What 1.8 million Google Business Profiles tell us about local SEO success
Specific primary and additional categories, plus complete profiles, correlate with stronger local rankings. See what the data reveals.
Topic: Search engine ranking
Google doesn’t want you to create bite-sized chunks of your content
Despite what you think works well for LLM and AI Search mentions, Google said this is not a long-term strategy.
7 local SEO wins you get from keyword-rich Google reviews
Discover how keyword-rich Google reviews can boost your local visibility, engagement, and conversions – plus templates to help you.
Why Google reviews will power up your local SEO in 2025
Photo-rich, specific reviews help your business rank higher in local search. Here's how to build a smarter Google review strategy.
Google August 2024 core update rolling out now
One of the aims of the Google August 2024 core update is to surface useful content from small and independent sites.
Report: Menu items, busier businesses may be Google local ranking signals
Google has not specifically confirmed this but a new local SEO report says these may be newly discovered local ranking signals.
Reassessing the role of links in SEO: What data tells us
Is your SEO strategy too focused on backlinks? Here's what the data reveals about the relationship between links and search rankings today.
85% of titles feature keywords in Positions 1-5 of Google
New survey of enterprise marketers finds 50% spend 4-6 hours and 30% spend 7-9 hours per week writing titles and meta descriptions.
Google: Don’t worry about SEO tool scores
Website authority scores, spam scores – Google doesn't use any of those in ranking. It's just an SEO myth that won't die.
Drive ranking by mastering E.A.T. with content and links
Increase Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness through masterful content-driven link building.
Google page experience update now slowly rolling out
Top stories will stop using AMP as an eligibility factor starting Thursday.
Bing uses user engagement metrics for ranking websites in search
But Bing looks at these signals in a holistic manner for ranking purposes.
What content survives Google algorithm updates?
Be able to anticipate your target audience's needs.
Chapter 1: Types of Search Engine SEO Factors
There are four major groups covered by Search Engine Land’s SEO Periodic Table: On-page SEO: Content, Architecture, HTML Off-page SEO: Reputation, Links, User Toxins Niche SEO The elements within each group or subgroup are factors you need to consider if you want to increase your site’s organic visibility and rankings. In the top-right corner of […]
SMX Overtime: Here’s how multi-location brands can manage their local listings
Marketing strategist and SMX speaker Monica Ho explains what local businesses can do about duplicate listings and local franchise challenges.
Google local reviews study shows 74% of businesses have at least one review
Check out this new study on Google local reviews from the BrightLocal team.
Chapter 8: Social media & ranking in search results
Using links as an off-the-page ranking factor was a great leap forward for search engines. But over time, for a variety of reasons, links have lost some of their value. Some sites are stingy about linking out. Others block links to help fight spam. And links get bought and sold, making them less trustworthy. Enter […]
Local businesses trump big businesses when it comes to delivering on-site updates
Columnist Myles Anderson shares the results of a recent BrightLocal survey about the impact of on-site SEO on rankings for local businesses.
The Periodic Table Of SEO Success Factors: 2015 Edition Now Released
Three new elements join the table: Vertical Search, Direct Answers & HTTPS. Mobile & Structured Data among factors that get weight increases.
Moz Local Ranking Factors 2014 Study Shows Mostly The Same Formula
Moz has announced the release of their annual local ranking factors study. The study shows that for the most part, the signals and factors according to their large panel of experts, has not changed much year over year. David Mihm from Moz said the biggest takeaways he noticed were: (1) Behavioral signals such as click […]
Report: Mobile “Configuration” Errors Cause 68 Pct. Traffic Loss
BrightEdge has released a report that observes, “over one in four mobile sites are misconfigured, leading to a massive loss of potential traffic. Twenty-seven percent of mobile sites are ranked lower than they should be because Google and other search engines do not recognize the mobile site as related to its desktop counterpart.” The report was inspired by panel […]
Up Close @SMX Advanced: The Periodic Table Of SEO Elements
This SEO ranking factors session has become a much-anticipated tradition at SMX Advanced, as the substantial early morning crowd in attendance this year testified. Each year, a panel of SEO data experts present their up-to-date findings, test results, and best guesses as to what factors are primary in Google’s ranking algorithm. There are always surprises, […]
Google’s Matt Cutts: While Scientific Content Is Great, Clarity & Focusing On The Searcher Is Important
In today’s video from Google’s Matt Cutts, Matt answers a question asking if Google prefers ranking content that is more scientific in nature or content that is “easier to read” with greater clarity. First off, Matt said it was a question that made him think, which implies that there is no exact answer. If you […]
If Link Building Really Is Dead, What Do We Do Now?
“He’s dead, Jim.” It’s been shouted from the rooftops, from here to Moz and every blog in between, but I guess it isn’t official until the doctor says so: Link building is dead. Depending on how much you agree with that statement, you’re somewhere in the five stages of grief with the impending death of link […]
Moz Search Ranking Factors Survey: Page Authority, Google +1’s & Links Lead
Moz announced the release of the full 2013 search ranking factors study they have been working on throughout the year. Keep in mind, this is comprised of sending out a survey to 120 SEO experts, asking them to rank each factor on a scale of importance. Moz then uses that data, alongside of their correlation […]
SEOs Say Links Rule Now, Content & Authorship Will Rule Later, In Moz 2013 Ranking Survey
Matt from Moz (formerly SEOmoz) has released a preview of some of the data from their search ranking factors survey they produce every other year or so. The preview shows us that SEOs still place the most value on links and then keywords on the page. But looking toward the future, content and authorship will […]
Mobile: A New Element For The Periodic Table Of SEO Success Factors
When we updated our Periodic Table Of SEO Success Factors last month, we came very close to adding a mobile element to it. Now we’ve actually done so, in the wake of Google giving explicit advice that sites with issues for mobile devices might not rank as well, in the future. We were close, so […]
2013 Google Ranking Factors From Netmark
Yesterday, we covered the 2013 ranking factors from SearchMetrics, now let us share with you the Google ranking factors from a different company named Netmark. You can learn about Netmark’s methodology for determining these ranking factors over here, and you can see all the ranking factors over here. Here the top 10 ranking factors from […]
Google’s Matt Cutts: Stock Images Do Not Impact Search Engine Rankings
Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, said in a recent video that using stock images from a stock image website has no impact on rankings. The question was, “Does using stock photos on your pages have a negative effect on rankings?” Matt’s answer was very short, he said “no.” There is no positive or […]
What’s Changed With The Periodic Table Of Search Engine Optimization
We’ve updated our Periodic Table Of SEO Success Factors that was created in 2011 to add several new elements, drop a few, broaden it to include “success factors” rather than just “ranking factors” and adjusted weightings of several elements on the table. For those curious about the details, here’s the rundown. First, if you’re not […]
Bad Merchant? Google May Drop Your Rankings Later This Year
Had a bad experience purchasing from an online merchant? Google says it wants to protect searchers from that, and it may crackdown later this year with changes intended to prevent bad merchants from ranking well. The news came during the “How to Rank Better in Google & Bing” session that I moderated yesterday at the […]
Google’s April Updates: Bigger & Tiered Index, Document Ranking, Sitelink Changes & More
If it’s the first Friday of the month, it must be time for Google to share its latest list of search quality updates. And, like clockwork, Google didn’t disappoint today — the company has posted a list of 53 changes that affect search results. This list is particularly interesting because of all the upheaval happening […]
Google: No, New TLDs Won’t Give You A Ranking Boost
Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, said on his Google+ page that using the new TLDs will not give you a ranking boost in Google. Matt Cutts said, “I don’t expect a new TLD to get any kind of initial preference over .com, and I wouldn’t bet on that happening in the long-term either.” […]
SMX East 2011: Ask The Search Engines
Ask The Search Engines Presentations from SMX East – NYC, NY, September 2011 In this session, you can ask questions and get direct answers from engineers from Google, Bing and Blekko about crawling, indexing, ranking and other organic search issues. [flv:https://searchengineland.com/video_assets/east11/ppt/570.flv 364 264] Moderator: Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Land Speakers: Duane Forrester, BingTiffany Oberoi, GoogleRich […]
SEO Industry Takes A(nother) Stab At Deciphering SEO Ranking Factors
More than 130 search engine optimizers around the world have shared their opinions on the most important (and least important) factors that influence natural search engine rankings. Those opinions are included in SEOmoz’s just-published 2011 Search Engine Ranking Factors survey. Due to changes in how SEOmoz conducted the survey and presents the results, it’s quite […]
DecorMyEyes Merchant Vitaly Borker Arrested After NYT Piece On Google Rankings
Just over a week ago, the New York Times introduced the world to Vitaly Borker, who boasted of being abusive to customers and claimed, inaccurately, that such behavior had a side benefit of producing good rankings in Google. Now another side benefit: Borker’s arrest. Arrest On Federal Charges From an CNBC article on the arrest: […]
Search Ranking Factors Shows How Little SEO Has Changed
72 search engine optimizers from around the world have contributed to SEOmoz’s latest Search Engine Ranking Factors report, a study that offers valuable insight into how SEO works in 2009 … but also shows how little it’s changed in recent years. (Disclaimer: I’m one of the 72 contributors.) You can read the survey here, and […]
SEOs Dissect How To Rank In Local Search
Twenty-seven local search marketers from the U.S., Canada, and Europe have shared their opinions and insights in the second edition of the Local Search Ranking Factors. Organized by David Mihm, it’s a project that aims to help local businesses understand how Google and Yahoo rank local businesses. David sent out a questionnaire listing 49 possible […]
Yahoo Announces March 2009 Search Update
A little over a week ago we reported on the March ’09 Yahoo Search update. Yahoo has finally confirmed the update with a weather report on the Yahoo Search Blog. Dan Rampton from Yahoo Search said: We’ll be rolling out some changes to our crawling, indexing and ranking algorithms over the next few days and […]
Link Week Loose Ends
My Link Week columns rotate every other week, and over the course of the last few columns several questions and comments have been sent my way. For this week’s column, I’m responding to a selection of those questions and comments.