Citations appear in lots of different places: business directories, social networks— anywhere someone might be looking for information about local businesses. Here’s an example of one for a coffee shop in New York: This is known as a NAP citation…
The post How to Build Local Citations (Complete Guide) appeared first on SEO Blog by Ahrefs.
At Ahrefs, we write a lot of content. We have over 230 blog posts, and over 170 videos on our YouTube channel (almost all of which are scripted). As a result, we get an estimated 375,000+ monthly visits to our blog…
The post What is Content Writing? 11 Tips For More Organic Traffic and Readers appeared first on SEO Blog by Ahrefs.
Social media is a versatile platform. It allows people to form friendships, share opinions, spread awareness, and exchange ideas. It also allows brands and customers to develop a deeper, more direct relationship.
Companies can use these networks to reach millions of prospective customers and gain recognition through well-organized social media marketing campaigns and establish a strong brand presence. Here’s a look at some of the most important social media platforms and how they can benefit your business:
Different Social Media Platforms
There are several social media platforms available online. Many of them have millions of users, intuitive ad platforms, and considerable reach on a global scale. However, some networks are more beneficial than others. Here’s a look at the most popular and effective ones:
Facebook is one of the oldest and most successful social media platforms. It has an active monthly user count of over 2.6 billion, which means its reach is massive and impactful. While the network has been declining in popularity in recent years, especially among the millennials and Gen Z, it is still quite influential.
Facebook has a great advertising platform with an extensive collection of tools to help businesses reach the right audience. Marketing experts consider it to be one of the best in the industry because of its diverse targeting parameters, powerful analytics, and consistent support. While this platform is old, it is still a wise investment for almost every kind of business.
The only downside is that you need to invest a good chunk of money into it. Facebook advertising is expensive, and organic marketing requires constant engagement to succeed.
Instagram is arguably the most popular social media platform among the younger generation. It has more than one billion monthly active users, and most users visit the platform every day. Facebook owns Instagram so you can benefit from the giant’s feature-rich advertising system.
This platform allows businesses to engage customers through Livestreams, Stories, profile posts, and even short IGTV episodes. Companies can provide people with an inside look, showcasing their events, manufacturing processes, and services. Instagram-promoted posts also have massive reach, which can bring a lot of brand recognition.
This platform is suitable for industries that rely heavily on visual imagery like fashion, beauty, tourism, arts and entertainment, automobile, hospitality, and food. If your target audience is more active on mobile and prefers visual media, Instagram is the best platform for you.
Twitter is a highly active platform with more than 380 monthly active users. Its character limit makes it one of the most appealing marketing platforms because you get engagement with less effort. While Twitter’s advertising platform isn’t as refined as Facebook’s or Instagram’s, it is very successful. Ads on Twitter see 1-3% more engagement than those on Facebook.
Twitter makes it easy to interact with customers and target audiences. You can also target people or capitalize on trends using ‘hashtag’ and ‘@.’ Many companies use Twitter as a customer service platform. Consumers can ‘@’ brands with their complaints and get a quick response. Brands that respond quickly and efficiently on Twitter develop a good reputation online.
However, you do need to wade through a lot of competition and noise on this platform. Twitter is very mobile and fast-paced. Most users focus on recent tweets instead of scrolling down the feed to look at the content posted several hours ago. That means you need to tweet several times a day to succeed.
LinkedIn was successful even before Facebook became so prominent. Currently, it has more than 260 million monthly active users. Don’t let the relatively small number discourage you. This platform consists primarily of active professionals, industry decision-makers, and influencers. LinkedIn is one of the best platforms for B2B marketing. It is great for sharing and promoting business content, research, whitepapers, and other such long-form materials.
It is also great for networking and has a rich marketing platform with unique targeting features. You can reach people based on their field, profession, post in a company, geographical area, and so much more.
LinkedIn isn’t suitable for B2C businesses and doesn’t have a very active user base. Unlike other platforms, people don’t visit LinkedIn daily unless they are actively looking for a job or developing a network.
These are the most prominent social media platforms you can use for your marketing strategy. Experts have also started to explore the merits of other networks like Reddit and Quora. These two Question/Answer platforms allow businesses to establish authority and showcase their knowledge of the industry.
Benefits of Using Social Media Platforms
Advertising and engaging people on social media platforms require some effort, but the results are worth it. Here’s a look at some of the biggest benefits:
Small to mid-sized businesses should maintain a presence on at least two or three social media networks based on their industry and target audience. That will help them stand out and gain positive attention.
The post Social Media Platforms And Their Importance For Your Business appeared first on YourSocialStrategy.com.
Every blog post is different, but most aren’t that different. Think about the blog posts you’ve read. Chances are they weren’t a million miles apart in terms of format. You probably just didn’t pay much attention because you were focused on…
The post 4 Simple Blog Post Templates (And When To Use Them) appeared first on SEO Blog by Ahrefs.
Do you ever reach out to websites that already link to you to get more links? Vote and comment with why you do or don’t. — Michal Pecanek (@michalpecanek) May 12, 2020 There are likely a couple of reasons for…
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Google is the biggest search engines, and billions of people use it every day. Users know just how efficient Google is and rarely look beyond the first page for answers unless there are looking for something particular. This means you need to ensure your website ranks high enough to appear on the first page. Results on the second or third page are nearly invisible and don’t get much traffic.
Many people think that getting on the first page is a matter of luck and there’s too much competition for a handful of spaces available. Here are some tips that can help you dominate the first page:
PPC or Pay-Per-Click ads are the easiest and fastest way to rank high on search engines. Google reserves the top of SERPs for paid ads, which is a prime real estate and highly visible. A well-planned PPC campaign targeting the right keywords will ensure your website shows up on the first page and everyone sees it.
PPC isn’t a replacement for SEO because modern search users trust organic results more than paid ads. However, this strategy is still a valid technique that can get you a lot of visibility.
A successful SEO strategy doesn’t involve ranking high for all possible keywords. It’s about ranking high on specific phrases that target the right audience. For example, if you are a coffee bean seller in Greenwich, you are more likely to show up on the first page if you target ‘dark roast coffee beans in Greenwich’ than you are if you target ‘coffee beans NYC.’
Experienced SEO professionals spend a lot of time on keyword research to find a list of highly effective phrases. They use intent-based, long-tail words that reach a specific audience. Focus your campaign on these relevant and compelling terms to rank high on SERPs.
Latent Semantic Index or LSI is a popular term and is often used in SEO. In an attempt to make search more user-friendly, Google started looking at the intent behind search phrases. Instead of matching results to keywords exactly, the engine now looks at the keywords and related phrases in the content. For example, if the term is ‘best SEO strategies’ Google will check whether related phrases like ‘search engine’, ‘optimization,’ ‘local SEO,’ ‘keywords,’ etc., are present in the content.
LSI keywords are phrases related to the primary search phrase and give Google a deeper understanding of the content. Populating your articles and website copies with relevant phrases is a good way to get on top of the SERP.
Most people know they must add keywords to their content to catch a search engine’s attention. However, they don’t realize that placing keywords at the right locations can help Google scan and index pages quickly. The easier it is for Google to understand the relevance, the easier it is for you to rank.
Place keywords in page or article titles to catch the search engine’s and user’s attention immediately. You should also include them in meta descriptions, page URLs, and image alt tags. Add a small description for any video content on your website and make sure it contains keywords. All of these steps will help your page become more visible.
The internet is oversaturated with content, and most users have learned to ignore things that aren’t relevant to them. If a piece doesn’t provide unique and valuable information, users will leave your website and even feel frustrated by the lack of real information. Google’s algorithms are sophisticated enough to notice things like bounce rates, session times, and other such factors that showcase user satisfaction.
Websites or pages with high bounce rates and short session times don’t rank well, even if they have a strong SEO foundation. You need to make sure all the content on the website is optimized, user-friendly, and informative. Upgrade the site content regularly, correct wrong information, and keep adding fresh posts if you want to get to the first page of Google.
A large number of general and local searches are performed on mobile or tablet devices. If your website isn’t responsive and doesn’t perform well on these devices, few people will visit it. Google and other search engines prefer mobile-optimized websites to platforms that do well on desktop.
Experts recommend building a website on the responsive framework to ensure it can adjust to all screen sizes or platforms easily. Great cross-platform performance will improve overall user experience, which will show up through increased session times and more clicks. Better user experience directly impacts a website’s rankings.
General search is highly competitive and includes links from well-known, large-scale websites. Local search is far less competitive and will help you reach a select audience. Adding location names, city names, and using terms like ‘coffee shops near me’ in the content can help you shine on local search engine results pages.
It is also essential to establish a strong presence on Google Maps. You can use Google My Business to create a Map pin and ensure all of the details like name, address, phone number, and other such facts are accurate.
These steps will help optimize your website for search engines and improve your overall ranking considerably. If you are patient and maintain consistent SEO, the site will show up on the first page of the SERP.
The post How to Get Your Website On The First Page of Google appeared first on YourSocialStrategy.com.
Just look at the result for this query: Despite not mentioning Yoda by name, Google understood who we were talking about, and what we wanted to know about him. This wouldn’t be possible without semantic search. In this post, you’ll…
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Lots of people make money with Amazon affiliate sites. But for every success story, there are plenty who never quite get there. For example, this person on the /r/juststart subreddit claims to have hit $1K/month from Amazon within just six months:…
The post How to Build a Successful Amazon Affiliate Site (Step by Step) appeared first on SEO Blog by Ahrefs.
Most websites use some kind of JavaScript to add interactivity and to improve user experience. Some use it for menus, pulling in products or prices, grabbing content from multiple sources, or in some cases, for everything on the site. The…
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