A Review Funnel To Get More 5 Star Reviews FREE & Effortlessly
Local search has expanded to a new era of online advertising and selling of products. Almost every type of business is going towards local marketing with SMB’s harnessing an array of tactics to manoeuvre the competition. Running Google Ads, Facebook ads and taking advantage of Google posts to push weekly messages to potential customers. How many businesses do you know that are making a strategic push for 5 star Google reviews? Not many.
If you think of local search a little bit like shopping for good pair of shoes, think how many websites and online stores you visited before making a purchase of the new shoes you wanted. I know researching some running shoes for big men that cushioned each step took me a good 45 minutes to find a store that had my shoe size (Mens 16). I went from store to store and read review after review. This is how people search now they read reviews to get an idea of what they will be buying into.
Why bother to generate more 5 star reviews
Before people take action online to purchase a product or schedule a service, people often check the reviews of the company on popular websites such as Google, Facebook or Yelp. The service provider with the highest reviews are often trusted most by people because good reviews convince the customers of superior service and quality. So having a lot of 5 Star reviews is essential for your business’ success!
Now you can easily get more 5 star reviews on various review websites by following a few simple steps in this article.
How to get more 5 star reviews without spending a doller
If you hire a reputation management company to maintain your company’s profile online, you will have to spend hundreds of dollars a month. With this review funnel you build on your website can save you hundreds and make you thousands!
What if I told you that you can almost eliminate bad reviews to your business overnight with this Killer Funnel!
Well its not too good to be true. This concept is very simple and in no time you can easily filter out the unsatisfied customers to get more 5 star reviews.
How to Build the Review Funnel
Customer Satisfaction Survey
First, create page for a survey using gravity forms or some other form builder. (Or you could just build a surveymonkey form for this.) The purpose of this page is to send all of your unsatisfied customers so you allow them to ‘Vent’ to you and your company. If you have this survey detailed enough, the unsatisfied customer will feel good because their voice was heard. The beauty of this page is that only you see this in your email inbox. This helps you also in improving your services and understanding of the problems that your customers have.
Leave Us a Review Page
Second, Create a page that askes your satisfied customers to leave a ‘helpful review’. Under that have the hyperlinked icons of the major review sites that you would like more positive reviews on. This page is necessary for when a customer picks a favorable rating then they are sent to a mainstream review site. The favourable review on the website will help in attracting more customers to the website.
Overall Rating Page
Lastly, Create a simple page that says, “Rate Your Overall Experience”. Under your title have a clickable 5 stars. This rate us page allows the user to choose their star rating. For this function use “WP 5 Stars” plugin.
Configure WP 5 Star Plugin
First, determine what is the threshold that you want posting on your major review sites, whether it be 3 to 5 stars or 4 to 5 or even something else.. Once you determine the value enter your “Leave Us a Review” page url to the high rating stars. So when a customer clicks on the high rated stars on the “Overall Rating Page” they are redirected to your “Leave Us a Review” page then those people will be posting to your major review sites.
Then enter your “Customer Satisfaction Survey” page url to all the lower rated stars. So when a customer rates you low on the “Overall Rating Page” they are sent to a survey that only you will see and not the whole world.
Now once you have configured the settings to your desire, paste the shortcode in your “Overall Rating Page”
Driving 5 Str Reviews Pushes Your Business Further
We are all curious who uses what business, who uses this software or home service we are all about social proof. There is no bigger social proof than those 5 star Google reviews. This helps in enhancing the online reputation and attracting more customers to the website and boosting your brands rust score with potential buyers. Better reviews also help in beating the competition while selling your product or service.
Take a strategic look at how you acquire 5 star reviews and you will fly past competitors that are not taking advantage of reviews.
I always schedule time once a week to look over my own websites and look at what’s working and what I need to pay more attention to. Looking at client website analytics data is scheduled in 3 times per week just to keep track of their campaigns. We enjoy tracking and reporting on the success, and helping to improve on not so successful campaigns for our business clients. Testing and refining the campaign each step of the way, optimising for whatever your end goal is we help you get there.
When you run over your dashboard and see how your audience is using your website, where they come from and what they search for you gain more of an understanding about your target market. We run multiple strategic data marketing campaigns through our Analytics Assist program providing data support and simplified reporting.
Schedule at least one time per week to go and visit your analytics dashboard, and familiarise yourself or check in on the web traffic metrics. Always look at reviewing your web analytics as part of your own internal procedure for understanding your marketplace, a simple review of web data can return more information than most understand.
Using the data provided by your Google Analytics dashboard you can find opportunity. Using alternative analytics tracking platforms work the same way just present differently, Identify your most popular content and keywords and optimise them. Content marketing combined with analytics assisted data can be a very powerful way of pushing your online visibility upwards. One way to recycle information is by updating content to be more relevant for your audience.
Schedule an analytics audit once a week to identify any new trends.
Why would you recycle content?
You would refresh your content
to;
Match the Date if years old
Match current trends
Match current algorithms
Match the actual information of the article.
This retains the core information while providing fresh new content that is relevant to todays market. This enriches the content and provides additional visitors to your pages and posts, use yoru analytics to uncover the pages you want to use. How I identify the pages I want to target for recycling content is by checking the analytics and top performing pages and search on site queries. This allows me to see the type of content that is most useful and the content that people want to see.
The process of reviewing your content to identify if you do want to update the article should include
Increase the length of the content
Removing out dated techniques
Change images if they need to be changed
Add a unique video that supports the content topic
Use more current rich multimedia
Incorporating these steps into your content cycling method will improve the effectiveness and quality score for the page and posts. Use your analytics datas to identify the target page and topics to use, and look around the web for some ideas i=on what other people are doing with the same topic and take notes.
Use Your Web Analytical Data To Determine Your Next Move
The guys at Kissmetrics have created this fun infographic for helping you understand your website analytics take a look.
Simplified Client Discovery Method With Scopeleads
Prospecting for clients used to take me days. I used to spend countless hours analysing potential clients leads sifting through bad Yelp reviews, visiting Page 2 and beyond for clients needing help even visiting Adwords adverts to see if the landing pages were optimised for success and then correlating all that data and manually contacting the prospective clients and it took hours of scanning data copy and paste and then entering the info into my emailer what an absolute waste of time.
Until I was referred to a new software that made the ultimate claim of reducing my workload and helping to automate the process for me, Yes I know my spider senses were tingling as well there are so many shady marketers online and is this the next sales con or is this one of the most innovative softwares to hit the market. I gave it a second glance and I am familiar with its creator and lead developer both have good names in the industry and are down to earth guys who over deliver on software releases.
So doing my research I found the software to deliver exactly what it said it would and that was the early release since then I can vouch that the upgrades are kick ass and they keep coming I truely appreciate software developers that put in this much effort with after purchase success of their systems.
Thanks to Scopeleads now I get clients and have a long list of clients that I can target now or save for a rainy day.
The software was sold as a system that gave you your time back and did all the hard work for you all you had to do was sell, sounds ideal for me and I gave it a chance I got in on the early release and picked up Scopleads Pro for a decent one time payment I believe that since public release the price is a one time fee for the basic 5 feature system that I still consider to be a steal for the functionality, and some of the add on features are available for a monthly fee. If I didn’t get the Pro version I would be happy with the 5 features on the basic system they can keep your sales person busy for months.
Scopeleads search return
Catch-phrase “There’s no magic to closing lead after lead after lead… But there is a trick”
Step 1 Enter your Keyword or Location
Step 2 Choose the service you want to provide these leads – SEO, web design, Social media or Adwords
Step 3 Click search and wait for the returned data
thats it that simple you click three buttons and get hundreds of leads ready for use within the system or you can export into a CSV.
BUT WAIT! Theres more
Now Scopeleads is not an autoresponder like AWeber or MailChimp but it does pack some punch with its own mini Auto responder sequencer, with scheduling, merge fields and action based sequences you can really target prospective clients
with the automation feature used in the email to send an audit or their website yes Scopeleads has an auditor built in, you can present a fake or real video audit and all the standard merge field inputs. The fake audit is basicly an overlay used to generate interest in the video audit before actually doing the video audit, this saves time! I like this added feature, why spend hours making videos that people dont want to see,
Below is the email builder
Scopeleads Uses Targeted Search Algorithms To Find Clients
Using location specific searches to pull data for local leads in the target area waiting for you to reach out and help them. These searches are performed using safe, secure and trusted algorithms to pull the most relevant leads in less time than it takes you to eat a breakfast bagel.
Unlimited Searches & Campaigns
No cap on searches you can target leads all day unhinged. No effect on Google and as long as you are sensible your email will be safe just use common sense when bulk mailing. You can use it to generate as many leads as you can handle, as many times as you like. Using a dedicated outsourced salesman? no problemo you can generate a huge list of leads and export the data to send to your sales person.
You Can Use Detailed Digital Audits To Get Clients
Running a complete audit on the web presence of any lead is easy… and the perfect way to show authority.
In the click of a button ScopeLeads analyses crucial on-page SEO, social media and mobile issues to produce a detailed digital audit, then creates a public link to send out automatically via your email campaigns.
ScopeLeads even adds your contact details, and a custom logo to your audit to give it a professionally branded finish…
Personalised Email Marketing
This is where ScopeLeads gets really intelligent and makes your business easier than you can probably imagine right now…
Once you have your leads, and their contact details, and you know what each lead is lacking, (all supplied by ScopeLeads), the system gives you the option to send out personalised marketing emails with custom merge fields, to connect with your new prospects and warm them up for a consultation or strategy call.
Connect, Track, And Close With ScopeLeads CRM
Everything you do with your lead from the moment ScopeLeads brings it will be tracked for you by the built in CRM. See at a glance how many emails you’ve sent, how many emails are opened, and which links have been clicked. There’s no need for an expensive second service to tell you what’s working and what needs fixing… it’s all right there inside your dashboard.
Clean, Easy, Powerful Dashboard
Track opens, clicks, and spot check sales with powerful sales analytics inside your dashboard. See how individual campaigns are performing. Check on individual leads. Control everything, instantly, with absolute ease.
How the dashboard is setup you can see on the Left all of you tabs and each section in clean UI. The main functions I use are Campaigns and sequencing, campaigns to find leads and sequencing to setup my email marketing sequence. Incredibly easy to use even the tutorials are names and take you from A to B on your search to get clients signed up and paying you for your services.
Easy Data Export
A quick click of a button on any search return and you can grab an export of a CSV file very simple export and great for record keeping.
The export data feature can be used in conjunction with excel or Google Sheets to build a massive workbook of leads. This is one method I use to get clients that really works, the workbook keeps me organised and I can really attack the lists fast.
Location Specific Results
ScopeLeads lets you set up campaigns and keep all your results in specific geographical areas. So if you want to keep your leads separate for country, state, and home town, (or any town for that matter) you can. Just enter your location of choice and you’re done.
One technique I use is to create a workbook called example Western Australia, and then Ill break it down to cities and suburbs of interest. The search fields Ill enter are correlating to the cities and suburbs listed in the workbook. Once you have your search fields organised you search and add the data returned to your workbook to build the targeting lists.
Super fast and Scopeleads really has changed the way I look for clients, and get clients thanks to the email sequencer.
It doesn’t take long to gather a thousand leads, but making contact with these leads and initiating a connection to ultimately turn them into paying clients is where so many people fall down. There is sales training in the tutorial section, this is just a taste of fine salesman that creator Lior Ohayan is. There are several add on tutorial’s for sales getting methods by actual students, and I can vouch these guys are crushing it thinking outside the box. The training and techniques are there but you just need to take action.
Starting price is $67.00 USD for the basic system that comes with 5 features well worth it for that price.
The software works in your browser and you can target anywhere in the world as long as you have internet connected you can set your sights on any country city or town.
As soon as you sign up purchase and run through the tutorial you are ready to let loose, I suggest having your domain email details handy if you want to run the emailer function you can map your own domain to Scopeleads or use a Gmail address
In terms of limitations there is no real limitations with exception to your own email address safety with the sheer amount of leads that you can uncover it can be easy to jump into a client getting frenzy but remember to not send unusual amounts of emails at once to avoid email spam penalties if you normally send a thousand emails a day then great continue to do that, but if you send a normal email amount of 10 and then you start emailing 2,000 per day that will raise some questions be smart and use your email as you would normally and you will be fine. The campaign searches are limitless you can scope all day.
One feature that can be talked about at great depth is the Mobile Lacking feature for selecting clients websites that are not mobile friendly a huge market since Google made the change to give mobile friendly sites more love
the feature acts like Tinder if you do not know what Tinder is ask a single friend 🙂 the feature basically lists the websites from your search query and you can see how the website appears on mobile with the mobile viewer see below.
When you find websites that are not mobile friendly you have the option to swipe right to target them as potential clients or delete them by swiping left and moving to the next one, very clever and provides s giggle every time I use it.
Scopeleads Benefits and Drawbacks
Pro’s
Features added on mass demand (at the time of writing email scheduling and
Speed, the speed of gathering leads blows anything Ive used out of the water.
In literally 4 clicks you will have a list of leads to close.
Time, saves me so much time with the automation of everything.
versatility the range of client targets is limited to your own vision.
The Tinder-esque mobile view feature hilarious.
You get to test your email sales copy I now find this rewarding.
You do Get Clients, You can get more.
Con’s
The sales conversion from lead to client falls on your own sales copy or pitch.
Cold emailing is no way to build stability in your business.
Mobile lacking feature is not accurate even if the slide left and right feature makes me laugh.
I came across a very similar software in late 2015 that did at a basic level the very same function of returning leads, that product was clunky and had a horrible UI I think from memory it was $17.00.
The CRM was a little tricky to navigate *Update there is now a search function for searching leads much more enhanced.
Whats on the horizon for Scopeleads?
There is a hint that a browser extension is in development and several features are currently in beta, I think the last update was Google My Business unclaimed pages. That would help my business especially with local marketing and helping small businesses claim their page.
but using Scopeleads you will stand a better chance by integrating the email sequencing and merge fields there leaves only room for you to work on the pitch it’s that simple remember to test headlines and sales pitch for best results.
I made an overview of the software here have a look Subscribe and leave a comment if you enjoyed the video.
Scopeleads Get Clients On Demand.
If you liked the video subscribe and look forward to more
Conclusion
I would consider Scopeleads as the best client prospecting software I have used saving my time prospecting by eliminating the need for me to sweat it out over bad reviews, page 2 and beyond and analysing the Adwords adverts I give it two 10’s for helping me get my time back, I was never intent on being an email marketing guy but after using Scopeleads Ive upped my game on composing and sending emails that generate interest and get replies that in itself has been like mastering another art form but is highly lucrative and very rewarding.
Who is this for?
Web Designers
Search Marketers – SEO and PPC
Social Media Managers
Marketing Managers
Freelancers
Agencies
I would say it is better used for those doing digital marketing and more specifically for web designers, SEO’s, Adwords, CRO consultants and social media management types either agencies or freelancers. The benefit for freelancer’s is the targeting, you can work anywhere with any target location a huge win for global servicing. Scopeleads is for anyone that wants to speed up the process to get clients, by using Scopeleads to Get Client search results you can effectively store the data and build a large targeting workbook to begin your marketing to these businesses.
What is the outcome if you decide to Automate Your Schema Markup?
Now for those that are unsure of what Schema is the easiest way to describe schema is by adding code to your website that groups your information making it ready to be easily served to a search engine bot making your website information more compartmentalised and ready to digest.
Schema can also be associated with a buildings blueprint schema the drawings of how to conceptualise the mechanics of the blueprints plan, funny story I was searching for relevant images of schema for this post and I was being served pictures of building blueprints and mechanical schema’s it made me think of how I was phrasing my search terms a bit more in depth but very relevant that how I understand schema is not how a building architect interprets schema, Fun Fact!
Exactly How Does Schema Work?
If you have ever added any markup to your website before it works much the same adding some micro-data to your website that helps define what the page is and how it should be classified. If you have added the search console verification tags to your website before that is pretty much the simplest way of saying that you can add schema markup to your website. There are some debates online about if it is better to manually inject the schema markup or if it is ok to automate your schema markup with plugins one that comes to mind is Project supremacy that I have used and the debate is still open, I am currently testing both methods to see if there is any noticeable different benefit from manual verse automated.
When you start to implement Schema elements and attributes you can do it yourself making sure the schema is added directly to the HTML code of your targeted website page to provide the search crawlers with additional information about your websites content ownership and associated profiles.
I apologise for the above video I couldn’t resist, the above video is not at all associated with the schema elements we are discussing here.
Okay okay, below is an informative video that informs on the inner workings and the “how does it work?” and “what does it do?” questions the video run time is 57:18 in duration and if you want to skip the video and read how I explain it then read on, also you SHOULD be reading on for the sheer value and laughter provided below.
Schema What How and Why Overview
Welcome back glad you could continue.
Where can I find out information about the types of Schema?
Schema.org is the go to place online for centralised information regarding schema, updates to schema types and the various associated schema profiles. The website is the lovechild of a massive collaboration between Google, Bing, Yahoo! and Russian search engine Yandex all contributing information to better the web.
Should I use Schema with SEO?
Imagine if you will that I am a massive Google Maps fan for this example now your Apple mobile phone comes with a built in maps app on it right out of the box, this is the representation of SEO and I know I always add Google Maps to a new Mobile phone why? because Google maps is connected to Google and it makes sense to use a Maps product that is owned by the largest search engine company in the world and Google Maps represents Schema in this little demonstration.
Now the out of the box maps app is decent it does an amazing jog but it is not directly connected or associated with a search engine, where as Google Maps has an association with Google they can share information very easily and if when you search for a location you are presented with other related pieces of information this is how schema works by providing the information in an organisation way so that the search engines can understand what it is and what it does so they can place relevance scores on the website, page or product and this also makes it much easier for associating relevant content for search queries.
Having the standard maps app works but using Google Maps works better in the long run.
Will Adding Schema Improve My Search Rankings?
No, there is no official data that backs the + schema = ranking improvement claim up, there is however significant benefit for your search result with studies showing an increase in CTR for the more attractive and informative SERP listing user’s are clicking on the results showing review stars and more information about the search term they are looking so in the long run yes schema may help you with rankings but it will be through using an increased CTR and not by just adding the markup to your website.
Your HTML code will become more structured and crawler friendly allowing for your page contents to be better understood. If you are optimising with SEO and combine Schema markup your chances of moving up the rankings will increase is best thought of as use schema markup as a best practises method and not a add schema gain rankings trick.
Here is a claim by Google that they are not using micro-data as a ranking signal.
What Else Can Schema Markup Do for Me?
Creating a information packet that can be served up to search engine crawlers making their job easier is one thing but adding schema markup can also benefit by helping use the micro-data to define and display rich snippets of your content in the SERPs. Google uses schema markup to display rich snippets the fancy display listings where the featured websites get to provide a little more information about themselves than the listings below them. Clear, concise rich snippets can result in higher click-through rates, as users can quickly and easily determine whether the content on your site is what they’re looking for and even more so in these increasing “Near Me Micro Moments“.
How Can I Markup My Website Pages with Schema Micro-data?
Thats a great question, and as simple as I would like to make it sound it isn’t a push button addition and can be quite tricky. Imagine having a site with hundred’s of pages and you have to markup EVERY page with Schema 🙁 thats a sad face because of the work involved. It could also be a 🙂 Happy face and I could shamelessly plug hiring me to perform SEO and Schema Integration for your website but you are already on my site or reading my post and can make your own choices.
All seriousness the schema markup will have to be added to each page and for my friends with page numbers in the hundred’s you can select a service provider if you are time poor or you can allocate to do it yourself if you really have time on your hands and using site wide schema markup this may or may not work for your business you should use relevant markup that suits your business. For anyone building a website or shameless 2nd plug wanting me to design them a website the good news is Schema can be built in to the structure making it much more time saving to be schema structured in the beginning.
If you are planning on doing the manual markup then there is a how to guide just follow the steps outlined in this guide to get started. Once you’re satisfied with your markup, use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to check that everything is working correctly and then you are on your way to being schema structured.
Do I Have to Markup Every Property on Every Page?
No, but the more properties you apply schema micro-data to, the clearer the nature and purpose of your site’s content will be to the search engines. Also, it’s worth remembering that you have to apply schema markup to a certain number of properties before Google can create rich snippets using your micro-data that being said you can increase your profile across the web by incorporating schema markup across your social entities. You can check what information can be extracted from your markup using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.
What About Social Media and Schema?
This works very well when using the Same As markup and the results in your SERP listing when you win the knowledge graph position are a huge bonus and really solidifies that you have an online presence across the web. Ive found adding schema micro-data with my social media tags that the search engines pick up the association between the social profiles and my website. Previously open graph tags or you could include Twitter cards was the best way to share content online for a reliable way to serve optimised content that search engines could associate between websites and author’s. You should consider adding schema markup alongside your Facebook Open Graph tags making them highly shareable and optimised for association.
See the below image for Apple notice the lower red box social profiloes “sameAs”: mark up.
My process of using schema vary depending on my intentions, I have two views on using schema and Im currently testing these for my own personal sites including the traditional sandbox site and client sites.
Using Automated Schema data entry is made easy by the my friends at Project Supremacy who have created a plugin that does it all for you in essence with Project Supremacy (heres a Free Trial) in short PS automates the schema and geo tags images it also adds short codes where needed and cuts down time when I need to get things done before a deadline this is fast and robust with continuing updates and support one of my go to schema tools.
Manual Schema injection I take a text pad with my schema markup on it and add it into the theme files in the header and then test to validate success.
I don’t site wide schema markup unless I’m on a deadline for delivery that I can come back to once the deliverables have been met.
Visit our SEO page for more service related queries
How to Identify the better Virtual Assistant: Siri or Google Assist
Smartphone virtual assistants are getting smarter and more functional but have they taken over? I have Siri and I have Google assist I use Siri to request outrageous tasks just to hear her blunt unimpressed tone, I use google assist to get things done without much thinking Now Im a Google guy and I enjoy apple products but I have dabbled with Android and can see both sides of the coin with this debate.
Siri had all the hype on early release was the world ready for a virtual assistant living inside our smart phones? Not really but how slow and non functional Siri was way back then we soon caught up and surpassed her with request of new features and functions. From the most anticipated release to eh just another clunky assistant well Apple noticed and went to work on improving Siri and nI would say its still a work in progress.
Enter new fresh faced competitor Google Assistant with all the backing of the world’s largest search engine this Virtual assistant packs a punch.
These two virtual assistant type helpers both appear to be very similar in functionality and connectivity some note worthy features are sending reminders, making notes, accessing apps, searching the web, providing booking tasks for movies or restaurants and helping provide google search query answers exceptionally helpful for quiz nights and providing educated comments among your peers. The speed of returned information is very fast and the interconnectivity is quite broad only increasing as technology improves.
Choosing a clear winner is no simple task both have smooth interfaces and provide useful functionalities and integrations.
So for me my choice of the better performing smartphone virtual assistant is Google Assist for the more in depth speak sequences and smooth user interface I really like the ease of use.
Sorry Siri but you return more incorrect search results than GA and you have a short temper but you are design well and I know you will be developed into a very solid smartphone assistant but the time is not now I do however look forward to when you are at a level that many people have held you to for some time.
Google Assistant has the recommendation and will be developed even more in the coming months with a team like Google backing you anything is possible.
The Battle of the Virtual Assistant Most Functional Infographic
There is this super cool infographic below for further details on this battle between Siri and Google Assistant. It will help you decide which will suit your phone the most, though you really have a limited choice with Siri as it won’t see a market other than iOS.
Please include attribution to 50waystohelp.com with this graphic.
Micro moments are those split second impulse decisions where someone for this example searches Best Hair Salon near me and the searches will present to the user the most relevant locations near their location, mobile search is the way of the future everyone has a mobile and mobile search has taken over. Be prepared and optimise for micro moments so you have the lead over your competitors when it comes to your buyers making choices that you can answer.
Micro–moments occur when people reflexively turn to a device more so their smartphones to action a desire to learn something, do something, discover something, watch something, or purchase something. These intent-rich moments are when decisions are made and preferences shaped. Our mobile first world is changing we want faster we want now on demand results you either fit in and provide to your market or you simply fall behind, but saying that there is no race to dominate these near me micro moments not many marketing agencies have grasped the term yet and when they do its still an emerging trend so expect changes at your finger tips as this evolves.
When you fully understand the mechanics of near me micro moments you can connect the dots and see the semantic relationship between entities and then optimise for these moments providing a customer journey that provides exactly what the user wanted and rewards them for visiting your pages. Your website visitor wants to learn a new skill, buy a new product or decide if that robotic vacuum cleaner is really going to save time on housework, and they will do this by using the nearest device when the micro moment takes place they will want that query answered and you need to be the one that provides the answer or product & service that satisfies this micro moment demand.
Google Shows Us How They Value These Micro Moments
1. Optimise for mobile-centric micro moment searches
Consumer interest and demand is crucial in providing the service that answers their demand if you understand this you have an advantage over your competitor’s who may not yet understand their audience as well as you do, drill down and learn how your customer searches for you are they mobile orientated? great now identify what smartphone they use to interact with you and make sure you have optimised your site for the various screen sizes of smartphones so you are showing as mobile friendly at all times on all screens be prepared for mobile centric searches and queries stand out ahead of the pack and be found on all devices.
Your website analytics can help you unlock buyer search terms on your website and open opportunities that you have not considered as new streams of customer interest uncovering your buyer insights reveals powerful data that you can use to grow your business.
2. Understanding your customer FAQ’s Learn what it is they want during the micro moment
Your customers most common questions can hold the key to your success online you need to know your customer and you need to learn what they want and then provide that to them. Researching your competitor’s brand and how they interact with their own followers can add an alternative view on how you can interact and engage with your customers. What questions do they ask? Are they looking for a broad term or a specific term? is it a buyer search term or an intent term? key questions you need to answer.
Don’t stop at your competitor’s brand while you are in research mode look up your brand and see how your customers ask for your brand. Understanding keywords and search phrases can help your business identify new avenues and opportunities within your market.
Looking for a buyer targeted keyword research strategy? Apply here we can provide you with buyer intent keyword search terms for your market.
Understanding your customers can mean huge improvements in the way that they interact with your brand online failing to understand the people that are funding your business is critical in growth if you plan to scale your business. Create informational and educational content that helps satisfy search queries your audience has provide useful answers that attracts people to your website then learn how they interact with your content to adapt even further.
3. Survey your customers for new micro moment trends
You need customers for your business to survive and the most important thing you can do is listen to your customers drop a survey on them to find out what they like how they interact and use your website so you can use that data to adapt your services and website to cater for the way your audience uses your services. Identify emerging trends and push your service or product to cater to those new trends asking can uncover new useful micro moment trends that you can shape your business around.
4. Be the customer experience on your brand journey
As your customers browse the web they shift from micro moment to micro moment at lightning speeds they need to land on your micro moment uninterrupted and have seamless transition in their arrival and exit so limit pop ups and cater for speed and UX have a customer journey that encompasses the micro moment start to finish not just the landing page you need to optimise the checkout page and the thank you pages that whole journey start to finish so that your user experience is contained unbroken and the transition is smooth.
Take time out to take your brand’s customer journey unfiltered pretend you are the customer and take the ride down your brand’s rabbit hole to feel what it’s like.
Example questions you need to ask about your brand micro moment customer journey:
Are those pop up’s annoying?
Does the slider move images to fast?
Can you easily navigate from page to page?
Are you category page tabs big enough?
Does the thank you page really thank your customer or is it a cold generic “Thank you!”?
Want to see how one of the world’s biggest brand’s uses these micro moments to capture the market share of their target audience?
Coke-a-cola released this video showing how they use these consumer moments to their advantage, watch listen and learn.
Google Search Micro Moments
Answer your questions about what you really give your customer and you will be surprised at the results, Now ask your team members to all take that same unbiased journey and come back to you with notes of improvement and things that can be done better. What you get out of this companies pay big doller’s for consultant’s like me to come in and provide CRO advice on fixing the holes in their funnels here is your DIY tip to fixing your own funnels. Capitalising on these micro moments can have a tremendous effect on your business as this is relatively new trend that not many businesses understand yet or know how to optimise to capture the micro moment as it happens, yes it can be difficult to stay on top of every new trend as it happens but here on this post you have an advantage.
Once you have that data you just need to not only “fix” the problems but improve on them if you really want to impress, adding a band aid does not heal a wound you treat the wound so it fully heals. Having a broken consumer journey can lead to bad reviews online and offline and reputation management online doesn’t fix everything.
Your business should go over the collected data and identify how the business can be “useful” everyday so in these micro moments your business has value to contribute to those that search and land on your web pages. Your business managers and project managers should role play examples of these four main types of micro moments: I-want-to-know, I-want-to-go, I-want-to-do and I-want-to-buy moments where your business needs to provide answers to these search terms to qualify as “useful” nail that and you have the start for improving your customer journey. Every team member should have something to contribute to the improvement processes from map integration to keyword research and even analytics it all helps customise your brand’s understanding of your mobile first market audience experiences.
5. Speak to your customers unbiased views
Try this technique and see what the reactions are like and then decide if this method might be something you roll out more mainstream for your operations team, select a random customer with a contact number and call them up speak to them about the service or product and how they felt about the purchase journey and if they would purchase with you again also ask “What can we do better?” you will get an honest outsiders perspective that can help you identify often problems that remain in your business blind spot. A recent random call I took made me aware of an automated follow up sequence that was outdated once identified I cancelled that out of date email sequence and refined that customer follow up process its the small things that can help make your customer journey more satisfying.
Just speaking to your audience can uncover the way that they use mobile search in real time as not every industry will utilise mobile search the same way so understanding your customer is paramount in catering for new customers. Once you understand your customer be it times of search and days they use search example A a coupon site may drop new deals on every Tuesday so it’s audience will search on Tuesdays for the new deals if you have that data you have critical information that can help grow your business.
As consumerism shifts to mobile, you must understand intent signals for micro moments across the journey. It helps to also look at what similar companies are doing and analyse how existing content is performing. (Ask your agency to help or, if you’re in an agency, offer this service to brands.)
Your business goal using micro moments is to build agile resourceful on the go effective engagement that satisfies your customer journey in the real time scenario and moving forward in the age of Mobile search you should consider using effective Mobile SEO processes to capture your market share of micro moments and always be working towards consumer changes of behaviour and analyse your shifting trends.
For more information on these suggestions visit Marketingland.
My Buddy Angel the talented micro moments marketer created this extremely relevant infographic on the topic of micro moments and the impact of near me searches.
Courtesy of: Micro Moments Mobile Search Infographic.
Google is the largest search engine on the planet and they do search queries so well this video below really sums up how mobile search has changed and the micro moments that shape a users decision
based on intent check it out.
Micro Moments are intent rich decisions that shape a search query
Is your business optimised for these new mobile search trends? Get onboard now before this becomes mainstream.
Would you like to prepare your business website for Micro Moments? Visit our Mobile SEO Page for more info.
Managing your troops can feel like a constant battle with everyone having these things called emotions and feelings. Working out the dynamics of your team so everyone gets along and the work is being completed at a top level is your end goal for team management. Having a collaborative management system that works seamlessly in the cloud can make project management and staff management a breeze, Here we cover a few that really stand out for digital marketers.
Finding your voice as a leader can be difficult and findings system that all the team members are comfortable using and that can be used with almost anything and for anyone is tough, I personally use Google Drive and dropbox. Google drive has the most versatile products in its arsenal with sheets and docs far over powering excel and word for functionality. If you have ever managed a team of freelancers from all across the globe you can appreciate the ease of google drive for sharing and collaborating. It’s no secret I’m A massive gmail fan and getting a FREE gmail isn’t the only win when you sign up look forward to 15gig of cloud storage with google drive plus a host of other google properties all free.
As a start up I relied heavily on the freeware of google to help me power my client on-boarding and management system functionality of what the project management systems provide in this post a huge help for me and Im still using three of them to this day taking them over fancy overpriced management systems that lack functionality and integration based on your subscription level. Of course some of the systems mentioned here do have paid upgrades that significantly boost their overall functionality but I would say you can do so much with the free versions and depending on your size of business you might need to upgrade one of these services and still do so much with what these management systems offer in the free sign up.
Management systems in the digital marketing world are complex, overpriced and not functional enough for today’s teams.
What Project management Systems Do I Use?
Google Drive Can You Dig It?
All your documents in a shareable folder on the cloud. You don’t need to sign up to some project management software just to get your work from a “agency” or “client” I’ve been asked to join that many management softwares I can’t remember the last one that I used more than three times.I am a huge Google drive guy for processes and systems management where I can add or remove collaborator’s and share single doc’s or sheets plus Google sheets integration with various API’s is the advantage that I want my project management systems to utilise and give me the functionality that I need.
My number one project management resource is Google Drive.
You simply sign up for a gmail account
Complete registration and voila you now have one of The most robust software suites for free. YouTube, Google plus, Blogger, Google my business and much much more are all waiting for you once you sign up for a gmail account.
Second Place Dropbox
With Dropbox you have a cloud storage that provides you free space to save files, docs photos and more. Not as features rich as G drive but still a decent competitor
You have the option to pay for an increase in storage space or very innovative and a great marketing effort from Dropbox is to have referrals for more space so send ten emails to get extra space added to your dropbox account.
Management Systems worthy of a mention.
Slack
Slack is more like an instant chat where you can group chat or single chat and exchange pictures videos or files. It has a nice UI and is quite easy to use even for a complete computer caveman you can pick up slack messaging in about 2 messages.
Trello
Trello is big in the SEO community for client on-boarding and project management. There are marketers using Trello as their complete system so it does work and some of the ways I’ve seen it used are quite innovative.
Trello integrates with many other management systems type softwares and is visually easy to use, there is a slight learning curve but with a simple click around on all the buttons you will quickly become familiar with the UI and understand how it works.
Much like Google Drive this Management System can be copied from another user and used as your own project management system for controlling your operations.
Worthy mentions:
Basecamp
Asana
Wrike
Teamwork
I think that Teamwork and Wrike are more suited to larger agencies or a business that has many moving parts possibly involving a lot of co-operation on projects. Basecamp is good for project management and organisation of projects.
What to look for in your complete project management software and your company preferred management systems.
1. Functionality
2. Collaboration
3. Easy to use
4. Pricing
5. Storage and restrictions
6. Integration
If you use a management system not listed here and it is making your life easier than drop the name in the comments and give your pro’s and con’s for it’s functionality.
Thanks for reading and I hope these help you project manage with ease.
Every keyword has its own power among the massive amount of search query data taking place all across the internet. Understanding how to measure the power of a keyword and how to branch out from using a head keyword into more variables like LSI and long tail to further increase the usefulness of your target keyword should all be part of your keyword research plan and in order to master your own keyword research process you should build a checklist that you can refer to for each time you go about researching your keyword landscape.
Below I’ve used basketball teams as a reference to understanding the importance of proper use of keywords and why SEO is important in the bigger picture of improving your website profile on the web.
My References breakdown for easy following
Keywords are NBA Teams
SEO’s are Team Coach
Google Search Results are the NBA League
Page 1 is the Playoffs
Position 1 on Page 1 is the NBA Championship
Image source The Comeback
Imagine just for an example that keywords are NBA basketball teams and competing across the league for the Playoffs in our example Page 1 on Google. You can then imagine that from making Page 1 these teams on the first page of Google are then playing off to get to the Grand Final Main Event and from that point aiming for the the championship Page 1 Position 1 of the search results beating off every other keyword. Now imagine that you as an SEO or for business owners that the SEO hired by you is the NBA team’s coach so your hired SEO is the Pat Riley to the Miami Heat or Phil Jackson to the Chicago Bulls they help coach the NBA team (keywords) into the championship playoffs
That would be extremely difficult
So we now understand the importance of selecting the right keywords and not selecting the Philadelphia 76ers as our keyword…..oh Ouch! sorry guys it’s kind of relevant why would you do that to your draft picks 🙁 I wish you a successful 2017 season and beyond.
Back to keywords and how smart selection can make your time spend on your marketing well worth the effort. Choosing keywords that underperform and having your whole strategy built around those keywords will be internal sabotage you will waste so much time and for little to no reward hey Ill admit Ive been there my keyword selection when I first started was solely based on what I thought was the best and it wasn’t i sucked so bad but what you do is work on your weaknesses and level up.
If you want to learn about keyword research start a blog, write creatively or start a Web Marketing business throw your self in the deep end and it’s sink or swim.
Understanding your audience your unique selling position is the first step and then understanding how your target audience searches for your products or services is the next step master this and the rest is a breeze.
Identify What Keywords You Are Targeting
Head
Body
Long Tail
LSI
If you do not understand what some of the above terms are click the keyword research tools link on the next sentence Ive covered it there.
For an idea on some of the tools you can use to uncover these keywords read on here for several keyword research tools
Setting up your checklist
We need to create a blank template to build out actionable checklist for all future keyword research referencing.
First, sign in to Google Sheets and create a blank spreadsheet, you can also use excel spreadsheets I find Google Sheets easier.
You need to format the template by adding a title name for the sheet try something easy to remember like Keyword Research Checklist Template.
Now moving to the headers label each column so you know what goes where
it, then fill the headers in to match my example, like this:
To make sure that you don’t treat your header as data when sorting your results, you should freeze the top row and add a colour to clearly seperate it.
Now you’ve got your spreadsheet, make sure you keep the link handy so you can create a powerful recurring process document later on using this guide.
Whenever you research a fresh keyword, open up the link, create a copy of the template and name it the subject of your content, like this:
Now we’ve got our blank slate, it’s time to populate it with keywords that are going to skew the SERP game in our favour.
Keyword Brainstorm
This is the start of our process, you want to start with the mindset of how you think your audience and potential customers would search for you what terms, phrases and words would they use to find your business on a search engine? write down every possible keyword and phrase.
Now go onto google and start typing your keywords and record the automated suggestions that Google is suggesting to you these will be very helpful. TIP down the bottom of the search results will be other relative keywords take note of them as well.
At the end of this step of the process you should have a very long list of keywords and phrases and don’t worry that is exactly what we want but we haven’t even touched the surface yet.
Build your own ideas on your keywords you want associated with your brand as talked about above
Build a list of keywords you think that your potential customers would use to search for your business
Now set yourself up a Google Sheet or excel spreadsheet for your template.
If you want to see the search volume and CPC I use a chrome extension its called Keywords Everywhere and is simple to add although you will need to request an email so you can add the API and use it with the search volume and CPC real time. You can use this to help determine keywords of interest at this stage or even eliminate words it is your choice.
Description
This post is about keyword research, what is your keyword for your topic? write that down in your sheet as the first keyword this will be the keyword we will build our list around.
Be more specific
Is your topic about example the NBA Playoffs or is it more about example NBA the journey to the playoffs?
you need to write down your core topic that you will be building around the example NBA the journey to the playoffs is very specific it tells the reader right away what the content will be about where the example NBA playoffs is specific but still very broad in terms of what to do with the NBA playoffs, is it an overview, the predictions, a road to the playoffs or more there is a lot of room to move with that broad term.
Determine your topic and add that to your template.
Include synonyms in your list
To mix up some of the results you should consider using synonyms to acquire words you may not have had in your mind that relate to your topic. Keyword research can make most people spend hours analysing and over thinking its actually quite simple once you get this sheet created and organised
Search for your words and then the phrases, now go over to Thesaurus.com and search for your keyword and then the phrases. Basically you are searching for different ways to say your keyword “Playoffs” may return championship, finals, semi finals, face off, grand final, main event and so on. You will find some very good returns and you will also have to eliminate some of the returned searches as they will not be much use and can often produce a laugh at how and why they showed up in the first place.
Add the results you like for each keyword and phrase, and then add another and repeat this until you have completed your keyword set and added all the alternatives to your template. We now have an extensive list of keywords and phrases but we are not done yet.
Search on Wikipedia for even more alternatives
Go to wikipedia and search for your term and find an article with relevance to our search term. Many people overlook Wikipedia as a powerful place to find well constructed content with in depth explanations of terms that people don’t know about, can not pronounce and just plain don’t understand what it is. Perfect for our keyword research strategy, One search on Wikipedia for NBA Playoffs returns a long list of correlated data on the history of NBA playoffs and the only place I imagine to have a database as extensive would the actual NBA offical website and even then I think Wikipedia may have them beat on that.
We now have even more ideas for our template add them to the sheet.
Now we have compiled a decent list of potential winners from our manual keyword research we now head over to a browser based search engine to get some more data for our keyword research measurements.
Keyword research just got a boost
UberSuggest helps you seriously boost your keyword research by generating a large list of keywords it does pump out a lot of crap not helpful at all keywords but if you use it in the way that I advise here you will get some golden nuggets within the return data.
To limit the room for error just input the most basic keyword this example is NBA playoffs and let it do its thing you will get keywords and users phrases in your data return and from there you can sift through and add the keywords and phrases that you want to add to your template
Ill also run it again with another two keywords to get an overall view of my keyword landscape. This covers me for my main keywords on al possible angles.
If you alter from using the basic keyword terms and add something extra you will get a data return that is 90% unusable so keep it simple.
Uber Suggest is a valuable tool for keyword research and can return some crazy results but at the same time you do not want to skim on running your main keywords through this process once you see the variety the search query returns for your list. Any tool that can scrape the web can work faster than you can so use it in your processes and save time let it scrape the web for your keywords.
If you want even more ammunition then rephrase the placement of your keywords and rerun the scrape again this will help you have a very extensive list if it is not already running into the thousand’s of keywords.
Our next step is to search the web for real people speaking about your topic and related terms and research how they implement their keywords and on page elements.
Real Time Keyword Research and Your Process
To speak to communities and people passionate about what it is you are building your keywords around you need to research interested people in their niche communities, Facebook, Twitter the usual suspects of course but have you ever considered using such If I was targeting marketing I would be researching on Inbound and GrowthHackers for my target audience would be very active here. My example is NBA Playoffs so I would look more at Facebook groups, Bleacher Report, NBA official website and several passionate forum sites where true die hard fans hangout and engage with the topic.
My other alternative is Quora for getting questions answered you cant go wrong but be warned that self promotion is frowned upon in this community you can answer questions and have your own questions answered excellent for seeing what and how competitors are engaging with people of similar audience. You can find very helpful questions your market have on Quora.
Using Quora for research provides you with the exact questions and words used that your audience are using to search for answers. Its super important to go that extra step in providing value to your audience by answering questions providing value being 1Up on your competitor. Add your found search terms, questions and any keywords that stick out to your template.
Now I head over to BoardReader and look for the forums that appeal to my target audience and search for my basic keyword and a keyword phrase
This should return some questions that people ask, titles used for the questions further helping us identify the problem they are searching an answer for, and answers to those problems. Add these to your template we are almost done.
You may be surprised at some of the keywords and phrases on your template sheet that you would not of even considered when you first started this research process I know I am every time, thank you keyword shitter for the enjoyment.
Ever Reliable Google keyword planner
This process step was broadcast by Brian Deanof Backlinko he calls it the GKP hack and you will see why in just a moment.
Here’s how GKP works:
First Find Competing Pages
You want to find competing pages that have a lot of visibility and are offering lots of content.Put your high-level keyword in Google and see what comes up in the SERP’s now open another browser tab.
Click on the ‘Find new keywords and get search volume data’ option, and paste a competing page into the ‘Your landing page’ field.
Review all relevant terms that your competitor is ranking for use what you feel is most beneficial, sneaky I know but it works.
It’s as simple as that. Go ahead and any new keywords to your sheet, repeat as much as you like/need/can be bothered with, and let’s move on to the next step.
*You must have a active Adwords account to get accurate data.
Use Open Site Explorer by Ahrefs for Competitor Research
Now you are going to want to reverse engineer your competitors keywords and you can do this by using the Ahrefs Site Explorer.
This feature of a paid Ahrefs account offers a powerful way to get competitor information in an easy to digest UI that makes it stupid simple.
I recommend using the same competitors that you used in the Google Keyword Planner step, search their URL to get their list of keywords and now add these to your template sheet and our list grows again.
!!! CAUTION !!!
Naughty words follow, Those not inclined to profanity skip forward.
Brought to you by marketing originals Keyword Shitter
Yes you read correctly there is a keyword research tool named Keyword Shitter. Branding and toilet logo aside it is surprisingly capable see it here Keyword Shitter.
You will notice that it is easy to use and quite powerful in the search data and volume returned per search, the data returned includes long tail variations, search volume and CPC. There will be some crud in the list but at this stage we have more than enough keywords that we can be picky with our list now.
Enter main keyword “NBA Playoffs” paste your list of keywords we have in the Positive filter box to the right.
Not wanting to deny the creative genius at Keyword Shitter you then quite simply press the magic button on this website that button is labelled “shit keywords”
and boom you start to see an instant run of keywords loading in an extensive list that goes and goes. The variety of long tail keywords returned is worth the sheer no they didn’t factor of the branding. Add the winners to your template sheet and we move to the final research step.
You have your own choices as far as best keyword research tools I switch between several for this example we’ll work with Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer and then we start our run at the playoffs and eliminate keywords that don’t make the cut.
Generate relevant keywords
using Ahrefs keywords explorer for our final process in determining our keyword research winners. Our process so far has involved us doing the thinking but now we get to automate it with this neat tool. Access Keywords Explorer (paid Ahrefs account only) this finds related keywords and phrases for you and you might think why didn’t we just start with this? You could but its best to build your list yourself first then do it this way for optimal results.
It’s as simple as typing a few of your existing keywords into the search bar. Keywords Explorer > Enter keywords > Select country > Search
You can now retain the results that you like and filter out ones you don’t want to include.
We can see above the top pages for our search term.
Laser Target your keyword research list
Now we have a short list of keywords and its important to cut this down to the most profitable and rewarding words (depending on your goal) I want content exposure for my goal on this example obviously if you were doing Adsense for example you would want more profitable keywords.
Now we know our end goal we have some cleaning to do, remove all duplicates, If you are working inside Sheets, this is easily done with the Remove Duplicates addon. Install that, then follow these instructions:
Steps 1–4 won’t need changing, just ‘Next’ through it ’til you get to the last window.
Make sure ‘Delete rows’ is selected and click Finish.
If you are not in Sheets and using Excel you can use the search field query and manually look for duplicates. Just switch to Google Sheets you will thank me later.
We approach the finish line
You can enter your list into Google Keyword Planner Tool and get some more informative data, we want to get the search volume amounts for our keyword list and note the keywords that have undesirable search volumes.
You should copy your keywords from sheets into Google Keyword Planner Tool and then download the results into a spreadsheet when finished.
Now you’ve got this spreadsheet, you want to take the good bits and paste them back over to your original sheet.
Delete everything apart from the Keyword, Volume and Competition columns, then paste it back. Search volumes with zero can be left out these keywords aren’t popular enough for our liking.
Remove the keywords that do not relate
Formatting your content and the readability for the user should appear natural and not as though you are keyword stuffing and want to avoid phrasing like “website design cheap” or “build website now cheap” these are not good for
an example of keyword stuffing can often be found in Youtube where its not uncommon to see Youtube video descriptions that have for example
#websitedesign #websitedesign #websitesdesign
They would repeat this hashtag again and again and even more hashtags of their target keyword or they will blatantly use repeat keyword sentences line after line in the lowest section of the description area to hammer the keyword in.
So now the bad example has been covered DO NOT DO THIS! pretty simple when its in capitals right? Grab the suggested keyword phrases and
If you grabbed everything you could see in UberSuggest, or dig a big export, then now’s also the time to get rid of the crazy ones like ‘NBA Finals MVP 2009’ and ‘NBA Finals Sprite’.
When there’s a year in a keyword (like ‘NBA Finals MVP 2009’), instead of removing it, you could simply substitute in the current year. Just be sure to update the correct year.
Indeed, if you’re in the final quarter of the year, you might want to consider including the following year as a keyword instead of the current.
Look at how the interest in ‘NBA playoffs’ dropped off and then picked back up and then dropped off and so on, using sport as an example has a downside it’s seasonal so there will be peak months and down months where the interest isn’t there.
Since my keyword research process includes some paid tools it wouldn’t be 100% accurate to call it ‘free keyword research’, so I get rid of that, too. Since keywords are mostly about the way people express what they want, use your logic and you’ll be fine for this bit.
Who makes the starting lineup and who gets benched?
Every word on your list has potential thats why we created a list of keyword opportunities but how do you select 5 or 10 words from a list numbering in the 100’s? You need to discard a wider view to focus on the keywords that will by data provide you with the best return. But keep the words you don’t choose you will have use for them at a later stage. Select the top 5 or 10 by search volume to solidify their place on your final list.
If you are an organisational OCD type you could place the next most useful keywords into a sub header on your list to be used next for content and so on and so on this will also help provide some loose content planning structure for future implementation. It’s important to know that even Andre Iguodala came off the bench to provide much needed firepower for the Golden State Warriors, and yes Im one of those guys 🙂
The Most opportunity keyword selection process
To identify from your list what will be the best keyword selection measure by:
Relevance. You need to accurately describe what you’re writing about because if you mislead or inaccurately describe your content you will incur a high b ounce rate and a high bounce rate will kill your ranking, even if you do manage to get on the front page.
High (enough) volume. For niche and specific topics, like client onboarding, you’ll be lucky to find a relevant keyword with more than 30 searches per month. If there are two similar keywords with drastically different volumes, however, the higher volume keyword is the obvious choice (provided it passes the rest of the criteria).
Low difficulty. Putting it simply, a keyword with low difficulty has pages and domains with low authority on the first page. If you target the same keyword with better content and get a few backlinks, you can take that slot and steal their traffic.
So once you’ve chosen a few keywords from your list which are high enough volume and relevant, it’s time to see how difficult they would be to rank for.
If the first page is crammed full of super-high authority sites or pages with 1000s of backlinks, you’re out of luck unless you’re Wikipedia.
In my review of Ahrefs vs. Moz, the Keyword Difficulty tool was one of the only places Moz surpassed Ahrefs on quality of features, but that review is in dire need of an update because now the Ahrefs keywords explorer does difficulty.
To quickly get KD on a list of keywords you can paste them as a list into keywords explorer and choose ‘Exact Match’ from the sidebar:
Keywords Explorer > Enter keywords > Select country > Search > Results: ‘Exact match’
Some of these are ridiculous, and it’d be very tough to rank for them. Instead of taking the more broad, high volume keywords, I look further down the list to check some lower volume, more specific terms — perhaps ones with a better intent.
The best way to judge the searcher’s intent of a keyword is to just Google it.
I was thinking of writing an article about customer support for enterprises, and thought I’d found an absolutely ???? keyword with ‘enterprise customer service’
Googling it revealed it to be useless trash because the intent was people searching for the customer service contact at Enterprise car rental. Of course the difficulty is so low on that! I felt particularly silly. And the moral of the story is: Google a keyword before you target it!
Googling a keyword also gives you an extra layer of insight into the keyword difficulty metric. You can see why the keyword is hard or easy to rank for. Take, for example, the KD 6 keyword ‘fun board games’:
Neither of the top two results even optimize for the keyword they rank for. That’s a sure signal to you that it’s going to be a #1 ranking if you follow it up with the right SEO strategy. (That, and the fact that Popular Mechanics isn’t exactly known as a stronghold of board game content.)
Once you find a relevant, in-demand keyword which has vulnerable pages in the top spots, you’ve found a winner. Highlight it in a lovely shade of green on your sheet to celebrate ????
Quite a long post but to really get the most from your keyword research you need a process of identifying, understanding and executing the plan.
The full 19 step keyword research process
Here’s a quick recap of the full process:
Create a spreadsheet template to use as your checklist template
Format your template sheet enter headlines and colour coding
Identify your core keyword and then Google them taking note of auto suggest feature.
Try using syonyms
Search Wikipedia articles for new opportunities
Generate variations using UberSuggest
Search in Quora for new questions and answers taking note of specific words & phrases used.
Search BoardReader for even further opportunities
Competitor lookup with Google Keyword Planner
Competitor lookup with Ahrefs Site Explorer
Generate long tail keywords with Keyword Shitter
Use Ahrefs Keywords Explorer for generating a massive keyword list or your go to keyword tool.
Remove all duplicate keywords, with extension or manually
Copy the remaining keywords into Google Keyword Planner
Remove unrelated keywords
Filter by search volume returned
Again remove irrelevant keywords
Remove high competition keywords
Remove low volume keywords (if there are better options)
Keyword Research Checklist Complete!
Get the Step by Step Checklist PDF here! No Email Opt-In! Just download or make a copy.
Parts of this process have been matched with Benjamin Brandall’s processes at Ahref’s.
So, there you have it my keyword research process developed from Brian Dean’s methods, a variety of exciting tools and my own experimentation.
Do you think this keyword research and application process will help you?
Can you make any further recommendations? what is your own internal keyword research process, I would love to see variations.
Alternative Keyword Research Tools Paid and Free Versions.
Keyword research enthusiasts the world over, have had their boat rocked. Google keyword planner had become a pay to play tool in the Google toolset. Many forums and popular marketing blogs erupted with the news and marketers were left scratching their head. I honestly feel if you devote your entire focus on just one tool that you dont own or control and then that one go to tool is taken from you you have a problem.
when Google Adwords changed the way that the keyword planner tool returned search volume data to
when Google Adwords changed the way that the keyword planner tool returned search volume data to non paying and lower spending account holders. This change in fair use policy created a storm in a tea cup among the internet marketing community, since then there has been a lot of people making quick “hacks” and “tricks” to get around this.
Ok Google but why? there are so many tools out there to help you get the job done seriously free and paid and all there easy to find.
I decided to make a video for people being SEO’s, Marketer’s and the DIY business owner’s, to learn about other alternatives to Google Adwords keyword planner tool. I will guide you on how to find them all the while by searching for “vegan pizza”, something I enjoy partaking in the consuming of on a regular basis. Having yourself a keyword research process that you can replicate and collect the appropriate data is so important, as to not waste your time and allow you to collect profitable and strategic data. The benefit of having your systems follow processes is a business strategy 101 technique, I swear by processes and encourage you to think about adding them into your business.
“Keyword research when done correctly can help David take on Goliath” True words.
Using several keyword research tools to compile your data, makes for a more effective process and not putting all of your vegan pizza in one delivery box (watch the video to understand the reference). Successful research of your target keywords provides revenue or leads, and saves you from pouring your precious time into something that does not convert. Our aim is to remove the wasted time and improve your productivity by using a follow along process and by identifying keywords with potential. One perfect example of wasted time was my first virtual assistant hire, I sent the task to identify a hot topic in the beauty industry for a client that we could create a mammoth Jumbo slice 8,500 word article on do i t yourself beauty tips and application methods for her products, this resulted in a huge waste of time because the keyword research was focused on the wrong words. My first hire of a virtual worker was not successful just like that massive article I slaved over, it received a dismal visibility score and has almost no traffic except the lonely 10 monthly visits. I can understand sucking but that published edit was not even sucky, it was good content but the keywords were under utilised and targeting the wrong search terms.
Have no fear as recycling content is a thing! you can refresh content to be more relevant and useful, Ill cover more on this another time.
Keyword Research Strategy for the Search Engine
First Make a list of your core business elements being products services based on your knowledge of your business and industry
Second picture yourself as the consumer or client and imagine what they would search for and be using as words when looking for a service or product like what you provide and related terms that lead back to or out from your product or service this will allow you to circle in on keywords that you may not have considered before and when used effectively will attract new leads.
Third I like to use Google, Amazon or Youtube for a competitor landscape and type in my search term that I want to rank for. Doing this will allow me to see who is ranking for that term, what their headline titles are, what meta descriptions they use including any calls to action in the meta display and I recommend using SEO Moz toolbar a free chrome extension that helps identify specific domain metrics crucial in determining your competitor strength.
Now you have these key points you have the basic foundation for your keyword research. I would suggest reading on how to implement a research process for your keyword gathering I wrote more on that on the blog, or alternatively SEO Nick provides a detailed post about keyword research see his take on this visit
Alternative Keyword Research Tools and Pricing Plans
Tool
Functions
Price
Rating
SemRush
competitor & keyword research, traffic estimates and organic
1 Project is Free
$99.95 / $199.95 / $399.95 Mo
4/5
Moz
Keyword difficulty, popular search terms
Free / $99 / $149 / $249 / $599 Mo
3/5
Keyword Supremacy
Keyword research, CPC, competitive terms
$47 / $97 / $197 Credit System
4/5
SpyFu
Adwords ad spend, keywords used, competitor analysis
$44 / $74 / $199 Annual
4/5
LSI Graph
Exploring LSI keyword variations
Free x5 times per day
4/5
Uber Suggest
Exploring keywords and search terms, CPC multiple search engines
Free
3/5
Keywords Everywhere
Keyword search volumes, CPC and Monthly search volume
Backlink profiler, keyword targeting, content explorer
$99 / $179 / $399 / $999
4/5
Ok alternatives to Google Keyword Planner and lets dive into this. So I created a video that traverses the keyword research landscape providing an overview of a handful of free and paid keyword tools that will help you no matter what approach you have to keyword research. #veganpizza Types of Keywords Research
Search Query
Looking for search terms that would come from interested buyers and people seeking more information about your service or product that type into example search term query on Google “Best Vegan Pizza Crust” you can type this into google but notice as you type Google will auto suggest the next words I take note of these words and add them to a text file for use when compiling URL titles, meta descriptions and content.
Related Search Terms
If you’re struggling to find keywords think more in terms of finding related words that people may use when searching for your product or service.
think of more keywords people might be searching about a specific topic, go to Google.com and take a look at the related search terms that appear when you plug in a keyword. When you type in your phrase and scroll to the bottom of Google’s results, you’ll notice some suggestions for searches related to your original input. These keywords can spark ideas for other keywords you may want to take into consideration buyer intent Head Keywords
These are usually single-word keywords with insane amounts of search volume and competition (Using our example, “vegan” or “vitamins”). Because searcher intent is very broad within what “vegan” related topic they are looking for its hard to cater to someone searching for the word “vegan” when you are offering the best tasting vegan pizza served 100% organic when they may be looking for “vegan” headbands the search term is too broad to cater for the query directly this makes it quite hard to attract that user with a head keyword the conversion from a single head keyword is significantly lower than say a long tail keyword.
Body Keywords
Body keywords are 2-3 word phrases that get decent search volume (at least 2,000 searches per month), but are more specific than Head Keywords. Keywords like “vegan pizza base” or “vegan pizza” are good examples of using body keywords and this search query now allows us to have an increased relative appeal to the search query than a head keyword as we now can relate to more than 1 word generating more closely affiliated relevance to the user intent.
Body keywords can still be competitive but also allow for some less competitive term success
Long Tail keywords
The best way to describe long tail keywords would be to take your head & body keywords and add another word or two to extend them further creating a long tail keyword. These are specific words describing in an extended form your target keyword like example “affordable vegan pizza oven” or “Vegan pizza topping recipes” while they are not going to be getting 50,000 searches per month they will pull their weight with attracting visitor’s to your website.
Long tail keywords convert better as they attract visitor’s that have typed in a more specific search term meaning they know more about what they are searching for where someone searching for “pizza” may just be cruising the web looking for pizza or pizza deals but someone who searches “mouth watering vegan pizza” is one hungry SOB looking for warm tasty vegan pizza and would be more inclined to purchase said pizza over the user searching for a very broad very generic “pizza” search term. It is understanding this search query demand that can make your keyword research more profitable just from understanding the pending conversion thought process.
Latent Semantic Indexing or LSI keywords
LSI Keywords are essentially keywords related to the keyword that you search for on search engines such as Google. Using semantically related words referring back to your target keyword increases the power of your keyword phrase and this has been fully endorsed by Google as a significant page ranking factor and you should consider using this method in your content marketing think more about the user than just creating content aim for your target audience by thinking as if you were looking for information on your product or service.
While it sounds like a super complex conspiracy theory type of substitutionary phrase its not that complex at all its similar to long tail keywords but using words that are more commonly associated with these body keywords.
I quite enjoy using LSI graph for finding LSI keywords the user interface is very smooth and its simple to use, they offer a free download of the best ways to use LSI keywords and its well worth the read. They also offer a opt-in for their plugin.
One thing I am on the lookout for is a reliable ecommerce keyword tool specifically aimed at Shopify, Amazon and Ebay. Ive tested several that don’t meet my standards and the tools mentioned in this review are the ones I use currently and they help identify opportunity. There is always something bigger and better out there maybe someone could drop a comment on what they use for ecommerce keyword research in the bottom of this article.
Keyword Difficulty
Can I really rank on page 1?
In all cases you need to assess the keyword popularity and the competition separately you can not associate example “vegan supplements” in the same way that you would research words like “vegan pizza napkins” the two vary in search volume in a massive way one is extremely competitive while the other is relatively unheard of so approaching your research the same every time will not be viable and you need to assess your keyword’s landscape for competitors, popularity, work involved to rank highly and success ratio’s involved.
We go back to the David and Goliath reference where if you do your research effectively you can compete with the page 1 brands but starting out with a new brand new website and relatively low industry authority you will have to put in some work and this can be an uphill battle at times but is entirely possible to compete. Do not under estimate the difficulty of the competitive keywords so using body keywords wont be enough of a plan you need to unleash long tail and LSI into your keyword application to capture the wiser market and then hone in on those competitive terms as a wise sansei once said to his pupil “crawl before you walk and walk before you run” the same rule applies here.
One hidden gem i will disclose here is that to really fine effective keywords you should be mining your analytics dashboard for the popular search queries used used for and on your site this will provide you with the data you need to understand your users in far more detail and the search queries they make mainly long tail terms, saying that long tail still comes with its own downfall being they don’t pull in 50,000 searches per month you cant expect them to be the sole reason people visit your site, so in order to really attract and capture your market you need to pump out hundreds if not thousands of long tail keywords to cast a wide net and bring people into your website from a expansive keyword funnel but you need to be aware of Google’s panda penalty as gunning for thousands and thousands of long tail keywords may run you close to the line but can easily be adhered to by monitoring your webmaster tools for declines in rank.
I still recommend incorporating long tails into your content marketing and on page SEO strategy. My other key point for keywords helping you get to pages numbered 1 are using LSI, semantic and synonyms to extend the use and coverage of your target keywords.
The ranking factors voted most influential were
OnPage SEO
Backlinks
Page Load Speeds
If you can master OnPage and know how to implement good solid keyword research you will find your pages have the foundation to harness any backlinks x10 more and produce x10 more results by having a proper foundation in place. OnPage and Keyword Research go hand in hand at ranking your sites. Page load speeds are also going to affect the way websites rank, especially moving towards a mobile first index. As marketers you need to keep your head on the swivel with change and adapt as Bruce Lee would say like water in a glass. I know the bulk of my readers view on a desktop computer and not on mobile device, my top viewed from browser is Internet explorer and the average time on site is 7 minutes.
There is no point reinventing the wheel when taking a moment to look at what is already working and use that as the framework for what Google really wants.
Competitor Research
Reverse engineer your competitor’s keywords, backlinks, logo and company director’s name…wait what did he say? yes you heard me but wait its a complete joke just like the SEO & web design global leaders that offered to replicate a unnamed business owners competitor website and provided the finished website to the business owner in the complete same way that the competitor website was copied word for word but with the business owners company name as the title of the website and his profile image was used but the other company director’s name was still on the website 🙁 oh man oh man yes cheap ineffective web design and SEO who can copy a competitor website for you DFY service I would dare say that he paid more than $99 for that “Ultimate service”.
This highlights the fact that you should NOT just cut copy and paste a competitor website they may have unique leverage that you do not or they may be doing naughty things with their SEO so take a look at what they do analysis it and make up your own damn mind if you want to be the copy cat or the one being copied, Now think about that for a moment.
Things I look at with my clients competitor’s
Keywords and topics used
OnPage
Backlink Profile
Images and multi media being used
Site Layout – Silo and navigational elements
Calls To Action – CTA
Content Quality and cross linking
Social Reach & Engagement
Just to start me off Ill gather intel on these factors and make up my mind what we would replicate and what we would exploit as a weakness or avoid as they have the firm grip on until we are in a position to engage head on. I like to seek out of the ordinary keywords that the competitor isn’t ranking for and seems to not have much care for again unique market positioning can help increase reach or alienate from the market and thats what we can target.
While we want to achieve high rankings quickly and for the popular terms we also need to understand the longer drawn out picture of capturing a larger market by expanding our net to drag in smaller searches in a larger frequency all working towards the main position for all of these keywords and it is possible with work and planning the application.
So now we have more of an understanding on the importance of keywords and what keywords we want to be targeting we can move into the various tools and what they do for our keyword research.
watch the video for the run down approx run time is 50:10 and covers paid and free alternatives for search query and competitor keyword research, enjoy!
Alternative Keyword Research Tools Overview
As referenced in the video here are some honourable mentions and links to where you can access them. I do want to openly advise you that Keyword Supremacy, Market samurai and SEMRush links lead to their official websites and if you decide to purchase you are helping a Aussie battler (me) by allowing those companies to provide me an affiliate payment for helping them make a sale but at this point we are pizza buddies and you know a good thing when you see it.
The go to tool for so many marketers, there is an allowance for a 1 project on the free account and this access allows for quite a comprehensive reporting overview of your project. However most agencies and marketers will have more than 1 project at one time the paid plan will help you immensely I find this the best tool for competitor research and website maintenance the project feature is so helpful.
The free trial last for 30 days and then you have the choice to use a paid plan and the variations of these are
Pro plan offers 5 projects at $69.95 monthly,
Guru plan offers 50 projects at $149.95 monthly and
The Business plan account provides unlimited projects at $549.95 monthly. A very powerful tool that every marketer should have at least used once.
This is a very powerful research tool that helps drive targeted leads, provides competitor keyword intelligence and overfall increase conversions by allowing you to see buyer intent keywords that you can in turn use for your campaigns. They offer 4 pricing options ranging from $29 to $299 monthly of course the higher the price the more features you will have access to very handy to have in your arsenal.
Now Spyfu is and can be used for search queries and competitor keyword research its one of those versatile tools that can do a multitude of things. You can find profitable keywords and eliminate the words that are not as effective saving your time and allowing you to focus on words that will improve website traffic and increase rankings. They offer 3 monthly payment plans $49 to $139 and this is a steal for price and functionality I find this tool to return quite in depth data and covers using multiple tools and thats quite handy if performing a lot of research.
I really like the interface of KwFinder its easy to use and returns data that you can use to your advantage, Competition, long tail variations city modifier and they are offering 3 monthly pricing plans but you can use the free version for up to 5 times per day so you can include this one in your supplementary tools list.
Free – 5 searches per 24hrs – 5 keyword evaluations per 24hrs and 25 search results returned
$12 per month – 100 searches per 24hrs – 100 keyword evaluations per 24hrs and 200 results returned (Great value)
$25 per month – 500 searches per 24hrs – 500 keyword evaluations per 24hrs and 700 search results returned
Using Alexa to determine website traffic is great and really helps determine popular websites but it also helps with enabling you to view the most popular search queries of that website extremely useful if you have ever dived into your search console of the Google Webmaster Tools you know how search traffic queries can benefit your marketing. Alexa offers 3 pricing plans per month from $9.99 to $149.00 and should be on your list for competitor analysis.
Moz is the ultimate white hat leader of SEO I love the branding of Moz and the more than anything else the community of people that interact and offer free helpful insights on the forums. As far as keyword research goes Moz offers a keyword explorer tool that while not the most informative tool it still holds its ground on the top 5 list in my eyes you have two options when using the keyword research search bar when the search has been run you have two columns one has keyword suggestions and the other has SERP analysis both with ability to export your research.
Keyword suggestion helps you identify potential keyword opportunities showing search volume and relevance to your search term
SERP Analysis is just that it shows the top 10 for the search results of your search phrase
You can easily identify the Moz Toolbar (chrome extension) with the keyword tool on Moz.com very similar functionality. Very handy and can help you with your keyword research with super simple steps to get it done like the pro’s I use the toolbar almost daily. Moz makes the list #veganpizzaresearchtoolskeywordsstuffandmoz #longesthashtaguseonablogpostawardyesorno ?
Keyword research has never looked so good, this is one of the most unique webpages on the innernets, you are greeted by an older gentleman in a turtle neck skivvy with a trending beard and cool glasses who performs some minor but intriguing movements while you use the search bar on the page. I urge you to visit the page just to see this, but it gets better once you have entered your search term you are brought to yet another unique design layout and a very impressive relationship image of your keyword and some simple question based relationship links for example these questions are linked back to our search term “vegan pizza” I’ve Bold text the relationship arm leading out from our search term keyword.
Who sells vegan pizza?
Are Domino’s pizza vegan?
Where is the best vegan pizza?
How to make vegan pizza sauce?
Whats vegan at Pizza Hut?
So some very creative suggestions for planning content and page layouts and even URL structure and its super helpful seeing these questions laid out so you can see your keyword research opportunities at a glance.
Soovle provides a unique circular layout for the various search terms using 7 search engines and is very easy to use, the data can be downloaded and you can search for several terms the search engines used are:
Google
Bing
Yahoo
Amazon
Youtube
Wikipedia
Answer
Soovle is a very powerful free tool for research and even just mapping out keywords it includes search volume and cost per click CPC of these search terms and the ability to see it all displayed on the different search engines on one screen is a huge benefit.
Freshkey is a paid tool at $49.95 its a couple of years old but still relevant in todays market I use this as a supplementary tool to my go to tools and it opens new opportunities for me in the research phase helping me find buyer search terms and phrases and the results are returned in measure of popularity so you can easily see whats working and find new opportunities for your research. Freshkey is a downloadable program it is not browser based unlike 98% of tools mentioned here.
Freshkey uses 7 search engines and is one of the only tools that incorporates Etsy and eBay in its search engine. If you want to add some variations to the norm for keyword research methods and views use Freshkey.
Ahrefs is more commonly associated with backlinks, but is rarely associated as a keyword research tool. I rate Ahrefs as a keyword explorer beast of a tool. Ahrefs keyword and content explorer features are very powerful and I see them making a play for most useful tool if you could only pick one paid tool. They hold a very reputable mention in this list and if I had to pick the best overall tool, I would raise the hand of Tim Soulo and his team as the best overall tool hands down.
Noteworthy feature the content explorer
Ahrefs boasts a powerful keyword explorer feature and offering a visually similar dashboard to SEMrush. The tool is available by a paid plan unlocking a sweet dashboard where you can view your tracked keywords, rank of keywords, access to site explorer, indexing of backlinks, check competing pages. Also very noteworthy is the powerful content explorer containing all the usual suspect metrics you may be accustomed too. I like this tool for more than just backlink profiling it has more useful features and is a must for improving your keyword landscaping along with your back linking profiles and overall your content marketing.
There are 4 monthly plans available. Lite is $99.00 for 5 campaigns, Standard is $179.00 for 10 campaigns, Advanced is $399.00 with monitoring of 25 campaigns and the largest plan available is the Agency at $999.00 monitoring up to 100 campaigns at one time.
Honourable mention goes to Sean Malseed of Rank Tank seen here for his community contributions worth checking out. *Update Rank tank was sold and Sean no longer represents the brand.
Rank tank is 98% FREE to use as long as you subscribe to the email list and its good karma to follow Sean on Twitter. There is 1 paid product that uses the API from SEMrush into a Google Sheet this runs at $15.00 and from user feedback is awesome.
Keyword Shitter
This tool gets a mention for the depth of the data returned for a search and for the unique branding. I still recommend using this despite the use of foul language in the brand name it does return some useful opportunities and should be included in your keyword research tools list.
Market Samurai
I currently use Market Samurai as one of my main keyword research tools and it provides much more than just keyword research I use it for a variety of reasons being opportunities for Adsense, competitor mapping, search query
With the full version you will have access to an SEO competition analysis feature great for mapping out the competitive landscape
Domain research helps you choose a domain that will boost rankings and provide the best results for climbing the SERP’s
Provides opportunities to generate income from your website traffic by allowing you to publishing display ads onto your website.
Content Marketer allows you to research and find articles, to repurpose & publish content related to your target keyword.
Promotion engine allows you to build and promote high authority backlinks to your website that help your overall search listing.
Purchase the full version and get bonus of Lifetime Market Samurai Software Updates
giving you access to our new and updated tools as they evolve
(value: $295 per year) & Priority Email Support – contact our help desk with any questions, and receive a personalised priority response (value: $695 per year)
The BEST for Keyword research tool period!
Keyword Supremacy
Most Anticipated keyword tool release is without a doubt Keyword Supremacy which comes out for public release on 10th October 2016 and is created by two very SEO savvy dudes being Todd Spears & Herc Magnus very down to earth guys that actually have a vested interest in creating a community around their software developments as I can personally vouch with the release of their Schema injection plugin for WordPress Project Supremacy. Keyword Supremacy is a one time purchase fee and then runs on credits included below is the link to the Keck Plan with 65 credits.
I hope you have enjoyed this overview and now feel hungry for some mouth watering cheese-less vegan pizza, and consequently indulge yourself to a nice tasty treat.
If you have any Keyword research tools that you use that are not on the list, please feel free to add them in the comment section. There really are so many new ones coming out all the time it is hard to keep up to date with the latest trend in Keyword Research.
Having the understanding is only half the battle, I suggest you invest in implementing a process that you can follow to halve your time spent on research. I created a 19 step checklist that you can follow along when doing your very own research.
Thank you for reading and see you on the next one.
Mobile google searches are now taking place on 68% more than on desktop. The recorded global search volume worldwide for mobile searches has increased! It is very clear that mobile search has taken over, enough so that Google announced that they were switching to a Mobile first index. this means a couple of things for your Mobile SEO campaigns.
Creating a mobile friendly version of your website that is nice for the user to view on their phone. Optimising keywords for mobile search, people search differently on their desktop. This could be because of the positioning of the mobile in the hand and abbreviations like “idk” meaning I don’t know.
What is optimisation for mobile?
Mobile search phrases are slightly different from desktop terminology. This can include app store optimisation helping get your business app ranked higher in app store search.
What is a responsive web design?
a website designed to adapt to the screen size that is shown on. This is the most simple answer I can give. The website is like water in a glass, it will adapt the shape of the container. The website will display on any device screen and the best display settings.
What is mobile first index?
Google has moved towards providing a mobile search first world. It makes complete sense to me as everyone uses mobile phones, the ability to search on the go makes life easier. Consumer’s are using mobile search more than desktop search, shifting to service this trend is a smart move and it works best for everyone when you can convert a hot lead into a sale. Mobile searches are more inclined to purchase than desktop searches.
Mobile SEO campaigns
So Mobile SEO is a thing now and something you should consider after reading this blog actually more so after reading this. Now desktop SEO varies from Mobile SEO these are two very closely related approaches to the same procedure but not the same, follow me here while i explain this. If you ignore Mobile SEO as important I wrote this for you, Desktop SEO still relevant still very effective this wont go away but it may change as we shift more and more towards mobile search and results on the move.
Mobile SEO practitioners can vouch that those who invest time to optimise for mobile search see the rewards opposed to those that do not and expect to still acquire search traffic on mobile from doing NOTHING! Here is a link that shows the variance between mobile smartphone browsers and desktop browsers view rankings example.
When you search on your mobile smartphone the options are different to desktop there are slight variations to the way you search something not every SEO practitioner considers. This has been evolving since the first smartphone arrived on the scene and now we are here in a mobile search GPS tracking crazed world and we haven’t caught up with optimising for mobile search, its not on most “Digital Marketers” templated checklist to optimise for Mobile SEO
We use this Mobile SEO Testing Tool and its free to use.
Mobile Search Engine Optimisation
Mobile Organic Search
Pepsi’s Facebook Profile on Page 1 of Google
Strange as it may sound, your Facebook page has to be easy to find in Google. Mobile searchers aren’t clicking through to Page 2, ever. You need to be on Page 1 for brand queries at the very least.
Here are some powerful tactics to try:
You already link from your desktop site to your Facebook profile. Include your brand name as your link anchor text, instead of the usual “Like us on Facebook.”
Include a few choice keywords in your profile name. This optimises the title and URL of your Facebook profile for keyword matches. (Note: If you’ve got more than 100 fans, you can manually request a change to your profile. But be careful as this could backfire if you overdo it with over optimisation.)
Take advantage of your Facebook profile’s text fields (like “about” and “description”) to add important descriptive keywords. Be human, not spammy.If you’re a local merchant, quote some reviews from your Google Places or Yelp profiles, and let that keyword-rich user-generated content start working to increase the relevance of your profile.
Link to your Facebook profile from your other social profiles, like Google Plus, Linked-In, or Yelp. As above, always include your brand name in the anchor text on networks that will allow it (eg, Google Plus, Linked-In).
If you have a new or smaller site, you may be better off focusing on getting your Facebook profile ranking in mobile SERPs than your own website. Do a classic PageRank comparison between your Facebook profile and your website. There are other factors, but you might be surprised by how much more link equity your Facebook page already has at its disposal.
Yet, Facebook has not yet begun serving mobile-friendly content to Google’s Smartphone bot. And I suspect rollout of Timeline will have some negative impact on crawl able profile content, and organic listing descriptions.
Mobile Paid Search
You can give your brands mobile engagement by applying some of these techniques more and more brands are using their Facebook profile as a mobile PPC landing page and thats fine but be aware of some of the pitfalls when doing this through social media and the current trend of visitors having a work profile and a personal profile so getting them to log in and log out of profiles can kill Kendrick’s vibe and lower conversions.
These pointers can help you increase your mobile engagement with your target audience.
Connect to the right mobile landing page test the landing page yourself to make sure you send visitors where you want them.
Also consider that some platforms will require a user to sign in before showing the page or profile and this can deter some visitors from continuing by not wanting to sign inMost consumers abandon at this step people are lazy #peoplearelazy
However, Facebook is also the most popular app on iOS and Android, and if consumers have the app installed, they’re already signed-in. One method to address this is to open your page on the Facebook app for iOS or Android using URL schemes (Facebook’s is fb://).
To access your brand’s app profile, simply view source on your Facebook profile, and find your “page_id” code. You can then open the app to your “info” page using the scheme fb://profile/{page_id}. Voila!
Using paid ads for mobile search doesnt mean you can forget about optimising for organic mobile SEO but it is a way to have your ad in the top of search results an excellent addition to optimising for for mobile search in the same way you would with desktop SEO you run paid ads while you build up your organic results and when you have the volume coming in from your organic SEO efforts you can turn of your ads or keep them going depending on your business goals.
Provide a nice smooth browsing experience and when you are directing visitors to sales pages you will have a much better conversion rate then if you are continually getting them to sign in visit this link click that do this and send you these and you can optimise your social profiles for this and make it all a very enjoyable purchase and providing a positive buyer history where they will not be afraid or hesitant to return.
Here is a short list of the difference of desktop search results verse Mobile browsing search results
#1
Smartphone results have different filters at the top (Web, Images, Places, more versus Web, Images, Videos, Maps, News, Shopping, Gmail, more). Fewer places to filter may mean a higher CTR in mobile search. Local results are more likely in mobile, so Google Maps listings appear higher in mobile results than they do in desktop, and domains with local intent are more likely to appear when searching while signed in. If you have a local business that you’re interested in optimising, this makes Google Maps optimisation essential, and may even call for domains with geo-modified keywords, depending on your situation.
#2
Certain queries have interactive results in mobile, pushing web rankings down (see [weather] in Android and iPhone search, for example). Marketers who target these types of queries with interactive results may see a lower CTR, which might affect their selection of keywords in the first place. This would affect both their mobile and desktop campaigns
#3
Autocomplete results act as results before the results in mobile app search. Optimising for mobile suggest with a search call to action in broadcast advertising may help users find the high-priority content surrounding your brand that they might not have found otherwise
#4
Options gives the option of mobile formatting in smartphone results. This activates the Google transcoder and may make the site unusable for filling out forms or enabling conversions. Having a visible mobile site in search results to avoid the transcoder scenario may keep users who prefer mobile content from being frustrated, which may save a sale
#5
Positions of vertical results likely different in smartphone results. For example, video results are broken up on second line instead of placed on same line. Image results often appear higher in mobile search results. Image search optimisation and video SEO often have a low priority in enterprise SEO, but if mobile is important to the business goals, this may change the overall priority
#6
No option to block content in mobile smartphone results at present. This may change as Google gathers more information about the efficacy of its results in a post-Panda world; but for now the block content button happens only in desktop
#7
If CTR and bounce rate data is used to determine ranking in smartphone results, CTR and bounce rate more likely to vary in mobile smartphone listings, as listings in search suggest, abbreviated title line breaks and descriptions, unusable desktop sites in mobile results, increased engagement of mobile users and the variations in ranking and UI mentioned above are all likely to change click through rates and bounce rates for smartphone searches
#8
Carrier content such as ringtones highlighted for queries that match any keyword in carrier content, regardless of whether query is ringtone-related or mobile in nature. Ringtones could theoretically be optimised for broader terms as long as this carrier content in SERPs persists
Now take some consideration that Google search results while signed in may alter considering your own search history, location and settings
Have you ever bought something online using your phone? of course you have more than 80% of smartphone owners have purchased online through their smart phone.
Recent Apple upgrades to UI included apps that make purchasing online even easier with Apple Pay and Apple Wallet life just got easier and so did pay wave theft increases more on that in a later post.
The micro moments revolution is taking over and you need to be on board and have more focus on Mobile SEO for your online marketing campaigns and think towards being prepared for future advancements in mobile search.
What Makes Up A Mobile Friendly Website?
A website is mobile friendly when it provides the user with
Mobile display uncluttered
Mobile display easy to navigate
Can be viewed without view manipulation
Can be read on small screens
Provides value to users viewing on a mobile phone
Google understands that the site is mobile friendly
This guide will discuss the steps to making your site mobile and improving your mobile SEO from the perspective of Google documentation.
This slide presentation covers why Mobile comes first and you need to be ready for mobile search.
Courtesy of Benedict Evans.
Consider creating a strategy for mobile viewing with the way search is changing this is an important part of brand marketing and appearing as intended on the many screen size variations of devices and here you can see Moz suggesting 4 tips for your mobile SEO strategy considerations on a whiteboard Friday.
Mobile M-commerce
Women appear to be more reserved (44.8%) to purchasing online using their mobile phones than men (38%)
55% of Australians have purchased online using their mobile phone
2 out of 3 have spent more than $10 on an item
Low value transactions linked to digital products such as books, apps, games and phone credit
Repeated buying behaviour recorded in both high and low value spending groups
Desktop search will be around for a long time and overall its the leader in search volume but not for search trends its seeing mobile search take more and more volume not surprisingly when we have instant this and sales lines like “get it now” people want instant the fact you can buy something online and have it own it and then use it almost instantly is why people shop online, Have a questions google it, lost cant find that meeting point search google maps we have the answers to everything at our finger tips. For example right now at this exact time Im writing this on my desktop but I am really wanting to change over to my IPad so I can go into my lounge room and sit back in my extremely comfortable massage recliner and finish this post before I spend the next 4 hours building out a client site it makes sense to go mobile when possible and Yes Ill be adding some Mobile SEO to the site or should I offer this as a new service? Hmm the brain is thinking.
Having an entry Low-cost items lead item to provide some interaction with a buyer before you offer that higher priced item can be a good ice breaker and allow for a money to change hands and the relationship be established before going into full sales and marketing for your latest training course or fat blasting pills these into low level purchases can make a huge difference when you promote your higher priced item to your customer something you see every day and may not even realise its happening see below for some example but also consider the frequency of these lower level purchases if you are getting 3 or 4 a month how could you turbo charge those? micro transactions, in-app purchases, you include Mobile SEO into your mobile marketing campaign
Purchases of books on the App Store in app purchases from my phone
Mobile Apps & Games free lead magnets up to $15
Googles own Play store and all assorted items
Travel purchases
Memberships Group deal purchasing
Subscription based purchases
Products ecommerce Ebay, amazon, shopify etc
Home delivery services like Pizza my domino’s tab is through the roof
The list could go on and on and just imagine if you were doing well with your standard listing just think how much more effective your offer would be with Mobile SEO that added element of being optimised for mobile search you could see your competitors being blown out of the water and not be aware of how you have managed to capture the market, but just adding some optimised mobile elements isn’t always going to win you the day read below for buyer hesitation a crushing factor that my help you reevaluate your offers.
Imagine having the leading candy crush app in the app store today but tomorrow when a new mobile algorithm triggers you lose the first page and potentially thousands of download doller’s, horrifying isn’t it your highly sought out app has fallen off the face of the earth but that isn’t the end of the world if you think forward and consider Mobile SEO you are effectively protecting your investments by hiring a professional to optimise your app listing for just this change in search algorithms allowing you hold that first page listing even throughout a change in the mobile search field sounds like a smart move to me.
Understanding Hesitation
Reason why I don’t buy online:
I like to know everything about my intended purchase, who what why where and when
If the website has a lot of pop ups, opt ins and heavy marketing tactics I tend to abandon the cart.
The appearance of the checkout if the path to the checkout is current and not outdated I feel more at ease to purchase
Trust seals and secure payment notices this is pretty important for me Im paranoid about credit card details being taken and misused.
Security of my information especially involving money as we work so hard to earn it I want the satisfaction of knowing my personal details are safe with the retailer and the payment methods are secure. In November 2013, Google + Nielsen study involving 950 participants revealed five key findings regarding m-Commerce security and user-ability
1. Before you buy you research usually on mobile Consumers spend 15+ hours per week researching on their smartphone and on average visit mobile websites 6 times. I personally would be switching between 5 tabs looking at multiple avenues of information before spending more than $50 online I like to see reviews, related items, images and any promotional videos of the product I’m searching for.
2. Mobile research starts with search More smartphone users start researching about products or services on a search engine vs. a branded mobile site or app.
3. Location proximity matters to mobile consumers 69% of consumers expect businesses to be within 5 miles or less of their location.
4. Purchase immediacy is key Look at iTunes, you can purchase an album weeks before the release date you can pre-order games and one dive into Amazon Prime and the delivery of your purchase is never longer than a piece of string. We want it and we want it now.
5. Mobile influences purchases across channels 93% of people who use mobile to research go on to complete a purchase of a product or service. Most purchases happen in physical stores.
Younger generations are recognised as the more inclined to purchase everything online but thats not the case data from 15 retailers shows that younger generations have greater confidence in smartphone transactions among those aged between 35 and 44 a total of 38.4% haven’t made a purchase on their mobile phone, while 25-34 age group shows only 19.7%. Despite the fact that young generations dominate mobile buying, so you can see that it appears that very young Australians (18-24) years of age don’t trust buying via their smartphone as much as the 25-34 years of age group. Unsurprisingly, ages 45+ top the chart with over half of the respondents in each group stating they’ve never made a purchase using their mobile phone this data is excellent to know when compiling your Mobile SEO campaign targeting.
These purchases contributed to over 21% of total average revenue. Why did so many not purchase online? high bounce rate due to lack of trust in the security of the sales page and the over marketing on page young people are smart they know when someone wants them to empty their wallet online heck I avoid sites that over market it doesn’t make me want to open my digital wallet at all and this data shows that my fellow Australians are on the same page and that retailers need to improve their conversions by applying a level of on page marketing that is acceptable and not over bearing.
This infographic created by Ignite search shows some steps to DIY mobile SEO have a look below.
Conclusion
Mobile phones dominate the way we find things, the way we communicate and how we share things. This will only increase with the trending of tech wearables. Marketing campaigns drop millions of dollers on billboards and magazine marketing but don’t really look at mobile marketing. How can you reach people now? By marketing to the little intelligent device attached to their hand for 80% of the day.
People purchase goods and services from their smart phones more frequently now than ever before. The ease of paying with your mobile phone is attractive and has no hassles. Placing your advertisement in the palm of the consumers hands is a winning formula. Capitalise on your market and adapt to mobile search first.
, but not to smart Id like to think that my girlfriend can still fill her car up with fuel after visiting her favourite online store so please don’t go all next level Jedi on your Mobile SEO campaigns. Using your smartphone to search for businesses, services and products is a common occurrence and only going to increase we need to be prepared for the voice search revolution and 1+ our Mobile SEO campaigns optimise for the future bring your business further than your competitors by identifying trends and adapting to them as they happen.
UPDATE 15th October 2016 regarding mobile SEO and AMP!
Google has announced that they are moving towards Mobile ranking over Desktop and it is no suprise given the way people use the web now being mostly viewed on mobile device now meaning is there more importance on mobile SEO verses Desktop SEO?
