SEO Myths Busted

 

When it comes to SEO, it seems everyone in the digital marketing space has an opinion. And with hundreds of ranking factors affecting Google’s algorithm, it isn’t hard to see why. While we can all agree on the basics (i.e. quality content, good; spammy backlinks, bad), there are several ideas that can cause a good-natured SEO argument. 

For instance, was Mobilegeddon really much ado about nothing? Do search engines always listen to a site’s Robots.txt? What happens when backlinks are removed? Let’s take a dive into some hotly debated SEO tactics and myths.

Mobilegeddon

Ahhhhhh, Mobilegeddon: last year’s Y2K for SEOs. There was chatter, then panic, and then…no real consequence, right? Well, according to the latest research, Mobilegeddon was, in fact, pretty profound. 

 

Google released its mobile update last April, which was supposed to favor mobile-friendly sites in the search results. Initially, there wasn’t much movement in traffic, and webmasters let out a collective sigh of relief. But according to Stone Temple, non-mobile-friendly sites began to suffer lower rankings as time went on. Google likely rolled out the update slowly, so the full impact of the update wasn’t felt until later. 

The lesson learned here? Wake up, and make sure your site is mobile-friendly! 

The effect of outbound links

It’s a widely held belief in the SEO community that linking to other sites dilutes a website’s PageRank and authority. After you finally get a user to your site, why tempt them to leave, right? Not so fast.

Google’s main mission is to provide users with the information they’re seeking. So if your website helps Google achieve its goal, they’re pretty happy. Providing users with relevant, high-value links to other sites makes sense, and it can also help your rankings.

To prove this point, our friends across the pond at RebootOnline (←see what I did there) conducted an experiment. They created 10 websites with similar domain names, site architecture, and an article optimized for a word they made up that returned no results in Google’s SERPS. They placed three follow outbound links to other highly authoritative sites to half of their experiment sites. And what happened? You guessed it. Those sites ranked higher for their made up word than the sites without outbound links. 

The takeaway? Incorporate outbound links that are authoritative and useful to your readers!

Robots.txt and noindex meta tags

A well-configured robots.txt is on every SEO checklist. But just because you created one and submitted it to search engines doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to listen. It’s more of a suggestion.

That’s also true for the “noindex” meta tag. While a robots.txt is supposed to stop a page from being index and crawled, a noindex meta tag is only supposed to stop a page from being indexed. But this doesn’t always happen.

 

What’s the point? Don’t rely too heavily on spiders listening to your directions in a robots.txt or noindex meta tag.

Link echoes

Backlinks have a huge impact on SEO and organic rankings. That’s why SEOs spend so much time acquiring quality links, disavowing spammy ones, and developing top-notch link strategies. But have you ever wondered (or noticed) what happens to a site’s rankings after a particularly good or bad link is removed? Do all of its positive or negative effects get erased too? 

 

It’s been theorized that Google tracks links even after they’re removed. Sound crazy? Maybe. But a Moz team took this idea and ran with it. They pointed links to websites, watched their positions increase, and then removed the very links that increased the websites’ rankings. The sites’ positions didn’t change much at all, and they stayed static for several months after the links were removed. Moz ran several tests to eliminate any tricky variables, and the results remained the same.

So what does this mean? Links are incredibly influential and their impact is not easily removed. So take your time when link building, because your strategy will affect your site well into the future.

Organic search is always changing, and as SEOs, it’s our job to stay on top of developing trends, tactics and updates. While there is almost always room for debate, we hope Tandem Interactive answered a few questions and settled a few friendly SEO arguments.

Moz Local’s New My Business Console Tool

Behold, My Business Console, a new feature created by the engineers at Moz that will make importing locations from Google My Business to Moz Local even easier!

Why the Added Feature?

If you’re like our Local SEO experts here at digital marketing agency, Tandem Interactive, you’re familiar with uploading Google My Business locations to Moz Local via the CSV upload process. For bulk submissions, you would simply export the CSV file from your Google My Business dashboard and upload to your Moz Local account. However, this process was extremely hands-on and therefore prone to errors.

How it Works

Starting this week, users can import bulk listings from Google My Business by selecting “Import Listings” via the “Add Listings” button. This feature will link your Google My Business account and Moz Local account, making it easy to add or remove managers in bulk or by individual location.

Using My Business Console

Start your free user experience by heading to the My Business Console homepage and selecting “Connect with Google”. After you enter your Google My Business login credentials, you will be able to view each location you are owner or manager of. For every location you own, you’ll have the ability to manage who is able to edit location information and remove anyone you no longer want to have manger access.

Furthermore, you’ll also be able to add a manger to two or more Google My Business locations by simply selecting the desired locations and clicking the “Add” button.

To add or remove a manager on all of your business locations, head to your “Business Accounts” within My Business Console and add or remove a person there. This will keep you from having to go into each location and grant or take away manager access individually.

At our online marketing agency, Tandem Interactive, we agree this feature will come in handy especially when a person joins or leaves an organization. 

How to Remove “Permanently Closed” from a Business Listing on Google

Are you having trouble with your business listing being marked “permanently closed” on Google? This is actually a fairly common problem, especially for local businesses that have relocated.

So, what is a business owner to do when its customers are faced with an ugly, red sign on Google that reads “permanently closed”? Our South Florida digital marketing agency, Tandem Interactive, has put together a set of tips on how to remove “permanently closed” from a business listing on Google.

Tip #1: Update your business name, address and phone number in your Google My Business dashboard to reflect current contact information.

Tip #2: Search for and claim duplicate listings. This tip is often overlooked by clients who don’t understand why their business is showing as “permanently closed” on Google when they’ve already updated their verified Google My Business page. It usually means there’s ANOTHER listing that Google is pulling search results from. So, claim all duplicate listings of your business and update with the current address.

Tip #3: Contact Google My Business and ask their support team to mark an old location as “moved”, which is a new feature that is available. Local SEO experts suggest reaching out to them via Twitter for a faster, more effective response. By doing this, an old listing will eventually disappear from Google Search and Maps; and Google will implement a 302 HTTP status code that will redirect customers to a new location.

For more information on managing your local business listing on Google and how you can optimize your business’ opportunity in Google Local Search, contact trendy online marketing agency, Tandem Interactive, today.     

Customizing Your Local SEO Strategy to your Business Model

If you are not utilizing a local SEO strategy to get your business visible in the online world, then you are missing a major opportunity to be seen when a prospective customer uses a desktop or mobile device to perform a search related to your company’s offerings.

Local SEO is not a complicated practice, it is more of a series of cumulative steps that are utilized to increase the presence of your company through search engines. Tandem Interactive is a team of SEO specialists that can help tailor your business’s SEO efforts to your business model through the following steps:

1.      Determine Your Business Model.

·         Single Location Brick & Mortar

·         Multi-Location Brick & Mortar

·         Single Location Service Area Business

·         Multi-Location Service Area Business

·         Multi-Office Campus or Multi-Practitioner Business

·         Home-Based Business

2.      Match Your Business Model to Google Guidelines.

•     Single Location Brick & Mortar ->

·         One GMB listing with a visible listing.

·         No P.O. boxes or virtual offices.

•     Multi-Location Brick & Mortar ->

·         One GMB listing per location with a visible address.

·         Each location has a unique phone number.

·         No P.O. boxes or virtual offices.

•     Single Location Service Area Business ->

·         One GMB listing.

·         Use an appropriate box to indicate if there is no address, or if you serve customers at your location as well as theirs.

·         No P.O. boxes or virtual offices.

•     Multi-Location Service Area Business ->

·         One GMB per location with unique phone numbers.

·         Use an appropriate box to indicate if there is no address, or if you serve customers at your location as well as theirs.

·         No P.O. boxes or virtual offices.

•     Multi-Office Campus or Multi-Practitioner Business ->

·         One GMB listing per office or practitioner.

·         Each has a unique phone number.

·         Practitioners must format their GMB business titles properly.

·         No P.O. boxes or virtual offices.

•     Home-Based Business ->

·         One GMB listing, hide the address if you do not want it made public.

·         No P.O. boxes or virtual offices.

3.      Develop Your Website’s Content Strategy.

• Single Location Brick & Mortar ->

·         Unique, high quality page that showcases each product or service your business offers.

• Multi-Location Brick & Mortar ->

·         Unique, high quality page that showcases each product or service your business offers.

·         An original and high quality webpage for each physical location with a complete NAP at the top of the page.

•          Single Location Service Area Business ->

·         Unique, high quality page that showcases each product or service your business offers.

·         An original and high quality webpage for all of the important cities you serve.

•          Multi-Location Service Area Business ->

·         Unique, high quality page that showcases each product or service your business offers.

·         An original and high quality webpage for each physical location with a complete NAP at the top of the page.

·         An original and high quality webpage for all of the important cities you serve beyond the physical locations

•          Multi-Office Campus or Multi-Practitioner Business ->

·         Unique, high quality page that showcases each product or service your business offers.

·         An original and high quality page for every office, campus, or partner in the practice with a complete and unique NAP at the top of the page.

•   Home-Based Business ->

·         Unique, high quality page that showcases each product or service your business offers.

·         Create a unique and high quality page for every city that you offer your services.

While these are business model specific local SEO strategies, Tandem Interactive wants you to be aware that there also are local SEO techniques for all business types. If you are interested in developing an SEO strategy for your company, contact the SEO specialists in Fort Lauderdale today!

4 Tips on Developing a Social Media Strategy and Avoiding PR Disaster

Maybe you can recall the infamous Chrysler Tweet in 2011, where an employee used R-rated language to tweet about Detroit drivers through the Chrysler’s Auto Twitter page?  Yes, he did get fired. But, it was the firm’s PR department that suffered the most. Mainly due to Chrysler not renewing its contract, but, if the firm’s social media strategy had been developed to avoid disasters like this, then things would have been a lot different.

A social media strategy from Tandem Interactive is not only outlined for you, but it is also managed and held to a higher standard. We understand that one misguided tweet or post can greatly impact the reputation of even the strongest brand.  These 4 tips on implementing an efficient social media strategy, will help reduce the probability of a PR disaster.

1. Develop the Basics of your Strategy

By developing the basics of your strategy, you are setting the tone and formulating rules that need to be clear and specific. Think about all the ways your strategy will respond to key industry changes and how to reinforce it.  Ask the following questions:
   
     • What are the goals of your activity on social media?
     • Which platforms will you use to accomplish them?
     • What will your activity be like – what kinds of content will be shared?
     • Who is your target audience

2. Establish a Crisis Strategy

Make sure that your strategy provides a clear definition of social media crisis. A crisis can mean different things to different brands. By suggesting what kind of posts can be considered crisis and providing the fundaments of reaction to them in the effort to alleviate negative impact is a priority.
Many social media campaigns use brand development by using hashtags and later it backfires and damages the overall plan.

3. Choose the Right Speakers

You wouldn’t want someone who works at Mac Cosmetics to speak on behalf of Sephora. No, that would be a disaster. So, choosing the right speaker who will have access to your social media accounts and will be authorized to post for the brand is standard for an awesome social media strategy. Making sure they know the rules and limitations for that business will help reduce a PR disaster.

4. Build Response Scenarios

Tandem Interactive knows that providing your team with a selection of ready-made scenarios for dealing with different exchanges, helps with strategizing social media efforts. Being aware that every situation is different and needs to be treated differently is the nature of social media. A well-defined strategy will be to your advantage as it will give you time to decide which approach is best instead of developing one for every new scenario.  Responding to negative reviews and monitoring online conversations will help address situations before the internet does it for you.

Our boutique SEO agency in Ft. Lauderdale, FL has developed a great social media strategy that ensures your social media interactions bring many benefits and greatly reduces the chances of a serious PR crisis.

Tandem Interactive Furthers their Trendy Online Marketing Solutions at the 2016 Pubcon SFIMA Masters Group Training Session

Team Tandem is always a major part of not only Pubcon, but also the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association (SFIMA), attending all events and lending our volunteer services in any way possible. Part of what makes Tandem so great is our commitment to evolving as the world of digital marketing inevitably transforms.

Yesterday, the 2016 Pubcon SFIMA Summit began with Masters Training Sessions that included four workshop tracks to choose from: SEO Organic Traffic Optimization with Tandem Interactive’s President Joe Laratro with Bill Hunt and Eric Enge, Social Media Campaigns with Jabez LeBret, Lisa Buyer and Melissa Fach, Paid Search with Brad Geddes and Frederick Vallaeys, and Social Media Advertising with Dennis Yu and Larry Kim.

The Social Media Campaigns track that I sat in covered social media 2016 for business, visual and videos on social, social on mobile, analytics for social, influence and hacks, optimization and planning essentials and tools, as well as covered best practices for each social media platform like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ (which was barely covered due to its un-popularity).

The following is a recap of what was covered in the Social Media Campaigns track at Pubcon SFIMA:

Lisa Buyer on Social Media in 2016:

“Mobile isn’t killing our desktop, it’s killing our free time.” – Rand Fishkin

• Mobile is not taking away from desktop search and time, it is just causing us to be on devices all day, rather than simply saving our time for desktop searches during the era where there were no smart phones and mobile apps.
• Video is going to be critical this year. Last year, we really saw it coming into the market, but this year video needs to be part of your strategy; doesn’t have to be big spend but definitely should be considered.
• ‘Moments’ on Facebook should be considered. Market for moments and experiences – experiences help define social identities
• Fastest growing demographic on snapchat is actually 25 and up. 
• More customers are turning to Facebook and Twitter to leave their comments, questions, and reviews on companies
• Facebook is becoming more and more focused on their search results
• Instagram is owned by Facebook and organic still works with it, you can optimize using keywords and hashtags.
• Live streaming mobile apps are big this year - Periscope, Facebook live.
• Lisa's PR secrets: being first whenever possible - breaking a story, watching industry news, competitors, be the source of that news to your following.

Jabez on User Generated Content (UGC):

• The number one reason to focus on UGC for social is that the users create the content for you – saves you time!
•  Z Gallerie example - on Instagram they asked people to share their personal photos of their furniture in their home, tag them, etc. and then Z Gallerie shares it. 
• Send a picture with your pet and say why you are excited to go to conference, how your animal likes your new couch, etc. 
• Find hashtags that your customers use
• Have people send in their own stories in relation to your industry
• Where in your industry are things happening frequently that you can share, have consumers engage in, and build your brand for you.
• Engage with your most active commenters, say thanks for the support and being an advocate

Melissa on User Generated Content (UGC):

• If someone comments you on social media, screen shot it and share it, you can also engage and ask questions in the comments in order to get more out of it. 
• Mentions.com will email you alerts for anytime you are mentioned on social media
• Repurpose everything, embed social comments in content, do the same in emails, link to articles
• Take things that people say and link to it in content, link to a relevant old piece of content like an old blog post that relates, old article, etc.
• search for "posts about____" on Facebook and you can see what people are saying about that topic and then target them.
• Quaker Oats "send us your recipe" contest - they receive 12,000 recipes that they can now use as content
• DO NOT WRITE ALL PARAGRAPHS
• Use lists, bullet points, multiple headlines with photos, etc. People are not taking the time anymore to read long-form content. 
• Long-form is okay, but it has to be broken down with headlines or photos. This is not only a benefit for your consumer, but also for Google, to make it easier for Google to crawl as well.

Lisa Buyer on When to Post

• Analyze general best times and then best times for your particular business
• Use BufferApp to take into consideration time zones, least competitive times, worst times, network times through Facebook, etc., peak times for each network and your brand
• The worst time may actually be the best time to get through the clutter organically on social media.
• "Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best days to post" – Jabez
• "During the week, I see more retweets; but on the weekends, I see more clicks during off hours" – Melissa

Lisa Buyer: Social Data Tips

• Find your best content through Analytics and repurpose or re-share
• Find your best post types and use them more often
• Find your best writers based off of best content created and shown through Analytics, have them be point on content or specialty clients
• Third-party content analysis to create ideas or ‘better than them’ content
• Most mistakes on Facebook ads or promoted content are made around segmentation, you want to target well, rather than a large target audience. Spend very little, but get the most clicks out of it. 

Lisa Buyer: Facebook Tips

• When uploading a link or video - remove the link after the target pops up. This way, your entire post is clickable and delivers your target. Boosts CTR and you can edit the description to have a call to action instead - only under business profile.
• If you respond to 90% of Facebook messages within 5 minutes, you can receive a badge that marks your brand as "responds efficiently" 
• Facebook Notes is making a comeback and not a lot of businesses are taking advantage of it just yet. Repurpose blog posts into notes.
• Customize posts meta descriptions and titles
• Facebook posts should be custom, not auto-populated exact copy like from Twitter and Pinterest, even Instagram. Hashtags don’t work as well in Facebook and native posts through Facebook (not Hootsuite) perform better. 

Melissa Fach on Twitter: 

• Share industry news, even if it is not directly related to your business - aka share diabetes break through even if you are a heart surgeon.
•  Retweet brand mentions
•  Twitter update 2/10/2016 - when you open twitter after being away for a while, the Tweets you are most likely to care about will be at the top of your feed
• Twitter update 2/18/2016 80% customer service requests are happening on Twitter, brand new Twitter customer service tools - every brand should be checking Twitter daily to respond to customers
• You can now send a customer service feedback survey, or add a comment. 
•  Followerwonk breaks down your most influential followers

Lisa Buyer: Instagram

• 30 billion photos shared
• 300 million monthly active users in 2014
• 17 second videos
• Avoid posting irrelevant photos
• Avoid ignoring your followers
• You don’t have to post frequently, but make sure you are posting quality photos and visuals
• If you are not in retail, auto, travel, or finance, your industry has the potential to dominate Instagram right now
•  Instagram is great for brand awareness and being a part of a community
•  Build an Instagram plan: types of photos to share, who to target, specific hashtags determined
•  Interact with like-minded people and grow your circle

Lisa Buyer on Pinterest:

• Already 5 million costume pins for Halloween this year
• Renovations are popular when buying a new home
• People go on Pinterest for ideas and to get help completing a task
• 71% of Pinterest users are women
• However, 1/3 of new signups are now men
• There’s a tool that will tell you everything that has been shared off your website or blog
• Optimize the source URL and descriptions and captions
• Avoid pinning duplicate content
• Create boards around exact match keywords
• Make sure that you have ‘Pinable’ images on your website and blog
•  Keep track of Pinterest traffic in Google Analytics and make sure it is increasing

Jabez on LinkedIn

• Requests for help and comment - most popular LinkedIn content found by average number of likes per post
• LinkedIn will not give weight to identical content shared on its network, has to be unique and you can link back to original. 
• LinkedIn just does not have a good ROI, even for job postings, you can run a sponsored ad on Facebook and filter out the leads, as well as add a photo and get more from that job ad than LinkedIn.

Lisa Buyer: SnapChat

•  hire a snapchat influencer to take over your Snapchat account and take it to levels fast that starting from the bottom won’t
•  Ex. guy who Snapchatted for Disney, Stride Gum, and others-      
•  Figure out how your industry can be useful on Snapchat and start dominating it.

 "Snapchat is going to be huge!" - Jabez LeBret

Lisa Buyer: Avoiding PR Disasters with a Social Media Policy

• be real during a tragedy
• stop automated posts
• be respectful and make room in the newsfeed for tragedy posts by respectful news sources
• confirm sources before sharing news

If you were unable to attend the 2016 Pubcon SFIMA Summit Masters Group Training, Tandem Interactive will be giving you exclusive, live-tweeting coverage via @TandemTweets. 

4 Reasons You Can't Even..

Today’s millennials “can’t even” anymore. They can’t deal with minor day to day struggles that older generations would have given an arm or leg for. Millennials are lucky to have any piece of information or answer to there every “oh so important” questions; “Is there really a bacon shortage predicted for 2017?” With Google, Wiki, WebMD, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter there really isn’t ANYTHING you can’t find out today. Let’s face it, the children of today’s millennials will have a very difficult time getting away with anything. 

Unfortunately, with access to the all-knowing Google at our fingertips, Millennials can’t even face-to-face anymore. The need to do business face-to-face, look for answers from peers, or seek additional information from others has more or less died. But I am going to tell you, yes you the Millennial reading this on their new super-sized mobile device, why you can even attend PUBCON SFIMA Summit 2016 here in sunny south Florida.

Millennials seek out things that are useful and can enhance their lives. Although a conference is useful, it is also time consuming and out of the way. Why attend a conference that you will eventually be able to stream or read from your hand held device? Here is why live face-to-face settings such as Pubcon SFIMA, is both useful and “cool.”

1. Networking: Pubcon SFIMA Summit is two days of constant informal face-to-face meetings with people in your industry, competitors, and clients. Do not shy away from competitors but learn from their mistakes or relish in their accomplishments. Seek out new connections and advice from other areas in the industry. And lastly, put a face to your clients you have only virtually met. Getting to know someone on a personal level can be a huge business game changer!
2. Education: SFIMA meets monthly and hosts large conference such as Pubcon SFIMA Summit 2016 where creative juices are replenished and incredible brains are picked. This association provides endless information for all members new and existing with keynotes like Scott Stratten, Brad Geddes, Dennis Yu, and Tandem Interactives favorite; Joe Laratro.
3. TandemInteractive: Yes, that is right, all members of Tandem Interactive will be present at Pubcon SFIMA at one point or another. Yours truly will be attending Thursday taking in new information and making new connections as well as keeping up with old ones. If you want to come hangout with the coolest boutique online marketing agency register for Pubcon SFIMA Summit 2016 today or join SFIMA’s monthly gatherings every second Thursday of the month! From one millennial to another, SFIMA is not something you “can’t even.”
4. It’s Fun!: Believe it or not, you are in the “coolest” line of business. No one knows how to have a better time than online marketers. Isn’t our moto “work hard, play hard”? If not, it may as well be! Mix in with SFIMA’s social gatherings and see for yourself. Doing business should not be stale and boring. Get off the internet and start living! Accessing industry information via internet is nothing like live interactions. J

There is a huge benefit to connecting with people in similar and vertical industries that has been over looked by the recent generations. Joining an organization such as South Florida Internet Marketing Association is great to boost your social media profiles and resumes but why not get every penny out of your investment? Engaging and participating with SFIMA members may be just the thing your business or career is lacking. Don’t miss the chance to have live meetings with renowned marketing gurus who make time for you to come pick their brain!

Still not convinced? Still “can’t even”? Just approach one of Tandem Interactive's fun and friendly members and we will show you otherwise. As long time members we will introduce you to the right people and point you to the keynote speakers you should be sitting in on for your personal growth!