Online Marketing Madness — Strategic Reads from February 2017
This is part of a regular series of PlusROI posts that provide a collection of links to useful marketing resources and actionable strategies to help you grow your business. The February links are curated by Nevin Thompson (@NevinYYJ), Rian Bowden and Rob Cooper (@robertecooper).
And just a heads-up: this month we found the invaluable MOZ blog provided the most compelling and actionable reading.
Are You Still Doing SEO Like It’s 2012?
Influential online marketing guru Rand Fishkin says he’s observed a pattern of critical flaws in how most marketers and search engine optimization specialists approach on-page SEO.
On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines, and Fishkin says most marketers have not adjusted to just how much SEO has changed over the past five years.
Luckily, Fishkin has identified five common mistakes, and he also generously provides simple, tactical fixes for each one.
How to Prioritize Your Link Building Efforts and Opportunities
Rand Fishkin provides another article with actionable advice, this time about link building. Link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own. These links not only help your customers find you online, but also help search engines determine where you rank compared to your competitors.
Link building is a huge and never ending job. When we have limited time, it’s important to focus and prioritize our efforts. But where to start? Rand Fishkin has provided a step-by-step framework you can start using today to streamline and simplify the link building process for you and your team.
How Much Does Your Click-Through-Rate Affect Search Rankings?
When it comes to search engines, it can be tough to figure out exactly what helps you rank higher. For example, Google does not disclose how its search algorithm works. Instead industry experts and other in the online marketing community compile and compare “ranking factors” they have researched and observed while working in the trenches of online marketing.
One topic that is hotly debated is whether or not your click-through-rate affects your search engine rankings. “Click-through rate” (CTR) is the ratio of users who click on your link in search results compared to the total number of people who saw it when conducting a search.
Obviously, a high CTR is desirable. This means your search results would seem to be relevant to searchers–that’s why they clicked on your link. But do search algorithms consider CTR when determining where you rank in search results?
One online marketer decided to take a look to find out.
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