We’ve seen big updates such as the Panda and Penguin updates, which had a massive impact.
And yet still, the frequency and complexity of the Google algorithm updates we’ve seen this year are unparalleled.
2. It’s Google’s World – We Just Live in It
Everyday Google dictates the kind of SERP we see, and what it contains.
And we have to deal with that.
We’re all just test subjects in Google’s massive, continuously updating tests.
This article was borrowed from Search Engine Journal. To read the full article, click here!
3. Google’s Mobile-First Index Hasn’t Had Much of an Impact (Yet)
Over the course of the year [while content was the ruler of the land], the mobile-first index rolled out, and… actually nothing much happened.
Back in November 2016, Google said they’d roll out the mobile-first index slowly and monitor its impact closely —and that has turned out to be the case.
Even though the mobile-first index shift only changed how they gather their data, not how they rank sites, I still expected to see a lot more fluctuations.
4. SEO Pros Are Creatures of Habit & Dislike Change
Even though we’re part of a fast-moving industry, many SEO professionals are creatures of habit who dislike change.
They don’t like to change how they audit websites, the way they report, the tools they use, and so on.
I know, SEO pros are human, too — and humans generally don’t like change.
But if you want to stay ahead of the curve, you need to innovate.
This article was borrowed from Search Engine Journal. To read the full article, click here!
5. DuckDuckGo’s Growth Has Picked Up, by a Lot
While they’re still a small player in the world of search engines, DuckDuckGo’s growth has surprisingly picked up by a lot.
As of November 26, they’re processing 33.6 million direct queries per day, compared to 19.1 million a year before.
6. Search Intent Is Extremely Important
I think a lot of the Google updates we’ve seen recently help Google serve the right results for the right search intent.
Google has loads of user data, and they’re continuously testing whether searchers are happy with the results that they’re shown.
Never before has search intent been as important as it is now.
7. Google’s Far from Perfect
Google employs the smartest engineers and they’re using the most advanced algorithms to determine:
What your content is about.
What their users’ search intent is.
What results satisfy people’s complicated search queries.
And much more.
So, What Does 2019 Have in Store for Us?
Obviously, for the foreseeable future, Google will keep on dominating the lives of us SEOs. They’ll try to become even more dominant, possibly by leveraging AMPand the WordPress partnership.
This article was borrowed from Search Engine Journal. To read the full article, click here!
YouTube is not only a social platform, but it’s also THE video social platform. On top of that, it is the second largest search engine. If we match those statements with the rise of video as the most engaging type of content around, optimizing every video to rank on YouTube is a no-brainer.
Video content is the most successful type of content on social media.
Every company should consider video as the main focus of its media strategy. If you’re still not convinced, here are some statistics that can change your mind.
For starters, YouTube has over 30 million active users daily. Not just that, more than 400 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute and processes more than 3 billion searches a month.
YouTube Videos are not only the most watched type of content.
it’s also shared more times than text posts, images, podcasts and links combined! If you want to talk about sales, almost 50% of internet users look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store.
These statistics are also reflected on the ROI results, as 52% of marketing professionals worldwide claim that video is the type of content with the best ROI.
Keyword research
Let’s start by explaining what keyword research is: A Keyword is a word or phrase that potential users utilize to find a specific type of content. Finding the right keywords is a basic element of every SEO Strategy. Think about how you, as a user, find something online.
You basically type keywords that help display useful content.
If you’re a beginner in the world of keyword research, Google AdWords Keyword Planner is a useful resource for building strong keyword lists and helping to get your PPC campaign off to a running start. We must add that there are two types of keywords: broad keywords and long-tail keywords. In the following table from WDR, you can find out why the latter is recommended:
Optimizing Video Elements
Tags: Tags are another basic compound for an effective SEO strategy. As Keywords, tags help your audience with understanding what your video is all about and they should be arranged and selected strategically by relevance. Also, every tag should be directly related to your video content and to your keywords.
Despite what the competition is up to, there are 3 types of tags that you should consider using: 1) specific tags; 2) compound tags: and 3) generic tags.
Also, creating Default Tags increases your chances for showing up in the suggested results.
YouTube Video Description
Writing a solid video description leads to valuable information that helps viewers find your videos in the search results and understand what they’ll be watching. Well-written descriptions are a key to boosting views and watch time, as it helps your video to be searchable for YouTube’s search engine.
Video descriptions allow you to add playlists, time stamps and creator credits which are valuable elements for your viewers. you can even add links to your Facebook, Instagram, blog or website so that viewers can discover your content on other platforms. As with your Titles, you should add your keywords to your video description.
It´s also convenient to add a link to your website within the first few lines. So if a user watches the video and wants to know more, or goes to your site, they can find it quickly. This video from YouTube Creators Academy describes tips to write effective descriptions:
YouTube Title
Your title selection will help YouTube understand what your video is all about, and at the same time, help users find what they’re looking for. Each one of your titles should describe your video, be clickable and catch users attention. It is important to use keywords in your title and it should always be related to your content.
Think about it, your title and thumbnail is the very first element that viewers are going to see before clicking on your video, and it’s the main potential factor which is going to help your channel attract more subscribers and viewers.
In the following video you can learn how to write attractive titles on YouTube:
Thumbnails
Thumbnails are small clickable images for your YouTube videos. Thumbnails should work side-by-side with your title and video description to reflect your content so that viewers can find what they’re searching for. If you don’t do so, then you’re not committing on showing viewers what they wanted to watch in the first place, and you’re going to lose credibility, audience retention and subscribers.
When you start making your thumbnails, consider that the custom resolution is 1920px*1080px. The image that you should use for your thumbnail should be from the actual video or something that represents what the video is about. You can also add text to your thumbnail, which should be related to your video content, title, keywords and video description.
What are the best types of marketing videos to rank on YouTube
To rank better on YouTube, some videos work better than others. Some examples of the best types of videos to rank on YouTube are educational videos, explainer videos, how-to-videos, company story videos, product videos and testimonial videos. If you have different products for distinct audiences you’re going to develop specific content adapted to their needs.
You can’t expect to use the same video for different users and expect brilliant results in all cases. So, the first step is selecting your goals and strategy, secondly, identify your audience and then select the best types of videos according to your analysis. At last, we must say that the most shared videos are those that trigger emotions from viewers.
Think about what you usually share, most of those videos are funny or emotional. So always keep in mind that the most shared videos are those that generate empathy with users.
Whether it is a funny, inspiring or emotional video, it will always rank better than a video that only talks about a product or service.
How long should the video be?
Did you know that humans have short attention spans? If you didn’t, you should take into account two basic statistics:
65% of video viewers watch at least two-thirds of a video; and
Only 20% of users read an article from start to finish.
This means that video still wins over text content, but this doesn’t mean that you can make a 20-minute video.
You should also be strategic when it comes to video length. We can confirm that videos up to 2 minutes long have the most engagement as it shows on the statistic chart below:
Which means that if you make a video shorter than 2 minutes, it’s going to hold viewers attention more than a 3-minute video. If you even have a 1-minute video, and you can make it shorter, don’t doubt on making that video even shorter and more effective!
How to hook the audience
Although you already know how long your video should be, this doesn’t mean that it’s going to be effective. Your main goal is to hook your audience to maximize the watch times. Explaining what the video is all about from the start can help users understand what they’re going to get, and stay around for it. You should do this in the first 10 seconds.
10 seconds is the average amount of time it takes for a YouTube viewer to decide whether or not they want to watch the rest of your video. It also gives users a reason to watch a video until the end.
For example, If your video is a recipe, you can tell your viewers to keep watching because at the end of the video you’re going to reveal a secret ingredient. On the other hand, engagement depends on the impact and quality of your content. All of your videos should have the ultimate audio and video quality.
Nowadays, no one is willing to watch a low-quality video. High-quality videos are the most viewed, they are therefore the most shared. And whoever is in the video, should be charismatic, expressive and cheerful. If you’re not a fan of live-action videos, don’t worry, you can use animated videos to talk about your business. In the following video you’re going to find 7 tips for audience retention:
What’s the most important segment of the video?
The first 10 to 15 seconds is the most important segment of your video. So your key message should be in the first few seconds of the video. This is your opportunity to hook viewers, as you should introduce them to what the video is all about and still keep their attention. If you’re making video ads, keeping viewers attention is quite a challenge.
Think about the skip button, it takes 5 seconds to activate, so think wisely when using those first few seconds to attract users to prefer your content over the video that they initially wanted to watch.
The following statistic from Wistia shows that the average 1 or 2-minute video was viewed 70% of the way through, while the average 10-minute video was viewed on average 50% of the way through.
How to create a video for audience retention
Audience retention is the measurement of how much of a video someone watches on YouTube. To identify which of your videos have the highest audience retention and why YouTube offers the Audience Retention Report.
For effective audience retention, you should consider using playlists, cards, and end screens on your videos. These are a great way to drive traffic from one video to another and keep viewers watching by suggesting relevant content.
Playlists are a great resource to keep your videos in order by arranging them by theme.
And, lastly, audio quality, video quality and the narrator’s personality are also relevant aspects when it comes to audience retention.
Call to Action
A call to action is an opportunity to incorporate new subscribers to your channel or lead to other videos from your channel. It has to be present on all of your videos, and it should be at the beginning or middle of your video. As we said before when analyzing audience retention, most drop-offs happen after the first 15 seconds, so don’t leave your call-to-action at the end of your video.
Playlists
Playlists are a vital element of your content strategy and organization of your video content.
There are two types of playlists: series playlists and ordinary playlists. Series Playlists are used for sequential videos, and ordinary playlists are used for organizing your videos based on a specific theme.
Channel Branding
Branding doesn’t end on your video thumbnails or descriptions, your channel must also reflect your business identity. This can help attract potential users and help you differentiate yourself from your competitors. So start by making your YouTube Channel Trailer, develop playlists and design your thumbnails according to your business personality.
It is also important that you share your videos to promote traffic to your channel. You should share your videos on your own blog, website and social media channels. More distribution and places where your video appears means a better YouTube video ranking. There is no better promoter of your company than yourself!
Final Thoughts
Users around the world watch over one billion hours of video every day, this is more than Netflix and Facebook video combined! YouTube also has 1.5 billion monthly active users.
More than half of YouTube views come from mobile devices.
With that said, we can confirm that video is the most effective content for marketing, as it has the highest click-through rate and generates more shares than text and images combined!
So don’t wait any longer and start your video marketing campaign on YouTube. Call Cortex to start the conversation 1-888-502-3523 or set aside some time by booking it here!
This blog was guest written by Victor Blasco, CEO of YumYum Videos. He is also an audiovisual designer and video marketing expert. Aside from running the
business, he loves studying Chinese Philosophy and is a real geek for science fiction
films and comics!
Yum-Yum Videos connect brands and people through customized video content marketing; for every step of the buyer’s journey.
So you have visitors and it is just not converting; maybe you are simply not driving the right conversion traffic!
“Getting traffic to your website is great, but if that traffic doesn’t convert, it’s almost useless.” ~ Jayson DeMers — Founder and CEO, AudienceBloom
Keeping Up-To-Date On Conversion Traffic ‘Best Practices’ Is Not Easy!
It is essentially true that technology has a six-week cycle and that new ideas are expanding at a rate that is nearly impossible to keep up with without doing continual research.
And while his post is now a few years old, many points on that list cannot be improved upon. So in an effort to inform you — while still maintaining some level of brevity —I will list myTop-10 from his list. So with full credit to Jason for creating this, here are my choices from his list of thirty-nine:
1. Include as few fields as possible.
When asking for information in an email opt-in form, ask for as little information as necessary. Here’s an example of how using one additional form field decreased conversions by 11 percent.
2. Add a guarantee.
Include a no-questions-asked refund policy on all purchases. This reduces risk, and increased sales will usually more than make-up for any returns.
3. Use tangible action verbs.
When testing out different calls to action, try using action language that spurs visitors to take action (for example, “grab yours,” “reserve your seat”)
4. Use testimonials.
Testimonials reduce risk and provide social proof. Use them on product landing pages as well as on your email opt-in landing page.
5. Clearly-state the benefits of your product or service.
Listing the features of your product is important, but it’s even more important to tell potential customers exactly how your product will help them or solve their problem.
6. Pay careful attention to your headline.
Your headline is perhaps the single most important element of your landing page. Brainstorm at least 10 possibilities before choosing the strongest one.
7. Keep conversion elements above the fold.
Opt-in boxes and other conversion elements should be above the fold for optimal results.
8. Use video to humanize your brand.
Include a simple video on landing pages to show there’s a real person behind your brand.
9. Create dedicated landing pages for pay-per-click ads.
If you’re using AdWords or another form of PPC ads, be sure to send these visitors to a dedicated landing page (not your home page!).
10. Incorporate strong calls to action (CTAs) into every piece of content on your site.
Let your readers know exactly what you want them to do next, whether that’s click a button, read a blog post or fill out a form.
Are you ready to get serious about your online presence?
Your Online Presence in Your Personal and Business Branding
In today’s online world, it is crucial to pay attention to your online presence and the many ways in which ‘a potential customer’ can discover more about you or your business.
As an example, if you are looking for a job, you need to be aware of your digital footprint — the information connected with your name online. This is two-fold however as if you are a business, you definitely want to come up in the SERP (search engine result pages) when someone needs your product or service.
Forbes Magazine says: “For most customers in the 21st Century, their first introduction to a business is by discovering the business online. That’s why each and every business needs to have a strong online presence.” ~ Full Article at Forbes.com
And while your personal and business presence may seem like distant cousins, they are more like brother and sister. Each has its own set of pros and cons, and you should examine — if not leverage — each of those.
Some of them are:
The topic(s) of your content
Your overriding branding and character of that brand
Your message frequency
Your public-facing follow through in online message boards/forums/help centres
The quality of your publically presented messages and images
So how are you approaching your own online presence? Let’s dive a bit deeper…
Website Optimization, SEO, and Your Online Presence
Let’s face it, none of us really know for certain what are the algorithms of Google, Bing or other search engines. Google — the owner of the 2 biggest search engines: Google.com and YouTube.com — keeps a tight lid on the actual formula, but they do give hints as to what they are looking to achieve regarding their users’ experience.
According to MOZ: “A webpage doesn’t always look the same to you and me as it looks to a search engine.” ~ Full Article at Moz.com
That all said, optimizing your site for its message, its focus keyword & content friendliness, and its code, is a synergy that just cannot be ignored these days.
If you use a WordPress site (like I do), I recommend the Yoast plugin. According to Wiki:“Yoast is currently considered the most comprehensive search engine optimization software available for WordPress users, with its developers responsible for over 10% of WordPress releases.”
FYI – WordPress is reportedly the most popular website management or blogging system in use on the Web, supporting more than 60 million websites — that means that about 6million WordPress sites use Yoast.
Being Visible Online
Being visible and top-of-mind is a science all on its own. The online world is full of opportunities for promoting your business. If you desire to grow your client base, then being found, being visible, and connecting with prospects and clients online, is going to be very important for you.
To ensure you will be visible online, you will need to address the following elements:
Your Relevant Content: This goes for both Social Media and your website. Your website content should contain the words and phrases that clients would use to search for your type of business. Now no ‘keyword spamming’; the recommended keyword density is 2.5%.
The Quantity of Your Content: The more written content you have on your website the more there is for Google to find, rank and return in their results. A very effective way to add regular new content to your website is by publishing a blog.
Good Coding Practices and Meta-Tags: On the technical side, the coding that sits behind your website pages should include relevant page titles, descriptions and keyword tags.
Links: Quality links to and from your website are important to search engines because they can indicate relevance and popularity.
Your Social Media Online Presence
Ah, Social Media, It is kind of hard to even think about being online without it anymore.
However, for your business, Social Media is an important part of your online presence. It improves your chances of generating additional connections and generating customer loyalty, allowing customers — and potential customers — the ability to easily engage beyond the sale.
Optimizing Video Elements
Call to Action
In today’s online world, it is crucial to pay attention to your online presence and the many ways in which ‘a potential customer’ can discover more about you or your business.
And while your personal and business presence may seem like distant cousins, they are more like brother and sister. Each has its own set of pros and cons, and you should examine — if not leverage — each of those.
That all said, optimizing your site for its message, its focus keyword & content friendliness, and its code, is a synergy that just cannot be ignored these days.
Being Visible Online
Ah, Social Media, It is kind of hard to even think about being online without it anymore.