SEO Improvement Tips - #SEOpodcast 246

Episode35 min2014-09-19

To improve SEO beyond SSL, focus on consistent URLs, short non-parameter URLs, real relevant content, live text high on the page, CTA-friendly title tags, and fast page load times.

Cover art for SEO Improvement Tips - #SEOpodcast 246
Key takeaways
It's like having two extra partners in my marketing meeting each week.

About this episode

Welcome to the most popular internet marketing podcast on iTunes, hosted by E-Webstyle! Join us this week as we talk aboutPresent content in a way that guides the visitor to a conversionSEO Improvement TipsShort and Succinct URLS

Questions this episode answers

What SEO improvements matter more than switching to SSL?

According to Erin Everhart of Search Engine Watch, the seven things that improve SEO more than SSL are: consistent URLs everywhere, short non-parameter URLs, real relevant content, live text high on the page, strong CTA-friendly title tags, and faster page load times. These address indexing, user experience, and conversion.

How should title tags be written for better SEO and conversions?

Include action words like shop, buy, or apply in the title tag so users know what to expect before clicking. Pair the action word with your main key phrase, end with a pipe and your brand name, and keep the full title under 55 characters per Google Webmaster Guidelines.

Why did Google's close variant matching become a problem for PPC campaigns?

Starting in September, pure exact match was removed from AdWords, meaning close variants apply to all exact and phrase match campaigns with no opt-out. The hosts gave an example where a pool maintenance client began receiving impressions for pool maintenance supplies, a retail search unrelated to their service business.

In their words

If you're providing a good experience to the Google user, Google will like you.

Charles Lewis
Terms defined in this episode
Like-gating
The practice of incentivizing users to like a Facebook business page by preventing access to certain content unless they like the page first. Facebook announced steps to stop this practice.
Close variants
An AdWords matching option that expands exact and phrase match keywords to include similar searches like misspellings, plurals, and related words. Starting in September it became mandatory with no opt-out.
Absolute links
Links that include the entire URL rather than just the path after the domain. Recommended for consistent internal linking across images, text, and documents.
Minifying
Consolidating and compressing style sheets and JavaScript files to reduce page load time, also referred to as consolidating style sheets in the episode.

Full transcript is being added.

This episode answers

Matthew Bertram, host of The Best SEO Podcast
Matthew Bertram
AI keynote speaker · Owner & CEO, EWR Digital · President, ModalPoint

Matthew Bertram is an AI keynote speaker, creator of DIG™ (Digital Information Governance), and owner and CEO of EWR Digital. He helps energy and industrial leaders win visibility in AI search (GEO and AEO), is President of ModalPoint and CMO of the Oil & Gas Global Network, hosts The Best SEO Podcast, and has authored eight books including LLM Visibility. More about Matthew Bertram.

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