Key Highlights of Google’s Core Update

• The rollout began in June and July of 2021
  • June core update began on June 2nd
  • June core update ended on June 12th
  • July core update began on July 1st
  • July core update ended on July 12th
• This update isn’t specific to any region, language or website category
• Updates are intended to help Google improve its content assessment and search engine rankings
• After the update, some rankings may have moved up or down in search rankings

Reasons Behind the Update

It’s common knowledge among those in the internet marketing world that Google rewards businesses with the best SEO practices. As a search engine, Google gives the best rankings to websites that are accessible, user friendly,  feature authoritative, well-written content, and are adding actual value to a visitor’s search inquiry. For some businesses, following these best practices to achieve high Google rankings goes unnoticed, and improving this process is the top reason Google has released this core update. With this update, Google is hopeful that it will be better able to assess the quality of website content and determine which websites can provide the best answers to user queries.

What You May Be Seeing as a Website Administrator

If you’re a web administrator or owner of a website, you may have noticed some changes in your organic rankings. For those who’ve experienced a decline in rankings, it’s important to remember this doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with your SEO practices, it means that Google has found a website that provides a better answer to user queries than yours. So instead of overhauling your entire SEO strategy, it’s best to do your research and minor tweaks as necessary.

Where to Start if You Need to Improve Your Search Engine Ranking

In the first days of any of Google’s core updates, the best thing any website owner can do is sit back and watch their rankings for the first two weeks. Initially, algorithm trackers tend to show extreme changes while updates roll out; rankings can fluctuate over the first couple of weeks until the updates have finished rolling out and algorithm trackers have started to settle.

Once the first couple of weeks have passed, it’s typically safe to start analyzing the impact of Google’s core updates. If your ranking has dropped, the best place to start is by exploring the websites that are ranking highest in your category and determining why those have overtaken or ranked higher than your own. Things to look for include:

• Location-specific SEO content and keywords
• Better keywords and effective keyword incorporation
• Clear answers to typical “People Also Ask” questions
• Keywords in title tags
• Accessibility
• Consistent content updates
• Social media presence
• Responsive mobile design
• Graphics, audio and other media
• Links from high-quality, authoritative websites

If you happen to be lacking in one or more of these areas, especially when compared with higher-ranking websites, take time to research how you can improve it and get to work on it straight away. That might mean producing regular content to keep a steady flow of fresh content on your website, increasing your presence on social media, enhancing your user experience, optimizing your on-page & off-page strategy, or acquiring more quality backlinks.

The post What You Should Know About Google’s June & July 2021 Algorithm Update appeared first on Upward Commerce.

According to the 2016 Internet trends report, voice search is gaining significant market share. 1 in 5 Android searches in the US are voice searches and 25% of searches executed on the Windows taskbar are voice searches.

Let us look at how you can optimize your content for voice search.

Understand what people are searching for and how

Ever since search engines were introduced, users have understood how to enter specific keywords to find information. Unlike search keywords typed on a keypad, voice search is a lot more conversational in tone and natural.

Typically, voice search is mobile and often tends to be locally focused. Given that voice search queries are more conversational, they are also generally longer than the typical keyword searches done via text. See chart below.

According to studies done as part of the 2016 Internet trends report, people are employing voice search for a variety of purposes. Around 22% are searching for local information and content, about 27% are using the personal assistant capability and approximately 30% are looking for general information.

Clearly, local businesses need to start tailoring their strategy for local voice search.

Claim your My business listing in Google

Claiming a Google My business listing is a fantastic way for Google to get more information on your business, such as address, business hours, phone number, category of business that you are in and more information.

Given the fact that many voice searches are for local information, having the Google My Business listing up to date can greatly help your chances of being listed whenever a voice search is executed with regards to location, local business or business categories.

Implement a strategy based on conversational keywords

Keywords in the voice search domain are not just keywords, they are long tail plus. Meaning the keywords include conversational phrases that get added when optimizing for voice search. Your keyword strategy should now be conversational by nature and mimic how people actually ask questions verbally.

Have a look at the kind of questions that customers ask you on the phone, record the exact words, document them and use them as part of your strategy. Once you have lists of actual questions and answers, you can ensure your content pages focus on more conversational, longer search terms.

Develop suitable FAQ pages

One good way in which the earlier mentioned customer data can be used is to create FAQ pages which focus on those conversational + long tail keyword based phrases. You should try to group the common questions in one page. When you are wording the questions, try and go for the long tail, natural sounding phrases and questions rather than the cryptic SEO-style questions and phrases. If the need is for you to create multiple pages so that voice search can get to it, by all means, go for it.

Also, look to anticipate more specific questions from users with regards to voice search. For instance, searches like “canon camera” are too broad and not relevant enough. Instead searches like “where can we get a canon camera that works well with Periscope?”  are becoming the norm. Offer clear, relevant answers to the questions. With Google now directly driving answers, ensure that you provide answers to most of the questions that can be asked regarding your company, products and services.

While initially it may seem overwhelming to have to create so many individual pages and short answer pages around so many questions, ultimately it would pay off because your chances of showing up in voice search go up. Also, this can increase your content’s chances of being listed as a “featured snippet” in Google.

Use structured data schema

Use structured data schema to give the voice search technology components more information about your content and site. By using structured data schema, you make it easy for search engines to correctly parse and interpret your content.

Build conversational engines

Your technology should understand human language and be able to understand intelligent conversation. There are several AI oriented APIs such as API.AI which can be useful in building conversational link ups for smart home equipment, chatbots and wearables. Such APIs leverage speech to text, AI and Natural language processing. You can also use the Web speech API to implement Voice search and convert spoken words to text.

Conventionally, SEO has focused on ensuring that content is searchable by search engines. With the ongoing evolution of voice search, similar attention is needed to ensure that content is ready for voice search too.

The post How To Optimize Your Content For Voice Search appeared first on Upward Commerce.

How Do You Get Registered on Google My Business?

In order for you to take advantage of the visibility that Google My Business offers, you’ll need to claim your business. Getting your listing up is relatively simple. Simply set up a Google My Business account, input your business’s relevant information (you can even add images and videos to your business page). Make sure to add a category that is relevant to your business and has valuable SEO benefits. For example, if you have an internet marketing company, you have the choice of selecting “Internet Marketing Services” or “Marketing Agency”. Do some keyword research and then verify the PIN that Google sends you to validate your address. Google wants to make sure that your listing is legitimate, so they’ll either send you a PIN via mail or phone, depending upon which one you choose. For example, if you choose by mail, Google will send you a postcard essentially with a PIN code. You will need to revisit your listing page and enter in the PIN to activate your business listing.

Once you list your business’s name, address, telephone number, website and other contact information on Google My Business, then it’ll be able to pop up in Google Maps and local search. Google Maps pulls its information from the businesses that are listed in Google My Business. Also, be sure to get some customer reviews to your page. If you have a solid 4-5 reviews, then Google will display star-ratings for your business within the search results, and this will help you stand out from your competitors.

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business focuses on providing users with search results that match the local area they’re searching from. If you’ve ever input a search term into Google and had a dialog box pop up on your screen asking if it’s okay for Google to know your location, that is so that Google can do what it’s supposed to do and give the appropriate information to Google Maps and search. When users let Google know the locations that they’re searching from, then they’ll be presented with search results of businesses near them. If a potential customer is looking for the type of service or product you offer, and your business pops up as nearby, then you could potentially make a sale. In fact, Google reports that every one out of five of its searches pertain to location, so if you’re a business that’s looking to target customers in a certain location, then you should definitely be taking advantage of Google’s location services.

Benefits of Google My Business

Because Google My Business focuses on local searches, your business will more likely rank higher in the search results than it would otherwise, at least within your area. This means that more visitors will be able to find your website, so you’ll get more traffic to it. This, in turn, can boost your overall ranking with Google from a global ranking standpoint, which could result in you getting more organic traffic to your website. If you offer services or products at locations in multiple cities, then you can truly maximize Google My Business for local search in each city.

Google My Business can also benefit those who don’t have a website. If you’re a small business and can’t afford the cost of maintaining a website, then your business’s listing on Google could get you more business simply by letting online searchers know what your business offers and where it’s located. It’s cost effective since it’s an entirely free service. Think of it as the new Yellow Pages, and always make sure you’re listed in it.

The post Use Google My Business to Drive Traffic to Your Website appeared first on Upward Commerce.

The old glory days of SEO where you could win the algorithm with basic backlinks, metadata, and keyword-rich content has been replaced with actual, value-added content that audiences are seeking. And not only is unique content so competitive these days, but the web has become saturated with content, and good content.

Which is why you have to truly go above the great, and be 10x greater. Create shareable, compelling content that signifies you as an authority in your space.

Ever heard of “10x content”? Well, if not, be prepared to be enlightened. Moz Founder and Former CEO Rand Fishkin introduced the now infamous term in a Whiteboard Friday video (watch here- “Why Good Unique Content Needs to Die”).

Fishkin defined it as “Content that is 10 times better than the best result that can currently be found in the search results for a given keyword phrase or topic.”

So, out is “Content is King” and in is “10x content”.

Easy breezy? Here are some tips on how to optimize your site for search engines, and increase traffic to your ecommerce website.

Remember the Basics (Site Architecture, Inbound Links, General Content)

Site speed, crawlability, mobile friendliness and duplicate content are just some of the success factors you must master in order to get your foot in the door. Without these SEO basics, your shot at being heard or seen will be limited. Set up the foundation and pillars on which your site rests, and then you can truly begin optimizing.

10x Content, Again

10x content can take the form of buying guides, industry white paper, ebooks, essays…and so forth. 10x content must possess overwhelming value; it can’t be good, it can’t be great – it has to be 10x greater than great.

You have to be a renowned innovator, accredited professor, or guru of some sort…or so it seems. “The hard truth is that if you can’t become this kind of an expert, then you probably don’t deserve to rank highly for your keywords”.

Know the Influencers and Become an Influencer

In today’s world of SEO, you can’t become an authority in your industry sector unless you actually provide expertise on the services & products you sell.

Every business must have an embedded connection within its community. Find the most relevant bloggers, websites and aggregators in your community and become a valuable asset to them. Share your knowledge and expertise by becoming a content contributor, answering questions, and allowing influencers to do the same for you – work together. The relevance, trust, and traffic will naturally begin to unfold.

Links

Google and other search engines rank your site by considering a number of key SEO elements.

Google, which is still the web’s largest search engine, accounts for over 90% of global organic search traffic. Google’s algorithm takes into account a link value and scores accordingly based on quality, relevancy, and quantity of incoming backlinks pointing to your website.

– Quantity: The number of backlinks pointing to your site indicates to search engines that you are an active & respectable force within your industry, and that people like you! It means you need to make connections, contribute guest posts, and churn out lots of on-theme, relevant, and shareable content that people will link to.

– Quality: It doesn’t matter if you have a ton of backlinks pointing to your site if they’re not quality links. Quality links have to come from quality sites. For example, search engines consider web addresses ending in .edu and .gov and .org more valuable than .com – primarily because these are typically resourceful domains and have excellent content to share. So, if one of these types of domains links to you, then it must be for a worthy reason – and deserving of organic rankings. Additionally, you want links from sites that have a lot of credibility with search engines; If you can get your website submitted to the DMOZ directory, then you might gain a little more credibility yourself.

– Relevance: Search engines factor in the relevancy of your incoming links. The links must be on-theme and part  of your industry realm. If you are selling bikinis and have a ton of automobile links pointing to your site, then the  value isn’t there. Keep it relevant.

Social Media

Social media is here to stay. Whether or not you’re fan doesn’t matter because if you’re in ecommerce then you better become best friends with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and the likes.

Likes, shares, promotions, followers, sales, & relevance are all part of the social media ecosystem in which every business must think about.

Share then Promote

Sharing comes first. Promotion comes second.

First try sharing non-promotional, valuable content with your followers before shameless self-promoting.

Inspire your pages with personality, ensure you are optimized for all device screens (mobile, desktop, tablet), be openminded when it comes to feedback from your users, and genuinely create shareable content that appeals to your audience, preferably in a fun and informative fashion.

I’ll Scratch Your Back

Help the people you are trying to attract. Providing amazing content is great, but seek out opportunities to help your audience. Believe me, everyone will return the favor.

Follow them, promote them and ask for nothing in return. 15% of Twitter users unfollow brands within three weeks. Don’t be part of the statistic.

Know Which Platform to Choose

Know which social media platforms garner the most popularity and influence in your space. For publishing, maybe it’s Twitter; for photography, maybe it’s Instagram. LinkedIn might be your drink of choice if you’re a recruiter looking for candidates. Think about your business goals, and then choose your channel wisely.

Optimize for Mobile

Mobile, mobile, mobile. Ecommerce shopping is taking over smartphones. A huge percentage of online shoppers are taking it to a mobile device. 89% of the time people are using their phones, many times on social apps like Instagram and Facebook. Think about how your social posts and landing pages render on a mobile screen, and how the mobile experience can dramatically affect your business. Think about posting more videos as opposed to still images; studies show it’s more engaging. Speaking of videos, use long captions with emojis and numbers – studies also show this gets more clicks.

Sales

Many social media sites, Facebook for instance, have integrated shopping functionality into the platform, allowing shoppers to make purchases on Facebook.

And Facebook is just the beginning, folks. Instagram has turned its platform into a place to shop (unofficially) for photography, art, fashion, and more.

It’s a Commitment

Social media requires investment & commitment. Understanding your audience, posting compelling content, engaging with followers, contributing to your community, creating groups, updating profiles, and running social ads isn’t something a small to mid-sized retailer should underestimate. Having a robust social strategy requires genuine time and commitment. Social media is growing and transitioning into a marketplace. Don’t take it lightly.

Lastly…

Follow and engage with the people that are engaging with your competitors.  These are people who are interested in what you do, it’s free advertising and it’s a great approach at driving awareness to your brand.

AdWords and Pay-Per-Click Advertising

The quickest way to gain traffic is to pay for it.

But pay-per-click advertising might need to take some notes from the art of war when it comes to competing with big-box retailers.

How can you compete without outbidding them? The market sets the bid price, and the price can be exorbitantly high.

But there are some rules of thumb you can do to even the playing field.

Quality Score

Your Quality Score and bid determines your Ad Rank in AdWords. As a smaller retailer, you might not be able to compete with competitive bidding against big retailers, but you just might with Quality Score. Ad Extensions are one way to boost your Ad Rank.

Bid Modifiers

Day Parting: Maybe it only makes sense for you to serve ads during certain times of the day. If customer service is important for your business, then you might serve ads only during work hours when your staff is present.  If you’re business is international, you might set your campaigns to run according to specific timezones.

Geo-Targeting: You can deliver specific content to different markets based on their physical location. If you’re selling snow boots, don’t serve ads in Florida.

Mobile

If your business relies on phone calls to seal the deal, then you should consider a bid modifier to serve ads to those already on their phones.

Match Types

Broad Match and Modified Broad Match leave a lot of interpretation into the hands of Google and can be quite costly.  Exact Phrase Match gives you more control over your spend while providing the awareness you need.

Overspending on Retargeting

Be sure to remove successful conversions out of your retargeting list. No need to spend more money on the ones already converted.

Google is Not Alone

There are other search engines besides Google. If you’re on a tight budget or just starting out, you might want to serve ads on Bing, as an example, for lower conversion costs. The competition might not be as extreme on alternative search engines.

Google Shopping

Think of Google Shopping as a search engine completely dedicated to shopping. Every shopaholic’s dream come true.

Google Shopping is different from Adwords in that retailers can display product images & information within search results. Shoppers can then compare prices for the same product between different merchants/retailers. Shoppers can go granular and filter by price point, brand, size, etc.

Google Shopping is a paid search initiative, just like AdWords, but the rules are different. Today’s ecommerce retailer must be proficient at converting these comparison shoppers.

Feed Optimization

Your Google Shopping feed is what matters most. It is the most critical factor in driving success for this channel.

Here are some tips on how to optimize your feed:

Product Titles: It is thought that Google adds value to title keywords & descriptors from left to right. When writing titles, make sure to place your most important keywords first. For example, you might use a title like this: “UGG Adirondack Women’s Waterproof Snow Boots in Black/Grey Size 7”. This title is using the following in order by importance – “Brand, Gender, Product, Color, Size.”

Product Descriptions: Try to keep it short and stay under 1,000 characters. Just like the product titles, add your most important info first and least important last.  Make sure it includes targeted keywords that shoppers are using. Consider the format you are presenting; maybe bullet points is all you need to list specs and dimensions or maybe adding a cool story in a short paragraph form is better.

Last Click Conversion

Google Shopping is full of bottom-of-the-funnel shoppers. They’ve done their research and are ready to buy. So you might want to optimize your bids accordingly.

Budget

As Google Shopping continues to grow, so should your budget allocation. As an online retailer it’s important that a fair portion of your marketing budget be allocated to this channel.

Driving traffic to your ecommerce website can be a grind, but if you can effectively build campaigns via SEO, Social Media, Adwords/PPC, and Google Shopping – then you’ve got your bases covered.

The post How to Drive Traffic to Your Ecommerce Website appeared first on Upward Commerce.

Google’s expert webmaster trends analyst, Gary Illyes, confirmed the game-changing news in October’s press release and follow-up interviews. Illyes added that the new mobile index would be the company’s “primary” index for search engine queries and will be more current than its desktop counterpart. This comes as little surprise for many; while the desktop index continually generates invaluable usage, the device is currently in the minority of Google queries. Furthermore, smart phones with online capabilities are ever increasing, as well as the mobile search engine engagement. Though no timeline was given during the announcement, Illyes later implied the index will be implemented on devices within months.

Search Results Will Differ

Though direct impact on usage is unclear, a one key consideration is certain: desktop and mobile users will receive different search results. Google will prioritize the mobile index by updating it more frequently, utilizing more resources, and providing more expedient answers. Google knows mobile users are more apt to seek immediate answers on their devices while desktop users are more likely to research topics to a fuller extent, sifting through several pages of results.

How Does This Affect Brands?

How do the index priority changes in Google Search affect brands and businesses banking on search engine optimization (SEO) and other common online marketing tactics? Google’s new mobile search prioritization necessitates businesses to create mobile-friendly content to continue thriving within the online market. The most successful businesses will employ various marketing campaigns focused on reaching Google’s vast mobile users while reformatting outdated desktop sites to fit more accessible mobile metrics. To capitalize on the changes, businesses will also need to gather more insights and pursue engagements through the separate indexes differently.

Upward Commerce can offer businesses insight into Google’s dual index system while establishing and converting target customer engagement. Through the tireless combined effort of tech, retail, and branding experts, our company provides creative solutions to the unexpected issues involved in a constantly fluctuating market. Upward Commerce’s hands-on guidance can not only assist businesses struggling with Google’s newest index addition, our company also offers the necessary tools to navigate and grow in a dynamic digital marketplace. While Google prioritizes mobile users, Upward Commerce prioritizes our client’s success. Let us assist in creating an efficient marketing, technology, merchandising, and operations strategy for your growing business today.

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