If you’re a regular here, you will have noticed that a lot of our monthly roundups have a focus on recent news in the SEO industry, such as recent actions Google has taken. However, May was a fairly calm month in the world of SEO. So for that reason, you’ll see a lot of informational and tutorial types articles in this roundup. From performing your first SEO audit to building a social media strategy that works, these are the best articles that we found in May. If you’re looking for the same great content the rest of the year, don’t forget to check in with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
SEO
How to Perform Your First SEO Audit
SEO has existed in some form or another for almost two decades, and I’ve had a front row seat to it all. You could say Google and I have had a pretty intimate relationship for the majority of my career; we’ve been through a lot together.
A Visual History of Google Algorithm Updates [Infographic]
In the early days, Google’s search engine wasn’t nearly as powerful or accurate as it is today. I’m talking back in the late 90s and early 00s, when search engines were little more than keyword-matching and link-counting machines. Ranking highly in search results could be accomplished by essentially using a simple, two-step procedure.
Your First 9 SEO Tasks
SEO can be bewildering for people who are not familiar with it. Even if you are knowledgeable about it, it can be a large time commitment. If you are just beginning to work on SEO for a web site what are the first things you should plan to do? Here is a list of 9 areas that are a must do.
Which SEO Stats and Metrics Actually Matter?
As a business owner with a website, it’s often difficult to cut through the noise and extract value from traffic numbers and website data. And despite what some will tell you, most metrics are completely worthless when used in the wrong context. It’s up to you to understand which metrics hold value and which are merely distractions.
Tools, Tools Everywhere! Which SEO Tools Are Worth Your Time?
There are a huge number of search engine optimization (SEO) tools out there. Creating SEO tools has become a cottage industry, and there are many companies out there making their living by providing tools and data. It seems like a new tool gets launched almost weekly. So, how do you know which ones to use?
The Penguin Algorithm: An Issue of Ethics
On April 24th, 2012 Matt Cutts, the head of Webspam at Google, announced they would be releasing the first “Penguin Algorithm.” Although the focus these days is mostly about links many people forget Penguin was not released to only target link spam, it was also created to target “…sites that we believe are violating Google’s existing quality guidelines.”
How Much Has Link Building Changed in Recent Years?
I get asked this question a lot. It’s mainly asked by people who are considering buying my link building book and want to know whether it’s still up to date. This is understandable given that the first edition was published in February 2013 and our industry has a deserved reputation for always changing.
Content Marketing
The Secret Weapon to Content Marketing: Outreach Emails
I want to confess something to you. A while back, I wrote an article for my blog about 17 Killer SEO Resources. Admittedly, it was one of my worst posts in a long time, but it was shared almost 645 times and resulted in 10k visitors to my site.
The 1% Rule Of Content Marketing
Content marketing is a tough sell for many businesses. Why? Because it isn’t a quick win. It takes time, effort, and serious persistence to play the long game, not the short game.
The Content Marketing Road Map – How to Build Your Own Content Marketing Plan
I have a secret to share with marketers who are struggling to build their content marketing plan. My secret starts with the realization that many of the marketing activities brands produce today are highly ineffective.
4 Tips On How to Use LinkedIn To Build Powerful Influence
Ever stood in the corner at a networking event and felt like a dork? Focusing on business networking in just a traditional way is a dumb idea. It doesn’t scale. Often ineffective and it can be a total waste of time. Trying to suck up at breakfast business networking events and pushing your business card under everyone’s nose is just plain annoying.
9 Ways the Pros Curate Content for Success
Content is an essential part of your social media marketing plan. As a social media marketer, you need to both create original content and curate content from other sources.
Social Media
Social Shares and Inbound Links: Insights From New Correlation Data
Is there a correlation between social shares and inbound links? The question goes to the heart of why people share content and why they link to content. If people share and link to content for similar reasons then logically you would expect a very strong correlation between shares and links.
How to Build a Social-Media Strategy That Works
Social media is one of the most powerful tools in your marketing arsenal. If you use it correctly, you can create a strong personal connection with your prospective customers. However, marketers often make the mistake of diving into social media without a clear plan.
Does Google Use Social Signals for Ranking?
I was writing an article on the pros of using social video apps last week, and as I typed the sentence “video can help with your visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) and the more engagement the video receives in the form of likes, comments and shares the higher up your video will appear” I realised that I didn’t know if that second part was actually true.
How to Create a Social Media Marketing Plan
Do you want to make personal connections with your customers on social media? Interested in better ways to address their wants and needs? The key to engaging with your audience on a more personal level is to focus on the right customer, at the right time and with the right employees.
How Mobile Tech and Social Media Are Merging to Change the Shopping Experience
Evolving commercial platforms are constantly challenging retailers. It wasn’t all that long ago that Mom and Pop stores and cottage industries gave way to department stores. Then independent department stores amalgamated with malls. Enter the Internet, which took the buying experience from the physical to the virtual level.
This month we’ll end the roundup with a video that highlight a lost talent, drawing logos by hand.
Image Credit: Flick User/Floris M. Oosterveld