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SEO Consultants

10 Questions to Ask When Hiring an SEO Consultant

By | Black Hat SEO, Google, Search Engine Optimizaion

Search engine optimization is a never-ending process. Therefore, before hiring an SEO agency one needs to go through its various aspects thoroughly and ask some important questions. Asking these simple yet vital questions will reveal a lot about your potential digital marketing partner. Furthermore, gathering extra information about a probable SEO partner will allow you to make a well-informed decision. Below are the top 10 questions to ask when hiring an SEO consultant. Make sure you don’t forget to ask these questions to your SEO agency.

1. May I know your former and current clients?

Experienced SEO companies usually have a wide range of clients. Normally, these companies encourage you to contact their former and current clients. Actually, this is one of the best practices that search engine optimization agencies follow. If you are not encouraged to contact former clients, you can ask your potential SEO partner to give a list of their clients. If the agency agrees, then that is a good sign.

Go through the list and select the businesses that are relevant to you. Try to contact at least two clients and know their experience. Yes, reading reviews is also a good method. However, a client tends to write a short review. He might miss some important points. So, it is good to talk to former clients to know the pros and cons of a search engine optimization company in detail.

2. How will you improve my visibility?

This is the most important question to ask an SEO consultant before hiring. It is fundamental to know how your potential digital marketing partner is going to improve your search engine ranking. Knowing the work process will make it easy to judge the cost of the service. You can do the same thing for a couple of SEO agencies and judge them on the basis of both cost and SEO service.

Make sure the proposal includes an initial technical review of your site. This can avoid the issues that lower your search engine ranking. Furthermore, ask the details of both on-page optimization and off-page optimization. Go through the process carefully. Search engine optimization is huge. Each and every company follows its own process. Therefore, it makes sense to know the SEO process before joining the hands.

3. Read online reviews.

In the first point, we have discussed that asking questions to the former clients will help you know the subtle details of a company. However, it is not a good idea to depend solely on a couple of ex-clients. Furthermore, it is not viable to contact all the former clients. So it is good to read several reviews, along with contacting a couple of former clients.

Reading online reviews is one of the best and most favorite methods of people to do research on a company. You can know both positive and negative points of an SEO company in one place. Do not form an opinion just by a reading couple of reviews. Make sure you read enough reviews before making an opinion.

Furthermore, read the response of the SEO company to the online reviews. Rude, duplicate or no reply shows the unprofessional side of a company. In addition to that, do not expect an SEO company to have a clean online image. No matter how good a company is, it tends to have a couple of negative reviews at least. So, read both positive and bad reviews and make a well-informed decision.

4. Do you follow search engine guidelines?

There are two types of search engine optimization. They are black hat SEO and White hat SEO. Blackhat SEO involves aggressive SEO strategies, that usually violate search engine guidelines. Such techniques normally give quick results initially, but later become a cause for Google penalty. So it is a good idea to ask whether an SEO company follows search engine guidelines.

Never opt an SEO agency that does a black hat SEO. Normally, online reviews will let you know whether a company follows Google guidelines or not. Furthermore, a company which promises guaranteed results within a short period of time is more likely to use black hat tactics. Search engine optimization takes time. Do not expect a company to deliver the result in a week.

5. How will you improve local search results?

Having a top place in the local search engine results page is critical for small-business owners. So, if you own a small or local business, you should not forget to ask this question. Contact your SEO consultant and try to know who holds the expertise in the local search engine optimization, and how he or she is going to enhance local search results.

If you are going for local search engine optimization, you should expect your business to appear when someone nearby is searching for the products and services you sell. This is done by adding your town, and state to your site’s meta description and title tags. This is just one among several steps that an SEO firm takes to place you in the top position for a specific geographical area.

6. How does pricing work?

Normally, SEO is not a low-cost digital marketing method. The amount you spend on SEO will get multiplied and come back to you in form of sales. In order to get good results, you have to spend some money. However, it does not make sense to pay the amount for the SEO service without knowing its pricing structure.

Since the pricing of SEO is unpredictable, you may end up with a surprise bill. To avoid this ask the below questions regarding pricing:

  • How much do you charge?
  • Do you charge hourly, monthly, or do you have a package?
  • When should we have to pay?
  • Can you provide the details of work done and its cost?
  • Do I need to pay the amount in advance?
  • Can I pay at the end of every month?

7. How will you optimize content?

You might already know content is the most important ranking factor. It has two important jobs to do. Those are engaging visitors and impressing search engines. Rightfully, optimizing the content is the top-most aspect of the search engine optimization process. Below are the five important questions you need to ask.

  • Will you create new content?
  • How will you optimize our content?
  • Why content optimization is important?
  • Is it possible to use the existing content?
  • Will you create new landing pages and add content to it?
    The above-mentioned five questions will give all the details that you need to know about content optimization.

8. Can I meet the SEO, team?

Before choosing an SEO agency, one must make sure that his or her online presence is going in the safe hands. Usually, SEO companies send their top team to win new clients. This is done to make a good impression.

Ask if you can talk to the SEO team that is going to handle your project. You can establish a relationship with them so that you know what work is being done, and who is doing it. The other advantage of knowing the team is that you will not be in the dark. In some cases, projects are handled by not so good SEO team of an excellent SEO agency. So, make sure you are getting the best team. You can judge the team by the previous projects and work experience of the team members.

9. Are you working for our competitors?

It is not unusual for an SEO company to handle the project of the two competitors. This can be good news or bad news based on the orientation of the SEO agency. If the agency is inclined towards you, then you are going to beat your competitors. And if the agency is inclined towards your competitor, then you are going to lose the battle at the beginning itself.

This is because an SEO agency knows what works for you and your competitors? In most of the cases, the SEO firm will take the side of the party which pays more. So, it is better to not to opt an SEO agency which is already running an SEO campaign for your competitors.

10. How do you measure the success of an SEO campaign?

In the end, you want to know how successful a search engine optimization campaign was. However, it is not good to expect quick results. White hat SEO does not violate search engine rules. Hence it takes time to give fruitful results.

There are multiple ways to measure the success of a campaign. In most of the cases, an SEO firm uses search engine optimization metrics to measure the progress of an SEO campaign. Do not aim only for organic traffic. Aim for more conversions and sales too.

Google My Business

10 Tips To Rank Higher in Google My Business Listing

By | Link Building, Online reputation, Search Engine Optimizaion, Social Media

Did you know? If you search something on Google, no matter which browser you use, you are more likely to receive results based on your location. These local search results play an important role in building a bridge between you and your customers. As a result, your potential customer can easily find you and rate your business.

Google My Business, is a platform that helps you to achieve the aforementioned goals. In addition to that, it makes easy for the customers to find vital information such as address, business hours, close and open days, contact numbers, about the business, directions, and service information.

Hence, from a Local SEO point of view, it is critical to be listed in the GMB listing. However, just having a presence on Google My Business is not enough. You need to rank your page in the topmost position. Therefore, in this blog post, we are presenting top ten tricks to rank higher in Google My Business listing.

1. Create posts

Let us start with the most important tip. Very few people know that it is extremely vital to add a post in Google My Business. If you have not created any post yet, you can go to the “posts” section of the Google My Business app, and write a lengthy and informative post that is relevant to your business and audience. Furthermore, it is a good idea to provide the link to any page along with a photo and submit it. Once, the post is published, you can see them on your Google My Business listing.

2. Add labels

Labels feature help you to organize the location into the groups. You can search location by the labels you added, from the dashboard. In addition to that, you can use labels to filter location extensions in AdWords. Google My business gives you an opportunity to assign up to 10 unique labels for each location. Note that the length of the labels can be up to 50 characters, and invalid characters are not allowed to use. However, you can add commas. To add commas in the label, use the string “%2c.” For example, “5%2c000+ customers” would create the label “5,000+ customers.”

3. Write an in-depth description.

If you want to rank your local business high, you must write a detailed description. Now, that does not mean you have to write a bulky article of 2500 words. Keep the words of the description to a decent number, and try to cover almost all relevant information. Your description should contain all the information that your customers look for. Since local results are more driven towards the relevant information provided by the business owners, a detailed description can enhance Local SEO.

There is one more factor that is equally important. That is accuracy. Yes, Google expects you to add accurate information. When you do, you are rewarded. The Google My Business pages, which have accurate information, are prioritized over the others. This is because Google wants your customers to know you better.

4. Build a free Google My Business Website

Yes, Google can create a website for you for free. Google My Business comes with a website builder tool that helps you to create a website within a couple of minutes. All you have to do is sign in to your Google My Business page and click on the option of a website on your dashboard.

That is it. Google will automatically create a website by taking all the necessary information from your Google My Business account. Once the website is created, Google will ask you to choose a theme. SEO experts usually do not recommend business owners to use the websites like these. Google My Business websites are very basic and are only for the small-business owners who do not want to spend money on building a website.

5. Build backlinks

When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), backlinks are the deciding factor. They are considered one of the most important pillars of white hat SEO. The same thing is important for local search engine optimization. Do not go for quantity, instead strive for quality. Stuffing the websites with backlinks can do more damage than any good.

Build links via natural methods that do not violate Google webmaster guidelines. Quality link building takes time. Google understands this fact very well. If you build numerous links within a couple of days, Google will get suspicious and penalize you. In the worst case, your website might get deleted from the index.

6. Use keywords in the business name

Keywords tell a search engine when to display your website. So, without keywords, there is no search engine optimization. One of the easiest ways to rank your business locally is to use the keywords in the business name. Developing content only for the sake of giving words to your voice is not a good idea. You also need to optimize your content with keywords.

Before optimizing your content, it is really important to figure out what are the keywords. Keywords differ even if the two websites run the same business. So, carry out a proper keyword research to select the search terms that are relevant to your business. SEO experts usually recommend business owners to pick the keywords that improve the conversion rate.

7. Gain Google reviews

Not many people know that Google reviews influence search engine ranking. Yes, Google trusts your customers more than you. Reviews and star rating are the best ways to know the ground realities of a business. So, it is good to gain as many reviews as possible. There are many methods to increase the review count. Here are the most popular methods.
Send the follow-up emails with the link to the review page.
Encourage happy customers to leave a review.
Offer discount code for leaving a review.
Distribute prizes for the lucky reviewers.
Add the link to the review page on the home page and service page.
Make the whole process of posting a review simple and effortless.
Be calm and professional while responding to the reviews.
Share the links to the review page on the social media platforms.

8. Keep contact number and working hours up to date

In a business, it is not uncommon to change phone numbers, working hours, address, and other important information. So, make sure that all the information in your Google My Business profile stays up to date. These things make the work of the customers easy. They will come to know when you are open without calling you. The whole point here is that Google wants to reduce the work for the customers. When you do the same, Google does reward you indirectly. After all, Google, business owners, and SEO experts want to provide a good user-friendly experience to the visitors.

9. Upload high-quality photos

Just filling your Google My Business account with all the necessary details is not enough. Your profile is incomplete without pictures. Think like an audience. If you own a school, people will like to see how the playground, kindergarten, and classrooms look. They might also be interested in knowing the staff, and achievements of your school.

Google My Business gives you an opportunity to express more with the photos. Make sure that you add high-quality pictures that the potential customers are interested to see. Adding irrelevant pictures can put them off, and you might lose them at the beginning itself. So, if you have not added pics yet, get ready to tell your stories through the pictures.

10. Create multiple categories

Last but not least, it is very important to add categories. This helps both the audience and Google to know what kind of business you run. The main purpose of providing a feature to add multiple categories is to describe your business and establish a relationship with the customers. Let us take an example. If you are mutual funds, you can add categories such as mutual funds, finance, commerce, etc. Such categories impact local search engine ranking to a great extent.

Google maps

8 Reasons Why Your Business Isn’t Showing In Google Maps

By | Google, Local SEO, Online reputation

You are a small-business owner. You know the importance of Google My Business page for Local SEO. So you have created a Google My Business account. Unfortunately, your business is not showing in Google Maps. Yes, this is so frustrating. This issue can be fixed easily.

There can be many reasons for not finding your business on Google Maps. Therefore, it is important to diagnose the problem to discover the cause. Only when you come to know the cause, you can resolve the issue. Hence, to help you out, we are listing top 8 reasons why your business is not appearing in Google Maps.

1. Your listing is unverified.

One of the most common and obvious reasons for not seeing your business is your Google My Business listing is not verified. So, how will you find whether your business is verified or not? It is quite simple. Open your browser and search your business name. You will find search results on the left side of the search engine results page, and on the right side, you will see your business profile.

In the right, where your business is displayed, you will find a “suggest an edit” link. All you need to do is see what is next to “suggest an edit” link. If you do not find anything next to this link, then that means your listing is verified. However, if you find “own this business?” link, then that means your business is not verified. Just in case, if your business is not verified, you can follow the below steps to verify your business.

One of the easiest methods for verifying your Google My Business Listing is via phone. It is easy, simple, and less time-consuming. Here we go.
Sign in to your Google My Business account.
Select the business you want to verify, and click on verify now.
Go for the “verify by the phone” option.
A code will be sent to your mobile, enter the same code.
Your business will be verified.

2. Your Google My Business page has a new address.

It is not uncommon to change the business location. An incorrect or old address can be a reason for not seeing your Google My Business listing on Google Maps. So, if you have recently changed your business locations, then log in to your Google My Business account and update your address. Here are the few steps you need to follow:
Sign in to your GMB account.
Go to the menu option and click info.
Next, click on the “address” field.
Enter your new address and click on the Apply button.
If Google doesn’t find your address, you will find a red set marker on the right side over the map. Click on it.
Drag this pin in the map and place it on the new address. You can make use of zoom in and zoom out features of Google Maps while doing so.
After pinpointing, click on OK. Google will review your edit and publish it.

3. Your Google My Business listing is suspended.

This is the other common reason for not seeing your local business on Google Maps. Yes, Google My Business can suspend your listing based on various factors. Here are the common reasons why Google suspends Google My Business listing.
Your site contains a forwarding URL.
Keyword stuffing.
You are a service area business and your address is not hidden.
You run a sensitive business.
You do not have a physical storefront.
You run a business at a place you don’t own.
Find what is the reason behind Google suspending your listing, and fix the issue. Sometimes, Google may suspend the listing based on quality issues. Contact Google Support for assistance and improve the standard of your Google My business listing. At times, this can be confusing. In such a case, it is always better to take professional help of a Local SEO agency.

4. You chose a wrong business category.

Choosing the precise business category really matters. Google wants to know what business category or categories your business falls in, so that, it can show your business to the right audience and help them. Make sure that you have selected the correct business categories for your business. If you have selected the wrong business category, make sure that you correct it. While adding the business category, ensure your first business category is the best match to your local business. Select a second business category only if it makes sense. Do not opt for multiple irrelevant categories in the hope of reaching more people. It can harm your online presence.

5. You have fake or paid reviews.

This issue is common among new business owners. New owners tend to establish an online reputation quickly. So, they adopt methods that violate Google Guidelines. One such method is to buy paid reviews or post fake reviews. Google has built strong algorithms to detect fake Google reviews. With time, these algorithms are becoming smarter and smarter. That is the reason why ORM experts suggest to gain positive online reviews naturally. Below are some proven methods to avoid negative Google reviews, and gain good Google reviews.
Provide an awesome customer service.
Encourage your happy customers to post a review.
Generate a positive feedback loop.
Resolve customer issues within time.
Run online reputation management campaigns.
Report and delete negative Google reviews.

6. You have not updated your business listing.

Normally, a person begins his business journey with something small. With time, both the business owner and the business go through various changes. A business owner tries to evolve the business to adopt the changes. During this process, a business owner should reflect these changes in the Google My Business page.

Setting up Google My Business Page, and adding all the necessary data is not enough. As a business owner, it is your responsibility to keep the information on the Google My Business page up to date. Google expects you to be active when it comes to updating the listing. Here are some of the best practices to follow.
Add a business description in the story section.
Create a logo of your business and add it to GMB account.
Post business images regularly.
Publish status updates.
Share a link to review page.
Engage the audience via content.

7. Poor web experience.

The primary goal of a search engine is to provide a superior web experience. Therefore, the web experience is a ranking factor. That is the reason why good website experience has become an integral part of search engine optimization. If your website provides a poor website experience, then do not expect Google to display your Google My Business listing in the Map pack. So, it is good to have a website that enhances search engine optimization and user experience. Here are some of the basic qualities your website needs to have.
Original high-quality content
Device friendly
Browser friendly
Simple and easy to understand navigation
Lightning speed
Security

8. Inaccurate business information.

Yes, inaccurate business information can become a reason for disappearing your business from the Google My Business listing. Make sure every single detail you add in your profile is accurate. Double check all information present on your Google My Business listing such as contact number, address, business hours, open and close days, labels, keywords, etc. are correct and up to date.

Google does not like Google My Business accounts that have incomplete or inaccurate information. You may lose your search engine ranking and the presence on Google Maps. It is better to not to take the control in your hand unless you know how local search engine optimization is done. Lack of knowledge can harm your both online reputation and online presence. Hence, it makes sense to hire a Local SEO agency to improve your online visibility, conversion rate, sales, and customer base.

Online Reputation Management

10 Online Reputation Management Tips For Your Business 

By | Digital Marketing, Google, Online reputation, Social Media

Online reputation is one of the most important pillars of any business. A good reputation helps a business in retaining existing customers and as well as gaining new customers. On the other hand, a poor reputation and make you lose the market to your competitors. Hence, it is really important for a business to maintain a solid online reputation. Therefore, in this blog post, we are going to present the top online reputation management tips to establish a strong reputation.

Tip 1: Know your audience

Let us start with something very important and basic. To maintain an online reputation you have to do several things such as:

  • Fulfilling the expectations
  • Engaging the audience
  • Creating suitable content.

To do the above-mentioned things it is really important to understand the audience. Stepping into online reputation management without knowing your audience can harm your reputation. Therefore, know your audience very well. Make sure that you have a good understanding about their likes, dislikes, behavior, expectations, interests and many other things. This is vital because both your online reputation and business revolve around these things. You cannot run a business without a clear picture of your audience.

Tip 2: Avoid online argument

This is one of the major mistakes that most of the businessmen do. You might be right and have every reason to argue, but arguments show the unprofessional side of a business or a brand. The best way to handle such situations is by giving a standard reply and taking the matter offline. Keep calm and deal with the customer problems professionally. Solving an issue successfully will not only turn an unhappy customer happy but also attracts new customers.

Tip 3: Be a good listener

Today, there are various online reputation tools available to know what people are talking about your brand. Read what others are talking about you and how is your reputation is getting shaped. Popular tools such as Mention tool and Google Alerts can serve this purpose. Listening to what is being said about your brand is beneficial in multiple ways.

  • Helps you in understanding of current brand image
  • Improves the problem-solving ability
  • Introduces new customers
  • Connects with the probable customers

Tip 4: Apologize

Saying we are sorry or apologizing, even when the mistake is not on your side is a smart thing to do. It absorbs the anger of an unhappy customer and resolves the issue most of the time. Furthermore, it shows that you value your customer and establish you as a professional in the minds of other customers. The worst thing to do here is to be defensive. This will not solve the issue, but instead it makes it bigger. Your focus should be on resolving the issue. Therefore, it’s not a good idea to explain or defend yourself. Apologize, take the issue offline and resolve it. That’s the best thing to do.

Tip 5: Keep an eye on your employees

When it comes to fake reviews, angry employees are the common source. Although there is nothing much you can do, taking some precautionary measures can minimize the risk. Make sure that you check out their social media profiles before hiring them. Use online reputation management tools such as Mention tool for knowing and understanding the corporate image of your employees. This will help you to identify the problem early. As the result, you can resolve an issue before it turns big.

Tip 6: Be almost everywhere

Today, we have various online platforms to reach people across the globe. Your brand should have an online presence at these platforms. Well, at least on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. If you have a B2B business, then Linkedin can be more helpful. If your business has more visual content, then prefer Pinterest, Flickr and Instagram. If you can create videos, Youtube and Vimeo are the best. The point here is to be there where your customer is. Customers are more likely to share their experiences on social media. Having an online presence can give a better option to deal with negative reviews.

Tip 7: Get rid of negative reviews

To be honest, getting rid of negative reviews is quite difficult. However, it is possible is some cases where the review violates the policy. Therefore, check, whether a review is violating any guidelines. In case of any violation, contact concern officials and appeal to remove them. Another good method of removing negative removes is to contact the person and make a request politely. Customers usually tend to change the bad reviews into good owns when approached respectfully.

Tip 8: Blog

You might already know that blogging plays an important role in digital marketing by enhancing search engine optimization. In addition to that, blogging can improve your online reputation. Yes, you read it right. It can give you a solid “home court” ground where you can respond to any serious assertions made about your brand if required. It gives you an opportunity to tell your side of the story. Be honest and transparent. Over explaining or over defending yourself can do more harm than good.

Tip 9: Dilute negative reviews

If you can’t remove negative Google reviews, then dilute them. Encourage your satisfied customer to leave a review. A happy customer is more likely to give a positive review. Gaining better reviews will minimize the impact of negative reviews. In addition to that couple of negative reviews makes your brand look more genuine and credible. Having only positive reviews can make the customers question the credibility of the reviews. Therefore, fake positive reviews are definitely a bad idea.

Tip 10: Be transparent

Well a good reputation cannot be earned without being transparent. Therefore, be transparent with your employees, customers and probable customers. One of the common things that are responsible for negative Google reviews is a mismatch between the expectation created, and the result delivered. Hence, be honest about your products, services, company, staff, etc., and avoid overhype. So as you set out on the journey of building a good online reputation, keep these ten things in mind.

Google Algorithm Update

Google’s August core search algorithm update

By | Google, Search Engine Optimizaion, Uncategorized

Danny Sullivan from Google has confirmed that Google has processed a significant algorithm update in the Google Search Results after many SEO people found a considerable difference in their keyword ranking.

Danny Sullivan on Twitter –  “When we have updates where there are specific things that may help, we do try to tell you that. With these, there is nothing specific to do — and we do think it’s actionable to understand that, in that hopefully people don’t try fixing things that aren’t really “broken.”

Danny also has confirmed that it was the one as similar to the board core algorithm update occurred on the March. He also retweeted the announcement he made during the March algorithm update when he tweeted the present August Core Search Algorithm update.

Google’s August core search algorithm updates

There are no such essential factors or changes made in this Google Algorithm update, some of them might have seen fluctuations in ranking due to some small elements like page speed or interstitials.

They can fix these easily by finding the reason for the change and bring back the ranking within a shorter period. With this core algorithm update, there are no ranking factors targeted except the content quality and pages quality in the Google Search results. The same has occurred in the last algorithm update made on March; Google stated that there was nothing wrong with many pages, they can focus on some specific factors to get their ranking back easily.

In this August Google Algorithm Update, Danny has confirmed the same, trying to provide more details to the website will get their rank back and there are no extra factors anyone needs to focus on this core google algorithm update.

Danny also has advised to focus on the content quality rather than thinking more broadly on the ranking factors, and he tweeted as

“Want to do better with a broad change? Have great content. Yeah, the same boring answer. However, if you want a better idea of what we consider great content, read our raters guidelines. That’s like almost 200 pages of things to consider: https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/en//insidesearch/howsearchworks/assets/searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf. “

Danny also commented on the tweet that Google can share many actionable pieces of stuff if they have made them, so you need not spend more time on fixing things. You can check out your quality of the content instead of changing things randomly.

Danny Tweeted like

“If we can share more actionable stuff with the large updates, we will. But, I hope telling people effectively that it is NOT X, Y or Z things is indeed helpful. And from last time, this is really key: https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/973241542180614144 ”

Apart from these, Japanese Google Webmaster team has also tweeted regarding the role of the broad core algorithm update that they have updated the core algorithm; people can change their content if they found any drops in the ranking factors, they advised not to change other factors as it only targeted quality pages and content.

Japanese Google Webmaster Team Tweet –

“This week we have updated a wide range of core algorithms. This is done several times a year, what you can do for the impact received by this update is to make high-quality content that the search users are searching for as always. For details, please see the English post.”

The present ranking tools and other SEO tools are not showcasing broad changes rather than like few other broad core google algorithm updates, maybe the update was slower roll out, and we have to wait for few days to check out the desirable changes in the keyword rankings.

Googles disavow tool

How to remove Toxic or Bad Links Penalty using Google Disavow Tool

By | Backlinks, Google, Link Building, Uncategorized

Bad or Toxic Link occurs due to the number of Google Webmaster Guidelines violating factors namely building unnatural low-quality backlinks to your website, making use of the link exchange schemes, if you buy links from untrustworthy and low-quality SEO Company, etc.

What to do when you find a bad link in your site?

Google Disavow Tools is the first thing everyone gets in their mind if they find a bad link on their website, so what will the Disavow tool do?

Will it clear your bad links on the website? No, they provide the instruction to the search algorithm that they should not make use of them or count them when analyzing a site.

Steps to use Disavow Tool to abolish the Toxic or Bad Links

 Proceed below to check out the steps you can try to diminish the toxic list from your website.

 1. Try Manually

Before trying out the Disavow tool you need to check for the possibilities to remove them manually by yourself, it means outreaching.

If you can contact someone to remove the links, you can email them and request for the removal of links, and this will help in complete removal of the bad links rather than keeping it hidden from search engines.

 2. Sorting out the Toxic Links

There are some characteristics to consider when finding the bad links. You need to ask the below questions if you doubt specific links of your website,

  • If your anchor text and keywords are unnatural.
  • If you do not find a relevant content based on the topic.
  • If the link is in the footer but hidden at the back of HTML.
  • If the links redirect to an unconnected or unrelated page.
  • In the case of the links moving to spammy websites.

You can make use of Search Consoles to find these toxic links, so here are some of the illustrations you can follow.

  • Login to Search Console and click on the website property you need to analyze.
  • Check for the “Search Traffic” option located on your sidebar menu once you have clicked on the property.
  • Clicking the “Search Traffic” will result in a set of options and from that click on the “Links to your Site.”
  • You will get a page with all of your links listed, and click on the “Who links the most” section and choose “More” from it.
  • You will get a set of links listed, and those will be the domains that are linking to your website. You can download them for the future reference.
  • You will find two buttons at the top namely “Download more sample links” and “Download latest links” which will help in finding the right unnatural links to your site.

Apart from the search console, you can also make use of other backlink explorers namely Ahrefs, Majestic, Open Site Explorer, etc. To find out the toxic links.

 3. Organize your Toxic Links

You need to submit the set of toxic links in .txt when you disavow links, so make sure you change the format and then submit.

Converting them is not tougher, you just need to copy and paste them in a google document, and from the file, option click on “Download as ” and choose the plain text option so that you will have your toxic links organized in a text file. Make sure that every link is in the separate line while submitting the text file to the disavow tool.

How to Make use of Disavow tool now?

You can visit here to reach the Disavow tool; you need to choose the preferred website and click on the Disavow links. You will be redirected to a page with a warning in highlighted yellow color that you are going to do something irreversible and essential.

Just click on the “Disavow Links” to provide the instruction to the search engine not to consider the links. Once you have clicked the link, the tool will ask you to upload the text file with your toxic links, just choose the file and submit them.

Yeah! The work is done, you have stopped the bad links to show up on the search results using the disavow tool. Make sure you are not making the same mistake again.

Google Webmaster Tools

How to add your Website to Google Webmaster Tools / Search Console

By | Google, Website, WordPress Website

Google Webmaster was later changed to Search Console by Google, and they are used to maintain and monitor your website existence in the Google Search Results.

To rank your site in Google Search Results, it’s not mandatory to sign up for a Search Console but doing so will help you in understanding every update on your website. You will be able to know how Google is looking for your site as well as how it optimize them in the search results in a legitimate way.

 Who can make use of Search Console?

Business owners, SEO Specialists, Digital Marketer, Site Administrator, App Developer, Web Developer, etc.

Why use Search Console?

  • To check out whether your site is getting accessed on Google Search Results.
  • Submit new content for fast and immediate crawling.
  • To remove content that you need not show them in the search results.
  • To know the visual engagement.
  • Maintaining your site from every aspect from search performance to significant disruption.
  • To resolve any spam issues or malware on your site when found.

What URL should you use on the Website Property?

Helps in recording the date only for the https version of your site, in this case, you need to add HTTP and https as two single versions to the search console.

How to Add your website to Google Search Console?

Proceed below to find out the simple steps through which you can add your website to the Search Console.

  1. You need to have a Google Account to sign up for a Search Console. If you do not have then first create a Gmail Account to proceed further.
  1. Once after creating a Google account, visit Search Console page and sign into your Google Account.
  1. Click on the Add a Property (red button) to add your site to the search console.
  1. You need to type your site URL into the box and then click on the Add button in blue color for further steps.
  1. You will get a new dialog up, click on the Alternate Methods and select the HTML Tag, copy the code.
  1. Go to your WordPress website, log in and choose the SEO from the Menu option on the left-hand side of your Dashboard.
  1. Click on the SEO to expand them for the options, choose general and click on the webmaster tools from the dialog box.
  1. You will find Google Verification code under Webmaster tools, paste the copied code from the Webmaster tools and click on save changes.
  1. Click verify on the Search Console once you have made the changes in your SEO part.

Yay! You have added your website to the Google Search Console now.

YouTube Channel Optimization

How to Optimize your YouTube Channel to Go Viral

By | Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized

No wonder that Video Marketing is one the hottest trend in Digital Marketing Era, according to Socialbakers nine out ten people check out a video review before purchasing a product online.

No one can beat the world’s second largest Search Engine Youtube out of a variety of video rolling features included social profiles like Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat etc.

Essential Factors to Analyze while Optimizing your Youtube Channel

To capture a breakthrough along the Youtube Channel, you need to focus on two mandatory factors namely.

  • Youtube SEO
  • Engaging Content

A few days back Youtube made few guidelines for monetizing videos in the Youtube Channel that Within 12 months of creating a Youtube Channel you need to gain at least 1000 subscribers within 4000 hours once you upload the video to your channel. If you gain these followers then only you will be able to place ads.

So what are they expecting? Yeah, undoubtedly an engaging content. Now let’s check out the important characteristics you need to consider while optimizing your Youtube Channel.

Focus on your Niche

Niche indicates the area that you are going to focus; there are a number of categories and sub-categories available namely Music, Entertainment, Information etc.

You should know what type of people you are going to concentrate on and how to make them your loyal followers, this may be tedious, but the right approach will help you in finding the right niche.

Segmentation

There are many right viewers online, and you just need to find out them from a large group and provide the things they need to get popularized. When segmenting the audience, you need to know the age group of people whom you need, the targeted location, the language preference, the genre based on the targeted viewers taste.

The above four factors will help in choosing the right niche, by doing so you can create excellent videos as per the niche you have selected. If you have selected an entertainment niche, then make sure you are creating videos in a way that people love them and get entertained.

Trend Analyzing

Focus on the trend that will bring the audience to your Youtube channels. How can you know the trends in your niche? It can be done.

  • By following your competitor channels, means the channels that create videos in the similar niche you have chosen.
  • Making use of the Google Trend Tool from Google, which will let you know about the current Youtube Trends.
  • By following similar social media trends so that you can choose the one base don your niche.

There are two factors when optimizing your Youtube Channels, and the first one is for views and the second one for rankings.

Youtube Optimization for Views

  • Focus on the Title, make it exciting and meaningful so that your targeted audience will click.
  • Make use of impressive Thumbnails.
  • Ensure whether you are requesting people to like, share, subscribe and comment at the video end.

Youtube Optimization for Ranking

  • Make long videos as they can bring you better rankings when considered to the shorter ones.
  • HD quality videos are essential for top rankings.
  • Choosing the right keywords in the title, you can select the keywords you need to target from various keywords tools online.
  • Writing good quality, expressive and engaging descriptions, you need not require keywords to be added in the description because they are not going to help your Youtube channel in ranking.
  • Add your business social profile links or the external links in the description for the better leads.
  • Do not forget to add suitable tags as Youtube will list out videos from similar queries, pick them from competitors or choose them by your imagination.

The critical point is to add videos at regular intervals, at the initial stage you need to post videos at the right timings your targeted audience are active to increase your subscribers.

Making this as a habit will enhance the connection between you and your viewers, Many Youtube channels make this prospect for better conversion.

  • Be creative, make a new style and ask viewers to subscribe.
  • Make sure you have active social media pages to promote your Youtube Videos, this increases the interaction with your audiences.
  • Shoot out the questions on your social media pages regarding how to improve your Youtube Channels or ask for any suggestions from your viewers.
Google Analytics

Google Analytics and its widespread uses

By | Conversion Rate Optimization, Google, Google Analytics

A website is an instance of an organization that is represented on the internet for making a stand. This can be attained by fully keeping your website on track by analyzing every detail in your website from content to quality of the market.

Google Analytics is a free website analysis service of Google. Google Analytics helps you analyze the number of users that visit your website, their origin of visit, use of your website for them and even the area from which they visit. These data help you analyze the platform for online marketing of your website.
Google analytics is made possible by simply tracking the data by inserting a tracking code in your website, this will help you obtain optimum data and analyze it for future references.

Google analytics tracks data via a java code which has to be included in every page of the website; thereby the user’s activity information is collected in a database. The code also sets a cookie on each visitor’s computer, which provides anonymous information to create user profiles.

Uses of Google analytics for better website content:

  • To Collect Information of the best online campaign bringing Traffic:

Online campaign for marketing can be done in a variety of different methods. The basic formats are via E-mail, Social media marketing, interconnecting link, lead generation etc. out of these, it is vital to find out which is the best method that attracts more traffic to your website. Knowing this would give you an upper hand by which you can update your marketing techniques on the best platform.

  • To Identify the best and worst content in your page:

You can now determine which content in your website has many readers eagerly staying on the page without bouncing off. With the help of Site content-tracking information, you can identify those pages on which the visitors stay the longest with minimal bounce rates. Once this content is recognized, you can reciprocate the likeness of that content on to the other pages and become optimized. Similarly, you can identify the worst content in your page by analyzing the number of people leaving your website at a particular page and you can take steps accordingly to bring them back.

  • To Pinpoint specific searches made by visitors on your website:

Keyword presence is a mandatory function already available in your website. However, some visitors leave your page after failing to find certain specific things. You can now find out what they are by tracking their search results. If visitors refined their search and continued in your website, it implies they found out what they needed. This might not be the case every time, with the help of Site Search function, you can know about the content that was unavailable in your page that the readers searched for.  This will give you a better idea on the pages that need more specific information.

  • To determine the compatibility of E-commerce websites:

In every e-commerce website, there will be a multi-level check out process which needs to be evaluated constantly to verify the interest rate of customers. For example, if the customer gives up at the payment page, it means that the page is not yet customer friendly and is complicated for use. This will in turn help you update your page and test it again. If people leave before confirming their order, it means there is something wrong with the product’s price or reviews. This will pinpoint your area for improvement. This can be done by using the Goal Funnel function available. Fixing these issues can eventually lead to more sales.

WordPress SEO Plugins

5 Free SEO plugins for WordPress Optimization

By | Search Engine Optimizaion, WordPress Website

WordPress is the most popular website management system used by over 60 million websites in the world. Owing to its efficiency in open-source content management, WordPress is opted by most organizations for better blog management. It is quite easy to set up a website on WordPress and has many different plugins for different website needs.
Search Engine Optimization is the major traffic attracter to your website. Hence it is very important to set up a WordPress website with the best SEO plugin.A WordPress plugin has various features that can be utilized in your website, some are:

  • Social Media Integration
  • XML Sitemaps
  • Page Analysis
  • Ecommerce sites integration
  • Theme compatibility

We will now look into the top 5 free SEO plugins for WordPress optimization.

  1. WordPress SEO by YOAST:

WordPress SEO by YOAST is the most famous SEO plugin used by over 6 million users.YOAST offers advanced features which can help get you the attention needed for your website.YOAST’s WordPress has many key features that enhance the quality of your website, some are:

  • YOAST provides a snippet preview which allows you to preview your page in the search engine. This helps you to create better quality content.
  • YOAST has ‘Page Analysis’ feature which checks on minute things like length of the post, meta description relatability, keyword focus etc.
  • YOAST WordPress SEO aids multi-site compatibility.
  • Breadcrumb is an important feature of YOAST which helps with easy navigation in search engines for the users.
  • YOAST has the most advanced XML sitemaps feature. With it, YOAST creates XML sitemaps automatically and informs Google and Bing of its existence.

 

  1. All in one SEO:

All in one WordPress SEO pack is the next popular SEO plugin used by over 1 million users. All in one plugin offers some special features that are not found in any other plugin. It was created by Micheal Torbert, a WordPress developer. Some of its vital features include:

  • Meta tag generation by All in one SEO gives you the power to determine the pages and content that will be shown in Google search results and to hide those that won’t be shown.
  • Duplicate content highlighter is another salient feature of this plugin. This feature simply indicates plagiarism or other similar content already available on the web.
  • All in one SEO plugin helps in the SEO integration of E-commerce websites.
  • Other features like Sitemap support, Google analytics support, Social media details and system status box are available in this plugin.
  1. SEO by SQUIRRLY:

SQUIRRLY eliminates majority of the main hazards put forth by the website during the optimization process.SQUIRRLY is a keyword based SEO plugin which concentrates on optimizing the content with keywords. Some salient features of SQUIRRLY are:

  • It gives importance to the presence of keywords in title, content and Url.
  • SQUIRRLY tracks every aspect of your content marketing strategy.
  • It suggests headlines in accordance with your keyword.
  • SQUIRRLY monitors of your weekly progress and constantly suggests updates.
  • Has a positive energy with green symbolization for the good work.
  1. High Performance SEO by Greg:

The high-performance SEO by Greg is the next major SEO plugin that helps you gain visibility in the Search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Some of the salient features of this plugin are:

  • The high-performance SEO by Greg is equipped with a conflict analyzer that points out if there is a content conflicting your own.
  • The plugin provides a variety of secondary descriptions and titles that can be used in your webpage.
  • This plugin has the salient feature of 100 on-page SEO characteristics that will help your page be optimized.
  • The plugin also recognizes any duplicate content present in the website and removes it and alters it based on your content.
  1. W3 total Cache plugin:

W3 Total Cache plugin tends to the matter that is most important for every website, which is the speed of sustaining. This plugin helps a site to sustain a significant amount of traffic without crashing or hanging. This plugin also reduces time of download for the users and performs CDN integration.

  • Transparent CDN management with theme files, Media Library and WordPress itself
  • Compatible with dedicated servers, dedicated clusters and shared hosting
  • Accelerated Mobile Pages support which is an unavoidable vital factor nowadays.
  • SSL (Secure Socket Layer) support
  • Caching of feeds in memory on CDN or on disk.

there are many plugins available for free and payable on the web, the above mentioned are few of the best. The plugins can be used together for better quality and SEO content, but they may slow down the speed of your page.