You Haven’t Set Clear SEO Goals or Tracked Your Progress

It’s impossible to determine whether your SEO works if you’ve failed to establish clear goals closely tied to long-term marketing objectives. They should also be consistent with your company’s vision and core values.

As you begin exploring potential goals for your SEO initiative, don’t hesitate to get specific. Begin with an overarching aim and then add key performance indicators (KPIs) to help you pinpoint successes and challenges. 

For example: if you hope potential customers will come across your brand while using search engines, pay close attention to search visibility. It’s also important to gain in-depth insight into conversions from organic traffic, as this will determine whether your marketing efforts have their intended impact. 

You may need to get an organic SEO company involved. Search engine marketing services can provide the fresh perspective and sense of direction you require.

You’re Too Committed to Tracking Metrics

Some oversight is essential, but it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers to the detriment of your long-term strategy. Some KPIs are outside of your control, while others may not offer accurate insight into the quality of your SEO campaign. Obsess too much over these, and you may second-guess yourself or even abandon strategies that worked well.

Remember: a strong return on investment is one of your top priorities — and this is impossible if you’re too focused on obscure metrics that don’t improve your rankings or conversions. When in doubt, always focus on your targeted SEO goals and the metrics that reflect them. 

Your Organic Traffic Is Suffering a Slow, But Steady Descent

Robust organic traffic should be one of the primary goals of your SEO initiative and is the lifeblood of your digital marketing strategy; without traffic, conversions are unlikely. 

If you look at traffic stats and observe a definite downward swing, something isn’t working. While this trend is one of the most prevalent signs of poor SEO, it is also one of the most difficult to reverse. You may need to refresh your content to get a better response. 

Work with an SEO agency to determine when traffic stats began to change and whether these drops correlate with any shifts in your content or keyword strategy. Don’t forget to look at the competition, as organic traffic can also suffer if competitors suddenly up their game. 

You’re Seen Sudden Drops in Organic Traffic

Traffic will naturally fluctuate over time, but sudden and steep drops should be alarming. Often, this is a sign of cutting corners — indicative of an SEO strategy that will not ultimately stand the test of time.

If, for example, website traffic drops dramatically within 24 hours, search engine algorithms may have caught onto your previously effective shortcuts. This problem is common after purchasing backlinks or engaging black hat SEO tactics. 

If your organic traffic plunges seemingly out of nowhere, examine your SEO efforts. Are you focused on the long game? Or have you succumbed to shortcuts? Recommit to the tried and tested practices that get results over time.

You’re Too Comfortable With the Status Quo

Consistency is an admirable quality, but it’s not always preferable for SEO. Like it or not, digital marketing is constantly evolving — and strategies that worked wonders for your business a few years ago are almost certainly less relevant today. 

If you’ve gotten too comfy with the status quo, it’s time to take a second look at your SEO strategy. Is it still effective? In all likelihood, you could stand to make a few tweaks. 

Continue to set new goals and track results. A continuous review protocol will help you determine when previous strategies are worth continuing — and when change is necessary.

Level Up Your Marketing With Our Austin SEO Agency

If your SEO strategy isn’t cutting it, all hope is not lost. With complete SEO services, you can turn around your campaign and get the targeted traffic and conversions you need. Our enterprise SEO company Motoza can get you back on track. 

Ready to get started? Request an SEO consultation today.

The post Five Signs Your Organic Search Strategy Isn’t Working: Could an SEO Agency Work? appeared first on Motoza.

The answer: opportunity. 

Specifically, opportunity through SEO, or “search engine optimization.” And, best of all, you don’t have to do it alone — there are corporate SEO services to help you out. 

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website so that it receives a high-ranking position on search engine results pages (SERPs) instead of your website getting hidden on the second, third, or tenth page. 

With a high-ranking site comes increased visibility and web traffic, as well as the potential for higher profit. As search engine sites like Google have continued to evolve, so have their expectations for what makes a ranking-worthy website. 

So, what are the keys to SEO success? And what can cause your site to fall down the rankings? Let’s get into it here.

5 Keys to Success in Enterprise Search Engine Optimization

Successful enterprise SEO services will use the following tried-and-true strategies to attain SEO success: 

1. Pick the Right Keywords

Keywords tell search engine sites like Google what your page is about. Plus, using target keywords in the right ways will help users who are Googling those words find your webpage more easily.

Keywords will make or break your site by ensuring that you’re trying to rank for things that people are actually searching for. For example, a blog titled “Our Amazing Weekend in Cabo!!” won’t get as much traffic as “Ten Best Things to Do in Cabo.” The second title is a keyword that people Google. The first isn’t something that people search for.

To find the most useful keywords, you can do some research to see what words are ranking for your industry. You can do so on Google itself or by scoping out competitor sites to see what’s working for them. 

2. Have Fast Website Load Times

Nothing makes a user click out of a webpage faster than a slow-loading website. To ensure your site loads at a faster speed, make sure your webpages aren’t filled with overpowering bells and whistles. That includes plug-ins, large images, and too many HTTP requests. 

3. Create Great, Useful Content

The saying still rings true today: Content is king. 

Nothing makes Google plunge a site down its rankings faster than unuseful, irrelevant webpage content. Your content should be original, reflect your company’s expertise, and be trustworthy to the reader. It should also be easy to read even on mobile, so avoid large chunks of blocky text. 

4. Optimize for Mobile

Any worthy enterprise SEO company will tell you that having mobile-friendly web pages is a must. 

After all, in 2021, over four billion people accessed the internet from their phones. Users should be able to enjoy the same features of your site on their phone as on a desktop. Get rid of any pop-ups that block the screen, and ensure there’s no clutter. Additionally, all navigation bars and buttons should be clear and easy to click on. 

5. Employ User-friendliness

In the end, you’re still creating a website for users more than the algorithm. That’s why an international SEO agency will always ensure your site is user-friendly. 

Key tip: don’t have too many menu bars that overwhelm the reader. Moreover, your site should also be accessible to all. You can ensure this by including alternate text in images, title tags, and a mix of headers, including H1s and H2s. 

What to Avoid With SEO

Just as there are things you should do with SEO, there are things you should avoid doing or else risk the rankings on your whole site plummetting.  

For instance, there are so-called black and gray hat SEO techniques some webmasters use to trick search engines into giving them high rankings. They are never a part of legitimate national SEO services. Let’s take a deeper look. 

Black Hat SEO

Black hat SEO are practices that are outright banned by sites like Google. They involve techniques like keyword stuffing, sneaky redirects, paid links, comment spam, and cloaking or showing different content to users and search engines. Using these strategies can lead to a tank in ranking or even removal from SERPs themselves. 

Gray Hat SEO

Gray hat SEO uses a blend of black hat and white hat SEO or SEO tactics that are ethical and honest. For example, you may provide original content, but you stuff keywords. Another common method is re-using old content without adding anything new of value.

While gray hat SEO may not lead to a ban from SERPs, it could display your site as low-quality and therefore earn it a lower ranking.

Get the Best Corporate SEO Services

Use SEO well, and you can enjoy a high search engine ranking and a site with highly increased visibility. 

Ready to kick your site up a notch? Moztoza is your answer. Based in Austin, Texas, our international SEO services focus on providing the optimal user experience for websites that get more clicks and better results.

Check out our corporate SEO services today for high-quality global SEO services.

The post 5 Keys to Success in Corporate SEO Services appeared first on Motoza.

Over 92% of online searches are done using Google, so for businesses trying to reach the most customers, it’s important to optimize for Google’s search engine. One of the best ways in which to do this is by looking at Google Maps SEO.

You can attract potential customers near you by creating a Google My Business (GMB) listing and adhering to Google Maps SEO best practices. To do that, it’s important to understand how to get your GBM listing and how Google ranks local businesses in search results.

Helping Your Customers Find You

Google Maps is the most frequently downloaded map and navigation app in the U.S. — it was downloaded more than 25 million times in 2021. It helps businesses inform the casual user of a Google search not only that their business operates in the area, but it shows exactly where they are physically located.

If your business is not on Google Maps, you are not on the radar of many potential customers. If your business has a GMB listing, however, you are ranked and perhaps rated there. Both your GMB ranking and your GMB rating will be a crucial nugget of information for customers, some of whom are already in their cars and just about to make a choice of where to drive and with whom to do business. After all, a lot of decision-making happens exactly that way.

The Growth of “Near Me” Searches

As of March 2019, mobile searches including the terms “on sale + near me” increased by 250% over each of the preceding two years. Such growth in “Near Me” searching has allowed Google to customize search results and rankings with greater precision.

For example, when looking for a dry cleaner, a customer might Google “Dry cleaners near me,” without bothering to include a location as part of their search. The result is a customized map with a curated selection of local businesses.

Get Your GMB Listing

To increase search visibility and appear as one of the selected businesses in a local search, you’ll start by adding your business to Google’s knowledge base. To create your GMB listing, you should:

1. Visit the Google My Business homepage. 
2. Click the “Manage now” button and follow the instructions. Be patient, there are a lot of steps to Google’s form. 
3. You will be prompted to list your address. To prevent fraud, Google will mail a verification postcard to the address listed. Most postcards arrive within 14 days. Admittingly, the postcard might seem like spam at first glance, so make sure to inform the person who sorts through the mail that a Google postcard is on the way.
4. After you get your postcard, log into your business account and enter the five-digit verification code listed on the letter.
5. From here, you’ll be able to add business hours, photos, posts, and more.

By following these simple steps, your business profile will be visible to users on Google Search and Maps. Keep in mind, however, that just because you have a GMB listing, you’re not guaranteed to rank on the first page — especially in highly competitive environments.

How Does the Ranking Work?

To best explain how Google Maps ranking works, let’s use a local dry cleaner as an example. In Austin, Google Maps discloses, that there is Reid’s Cleaners & Laundry near Mayfield Park, to which Google has awarded 4.4 stars (out of five). 

The rating is the average number of stars given to Reid’s Cleaners & Laundry by patrons. The business’s ranking is its position on a list of local dry cleaners and determines whether or not it appears on the first page. Google Maps SEO rankings are important, as casual searchers are not likely to scroll down far or click on the second page of search results. When it comes to rating and ranking, corporate SEO services concern themselves with both. 

Looking at the ranking specifically, this is customized to a particular search from a given device and location. A local ranking is based on three factors: 

1. Relevance
2. Distance
3. Prominence

For example, Google’s algorithms may determine that a business somewhat farther away from a querying customer is more likely to have what that customer is looking for than a closer business. Relevance may trump distance, so the farther business may rank higher in local results.

A business’s prominence is based on information that Google has gathered from links, articles, directories, and other sources around the web. In general, the more networked you are with your business peers — who are also on Google’s radar — the more prominent you will be.

How To Improve Your Ranking on Google Maps

Although you can’t do much about how distant from you the prospective customers are when they perform “Near Me” searches, you can apply Google Maps SEO tactics to impact the other main factors in a high Google ranking. 

Whether your product is relevant depends on how carefully you have defined it in your listing. A digital marketing agency like Motoza can help you rework your listing to improve your relevance for customers that use Google’s local search feature.

If you are in direct competition with Reid’s Cleaners, for example, you might want to focus your efforts not merely on ranking (appearing ahead of their listing), but you may also want to get more reviews of your business in the hopes of outperforming their 4.4 stars.

Your business’s rating will depend entirely on customer reviews. Notoriously, customers who are unhappy with their experiences are more likely to leave an unprompted review than satisfied customers. A business that is wise in the ways of Google Maps SEO will work to maximize the feedback from happy customers.

If you’re a B2C company with an e-commerce component, you may simply follow up transactions with an email that includes a review link.

If you run a B2B entity, a more personal approach is available. You should see to it that your account teams are well aware of the significance of online reviews from customers.  You can directly ask your clients for a review, and there’s a higher likelihood of personal contacts leaving positive reviews when you have an established relationship.

Take Your Listing to the Next Step

Instead of wasting resources marketing to everyone, focus your efforts on Google Maps SEO. We’re here to help you increase leads with optimized local search marketing.   is a provider of enterprise SEO services based in Austin, Texas with a user focus, offering quality techniques aimed at stable long-term results. Request a free consultation today.

The post Understanding Google Maps SEO: Get and Use That GMB Listing appeared first on Motoza.

White Hat SEO

Back in the 1920s and 30s, filmmakers used to use white and black hats to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys. Heroes wore white hats; villains wore black hats. A century later, those conventions still refer to people who follow the rules versus people who don’t. Today, we’ll discuss them in the context of search engine optimization. The term “white hat” refers to SEO practices that are honest, ethical, and user-focused. To be white hat, an SEO strategy must:

• Focus on providing value to users
• Aim to earn its way to the top, rather than getting quick (often questionable) results
• Align with Google’s guidelines for webmasters

What Does Google Recommend?

Google guidelines encourage honesty and service to web visitors. They center on three basic practices:

• ‌Creating content for human beings, not search engine algorithms
• Striving for quality, not getting clicks
• ‌Avoiding deception of users or search engine algorithms

‌Deceptive practices are black hat SEO. They don’t raise the quality of the site or help the user find what they need. White hat practices help the user first and earn a high ranking from there. They’re the most ethical and effective strategies for getting clicks and views. 

What Does White Hat SEO Look Like?

Examples of white hat SEO include:

• ‌Creating original, up-to-date, & relevant content that provides readers with beneficial information
• ‌Focusing on keywords that match real user searches & intent 
• ‌Structuring a site using headings and readable paragraphs so it’s easy for users and crawlers to navigate, I.e improvising user experience 

‌These highly effective techniques show Google that a site is high-quality and user-focused. Even though they’re the best way to build rankings, it can take time to see results. Since patience in the business world is limited, people tend to turn to black hat strategies. 

The Dark Side: Black Hat SEO

Black hat SEO actively goes against Google’s recommended practices. In fact, many black hat SEO techniques appear on Google’s webmaster guidelines as practices to avoid. Yet they still tempt site owners and developers—not because they’re forbidden fruit, but because they get quick results (with big risks). Black hat techniques deceive a search engine algorithm. They try to make a site look authoritative and well-respected, but they have no substance. If anything, they make the site less valuable to users while only appealing to the algorithm that helps rank them.

Some widely used black hat SEO techniques include:

• ‌Keyword stuffing: Excessive use of terms that the site is trying to rank for, with no regard for whether the text sounds natural or is distracting to the reader
• ‌ Auto-generated content: Text that a machine creates to manipulate search engine rankings, not to help the reader
• ‌ Cloaking: Showing different content to human users versus search engines
• ‌Link schemes: Buying inbound links or exchanging links for the purpose of boosting rankings, not to help users

‌Techniques like these can work for a while, but they’re unethical and likely to backfire. 

Search engine algorithms pick up on deceptive practices and can result in manual actions, which means Google will rank a site lower or even omit it from search results. 

The only way to remove a manual action is to eliminate the black hat technique. These manual reviews can take several months – severely hurting a sites online presence and lead generation The lesson: you might as well use white hat strategies from the beginning, as the risks of black hat SEO far outweigh the long term benefits. 

What about Grey Hat?

Some SEO strategies fall somewhere between white hat and black hat. This could mean:

• ‌Mixing white and black hat tactics
• ‌Using tactics that focus more on manipulating rankings rather than boosting site quality, even if those tactics aren’t expressly forbidden

For example, a site may:

• Create quality original content, but keyword-stuff its web pages
• Rewrite old content, so it’s technically not a duplicate but doesn’t create any value
• Give content creators free gifts in exchange for backlinks

If you’re not sure whether something is grey hat, ask yourself whether it could become black hat given a minor algorithmic change. Keyword stuffing, for example, was distinctly grey hat before Google flagged it as deceptive.

‌

Some digital marketers argue the benefits of grey hat techniques, but don’t be deceived. Anything not white hat comes with it’s risk. Whether to implement some grey hat techniques into the mix is up to the agency & campaign requirements. Just remember, most things are OK in moderation.

‌

The Takeaway: Stick with White Hat

If your SEO agency has suggested tactics that don’t focus on user value, it’s time to find one that will. Motoza is an Austin SEO services provider that focuses exclusively on user-focused, and quality techniques the offer stable long term resultsz .

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Because Motoza is an enterprise SEO company, they provide complete SEO services and search engine marketing for businesses of all kinds. Request a consultation to find out what Motoza can do for you.

The post White, Grey, and Black: Three Types of SEO You Need to Know About appeared first on Motoza.

SEO, or search engine optimization, can pay serious dividends for your business. The right strategy can get you in front of new eyes and bring in curious people ready to buy. The wrong one can leave you twiddling your thumbs, waiting for results that never come, or even lower your site’s overall rankings.

So what goes into a quality SEO campaign? Let’s get into it! 

What To Expect From Your SEO Strategy

While a lot of small business owners opt to handle SEO themselves, letting an expert handle it for you can free up valuable time. Each agency will be slightly different in what it offers, but here’s the rundown on the basics:

Content Marketing‌

Content creation and marketing are the heart of corporate SEO services. Good content helps you rank better with Google’s algorithm and cement you as an expert in the eyes of potential customers. Plus, quality pieces of content help you build a dedicated, engaged audience around your brand. ‌

Trying to game the system with a keyword-heavy page just doesn’t cut it these days. Google’s web crawlers are constantly getting better at separating the good from the bad and will reward content that actually helps people by boosting its rank. 

An enterprise SEO agency will include content creation tailored to your business, field, and overall goals as part of its package. Most content marketing will include some combination of the following, depending on your business:

• Blogs
• Videos
• Articles
• Images
• Social media posts

If it can be optimized for SEO, we believe it should be part of the campaign and be created for you regularly. ‌

On- and Off-Page SEO Services

‌While on-page and off-page services can each be helpful by themselves, optimizing both is what will get you noticed. And a good agency will have experience with each!

On-page SEO optimizes your site for all the things you can control, like the elements on your page that affect its ranking in Google. This includes keywords, meta tags, and image alt tags, plus other elements like link building to increase authority and good page layout. 

Your package should also handle off-page SEO, which builds links back to your site from other pages. This also involves optimizing your social channels and securing mentions in the media if possible. 

Technical Strategy‌

Optimizing your site’s SEO means knowing the nuts and bolts of search algorithms. A good agency will have people working on your campaign who understand how Google works and can build your marketing around that knowledge. 

This will involve the parts of your page that people don’t see, like how well it’s optimized for mobile devices or how fast it runs. This part of the campaign will also involve upkeep like repairing any broken links. 

Trend Monitoring‌

It’s important not to rely on the same stale SEO strategies over and over again. Search algorithms and technical specs are always changing, and your optimizations have to change with it. 

At Motoza, we include monitoring the industry for the latest trends and finding ways to make those trends work for your business. If you’re not getting continuous support, you’re not getting your money’s worth. 

Local Search Optimization‌

Local search optimization isn’t something every business needs, but it can help enormously for small and large businesses alike. It’s critical to build your site and business listing so it will show up in Google’s “near me” searches. 

This can include optimizing your Google My Business listing, encouraging customers to leave reviews, and more. As of 2019, 46% of all Google searches were for local information. That’s a huge chunk of people you can’t afford to leave behind, even if you’re an international business or chain. 

We also build in local keywords and complete your business listings on platforms other than Google, like Yellow Pages and Bing. 

Data Reporting‌

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. That’s why every SEO strategy worth its salt will collect data and check it against the targets you set at the beginning of your campaign. 

Some essential data points to look at include:

• Search visibility 
• Keyword rankings 
• Conversions 
• Website traffic
• Link building 
• Content performance (likes, shares, engagement, etc.)

How these factors perform will often reveal patterns that point to what’s working and what isn’t. We regularly monitor these metrics in monthly reports and point out any important changes (in case you don’t want to read the whole thing).‌

Company Analysis‌

Before drafting your strategy, an SEO agency should perform an analysis of your company to see where you stand. Each business will have different needs, and it’s important to assess them and tailor a solution instead of taking a cookie-cutter approach. ‌

At Motoza, for instance, we take a look at: 

• Customer behavior: How many visitors is your site getting, how long are they staying, and what can be done to market to them more effectively?
• Technical analysis: A website SEO audit to uncover any technical issues that hurt your ranking.
• Content analysis: Study of the content in your industry or niche and how your site compares. This is to ensure you’re creating content for the right audience. 
• Current plan analysis: An examination of anything you’re already doing to try to market your business to see how it can be improved & integrated into a new strategy.

An SEO specialist will be able to see the holes in your strategy you didn’t even know were there, and identify areas where you can expand. Part of an SEO agency’s price tag is related to their years of specialized experience, and the ROI on a good strategy is invaluable.‌

Your package should also include help with creating cohesive branding material like logos and site design, if needed. If you don’t have an in-house designer, this is yet another benefit of hiring professionals to handle your SEO.

Take the Next Step‌

Now that you know exactly what you’re getting, hopefully you feel a little better about investing in a good SEO plan. Motoza provides local and global SEO campaigns for businesses to give them the visibility and growth they deserve.‌

If you still have questions, please reach out to us. Our experts are always happy to provide a consultation. 

The post Where Your Money Goes When You Buy an SEO Campaign appeared first on Motoza.

It’s an incredible thing that can seem complicated, but we’re hoping to break it down for you. Its inner workings are complex, but the foundational idea is simple to understand. 

Search engines run on three basic processes: crawling, indexing, and ranking.

The Basics 

Crawling

‌Search engines have these little robots that are also called crawlers or spiders, which sounds way creepier than it needs to. Basically, these robots are constantly making their way around the internet to find any new content, like images, web pages, videos, or anything else available.

These robots spend all day, every day scouring the internet for new information, and then file that content to make sure it’s all accounted for and accessible.

Indexing

‌Indexing is the next step. This is where the robots take all the documents they’ve gathered around the office and file them based on their content— kinda like the old-school card catalog at the library. This ensures that, when you search “cute dogs wearing cowboy hats,” you have access to every possible search result that has anything to do with cowboy canines.

Ranking

But of course, we don’t want to have to dig through piles and piles of results. The search engine wants to make it as easy as possible for us to find exactly what we’re looking for, so, after indexing, it tries to filter everything to show the most relevant information and results first.

Let’s pretend the whole internet only has three potential images for cute dogs wearing cowboy hats (a saddening thought, for sure). Here’s how the engine will decide what ranks first:

While this image has a cute dog and there is someone wearing a cowboy hat, it’s clearly not what we meant by our search. If the search engine was functioning just on individual keywords, though, it technically checks all the boxes. 

Luckily, sites like Google have evolved beyond just checking each individual keyword and now search more based on intent– but we’ll get to that later.

If there were more images that exactly matched our search, this one likely wouldn’t even show up. Search engines may show less relevant content if it’s not sure what you’re asking or just doesn’t have the information you need. 

Now we’re getting a bit closer. There’s definitely a cute dog, there’s a cowboy theme, and the dog is technically wearing the hat, although not in the way we’d anticipated. 

With the context of the site, the caption for the image, and any alt tags, most search engines will be able to tell that while this is a nice picture, it’s not the most relevant. 

Now this is what we’re looking for!

• Traditionally cute animals
• Dogs and hats, both plural
• Each wearing hats in an expected way
• “Cowboy” is the descriptor for the hats, not another entity

This is clearly the most relevant image, and, as such, Google and other search engines would definitely rank it first. Well, depending on the source. Some sites are already more favorable in Google’s eyes if their large trusted domains and therefore have higher domain authority– more on that in a bit.

So How Do the Web Crawlers Know Something’s Relevant?

‌The shortest answer is just math. Very, very complicated math– algorithms, to be more exact. So the next question is:

What Are Search Engine Algorithms?

‌An algorithm, in general, is a set of rules that help a person get their desired result. In this case, Google algorithms help you get from your search term to the blog or web page you need.

One of the problems with fully understanding Google algorithms is that Google doesn’t share full information on how it works. There is a reason for this, but we’ll get to that in a second.

For now, however, here’s the basic process:

• Google has determined what aspects make a high-quality website 
• It then assigns a value to each of these aspects 
• When a web crawler goes through your website, it gives you a grade according to the high-quality aspects you have there
• This grade is your ranking.

The ranking tries to reflect the relevance an article has for a specific question or keyword, so think about what you want people to search to find your content. If people are opening your article and immediately closing it, Google will take note and start ranking it below the websites that keep people’s attention longer.

While Google does keep quiet on many factors of a page that the algorithm considers, they have shared that some, like:

• Keywords: this goes beyond just matching the keywords in a search to the keywords on your page. As mentioned above, all of those images could technically have all the keywords in our search term, but it’s how they work together and the meaning of the entire key phrase that really matters.
• ‌Mobile responsiveness: More and more people are using their phones to search, and honestly it’s just annoying to stumble on a site that has a font smaller than the ridges of your fingerprint.
• ‌Number of quality links you have on pages: The number and type of links help show Google where you fit into the internet at large. With our example images, it’ll be a lot more helpful to have a link to an Instagram page devoted to cute dogs rather than a link to the National Cowboy Museum. But hey, pretty much any link is a good link, as long as it’s not going to your competitor or a spam site.
• Site authority: This one’s a bit harder to control, but it’s basically how much clout your site has. It’s based on a variety of factors, like how large the business is, how much good quality content it produces, and how much Google trusts the domain itself. For instance, if an article on dogs with cowboy hats was posted on CNN.com, it would likely rank higher than an identical article posted on auntjudyspuppies.com because CNN has a significantly higher authority. And because auntjudyspuppies.com doesn’t exist, sadly.

So Why Doesn’t Google Share the Algorithms?

‌For one, Google is constantly tweaking it’s algorithm to make it better and better. But it’s also to prevent people from trying to shortcut through the system

So if Google flat out said that keywords are the one deciding factor, sites would sacrifice quality content to flood their pages with keywords. Thanks to the algorithms, Google can tell when keywords are used naturally and when they are crammed in, which helps sites with quality content ranking higher. 

If Google shared its algorithms, those people would find a way to take advantage of them and rank higher than the ones genuinely trying to make good content. When Google picks up on new ways of “hacking” SEO, they update the algorithms to prevent it from happening. While these updates seem annoying, they actually do aim to help honest website owners and searchers.

3 Cheap SEO Tactics and Why You Should Avoid Them

While Google‌ isn’t super forthcoming about what exactly helps you rank higher, they’re more amenable to sharing what will hurt your rankings. Some of the annoying, less savory SEO tactics that can penalize your site include:

Keyword Stuffing

‌Keywords are essential to a site’s success, of course. However, using them too much isn’t just bad SEO. It’s tacky and annoying to read. It’s like trying to stuff product placement into movies or TV shows every 2 minutes– we get it, you’re sponsored by Kia. Please move on to the good stuff. 

Anyway, Google notices overuse and ranks those sites far lower, so no one has to see them.

Duplicate Content

This tactic is basically just plagiarizing. Actually, it is just plagiarizing. If you copy and paste content from a site ranking better than yours, Google will notice and will not approve. 

You can also plagiarize yourself by copying content onto multiple pages (usually as another way to stuff in keywords). Obviously, if your site is dedicated to dogs in hats or whatever product/service you sell, there’s going to be a fair bit of overlap, but there needs to be some kind of differentiation in the content or Google will flag it.

Exact Match Anchor Text

‌Any links you add to your page need to be natural to rank well. As such, you want to be careful about the anchor text you use. More specifically, you don’t want to use the same anchor text for two or more links.

For example, you shouldn’t have “hiking boots,” “hiking shoes,” and “hiking boots for men” as anchor text in the same piece of content leading to the exact same page. That’s not a natural way to link, and web crawlers will notice.

Want Healthy SEO?

‌Even without a full understanding of Google’s algorithms, there is a pretty simple tip that can provide effective SEO: be natural. In everything you do, from the content you write, the links you add, the comments you allow, and the number of keywords you do, just be natural. 

Think about having a conversation with a friend or colleague. Would you naturally use the same word 15 times in a five-minute conversation? Probably not. So don’t do it in your content!

If you’re not sure how to run a good enterprise SEO campaign, well, that’s what we’re here for. Contact us for a consultation and/or more pictures of cute dogs in hats.

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Now, with giants like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, there are gatekeepers to please and appease. And that’s where SEO comes in. Did you know that just under 70% of all clicks happen on the first five organic results that populate the first page of a search? Or that almost one out of every three mobile searches is tied to a location? The numbers don’t lie. 

This article will break down the basics of SEO without puzzling buzzwords and marketing jargon (okay, there might be a little jargon). All from people who believe SEO is just as much a science as it is an art. 

So, What Is SEO?

If you own a business, you likely have a website promoting it. And just like you’d take out traditional ads in the paper or go big with a billboard, you need to get eyes on your product or service in the digital world. 

SEO stands for search engine optimization. The term is a catch-all for the process of improving your website to increase your visibility when people use search engines. ‌

The higher you rank, the easier it is for relevant people to find you. It’s the difference between popping up on the first page of Google results and being buried on the hundredth. 

How Does SEO Work?

The way search engines operate can be a mystery. Search engines like Google provide some insights into how their algorithms work, but never fully disclose exactly how it deems what is or isn’t relevant. Luckily, the general gist of how SEO works is surprisingly simple to understand. 

Search engines use bots to collect data from the far reaches of the internet. They parse through pages upon pages and store their findings in a giant index. 

Then, algorithms analyze and sort this trove of information, applying a dizzying array of ranking factors along the way.  

The result is an ordered list of answers to a search query containing one or more keywords. If your website is properly optimized, the algorithms will bump it higher in the results. Factors like great content, strategically placed keywords, and positive user experience all signal that yours is a high-quality site with useful information. 

Common SEO Misconceptions

SEO is an ever-evolving process that can seem confusing. And when something is tricky to understand, myths abound. Let’s break down some of those myths.

‌SEO is a “one-and-done” process. 

This one is wishful thinking, usually from entrepreneurs who don’t want to spend all their time online. Understandable, but sadly, not true. The way search engines analyze and rank pages — as well as the competition — is constantly changing, and businesses have to be able to adapt accordingly. 

To keep on top of things, you’ll need to routinely publish authoritative, valuable content that is SEO-driven. You’ll also need to refresh the content you already have at least once a year. Among other things, sound, up-to-date content establishes you as an authority while getting other sites to link back to you. This process is called link building, and it’s critically important. 

You’ll have to keep your eyes on your competitors in case they outrank you, consistently post and engage people on social media, and evaluate your methods regularly to keep up with search engine updates and evolving rules. It’s a lot of work!

There’s tons of strategy and learning involved when it comes to optimizing your website, which is why you might just want to call your friendly neighborhood SEO agency to help you out. 

You can do SEO yourself or on the cheap.

There isn’t a problem a curious entrepreneur can’t solve with some determination and a few YouTube tutorials. But good search optimization requires a coherent, considered strategy and knowledgeable people at the helm. 

It encompasses everything from deploying the latest tactics and auditing a website to analyzing data and building links. Unless you have a ton of extra time to become an SEO superstar, you might need to start thinking about that marketing budget. 

Global & Local SEO 

When you put something on the internet, anyone anywhere can theoretically find it. But there are certain approaches you can use to make your website more attractive to customers in your immediate area or overseas.

You just have to decide whether you want to employ a provider of local or international SEO services. Simple, right? But it can be complicated, especially if you sign a contract with an international agency offering global SEO services.

That’s because, with international SEO, you have to go about things differently. You need to tailor your strategy and website to target people worldwide, which means reaching different cultures, breaking language barriers, and competing with foreign websites.

Local SEO, however, is for businesses who want to focus on a limited region. Say you’re a taco joint located in Austin (where all the best taco joints are located). You want to attract community members to your physical location, so you need to reach the screens of hungry taco lovers in the area. Local SEO focuses on just that, using everything from online review management to maps optimization. ‌

And if you want to expand beyond your region but stay stateside, you’ll need national SEO services. Who knew there were so many choices?‌

What Can You Expect When You Hire an SEO Agency?

So you’ve got the gist of how SEO works and understand that there are a few ways to approach it depending on geography. But what can you expect when you call in the professionals for corporate SEO services? 

It depends on your goals, but SEO experts can do things like:

• Keyword research
• Content optimization 
• Competitor analysis 
• Leads and trends analysis
• Online reputation management
• Custom strategy creation 
• Website promotion across social media and blogs

‌Even Colossal Corporations Need SEO

SEO can help businesses both large and small. Naturally, mom-and-pop shops will have an SEO strategy that looks different from the strategies of Procter & Gamble. P&G would use enterprise SEO.

An enterprise SEO agency focuses on huge websites. If you have a large company with a roster of thousands of products — each with its own page — then you need specialized enterprise SEO services. 

Big businesses will look to an enterprise SEO company that can:

• Target buyers at every stage  
• Collect and parse through mountains of data
• Identify the best keywords in a competitive market
• Increase brand presence
• Enhance brand image 
• Protect against algorithm changes
• Create buzzworthy content
• Focus on local and international SEO‌

Phew. That’s a lot. It might be time to call in some backup. 

Turn to the Pros 

Is your head spinning? Feel like SEO is a whole lot of work?  Understandable. Hopefully, after reading this article, you know just a bit more about the SEO game. And if you’re ready to take the leap, experienced digital marketers like Motoza can do the heavy lifting. Whether you run a global enterprise or a local shop in Austin, request a consultation today to get started.

The post Ask an SEO Agency: What Is SEO, Really? appeared first on Motoza.

How the Meme Culture Impacts Tracking & SEO Tactics 

“Voldemorting,” a term coined by Emily van der Nagel, refers to users specifically avoiding a person, company, or product’s real name to avoid tracking, not contribute to statistics, or simply to express disdain towards the subject. 

For those unaware, the term comes from the popular Harry Potter series where characters referred to Voldemort as “He Who Must Not Be Named” to avoid invoking his power. This lingo follows a similar pattern, though usually with more derogatory names, 

The term itself is fairly new and certainly not mainstream, so I don’t recommend checking UrbanDictionary yet. But basically, as Gretchen Mcculloch describes it, Voldemorting is about users from Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and other sites using obscure phrases or punctuation to express their dislike while also hiding their posts from search functions and, therefore, many SEO and tracking tools. 

A few common examples include referring to a former president as an orangutan or other orange thing, Twitter as either birdsite or birdhell, or calling a Google Home/Alexa a personal FBI bugging device. Some also add asterisks or punctuation to the middle of the word so that their post or comment doesn’t show up on search functions. 

The actual terms used in Voldemorting vary based on context and whatever noun it’s describing, but it’s always recognizable– at least to a human. Sadly, your keyword tracking can’t pick up Voldemort-ized words, which can be an extra hindrance for search volume and content topics.

The Impact on Full & Local SEO Strategies

Will internet slang impede on your local fencing company? Probably not. 

Like the examples above, Voldemorting only works with large, well-known names (like international fast food companies or the president of the United States). If there’s any chance the new name or phrase may not be recognized, then it simply won’t work. Voldemorting almost always implies some form of derision towards the subject; it could actually be beneficial if these negative conversations aren’t showing up when people search.

Plus, the vast majority of Voldemorting occurs when users specifically don’t want to be found. They want to rant or vent or complain, but they aren’t necessarily looking for any kind of customer support or reply. Sometimes you just want to Tweet into the void without getting a response from an HR rep (or their unpaid intern). 

There are plenty of other internet phenomenon that could impact search statistics though, such as trends like “doggo” language, which essentially replaces any word relating to dogs with a new, cuter and less sensical word. 

If you want to target people with dogs, should you add doggo to your keyword list? What about pupper, pupperino, floofer, blep or blop? That’s up to you and your business’s brand to decide. 

Incorporating Internet Humor into Content Marketing

For small, local businesses, you don’t have to keep up with the latest internet fad to have successful local SEO strategies, but you still can. By incorporating memes or colloquialisms into your social media or overall brand, you can distinguish yourself from your competitors and become a more approachable, casual business that may relate more to your consumers. 

Of course, the efficacy of this strategy will depend on your industry. While a plumbing company can definitely get away with having a laid back tone and humorous brand, an estate attorney will not have nearly as much success. 

When deciding on your company’s tone and branding, consider how you interact with your clients and what type of language works best for them. Do you explain things very simply? Can you joke around with your customers? Or does utilizing industry jargon instill more respect and confidence in your services? That can act as the pillar of your brand’s voice, and voice is everything in content marketing.

If your brand and voice can be more casual and comical, by all means, go for it. Branded memes make for great content on social media in particular, with the chance of being shared and viewed without any extra work. You can even incorporate internet lingo into your PPC strategies with visual or display ads to draw users’ attention.

Plus, lighthearted content is easier to understand and more fun to read, which means your potential customers are more likely to take a few extra seconds to actually see what you have to say (which means lower bounce rates and longer sessions, for SEO). 

Once your customers are reading your content and connecting to your brand, they’re significantly more inclined to make a conversion. 

Trust a Digital Marketing Agency

If you’re still worried that Voldemorting or memes may affect your SEO results, the best solution is simply to stay up to date with current trends. If you see a meme or trend that relates to your business in a positive way, jump at the chance to get some extra eyes on your brand! 

But if you haven’t developed your brand’s voice or aren’t sure whether internet slang will help or hurt your business, trust a digital marketing agency in Austin to do the heavy lifting. At Motoza, we can develop your branding, voice, and strategies to match whatever tone will benefit you company the most. From local to national SEO, PPC management, and content marketing, we’ve got you covered.

TL;DR: Sometimes internet slang can make your business more relatable and help you stand out from the crowd. Try it out sometime!

The post The Basics of Using Internet Lingo for Your SEO & Content appeared first on Motoza.

Top digital marketing agencies understand the power of strong SEO, PPC, content marketing, and social media, especially when utilized together. Here’s the rundown on the digital strategies top marketing agencies use for effective campaigns. 

PPC Management

Paid Search or Paid Per Click (PPC) advertising, are the advertisements you often see on the top or side of a search engine results page. As you have probably guessed, you pay for these ads per click. These ads can be customized to target keywords to appear when specific search terms are used, making these ads highly concentrated on the people they are most relevant to. 

PPC ads are extremely effective as they rely on curated data based on online behaviors and searches to appear to the right people at the right time. These campaigns are especially useful for product- or service-based industries and can be confined to a certain geographic area as needed.

With effective PPC management, you can maximize your conversions with minimal spend, meaning that every dollar spent on advertising can result in even more profits. Typically, a marketing agency will work to improve your ads’ quality scores, optimize your budgets and audiences, and create landing pages to encourage visitors to convert. 

SEO Strategies

Search engines collectively all share the same goal: to show the greatest and most relevant results to those looking for them. Improving your SEO refers to the process of optimizing the content and reach of your website to appear at the top of search engine results. Effective search engine optimization allows you to appear in the right place at the right time right when someone is looking for you.

Improving your SEO gives you a higher opportunity to increase organic traffic to your webpages when you indicate their search behavior relates to your product or service. SEO has a great influence on your website’s rank and therefore your organic traffic, meaning that you can pull in more visitors without having to pay for each entrance. The visibility of your website is pivotal to your success as it is the first step in connecting with your audience and cultivating a relationship with consumers. 

SEO is an extremely important digital marketing tool to employ when attempting to drive traffic to your website. It works well for service-based industries in particular, but can also help bump eCommerce and product-based websites higher on SERPs.

Content Marketing

Gaining interest and trust in your desired audience is imperative and content marketing serves to do just that. Content marketing aims to provide relevant information, knowledge, and content your audience is interested in.

 Content marketing gets three times more leads than Pay-Per-Click advertising, so it’s well worth it to offer your audience content they can’t refuse. Plus, relevant, informative content foes hand-in-hand with search engine optimization, and is especially effective for local marketing strategies designed to help you stand out from the crowd. 

Social Media Marketing 

Social media booms in all industries today, but particularly in the world of business and advertising. To propel your business, all digital marketing efforts must integrate and intertwine with one another. Social media presents the opportunity to engage and interact with your audience on a personal level.

Social media gives you a platform to be creative and be personable with your consumers, which can help you stand out from the crowd and develop a sense of trust with your audience.

The more encouraged your audience is to interact with you, the more likely they are to share and talk about it. What more could a business want than to not only be seen but also be heard (and shared!) 

Mobile Marketing

When was the last time you were without your mobile phone? Chances are your audience is just as glued to their phone as the rest of the world (how could you not in this digital age?). In fact, nearly half of all web traffic in America is on a mobile device. Mobile advertising is an important stepping stone in getting their attention.

The possibilities are endless when considering how you may be able to utilize digital marketing on mobile devices. SMS and in-app marketing are great ways to allow your brand to be more intimately known with your audience, and optimizing your site for mobile viewing can bolster your SEO rankings and help improve the overall user experience. 

Need Help with an Integrated Campaign? 

Depending on your business size, industry, and goals, you’ll want your marketing campaign to include at least one of these strategies, but an integrated combination will give you the greatest improvements. At Motoza, we take pride in providing customized campaigns to help you get the most out of your digital marketing strategies. 

Ready to get started? Want to learn more? Request a consultation today.

The post Digital Marketing 101: What You Need to Know appeared first on Motoza.

Since you literally have to pay for every click in pay-per-click advertising (PPC), you need to be able to find and target the most relevant search terms that will provide a good return-on-ad-spend. 

Search engine optimization (SEO), meanwhile, helps generate more traffic and free, organic clicks to your website. It’s still essential to find the terms that will eventually lead to conversions.

Whether you’re researching to set up your own marketing strategy or just want to understand the difference, here’s the gist of what you need to know. 

Distinguishing Search Intent

In order to select profitable, applicable keywords for your SEO or PPC strategy, you first need to understand search intent and how to balance it with search volume. 

For instance, if you run an interior design studio, you’ll likely want to target “interior design” as a keyword. While that’s a relevant and applicable term for your business and has plenty of search volume, the search engine result page (SERP) from Google is filled with general information. 

When you type “interior design” into the search bar, Google responds as if you’ve asked what is interior design, where to go to school for interior design, examples of interior design, etc. These are all queries that indicate searchers are very high in the sales funnel– if they’re in it at all– which means that it’s a low intent keyword, even though it has high volume. 

“Interior design services near me,” on the other hand, indicates that the user is actively looking to make a purchase or conversion. That makes this search phrase a high intent keyword, and will likely pull in much more qualified leads who are already on their way down the sales funnel.

If you’re not sure whether the term has high or low intent, the easiest way to find out is to simply search for it. What do the results look like? If you’re seeing results from Wikipedia or articles discussing the topic, it’s likely low intent. If you’re seeing competitor ads and sites ranking, especially their service or product pages, then it’s probably higher intent. 

What to Target & When

For PPC targeting, you typically want to avoid low intent keywords. Since you’re paying to appear on the SERP and paying for each individual click, you don’t want to waste money on someone clicking your ad for interior design services when they really just want to see some ideas on Pinterest. 

You could still get a conversion out of the Pinterest searcher if they’re looking to redo their kitchen, but they could also just enjoy looking at examples of lemon yellow cabinetry or chalkboard cupboards. 

Instead, you’ll want to aim for the high intent terms (while still balancing volume and your budget). There’s bound to be more competition, and, depending on your budget, you may have to get a little creative. “Interior design services near me” might be a golden keyword to target, but if the click costs triple the amount you’ll gain from a conversion, it’s probably not worth it.

Instead, you might be able to find phrases like “kitchen interior designers” or “apartment design services” that are more specific to whittle down the competition. These terms also come in handy if you have specialties or unique niches, and are key for successful PPC campaign management.

For SEO marketing, you won’t be penalized for targeting low intent keywords. In fact, it’d be pretty hard to avoid low intent keywords on your site’s content. If you manage to have an interior design business without saying the phrase “interior design,” you’re probably doing something wrong. 

The best digital marketing agencies know that SEO is all about the long game. That Pinterest searcher from earlier may not be looking to purchase design services at the moment, but if they find your site and like your portfolio, they’re more likely to keep you in mind. So for organic purposes, it’s still worth it to target users who are still high in the sales funnel. 

You can target higher intent keywords as well, but make sure you have a solid content marketing strategy. Search engines tend to penalize keyword stuffing, and users still want to be able to find relevant information for their searches. 

Do Your Research (or Let Us Do it For You)

In the end, keyword research is going to be your best friend regardless of whether you’re developing PPC or SEO marketing strategies. And hopefully you enjoy it, because you’re probably going to have to do a lot of researching. 

Depending on your budget and business size, you could be researching and managing hundreds of keywords– and don’t forget to track their ROI so you know if they’re profitable for your business specifically!

Or, if that sounds like an awful lot of work, you can always let us do it for you. We are the experts, after all. 

The post SEO vs. PPC Search Intent: How to Choose What to Target appeared first on Motoza.