've got to cross off to rank in the new year — and maybe get some hints on how to explain it to others, too.
Click on the whiteboard image above to open a high-resolution version in a new tab!
Video Transcription
Howdy, Moz fans, and welcome to a special New Year's edition of Whiteboard Friday. This week we're going to run through how to rank in 2018 in a brief checklist format.
So I know that many of you sometimes wonder, "Gosh, it feels overwhelming to try and explain to someone outside the SEO profession how to get a web page ranked." Well, you know what? Let's explore that a little bit this week on Whiteboard Friday. I sent out a tweet asking folks, "Send me a brief checklist in 280 characters or less," and I got back some amazing responses. I have credited some folks here when they've contributed. There is a ton of detail to ranking in the SEO world, to try and rank in Google's results. But when we pull out, when we go broad, I think that just a few items, in fact just the nine we've got here can basically take you through the majority of what's required to rank in the year ahead. So let's dive into that.
I. Crawlable, accessible URL whose content Google can easily crawl and parse.
So we want Googlebot's spiders to be able to come to this page, to understand the content that's on there in a text readable format, to understand images and visuals or video or embeds or anything else that you've got on the page in a way that they are going to be able to put into their web index. That is crucial. Without it, none of the rest of this stuff even matters.
II. Keyword research
We need to know and to uncover the words and phrases that searchers are actually using to solve or to get answers to the problem that they are having in your world. Those should be problems that your organization, your website is actually working to solve, that your content will help them to solve.
What you want here is a primary keyword and hopefully a set of related secondary keywords that share the searcher's intent. So the intent behind of all of these terms and phrases should be the same so that the same content can serve it. When you do that, we now have a primary and a secondary set of keywords that we can target in our optimization efforts.
III. Investigate the SERP to find what Google believes to be relevant to the keywords's searches
I want you to do some SERP investigation, meaning perform a search query in Google, see what comes back to you, and then figure out from there what Google believes to be relevant to the keywords searches. What does Google think is the content that will answer this searcher's query? You're trying to figure out intent, the type of content that's required, and whatever missing pieces might be there. If you can find holes where, hey, no one is serving this, but I know that people want the answer to it, you might be able to fill that gap and take over that ranking position. Thanks to Gaetano, @gaetano_nyc, for the great suggestion on this one.
IV. Have the most credible, amplifiable person or team available create content that's going to serve the searcher's goal and solve their task better than anyone else on page one.
There are three elements here. First, we want an actually credible, worthy of amplification person or persons to create the content. Why is that? Well, because if we do that, we make amplification, we make link building, we make social sharing way more likely to happen, and our content becomes more credible, both in the eyes of searchers and visitors as well as in Google's eyes too. So to the degree that that is possible, I would certainly urge you to do it.
Next, we're trying to serve the searcher's goal and solve their task, and we want to do that better than anyone else does it on page one, because if we don't, even if we've optimized a lot of these other things, over time Google will realize, you know what? Searchers are frustrated with your result compared to other results, and they're going to rank those other people higher. Huge credit to Dan Kern, @kernmedia on Twitter, for the great suggestion on this one.
V. Craft a compelling title, meta description.
Yes, Google still does use the meta description quite frequently. I know it seems like sometimes they don't. But, in fact, there's a high percent of the time when the actual meta description from the page is used. There's an even higher percentage where the title is used. The URL, while Google sometimes truncates those, also used in the snippet as well as other elements. We'll talk about schema and other kinds of markup later on. But the snippet is something that is crucial to your SEO efforts, because that determines how it displays in the search result. How Google displays your result determines whether people want to click on your listing or someone else's. The snippet is your opportunity to say, "Come click me instead of those other guys." If you can optimize this, both from a keyword perspective using the words and phrases that people want, as well as from a relevancy and a pure drawing the click perspective, you can really win.
VI. Intelligently employ those primary, secondary, and related keywords
Related keywords meaning those that are semantically connected that Google is going to view as critical to proving to them that your content is relevant to the searcher's query — in the page's text content. Why am I saying text content here? Because if you put it purely in visuals or in video or some other embeddable format that Google can't necessarily easily parse out, eeh, they might not count it. They might not treat it as that's actually content on the page, and you need to prove to Google that you have the relevant keywords on the page.
VII. Where relevant and possible, use rich snippets and schema markup to enhance the potential visibility that you're going to get.
This is not possible for everyone. But in some cases, in the case that you're getting into Google news, or in the case that you're in the recipe world and you can get visuals and images, or in the case where you have a featured snippet opportunity and you can get the visual for that featured snippet along with that credit, or in the case where you can get rich snippets around travel or around flights, other verticals that schema is supporting right now, well, that's great. You should take advantage of those opportunities.
VIII. Optimize the page to load fast, as fast as possible and look great.
I mean look great from a visual, UI perspective and look great from a user experience perspective, letting someone go all the way through and accomplish their task in an easy, fulfilling way on every device, at every speed, and make it secure too. Security critically important. HTTPS is not the only thing, but it is a big part of what Google cares about right now, and HTTPS was a big focus in 2016 and 2017. It will certainly continue to be a focus for Google in 2018.
IX. You need to have a great answer to the question: Who will help amplify this and why?
When you have that great answer, I mean a specific list of people and publications who are going to help you amplify it, you've got to execute to earn solid links and mentions and word of mouth across the web and across social media so that your content can be seen by Google's crawlers and by human beings, by people as highly relevant and high quality.
You do all this stuff, you're going to rank very well in 2018. Look forward to your comments, your additions, your contributions, and feel free to look through the tweet thread as well.
Thanks to all of you who contributed via Twitter and to all of you who followed us here at Moz and Whiteboard Friday in 2017. We hope you have a great year ahead. Thanks for watching. Take care.
Video transcription by Speechpad.com
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Thursday, December 28, 2017
The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts
Posted by FeliciaCrawford
Now, I know we technically have a few days left in 2017, but I'm ready to dive head-first into a fond, full-blown retrospective. Each year we look back on what we've published, compiling and sharing the pieces you liked best. Normally we divvy it up via various metrics: traffic, 1Metric score, total thumbs up, total comments, the best of YouMoz, and so on and so forth. This year, however, we're doing things just a little differently.
A lot has changed in the past year...
The way we run the blog has changed in a few significant ways from the days of yesteryear. YouMoz, our user-generated content blog, was retired in the autumn of 2016 (though we hope to resurrect it in another form someday). We reduced our publishing frequency a bit, and refocused our content on core SEO topics after spending 2015 and 2016 branching out into other marketing subjects (like social media and content marketing). We also made some big changes with regards to commenting: we closed comments on posts older than 30 days (they became veritable spam factories), and implemented stricter moderation filters to better catch spammy comments fishing for either a link or easy MozPoints.
And if I'm being completely honest, I don't think the "Best of" posts from years past have offered you, our beloved readers, as much value as they should've. The most excited comments on those posts occur when someone discovers a gem they'd missed, when a post reaches out to you from the masses of online content clamoring for your attention and speaks to you. The way we formerly ranked "the best" resulted in a lot of overlap; the same few posts with lots of thumbs up, a busy comments section, and high traffic overwhelmed the leaderboard.
What criteria now determines "best"?
At the end of 2017, we're starting fresh. First, I've taken our ten most popular blog post categories by traffic — these represent the topics readers are actively seeking information on. Next, I thought about which metric matters most to me when I consider the success of a blog post. Traffic, thumbs, social shares... Nice to see, yes, but they don't paint a very clear picture of a post's impact. I found myself returning to my favorite blog post metric again and again: the comments.
A post with a lively comments section can be many things. Perhaps it sparked questions or debate; perhaps the findings were controversial; perhaps it was simply inspiring. Whatever the reason, a heavily commented-on post represents something that struck a chord, that convinced a person to peek out from behind their keyboard shield and contribute a thought, that coaxed a little extra effort and commitment from our community. As a silent lurker myself, I am consistently blown away by the humility, genius, and generosity you all display in the blog comments section every day.
So there we have it: this year's Best of the Moz Blog 2017 is a list of the top five most-commented posts in the top ten blog categories. That's fifty unique blog posts throughout the year on a variety of topics, some of which you may have missed. Most blog posts fall into several of our categories, but every post will only be listed once; if it's hit the top five in a more popular category, I've taken it out of the running for the rest. It's my sincere hope that this list uncovers something useful for you, something that helps make your job and day just a little easier.
Without further ado, let's get this party started!
(If you're curious, check out the Best of 2016 and the Best of 2015, too.)
The top 5 Whiteboard Fridays
Whiteboard Friday is far and away our most popular blog category, earning three times as much traffic as the rest. Because it always overlaps with at least one other category, you're bound to get a tidy grab bag of SEO takeaways with this list!
10 Things that DO NOT (Directly) Affect Your Google Rankings
Rand Fishkin, September 22nd
Thumbs: 85
Comments: 180
What do the age of your site, your headline H1/H2 preference, bounce rate, and shared hosting all have in common? You might've gotten a hint from the title: not a single one of them directly affects your Google rankings. In this rather comforting Whiteboard Friday, Rand lists out ten factors commonly thought to influence your rankings that Google simply doesn't care about.
What Do Google's New, Longer Snippets Mean for SEO?
Rand Fishkin, December 8th
Thumbs: 100
Comments: 136
Featured snippets and meta descriptions have brand-new character limits, and it's a huge change for Google and SEOs alike. Learn about what's new, when it changed, and what it all means for SEO in this episode of Whiteboard Friday. (And this is cheating, but for good measure, you might follow up with Dr. Pete's official recommendation for meta description lengths in 2018.)
What Links Can You Get that Comply with Google's Guidelines?
Marie Haynes, January 20th
Thumbs: 68
Comments: 112
If you've ever been the victim of a Google penalty, you know how painful it can be to identify the problem and recover from the hit. Even if you've been penalty-free thus far, the threat of getting penalized is a source of worry. But how can you avoid it, when it seems like unnatural links lurk around every corner?
In this Whiteboard Friday, we warmly welcome Google penalty and unnatural link expert Marie Haynes as she shares how to earn links that do comply with Google's guidelines, that will keep your site out of trouble, and that can make a real impact.
7 ‹Title Tag› Hacks for Increased Rankings + Traffic - Whiteboard Friday
Cyrus Shepard, May 5th
Thumbs: 185
Comments: 103
You may find yourself wondering whether the humble title tag still matters in modern SEO. When it comes to your click-through rate, the answer is a resounding yes! In this Whiteboard Friday, we welcome back our good friend Cyrus Shepard to talk about 7 ways you can revamp your title tags to increase your site traffic and rankings.
Comment Marketing: How to Earn Benefits from Community Participation
Rand Fishkin, January 13th
Thumbs: 53
Comments: 97
It's been a few years since we've covered the topic of comment marketing, but that doesn't mean it's out of date. There are clever, intentional ways to market yourself and your brand in the comments sections of sites, and there's less competition now than ever before. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand details what you can do to get noticed in the comments and the benefits you'll reap from high-quality contributions.
The top 5 posts in On-Page SEO
The results of our recent Moz Blog Reader Survey highlighted on-page SEO as the topic you'd most like to learn about, so it's not surprising to see that this category sits right under Whiteboard Friday for popularity. There's an interesting theme that emerges from these top posts: it seems we're still working on many of the same things, but how we treat them has necessarily changed over time.
How Links in Headers, Footers, Content, and Navigation Can Impact SEO - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, October 20th
Thumbs: 68
Comments: 92
Which link is more valuable: the one in your nav, or the one in the content of your page? Now, how about if one of those in-content links is an image, and one is text? Not all links are created equal, and getting familiar with the details will help you build a stronger linking structure. This Whiteboard Friday covers links in headers and footers, in navigation versus content, and how that can affect internal and external links, link equity, and link value between your site and others.
It's Time to Stop Doing On-Page SEO Like It's 2012
Rand Fishkin, February 6th
Thumbs: 84
Comments: 91
On-page SEO has evolved in the past five years. Rand outlines the changes in five succinct tactics: move beyond keyword repetition rules; searcher intent matters more than raw keywords; related topics are essential; links don't always beat on-page; and topical authority is more important than ever.
The Wonderful World of SEO Meta Tags [Refreshed for 2017]
Kate Morris, April 13th
Thumbs: 46
Comments: 67
Which meta tags are absolutely necessary, which are dependent on your situation, and which should you absolutely ignore or remove? Kate Morris refreshes her original 2010 post on the subject of meta tags, sharing a few new tips and reiterating what's remained the same over the past 7 years.
Designing a Page's Content Flow to Maximize SEO Opportunity - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, December 1st
Thumbs: 54
Comments: 48
Controlling and improving the flow of your on-site content can actually help your SEO. What's the best way to capitalize on the opportunity present in your page design? Rand covers the questions you need to ask (and answer) and the goals you should strive for in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.
How to Do a Content Audit [Updated for 2017]
Everett Sizemore, March 22nd
Thumbs: 49
Comments: 31
Learn how to do content audits for SEO in this comprehensive, updated guide by Everett Sizemore, including tips for crawling large websites, rendering JavaScript content, and auditing dynamic mobile content.
The top 5 posts in Local SEO
Local SEO overlaps with what we think of as traditional SEO in many ways, so it's not surprising at all to see this category near the top. There's still a lot of doubt and apprehension, it seems, when it comes to local SEO best practices and what really works, and the top posts in this category reflect that.
Local SEO Spam Tactics Are Working: How You Can Fight Back
Casey Meraz, March 28th
Thumbs: 48
Comments: 75
It's very clear that spam tactics in Google's local results are earning higher rankings. In this post, Casey Meraz identifies exactly what spammers are doing to get ahead, what they can get away with, and what you can do to fight back against the problem plaguing local results.
Not-Actually-the-Best Local SEO Practices
Miriam Ellis, December 11th
Thumbs: 47
Comments: 72
Not all common practices in local SEO are the best practices. In fact, some of them can be pretty darn harmful. Check out Miriam's list of what-not-to-dos (and what-you-should-actually-dos) in this comprehensive blog post.
The 2017 Local SEO Forecast: 10 Predictions According to Mozzers
Miriam Ellis, February 14th
Thumbs: 35
Comments: 67
From Google providing intimate details about businesses to Amazon expanding even further into the local scene, local SEO stood to see a lot of change this year. Check out what the SEOs at Moz had to say about what to prepare for in 2017.
Proximity to Searcher is the New #1 Local Search Ranking Factor
Darren Shaw, February 22nd
Thumbs: 58
Comments: 65
Forget everything you thought you knew about the most impactful local ranking factors — searcher proximity just may be the number-one thing influencing where a local business shows on the SERPs.
How to Perform a Basic Local Business Competitive Audit
Miriam Ellis, August 22nd
Thumbs: 32
Comments: 65
Are you outranked in Google's Local Pack? Then it's high time to perform a competitive business audit. Use this example analysis and downloadable spreadsheet to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of multiple businesses and devise a plan to win.
The top 5 posts in Basic SEO
Basic SEO is another category that enjoys a lot of overlap with other topics; perhaps that's one reason why it's so popular. This year's top posts in this category cover a range of subjects, and all are pretty useful for someone learning (or leveling up in) SEO.
Aren't 301s, 302s, and Canonicals All Basically the Same? - Whiteboard Friday
Dr. Pete, March 3rd
Thumbs: 62
Comments: 69
They say history repeats itself. In the case of the great 301 vs 302 vs rel=canonical debate, it repeats itself about every three months. In this Whiteboard Friday, Dr. Pete explains how bots and humans experience pages differently depending on which solution you use, why it matters, and how each choice may be treated by Google.
How to Prioritize SEO Tasks [+Worksheet]
Britney Muller, September 21st
Thumbs: 41
Comments: 64
An absolute essential if you want to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed, Moz's own SEO Britney Muller offers five tips for prioritizing your SEO work: setting specific goals, identifying important pages for conversions, uncovering technical opportunities via a site crawl, time management, and providing consistent benchmarks and reporting.
5 Tactics to Earn Links Without Having to Directly Ask - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, July 28th
Thumbs: 71
Comments: 63
Typical link outreach is a tired sport, and we've all but alienated most content creators with our constant link requests. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand outlines five smart ways to earn links to your site without having to beg.
"SEO Is Always Changing"... Or Is It?: Debunking the Myth and Getting Back to Basics
Bridget Randolph, July 19th
Thumbs: 56
Comments: 60
We're so fond of the idea that SEO is hard because it's always changing. But is that really true? Bridget Randolph challenges a common industry refrain and brings us back to the basics of what's really important in our work.
How to Target Multiple Keywords with One Page - Next Level
Brian Childs, June 15th
Thumbs: 45
Comments: 56
In this edition of our educational Next Level series, you'll learn an easy workflow for researching and targeting multiple keywords with a single page.
The top five posts in Link Building
A thousand years from now, when the Space Needle has toppled into Puget Sound and our great-great-great-great-etc. grandchildren are living on Mars, link building will still prove to be one of the most popular subjects on the Moz Blog. And you get a double-whammy of goodness this year, because they just so happen to all be Whiteboard Fridays!
Should SEOs Care About Internal Links? - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, May 26th
Thumbs: 85
Comments: 87
Internal links are one of those essential SEO items you have to get right to avoid getting them really wrong. Rand shares 18 tips to help inform your strategy, going into detail about their attributes, internal vs. external links, ideal link structures, and much, much more in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.
How to Prioritize Your Link Building Efforts & Opportunities - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, February 17th
Thumbs: 73
Comments: 81
We all know how effective link building efforts can be, but it can be an intimidating, frustrating process — and sometimes even a chore. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand builds out a framework you can start using today to streamline and simplify the link building process for you, your teammates, and yes, even your interns.
The 3 Easiest Link Building Tactics Any Website Can Use to Acquire Their First 50 Links - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, September 8th
Thumbs: 81
Comments: 77
Without a solid base of links, your site won't be competitive in the SERPs — even if you do everything else right. But building your first few links can be difficult and discouraging, especially for new websites. Never fear — Rand is here to share three relatively quick, easy, and tool-free (read: actually free) methods to build that solid base and earn yourself links.
When and How to Use Domain Authority, Page Authority, and Link Count Metrics - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, June 16th
Thumbs: 50
Comments: 71
How can you effectively apply link metrics like Domain Authority and Page Authority alongside your other SEO metrics? Where and when does it make sense to take them into account, and what exactly do they mean? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand answers these questions and more, arming you with the knowledge you need to better understand and execute your SEO work.
Image Link Building - Whiteboard Friday
Britney Muller, December 15th
Thumbs: 48
Comments: 63
Image link building is a delicate art. There are some distinct considerations from traditional link building, and doing it successfully requires a balance of creativity, curiosity, and having the right tools on hand. In this Whiteboard Friday, Moz's own SEO and link building aficionado Britney Muller offers up concrete advice for successfully building links via images.
The top 5 posts in Advanced SEO
2017's top posts in the advanced SEO category cover just about every post type we like to publish (and that you like to read): in-depth case studies, Whiteboard Fridays, best practice advice, and solid how-tos.
[Case Study] How We Ranked #1 for a High-Volume Keyword in Under 3 Months
Dmitry Dragilev, April 19th
Thumbs: 73
Comments: 140
If you've been struggling to take the number-one spot in the SERPs for a competitive keyword, take a cue from this case study. Dmitry Dragilev shares his team's 8-step methodology for ranking first in a popular niche.
How Google AdWords (PPC) Does and Doesn't Affect Organic Results - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, November 17th
Thumbs: 68
Comments: 89
It's common industry knowledge that PPC can have an effect on our organic results. But what effect is that, exactly, and how does it work? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand covers the ways paid ads influence organic results — and one very important way they don't.
SEO Best Practices for Canonical URLs + the Rel=Canonical Tag - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, July 14th
Thumbs: 62
Comments: 87
If you've ever had any questions about the canonical tag, well, have we got the Whiteboard Friday for you. In this episode, Rand defines what rel=canonical means and its intended purpose, when it's recommended you use it, how to use it, and sticky situations to avoid.
How to Uncover Hidden Keyword-Level Data Using Google Sheets
Sarah Lively, February 13th
Thumbs: 42
Comments: 83
Which keywords are driving your organic traffic? Keyword-level data doesn't have to be (not provided). Sarah Lively shares a smart solution using two free add-ons for Google Sheets.
How Long Should Your Meta Description Be? (2018 Edition)
Dr. Pete, December 19th
Thumbs: 49
Comments: 76
The end of November saw a spike in the average length of SERP snippets. Across 90K results, we found a definite increase but many oddities, such as video snippets. Our data suggests that many snippets are exceeding 300 characters, and we recommend a new meta description limit of 300 characters.
The top 5 posts in Technical SEO
Technical SEO posts are some of my favorite categories to publish (which is perhaps a strange sentiment coming from a poetry major). The debate that recently raged — about whether it's necessary or unnecessary for SEO — will always stick with many of us, as will Rand's excellent Whiteboard Friday rebuttal on the topic.
XML Sitemaps: The Most Misunderstood Tool in the SEO's Toolbox
Michael Cottam, April 11th
Thumbs: 43
Comments: 83
XML sitemaps are a powerful tool for SEOs, but are often misunderstood and misused. Michael Cottam explains how to leverage XML sitemaps to identify and resolve indexation problems.
JavaScript & SEO: Making Your Bot Experience As Good As Your User Experience
Alexis Sanders, June 20th
Thumbs: 56
Comments: 79
More and more, we're realizing it's incredibly important for us as SEOs to understand JavaScript's impact on search experience. Can search engines see your content and experience your site the way a user does? If not, what solutions can you use to fix it?
Pros and Cons of HTTPS Services: Traditional vs Let's Encrypt vs Cloudflare
JR Ridley, September 13th
Thumbs: 38
Comments: 78
Thinking about going secure? It's more important than ever, with Google issuing security warnings for many non-secure sites in Chrome. This comparison of three popular HTTPS services will help you determine the best option for implementing an SSL certification on your site.
Mastering Google Search Operators in 67 Easy Steps
Dr. Pete, March 1st
Thumbs: 82
Comments: 76
Google search operators are like chess – knowing how the pieces move doesn't make you a master. Dive into 67 examples, from content research to site audits, and level up your search operator game.
Unlocking Hidden Gems Within Schema.org
Alexis Sanders, October 18th
Thumbs: 45
Comments: 69
Schema.org can be a confusing resource if you're trying to learn how to use and implement structured data. This mini-guide arms you with the right kind of thinking to tackle your next structured data project.
The top 5 posts in Keyword Research
The posts generating the most buzz in our keyword research category seem to revolve around quick yet effective wins and tactical advice. And with time constraints being one of the biggest challenges reported in our Reader's Survey, it's really no surprise.
The Lazy Writer’s Guide to 30-Minute Keyword Research
Britney Muller, July 26th
Thumbs: 52
Comments: 54
Keyword research doesn’t have to be a marathon bender. A brisk 30-minute walk can provide incredible insights — insights that connect you with a wider audience on a deeper level. Britney Muller shares several ways to get your keyword research tasks done efficiently and well.
The Keyword + Year Content/Rankings Hack - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, February 10th
Thumbs: 63
Comments: 49
What's the secret to earning site traffic from competitive keywords with decent search volume? The answer could be as easy as 1, 2, 3 — or more precisely, 2, 0, 1, 7. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand lets you in on a relatively straightforward tactic that can help you compete in a tough space using very fresh content.
3 Tactics for Hyperlocal Keywords - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, February 24th
Thumbs: 63
Comments: 47
Trying to target a small, specific region with your keywords can prove frustrating. While reaching a high-intent local audience is incredibly valuable, without volume data to inform your keyword research, you'll find yourself hitting a wall. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand shares how to uncover powerful, laser-focused keywords that will reach exactly the right people.
Which of My Competitor's Keywords Should (& Shouldn't ) I Target? - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, November 24th
Thumbs: 45
Comments: 44
You don't want to try to rank for every one of your competitors' keywords. Like most things with SEO, it's important to be strategic and intentional with your decisions. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand shares his recommended process for understanding your funnel, identifying the right competitors to track, and prioritizing which of their keywords you ought to target.
NEW in Keyword Explorer: See Who Ranks & How Much with Keywords by Site
Rand Fishkin, October 23rd
Thumbs: 41
Comments: 43
It's not often that a product-focused post makes our blog's Best of the Year list, so this is both interesting and heartening to see. We worked really hard to bring better data and more usefulness to Keyword Explorer this year, and y'all left some really kind sentiments in the comments. Thanks for always being here for us, folks! :)
The top 5 posts in Content
I won't say it, I promise. ;) But content is just as important as ever, and the rather vague advice of "create great content and the rest will come" has certainly gotten a bit exhausting over the years. We've made an effort to publish more actionable ways to think about and use content, and it seems like that's been resonating with you so far!
Refurbishing Top Content - Whiteboard Friday
Britney Muller, February 3rd
Thumbs: 66
Comments: 82
You've got top-performing content on your site that does really well. Maybe it's highly converting, maybe it garners the most qualified traffic — but it's just sitting there gathering dust. Isn't there something else you can do with content that's clearly proven its worth?
As it turns out, there is! In this Whiteboard Friday, Britney Muller shares three easy steps for identifying, repurposing, and republishing your top content to juice every drop of goodness out of it.
What We Learned From Analyzing 1.4 Million Featured Snippets
A.J. Ghergich, January 17th
Thumbs: 48
Comments: 78
From optimal snippet length, to practical application tips, to which queries prefer tables, lists, or paragraphs, learn everything you need to know to supercharge your snippet wins.
The Perfect Blog Post Length and Publishing Frequency is B?!!$#÷x - Whiteboard Friday
Rand Fishkin, August 18th
Thumbs: 76
Comments: 65
The perfect blog post length or publishing frequency doesn't actually exist. "Perfect" isn't universal — your content's success depends on tons of personalized factors. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand explains why the idea of "perfect" is baloney when it comes to your blog, and lists what you should actually be looking for in a successful publishing strategy.
Learning to Re-Share: 4 Strategies to Renew, Refresh, and Recycle Content for Bigger Reach
Jen Carney, August 2nd
Thumbs: 31
Comments: 51
You've spend too much time and effort on content creation to share it only once. Check out four smart strategies you can implement today to improve the reach of your existing content.
How to Build the Right Content Marketing Strategy for SEO Growth
Alli Berry, November 15th
Thumbs: 30
Comments: 51
Keywords are important for innumerable SEO tasks, but driving your content marketing strategy isn't one of them. Your strategy should be based on the audience you're trying to reach if you want your organic traffic to convert.
Paid Search Marketing
While it perhaps seems a little strange for an SEO blog to cover, paid search plays an important part in our digital marketing world, and as reported in our Reader's Survey, plenty of us wear more than one hat. Here are the top posts from 2017 that generated the most commentary about all things paid:
Do iPhone Users Spend More Online Than Android Users?
Martin Meany, October 11th
Thumbs: 27
Comments: 71
iPhone users tend to spend 3x as much as Android users, according to an analysis of 31 million mobile e-commerce sessions. Digital marketers can capitalize on this revelation via Facebook and AdWords.
Branding Success: How to Use PPC to Amplify Your Brand
Purna Virji, February 21st
Thumbs: 34
Comments: 44
You might be surprised to learn that branding and PPC go hand-in-hand. Find out how to leverage your PPC campaigns to strengthen your brand and win conversions and loyalty from your customers.
No, Paid Search Audiences Won’t Replace Keywords
Kirk Williams, May 30th
Thumbs: 33
Comments: 29
Keywords or audience targeting? Kirk Williams sets out to argue that far from being dead, keywords are still the most useful tool in the paid search marketer's toolbox.
Paid Social for Content Marketing Launches - Whiteboard Friday
Kane Jamison, September 29th
Thumbs: 31
Comments: 29
Stuck in a content marketing rut? Relying on your existing newsletter, social followers, or email outreach won't do your launches justice. Boosting your signal with paid social both introduces your brand to new audiences and improves your launch's traffic and results. In this Whiteboard Friday, we're welcoming back our good friend Kane Jamison to highlight four straightforward, actionable tactics you can start using ASAP.
The Step-By-Step Guide to Testing Voice Search Via PPC
Purna Virji, March 21st
Thumbs: 30
Comments: 24
Conversational interfaces are becoming more and more popular, but it's hard to know where to start when it comes to voice search. A $50 PPC budget is enough to jumpstart your voice search keyword list and strategy — learn how in this step-by-step guide.
Top comments by thumbs up
Comments are my favorite blog post success metric, and it simply wouldn't do if we didn't honor the folks who contributed the most popular comments in 2017. Thank you, all of you, for sharing your thoughts with the greater Moz and SEO community, and for taking precious time out of your day to make the blog a more interesting and better place. And for all the comment lurkers out there like me, I offer you solemn solidarity and zero judgment (but I'd be delighted to see y'all venture out from behind the screen now and again ;).
1. Praveen Sharma on "10 Things that DO NOT (Directly) Affect Your Google Rankings - Whiteboard Friday" – 58 thumbs up
Short, sweet, accurate, relevant advice is the name of the game. :) We've had feedback before that some readers come to the blog for the comments as much as the post itself, and this example shows why. Thanks for sharing your insight, Praveen!
2. SEOMG on "7 ‹Title Tag› Hacks for Increased Rankings + Traffic - Whiteboard Friday" – 42 thumbs up
Much like the above, this comment exemplifies clear, useful examples related to the post topic. You rock, SEOMG!
3. Praveen Sharma on "The 3 Easiest Link Building Tactics Any Website Can Use to Acquire Their First 50 Links - Whiteboard Friday" – 39 thumbs up
Swooping in again with another helpful tidbit to add to the blog post at hand, Praveen's made it on the Top 10 list twice. We really appreciate your contributions, Praveen!
4. Trevor Klein on "Moz Transitions: Rand to Step Away from Operations and into Advisory Role in Early 2018" – 38 thumbs up
A bittersweet comment that clearly struck a chord with many in our community. Rand, I hope you know how much we all love and appreciate you! And Trevor, thank you so much for your candid and genuine thoughts; you truly spoke for all of us there.
5. Gianluca Fiorelli on "SEO Best Practices for Canonical URLs + the Rel=Canonical Tag - Whiteboard Friday" – 30 thumbs up
Gianluca's comments on the Moz Blog are legendary; each one is a treasure, a miniature blog post in and of itself. Thank you for sharing your smarts with us, Gianluca!
6. Rand Fishkin on "What Do Google's New, Longer Snippets Mean for SEO? - Whiteboard Friday" – 28 thumbs up
By using the comments section to clarify a few points about his Whiteboard Friday video and highlight his advice, Rand adds extra value and oomph to the post as a whole... and the community responded. :) Thank you for always leaving 10X comments, Rand!
7. Eric Hahn on "10 Things that DO NOT (Directly) Affect Your Google Rankings - Whiteboard Friday" – 26 thumbs up
The discussion in the thread spurred by this helpful, on-topic comment is the kind of lively, educational back-and-forth we love to witness. Thank you for inspiring folks to ask questions and learn, Eric!
8. Igor Gorbenko on "What Do Google's New, Longer Snippets Mean for SEO? - Whiteboard Friday" – 25 thumbs up
It makes me really happy that our community has — and rewards — such awesome personality. Igor, thank you for your wit and your insights! ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬
9. Tim Soulo on "Moz Transitions: Rand to Step Away from Operations and into Advisory Role in Early 2018" – 22 thumbs up
The blog community definitely resonated with all the heartfelt, personal stories shared on this post. Tim, thank you for sharing!
10. Gianluca Fiorelli on "Comment Marketing: How to Earn Benefits from Community Participation - Whiteboard Friday" – 21 thumbs up
In an incredibly meta turn of events, Gianluca's comment on our Comment Marketing Whiteboard Friday rounds out the list of 2017's top comments on the Moz Blog. I don't think there's a person on this Internet that's done a better job of personal comment marketing than Gianluca! :)
Here's to you!
Thank you all, each and every one of you, for helping to keep our little community a thriving, nurturing place to learn SEO, share ideas, and hey, even make mistakes now and again. It's an honor to have a hand in providing content to such a TAGFEE and brilliant group of people, and I can't describe how excited I am for all that 2018 will bring.
Let me know in the comments how you liked the change-up this year, what other "Best of" formats or lists you might find helpful, and any other ponderings or thoughts you might have — and thank you again for reading!
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!
This Facebook Ad Experiment Generated $1.1 Million
We write quite a bit about the most effective ways to use Facebook.
How can you grow your audience? How can you reach the right people? And what's the best way to use ads?
And in March, when Facebook launched its mobile-only Collection ads feature, marketers responsible for ad spend took note. agains standard single video ads. Now, instead of simply publishing a single image or video, brands could now pair this visual content with something like a product catalog related to it.
One marketer -- Digital Spotlight CEO Ash Aryal -- decided to test the new feature, investing a $177,843.34 spend to see how Collection ads stacked up against single video ads.
Even better: The results were compiled into the comprehensive, interactive infographic below. Scroll through to see how the experiment turned out.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
10 Free Templates Every Small Business Needs in 2018
Owning or working for a small business can be extremely rewarding.
You have a good view of the business operations, your work is visible, and you have an opportunity to make a big impact during the company's critical growth years.
But then there are the less glamorous aspects -- from tight budgets and limited resources to lack of direction and leadership -- that can really start to weigh on you.
It would be nice if someone would throw you a bone every now and then, right?
That's why we took some time to round up 10 completely free templates that you can lean on to streamline your workflow, save time, and get more done.
10 Free Templates Every Small Business Needs in 2018
1) Professional Bio Templates
Let's face it: Writing about yourself can feel, well, awkward.
The good news is we've created 40+ fill-in-the-blank bio templates that you can use to put together an impressive, professional narrative that you'll want to share.
Use these professional bio templates to give your team page a refresh. We recommended collaborating with a couple of colleagues you work closely with as you fill these out to ensure you're speaking to all of your awesome skills.
2) Invoice Templates
For larger businesses, investing in paid invoicing software is a good way to keep your payments organized, but for small to mid-sized businesses, paying for a solution isn't always an option.
If you're looking for a cost-free way to stay on top of your billing, check out these free invoice templates for Microsoft Word. These invoice templates come in different colors and styles, so you can pick one that best suits your business.
*Bonus* We also just launched a free invoice template generator that allows you to create professional invoice PDFs in just a few clicks. Check it out here.
3) Company Newsletter Template
Want to keep your contacts and customers engaged and informed about your business? Try sending a monthly company newsletter.
This clean and concise template makes it easy for you to plug in things like updates, accomplishments, awards, and upcoming events to share with your community.
You can also adapt this template to use internally for an employee newsletter featuring new hires, promotions, culture events, and changes in existing policies.
4) Employee Timecard Template
Keeping tabs on employee hours is a really important part of running a business. Aside from ensuring your employees get paid (and get paid on time), having a log of hours can also help to resolve conflicts, evaluate employee engagement, and plan quotes in service-based industries.
With the help of this timecard template, you can keep all of your employee hours organized by week, month, and year. And don't worry about busting out that calculator: the template takes care of totaling each line for you.
5) Business Letterhead Templates
An on-brand letterhead, while it may seem like a small detail, can go a long way when it comes to establishing credibility and trust through written communications.
In many cases, your letterhead serves as a first impression to potential customers, so you want to make sure it represents your business well. Additionally, your letterhead typically houses valuable contact details, so you'll want to convey that information in a really clear and concise way.
6) Email Templates
Think about how much time you spending crafting emails on any given day. One hour? Two hours? More than five hours?
Aware that email can be a serious time suck, we created 15 email marketing templates to simplify all of your marketing and sales needs -- from PR and blogging outreach to customer reference emails.
These fill-in-the-blank templates are especially helpful when it comes to reducing the time you spend on emails that you're sending on a repeat basis.
7) Meeting Agenda Template
We've all been in our fair share of meetings that have gone off the rails. But unproductive meetings suck up valuable time that could be better spent on impactful projects.
To keep things on track, try using a simple meeting agenda template.
Fill out this template a few days ahead of your meeting and send it out to all of the participants. Doing this in advance will give folks time to prepare for the meeting accordingly -- and ultimately eliminate any confusion.
8) Infographic Templates
When you work at a small company, design resources can be hard to come by. But that doesn't mean your content creation efforts need to suffer as a result.
These free infographic templates can be used by designers and non-designers alike to create quality inforgraphics right in PowerPoint or Illustrator.
Use these infographic templates to visualize your latest research report, create a shareable blog post, or promote a piece of gated content on social media.
9) Social Graphic Templates
With the help of these Canva templates, you can create stunning social media images for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and more.
These templates are designed to meet the dimension requirements for each network, so you can spend less time hunting down accurate aspect ratios and more time boosting your social media engagement.
10) Small Team Status Board Template
If you're working on a really small team -- let's say 1-10 people -- you might find this status board template useful.
The template provides a column for each member of your team where they can add high-level status updates. This can be updated daily, weekly, or monthly to keep everyone on the same page about priorities, progress, and opportunities for collaboration.
Not to mention, the handy color-coding system allows you to determine the current standing of the task (good, needs attention, waiting on someone, etc.) at a quick glance.
Save Time in 2018
So there you have it: 10 incredibly useful business templates that will help you save time and hit the ground running next year.
Can you think of any other templates you lean on for support? Share them with us on Twitter @HubSpot.
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Monday, December 25, 2017
Mozzy Good Wishes to You & Yours!
Posted by FeliciaCrawford
As the long holiday weekend draws to a close and we prepare to welcome a brand-new year, we at Moz just want to thank you all for a wonderful, fulfilling year on the blog. Your colorful commentary, delightful debates, thrilling thumbs-up, and vivacious visits have made the past twelve months sparkle and shine (and with that, I'll bid the alliteration adieu).
Our "card" features a cameo from a little Moz Dog you may recognize: the inimitable Lettie Pickles!
At the Moz HQ, we practice a multitude of holiday traditions. Whether it's Mozzers gathering in the common room (affectionately named "Roger") to light candles on the menorah during Hanukkah, trading and stealing gifts for the company-wide White Elephant exchange (someone won a bonafide Commodore 64 this year!), or getting our boogie and our board gaming on at the Moz holiday party, we try to honor this special season with a healthy mix of reverence and good old-fashioned fun.
The folks who come to our blog for digital marketing advice hail from almost every remote corner of the world (we know; we looked at our analytics ;). This week, when things tend to slow down and it's just a little more difficult than usual to get anyone to reply to your emails, we'd love to invite you to share your own unique tales and traditions in the comments. What's your favorite way to celebrate, in the office and at home? What mishaps and magical moments alike filled your days, and what's your resolution for 2018? Let's take a little breather as we gear up for all the new projects and responsibilities awaiting us just around the corner and share with each other; after all, that's what being a community is all about! :)
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!
Friday, December 22, 2017
Everything You Need to Know About Starting a Podcast in 2018
I’ve become a morning walking companion to people I may never meet.
How is this possible? They take me along in their earbuds as they stream my podcast, Build a Better Agency
It’s a wonderful sign of things to come for marketers willing to venture into the podcasting universe.
Once a fringe platform, podcasts are now surprisingly mainstream. According to Nielsen, six out of 10 people understand what they are, and 112 million Americans -- 40 percent of the nation’s population -- have listened to at least one. Though podcast listeners lean male, it isn’t by much: 56 percent are men, while 44 percent are women.
Marketing professionals must not only be aware of these statistics, but they must also leverage them in their own campaigns. When 67 million men and women are monthly podcast consumers, it’s a niche that deserves serious contemplation. Add to that fact the amazing statistic that 63 percent of podcast listeners made a purchase based on something the host recommended, and you have yourself a veritable gold mine.
Of course, you have to crawl, then walk, then break into a steady trot to glean the benefits.
A no-nonsense primer from a podcast experimenter.
In my case, I’d written blog posts, conducted webinars, and published articles in places like Forbes and Fast Company for some time. These content producers worked, but I felt a different portal would help connect with more agencies and leaders in an accessible, easy to find, on-demand format.
As a longtime podcast listener myself, I recognized that the podcasting platform was the next logical step for me -- especially if I wanted to reach a narrow audience of mid-sized agency owners and leaders as an authority in my field for more than 23 years. And as a long-time professional, I hired Predictive ROI, an Agency Management Institute agency, to produce the podcast so I wouldn’t make as many rookie technical mistakes.
Still, opening yourself up to podcasting is a little like breaking the lid on Pandora’s box. Until you do it, you have no idea what to expect. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t head off issues before you go live.
Expect a certain amount of learning as you go, but be ready to explore the technology before fully launching your podcast. You wouldn’t open a bakery with your very first pie, so don’t hit “publish” until you get the lay of the land and make a plan. (Being a podcast guest prior to launching your own is a smart idea, too.)
Podcasting in the beginner’s circle.
Even if you’ve never been in front of a mic before, you can map out the first phase of a solid podcast schedule. From there, you’ll be able to branch out.
1. Create a checklist to keep yourself on task.
I asked myself tons of questions repeatedly before committing to podcasting. They included everything from the niche audience I wanted to reach to whether being the host of a podcast was a short-term fad or a long-term interest. I also considered what podcast style I preferred to offer the public, including a show prep and publishing schedule.
Obviously, your checklist will be individualized, but be sure it includes a section on technical elements. Setting up audio, iTunes, accounts, and interviews can be tricky if you haven’t done your homework.
2. Set up your basic show format.
Every interviewer prefers to run his or her podcast in a particular way. Many podcasters ask guests the same questions, but as a listener, I find that gets stale in a hurry. Sure, it’s less prep work, but it makes the host look lazy. I preferred interviewing subject matter experts but wanted to occasionally keep the door open to produce a solocast. My compromise was a 4–1 ratio of interviews to solocasts.
I was reasonably confident that I could have a few questions on hand and then launch into a conversation on the fly from there. A big risk? Maybe. But I believed I could pull off a 45-minute to 60-minute conversation without a safety net.
3. Leverage the heck out of your network.
The first 10 episodes set the tone for any podcast launch, so make sure you line up high-profile, interesting, engaging guests who won’t be turned off if you have very few -- or no -- listeners. My friends came through in a big way for me, offering me rock stars from day one. Not only did they help publicize the podcast, but they also generously allowed me to ride on their social media coattails.
4. Track your downloads.
Rob Walch was one of my recent podcast guests who offered an important consideration for any podcasters: You have to stay on top of your downloads. Rob’s suggestion is to hit at least 500 downloads an episode to feel sure you’ve broken the cycle of only having people in your inner circle tune in.
What’s a reasonable download number for your, quote, “success”? Only you can determine this, but it helps to keep a steady eye on the numbers. Starting to see a downward trend in listenership? Go back to square one and ask those tough questions again so you can pivot before your podcast loses traction.
5. Produce great content consistently.
Does everyone have a bad episode once in a while? Sure. And if you’ve planned in advance and have great content in the bag, you can simply not release it in lieu of a better one. Before you release your podcasts publicly, try to have several on hand. That way, you get the relief of a buffer zone.
Don’t try to start too quickly. You can always ramp up your delivery later. With my travel schedule that sees me on no fewer than 200 planes a year, I decided to get 10 episodes in before I proved to myself I could sustain the effort. August and September 2015 were a flurry of set-up and recordings, and we opened our podcast doors -- virtually -- in October 2015. Since then, we’ve published a new episode weekly without fail.
6. Prepare to become a podcast promoter.
Your target personas won’t find your podcast without a little help, so promote it like your life depends on it. I utilized our company’s email list, my personal social channels, and myriad other platforms. In addition, I requested that each guest promote his or her episode.
We were fortunate to get on iTunes New and Noteworthy, landing us in the top five of several of its subject-specific lists during our first month.
7. Learn how to monetize your podcast.
Finally, it’s important to figure out how to earn an income based on your podcasting. One way is to promote your book, workshop, or online course, creating thought leadership at the same time.
If you have a narrow audience lacking depth or width and you just can’t sell advertisements or sponsorships, you can still make numbers work in your favor.
Sound like hard work? It is, but it’s totally worth it if you strategize. Two years after unveiling my first episode, we have 110 five-star reviews, and episodes are downloaded in more than 125 countries. I’m pleased to say we’ve also earned a presenting sponsorship from HubSpot. Podcasting hasn’t just been a feeder for the business, but a phenomenal marketing opportunity as well.
Have you thought about taking the podcasting plunge? The water’s a bit choppy at first, but there’s plenty of room for another swimmer!
Thursday, December 21, 2017
10 Out-Of-Office Messages to Kick off Your Holiday Season
When it comes to the final days before vacation, people tend to fall into one of two camps: 1) those who watch the clock incessantly, and 2) those who are so busy before they leave, they might even forget to put up an out-of-office email message.
If you're anything like I am, you probably fall into team two. That doesn't leave a lot of time to get creative. But if you plan ahead, you might be able to craft some hilarity.
Out-of-office messages run the gamut. From funny, to clever, to snarky, we've come across some of the best -- from Google, and from colleagues.
Here are some of the gems we found. And once you're back from vacation? Well, not to rush you, but this email productivity guide can help you get back on track after your out-of-office time.
10 Funny Out-of-Office Messages
1. The Not-So-Tropical Getaway
We'll give this guy first place, since we almost feel bad for him. Almost. Rather than using an out-of-office message for a tropical vacation, he used one to explain his absence during what would likely be a snowstorm. Not only did it give us a chuckle, but it also generated a certain amount of empathy -- which is often the key to good content.
Source: New Relic
2. The Sorry-I'm-Not-Sorry
If your email client allows it, you could always just use an image to express your out-office-sentiment, like this one. After all, they say that a picture is worth a thousand words -- and, visual content is still essential to successful marketing.
Source: Barry Moroney
3. The Popular Film Reference
Are you familiar with the film Field of Dreams? If not, allow us to fill you in. It centers around baseball and a family in Iowa, but saying any more might spoil the plotline.
Movie synopses aside, the opening line of this out-of-office message was taken directly from the Field of Dreams script -- fitting, given the sender's travels to Iowa. So before you leave, research some famous quotes about the place you're visiting. It might test the recipient's knowledge, but more likely, it'll just make them smile.
Source: New Relic
4. The Scavenger Hunt
When my colleague Sam Mallikarjunan went on vacation, he set an out-of-office message that was both clever and smart. First, he sent the recipient on an imaginary scavenger hunt to "the highest peak of the tallest mountain." He used humorous absurdity to make it clear that he would not be checking email while he was away.
Plus, he incorporated a delightful technique to let people know that if they really wanted him to read their emails, they should probably send them again after his return. Not only does that keep the sender accountable by saying, "If this is really important, you know when to reach me," but it also helps Mallikarjunan truly vacate his work while he's away. And that's hard to do -- And if you struggle with it, check out these tips.
Source: Sam Mallikarjunan
5. The Blunt Approach
Josh Kopelman, we salute you.
Not only did Kopelman manage to turn his out-of-office message into an epic poem of sorts, but also, he actually went through the trouble of creating a delightfully snarky, vacation-specific email address for his recipients.
Giving the option to contact an email address containing "interruptyourvacation" provides two things -- 1) A dose of humor, and 2) discouragement from actually doing what the name suggests. Plus, he prefaces it with a request for empathy, by explaining that he promised quality time to his family.
Here's where honesty is a helpful device. Sure, Kopelman is truthful about the fact that he's on vacation, but he also lets the recipient know that he or she would be interrupting important family time if the first option is chosen. It states a point simply, and uses humor to avoid making it sound like he wants the reader to feel guilty.
Source: Gizmodo
6. The Third Person
When HubSpot Marketing Manager Karsten Köhler is out of the office, he doesn't mess around. In fact, he's turned his auto-responses into a running series of commentary for fictional cartoon character Troy McClure.
Each time McClure makes an appearance in these out-of-office messages, he "speaks" on behalf of Köhler and alludes to the previous auto-responses in which he starred. It's a mild form of self-deprecating humor -- as if to say, "I know, I'm out of the office again" -- made only funnier by the made-up teaser title included in the last line.
As with the Field of Dreams example, don't be afraid to use a pop cultural reference that audience would recognize. Instead of bemoaning your absence, they'll have something fun and familiar to laugh at.
Source: Karsten Köhler
7. The Twitter Method
... and then, there was the out-of-office tweet. We're not entirely sure where it originated, but it has two sides.
If you actually want people to be able to reach you, and you're more likely to be checking Twitter than email while out of the office, it might be an effective way for people to reach you.
But if you tend to use social media during vacation and really do want to be left alone, we would suggest offering a different communication method in your auto-response.
I’m not in the office right now but if it’s important, tweet me using #YOUAREINTERRUPTINGMYVACATION pic.twitter.com/SgL97nof8L
— Philippe Khattou (@Phil_Khattou) August 14, 2015
8. The Liquid Update
We wish we could find the original source of this one. It's made several lists, and its author is likely a legend within his or her network.
That said, even though we've been preaching honesty as the best policy, be careful with messages that are this transparent. Make sure you're familiar enough with your audience -- and your boss, for that matter -- to know that this sort of out-of-office message will be met with a snicker, and not with concern.
I am currently out of the office and probably out-of-my-mind drunk. Enjoy your work week."
9. The Guessing Game
There's a term that we like to use around here called "snowbirds," which is used to describe those who once resided in the northern part of the U.S., only to flee to warmer parts of the country during the winter.
And although I had mixed feelings about my own parents joining that population in Florida, I couldn't be too upset when my dad suggested flying down from Boston for a Red Sox spring training game.
Naturally, I had to take the day off -- and couldn't let folks know with any old generic auto-response. Instead, I made a guessing game of it.
10. The Out-of-Office Mad Libs
If you're feeling a bit stumped for inspiration -- be it the eggnog or a full calendar of engagements to blame -- there's a template for that.
Luminary Labs, to the joy of those suffering from writer's block everywhere, came up with a Mad-Libs-style out-of-office message generator that lets you simply fill in a noun, verb, or adjective to describe why you're out of the office and when you'll be back.
Might we recommend it as a team-bonding activity for your company holiday party? Here's how one such exercise turned out:
Are Google's Featured Snippets Eating Your Blog Traffic?
The HubSpot Marketing Blog has been around since 2006.
Think about that for a moment. It's been 11 years -- with is plenty of time for successes, failures, changes, and growth. And within that tradition, the Marketing Blog has been no exception.
The Marketing Blog has been a key part of HubSpot’s inbound business. The more posts we published, the larger our audience grew. In 2014, we celebrated reaching 1.5 million views a month. And now, we take pride in our 4.5 million monthly visits.
But then, earlier this year, we noticed that our traffic was falling flat. Then, it declined. In such a short period of time, we had gone from impressive growth to stagnation -- and what's worse, we couldn't figure out why.
Sound familiar?
We have an answer -- but the news isn't exactly, well, good. As it turns out, Google is likely eating your blog traffic -- specifically, its featured snippets.
Here's how we found out.
What Is Google's Featured Snippet?
A featured snippet is a concise response to a Google search query. It's displayed on top of the general results, and also includes the page's publication date, title, and URL.
How We Discovered What Happened
While we spent several months trying to figure out what was going on with our traffic, for the purposes of this post, we'll be focusing on the data we collected that led to our discovery of featured snippets eating blog traffic. To read about the full methodology, visit our research report.
When we looked at the existing data available on this matter, we discovered that, at the root of the issue was that search is simply changing. The number of featured snippets on search engine results pages (SERPs) has grown 328% since summer 2015. On top of that, just under one-third of Google searches now returns a featured snippet.
That may not sound like a huge amount, but when you also consider that, according to Moz, almost half of today's searches result in zero clicks, it indicates that people might be getting the answers they need directly on the SERP -- no page visits required.
In other words, the trends indicated that we were likely losing traffic to featured snippets, whether that snippet received any clicks or not.
What That Means
To put that into context, consider that on SERPs with no featured snippet, we found that the first result can expect to bring in about 33% of the total clicks. The second result accounts for 18%, and the rest, 11% or under.
But we couldn't just take their word for it. We had a deeper look to see if this was, in fact, happening with our own blog posts, highlighting a few that particularly stood out to us.
With a featured snippet, position #1 is, well, a losing result. That's because the featured snippet gets such a high ratio of clicks -- about 50%, versus 33% -- decreasing clicks on the remaining results below it to the point that some of the top 10 become nearly obsolete.
So, yeah -- with featured snippets appearing on a third of all Google SERPs, there's a good chance that they're eating your traffic.
We suspected that might be the case with a few of our own blog posts, and picked out three examples for which our page rank on the SERP didn't fluctuate significantly year-over-year -- in fact, in some cases, it remained in position #1 -- but we didn't capture the featured snippet for the highest-volume queries or keywords.
Here's how much the raw traffic on those posts decreased.
1. "How to Make a Chart or Graph in Excel"
Query: "how to make a graph in excel"
Monthly search volume: over 8,000
How we appeared in the SERP: Position #1 -- but didn't capture the featured snippet
The result: 38% decrease in visits from 2016 to 2017
2. "16 of the Best Job Interview Questions to Ask Candidates"
Query: "best interview questions"
Monthly search volume: over 9,000
How we appeared in the SERP: Position #4 -- didn't capture the featured snippet
The result: 35% decrease in visits from 2016 to 2017
3. "15 Hidden Instagram Hacks and Features"
Query: "instagram hacks"
Monthly search volume: over 1,000
How we appeared in the SERP: Position #1 -- but didn't capture the featured snippet
The result: 24% decrease in visits from 2016 to 2017
It boils down to the click-through-rate (CTR) from the SERP. Featured snippets were the primary reason we’ve seen our blog traffic flatten this year -- even though we ranked well, someone else accounted for half of the clicks, ultimately bringing down our raw traffic.
What to Do About the Featured Snippet
Moving forward, there are some things that can be done to fight these changes. Here are the two primary ones we're testing.
1. Capturing the featured snippet.
We're optimizing existing posts that are currently not capturing the featured snippet, and creating new posts with the featured snippet -- as well as other search features -- in mind.
2. Finding the green space.
Snippets are not going away -- and as long as they're around, they'll continue to eat blog traffic -- sometimes, despite your best efforts. So even with optimization, we won’t ever completely replenish the traffic we lost. To counter that, we’ll work to identify subject matter gaps that created content and clusters in new topic areas where our audience is seeking answers.
... for now, at least. What's your plan? Feel free to weigh in on Twitter, or let us know if you have a question about it.
