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How Putting Users First Can Boost Your SEO

Jun 1, 2023

Reading Time: 3 minutes

User experience plays a huge role in your search rankings. It may be one of the most important factors when it comes to SEO. After all, it doesn’t really matter how well-optimized your content is if users have such a poor experience on your site that they leave. Google tracks user experience and uses it as a factor in determining SERP rankings.

How Does Google Quantify User Experience?

User experience is a qualitative feature, so how can a search engine quantify it to influence SERP rankings? Google looks at more quantitative factors that can indicate user experience. For example, bounce rate and dwell time are both linked to user experience. A high bounce rate means users aren’t staying on your site. Whether that’s because the user experience is poor or because the site just isn’t what they’re looking for doesn’t matter; both are signs that the site isn’t meeting user needs and therefore shouldn’t be ranked as highly. A high dwell time, by contrast, indicates a good experience because users won’t stay for long on a site that isn’t meeting their needs and expectations.

How Can You Optimize for User Experience?

There’s no optimization shortcut for user experience. The only way to optimize for this essential SEO factor is to provide a good user experience. This means offering high-quality content written for users first rather than for search engines. Your SEO strategy should be for your audience, not to game search engines into ranking you higher than you should be.

What Is High-Quality Content?

Google uses the following criteria to determine whether content is high-quality:

Experience
Expertise
Authoritativeness
Trustworthiness

To have high-quality content that Google will rank at the top of the SERP, your content will need to embody all of those traits. This will involve well-written, informative content and demonstrating that you are an authority in your industry so that others will want to link to your content as a source.

Can You Use ChatGPT Content?

ChatGPT has taken the Internet by storm. The predictive text AI program already caused a lot of speculation on how it can change the way we work in many industries. There are rumors that companies may start to replace humans with ChatGPT for things like content production. However, this is not a good idea if you want to rank well, even after Google has stated it won’t punish AI-written content just for being written by an AI.

Is ChatGPT Content High-Quality?

The problem is that AI-written content just isn’t very good. There are some major limitations to what an AI can do. It looks good, but it tends to be more style than substance and substance is what Google is looking for with its EEAT criteria. That’s not even taking into account the factual errors, lack of ability to understand humans, and the fact that AI can really only work off of input that it gets from real humans

Are Keywords Important for User Experience?

While keywords are still important to an SEO strategy, it’s important to use them sparingly. Gone are the days of keyword stuffing actually improving your rankings. You’ll need to balance your keyword strategy with making sure that the content is readable. Write your content for your users, not for search engines, and that will help you to create high-quality content.

Need help in improving your presence on search engines?

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SEO in 2022

Jan 3, 2022

Reading Time: 3 minutes

As we leave 2021 behind us and move into the new year, it’s important to re-evaluate your SEO strategy. Things change as Google makes updates and tweaks to its algorithm and the new year is a good time to start fresh. Check out these trends that are likely to play a major role in SEO in 2022.

Is EAT Still Important in 2022?

EAT stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. Together, these three factors function as one of the most important ranking factors. Google’s aim is to provide users with the most relevant and useful websites possible based on their search query. The greater your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, the more relevant and useful Google will see your site, and therefore, the higher your site will rank on SERPs.

What Is EAT?

EAT is such an important part of SEO that it bears repeating. If you’re not already focused on EAT, you should be.

Expertise – show your expertise with accurate, in-depth information
Authority – show your authority with high-quality citations of your content
Trustworthiness – show your trustworthiness by having good brand perception with high standards for quality content

All three of these are important, but authority may be the most difficult to obtain because it requires others to link to your site. In 2022, a content promotion campaign can help to draw awareness to your content and, so long as your content is high-quality, encourage the links and social media shares that will boost your authority.

How Important Is Link-Building in 2022?

Link-building remains an important part of SEO as we move into 2022. Link-building, as long as the links in question are high-quality links, will help to improve your website’s authority. This, in turn, will help to boost your rankings. On top of that, the more people that link to your site, the more opportunities there are for people to find your content.

Is It Still Necessary to Optimize for Desktop?

Google has been using a mobile-first optimization approach for many years now in order to encourage people to make their websites more mobile-friendly. This was important because so many people were starting to use mobile devices for searching. However, that doesn’t mean that desktop computers should be ignored, either. User experience for all users, whether mobile or desktop, is important for SEO.

Should You Optimize for Voice Search?

In 2022, if you haven’t already optimized for voice search, you should strongly consider doing so. Voice search is becoming more and more common as users take advantage of voice search capabilities and AI like Siri and Alexa. With each year, voice search optimization becomes more important. To optimize for voice search, focus on longer key phrases, especially in the form of questions. Most people use voice search in a conversational way, asking questions of the AI like they would another person.

What SEO Mistakes Should You Avoid in 2022?

Google gets smarter and smarter every year about punishing websites for black hat SEO tactics. These are shady tactics that prioritize gaming search engines over the experience of actual Internet users. Things like keyword stuffing, ad-heavy sites, pop-up ads, low-quality link schemes, duplicate content, videos that automatically start playing, and more are all examples of things to avoid. Think about what you as a user find annoying when visiting websites.

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SEO Mistakes You Should Avoid in 2021

Mar 2, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

SEO has changed a lot over the years. Google has made a multitude of updates to its core algorithm in an effort to improve user experience. In the early days of the Internet, many SEO techniques were used that are now considered “black hat.” Using these techniques back then could result in Google displaying your page higher than it truly warranted. Now, however, employing black hat SEO techniques to manipulate search rankings will actually result in Google punishing your web page and lowering your rankings instead.

While some black hat SEO techniques are obvious, others might not be. So in 2021, what SEO mistakes should you avoid making?

Why Is Keyword Stuffing Bad?

Keyword stuffing is the technique of using the same keyword as many times as possible within the same page. In the past, keyword stuffing would help your site rank better for searches containing those keywords. However, now, Google considers too many of the same keyword to be a bad user experience.

How Many Times Should I Use a Keyword?

Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. If the same word is repeatedly used and for no purpose other than to manipulate Google, it doesn’t make the content very enjoyable for the user to read. Your content should be for your users, not for Google. Use the keyword as many times as needed for the user’s benefit, and no more. Google can crawl your page for a specific search with just one instance of your keyword.

Why Should I Avoid Duplicate Content?

There are multiple problems with duplicate content. To start, having content that is too similar to other content you already have doesn’t make for a very good user experience. Users want new and interesting content. The same thing they’ve already read before doesn’t provide them with anything new.

The second problem is that Google will have to choose between the pages. Google won’t necessarily punish pages that contain duplicate content, but you’ll have to split potential results between the pages with duplicate content. Google won’t display both for a particular search, only the page that is considered most relevant to the search. This means that one page may be stealing views from the other. It’s better to combine what unique content exists between the duplicate pages and create one more thorough page.

Why Is EAT So Important?

The final major mistake that many make with SEO is ignoring EAT. EAT stands for:

Expertise
Authority
Trust

Having high-quality content is necessary for good SERP rankings, but it’s not the only major factor. EAT is about building a brand that is trustworthy. If users know they can trust in your expertise and know that you’re an authority on your particular subject, they’re more likely to not just stay on your site to read one page, but also be repeat visitors. Others web pages are more likely to contain links to your content.

More readers staying longer and more links to your site will help your Google rankings on their own. Google looks at these signals of a good user experience to influence your SERP rankings. The better you build your brand as an authority in your subject that readers can trust, the higher your rankings and the more visits you’ll receive.

Need some help growing your web presence and strengthening your brand? You’ve come to the right place.

Get in Touch with BrainVine!

What’s New for Social Media in 2021?

Jan 29, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The new year is upon us and for many, it isn’t a moment too soon. 2020 was a difficult year for both individuals and businesses because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the coronavirus, many are looking forward to 2021 as a fresh start and a sign of hopefully better days to come.

COVID-19 had a major impact on social media. Social media usage had already been on the rise for several years before the pandemic began, but how people used social media changed. With stay-at-home orders issued across the world, social media usage increased even more as people turned to social media in order to keep in touch with each other.

Is Engagement Important in 2021?

The pandemic didn’t just change how much people used social media. It also changed how people used it. Companies rushed to take advantage of the increased usage and increase engagement, but this didn’t necessarily produce the desired results. The increased usage in social media was to keep in touch with individuals rather than seeking out brands. This means that during the pandemic, engagement wasn’t as important as content.

This trend looks like it will continue into 2021. The pandemic isn’t over yet. Audience social media energy is still going towards communicating with each other rather than engaging with businesses. That doesn’t mean social media marketing isn’t still worth the cost and effort, however. It just means that content is more important than engagement in 2021.

What Content Should You Focus on in 2021?

Even though users may not be as engaged as in the past, they still consume content, just on a more passive scale. What this means for a social media marketing strategy is that your content strategy is just that much more important. Users may not be commenting or liking as much, but they are still reading. If you’re using analytics, engagement may be down, but you can still look at which posts are reaching more people. These are the types of posts to focus on.

Content that your audience can identify with is key to a social media content strategy in 2021. This means that you’ll need to know who your audience is and what they like. Paying attention to the analytics to see which posts get the most views as well as analytics regarding information about your audience will be important to helping you figure out the best possible content strategy for the coming year.

Are There New Audiences You Should Cater to in 2021?

Traditionally, social media and technology are seen as the purview of younger generations. However, with the pandemic’s shutdowns sending more and more people to virtual forms of communication, more older consumers are turning to social media as well. It’s important to not count out older generations, such as Baby Boomers, as a part of your potential audience. Depending on your industry, your target audience may vary and it’s important to produce content catering to that demographic. However, the demographics that make up your target audience may have changed over the past year and into 2021 because of changes in who is using social media.

Need some help growing your web presence and strengthening your brand? You’ve come to the right place.

Get in Touch with BrainVine!

How Important Is User Experience in SEO for 2021?

Jan 4, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Google’s goal since its founding in 1998 was to provide the best possible user experience. To meet this goal, Google has been issuing updates to its algorithm in order to produce search results that best meet that user’s search intent. SEO used to be about rigging search engines to increase a page’s ranking. However, that wasn’t what Google intended and it’s been forcing SEO in the direction of providing a good user experience ever since.

Why Is User Experience Important in SEO in 2021?

User experience has always been a major part of SEO. Even back in the days of black hat SEO, websites that ranked highly but didn’t offer users a good experience would get a lot of views but would have a high bounce rate. They would also fail to convert a lot of visitors to customers. As Google’s algorithm has gotten better at directing users to better search results, user experience has become an essential part of SEO.

If your website isn’t providing users with a good experience, that will result in a high bounce rate. Google now takes bounce rate into account in its rankings and will decrease your rankings accordingly. The point of SEO is for the users and to help them find your content, not for gaming the search engines. Providing a good user experience isn’t just good for users, but also good for businesses. The better the experience users have when visiting your website, the more likely they are to continue to read, visit again, recommend your website to others, purchase your products or services, and trust your company.

How Important Is User Experience in SEO 2

What Is Google’s 2021 Algorithm Update?

Google is set to release another update in 2021, specifically relating to user experience. What this update will do is add UX (user experience) as an additional ranking factor. Ranking factors are what Google looks at when evaluating websites and determining their rankings.

What Should You Do to Prepare for the Update?

In order to prepare for the Google update, which should be released sometime in 2021, it’s important to look over your website for areas in which your user experience can be improved. Put yourself in the shoes of a user and think about what would help them find their way around your website. It’s also a good idea to look at your competitors’ websites for comparison. If their sites provide a better user experience, then you may be losing customers to them.

What Factors Are Important in UX?

The most important factors to consider when looking at UX are:

Mobile-friendliness
Page load time
Navigation
Interactivity
Stability of loading content
Content quality

Google’s new algorithm update will take into account interactivity, load time, and content loading stability. However, these aren’t the only factors that are important. You should have high-quality content that is informative and well-edited. Your website should be easy to navigate. If users can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll switch to a different website where they can. Mobile-friendliness is also of vital importance. More Internet searches are performed on mobile devices than on computers now.

Need some help growing your web presence and strengthening your brand? You’ve come to the right place.

Get in Touch with BrainVine!

A Very Covid Holiday

Dec 23, 2020

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Thanks to the coronavirus, the 2020 holiday season is going to be very different than normal. With the virus resurging around the world and cities going into lockdown again, the holiday shopping period will be more online than ever before. Online shopping has been growing in popularity for many years, but many people still enjoyed shopping in brick and mortar stores.

With the pandemic, however, online shopping has been surging all year in 2020, and looks like it will only grow as people do their holiday shopping online as well. Some may turn to in-store pickup or curbside pickup, but they’ll be filling those orders online, even if they aren’t having their purchases shipped to them.

How Do I Prepare Ahead of Time for Holiday SEO?

You’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to prepare. It’s recommended that you start your holiday strategy at least 45 days ahead of time. Content can take a while to be indexed and to be ranked, so the sooner you’re prepared, the better off you’ll be during the holiday season.

If you have events or sales, you should have an announcement or save-the-dates available online, preferably posted on social media as well as on your website. Leading up to the beginning of your holiday campaign, you can post more about it on social media to remind your audience that your event or sale is beginning.

Does All Holiday Content Have to Be New?

If there’s a place to reuse content that worked for last year, then you can reuse content. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t necessarily reuse blogs or social media content. However, landing pages with content that still fits your holiday strategy can be repurposed. In fact, reusing landing pages may actually benefit your SEO strategy for the holidays. Simply redirecting the URL from last year to one more relevant to this year (ex. /holiday-gift-guide-2020 instead of /holiday-gift-guide-2019) and updating any necessary wording in the content will help you preserve any links you already had for the page. That will help you start out the holiday season ahead of the game.

How Important Is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing may be more important than ever before in 2020. Because of the pandemic and lockdown orders, people aren’t seeing friends and family in person as much. This means that they’ve turned to the Internet to meet their communication needs. For many, this means more time spent on social media.

In recent years, shopping on social media has been increasing. Thanks to the additional reliance on social media this year, that trend looks to be continuing. Whether you’re selling products or services, social media platforms geared towards image sharing, such as Pinterest or Instagram, can be especially helpful in showcasing what your business has to offer. Plus, the holiday season is the optimal time to introduce new products or services. People are looking to buy and they’re looking online. Social media can be a great resource for drawing customers’ attention to your new holiday offerings.

Need some help growing your web presence and strengthening your brand? You’ve come to the right place.

Get in Touch with BrainVine!

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