Our Top 10 Search Marketing Posts of 2018

Search marketing has continued to mature throughout 2018. At each twist and turn along the way, we've done our best to not only cover each change, but also offer insight and research-based strategy to help savvy digital marketers along the way. We’re fortunate to have a fantastic group of digital marketing professionals contributing to the TopRank Marketing Blog, with our CEO Lee Odden, Associate Director of Search & Analytics Tiffani Allen, Vice President of Client Accounts Alexis Hall, Content Strategist Anne Leuman, and others, each contributing search marketing insights, tips, and tricks this past year. To help our blog community grow its search marketing knowledge, we’re happy to offer this list of our most popular search marketing posts of 2018.

Our Most Popular Search Marketing Posts in 2018:

1. Google Game Changers: 5 Recent Updates and How They Affect Marketers — Anne Leuman

The talented Anne Leuman wrote the most popular search marketing post of 2018 on our blog, taking an important look at how to up your Google game by understanding and utilizing HTTPS warnings and numerous other factors that were being rolled out this year. Anne broke down some the latest and greatest game-changing updates from Google, what they mean for marketers, and how marketers can adapt. Check out all of Anne's posts here.

2. TopRank Marketing’s Top 6 SEO Predictions & Trends for 2019 — Tiffani Allen

The second most popular search marketing post of the year is by Tiffani Allen, who deftly explores the top SEO predictions and trends marketers should know now and keep an eye on into the new year. Check out all of Tiffani's posts here.

3. 5 Powerful Types (And Examples) of Link-Worthy Content — Anne Leuman

Anne also earned the No. 3 spot on our top search marketing posts of 2018 list, in an excellent post showing how to boost credible referrals, back-links, and organic visibility using five powerful types of link-worthy content.

4. Why Marketers Are Disenchanted with SEO — Anne Leuman

Anne also wrote our fourth most popular search marketing post of 2018, addressing why some marketers are disenchanted with SEO. She explores the modern marketer’s SEO struggles, and shows you why now is not the time to quit. Rather than abandoning a tried-and-true tactic, Anne looks at how to shift your search marketing strategy.

5. Redesigning Your Website? Make Sure SEO & Content Have a Seat at Website Migration Table — Alexis Hall

Alexis Hall earned spot the No. 5 on our top search marketing posts of the year list, with a helpful look at how SEO and content can combine to create a better website migration strategy. Alexis shows why SEO can’t stand alone, exploring how it needs a content lens to ensure solid performance after the migration switch is flipped. Check out all of Alexis' posts here.

6. Power Pages and Best Answer Content: Should You Go Long or Short Form? — Lee Odden

Our CEO penned the sixth most popular search marketing post of 2018, with a detailed look at a perennial question — which is better: long or short-form content? Lee explains how savvy marketers know that while statistical generalizations have their place, they aren't always so useful in practice. He then dives into the intertwining of engagement and reach, and looks at depth-over-length and authority signals. Check out all of Lee's posts here.

7. The Key to SEO & Content Marketing Success: Understanding Search Intent — Anne Leuman

Anne makes another appearance on our best-of-2018 list with another excellent post, showing the key to SEO and content marketing success. She dives into understanding search intent in its four incarnations — informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional — and goes on to offer three steps for building intent into your strategy.

8. How to Leverage Influencer Marketing for Improved SEO #Pubcon Florida — Lee Odden

Lee earned another spot on our top search marketing posts of 2018 list, with a take-away-filled live-blog piece from the Pubcon Florida conference. Lee shares an impressive number of insights from a session that featured Marcela De Vivo of SEMrush and Dixon Jones of Majestic, showing some of the best methods for leveraging influencer marketing to improve SEO.

9. SEO + Paid Search: An Aristotelian Lesson in Search Marketing Integration — Anne Leuman

Making an impressive fifth appearance on our search marketing top 10 list, Anne provides us an Aristotelian lesson in how SEO can combine with paid search for powerful search marketing integration. In this helpful post, Anne shows how integration makes the digital marketing world go round and how it can bring balance and harmony to your efforts.

10. Relationship Powered Link Building #Pubcon Florida — Lee Odden

In Lee's third appearance on our top 10 list, this piece covers a session presented by Ann Smarty of Internet Marketing Ninjas during the Pubcon Florida conference, sharing numerous actionable tips for link-building through relationships. We can't thank Anne, Tiffani, Alexis, and Lee enough for these top 10 search marketing posts of 2018 — congratulations on making the list!

Thanks TopRank Marketing Writers & Readers

Thanks to each of you who read our blog, and to all of you who comment on and share our posts on the TopRank Marketing social media channels. We hope you find continuing benefit from these excellent search marketing posts from 2018. We published dozens of posts this year specifically about search marketing, and plan to bring you even more in 2019, so stay tuned for a new year of the latest helpful research and insight. Please let us know which search marketing topics and ideas you'd like to see us focus on for 2019 — we'd love to hear your suggestions. Feel free to leave those thoughts in the comments section below.

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Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2018/12/our-top-10-search-marketing-posts-of.html

Help Us Celebrate 15 Years of Blogging – TopRank Marketing Blog

The post Help Us Celebrate 15 Years of Blogging – TopRank Marketing Blog appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2018/12/help-us-celebrate-15-years-of-blogging.html

Digital Marketing News: Google Lens & Visual Search Updates, Social ROI Study, & App Ad Market Growth

The post Digital Marketing News: Google Lens & Visual Search Updates, Social ROI Study, & App Ad Market Growth appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2018/12/digital-marketing-news-google-lens.html

3dcart SEO Best Practices: 7 Traffic Boosting Tips That Work

3dcart is one of the best ecommerce platforms when it comes to search engine optimization.

But just because a hosting  solution provides great features doesn’t guarantee you results.

Simply going through the motions won’t bring in qualified organic visitors ready to buy from your brand for years to come.

That requires some work.

Why should you use 3dcart over bigger names like Shopify? Is it a good ecommerce platform for SEOs?

In this post, we’ll answer those exact questions and show you how to implement traffic boosting tips on the platform.

Here are the best practices for SEO on 3dcart and five ways you can boost your traffic fast.

Why Should You Use 3dcart For An Online Store?

3dcart is an online store platform with a focus on connectivity to third party applications (like email software and social media), and search engine optimization.

It’s called 3dcart because of their three-pronged approach to ecommerce where they focus the platform and toolkit options on three distinct areas:

1. Store owners
2. Search engines
3. Shoppers

Breaking down the subsets, they provide specific tools to satisfy each portion of what it takes to run a successful, profitable ecommerce store.

It’s clear from the onset of using 3dcart that you are getting an online store built by people with expertise in attracting (and pleasing) traffic.

With a four step funnel plan and tools to match each step, 3dcart does an impeccable job at guiding you through the process.

Meaning that if you have no experience in SEO or funnel stages, you don’t need to worry.

3dcart has guides for each stage from “Reach” to “Nurture” to help you succeed.

When it comes to pricing, 3dcart tends to be slightly cheaper than Shopify with a few more added features that cheaper Shopify plans don’t cover, like no transaction fees.

So, why else would you choose 3dcart over other providers?

3dcart has some of the most extensive SEO features on the market when it comes to an ecommerce platform.

Sure, other platforms are going to give you the basics to get you started.

But 3dcart is more than just meta descriptions and titles. It has powerful mobile optimization for speed and even direct Google AMP connectivity.

Let’s dive into the features that 3dcart offers for SEO.

Is 3dcart a Good Ecommerce Platform for SEO?

3dcart is a great platform for ecommerce SEO.

Beyond the basics like meta description fields and alt tags for images, 3dcart has great connections to build an SEO friendly store.

For instance, direct connectivity with Google AMP to create fast, seamless mobile pages.

(Image Source)

On top of that, 3dcart has their own mobile pagespeed tool that helps you continually improve performance on your mobile site.

Some of the top features for SEO on 3dcart are:

• AMP
• Content Pages / Blog
• Pagespeed tool
• Mobile Optimization suite
• Custom SEO Friendly URLs
• Built in support for Schema markup (this is a big win)

3dcart is one of (if not the best) ecommerce platforms for those serious about SEO performance.

Here is how to put your SEO on overdrive with 3dcart.

5 Tips to Improve the Organic Performance

An online store thrives on organic traffic that you can convert to sales.

Unless you want to pay for ads or grind away on social media and reach 2% of your audience due to poor organic reach.

With organic search improvements, you can start to bring in more (and better) traffic that wants to buy your products.

Here is how.

1. Optimize Your Product / Category Pages and Meta Tags

Product and category pages are the meat and potatoes of ecommerce.

They explain your product offering and separate it for the right customer segments.

Being key pages on your store, they need dedication and work to optimize for organic traffic.

Key areas to optimize on these pages are:

• Prioritize your top pages first
• Include semantically related keywords
• Primary focus on the page’s target keyword
• Don’t add copy unless it enhances the description

One of the best examples of a well optimized category / product page is from Surf Station:

In their short description, they include multiple related terms to their primary keyword of “Wetsuits.”

Breaking down their offering, they touch on common pain points like shipping, a big factor in cart abandonment.

For your meta description and title tags, it’s key to optimize them with your target keyword and a succinct, relevant description of what searchers can expect when clicking on the page.

On 3dcart, the meta tag area is located on your product or blog page dashboard:

Simply locate the meta tags option and craft a compelling description and title.

Don’t forget those keywords!

2. Do Keyword Research, But Not Just For The Bottom of The Funnel

Keyword research is an essential aspect of SEO, especially for ecommerce.

Products and services can bring in traffic, but if you are in competitive markets, dozens if not hundreds of businesses are fighting for that same traffic, selling the same products.

The biggest mistake that most in ecommerce make when implementing keyword research is focusing too heavily on the bottom of the funnel and neglecting the top and middle where customer awareness is built.

For instance, most will target the high volume keywords like “buy 70 inch tv.”

(Image Source)

These lower funnel keywords signal a readiness to purchase, but they are nearly impossible to rank for due to competition overload.

Instead, start looking for keywords higher in the funnel regarding reviews or comparisons. These can help you bring in long-tail keyword traffic and build brand awareness before moving on high volume keywords.

Speaking of which…

3. Create Content That Your Customers Are Interested In

Once you’ve done keyword research for the top and middle of the funnel, it’s time to create content.

Content is the lifeblood of organic traffic.

People don’t purchase on their first search anymore. With review sites, YouTube videos, and comparisons, shopping is a complex process that takes multiple touches.

Meaning you need content at each stage to connect with potential shoppers.

And according to HubSpot, blogging more in B2C (ecommerce) results in more sales and more traffic than companies that don’t blog.

(Image Source)

For instance, Fitbit, a sports tracking wearable company, blogs on topics in their active / healthy lifestyle niche to drive traffic to their site.

Instead of only targeting keywords like “buy a smartwatch” or “fitness trackers,” they focus on building brand awareness as a leader in the activewear space.

Focus your blogging efforts on becoming the Fitbit of your own niche to bring in big traffic.

4. Optimize For Mobile Shoppers

Mobile is trending. It’s hot. And for good reason:

Mobile traffic is more common than desktop traffic now and your store has to adapt. You can’t ignore or avoid mobile optimization anymore.

Not unless you want your SEO results and organic traffic to run for the hills.

Recent data shows that mobile shopping is on the rise, especially around holiday seasons:

“Smartphones were one of the biggest drivers of growth on Cyber Monday, responsible for 44.6% of site visits and nearly 30% of revenue.”

Now is the time to optimize for the mobile user.

Where do you begin? With pagespeed.

According to Google, the average mobile website for any and every industry is far too slow:

(Image Source)

And slow websites are a recipe for high bounce rates and skyrocketing cart abandonment.

(Image Source)

To increase your page speed load times and keep traffic around, use Google’s Test My Site to uncover what potential factors are impacting your speed and direct steps on how to fix each of them.

5. Secure Your Website With HTTPS

HTTPS, otherwise known as a security measure for websites using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), is a critical ranking factor in 2018 and beyond.

Way back in 2014, Google first announced that HTTPS was a ranking signal.

Since then, data sets are showing the same results:

First page ranked content is dominated by HTTPS secured websites.

(Image Source)

Thankfully, adding an SSL certificate to secure your website with 3dcart is incredibly easy.

They have an entire dedicated page of SSL deals on their website that instantly integrate on your site.

Check them out here.

3 Apps Make Your Online Store More SEO Friendly

1. Google AMP

While not a direct app on the app store, 3dcart makes it easy for their ecommerce stores to implement Google AMP.

And they’ve proven that it works.

According to 3dcart, AMP can increase conversion rates by 105%, decrease bounces by 31%, and increase CTR from search by 29%.

(Image Source)

Mobile speed is arguably more important than ever. Even a few seconds can increase bounce rates and ensure that traffic doesn’t result in sales.

Meanwhile, AMP provides a significant boost in speed and usability on small mobile devices, ensuring a better user experience and a better chance at closing sales.

To get AMP installed on your 3dcart store, follow their guide here.

2. AppNotch: Reach a Bigger Mobile Market

Mobile sites are great at selling for ecommerce.

But there is one glaring problem:

The majority of time on mobile is within applications, not browsers:

(Image Source)

To be specific, 92% of time on mobile devices is consumed via apps, not browsers like Chrome or Safari.

To combat this, you need a mobile app version of your store.

One of the easiest ways to do so is via AppNotch, an app on 3dcart’s app store.

AppNotch converts your ecommerce store into a fully functioning, responsive mobile app to help you sell easier than ever before.

With key push notifications you can reach all of your customers with free messaging rather than spending marketing dollars to get them back to your mobile site.

AppNotch can help you expand your traffic potential and reach customers without spending money on marketing or fighting for inbox space.

3. Quick Cart: Prevent Cart Abandonment

Building an organic traffic following isn’t easy, as you surely know.

And nothing is worse than bringing in tons of organic traffic for them to leave without buying a single product.

Or worse: leaving it abandoned in their cart.

Cart abandonment can be devastating to an ecommerce business. Cart abandonment rates on average hover around 75%.

(Image Source)

Fighting it is your best chance at converting more organic traffic that you worked so hard to get.

With Quick Cart, a free included app with 3dcart, you can circumvent cart abandonment by providing quick cart snapshots, preventing users from being taken away from their shopping experience by clicking on their cart:

Don’t let cart abandonment destroy your selling potential. Implement Quick Cart and deliver a better user experience.

Conclusion

3dcart is a lesser used platform than the likes of Shopify or BigCommerce, but it packs an SEO punch.

With diverse tool sets like AMP and Schema Markup built into the foundation, getting your site ranking high is easy compared to competitors.

Using the 3dcart tool set, optimize your products pages and category pages for shoppers. Create content that your customers want and align it with funnel stage keywords.

Optimize for mobile shoppers using the 3dcart page speed tool and consider securing your site with HTTPs for strong trust signals with Google.

If you feel like using apps, connect AMP, Analytics and AppNotch for a powerhouse of SEO data and optimization.

Put these to use and you’ll be driving more organic traffic than ever before.

Although its a hosted solution not sure it is considered a hosting platform, more like an ecommerce platform

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Our Top 10 Influencer Marketing Posts of 2018

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Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2018/12/our-top-10-influencer-marketing-posts.html

TopRank Marketing’s Top 6 B2B Influencer Marketing Predictions & Trends to Watch in 2019

How many of you can count the number of times you’ve purchased a product or made a decision based on a recommendation from a friend, acquaintance, review on the web or a celebrity endorsement? I’d venture to guess that most of you would say: "Too many to count." That’s because we all rely on advice from others to help us make sense of a complex world where we don’t always have all of the information we need to make a decision. Influencer marketing has been around for ages (literally), but it’s only begun to build steam within the B2B world over the past few years. The good news is that for many, B2B influencer marketing is still in its infancy—which means there are plenty of opportunities to begin implementing influencer marketing today. Interestingly, a report from Twitter found that recommendations from influencers are quickly gaining momentum and are nearly equal to receiving recommendations from actual friends. To help you navigate the future of B2B influencer marketing and guide your approach, we’ve put together six trends and predictions to watch for in 2019.

#1 - Increasing Data Privacy Concerns Will Impact the Role of Influencers

This year new GDPR regulations took effect across the EU, which left many global brands scrambling to make sure that they were appropriately handling personal identifying information. What many brands didn’t consider, was how it will impact influencer marketing programs. Some big brands have already begun evolving how they handle influencer information and what is needed in terms of documentation to properly meet new requirements. And that will only continue to increase. As Ursula Ringham, Head of Global Influencer Marketing for SAP*, told us earlier this year: “GDPR is going to be the stake in the ground for all data privacy—bar none. As GDPR kicks off, we’ll start to see lawsuits and controversies in the news and people will become increasingly aware and engaged. In the U.S., we’re already becoming more aware of data privacy issues, especially after Cambridge Analytica." She added: “But bottom line, GDPR will be really important. And as a result, our influencers will become even more important and valuable. They’re going to be our trusted brand ambassadors; our trusted voices. They’ll be a huge asset because people don’t trust brands outright—they trust people.” [bctt tweet="Bottom line, #GDPR will be really important. And as a result, our #influencers will become even more important and valuable. @usularingham #InfluencerMarketing #B2B" username="toprank"]

#2 - Capturing Influencer Attention Will Become Increasingly Difficult

As the demand for working with influencers increases, it will become more and more difficult to capture and hold their attention. As a result, before reaching out to influencers to collaborate, it will be even more important to first determine and communicate what's in it for them. Showing influencers value and displaying that you understand what they’re interested in will help you begin building a relationship of mutual value. As Rani Mani, Head of Influencer Social Enablement at Adobe, told us in a recent interview: "We at Adobe pride ourselves on cultivating and nurturing long term relationships with our influencers. We look at it as dating with an eye towards long term commitment which means we are always looking to establish a 'give to get' exchange where all parties come out ahead." The key that Rani touches on? Building lasting relationships, which will require more effort than simply reaching out when you need something. As Lee Odden, TopRank Marketing's CEO, recently wrote:  "Brands that use a shotgun approach to invite influencers only when they need them won’t see very high recruitment rates. The same goes for non-personalized, ego-centric messages from brands that are only concerned with what the brand wants to get out of the collaboration." And while we advise placing a lot of emphasis on building these relationships organically, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pay your influencers where appropriate. Think about what you’re asking of your influencers and make sure that you understand their expectations as well. Onalytica’s recent survey of brand and influencer relationships found that influencers have varying objectives, but many are most interested in building thought leadership and gaining exposure on specific topics followed by expanding their networks to reach new audiences. [bctt tweet="Brands that use a shotgun approach to invite influencers only when they need them won’t see very high recruitment rates. @leeodden #InfluencerMarketing #B2B" username="toprank"]

#3 - Emphasis on Specific Influencer Qualities Will Evolve

When you consider what makes for a good B2C influencer, the most sought-after quality is that they have an extensive network. For many B2B marketers, the emphasis has followed that same path. However, influence is not solely based on the number of followers that an expert has, something that is becoming more clear in the wake of fake social media accounts and inflated follower counts. True, social reach should be a consideration for your B2B influencer marketing program, but not the only one. Sometimes the influencers with the largest reach may not be engaging their audience in a meaningful way that leads to more users connecting with your content. As a result, if you aren't already, you need to be looking at a variety of influencer qualities (each of which are important) when identifying influencers to work with in 2019 and beyond. As you can see in the chart below, different types of experts can positively impact your program in several different ways. As your influencer program continues to mature, begin determining what the right mix of influencers to include for maximum impact. [bctt tweet="If you aren't already, you need to be looking at a variety of influencer qualities (each of which are important) when identifying influencers to work with in 2019 and beyond. - @azeckman #InfluencerMarketing #B2B" username="toprank"]

#4 - The Call for Tighter Topical Alignment

When many brands first start dipping their toes in the influencer marketing waters, it can be difficult to suss out exactly who to co-create content with. Unfortunately, one of the mistakes many brands make is working with influencers that don’t quite align with the topics they want to share with their target audience. As a result, in 2019 and beyond, you need to commit to meaningful influencer identification and collaboration if you want to co-create content that informs, engages, and resonates with your audiences. For example, if you want to collaborate with an influencer on the topic of “Account Based Marketing” it’s important to conduct critical research to determine what their take is on the topic, and if it’s a topic they publish content on frequently. Otherwise, you may not end up with the level of content that your audience is anticipating. Additionally, the influencer audience may not be a fit for the content topic which will not lead to the level of engagement you’re seeking. Part of TopRank Marketing’s process with our clients is to conduct research internally and externally to determine which topics should be included in influencer co-creation programs to best target the audience. Below is an example of how these topics could be priorities: But marketer beware. The goal is not to control the opinion of influencers. Instead, focus on finding the RIGHT influencers that already align with the message you’d like to create content around.

#5 - Influencer Video Content Will Reign Supreme

Video has been a rising content marketing star over the past couple years. But in 2018, video is officially dominating social media news feeds, search results, and the minds of our target audience. It's everyhere, and the launch and refinement of native video and Stories features on top social platforms has heightened this demand. Both live and pre-recorded video that can be uploaded natively on social platforms presents an opportunity for brands and influencers alike. Everything from talking head videos to interviews and motion graphics are all content co-creation moments that can be captured and shared again and again. So, as the overall demand for video increases, so will the demand for increased quality. If you plan on co-creating video with influencers, you need to plan for the unexpected. If recording remotely, be sure to prep your influencers beforehand and run a test before you begin recording. If you’re recording onsite (at somewhere like their office or event) be sure to create a contingency plan in case your original setup is not conducive to capturing great video. [bctt tweet="Both live and pre-recorded video that can be uploaded natively on social platforms presents an opportunity for brands and influencers alike. @azeckman #Influencer Marketing #B2B" username="toprank"]

#6 - The Battle Between ROI & Awareness Will Continue

Every B2B marketer wants to enhance brand awareness, recognition, and advocacy. But they also want to drive a high volume of qualified leads. But to get from one end of the spectrum to the other, you need to deploy tactics and strategies that are tailored to your audience where they actually are in their buyer's journey. The same goes for influencer marketing programs. Not all are created equal. For example, if your goal in working with influencers is to build awareness, you’ll need to deploy a specific strategy and mix of tactics that are vastly different than if your goal is demand or lead gen. In fact, the most recent Influence 2.0 Report from Traackr and Brian Solis found that the two top influencer priorities for marketers are to increase brand awareness followed closely by determining attribution and ROI. Influencer marketing can absolutely have an impact on both lead gen and awareness programs. However, in 2019 and beyond, it will be essential that you build an approach that aligns with your objectives. And as influencer marketing programs continue to mature, it will be essential that brands nail down exactly what they need to measure and how they’ll measure.

Ready. Set. Connect

2019 stands to be a big year for B2B influencer marketing. Consumers and influencers alike will expect more from the brands they work with, which means that one of the most important steps you can take as a brand is to build your influencer marketing program on a solid foundation. Instead of just throwing money at a program and expecting results, it’ll take time, effort and people to build meaningful relationships that will have a lasting impact. Want to know what’s on tap for social media marketing in 2019? Check out our top social media trends and predictions to watch in 2019.

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Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2018/12/toprank-marketings-top-6-b2b-influencer.html

From Our Marketing Family to Yours, Happy Holidays, Marketers!

The post From Our Marketing Family to Yours, Happy Holidays, Marketers! appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2018/12/from-our-marketing-family-to-yours.html