Friday, May 8, 2020

Google Update May 2020 – Top takeaways



A lot of businesses and multiple industries have been shaken by this last Google Update!
This is what we have learned so far, how it may be affecting your business and what can you do about it to benefit and come up on top instead of continue going down the Google rankings.
Yes, there are multiple updates during the year and after a few days things start to settle down, and we can see results after assessing the situation. This update from just a few days was argued by some people on the industry as another Google update. However, after a few days we see increasingly evidence that this is a mayor, broad core update with substantial effects to the search engine and local business listings.
Search engine marketing, communication strategies, assessment and SEO corrections should be taken into consideration by all businesses affected.
Some findings:
-       Global effect – core search update
-       Local search businesses and directories affected
-       Healthcare industry and related websites
-       Changes are not limited to a specific region
-       Different categories of website and how Google index information also seem to be affected.
-       Changes affecting different languages
 How Google update affects my business and for how long?
Things keep evolving day after day, and we will most likely continue to see the effects of this new Google update.
There will be some business and industries that will be affected more than others. Over a period of time we will see which industries were affected the most and what specific steps can you take to counteract the effects.
 Why are these updates affecting my website’s Google ranking?
When changes take place new search queries pull information from global data centers and different information may come up (older and new) because it takes time for the dust and algorithm changes to settle.
After changes take place, things will be revise and adjustments will be made to smooth things out. Google’s update definitely appears to be affecting SERPs to businesses and industries around the world.
Who and what has been affected by this Google update?
  • Local results and local reaches
  • Local search engines and directories
  • Information updates related to Covid-19 also seem to be having and impact. We are not sure the total extent of the effects, but the Coronavirus pandemic is definitely having an impact on SEO. 
What can I do to counteract Google updates that are affecting my Google business linting, my business SEO and SERP?


Weak content seems to be greatly affected so it is important to continue improving your content and with and relevant information about the topic of interest, related keywords and key-phrases
Review the information on your local listing and directories to make sure it’s up to date and has all relevant information.  Don’t just add the basic information, the more details the better.  This is tedious work and you take a long time to go each individual directory and search engine to make changes needed.  On most occasions it is frustrating when requesting changes and not getting a response or missing important data integration.  If you are working with a professional digital agency, such as “Xperience Marketing Solutions” that specializes on SEO/SEM, they should be able to assess you and take care of all these things for you.
Adding quality content and relevant links is always important to counteract Google updates. It is essential to take into consideration domain authority and relevance when adding external links and bringing traffic to your website from “back links”.
Xperience marketing Solutions recommends optimizing content around medium tail keywords, when you optimize for medium tail keywords the search engines will also index your website for many other relevant keywords that will benefit your organic SEO.
Tap into the power on multimedia. Use photos, dynamic content, videos and other visual information that people like to see and share with others.
Make sure to integrate relevant social media feed and appropriate links to your social media accounts.
Make sure to take into consideration snippets.  Many search results have a featured snippet. These are the results that show up on search engine results pages typically after the ads but before the ranked results.
Make good use of your H1, H2 and others.  Always take time to come up with good headers and titles for your pages and content. 
If you would like to get additional or need SEO/SEM for your business, don’t hesitate to visit our website or contact our XMS Search Engine Marketing specialists for a free SEO & SEM consultation.

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Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Top Reasons Your Business Needs a Mobile-Friendly Website

It feels like every day new statistics are released about the rising prevalence of mobile usage in the world - more and more people are accessing their email, viewing websites, engaging on social media, and making purchases, all from the convenience of their phones or tablets. It’s safe to say, if your website isn't optimized for mobile, you’re missing a significant portion of your target audience. The time is now to get your website into tip-top, mobile-friendly shape for maximum business exposure.

Unconvinced? Don’t just take our word for it. Take a look to this new info-graphic which outlines the top reasons your business needs a mobile-friendly website right now. Among the key facts outlined in the graphic are:
  • 1.2 billion people worldwide are accessing the web from mobile devices.
  • Since Google’s algorithm update in April 2015, Responsive Design is now preferred in Google’s rankings over having a separate mobile website, or not having a mobile-friendly website at all.
  • 52% of users said that a bad mobile experience made them less likely to engage with a company.
Having a website that is mobile-friendly and user-friendly is the first step in staying competitive in the digital marketplace - and ultimately, seeing long-term business success.










References

Julie, C. (2017, March 29). The Top Reasons Your Business Needs a Mobile-Friendly Website [Infographic]. Retrieved from Social Media Today: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/top-reasons-your-business-needs-mobile-friendly-website-infographic