WordPress is a popular and powerful content management system (CMS) that is used by millions of websites around the world. It is known for its ease of use and flexibility, and it is a great platform for building websites and optimizing them for search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO Friendly & Easy To Use

One of the reasons why WordPress is a great platform for websites and SEO is that it is user-friendly and easy to use. WordPress has a simple and intuitive interface that allows even non-technical users to easily create and manage their website’s content. This makes it a great option for businesses and individuals who want to create a professional-looking website without having to hire a web developer or learn complex coding languages.

WordPress is highly customizable, which means that users can easily add and modify the features and functionality of their website. There are thousands of themes and plugins available for WordPress, which allow users to quickly and easily add new features and functionality to their website. This makes it easy to create a unique and engaging website that stands out from the competition.

Clean & Valid Code

Another reason why WordPress is a great platform for websites and SEO is that it is optimized for search engines. WordPress websites are built using clean, valid code and are structured in a way that is easy for search engines to understand. This makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index a WordPress website’s content, which can improve its ranking in search results.

SEO Plugins & Tools

WordPress includes built-in tools and features that make it easy to optimize a website for SEO. For example, WordPress allows users to easily create and manage custom permalinks, which are the URLs that are used to access each page on a website. This allows users to create short, descriptive, and keyword-rich URLs that can help improve a website’s ranking in search results.

Automatic Sitemap Generation

WordPress includes built-in support for creating and managing a sitemap, which is a file that lists all of the pages on a website and provides information about their relevance and importance. This can help search engines more effectively crawl and index a website’s content, which can improve its ranking in search results.

WordPress is a great platform for websites and SEO because it is user-friendly, customizable, and optimized for search engines. Its built-in tools and features make it easy to create and manage a professional-looking website, and to optimize it for search engine ranking. Whether you are a business owner, blogger, or online marketer, WordPress is a great platform to consider for your website.

Load time is now one of the most important ranking factors for SEO. This means that if your website is too slow, you could be losing out on potential revenue. Here’s what you need to know about how load time affects your rankings and what you can do about it now.

Why Does Site Speed Matter?

Google wants to provide its users with the best possible experience by delivering quickly. A site that doesn’t give visitors the information they’re looking for promptly results in their returning to the search engine results page (SERP). If people are bouncing off your site quickly, that signals to Google that your result wasn’t relevant to what they were looking for. As a result, you could see your rankings drop.

How Can You Improve Your Site’s SEO?

1. Choose and Host Wisely

Make sure that youR hosting provider can support the amount of traffic that you expect to receive.

2. Minimize Redirects

A redirect is when a server sends a user to a different page than the one they requested. Make sure that you’re minimizing redirects and keeping clicks to one click per session.

3. Remove Unnecessary Elements

Removing unnecessary elements, such as scripts and widgets that you don’t need will help your visitors load your site quickly and will make your website run more efficiently.

Site speed is vital to staying ahead in today’s market. Contact Integrated IT Solutions today to rank higher and increase revenue.

Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the ranking of a website on search engines like Google. It involves a combination of on-page and off-page strategies designed to increase the visibility and credibility of a website. While the ultimate goal of SEO is to drive more organic traffic to a website, it can take some time before you start seeing a return on your investment.

One of the biggest misconceptions about SEO is that it provides instant results. In reality, it takes time for search engines to crawl and index a website, and even more time for those changes to affect its ranking. Depending on the competitiveness of your industry and the effectiveness of your SEO strategy, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months before you start seeing significant improvements in your search engine rankings.

Another factor that affects the timeline for SEO results is the amount of effort and resources you are willing to put into it. SEO is an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring and adjustments to stay ahead of the competition. If you only invest a small amount of time and effort into SEO, you are unlikely to see significant results. On the other hand, if you are willing to commit the necessary resources and work closely with an SEO expert, you can expect to see a return on your investment within a few months.

One of the best ways to accelerate the timeline for SEO results is to focus on the most effective tactics. This includes optimizing your website for keywords that are relevant to your business and have a high search volume, improving the user experience of your website, and building high-quality backlinks from other reputable websites. By focusing on these key areas, you can improve your search engine rankings and start seeing a return on your investment in a shorter amount of time.

In conclusion, while SEO can take some time before you start seeing a return on your investment, it is well worth the effort. By investing in a comprehensive and effective SEO strategy, you can improve your search engine rankings and drive more organic traffic to your website. This can lead to increased visibility for your brand, more qualified leads, and ultimately, more revenue for your business.

An SEO agency is a professional service that helps businesses improve their search engine rankings and drive more organic traffic to their websites. SEO agencies can provide a range of services, from keyword research and on-page optimization to link building and content marketing.

Here are ten things that every SEO agency should do to provide effective and comprehensive services to their clients:

1. Conduct thorough keyword research to identify the most relevant and valuable keywords for a client’s business. This can involve using tools like Google’s Keyword Planner and analyzing competitors’ keywords to identify opportunities for improvement.
2. Perform a comprehensive audit of a client’s website to identify technical issues, such as broken links, slow loading times, and duplicate content, that may be hindering their search engine rankings.
3. Implement on-page optimization strategies to improve the relevance and value of a client’s website for their target keywords. This can include optimizing meta titles and descriptions, improving the structure and organization of the website’s content, and increasing the use of keywords in the body text.
4. Develop a link building strategy to improve the authority and credibility of a client’s website in the eyes of search engines. This can involve building high-quality backlinks from reputable websites, creating engaging content that is likely to be shared and linked to, and participating in relevant online communities and forums.
5. Create and implement a content marketing plan to help a client’s website rank for their target keywords and drive more organic traffic. This can include creating blog posts, articles, infographics, videos, and other types of content that are valuable and relevant to the client’s audience.
6. Monitor and track the progress of a client’s SEO efforts, using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to measure key metrics such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, and backlinks. This can help the SEO agency identify areas for improvement and adjust their strategies accordingly.
7. Provide regular reports and updates to clients to keep them informed of the progress of their SEO efforts and the impact on their business. These reports should include clear and concise metrics, as well as recommendations for further optimization and improvement.
8. Stay up-to-date with the latest developments and trends in the world of SEO, including algorithm updates from search engines, new technologies and tools, and changes in user behavior and preferences. This can help the SEO agency provide the most effective and current services to their clients.
9. Develop strong relationships with clients, providing personalized and responsive support to address their questions and concerns, and working closely with them to understand their business goals and needs. This can help the SEO agency provide tailored and effective services that align with the clients’ objectives and expectations.
10. Maintain the highest ethical standards in their SEO practices, avoiding tactics that violate search engine guidelines or are considered spammy or manipulative. This can help the SEO agency provide long-term and sustainable results for their clients, without risking penalties or penalties from search engines.

An SEO agency should provide a range of services to help their clients improve their search engine rankings and drive more organic traffic to their websites. These services should include keyword research, website audits, on-page optimization, link building, content marketing, progress tracking, regular reporting, industry expertise, client relationship management, and ethical practices. By providing these services, an SEO agency can help their clients succeed in the world of online search.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of a website in search engines like Google. This is done by optimizing the content and structure of a website, as well as building high-quality backlinks from other websites.

When a user types a query into a search engine, the search engine uses algorithms to determine which pages on the internet are most relevant to the user’s query. The search engine then displays the results, ranking the most relevant and high-quality pages at the top of the search results.

To improve a website’s visibility and ranking in search engines, SEO experts use a variety of techniques. These may include optimizing the content on a website to include relevant keywords, improving the structure of a website to make it more user-friendly and easy to navigate, and building high-quality backlinks from other websites. By doing this, SEO experts can help a website rank higher in search engine results, making it more likely for users to find the website when they search for relevant keywords.

Transparency is vital

Your SEO Agency should address transparency as its core value. You need to layout a protocol from day zero.

After all, you don’t want to be disappointed after running a successful campaign but having no insights at the end of the month. Therefore, you need to proactively tell the SEO Agency to upkeep with analytics, tools, and all other parameters in place.

Moreover, this also means that you as a company should lend a helping hand to the agency if they face any issues. This will allow the agency to maintain a ‘can-do’ attitude. In addition to that, you should keep an eye on what’s happening on your website.

Checking each call to action every day is tedious, but you can certainly give periodic checks heed to. It is important that you connect with the agency every once and check for any shortcomings. This support will empower the collaboration to sustain.

 

Backlinks are brownie points

Your SEO Agency should be keen to generate backlinks from highly authoritative websites. To do that, you need to get the hang of how the Algorithm in Google (or any other search engine) works.

Backlinks can create a buzz. But what exactly is a backlink?

When other platforms refer to your content by placing the link to your website on theirs, then it is a good sign. This helps Google to trust your website more, and it will end up making your website even more reliable.

Moreover, to top it up, your website will rank up on Google, and you must have guessed it right by now. It will appear on the top search results with a better frequency.

However, the agency should be conscious enough of not adding links to your websites on spam sites. Else that will be a bummer! Remember, the golden rule is not to get more backlinks but the right ones.

 

Associate with a company that banks on logic

Here is a quick question, what would your answer be to an agency that assures you a top rank on Google or any other search engine within a week?

No, right?

Why would that be?

Your rational mind will immediately tell you that it’s no child’s play. The good news is that there is no rocket science either. It is doable. All you need is the right approach.

You get in touch with an SEO Agency and tell them what you are aiming for. They after aligning to your goals, skim through your website and do a detailed analysis.

In addition to that, they come up with facts and figures such as your website’s performance, your competitors’ data, and more. Post which, it is on you to call whether you want to move ahead with the agency to attain the desired objectives.

 

Time is Money

If you invest a huge amount of the company’s time into getting their website ranked top on Google, you would want the results. It is not just about the position, but what comes next matters.

Traffic.

Yes, you are right on point! Your website should get enough traffic that converts into your loyal audience and eventually generates revenue. The ranking is one thing; revenue is another.

If you observe closely, you will understand both are sides of the same coin. They should go hand in hand, and one should not overpower the other.

If you obsess on ranking and forget about the revenue, then certainly you are not going anywhere. However, if you dismiss the rank, then gradually, your credibility will be at stake.

 

Say ‘YES’ to a fair deal

Don’t get carried away if the agency quotes a dime. On a similar note, don’t be overwhelmed if they charge you a fortune. You don’t necessarily have to settle for any. Dig into the details to get a clearer picture.

The best bargain is to look at it as an investment and not an expenditure. Keep in mind, price and value are two different things. Your entire focus should be on what it brings to you in return and not on the amount debited from your bank balance.

However, at the same time, you should be alert to comprehend the situation you are ending up in. There is nothing wrong with taking a calculated risk as long as you are vigilant.

 

Attention is everything

Suppose your SEO Agency prioritizes your tasks so that you are never out of their attention span, then nothing like it. Always remember that it is a one to many relationships when it comes to your SEO agency.

One agency takes care of multiple companies’ ranking, which is obvious. The real art lies in how it juggles between them to give Integrated IT the right amount of time that it deserves.

Getting your website ranked on Google should be their non-negotiable target and not a sidekick. These terms and conditions are the prerequisites for seamless functioning. These should be set in stone before you get on to business.

Your contract has to be vocal about the fact that the agency will take due responsibility for keeping track of the audience across your website, at least until the contract stays valid.

 

Spectrum of Services

The wide spectrum of services that an SEO agency offers varies from company to company. There are some that stick to the basics of keyword analysis and generating backlinks across multiple platforms.

At the same time, some go out of their way to support the firm with email marketing, social media marketing, content curation, and much more. It all depends on your requirement and the conditions that both parties agree on.

It is advisable to start with the basics, and as and when the relationship builds, you can bring other tasks into play. This will allow you enough bandwidth to check how the agency works and the timeline it sticks to. It can be challenging initially, but slowly, things start falling into place once the collaboration gets its hang.

 

Documentation is the key

It is essential to understand why you need a reportage at all. If your Scottsdale SEO agency is proactive and sends you monthly reports, you can adhere to the fact that it follows good practice.

You need to the documentation religiously. It all boils down to what matters to you as a company. Is it rank, revenue, traffic, or conversions? You can take a call and see for yourself if the SEO agency can work on these deliverables.

Whatever it may be, you should record it in black and white for reference at any point in time, independent of the location you are operating from. You can even maintain a calendar to remind you of the dates when the report needs to be presented, and accordingly, you can update your archive.

 

Draw a line between the company’s and employee’s experience

Many companies tend to confuse the two. However, they stand way apart. Your firm should be concerned about the employee’s experience and not the company’s establishment date.

The company might be old while the employees might be new. Ultimately, the people’s experience and skill set will help your company’s website rank better. This is where the real agenda lies.

There are chances that the agency may be decades old, but the employees are inexperienced, and your understanding of this fact will make all the difference.

Considering the scenario these days, each day, new firms erupt and die. All you need is satisfactory outcomes and genuine employees, so keep your eye on that and leave the peripherals aside.

 

Involve experts

It is unambiguous to understand that you will not know the thick and thin of the SEO world, especially if your firm is new and has just stepped into business.

For such cases, you should not shy away from taking advice from experts in the field. They will only make your work easier.

If you have a friend in the law fraternity, then nothing like it. After all, you need to understand the in and out of the contract before signing it.

Do not take it as a set of formalities that need to be taken care of but be aware that there might be any hidden clauses or penalties. Being a new firm, you should never rule out the possibility of things going out of control.

If you are looking for the best SEO company in Scottsdale, you can get in touch with us.

 

It’s a new year and that means making changes. Looking back at 2018 can give SEOs some insight on what to expect in 2019. The following are four SEO predictions for the new year.

1. Search Engines Will Become Smarter

It’s predicted that search engines won’t think like search engines anymore. Instead, they’ll start to think like a person would. Rather than focusing SEO on keyword lists, SEOs should start to think about the goals and motivation their audience has, and focus their content on that. They should understand the intent behind the search so they can deliver proper results.

2. Things Will Speed Up

More and more consumers are on-the-go when they’re completing a search. They want answers and they want them fast. Your site and your content have to be up to speed. It has to be available quickly, it has to be exactly what the user wants and it has to be easily accessible. This could also reduce the need for backlinks in 2019, though they still matter and should still be used appropriately.

3. Traditional Rankings Will Improve Voice Searches

Voice searches are always increasing, so if you have a traditional SEO plan in action, you’re actually in a good spot. Traditional rankings are important when it comes to voice searches because UX optimization, on-page SEO and an effective SEO strategy improve voice search results.

4. Google Will Get Some Competition

Although other “engines” are already out there, 2019 might be the year they make a bigger comeback. People are looking for information and products all over the place, not just on Google. They’re on various mobile apps, Apple, Amazon and more. You need to be where your customers are looking so it’s important you give Google some competition.

As you can see, SEO is alive and well and here to stay for 2019. Always remember things are speeding up and you need to keep up with it.

If you have noticed a negative shift in your web traffic recently, there is a good chance that the reason for it is related to your SEO practices. The best way to confirm that your traffic issue is related to the content and the way it’s indexed by search engines is to look at the search results only, isolating the traffic you get from manual searches from the traffic obtained through links on other domains. Once you’ve done that, any apparent drop that is still visible is coming from the way the search algorithm interacts with your pages.

 

Diagnosis

Generally speaking, there are a couple of major violations that result in the search engine penalizing your pages. Integrated IT Solutions recommends checking first for any notifications in your Search Console. These notifications will typically have detailed descriptions of the violation which help you to isolate it and remedy it. Afterward, submitting a reconsideration request will get your page analyzed by a trained professional and, if the errors are gone, it will get re-approved.

If you have no messages, then your issue stems from the use of Google’s sorting algorithms, Penguin and Panda. Broadly speaking, Penguin related issues stem from links that run to your site from other sites, and Panda issues stem from thin content on your site.

 

Identifying and Correcting Link (Penguin) Issues 

Whether you were manually notified of your SEO issue or you unveiled it through investigation, the steps to correct the problem remain the same.

Use a combination of your Search Console and related tools like Open Site Explorer to run multiple reports on your incoming links.

Remove duplicates to get the best master list possible.

Check for links that come from advertising, links from “doorway” pages, and links you paid to have included on other sites. Also, make sure that your site is not indexed in more than 1 or 2 of the most important web directories for your industry.

For links from ads, adding the “nofollow” attribute takes care of the issue by assuring the Google bots that you are not trying to spam them.

For other links, you will need to reach out to the owners of the pages and request removal.

If any pages refuse to remove your link or fail to respond to three attempts, then Google has a disavowal tool that allows you to correct the issue through them.

If your list of incoming links doesn’t have anything suspect in it, meaning it does not have any links from countries where you don’t operate or links that you paid for, then the next step is to look at your content.

 

Identifying and Correcting Content (Panda) Issues 

Thin content is another issue entirely, and one that can be remedied quickly once you know what Google views as “thin” content. As you review your pages, remove, rewrite, or redesign around the following issues:

 

Ad-heavy pages. These are pages that have excessive advertising as defined by Google, and their own guidelines need to be consulted for the most up-to-date rules.

Pages with scraped content. These are a major problem for Google, an often times they are also violating copyright or other intellectual property laws.

“Doorway” pages. Pages that serve to convert people to ecommerce sites and for no other real purpose are penalized. Reviews are one thing, but direct conversion pages are another.

Poor product descriptions. Ecommerce sites that only list basic manufacturer-supplied information in their product descriptions are penalized.

Unmoderated user content. If you have reviews or comments, make sure you prune out any spammy or otherwise poor-quality contributions to keep your own site sharp.

 

Following through with these basic SEO diagnoses and troubleshooting recommendations will solve most of your algorithm indexing issues. It can take some time for the algorithms to re-index your site, but once you have fixed the problems, it’s just a matter of waiting that period out before your performance will be restored.

Ever since last year, when Google first announced the rollout of its Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project, questions about how this new technology will affect search results have been fast and furious. With the search giant promising wide implementation as quickly as possible and news outlets adopting the AMP as a way to speed access to mobile devices, it’s easy to see why. Here at Integrated IT Solutions, we decided it’s important to take a minute to sort through a few of them, particularly the ones related to how Google AMP will affect search results.

 

How AMP Displays in Organic Searches

In the early days of the project, the only place that AMP pages were indexed was in the “Top Stories” carousel on Google News. This made sense during the pilot phase, because it was news and media sites that were driving the adoption of the new platform and benefitting from it, with some 4.2 million pages of AMP content per day going live. Now, as the program expands to organic results, it appears that the choice has been to place them side by side in the listings.

This means that when a site has AMP support set up, the familiar lightning bolt icon that Google already uses will show in its results, right next to the blue link.

 

How AMP Changes Search Results

Google insists that the rollout of AMP is not designed to change search results, but this only means that the algorithm is not being tweaked to privilege them. It’s important to remember that, because there is a difference between the algorithm being changed and user behavior that changes rankings. While the company did not design or intend for this new platform to change organic search rankings, it most assuredly will, even if it is regular user behavior that instigates the change.

The scenario looks something like this:

Google AMP supported content works six to eight times faster than alternatives.

Users realize this through their contact with AMP in media sites.

Users begin to choose accelerated sites over others for their enhanced experience.

As AMP rolls out to other sectors, user knowledge transfers.

Automated Landing Pages customers realize this and integrate the technology more competitively.

Search rankings change to reflect new user preferences.

While user experience is not necessarily the only factor driving consumer behavior, it is still a factor, and so any disruption that has the potential to greatly shift that order is one worth understanding.

 

How to Get the Most Out of AMP Adoption

First and foremost, moving to support AMP content is not necessarily a good move for every company. There are costs associated with it, and one has to consider the size of a company’s audience and the relative level of competition for services they face as part of any cost/benefit analysis on the topic. That being said, for companies that are on the fence about whether or not to implement it, there is a strong case to be made for putting it in place. Before you do that, standard web optimization practices should already be put into place and followed. In short: Write engaging copy. Use graphics that support your page organization and content. Optimize for performance across all devices. Then, once you have a stable and engaged SEO practice that is showing you results, it’s time to move into AMP adoption.

There are new best practices to follow to get the most out of AMP, and Google has created a site for developers who are interested in following through with adoption at ampproject.org, making it easier for companies to identify the key differences and follow through with them. Out of the box, the performance increase is fantastic, and with optimization, early adopters of this new platform stand to gain a significant number of page views. When that happens, get ready for changes in the rankings.

Use These 5 Simple Snippets for Ecommerce SEO

Since the beginning of ecommerce SEO on the Internet many years ago, stores have been vying for attention and sales from their customers. Competition is fierce, and buyers are always shopping for the best deal. Most shoppers look for the same key factors when shopping online as they do in person: price, brand-name appeal, availability and reputation.

So how does a store make sure they get noticed online? If you’ve been studying ecommerce SEO and online marketing in general, you’ve probably seen lots of acronyms being tossed around. For instance, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. You’ll see SERPs, which means Search Engine Results Page. Another common on is CTR, or Click Through Results. All of these things are important for getting your store and your product seen on the Internet. Believe it or not, there are some simple techniques you can use to increase traffic to your site and convert browsing shoppers to buyers. One of the easiest to implement is the use of rich snippets.

Rich snippets are not, as their name might imply, spoiled snobby people. Not at all. In fact, they are humble bits of data that exist solely to help you improve your bottom line. The snippets contain useful information that helps marketers add details about their product and their store to online search results. The information is presented in a way that is common to all users, similar to a language. When shoppers see search results on a page, their eyes are drawn to certain features, such as five gold stars for a product that has good reviews. There are 5 simple snippets that are commonly used, and all ecommerce SEO marketing managers should know what they are.

1. Product 

In order to show people that they are looking at an actual product that is for sale, and not an informational article or news story, you need to include a rich snippet that contains that data. Information here will include store name, brand, size, color, flavor, etcetera, as well as links to similar items. The information is presented in the same format for each listing, which allows users to know what they are looking at even if they are skimming quickly down the page.

 

2. Price 

Potential customers are usually interested in the price of the product, so you’ll want to be sure to include a rich snippet that shows the current price, and, if it’s on sale, the percentage it is marked down. Pricing is very important and should be visible at a glance, to keep it simple for customers to make a decision.

 

3. Reviews and Ratings

If you’ve ever searched for a product and were happy to see more gold stars than a general has on his lapels, you know how important customer feedback can be to your shopping experience. These little stars indicate how satisfied other shoppers were with the product and the store, and they can be one of the best ways to turn someone who is browsing into someone who is buying.

 

4. Availability

Nothing frustrates the shopping experience more than finding out the product you want to order is out of stock. By adding a rich snippet that shows whether or not each product is currently in stock, your customers can quickly see if they can get what they need from your store right now. This is one simple way to build trust between buyers and sellers.

 

5. Pay Per Click

Pay Per Click, or PPC, is an advertising method that ecommerce SEO marketers use to bring buyers to their website. Basically, the store pays the search engine every time someone clicks on one of their ads. By using rich snippets, customers are more likely to click on your ad or store listing. This is a smart way to advertise, because you are paying for visits to your website.

Marketing strategies are constantly changing and evolving to keep up with technology and the way that people shop. By using rich snippets, you’ll be able to bring serious buyers to your website by showing them exactly what products you have, how much they cost and if they are in stock. In addition, your advertising budget will go further because most of the clicks that you pay for will lead to an immediate or future sale.

In addition to being a valuable marketing tool for online retail stores, rich snippets can also bring customers to restaurants and other brick-and-mortar stores. Authors, publishers, musicians and even events benefit from the use of rich snippets. Basically, anybody or anything that has a presence on the Web and wants to attract attention to it should add them to their listing.

Ecommerce SEO marketing and advertising can be a lot of fun. There are many ways to increase traffic to your site, but by using the 5 simple rich snippets listed above, you should see a marked increase in your SERPs and CTRs. The best part is, your customers will be just as happy as you are.

 

What is RankBrain’s Impact on SEO and the Importance of Links?

Last year, Google introduced the public to its refined algorithm that utilizes RankBrain. It had already been in use for several months by the time of Google’s announcement. In that short amount of time, while changes had not been recognized yet by the industry, it had already become an important factor in page ranking. It is expected that Google will soon make another announcement stating that RankBrain is now the primary ranking factor in the Google search algorithm. What remains to be seen is what that means for the optimization of websites for search engine rankings.

What is RankBrain?

Google uses many factors, roughly 200 in fact, to determine page rankings and keyword matches. RankBrain is one of those search signals. It is an advanced machine, or artificial intelligence, that learns from user input data, queries, trends and other inputs. What it learns is then put into the search algorithm. It makes the algorithm more intuitive when it comes to finding relevant pages for a searcher’s query. It is specialized in improving the results for uncommon queries, searches that use several highly specific words and those that may not have exact word matches. It gives Google the ability to “read” sentences and infer meaning from them, instead of just focusing on keywords.

 

How Are Search Rankings Determined?

Out of the many search signals that Google uses, some are weighted more heavily when determining ranking. SEOs use search signals, especially those that are more favored by the algorithm, to optimize websites for higher rankings. Google will not specifically indicate how the most important signals are rated. Click-through rates, keywords, user experience and links have traditionally been the most important factors in ranking.

 

What Is Its Current Effect?

When RankBrain was announced in October 2015, Google’s senior research scientist, Greg Corrado noted that the artificial intelligence was already one of Google’s top search signals. In fact, it was the third-most important signal at the time of the announcement, affecting 15% of all searches. While 15% may not seem like a very dramatic number, it is in the world of SEO, where the next biggest change has only affected about 7% of queries. The impact is so great that it is believed that if it were to suddenly turn off, it would have noticeable damaging effects.

 

How Will Its Effect Change?

It is expected that Google will soon announce that RankBrain is the most impactful search signal in Google’s algorithm. This means that, where links used to dominate the SEO, it will now be an advanced machine. It will be pervasive, but there are advantages to its presence, because the AI can connect ambiguous or more natural language queries with relevant search results. When there is any change to SEO algorithms, there can be significant setbacks for companies trying to adjust to them. And the natural conclusion to come to is that when one signal becomes more important, other search signals, like links, become less important, relatively speaking. This will probably not be as much of the case with RankBrain, because it uses input factors, such as keywords and links, to function and learn more about users and then uses that information to find relevant content.

 

What Is the Real Impact?

The question then becomes, what do those in the business of website optimization need to do in order to keep up with Google’s change? The good news is that rankings have remained fairly steady since the inception of RankBrain. The stability of it has a lot to do with the fact that it uses many of the search signals already used in Google’s existing algorithm. The working theory is that those signals will continue to be used in the future and some, like link metrics, will become even more important factors as the algorithm becomes more dependent on artificial intelligence.

 

How to Maintain Your Website Optimization

While RankBrain has not caused much variance in rankings so far, there are strategies that experts believe will help you boost and maintain your ranking. The great thing about Google’s AI is that it learns how to correlate previously unknown or never before tried searches with relevant pages, it then integrates that knowledge into the system for future use. The absolute best thing you can put on your website is thoughtful and high quality content. Strive to create a useful website that is relevant to what your customers want and need. Make it comprehensive and visually appealing. The new algorithm is intended to understand natural language more easily so that it should do a better job connecting users to relevant content.

Ultimately, RankBrain may become a game changer when it comes to search engine algorithms. It creates a more intuitive and user-friendly ranking system that learns from searches and users. And while it has been successful with minimal damaging impacts so far, its long-term effects have yet to be seen.

 

 

 

 

If your business has a website, you have probably heard something about the importance of content and search engine optimization, or SEO. Content includes all the words, images and videos on your site. This definition may be expanded to include your site’s metadata, which is usually invisible to human visitors but is indexed by search engines, such as Google. Optimizing for search engines is the practice of creating content that shows up at the top of Internet search results.

 

What Is All This Panda Business, and Why Does It Matter?

In the context of SEO, Google is very important because it is one of the most popular search engines in the world and so it sets the standard for the Internet search industry. Panda is Google’s name for an algorithm that ranks web pages based on the quality of their content. Of course, because the Panda algorithm is an automated program and not a human, it bases its estimation of quality on some secret combination of factors that a robot can analyze.

 

Isn’t SEO Dead?

SEO is far from dead. However, approaches to optimization are constantly changing to keep up with the ranking methods of top search engines. In the past, it was relatively easy to appear high in search results based on keywords and backlinks, but Panda has shaken things up by focusing on quality. You do still need to optimize your site for search, and you do still need to use keywords, but you must ensure that your content is high-quality, not just strings of keywords or boilerplate text. Even though Google is keeping the exact formula a secret, there are some specific, quality-related elements that you should look for during your SEO and content audit.

 

What Exactly Is a Content Audit?

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines the word “audit” as “a systematic review or assessment of something.” So, when you audit your website for content, you will be examining each page to check for quality issues, and making notes about where you need to improve. It is important that you complete the audit before going in to make corrections. Do your inspection, record what you find, then go over your findings and create a systematic improvement plan.

 

What Is the Easiest Way to Organize an Audit?

If you have a small website, with perhaps fewer than 100 pages, you can do the SEO audit yourself, with a spreadsheet. If you have a larger site, you will probably want to use a commercially-available web-crawl tool to gather the information. If you are going with the spreadsheet idea, you’ll need to create fields for each page’s URL, title, word count and meta description. If you use images in your content, record the metadata or alt text for each image, too. If you want to go a little deeper, open up an analytics program and record each page’s bounce rate, page rank and any other information you wish to analyze.

 

What Improvements Should You Focus On?

Now that you have all of the site’s SEO information in front of you, it’s time to start looking for patterns. If you find that a lot of your text is repeated on different pages throughout your site, you’ll want to change that. Instead of deleting pages or paragraphs, though, make a note to rewrite the content so that you have some variety while remaining relevant to your intended audience. If you find any grammatical or typographical errors, make editing those sections a top priority. Another thing to look for is a variety of keywords. If you know that certain words or phrases are very important to your customers, yet you don’t have any pages featuring on those topics, make a note to improve your SEO by creating content that those keywords.

Content auditing is something you should do at least once per year. The first time you do it, you will probably find a lot of room for improvement. If so, just concentrate on the areas that will have the biggest impact. Next year’s audit can revolve around smaller details if necessary. Above all, keep creating and sharing high-quality content as you grow your business.

Everyone is a beginner at everything at some point, and learning about SEO is no exception. Few people come into the world of listings placement with advanced knowledge of the subject, and as such, there is a learning curve involved. Fortunately, by applying yourself to acquiring skills and learning from mistakes, expertise in SEO can be gained fairly quickly. Here are some common rookie mistakes that we all can gain some wisdom from. (more…)

Change is inevitable, especially in the SEO realm, so it may be impossible to predict what will happen in the coming year. That won’t stop us, though. We’ve consulted with the oracle and suggest these trends might show up in force in 2016. (more…)

When it comes to SEO, keywords are our best friends, right? Hold the phone. Although that generally is the case, some webmasters have a tendency to use the same keywords over and over, which sort of defeats the purpose of using them. Confused? Let us explain.  (more…)

If yours is a startup company that has just launched a new website, you’ll want to do everything you can to give yourself and your business every advantage when it comes to drawing in new customers and boosting interest. As it seems to be with most aspects of business these days, search engine optimization has a sizeable influence on how well your business does when it comes to overall visibility. Learn a few SEO tips you can put to good use on your gleaming new website.

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Search engine optimization has always been regarded as the foundational method for generating traffic for your website. While SEO has enormous potential for elevating your online presence, you have to be able to distinguish the right implementation from the wrong way. There’s a lot of information out there that’s either flat out false or was once true but has since changed due to modifications in the search engine algorithms. Some of these methods are not only wrong but may even get your site penalized or banned altogether. (more…)

One common problem that professionals in the web design field often encounter is determining how to set up their sites to cater to different crowds. On one hand, there is a need to provide great SEO to rank well with various algorithms and search engines. On the other, there is a need to provide the ultimate user experience. (more…)

At Integrated IT Solutions, our strategies are constantly evolving with the methodology that works and understanding the correlations between an increase in rankings and the work that made the increases occur. We understand that every client and its industry is different and requires a specific approach to meet their needs and exceed their competition.

The SEO landscape is changing, yes its still changing. In this post, we aren't going to focus on the algorithm changes, which you can view on our interactive algorithm time line. We are going to focus on the evolution of search features and how to think ahead, see why you cannot put all of your marketing eggs in one basket, and insight into Google's bread and butter, paid search.

Google has released Pigeon, a local SEO update that everyone in the SEO industry is talking about. After the dust has settled, several individuals have made claims to who the winners and losers are. We believe that it will take more time to really see who the true winners are, but for now we can speculate with the rest of them.

Let's face it, we all take our cell phones to the bathroom. No one wants to be bored in the bathroom, so what do we do? We pull out our iPhones. And for all of us SEO junkies we like to run tests, monitor and see how website traffic is going today. Here are a few great iPhone apps that we use just for this circumstance.

As a content marketer we can get hung up on deliverables, frequency and length of our content. It is easy to find yourself in a slump and be bored with your content. You see this throughout the web where content is being written with no purpose or no value. We are here to tell you, STOP. Stop writing content for length, frequency or keywords; write for purpose. We are going to show you several ways that we encourage ourselves to write with purpose, and it actually works.

Woorank is a fantastic analysis tool as a whole. This tool is most valuable in early stages of an SEO campaign. The reason that we use this tool the most is because of how easy it is to present to clients and give them a broad understanding of the trouble areas that we need to improve. It also provides more than just on-page report cards and link analysis, it provides an insight into social and local ecosystems.

As an SEO, we follow the same “thought leaders”, everyone watches Moz’s Whiteboard Fridays, comments on their blogs to hear their own voice and get bragging rights in the industry. First, we love Moz - they are always the first to promote positive activities and openly slam bad tactics. I watched a Whiteboard Friday episode that Rand Fishkin put together on April 18, 2014 titled “6 Changes We Always Thought Google Would Make to SEO That They Haven’t Yet” and opened a sore subject with me… Anchor Text.

Since Moz.com did a Whiteboard Friday post on the value of links, there has been much discussion around this subject, so we decided to challenge links and all signals and come up with our own conclusion. We analyzed many of the sites we manage as well as other sites and competitors. We went in with an open mind, hoping for a conclusion of course, but wanted to make sure we were open-minded.

Going through a website redesign is a great investment for your business and hopefully it has been built in a way that will increase your on page SEO and assist in your rankings. That being said, many development companies overlook a crucial part of the site launch and the steps missed can be devastating to your website

Acquiring links through content marketing is not an easy task, it takes time, creative minds, and thoughtful implementation. Sometimes your company may have great brand mentions online, which is great for your brand. When those mentions pass link equity from the publishers site to yours; its a beautiful thing

In the quest to improve search results and clean up the SEO industry, On October 4th, 2013 Penguin 2.1 was implemented by Google. Penguin 2.1 was another iteration of Penguin to devalue sites rankings that perform in unethical link building practices.

Google has titled this modification Hummingbird, claiming that it is "precise and fast". Hummingbird was an algorithm modification that focuses on displaying proper results based on a more complex query the user makes. This more complex query stems from the use of mobile devices and voice activated technology such as Siri.

If your site has been penalized or see a negative impact on your rankings, you need to start the recovery process immediately. If your rankings dropped on October 4th it was due to your link profile. Below are several steps you need to take to recover from this mess.