SEO Blog Posts

SEO

On August 1, Search Engine Roundtable broke the news about a Google algorithm update nicknamed “Medic” that they found was already shaking up search results and core rankings almost overnight. It’s still a little too early to weigh in strongly on what changed with this update, but we wanted to share everything we’ve been keeping… Read More

SEO

Picture this. You’ve just hired an SEO agency, and to kick things off they’ve just delivered a massive Excel file titled “Keyword Research”. They’re clearly excited about all of the insights that lay within, and how fundamental this is to their work with you. But you’re relatively new to SEO, and when you open the… Read More

SEO

Deciding to purchase a new domain and choosing a domain name are often decisions that are made by a wide range of stakeholders within a business. Like a first-time home buyer, clients who are faced with the decision to purchase a new domain ask us a myriad of questions: Are domain names a ranking factor?… Read More

SEO

In December 2017, Google doubled the length of search snippets from ~160 to ~320 characters. This meant that we could now write more thorough copy in our Meta Descriptions and have that show up in search results. That lasted for 5 whole months before in May 2018, Google’s Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) confirmed, via Twitter: “Our… Read More

SEO

So you’ve decided to play the long-game that is SEO. Fantastic! Depending on your familiarity with search engines, perhaps you’ve told your team or your boss “we’ll work to show up in the number one spot for the one thing that everyone searches in our industry.” [Long, long pause.] It’s a tantalizing thought. But let’s… Read More

SEO

Anyone reading this has probably already heard the news: Google announced last week that they’re “migrating sites that follow the best practices for mobile-first indexing.” Anyone who keeps abreast of SEO news (or works with clients who do) has probably received an email since that announcement wondering nervously what this means for their site. Worry… Read More

SEO

It struck me recently that while we <em>frequently</em> advise our clients and partners on the SEO potential held in their site’s global navigation, how to structure site nav for SEO and UX benefit is something a lot of marketers don’t immediately consider. And that’s a problem. My hope after you read this post is that… Read More

SEO

The Google algorithm has changed! I repeat, the Google algo has changed! Quick, grab your laptop, an emergency thermal blanket, and lock yourself in that bunker with a six-month supply of soylent! Wait… that’s not a surprise at all… Google has said time and time again that there are changes made daily. This time around,… Read More

SEO

On the surface, both the hreflang tag and canonical tag do similar things – tell search engines which version of a page they are supposed to index and deliver to particular searchers. However, these tags do not have the same function. They are not the same thing. As digital marketers, we keep abreast of the… Read More

SEO

Update as of May 2018: There is no fixed length for search snippets according to another Danny Sullivan tweet on 14 May 2018. So, do Meta Descriptions even matter anymore? I’ve got some thoughts, read more here: Meta Descriptions are Still Important! Just in case you hadn’t heard yet, On December 1, 2017, Google (read:… Read More

SEO

We’ve all seen pagination links — those little numbered links at the top and bottom of multi-page content. They are used on blogs, e-commerce sites, webcomics, gallery pages, SERPs, and multi-page articles.   From the human visitor’s point of view, pagination is pretty simple. If you are on page one, and you want to see… Read More

SEO

There’s a chill in the air, some of you even have snow and ice. For most people, it’s been a busy time of year. For those in eCommerce, it hasn’t just been busy, it’s “someone come dig me out of this avalanche” busy! That was the case when I was working in eCommerce before coming… Read More

SEO

Amazon Marketing: Why It’s Important There are hundreds of millions of active accounts on Amazon. Moreover, nearly half of internet shoppers go directly to Amazon instead of starting with a search engine like Google when they are looking to make a purchase. Those are staggering numbers. But chances are you don’t need convincing that Amazon… Read More

SEO

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog to bring you this Halloween-themed SEO lesson. When your team is full of brilliant SEOs and digital marketers, Halloween bake-offs (and pretty much every other holiday function) risk getting into the deep end of the nerd pool pretty quickly. The Portent team had already put together a blog post… Read More

SEO

SEO folks are trend victims. Someone presents a new acronym, an idea, or a tool and we all pile on. Then we chase those nibbles of knowledge, good and bad alike, without thinking. And we land in deep pits lined with sharp, nasty sticks. These ideas must go: 1: TFIDF Score Predicts Rankings A higher… Read More