SEO - TrafficSoda

Q: Can Google Tell That Your Content Is AI-Generated?

Most likely. Back in November of 2022, Google software engineer Duy Nguyen said that Google has “algorithms to go after” those who post AI-plagiarized content . So, it’s safe to assume that Google can detect AI content. And that makes sense. As a search engine, Google’s primary goal is to deliver high-quality, relevant, and useful content to its users. They’re continuously refining their algorithms to ensure that low-quality, plagiarized, or manipulative content is not rewarded with high rankings in search results. Google invests heavily in machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve its search algorithms, so it is reasonable to assume they can identify and take action against AI-plagiarized content. However, this does not mean that all AI-generated content is inherently bad or penalized by Google. As long as AI-generated content is high-quality, original, and adds value to users, it can still perform well in search results. The key is to use AI tools like ChatGPT responsibly. Aim to create content that caters to your audience’s needs and adheres to Google’s guidelines. By doing so, you can harness the power of AI to improve your SEO efforts while avoiding potential penalties or negative impacts on your search rankings.

July 21, 2023by TrafficSodaSEO

Stay Ahead of These Game-Changing 2023 Local SEO Trends (It’s Not Only About AI)

Stay ahead of the game by keeping up with the 2023 Local SEO trends that have caught the eyes of our search engine marketers mid-year—and finish the year out stronger than you started.

As generative AI transforms search engines and the threat of a downturn drags on, keeping up with the massive changes happening in SEO has never been more important.

Or more challenging, for that matter, since these days, news on Google latest algorithm tweaks and search features is breaking literally by the minute.

What we want to do here is get you up to speed on seven 2023 Local SEO trends and changes that we’ve got our eyes on and tell how you can leverage them to your advantage.

Our goal? To equip you with practical insights and proven strategies that will keep your business at the top of local search results.

If you’re new to local SEO, check out the refresher below—if not, skip straight to our first point.

Content:

Background: Understanding Google’s Approach to Local Ranking

Capitalize on Consistent Customer Reviews
Build Backlinks to Your GBP Landing Page
Leverage Your Location (or Overcome its Drawbacks)
Unleash the Potential of Dedicated Service Pages
Make Quality Content and Internal Links Work
Embrace On-page, Technical SEO, and Local Schema
Get to Know Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE)

Background: Understanding Google’s Approach to Local Ranking

You know the saying, “location, location, location”?

When it comes to local SEO, Google takes this concept to heart—but with a bit of important nuance.

Beyond just physical proximity, Google’s local ranking revolves around three key factors:

Relevance
Distance
Prominence

You might be wondering what these terms mean and how they can help your business. So, let’s unravel these factors one by one, starting with the first element of Google’s local ranking trinity: Relevance.

1. Relevance is the Perfect Matchmaker

Relevance is all about how well your business matches a user’s search query.

When your business profile matches what someone is searching for, Google gives you a thumbs up.

By refining your business information, you’re telling Google: “Hey, we’re the perfect match for that search!” And Google loves a good match.

2. Distance is the Art of Being in the Right Place

Distance is how far your business is from the location specified in a user’s search.

If a user doesn’t specify a location, Google takes a Sherlock Holmes approach and calculates distance based on “what we do know about their location”, which could include search history.

This factor reminds us of the importance of maintaining an accurate NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) across your website and Google Business Profile. Even the online mentions of your business’s NAP play a role.

Making these details readily available and consistent helps Google locate your business with pinpoint accuracy, giving you a greater chance of landing in front of the right audience.

3. Prominence is Standing Tall and Standing Out

Prominence is your business’s claim to fame. It’s about how well-known or reputable your business is, both online and offline.

This factor is influenced by elements like Google reviews, backlinks, articles, directories, and even your website’s authority.

If you’re a well-established brand or a business with glowing reviews, Google is likely to boost your prominence in local search.

But this doesn’t mean newer businesses can’t compete—a well-optimized website with quality content can earn prominence, too.

Don’t Fall For the One-Size-Fits-All Local Search Myth

We’d all love a local SEO cheat sheet. Wouldn’t it be great to have a list of every ranking factor and how much they each matter?

Unfortunately, Google doesn’t play like that. In 2023, local SEO remains a game of ongoing observation and adaptation.

Suppose you’re a local SEO expert working with a drive-through coffee shop. You might notice that Google heavily weighs a factor like “popular times” for the industry.

On the other hand, if you’re doing local SEO for a lawyer, you’ll probably find that “popular times” is totally irrelevant compared to something like link authority.

Even though such observations are helpful, they do not provide a universal rule. Every market and industry has its own local search algorithm quirks.

When we say that a specific element impacts rankings, it’s not a revelation from the sacred Google algorithm scroll. It’s based on experience and observation. It’s based on the data we and other reputable SEO professionals have collected through experimentation and testing.

There’s no universal recipe for SEO success. But once you grasp this concept, you can shift your strategy from being a one-size-fits-all to a custom-tailored local SEO approach.

So, take heart. Although we don’t have a definite formula for success, we do have the collective wisdom of experience, observation, and experimentation.

And below, we’ll discuss what we’re seeing as key important factors in local SEO in 2023.

Google My Business vs. Google Business Profile (Same Thing, Different Name)

As of November 2021, Google has officially transitioned from ’Google My Business’ (GMB) to ’Google Business Profile’ (GBP). It’s the same feature, just under a new name. To add to that, the back-end dashboard where you manage your profile is now known as ’Business Profile Manager.’

1. Capitalize on Consistent Customer Reviews

When it comes to optimizing your local SEO, one factor that often takes a backseat but holds immense potential is customer reviews.

In an era where E-E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Experience, and Trustworthiness) rules, high-quality reviews can set you apart from the competition. Here’s why a steady stream of customer reviews should be your top priority.

Local Business Reviews are a Trust-Building Exercise

Google isn’t just about algorithms and bots. Above all, it’s about creating a trustworthy and reliable user experience.

And that’s where consistent reviews come into play.

A sudden rush of positive reviews can seem suspicious, like an attempt to game the system. But a steady flow of reviews over a long period? This tells Google, and your potential customers, that your business reliably provides excellent experiences over time.

That you aren’t just a flash in the pan. That you’re here to stay.

But the consistency of local reviews isn’t the only factor to consider when discussing 2023 local SEO trends. There’s also review velocity, diversity, and quality.

Review velocity is the rate that your business gains new reviews over time. A high review velocity signals to search engines that your business is actively engaging with customers, continually fostering dialogue and feedback. Google loves this engagement. It’s a signal that your business is alive, kicking, and deeply involved with its audience. It’s an indication of freshness and activity that can significantly boost your local SEO rankings.
Review diversity is not only about a diversity of opinions, but also diversity of sources. Google and other search engines consider reviews from various different sources, like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, as a sign of credibility. They reward businesses with positive reviews from a wide range of review sources with higher rankings. This diversity, coupled with consistency, amplifies your reputation and credibility, both online and offline.
Review quality is just what it sounds like. While consistent reviews are key, the sentiment and quality of these reviews matter too. After all, your goal is to provide an excellent experience and build trust. Encourage your customers to share honest, detailed feedback about their experiences. Remember, every review is a story about your business. The richer the story, the more it adds to your E-E-A-T score and your overall SEO efforts.

Customer reviews are more than just ratings; they’re the testament of your customer’s journey with your business. And in the grand scheme of local SEO, they’re increasingly important.

Adopt strategies that drive consistent, quality reviews. Embrace the power of organic growth, trust-building, and the delight of a satisfied customer.

What Else is New in Local Business Reviews that Impacts 2023 Local SEO Trends?

We couldn’t let you go without mentioning a couple of key recent developments in the world of online reviews that you should pay attention to.

FTC Crackdown on Fake Reviews

In a significant step towards ensuring authenticity and credibility, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is proposing to ban fake reviews. The new rule, if accepted, could see businesses facing fines up to $50,000 each time a customer encounters a counterfeit review.

It’s not just about penalizing businesses that use fake reviews, but also the brokers that produce them.

The proposal extends to prohibit “insider” reviews and testimonials, mandating that any review or endorsement from a company’s managers, employees, or their relatives must have proper disclosure.

This move underscores the importance of fostering a culture of genuine and ethical reviews, which can enhance your E-E-A-T score and positively impact local SEO.

Google’s AI-Based Review Filter

Google has made significant strides in making sure Google Business Profile reviews are the real deal. Part of this effort involves a new AI-based filter on Google reviews meant to weed out the fakes and the spammers.

However, this move has led to instances of genuine Google reviews disappearing. In response, Google has had to set up a dedicated process businesses can use to report missing reviews.

Interestingly, the disappearing review issue seems to impact certain industries more than others.

The real estate, home services, and construction sectors appear to be the most affected. Place-based businesses, like car dealerships, brick-and-mortar establishments, or restaurants, are reporting fewer issues.

This difference could be attributed to Google’s ability to verify “store visits”, thereby increasing trust in reviews left by consumers who have visited the location before leaving a review.

Google’s Stand Against Malicious Schemes

Finally, underscoring its commitment to real reviews, Google has taken legal action against a company allegedly creating fake Google Business Profiles and counterfeit reviews. The lawsuit indicates Google’s resolve to safeguard its platform from misuse, promising a more genuine and reliable environment for businesses and customers.

The landscape of customer reviews and local search is constantly evolving. Staying informed about these developments can help businesses navigate this space effectively, ensuring their practices align with regulatory standards and technological advancements.

2. Build Backlinks to Your GBP Landing Page

Your GBP landing page isn’t just about linking back to your homepage. It’s a matter of focusing on the specific URLs that could most impact your local rankings.

What that is depends on your business. Maybe it’s a city-specific service page, or a dedicated city page for each GBP location if you’re a multi-location business.

One way to determine which page you should link to from GPB is to look at Google Search Console (GSC). GSC allows you to pinpoint which pages are attracting traffic for your key search terms, helping you select the perfect candidate for your GBP landing page.

A great point highlighted in the article by Sterling Sky above is to make sure that your chosen keyword triggers a map pack in search results.

And remember, don’t overlook the importance of using UTMs to track your GBP traffic by location. This simple step enables you to compare GBP vs. organic data in GSC, adding another layer to your SEO insights.

Optimizing Your GBP Landing Page with Quality Backlinks

So, you’ve identified the ideal GBP landing page. Now it’s time for optimization, and that’s where backlinks come into play.

Backlinks act as a thumbs-up to your website, increasing your visibility and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). They offer a triple threat in terms of boosting local SEO:

Local Authority: Backlinks from local websites and directories lend your business authority, painting a picture of trustworthiness for search engines.
Local Citations: Backlinks from local directories act as citations, providing consistent information about your business and solidifying your business’s legitimacy.
Local Relevance: Backlinks from local industry-related websites and blogs help to establish your relevance to your local audience.

Backlinks from local websites, blogs, and directories not only increase your authority but also showcase your relevance.

And when you add backlinks from review sites to the mix, you build an online reputation that signals quality and credibility to search engines.

3. Leverage Your Location (or Overcome its Drawbacks)

There’s another piece to the local SEO puzzle that’s bigger than ever, and that’s your physical location.

We get it. Setting up shop in the heart of the city isn’t as simple as snapping your fingers.

But understanding the strategic advantage of your location can be the game-changer in your local SEO journey.

In the context of local SEO, proximity isn’t merely about how close your business is to the searcher. It’s about your business’s closeness to the heart of the city you’re serving.

When a user searches for a service or product in a specific location, search engines prioritize businesses in or near that area. Your location’s relevance to the search query can dramatically influence your visibility.

Businesses near the city center enjoy a clear advantage in visibility. It’s simple – higher population density and foot traffic mean a larger volume of searches. The result? A greater chance of your business showing up in local search results.

Now, of course, this is a tough factor to control if you’re not located near city centers. Especially for businesses with multiple locations, the impact of location on local SEO can be a tough pill to swallow.

But here’s the silver lining: understanding this allows you to plan strategically and maximize your potential within your given parameters. While changing your location might not be an option, understanding its impact is your key to informed decision-making.

4. Unleash the Potential of Dedicated Service Pages

Remember when adding predefined services to your GBP seemed to have little impact on your local search rankings?

Those were the days. Fast forward to now, and the picture has dramatically changed.

Recent tests by Sterling Sky and Whitespark show that adding services to your GBP significantly boosts your local rankings.

But we recommend taking it a step further. Instead of just listing your services on your GBP, imagine creating a dedicated web page for each service.

Sounds like a lot of work, right? But consider the potential benefits.

Each page is an opportunity to showcase the unique aspects of a service, to paint a vivid picture that attracts and engages your audience. This level of detail can significantly improve your visibility for those specific services.

And there’s more. Optimized service pages can make your website a magnet for relevant keywords. This means higher ranking in search results and a better user experience for your visitors.

Your prospective customers land on a page that directly addresses their needs. No confusion, no navigation nightmare, just straight to the solution they’ve been looking for.

Suddenly, choosing your business becomes the logical next step.

Make Sure Your Service Pages Stand Out

But beware, there’s a fine line between a successful strategy and a SEO pitfall.

While it’s essential to have separate service pages, duplicating content across these pages is a no-go. Remember, each service is unique and deserves its own spotlight.

Ensure your content is fresh and unique for each service.
Describe its benefits, its features, and why it’s the perfect solution for your customers.
Add relevant images, glowing testimonials, and anything else that makes your service stand out.

You must also make it a point to have your GBP landing pages reflect the breadth of your services. If a service isn’t mentioned on your site, Google’s going to have a hard time figuring out what you offer, and so will your potential customers.

By incorporating these services into your GBP landing page, you’re increasing your chances of being recognized in Google’s “website mentions” justifications. Below is the map pack result for the search query ‘buy kids bike’—note the bold text in the top two local results.

With each unique service page, tailored to the local area, you not only boost your SEO efforts but also become a more attractive choice for your customers.

5. Make Quality Content and Internal Links Work

This point follows directly from the previous one about individual service pages, and it comes in two interrelated parts: content and internal linking.

In the journey to harness 2023’s local SEO trends, your greatest ally is high-quality content. But it’s easy to fall into the trap of churning out countless pages, each one basically copying the other.

This is a pitfall you need to avoid, because Google really doesn’t take kindly to duplicate content. Our topline tips to avoid this trap are as follows:

Focus on creating unique, valuable content for each of your product or service pages, with an emphasis on geographical relevance. Catering to your local audience is crucial.
Paint a vivid picture of your services, and how they address the unique needs of your local clientele. Remember, you’re not just offering a product or service. You’re providing solutions that make life better. Show them how!
Punctuate your words with relevant, original images as well. Recognizable local landmarks are a great start, but what you really want is your people and product on the backdrop of those landmarks.

Use Internal Links to Make Your Site a Roadmap

In the realm of local SEO, internal linking is like a GPS system guiding your visitors through your website.

Imagine your visitor, lost in a sea of content, unsure where to go next. The lack of clear directions leaves them frustrated.

So, how do you alleviate this? By implementing a robust internal linking structure.

Directing users to related content or services on your site enhances the user experience. It encourages them to spend more time exploring, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Understanding and implementing high-quality content and effective internal linking is your solution to a user-friendly, Google-approved site. By addressing these key elements, you’re not only enhancing your local SEO but also providing an enjoyable user experience.

Now, it’s your turn to put these insights into action. Start by auditing your content and internal linking structure. Identify areas for improvement and make the necessary adjustments. This might be a daunting task, but remember, every step you take brings you closer to your goal of a highly optimized, user-friendly website that rules the local SEO landscape.

6. Embrace On-page, Technical SEO, and Local Schema

You’ve got a handle on the 2023 local SEO trends we’ve noticed in reviews, content, and GBP pages.

But if you stop there, you’re missing out.

Enter the world of on-page and technical SEO, with a special focus on local schema—increasingly becoming the path to truly standing out in local search, and to skyrocketing conversions.

Think of on-page and technical SEO as the foundation and the bricks of your online presence. On-page SEO involves optimizing each page of your website to rank higher and earn relevant traffic. Keywords, meta tags, URL structure, and content quality all play a part here.

Technical SEO, on the other hand, focuses on the backend—website speed, XML sitemaps, website security, mobile-friendliness, and so on. These elements might not be immediately visible, but they make a significant difference to your website’s performance and its appeal to search engines.

Each step you take towards optimizing your on-page and technical SEO is a step towards creating a powerful, search-engine friendly website that stands firm amidst the changes in algorithms and trends.

Speak Google’s Language with Local Schema

Imagine having a direct line of communication with Google’s algorithm, telling it exactly what your business is about.

This is basically what local schema can do.

By adding LocalBusiness Schema Markup to your website, you’re not just speaking Google’s language, you’re shouting out loud in it. But not in a rude way. Sanctioned shouting.

What is LocalBusiness schema? It’s a type of markup within the schema.org vocabulary, used to categorize and provide detailed information about local businesses. It translates your content into machine-readable language, or JSON-LD, making it easier for Google to understand and index your site.

Why is this important? Because it makes you eligible for rich results—those eye-catching search results that provide additional information and visuals right in the SERPs.

And the benefits don’t stop there. Rich results attract higher click-through rates, which leads to increased organic traffic, which in turn leads to more conversions.

Google provides documentation on how to add LocalBusiness markup to your website. It may feel like speaking a foreign language at first, but the reward is the opportunity to directly influence how your business appears in search results.

We’ve also heard word of SEOs using ChatGPT to write schema, which could prove a powerful time-saver. We’re sticking with relying on our experts for now, but there’s potential there.

7. Get to Know Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE)

This year, Google introduced the Search Generative Experience (SGE), which represents the single most dramatic evolution of the SERP in decades.

And yes, it’s as daunting as it sounds. But let’s break it down.

What we have now are largely observations and conjecture, but these early insights are crucial. Google’s SGE aims to integrate AI into the search results, a significant leap in our SEO journey. Currently, it’s being tested in Google’s Search Labs.

While elements of the SGE Pack and Classic Local Pack overlap, there isn’t a 100% match, indicating a broader net being cast by the SGE. It’s also a clear indication just how much AI will impact local SEO going forward.

As with any new frontier, SGE comes with its share of uncertainty and anticipation. It’s a brave new world, and the rules are still being written. But the promise it holds is too significant to ignore.

The takeaway here is simple: keep SGE on your radar. The year is only halfway through, but AI is already having a huge impact on 2023’s local SEO trends. Embrace the challenge it presents, observe its impact, and adapt your strategies accordingly.

Remember, in this game of digital visibility, the ones who adapt are the ones who thrive. It’s your playing field. Now go forth, explore, and conquer.

Keep an Eye on These 2023 Local SEO Trends

In the ever-evolving landscape of local SEO, keeping up with the shifts and nuances can seem overwhelming.

There’s a lot to take in. But remember, you’re not alone in this journey.

Our agency is here to alleviate that pressure, to help you decode the complexities, and to guide you through this challenging landscape. Reach out to us today and we’ll help pave the way for the successes of tomorrow.

June 8, 2023by Amanda TurnerGoogle Analytics SEO

E-E-A-T vs E-A-T: Everything to Know About Google’s E-E-A-T Update For SEO (Helpful Content Update)

Google’s E-E-A-T update redefines what a credible website should be. Act now to optimize your SEO and stay ahead of evolving search engine algorithms.

E-E-A-T, which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, is a game-changer when it comes to content and website best practices. Navigating this new landscape is both a challenge and an opportunity for businesses like yours.

To seize this opportunity, you must understand and integrate E-E-A-T into your SEO strategy.

In this deep-dive, we’ll explore the ins and outs of the E-E-A-T update, how it affects Google’s SEO guidelines, and its specific implications for Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) sites.

We’ll also provide a comprehensive guide on how to align your website with E-E-A-T benchmarks by showcasing your industry knowledge, creating user-focused content, acquiring high-quality backlinks, and embracing transparency.

Don’t fall behind the curve while competitors move forward. Learn how to keep your website relevant by embracing Google’s E-E-A-T update.

E-A-T versus E-E-A-T: What Is Google’s E-E-A-T Update and How Does It Affect My Website?
The 4 Levels of E-E-A-T
Impact of the E-E-A-T Google Update on YMYL Websites
10 Key Steps to Optimize Your Website for Google’s E-E-A-T Update
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions

E-A-T versus E-E-A-T: What Is Google’s E-E-A-T Update and How Does It Affect My Website?

In the ever-changing world of the web, the spotlight on your online content often comes down to the whims of Google’s search algorithm. This tech giant, which rules the global search engine realm, uses complex factors to decide who gets the gold—those coveted top spots in search results.

In December 2022, Google significantly changed its E-A-T concept, now known as Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness or E-E-A-T, in its Search Quality Rater Guidelines update.

Here’s what happened. The old E-A-T, which stood for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, gained an extra ‘E’ in 2022, standing for Experience. This addition highlights the importance of content creators sharing their personal experiences, especially when it comes to ‘Your Money or Your Life’ (YMYL) topics.

So, What Exactly is E-E-A-T?

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. These pillars shape Google’s algorithm to favour websites that excel in these areas, ensuring the most relevant and helpful search results.

Here, ‘Experience’ means practical knowledge of a subject. This could be anything from personal stories to hands-on involvement with a product or service or unique insights into a particular topic.

Why Does the E-E-A-T Update Matter?

It’s all about ensuring that Google users receive accurate, impactful content. By aligning your website with E-E-A-T benchmarks, you increase your chances of appearing in Google’s search results, attracting more organic traffic and potential customers.

E-E-A-T also plays a big part in establishing trust. You’ll inspire confidence and stand out from the competition by showcasing expertise, delivering authoritative content, and building trust through things like reviews, testimonials, and secure payment options.

As Google continues to fight misinformation and subpar content online, E-E-A-T is a powerful tool for ensuring users get accurate, reliable, and up-to-date information.

Businesses that prioritize E-E-A-T in their SEO and content strategies are more likely to be seen as credible information sources and thus get more free traffic from Google.

Now that we’ve covered the basics of Google’s massive E-E-A-T update, let’s dive deeper into each component—Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness—and explore how they shape Google’s SEO guidelines and impact your website’s performance.

1. Experience

The addition of ‘Experience’ in Google’s E-E-A-T update shows a clear commitment to boosting the quality and relevance of content in search results.

Experience is all about firsthand encounters or practical knowledge related to the topic at hand, bringing a unique, personally-informed perspective.

When incorporating experience into your content, personal anecdotes or case studies involving your product or service usage highlight your unique viewpoint and enhance credibility. Sharing your experiences makes everything more relatable and engaging to readers.

The E-E-A-T update becomes particularly significant when dealing with YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics. In these cases, firsthand experience provides an assurance of authenticity, such as financial advice from someone with proven experience in the sector.

However, it’s important to note that while sharing your experiences, the information must still be factual, current, and supported by credible data.

Experience should complement, not replace, thorough research and fact-checking.

2. Expertise

The next pillar of the E-E-A-T framework is ‘Expertise.’

Expertise refers to your depth of knowledge in a specific field. It means your content is not just accurate and reliable but full of detailed insights, going beyond the basics to cover the complexities of the topic.

There are various ways to demonstrate your expertise. You can showcase your formal education, professional credentials, or awards.

But expertise isn’t only about official qualifications. It can come from years of experience in a specific field, involvement in professional bodies, or authorship of thought leadership pieces or books.

When it comes to YMYL topics, expertise is a must. Google expects such content to come from individuals with relevant qualifications or credentials, such as health advice from healthcare professionals. However, it’s important to remember that content should be fact-checked, current, backed by reputable sources, and presented in an understandable and accessible manner.

Expertise, along with the right experience, can dramatically improve the quality and trustworthiness of your content.

3. Authoritativeness

The third pillar of Google’s E-E-A-T framework is ‘Authoritativeness.’

Authoritativeness focuses on how well-recognized you or your brand are as experts or thought leaders in your field. Building authoritativeness is a long-term commitment that requires consistently delivering high-quality, reliable content over time.

One of the key indicators of authoritativeness is the presence of high-quality backlinks from other reputable websites. These backlinks signal to Google that others trust and cite your content, boosting your authority in search rankings.

Additionally, mentions or recognition from respected institutions, as well as endorsements or testimonials from experts or influencers, can enhance your authoritativeness.

Engaging with your audience through comments, feedback, and active discussions strengthens your authority. It demonstrates that users value your content and can further validate your expertise.

Your authority can also be demonstrated through your social media presence, with large follower bases or high engagement rates.

But it’s essential to balance authority, expertise, and trustworthiness. High authority without the necessary expertise or trust can lead to misinformation or reduced credibility.

It’s essential to ensure that your content remains accurate, reliable, and supported by reputable sources while showcasing your authority.

4. Trustworthiness

The final element in Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines is ‘Trustworthiness.’

Trustworthiness refers to the reliability and dependability of your content, both from a user’s perspective and in the eyes of Google’s algorithms. It forms the foundation of your E-E-A-T score and provides assurance to users that they can engage with and act on your content with confidence.

Credible sources are essential for establishing trustworthiness. Your website content is more trustworthy when it contains references or citations that validate it and is regularly updated with new information.

Transparency also plays a vital role in building trust. Sharing your credentials, affiliations, and potential conflicts of interest helps users understand the perspective behind your content. A clear privacy policy and terms of service give users confidence that their data is handled responsibly.

Website security is another important aspect of trustworthiness. A secure (‘https’) website protects user data and offers a safe browsing experience.

User experience is also a factor in building trust. A user-friendly, responsive website with a clear layout and fast load times can increase trust, as can prompt customer service responses.

Together with expertise, experience, and authoritativeness, trustworthiness completes the E-E-A-T framework, underpinning Google’s approach to assessing the quality of web content.

In the next section, we’ll explore the four levels of E-E-A-T and discuss what it takes to climb the E-E-A-T update ladder and achieve better SEO rankings.

The 4 Levels of E-E-A-T

Google’s E-E-A-T is not a one-size-fits-all metric. Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines describe E-E-A-T as a spectrum with four distinct levels. Understanding these levels can help you gauge where your website stands and what you need to do to climb the E-E-A-T ladder.

1. Lowest E-E-A-T

At the bottom of the E-E-A-T spectrum, we find spammy websites that provide a poor user experience.

These sites often lack substantial and reliable information, feature unclear main content, engage in harmful practices or scams, and employ manipulative tactics.

As a result, they struggle to inspire trust and fail to meet users’ search needs effectively.

2. Lacking E-E-A-T

Even decent websites can sometimes need to catch up in certain aspects of E-E-A-T, highlighting the importance of maintaining topical relevance to build a solid E-E-A-T foundation.

Websites at this level may fail to fully serve their intended topic or purpose, regardless of having a good reputation or other positive factors. Examples include:

The content creator needs more substantial experience, for example, a restaurant review penned by an individual who has never dined at the establishment.
The content lacks the necessary expertise, such as an article on skydiving written by someone without prior knowledge.
The website or content creator needs more authority and trustworthiness on the subject matter, such as finding tax form downloads on a cooking website.
The page or website needs to inspire trust in fulfilling its intended purpose, like a shopping page with minimal customer service information available.

3. High E-E-A-T

Websites with a high level of E-E-A-T demonstrate a well-balanced combination of experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.

You can find high E-E-A-T content across various platforms, including news or government sites, relevant videos, small business websites, and even blogs.

These sites satisfy user search intent, deliver high-quality content, and showcase clear expertise. Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines notes that pages with high E-E-A-T are trustworthy or very trustworthy, and have the following qualities:

Demonstrate a high level of effort, originality, talent, or skill such that the page achieves its purpose well
Contain adequate information about the website and content creator for the purpose of the page
Author and/or publisher has a positive reputation
Serve a beneficial purpose
Are not expected to cause harm
Include quality titles that summarize the page
Do not have ads or sponsored content that significantly interfere with the main content

4. Highest E-E-A-T

The pinnacle of E-E-A-T achievement lies in websites that go above and beyond to provide top-notch content that fully satisfies user search intent.

Such websites produce accurate, in-depth, well-articulated content that aligns with expert consensus when necessary. It’s not just information—it’s enlightening, adds value, and has a profound positive impact on users. Websites or content creators who establish themselves as unparalleled authorities in their respective fields possess very high E-E-A-T.

Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines notes that Tthe criteria for highest-quality content can vary depending on the purpose and type of website. Here are examples of such content:

News: Exceptional reporting that uncovers new and valuable information, backed by primary sources and meeting professional journalistic standards.
Artistic Content: Unique and original creations by highly skilled artists, requiring significant talent and effort. YMYL standards apply if the content relates to YMYL topics.
Informational Content: Original, accurate, comprehensive, and clearly communicated, reflecting expert consensus. While expectations may differ based on the subject, all very high-quality informational content shares traits of accuracy and clarity.

Climbing the E-E-A-T ladder requires meticulous content curation and a strong focus on user satisfaction. The effort invested pays off, as Google recognizes and rewards websites with high E-E-A-T scores by offering better search rankings.

Impact of the E-E-A-T Google Update on YMYL Sites

YMYL, which stands for Your Money or Your Life, includes websites that provide information or services with the potential to significantly affect someone’s financial status, health, safety, or overall quality of life. This can range from sites offering financial advice to those sharing the latest news or parenting tips.

The introduction of Google’s E-E-A-T update — Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — has specific implications for YMYL websites. Because incorrect or unreliable information can have far-reaching impacts on users, Google has set up specific measures to assess the quality and reliability of YMYL sites.

YMYL sites, especially those related to crucial aspects of users’ health or financial well-being, must closely follow E-E-A-T guidelines. Content creators on YMYL sites can share personal stories as long as they don’t mislead or defraud users. Pages detailing personal experiences on YMYL topics can still rank high on the E-E-A-T scale, provided the content is reliable, secure, and agrees with expert consensus.

But when it comes to giving YMYL advice or guides, the content should ideally come from certified professionals in the relevant fields. Certain types of YMYL information need to come directly from industry experts, highlighting the importance of maintaining high E-E-A-T standards for these websites.

10 Key Steps to Optimize Your Website for Google’s E-E-A-T Update

To tap into the power of Google’s E-E-A-T update, it’s crucial to ensure that your website’s SEO strategy is aligned with them.

By focusing on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, you can enhance your website’s credibility and visibility in search results.

The standards for attaining very high E-E-A-T will vary depending on the page’s focal point. The bar is higher for YMYL topics and topics with much competition.

But regardless of the topic or industry, you should apply some universal E-E-A-T principles to everything you publish. So let’s delve into the key steps you should take now.

1. Provide Accurate and Verifiable Information

A fundamental part of building E-E-A-T is making sure your content is accurate and that you can easily fact-check it.

Supporting your information with references, citations, and links to credible sources is crucial. And it’s just as important to ensure that the sources you link to are trustworthy. Connections to questionable websites can harm your credibility.

This is why Wikipedia ranks so well across so many search queries. While Wikipedia pages rely on crowdsourcing, they link to reliable sources.

By making it easy for users to verify the accuracy of your content, you boost your E-E-A-T score and improve your SEO.

2. Prove Your Organization’s Authenticity

Your website needs to show it’s part of a real organization. To establish authenticity and bolster your website’s E-E-A-T, you must go beyond surface-level claims and demonstrate that your organization is genuine and trustworthy.

Provide Detailed About Us Page: Dedicate a comprehensive “About Us” page that provides an in-depth overview of your organization. Include information about your mission, values, history, and the people behind the scenes. Communicate your organization’s story and how it aligns with your products or services. This helps users connect with your brand and understand your commitment to authenticity.
Share Team Bios: Introduce the individuals behind your organization by creating engaging and informative employee bios. Highlight their professional expertise, qualifications, and achievements. Additionally, include personal details such as their interests and passions to add a human touch. This showcases the real people driving your business and builds trust with your audience.
Display Physical Address and Contact Information: Provide a physical address, phone number, and email address prominently on your website. This transparency reassures users that you have a legitimate presence and allows them to contact you if needed. Verifiable contact information adds credibility and reinforces the authenticity of your organization.
Show Photos of Your Offices or Operations: Include original and high-quality photos of your offices, facilities, or production processes. Visuals offer a glimpse into the real-world aspect of your organization, making it tangible and relatable to your audience. This level of transparency instils trust and authenticity.
Highlight Certifications and Awards: If your organization has received certifications, industry awards, or recognition from reputable sources, proudly display them on your website. This demonstrates external validation of your expertise and adds credibility to your brand. Ensure you provide details about the certifications or awards and the criteria required to achieve them.
Showcase Community Involvement: Demonstrate your organization’s commitment to giving back and community involvement. Share information about charitable initiatives, partnerships, or events reflecting your values and community engagement. This showcases authenticity and highlights your organization’s social responsibility and positive impact.

All of these steps can significantly increase your site’s E-E-A-T and in turn boost your SEO results.

3. Make Contact Details Easy to Find

Building trust with your audience is essential, and one way to do this is by making your contact information readily accessible.

Create a dedicated “Contact Us” page with an email form and phone number. Consider placing your contact details in a prominent location such as the footer of your homepage.

You establish an open and transparent communication channel that enhances your website’s trustworthiness by providing multiple contact points and making it easy for users to reach you.

4. Be Transparent

You need to go beyond providing accurate information to strengthen your website’s trustworthiness. It’s time to implement practices that prioritize transparency, ethics, and user safety, such as:

Disclose Potential Conflicts of Interest: Be upfront about any potential conflicts that could impact your content or reviews. If you have a partnership or receive compensation from a company or product you feature, clearly disclose it to your audience. This transparency helps maintain the integrity of your recommendations and builds trust with your users.
Provide Clear Privacy Policies: Ensure your website has a comprehensive and easy-to-understand privacy policy. Clearly outline how user data is collected, stored, and used. Assure your visitors that their privacy is a priority and explain the steps you take to protect their personal information.
Offer Terms and Conditions: Publish clear terms and conditions that govern the use of your website, including any limitations, liabilities, and disclaimers. This demonstrates your commitment to transparency and establishes a framework for user engagement on your site.
Engage in Open Communication: Encourage open communication with your audience by providing accessible channels for feedback, questions, and concerns. Display contact information prominently and respond promptly and thoughtfully to inquiries. Active engagement shows that you value user input and are dedicated to providing a transparent and user-centric experience.
Showcase User Testimonials and Feedback: Display genuine user testimonials and feedback to provide social proof of your website’s quality, products, or services. Ensure the testimonials are authentic and include real names or identifiable information to build credibility. Genuine testimonials can demonstrate transparency and reinforce the trustworthiness of your offerings.
Share Company Policies and Practices: Go beyond the standard legal disclaimers and share additional policies and practices highlighting your commitment to transparency. This could include information on your sourcing practices, sustainability initiatives, or community involvement. Openly sharing these details showcases your values and allows users to make informed decisions based on their alignment with your principles.

Remember, transparency is an ongoing effort. Regularly review and update your policies, address user feedback, and adapt your practices to maintain trust and credibility.

By prioritizing transparency, you strengthen the foundation of your website’s E-E-A-T and foster long-term relationships with your audience.

5. Showcase Your Expertise

One of the key elements of Google’s E-E-A-T framework is demonstrating your expertise. That means highlighting your subject matter experts’ qualifications, affiliations, and experience.

If you’re creating new content, consider including expert quotes or inviting industry professionals to contribute articles. Google’s guidelines prioritize content from expert authors. For example, a parenting blog written by a recognized authority in the field would score high for E-E-A-T.

For YMYL topics, expertise is incredibly crucial. Google expects content on these subjects from individuals with relevant qualifications or credentials. For example, health advice should ideally come from healthcare professionals. It must be fact-checked, current, backed by reputable sources, and presented in an understandable and accessible manner.

Consider having your experts write guest posts on other websites to enhance your brand visibility and emphasize the qualifications or skills of your content creators. This will boost your website in turn.

6. Champion Authentic Reviews

Genuine customer reviews are a powerful tool for validating your expertise and building trust with your audience.

Encourage satisfied customers to rate and review your services on platforms like Google My Business, social media, Yelp, Glassdoor, and more. Make it a habit to invite feedback after every interaction.

You should also respond to reviews, both positive and negative, on a regular basis. Google offers the following suggestions for dealing with bad reviews:

Be prompt: Respond to negative reviews promptly to show you value customer feedback.
Stay professional: Remain courteous and avoid taking reviews personally, maintaining a professional tone.
Understand the issue: Investigate the customer’s experience and acknowledge any mistakes, offering genuine apologies when appropriate.
Show empathy: Display compassion towards the customer’s concerns and offer to discuss the matter further through email or phone.
Be authentic: Sign off with your name or initials to demonstrate that a real person is addressing and taking the issue seriously.

As for fake negative reviews? Check out our step-by-step process for how to deal with fake negative reviews of a business, including how to report fake reviews and what to do when removal isn’t possible.

Creating case studies about happy customers is another great way to enhance your trustworthiness and E-E-A-T standing. We’ve generated thousands of qualified leads using custom case studies tailored to our clients’ needs and markets.

7. Secure High-Quality Backlinks

Securing high-quality backlinks from reputable websites is another important aspect of building E-E-A-T.

Google’s algorithms now prioritize the quality of backlinks over their quantity. Focus on obtaining backlinks from relevant and authoritative websites in your industry. The anchor text used in the link and the overall authority of the linking domain are also essential factors to consider.

Avoid engaging in “black hat” link-building tactics, as they can harm your website’s credibility and ranking. Instead, focus on creating valuable content that naturally attracts backlinks from reputable sources.

Quality backlinks act as endorsements, signalling to Google that your content is trusted and relevant.

8. Write For People, Not Search Engine Algorithms

Google prioritizes content that benefits users over content created to enhance search engine rankings. Create valuable, high-quality content that addresses users’ needs as your primary goal, with search engine optimization as a secondary objective.

Ensure your content is unique, substantial, thorough, and enlightening. When you reference other sources, you must do so without plagiarizing or simply rewording them.

Avoid creating search engine-first content. Prioritize your audience’s needs and preferences instead—even if you’re using generative AI tools like ChatGPT for SEO content.

9. Refresh Your Website’s Content Frequently

Users often attribute greater trust to websites that show signs of being updated or reviewed recently. Maintaining a competitive edge involves regularly infusing your site with fresh, high-quality content. This delivers updated information to your audience and signals to Google your ongoing activity and business status.

Don’t forget to refurbish existing content, too! Certain themes, like breaking news, product launches, or recurring events, call for timely updates.

10. Make E-E-A-T Clear and Conspicuous

Users make quick decisions about which sources to trust, so making your website’s E-E-A-T readily apparent is crucial.

If users can’t quickly determine your site’s expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, they may leave and look for other sources.

Ensure that each page answers key questions: Who is the author? What credentials do they have? Is the information adequately sourced? Can users quickly contact the author or site owner? Are there any errors?

The more transparent and upfront you are, the more trust your audience will have in you.

Harness Google’s E-E-A-T Update for SEO Excellence

Your website’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) must be prioritized and nurtured as part of a comprehensive search engine optimization strategy.

Google’s E-E-A-T update reflects the evolving demands of internet users who seek trustworthy and credible sources of information. They want content created by experts, endorsed by authorities, and deemed reliable by both humans and search engines.

We’ve explored numerous strategies to showcase your site’s E-E-A-T, from highlighting your organization’s capabilities and providing transparent reviews to acquiring high-quality backlinks and creating valuable, user-centric content that is regularly updated.

However, it’s important to remember that these guidelines are not simply a checklist to complete. They are part of a long-term commitment to quality content, transparency, and a consistent user experience.

The goal is to cultivate an authentic and valuable online presence that users and search engines can rely on.

Navigating this complex landscape can be daunting. Our team of SEO experts understands the intricacies of E-E-A-T and is ready to guide you on your journey to establishing a trusted and successful online presence.

We can assist you in developing a comprehensive E-E-A-T strategy tailored to your organization’s specific needs and goals.

Because at the end of the day, improving your E-E-A-T is not just about boosting search engine rankings; it’s about delivering genuine value to your audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is E-E-A-T?

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is Google’s framework for evaluating website credibility and content quality, ensuring users receive accurate and trustworthy information in search results.

Why is E-E-A-T important for SEO?

E-E-A-T is important for SEO because it redefines what a credible website should be in the eyes of Google. By prioritizing Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, businesses can enhance their content quality, user satisfaction, and trustworthiness, leading to higher search rankings and attracting more organic traffic. E-E-A-T aligns with Google’s goal of providing accurate, reliable information to users and serves as a powerful tool to combat misinformation and subpar content online.

How does Google assess E-E-A-T?

Google assesses E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) by evaluating various factors. Experience involves firsthand knowledge or practical involvement in a subject. Expertise considers the depth of knowledge in a specific field, including qualifications and thought leadership. Authoritativeness looks at recognition and respect from peers, industry authorities, and the public. Trustworthiness includes accuracy, transparency, ethical practices, and user-friendly experiences. These aspects collectively determine a website’s E-E-A-T score, influencing its ranking in search results.

Does E-E-A-T apply to all types of websites?

Yes, E-E-A-T applies to all types of websites. Google’s E-E-A-T update emphasizes the importance of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness for determining a website’s credibility and ranking. Whether it’s an informational blog, e-commerce site, or news platform, aligning with E-E-A-T principles is essential for establishing trust and delivering valuable content to users.

Are there specific industries or topics that require higher E-E-A-T standards?

Yes, certain industries and topics require higher E-E-A-T standards. The previous E-A-T update emphasized the importance of expertise and credibility in finance, health, safety, and legal sectors. With the addition of ‘Experience’ in E-E-A-T, these industries, known as “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) topics, now emphasize firsthand experiences and personal insights. Content involving financial advice, medical information, legal guidance, and similar areas necessitate higher E-E-A-T standards to ensure reliable and trustworthy content for users.

Can E-E-A-T affect local search rankings?

E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) can impact local search rankings. Google’s emphasis on providing accurate and trustworthy information applies to all websites, including local businesses. By aligning with E-E-A-T principles, showcasing expertise, building authority, and establishing trust through transparent practices and customer reviews, local businesses can improve their online visibility and local search rankings.

March 20, 2023by Amanda TurnerSEO

ChatGPT for SEO: Comprehensive Guide to Maximize Benefits and Minimize Pitfalls

As experienced SEO experts who have been dabbling with AI for years, we’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to using AI in content creation.

ChatGPT has a lot of potential, and as it stands today, it is useful for a few SEO-related tasks. However, the reality is that it’s not a magic bullet (at least not yet) and there are some serious pitfalls to be aware of.

But don’t just take our word for it — we’ve also scoured Google’s official guidelines, along with our own candid experiences and those of other marketers, to give you the full story on using AI tools like ChatGPT for SEO tasks like content writing, keyword research, meta tag optimization, and more.

Demystifying Google’s Guidelines for ChatGPT and AI-Generated Content
ChatGPT For SEO: How to Make AI Your SEO Sidekick (and What to Avoid)
- Content Writing
Frequently Asked Questions About Using ChatGPT for SEO
- Can AI-Generated Content Rank Well in Google?
- Do You Have to Disclose That Your Content Is AI-Generated?
- Can Google Tell That Your Content Is AI-Generated?

Demystifying Google's Guidelines for ChatGPT and AI-Generated Content

AI-generated content is all the rage these days, but does it pass the Google test? And does having it on your website help or hurt your search engine rankings?

Why Google Gives the Green Light to AI-Generated Content

With the prevalence of AI tools like ChatGPT, Google has had to adapt its content guidelines to address the growing amount of machine-generated content.

And so far, the overwhelming message is that high-quality content is high-quality content, whether it was produced by humans or AI.

The top priority for Google is to deliver searchers with useful and relevant information, regardless of the method used to create it. The focus is on the end product, not the process.

The fact that a piece of content is AI-generated won’t give it an edge in Google’s eyes. However, it won’t be penalized for that reason, either. Quality and relevance are what matter most, and Google has specific guidelines for what makes content high-quality.

To sum it up, Google’s stance on AI-generated content is clear: quality is what matters, regardless of the production method. You should, therefore, prioritize generating high-quality content that meets E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trustworthiness) standards and offers value to users.

“Our focus on the quality of content, rather than how content is produced, is a useful guide that has helped us deliver reliable, high quality results to users for years.”

Danny Sullivan and Chris Nelson of the Google Search Quality team

If ChatGPT helps you do that, you’re golden.

If you’re using it to game the search engine algorithm…you could be in trouble.

AI Content Creation: Best Practices According to Google

With the use of AI-generated content on the rise, Google has issued guidelines to help creators ensure that AI-generated content meets the search engine’s requirements for quality and relevance:

Write for people, not search engines. Produce helpful, reliable, people-first content that demonstrates the qualities of E-E-A-T.
Always have someone on your team review all AI-generated content for accuracy and quality before it goes live.
While not strictly required, it helps to include AI or automation disclosures for content where someone might question how the content was created.
If you do choose to disclose the use of AI, don’t use the author byline of your content to do that, even when an AI tool is the primary author.
Never use AI to produce content that mainly exists for the purpose of manipulating search rankings.
Never use AI to ‘spin’ content stolen from other sources.

1. Aim For E-E-A-T with AI-Generated Content

E-E-A-T is all about showcasing your dazzling expertise, first-hand experience, unshakable authority, and rock-solid trustworthiness to cement your credibility and win over your audience.

It’s one of the main criteria Google uses to evaluate whether their search ranking systems providing helpful, relevant information. While these criteria don’t directly impact rankings, Google states outright that they offer invaluable insights for content creators looking to thrive in Google Search.

By understanding and adhering to the principles of Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trustworthiness, you can better assess the quality of your own content and make informed adjustments to boost its performance.

Embracing E-E-A-T will not only improve the quality of your AI-generated content, but also help you align with the underlying factors that contribute to better visibility in Google Search.

In a nutshell, think of E-E-A-T guidelines as your secret weapon to success in Google Search, whether your content is crafted by humans, AI, or even better, a powerful combination of the two.

2. AI Writers Need Human Reviewers

While AI offers a powerful tool for creating content, it’s essential to have someone review and refine AI-generated content for accuracy and quality before you hit Publish.

Human review plays a crucial role in catching any errors or inaccuracies that AI may have overlooked, ensuring that the content truly provides value to users. This vital step guarantees that your content is useful, relevant, and trustworthy, aligning with Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines.

3. Add AI Disclosures Where It Makes Sense…

When it comes to generating content with AI, transparency matters. Disclosing the use of AI in your content creation process ensures that users understand how the content was crafted. This transparency not only builds trust with your audience, but also helps address any concerns they may have regarding the accuracy or trustworthiness of AI-generated content.

Being open about AI’s involvement in content creation also demonstrates a commitment to honesty and integrity, which can further enhance your brand’s reputation.

4. …But Save Bylines For Human Writers and Editors

While AI can be a valuable asset in content creation, Google recommends that the author byline credit the human contributor(s) who ultimately ensures the end product’s quality and accuracy, not the AI itself.

Instead, disclose AI usage within the text to maintain transparency and foster trust. This way, your audience remains informed about AI’s role in content generation while acknowledging the essential human oversight that guarantees the content’s value and reliability.

5. Use AI to Write for People, Not Search Engine Algorithms

Leveraging AI only for the purpose of manipulating search rankings breaches Google’s guidelines and can result in penalties. The primary objective should always be to create high-quality, valuable content that addresses users’ needs, with search engine optimization as a secondary focus.

AI can be a powerful tool for content creation, but it’s essential to use it ethically and responsibly. The key is to harness AI’s potential to enhance your content’s quality, readability, and relevance, rather than using it as a shortcut to game the SEO system.

By prioritizing genuine value and user experience, you’ll not only adhere to Google’s guidelines but also foster trust and credibility with your audience, ultimately leading to better long-term results in search rankings and online visibility.

6. Do Not Use AI to 'Spin' Content from Other Sources

In the realm of SEO content writing, ‘spun content’ refers to a black hat SEO tactic where you copy existing content from other sources, swap out a few key words or phrases with synonyms, and present the end result as ‘new’ content, with the goal of banging out a large volume of content using the lowest possible time and effort. The resulting content is usually lazy, hard to read, and generally unhelpful, not to mention that it’s pure plagiarism.

Although Google has gotten very good at detecting and penalizing spun content, ChatGPT and tools like it make spinning content easier than ever, so it’s a never-ending arms race. That said,

Using AI to ‘spin’ or copy content from other sources explicitly goes against Google’s guidelines on original and high-quality content creation and can result in an SEO penalty that is hard to remove.

Your focus should always be on generating distinctive and valuable content that provides value to users, rather than sneakily stealing content for the sake of manipulating search rankings.

ChatGPT For SEO: How to Make AI Your SEO Sidekick (and What to Avoid)

Right now, there’s no shortage of misinformation circulating the internet about the use of ChatGPT for SEO. These misconceptions tend to stem from misunderstandings of either ChatGPT’s capabilities, or of SEO itself.

To set the record straight, we’ve conducted thorough research and gained hands-on experience in this domain, leading us to develop a set of recommendations for using ChatGPT for SEO.

In this section, we’ll share the practical applications of ChatGPT for SEO, drawing from the hands-on experience of our SEO experts. These insights are based on what has actually worked for us — we don’t include anything here that we haven’t personally tested.

We’ll tell you what works, and outline the best practices to ensure the content you craft with ChatGPT adheres to Google’s guidelines for high-quality and original content.

1. Streamline the Creation of Schema Markup

One of the ways you can use ChatGPT for SEO is simplifying the process of creating Schema Markup. Schema Markup is a type of code that is added to a website’s HTML to provide search engines with more information about the content on the page. This additional information can include details about the author, ratings, reviews, and other relevant data that can help search engines better understand the content and display it more effectively in search results.

ChatGPT can be used to create Schema Markup by generating content that includes the necessary information for Schema Markup.

By using ChatGPT to create Schema Markup, you can save time and effort that would otherwise be spent on manually generating this content. Additionally, using ChatGPT ensures that the content is generated in a consistent and accurate manner, which can help to avoid errors and inconsistencies in the Schema Markup.

However, it is important to note that ChatGPT should not be relied upon solely for creating Schema Markup. It is still essential to have a human review the generated content to ensure that it is accurate and meets the necessary guidelines for high-quality content.

2. Optimize SEO Elements for Better Visibility

ChatGPT can be a valuable ally in brainstorming essential SEO elements like headlines, headings, meta descriptions, and meta titles. These components play a crucial role in optimizing web pages for search engines, ultimately enhancing their visibility in search results.

Leveraging ChatGPT for brainstorming can save time and effort, as it rapidly generates multiple options for each element. For instance, when creating a captivating headline, simply input basic information like the content’s topic or focus, and ChatGPT will present a list of potential headlines.

Similarly, ChatGPT can be used to generate ideas for headings, meta descriptions, and meta titles. By providing some key information about the content, ChatGPT quickly offers options that can be refined and optimized based on SEO best practices.

However, it’s important not to rely exclusively on ChatGPT for generating these elements. Human input and oversight are crucial for ensuring that the generated options are accurate, relevant, and in line with SEO best practices.

Additionally, remember that SEO is more than just keywords and rankings; headlines, headings, meta descriptions, and meta titles should also be engaging and compelling for human readers.

3. Quickly Craft Summaries, Tables, FAQs and Lists for Blog Posts

Featured Snippets appear at the top of Google search results, providing users with concise answers to their questions and often increasing click-through rates.

By incorporating structured formatting like bulleted lists, tables, FAQs, and summaries, you make it easier for search engines to understand and extract key information from your content, increasing the likelihood of winning a snippet.

Using ChatGPT for these elements also promotes consistency and accuracy across your content. By employing the same tool for these elements, you can maintain a uniform tone, language, and style, resulting in a more cohesive and professional-looking website.

4. Find a Starting Point for Broad Keyword Research on Unfamiliar Topics

Keyword research is crucial for optimizing your content for relevant search terms, ultimately enhancing its visibility in search results. ChatGPT can be a helpful starting point for conducting broad keyword research when you’re dealing with topics you don’t know much of anything about.

However, It is absolutely essential to note that ChatGPT does not have direct access to any metrics like keyword volume, difficulty, or SERP features. To obtain this information, you’ll need to use a dedicated keyword research tool or service. So you’ll need to plug the keywords you get from ChatGPT into another tool to see if they have actual value.

With that in mind, Tom Demers over at Search Engine Land has written an excellent article about how to use ChatGPT to find keyword ideas. We’ve tested this method and found it’s a great way to brainstorm jumping-off points for more in-depth keyword research using tools like SemRush.

5. Perfect for Snippets, Limited for Long-Form Content

ChatGPT shines when it comes to generating bite-size snippets of text for various contexts like landing pages, social media posts, and blog articles.

However, if you plan to use ChatGPT for bigger blocks of content, there’s a few important caveats to consider:

Repetition: ChatGPT tends to repeat phrases within the same chat, resulting in robotic and formulaic content that puts readers to sleep. Right now, repetition is one of the single biggest tells for AI-generated content.
Loss of Focus: Like a copywriter without their coffee, ChatGPT is prone to lose focus in long-form content, since it doesn’t actually know the overall purpose or intention of the text. You’ll start seeing a lot of unfocused or even incoherent passages.
Lack of Natural Flow: Unlike skilled human writers use a variety of proverbial tools to boos readability: jumping between long and short sentences, breaking paragraphs into digestible chunks, cracking jokes to take the edge off, and sharing personal anecdotes to create a genuine connection. ChatGPT can do a decent job.

To make the most of ChatGPT’s potential, use it as a starting point for content and then refine the output with human expertise and creativity.

From our experience, the best approach is to think of ChatGPT as a brainstorming partner that helps you break free from the stifling grip of writer’s block. The next time you’re staring at a blank page, try plugging your ideas into ChatGPT — you’ll get an instant output that can help get those creative juices flowing. Once you’ve got a starting point from ChatGPT, you can take the reins and refine, expand, or build on the output to create a piece that truly resonates with your audience!

Frequently Asked Questions About Using ChatGPT for SEO

Can AI-Generated Content Rank Well in Google?

Yes, and here’s why: Google uses the same ranking factors for AI-generated content as it does for human-generated content. However content is produced, Google recommends that you aim to produce original, high-quality, people-first content demonstrating qualities E-E-A-T.

To create content that meets these criteria, Google recommends thinking in terms of the Who, How, and Why of content production:

“Who” refers to the author or team responsible for creating the content. Include bylines that link to more information about the author, their expertise, and other content they have created. This helps establish credibility and authority.
“How” refers to the process and tools, such as ChatGPT, you use to create content. Be transparent about the use of automation, its benefits, and its role in the content creation process. This builds trust with your audience and enhances the credibility of your content.
“Why” refers to the purpose of creating content. Focus on producing high-quality, people-first content that meets the needs of users, rather than content aimed solely at manipulating search results or generating clicks.

Remember, the ultimate goal is to provide users with the most helpful and relevant content when they conduct a search.

To date, there haven’t been any reliable wide-scale tests conducted comparing the ranking of human-written versus AI-generated content in search engines like Google. Most examples found online are individual experiments that may not be directly comparable. There are individual examples of AI-generated content that has done well (like BankRate’s content), and content that has not (this experiment using a site with entirely AI-generated content), but the examples are so different that they’re not comparable.

The key takeaway is that Google’s ranking factors focus on the quality, relevance, and usefulness of the content, regardless of whether it is human-written or AI-generated. The main objective is to produce original, high-quality, people-first content that demonstrates Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T).

Do You Have to Disclose That Your Content Is AI-Generated?

No, but there are times when you should seriously consider it. According to Google’s official developer blog, AI or automation disclosures are useful for any content where someone might wonder about the content creation process.

However, Google also notes that giving AI an author byline is not the way to do that. Instead, it’s important to be transparent about the use of AI in the content creation process, while also giving credit to the human authors and editors who were involved.

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to disclose that content is AI-generated is up to you…at least for now. However, with the rapid advancement of AI technology and the increasing concerns surrounding AI-generated content, it’s possible that regulatory changes or platform-specific guidelines might require transparency in the future.

By proactively disclosing the use of AI in your content creation process now, you can stay ahead of potential future requirements and show your commitment to transparency and honesty with your audience.

Benefits and Drawbacks of AI Disclosure

Benefits:

Provides transparency and builds trust with your audience
Gets ahead of potential platform-specific or legal requirements in the future

Drawbacks:

Bias against AI-generated content can create a perception that your content is less credible or trustworthy
May raise ethical questions about the use of AI in content creation
Reveals your content creation methods to competitors

Can Google Tell That Your Content Is AI-Generated?

Most likely. Back in November of 2022, Google software engineer Duy Nguyen said that Google has “algorithms to go after” those who post AI-plagiarized content. So, it’s safe to assume that Google can detect AI content.

And that makes sense. As a search engine, Google’s primary goal is to deliver high-quality, relevant, and useful content to its users. They’re continuously refining their algorithms to ensure that low-quality, plagiarized, or manipulative content is not rewarded with high rankings in search results.

Google invests heavily in machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve its search algorithms, so it is reasonable to assume they can identify and take action against AI-plagiarized content. However, this does not mean that all AI-generated content is inherently bad or penalized by Google. As long as AI-generated content is high-quality, original, and adds value to users, it can still perform well in search results.

The key is to use AI tools like ChatGPT responsibly. Aim to create content that caters to your audience’s needs and adheres to Google’s guidelines. By doing so, you can harness the power of AI to improve your SEO efforts while avoiding potential penalties or negative impacts on your search rankings.

A Balanced Approach to AI-Generated Content

While ChatGPT and other AI tools have their place in the world of SEO, they are no substitute for good writing, thoughtful content creation, and a strategic approach to SEO.

As with any tool, it’s important to use ChatGPT wisely and in line with best practices to avoid negative consequences for low-quality content or plagiarism. Remember that AI-generated content is not a magic bullet, and it’s up to you to ensure that your content meets the same standards of quality, relevance, and usefulness as any other content you might create.

Our team of SEO experts is ready to help you with your content creation and overall SEO strategy. We understand the importance of producing high-quality, original content that adheres to Google’s guidelines and offers value to your target audience.

If you’re interested in learning more about our services and how we can help you succeed in your SEO efforts, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We look forward to working with you!

January 20, 2023by TrafficSodaGoogle Analytics SEO

How to Measure SEO in Google Analytics 4: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to step up your SEO in Google Analytics 4?

Whether you’re an analytics pro or just starting out, we’ll take you through 5 easy ways to use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to measure your SEO performance and take your strategy to the next level:

How to create ‘Views’ like Universal Analytics in GA4 in order to segment or exclude certain traffic to get the most accurate numbers for your SEO reporting
How to create a Traffic Acquisition Report to see exactly how much of your website traffic comes from search engines like Google Search and Bing, and why
How to see your top backlinks in order to determine which backlinks are really worth the investment
How to create a Landing Page Report to analyze which of your website pages are attracting the most organic traffic and which need to be improved
How to see if your organic visitors are converting and follow their path from discovery to conversion so that you can patch any leaks in your marketing funnel.

Grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable. Let’s dig into the world of SEO in Google Analytics 4!

(And if you get overwhelmed, don’t worry—our SEO services include done-for-you GA4 integration. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help getting started.)

Background: What’s the Difference Between Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4 for SEO?

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google Analytics, and it brings some significant changes compared to Universal Analytics (UA).

GA4 adds a ton of new functionality, a brand-new interface, and most importantly a completely new data model. This provides some significant advantages over UA when it comes to measuring SEO performance, including:

Enhanced Measurement: Google Analytics 4 introduces automatic tracking called enhanced measurement which automates a wide range of tracking processes you had to set up by hand in Universal Analytics. GA4 automatically tracks page scrolling, clicks to external sites, using site search, video engagements (including starts, progress, and completion), file downloads, and more.
Cross-Device Tracking: Google Analytics 4 features reliable cross-device tracking using Google Signals or User-ID. In other words, GA4 can tell when a user switches from their mobile device to a desktop computer and treats them as one user. Not only is it more accurate than UA, but it also offers you deeper insights into how people use different devices.
Improved Session Tracking: Google Analytics 4 no longer breaks sessions as it goes past midnight, causing it to appear that a person has two sessions when they actually only have one.
Enhanced Funnels and Paths: Google Analytics 4 offers a robust funnel exploration feature that provides you a detailed look at the steps your users take to complete certain goals on your website, like filling out a form or making a purchase.
More Flexible Conversion Goals: Google Analytics 4 enables you to set up additional and more flexible conversion goals that can be used to better understand your site.

There are, however, some big changes and missing features that make the transition to GA4 challenging for marketers.

One significant difference from UA is that GA4 does not offer separate Views by default—so, in the next section, we’ll tell you how to configure GA4 to get the same results.

GA4 also lacks certain reports that were available by default in UA and have to be configured manually. We’ll also discuss how to create custom reports for organic traffic, landing pages, backlinks, and organic conversions in GA4.

1. How to Create Views and Filters in GA4

In Universal Analytics, a View is a subset of data for a single domain based on filters that you have applied. Marketers often use Views to exclude internal traffic, test new reporting set-ups, or filter traffic by geographical location.

However, due to a change in the overall account structure, Views are not available as a way to filter data in Google Analytics 4.

The good news is that GA4 does allow you to filter Data Streams to provide a similar experience to UA’s Views.

To create an equivalent to UA’s Views in GA4:

Click into the Reports section of GA4. In the left navigation menu, it’s the second option from the top.
Click into the default Events report under Engagement.
Click on the pencil icon in the top right of the screen to customize the report.

Click Add Filter to apply a filter based on any of the available dimensions.
Select a Dimension. For example, if you want to create a filtered view of traffic from one country, apply a filter where the dimension of County equals the country you want to see.
Click the blue Apply button.

You can also filter certain types of traffic at the Property level. This is the best way to go about excluding traffic that comes from your own staff, since internal traffic can skew the data and make it more difficult to understand exactly how your SEO efforts are performing.

How Views and Filters Help You Measure SEO Performance

Like views in Universal Analytics, this custom GA4 report filters your data so that you can analyze it in a more focused and actionable way.

By creating separate Views for different countries or regions, for example, you can analyze the performance of your website in each location and understand which areas are driving the most traffic. The same can be done using GA4 report filters.

2. How to Check Your Organic Traffic in GA4

To understand where your website users are coming from and how they got there, you’ll need to customize the Traffic Acquisition Report under Acquisition.

Click into the Reports section of GA4. In the left navigation menu, it’s the second option from the top.
Click into the default Traffic Acquisition report under Acquisition.
Click on the Primary Dimension, which is Session Default Channel Group by default.

From the list of Dimensions, select Session Source/Medium.
In the search bar above the Primary Dimension, type Organic and press enter.

Now, you can assess the performance of your SEO efforts metrics such as users, sessions, engaged sessions, and average engagement time.

Analyzing Organic Traffic Growth with GA4

SEO is one of the most powerful tools a business can use to boost its online visibility.

However, without tracking how many visitors are coming to your website through organic search, you won’t know if your SEO strategy is really working or not.

By tracking how many visitors come to your website through organic search, you can gain valuable insight into what is working and what isn’t. Measuring your organic traffic in GA4 will not only help you fine-tune your SEO strategy, but also help you optimize your entire digital marketing strategy for long-term success.

3. How to See Your Top Landing Pages by Organic Traffic in GA4

If you’re familiar with UA, you’ll remember that a landing page report was available by default by clicking the Behavior drop-down menu, then clicking Site Content, followed by Landing Pages.

GA4 isn’t quite as intuitive, but it only takes a few extra steps to create a report that gives you your top landing pages by organic traffic.

Click into the Reports section of GA4. In the left navigation menu, it’s the second option from the top.
Click into the default Traffic Acquisition report under Acquisition.
Click on the Primary Dimension, which is Session Default Channel Group by default.
From the list of Dimensions, select Landing Page + Query String.

Click the + Plus sign and select First User Medium.

In the search bar above the Primary Dimension, type Organic and press Enter.

Voilà: you have a report that tells you which of your landing pages drive the most organic traffic!

Unlocking SEO Insights with a GA4 Landing Page Report

When you start seeing organic traffic coming in, it means that your SEO efforts are paying off.

Customers are finding what they need on your website—and Google is rewarding you for it.

You can use what’s working on that page to improve your SEO across your website.

Pages with low traffic, on the other hand, might be missing the mark. By taking the time to spot these pages and make the necessary improvements, you can work to unlock your website’s full potential for generating traffic over time.

4. How to See Your Top Backlinks in GA4

You can use GA4 to get detailed information about which of your backlinks drive the most traffic to your site, and which of them carry the most weight for the search engines.

By analyzing this data, you can identify which websites provide the greatest value to your SEO efforts and where you should focus your link building efforts.

Click into the Reports section of GA4. In the left navigation menu, it’s the second option from the top.
Click into the default Traffic Acquisition report under Acquisition.
Type Referral into the search bar and press Enter.

Click on the + Plus sign to add a Secondary Dimension.
From the list of Dimensions, select Session Source.

This report provides information about the source of your referral traffic as well as information about the traffic that helps you determine the value of those backlinks.

Use the objective metrics Google Analytics gives you — number of visitors, page views, pages per visit and bounce rate — as well as subjective characteristics like relevance, uniqueness, and authority.

Analyze Referral Traffic to Boost Your Search Ranking

Building backlinks is one of the most essential SEO strategies. One of the factors determining the ranking of your website on Google for targeted keywords is the number of quality links that point to your website.

5. How to Check Your Organic Conversions in GA4

Measuring the volume of website traffic alone can give you a general idea of how your website is performing, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.

Conversions in GA4 measure how effective your website is at driving desired actions from visitors. These actions could be anything from making a purchase to subscribing to a newsletter or downloading a PDF guide.

To create an organic conversion report in GA4:

Click into the Explore section of GA4. In the left navigation menu, it’s the third option from the top.
Click on the Blank exploration report template.

Name your report Organic Conversions.
Set the date range to at least 30 days.
First, you’ll need to create a Segment.
- Click on the + Plus button next to Segments and click the User Segment button.
- Name the new Segment Organic Search.
- Click Add Condition and select First User Medium.
- Click on the Add Filter button. Set the first box to Contains and the second to organic. Click Apply.
- Click the Save and Apply button in the top right corner.

Next, you’ll need to add Dimensions.
- Click on the + Plus button next to Dimensions.
- Search for the following Dimensions and click the checkbox for each one:
  - First user source/medium
  - Landing page
  - Event name
  - Item name
  - Device category
  - Browser
  - Country
- Click the Import button in the top right corner.
Finally, it’s time to add Metrics.
- Click the + Plus button next to Metrics.
- Search for the following Metrics and click the checkbox for each one:
  - Total users
  - Conversions
  - User conversion rate
  - Session conversion rate
  - Event revenue
- Click the Import button in the top right corner.
- Double-click the First User/Source Dimension to add it to the Rows section.
- Double click all the Metrics one by one to add them to the Values section.
- Under Values, select Cell Type Heat Map.

Why Organic Conversions Matter in GA4

Organic conversions and organic traffic go hand in hand when it comes to measuring the success of your SEO strategy.

While organic traffic is essential for getting visitors to your website, conversions are what really tells you that the effort you’re putting into SEO is moving the needle.

If you’re getting a lot of website traffic but your conversion rate is low, it may indicate that your website is not effectively converting visitors into customers; or, that your SEO efforts aren’t bringing you the right kind of traffic.

Additionally, comparing your organic conversion rate to that of other channels can help you understand which channels are driving the most valuable traffic to your website. For example, if you see that your organic traffic has a higher conversion rate than your paid traffic, it may indicate that you should redirect some of your PPC advertising budget to SEO.

With this information, you can make data-driven decisions that will improve your website’s performance and drive more revenue to your business.

Unlock the Keys to SEO Success with Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a powerful tool for measuring your SEO performance.

By following the steps outlined in this post, you can track the most important SEO metrics, create accurate views, and make data-driven decisions for your SEO strategy.

Remember: GA4 can be a bit daunting at first, but with a little bit of practice and the right guidance, you’ll be a pro in no time!

If you find yourself getting overwhelmed or need help with integration, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We offer done-for-you GA4 integration and can help you set up your account, track the right metrics and create accurate views.

December 23, 2022by Jessica ChalkSEO

Best SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost in 2023?

SEO pricing 2023 varies a lot by industry, location, what’s included in the SEO package and more.

Without knowing a lot about your company, it’s hard to give a concrete answer on exactly how much you should budget for SEO in 2023. However, we can give you a general idea.

Based on the average cost of SEO services in 2023, you can expect to spend:

$2,000 to $7,000 per month for an average monthly SEO package
$100 to $350 per hour for SEO consulting
Starting at $2,000 for project-based SEO work

It’s a wide range, we know. A lot depends on the industry and needs of your company, as well as the breadth of experience of the SEO agency you choose.

It’s also important to understand what those numbers mean, because cheap SEO services are almost always too good to be true and cost you more in the long run.

Quality SEO is complex work that requires specialized expertise and tools.

To further help you decide your SEO budget, we’ve broken down the information further. We hope this helps you better understand exactly where your SEO costs should fall. We’ll go over:

Why you should invest in SEO
What actually goes into pricing an SEO package
What a decent monthly SEO package must include
SEO consulting: The alternative to a done-for-you SEO package
How much small businesses should be spending on SEO
Red flags to watch out for when it comes to low-cost SEO
Ways to keep SEO costs down without cutting corners

Let’s take a detailed look at how much SEO costs in 2023.

1. Why Should You Invest in SEO?

Fact: organic search accounts for 53% of all web traffic on an average website. Meaning if you’re not showing up in Google Search, you could be losing out on more than half of your potential customers.

And SEO is the most reliable, long-term strategy for getting your website seen by the people who buy what you sell.

That’s not to say it’s a magic bullet. SEO doesn’t work overnight. But when it’s done well, SEO is an incredibly powerful marketing tool that works alongside PPC advertising, social media marketing, and email marketing delivers lasting (and often increasing) value over time.

Pay-per-click advertisements get your name out there quickly, but at a cost, and that cost fluctuates as the ad auction changes. SEO takes time, but once it’s established, it delivers a steady flow of relevant traffic for free.
Social media platforms are powerful, but different platforms go in and out of fashion all the time. SEO leverages the value of stable search engines (mainly Google and Bing) that continue to gain influence on our lives.
Email marketing gives you the freedom to say almost anything, but you can only communicate with existing leads and customers. SEO helps get your message out to new people who are specifically interested in what you offer.

It’s not so much a question of whether SEO pricing is worth it in 2023, but of how much you should invest in SEO based on your business’ needs and goals. Understanding the different types of SEO services available and how those services are priced will help you make an informed decision.

2. What Goes Into the SEO Pricing and SEO Packages?

Pricing for SEO packages largely depends on:

SEO Agency Experience: You get what you pay for. Seasoned agencies tend to cost more, but they also know what works. They won’t waste your time on unproductive or outdated SEO strategies.
Project Scope: Large-scale SEO campaigns will not only need more content, but also more labour and resources, while small-scale campaigns have a smaller price tag.
Location: SEO agencies charge different rates depending on the demand for their services and the number of potential customers or clients in their area. This is where remote work is advantageous for agencies and clients alike — it lets agencies reduce operational costs without sacrificing quality or talent, which translates into cheaper rates for you.
Pricing Model: There are different SEO pricing models, and each impacts the cost of SEO in a different way. An hourly or project-based model may be more cost-effective for you if you only need a few specific SEO fixes.
Business Size (Startup vs. Mid-Market vs. Enterprise): Larger enterprises tend to require a broader scope of work, including more extensive website optimization, content writing and link building, so they require more expensive SEO packages.
Existing SEO Strategy: SEO pricing depends on the state of your existing strategy, including existing website, backlinks, and content. Starting from scratch will obviously require more work and a greater cost since there’s more ground to cover. Having to reverse an existing SEO penalty will also require specialized penalty reversal work before or concurrent with SEO optimization.
Goals: Want to dominate a particular keyword? Overtake specific competitors? Get a certain volume of traffic per month or year? Your goals play a big part in how much SEO costs, since you’ll need different approaches depending on where you want to end up.

Ultimately, what you budget for SEO isn’t just about what others are spending. Instead, it’s about what you need and want from your SEO campaign.

3. What Does a Monthly SEO Package Include?

A monthly SEO package usually includes a mix of SEO tactics to support an SEO strategy created based on your business’s current SEO standing (rankings, work already completed, penalties, etc.), goals, budget, and competitive landscape.
An SEO package priced at the higher end of the SEO pricing spectrum ($7,000 per month) will include more services than one at the lower end ($2,000 per month.) It could also include going after more, or more competitive, keywords.
When a company is new to SEO and starting from scratch, monthly SEO services will likely include research and setup tasks that lay the groundwork for success, including:

Keyword and competitive research
SEO Audit (on page SEO, technical SEO, off page SEO)
Set up analytics

After the foundation is laid, monthly SEO services tend to transition to technical fixes that improve the health of your website to maximize SEO results, including:

On-Page SEO fixes
Off-Page SEO fixes
Technical SEO fixes

Afterward, the focus generally shifts to ongoing optimization and content creation. Depending on your needs, it might take the form of a specific number of content pieces per month, or ongoing on-page and off-page SEO optimizations.
Overall, what a monthly SEO services package includes is subject to your company’s current and future goals, as well as your budget. Get in touch to learn more about the SEO services we can provide you on a monthly basis within your budget.

4. What’s Included in SEO Consulting?

If you already have an in-house marketing team with some SEO or content writing experience, you may be able to benefit from SEO consulting services, including:

SEO Audit: The first step in implementing an SEO strategy is a detailed SEO analysis of your website that identifies exactly what’s preventing you from getting the results you want.
SEO Recommendations: Second opinion on your current SEO plan with recommendations on tactics and keywords, etc.
SEO Training: Providing training on SEO content, linking, technical SEO, and other SEO tactics to your in-house marketing team.
SEO Implementation: Usually project-based services which can include fixing an SEO penalty, performing SEO audits and fixes, working on keyword projects, and compiling reports as needed

If you’re not sure if you need SEO consulting or a full SEO package, we offer free 20-minute consultations — for those who are interested in learning more about our professional SEO services without the commitment.

5. What Should SEO Cost a Small Business?

There is no reason why a small business can’t invest in SEO, even if you’re starting with a smaller budget.

In fact, small businesses can often benefit the most from SEO since they can’t just throw money at advertising like their large competitors can.

Generally, a small business’s SEO costs fall within this average range:

$2,000 to $7,000 per month for a monthly SEO package
$100 to $350 per hour for SEO consulting
Starting at $2,000 for project-based SEO work

SEO agencies usually offer tiers of service, with the most comprehensive option costing more than the most basic.

Small businesses that are just getting started in SEO often start with a smaller package that includes things like keyword research, monitoring, and a focus on a small number of realistic keyword targets , then scale up once they see results.

6. Are Cheap SEO Services Worth It?

We mentioned above that you can expect a monthly SEO package from a professional SEO agency to range from between $2,000 and $7,000 per month.

Professional SEO Consulting runs from $100 to $350 per hour.

What if that’s just too much? Is it worth digging to find an even cheaper SEO service?

Here’s why the answer is always no.

While they may seem like a great deal at first, cheap SEO services often use manipulative tactics that go against search engine guidelines and cost you more in the long run.

Google and Bing are well aware of these shady practices. In fact, they deploy advanced machine learning algorithms to actively hunt down and penalize websites that use manipulative black hat SEO practices.

That can cause you to lose traffic, get blocked-listed, and potentially forfeit all of your future search traffic to your competitors.

Cheap SEO services are a huge risk to your company and brand so it’s important to know how to avoid them. The biggest red flags that you’re dealing with shady, cheap SEO providers include:

Big Promises for Low Price Tags: Long-term SEO success takes a lot of manual work that can’t be done on a budget. You either have to settle for a small number of keywords or pay more later for the work that needs to be done.
No Long-Term Strategy: Cheap SEO companies offer short-term solutions, but this isn’t realistic. Either they aren’t doing their job or they’re just looking to get quick and easy money from unsuspecting customers.
No Transparency: Having visibility over the SEO process allows you to assess the results and make necessary changes. Never trust an SEO company that isn’t transparent with you.

If you’re looking for a quick fix to your online marketing strategy, don’t fall for cheap SEO pricing. Contact a reputable agency and see what can be done quickly and on your budget.

7. How to Keep SEO Costs in Check & Get the Best ROI

You don’t want to risk your business’s success by hiring an agency that offers SEO on the cheap.

At the same time, quality SEO doesn’t have to break the bank.

If you’re on a tight budget, making smart decisions in a few key places can help keep your costs down in order to get the most bang for your buck.

Here’s a quick lowdown on keeping costs in check while still getting the best SEO ROI:

Focus on High-ROI Keywords: The best keywords to target aren’t always long-tail keywords or even competitive keywords — just the words and phrases that have the best chance of producing a good return on investment for your business. Any SEO work you pay for should start with solid keyword research to inform decisions about what to target.
Test Keywords with Advertising First: Keyword research is important but not always foolproof. One way to test the viability of target keywords is to bid on them through paid search (e.g. Google Ads) before investing in SEO for that same keyword. That way, if the keyword turns out not to be profitable, you won’t waste your time or money chasing it organically.
Keep an Eye on the Competition: Studying what your most successful competitors are doing can provide valuable insight on your own SEO strategy. Always insist on competitor research as part of your SEO package.
Play the Long Game: SEO is a long term investment and it’s important to be realistic about ROI. This is especially true for small brands who may need a little more time than larger brands to rank their content. You should be prepared to invest in SEO for at least 6-8 months to see results. If you don’t have enough time or budget for that, stick to other digital marketing tactics like PPC or email marketing to get your brand in front of the right people sooner.

At TrafficSoda, we are committed to helping you get the best ROI with a strong, strategic approach. Get in touch to learn more about SEO pricing and how businesses can keep their costs low while still achieving solid results.

Want More Specific SEO Pricing? Request an Estimate to Find Out How Much SEO Will Cost You in 2023

The average cost of professional SEO services ranges between $2,000 and $7,000 per month for a monthly SEO package, or between $100 and $350 per hour for SEO consulting.

SEO pricing in 2023 varies depending on the scope of your SEO needs, the competitive landscape, and your goals, as well as external factors like location.

If you’re still not sure how to budget for SEO in 2023, we’ll do the hard work for you. Contact us now for an estimate of what you can expect to pay for professional SEO services tailored to your needs.

December 1, 2022by Amanda TurnerSEO

2023 SEO Checklist: 7 Expert Tips to Guide Your SEO Strategy

Keeping up with SEO trends in 2023 is key to staying competitive and reaching more customers. That’s why we compiled this SEO checklist — to give you a year’s worth of SEO tips in one neat package.

SEO is constantly changing. The best SEO tricks that worked 6 months ago may not be relevant today — and what’s worked in the past could even cost you a Google penalty now.

So, where should you concentrate your efforts?

Here are some of the SEO trends our experts are watching for in 2023 and what you need to be paying attention to as well.

Improving E-E-A-T — Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness
Leveraging Featured Snippets
Optimizing for Voice Search
Improving Mobile User Experience
Enhancing Video SEO
Utilizing New Google Shopping Features for eCommerce
Keeping Up Image Optimization

If you want to move the needle on your website’s search rankings, we’re here to help. Get in touch with our SEO Team to learn more about our services here at TrafficSoda.

1. E-E-A-T is Crucial, Strengthen Those Signals

E-E-A-T — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — is the most important acronym you’ll use in 2023

This plays a crucial role in Google’s ranking system, especially when it comes to high-stakes subjects like health, safety, or finance.

On multiple occasions Google has come out and reinforced the importance of your website’s E-E-A-T signals.

Remember, Google’s ultimate goal is to provide it’s users the most relevant and accurate results. They want their users to love the ‘Google Experience’ and keep coming back.

In order to find the best results Google uses artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to identify what a search query means and provide the best possible answer.

This also means this AI and machine learning needs to eliminate junk, spam, and inaccuracies from its results. Which is a tall order because, you know, the Internet.

Showing Google that your site is worth their user’s time, will remain of absolute top importance leading into 2023.

What E-E-A-T Means For Your SEO Strategy

E stands for Experience, meaning you offer a unique viewpoint rooted in direct involvement or personal understanding.
E stands for Expertise, meaning you hire real subject matter experts to create, or at least collaborate with you to produce, high quality content.
A stands for Authoritativeness, which means that you and your website are recognized as a leading source of accurate, timely information on your particular niche.
T stands for Trustworthiness, which means you have real reviews and mentions from real people (especially people who are also experts in your niche.)

If you’re doing all the above, but still aren’t seen as a leading authority in your niche, then building your brand recognition is crucial. Here are some ways to get started:

Detailed, transparent About Us and Contact Us pages. Trustworthiness starts at home. When visitors visit your website, they should have no doubts about who you are and what you mean, and they should be able to contact you easily.
Back up your facts. Throughout your content prove you know what you are talking about by linking to high authority websites like .edu, .gov, etc.
More and more positive reviews. More than your competitors, with more than satisfactory ratings
Your own Wikipedia page, or at least mentions. It’s hard to fake authority on Wikipedia since if you aren’t legitimate, your page will be removed quickly.
Backlinks and mentions on authoritative websites. While press releases are a good starting point, you really want to aim for mentions, news articles and interviews on other authoritative and trustworthy websites.

There are a lot of SEO trends that will take effect this year, and all of them involve the E-E-A-T of your website on some level.

2. Featured Snippets Matter More Than EVER

Believe it or not, it’s been nearly a decade since Google launched Featured Snippets ‒ a.k.a the info boxes you see above searches.

And they’re becoming more and more powerful by the minute.

Featured Snippets now show up on 41% of all queries and account for an astounding 35.1% of all clicks in organic search results.

Here’s an even bigger shocker: when you ask Google a question, Featured Snippets show up 99% of the time…except for “How” questions, where it’s more like 52%. Still a majority.

To marketers, this reality is at once a tremendous opportunity and a massive existential threat.

When Google uses your page as a Featured Snippet, clickthrough rates can more than double overnight. It’s a huge boon to your organic traffic and a badge of honor for your site’s credibility.

But when one of your competitors owns the Featured Snippet instead — especially for your most valuable keywords ‒ they overshadow your presence in the SERP completely.

It pays (literally) to claim that spot for yourself. So, what can you do to get Featured Snippets in 2023?

What Featured Snippets Mean For Your SEO Strategy

Getting your website Featured in Snippets means playing ball with Google’s artificial intelligence.

According to Google, one of the biggest driving forces behind Featured Snippets in 2023 is an AI model called the Multitask Unified Model or MUM. Essentially, the model compares the top bolded text portion of a search snippet result with established high-quality search results for relevance, accuracy, and credibility.

Google also plans to use more warning messages when a search doesn’t generate results that have “high confidence.”

As a marketer, getting Featured Snippets in 2023 means you need to:

Focus on reinforcing your website’s Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) as much as, if not more than, keywords.
Continue building up high-quality content (not just text but video, audio, and images) and backlinks that underpin trust and authority.
Through your content, answer relevant questions that factor into customers’ journeys.
Create content that covers all points of your customer’s journey rather than just one or two. Newcomers to your product or service might ask, “What is [Product]?” but they’ll soon want to know, “How does [Product] work?” and eventually, “Who offers [Product]?” Make sure you answer all of these questions!

The importance of Featured Snippets in your SEO strategy in 2023 cannot be overstated, as you’ll see in the rest of this SEO checklist, starting with the very next point…

3. Conversational Queries & Voice Search Deserve Special Attention

Spoken searches have been slowly but steadily on the rise since Google Voice launched in 2009. Moving into 2023, about 40% of the population uses voice search and 71% actually prefer using voice search over typed search, so you can expect the upward trend to continue.

The top three key facts you need to know about voice search in 2023 are as follows:

In contrast to text-based searches, voice searches are longer, more conversational, and almost always take the form of a question. Where do I find [Product]? How do I use it? What does it taste like? How much does it cost?
Most voice searches take place on-the-go, using smartphones rather than in-home devices (a.k.a. “smart speakers.”) So, picture people sitting in the car, not on the couch.
More than 50% of voice searches are for local services and businesses like restaurants and retail stores. Think of search queries that end in “near me.”

In other words, if your business is local, voice search matters to you, and optimizing for voice search should be a key priority for your SEO strategy going into 2023.

What Voice Search Means For Your SEO Strategy

As a starting point for optimizing for voice search, consider the following:

Long-tail keywords. These are now essential to securing competitive SERP positions, especially conversational queries that show up in voice search.
Speakable Schema. While still in beta as of writing, Speakable Schema is the Google-approved way to optimize your website for voice search.
Local listings. Review your company’s Google and other local listings to make sure they include everything customers could ask about: operating hours, location, product selection, price range, wheelchair accessibility, and more. Google will pull from these listings to answer voice queries, so make sure it’s right!

Finally, remember what we said earlier about MUM and featured snippets. A lot of the principles for optimizing snippets are similar to those for optimizing voice queries.

4. User Experience on Mobile Is Still the Gold Standard

Mobile first indexing has been a reality since 2019 and it’s not going to change any time soon.

Yet every single day, we see websites from huge companies that still aren’t on board with Google’s mobile-first indexing best practices.

If you feel your SEO efforts aren’t doing much, and your site isn’t very mobile-friendly, fixing that issue could be the key that finally lets your site’s rankings flourish.

What Mobile-First Indexing Means For Your SEO Strategy

Here’s the good news: Google is very transparent about what they want to see when it comes to optimizing your website for mobile users in 2023.

First, you need to make sure your mobile site is as Google-friendly as possible:

Have the same content, structured data, alt text, and meta robots tags on both your mobile and desktop sites
Make sure Google can see your primary content and don’t lock it behind “lazy-loading” (anything that requires swiping, clicking, or typing to load)
Verify both the mobile and desktop versions of your site in Search Console
Use mobile URL hreflang for mobile URLs, and desktop URL hreflang for desktop URLs
Don’t block mobile URLs with the disallow directive
Don’t use URLs that change every time the page loads for your videos or images
Don’t use fragment URLs on your mobile version (a fragment URL starts with a # at the end)

Mobile-first indexing aside, mobile devices are now the first point of contact for many customers when they’re looking for information about your products and services. So it’s vital you make sure your site can be viewed easily on any device and that the customer can find what they’re looking for quickly, no matter how small their screen may be. Add it to your 2023 SEO checklist!

5. Optimize Your Video for SEO

Google has featured video in its search results for some time now.

And since over half of customers make buying decisions based on video, ignoring it in your 2023 SEO strategy is like leaving money on the table.

What Video Means For Your SEO Strategy

Video content can rank well if it’s optimized with descriptive and relevant information, including meta info and structured data.

Google has published a detailed overview of what it looks for in video SEO; some of the most impactful points include:

Give each video its own dedicated page, where the video is the most prominent subject. This page is necessary for some Google features, such as Key Moments, Live Badges, and other rich results, to pull your video and give it maximum exposure. There’s no penalty if you put the same video on a dedicated page and another page with other information (like a news article or product details.)
Create and submit a video sitemap so that Google’s robots can easily find and understand your videos
Use a high-quality, relevant thumbnail that explains what your video is about and why people might want to watch it

Google has also added two structured data features to help people find answers through videos faster:

Seek markup, which allows Google to identify and display Key Moments automatically and dynamically
Clip markup, which tells Google exactly which timestamps to label and use for the Key Moments feature (like a manual version of seek markup)

You can use Clip or Seek markup to make video results in Google Search more clickable and help users find answers more quickly. It’s a win-win!

6. Improve Your eCommerce Site’s Visibility with Shopping Graph

Google is already the world’s leading search engine, but with the skyrocketing growth of online shopping, it’s also aiming to become a leading eCommerce platform as well.

Recently, Google also launched the Shopping Graph feature, lets customers find your store’s products across Google, — not just on the Shopping tab but on the SERP, YouTube, Google Images, and Google Lens (snap a photo and Google will identify the product and tell you where to buy it…how cool is that?)

And as of now, you can add your products to Google Shopping for free — or, mark up your listings so that Google does that heavy lifting for you automatically.

What Google Shopping Graph Means For Your SEO Strategy

There are two ways to go about getting your products onto Google’s Shopping Graph:

Manage your listings manually using Google’s Merchant Center

Use newly-added Search Console Merchant Listings for guidance on adding Product structured data to your product pages.

Anyone who sells products online can benefit from this easy win. Your products will get free exposure by Google on a credible, sleek, and cool platform.

If your business sells products online and Google’s Shopping Graph isn’t on your SEO checklist in 2023, you’re losing a huge opportunity that your competitors might not decline.

7. Make Your Images Worth a Thousand Clicks

It might seem like an easy task to optimize your images for the web, but chances are that it’s a tad more complicated than you think.

For many years, Google has been recommending that you use alternative text (alt text) and other optimizations for images on your site. Yet, many businesses still don’t take this seriously or they think it’s a waste of time.

Nowadays, it is not just about boosting your Google ranking but also accommodating the millions of customers who rely on alt text to navigate your site — who will leave you in the dust and never look back if you don’t offer it.

So, now’s the time to do an image audit on your site to see if you need to make changes to get up to speed with what Google (and customers) expect from you in 2023 and beyond.

What Image Optimization Means For Your SEO Strategy

Create good URL structure for your images: Google uses the URL path and file name to understand your images, so make sure your URLs are built logically
Add structured data: Structured data lets Google Images display your images as rich results, including a prominent badge, which drives targeted traffic to your site

Optimize for speed: Images often make up a large part of a page’s size, so use image optimization and responsive image techniques to make it fast and easy
Use descriptive alt text in the alt attribute: Alt text improves accessibility for screen reader users and low-bandwidth users who can’t see images on web pages

It is time to do what Google says and pay attention to your website images. Your bottom line will thank you for it!

Leverage These 2023 SEO Trends to Reach More Customers Online

Google changes its search algorithms 500 to 600 times per year. Every day of the year. And as clever as we are as marketers and SEOs, Google’s algorithms are getting smarter by the second.

A successful SEO strategy for your business depends on staying on top of the latest SEO trends in 2023.

Following these SEO tips will help you kickstart the year with a boost in ranking and more qualified traffic.

If you need help moving the needle on your website’s search rankings, we are happy to help. Get in touch with our SEO Team to learn more about our services here at TrafficSoda.

October 24, 2022by MeganSEO

Is SEO Worth It? How to Measure SEO Return on Investment

If you‘re here to learn how to measure SEO return on investment, then you’re already on the right track ‒ because you’re thinking about what actually matters.

Sure, marketers can talk all day about how great SEO is…

But let’s be realistic: the only real way to know if SEO is worth it to you is to calculate its return on investment.

Yes, it is possible to reliably measure the impact of SEO on your bottom line. In fact, it’s much simpler than some marketers make it out to be.

We’ll tell you exactly how to measure the ROI of your SEO, step-by-step, so it’s easy to know if SEO is worth it for you.

How to Measure the ROI of SEO ‒ and the Impact of SEO on Your Bottom Line

It’s all too common for business owners to invest in some form of SEO and, at the end of the day, have no idea if that SEO is actually worth it…or if it’s money going to waste.

It doesn’t help that some marketers claim measuring the ROI of SEO is impossible. They’re either wrong, or dishonest.

As long as you have the right data, the formula you use to calculate SEO return on investment is pretty straightforward.

Here’s a quick and easy formula you can use to determine whether SEO has been worth your money in a specific period:

(Value of Conversions – Cost of SEO) / Cost of SEO

How to measure SEO return on investment: (value of conversions-cost of SEO)/cost of SEO

There it is. And in the rest of this article, we’ll explain exactly how to get the data you need to fill in this formula.

Of course, we’d be lying if we said there are no challenges involved with calculating SEO return on investment. We’ll also help you cut through those challenges so you get the clearest possible picture of your SEO return on investment.

But first, let’s grab the data we need to measure the ROI of SEO.

Step 1: Determine the Cost of Your Investment in SEO

First, you have to calculate how much SEO cost you over the timeframe you want to measure.

When you work with a professional SEO agency, this step is as simple as it gets. You can find out how much you’re paying just by looking at the bill.

If you do all your SEO in-house, or a hybrid of in-house and agency SEO services, the breakdown will be more complicated. Some of the costs you’ll need to factor in include:

Any in-house staff who contribute to on-page and off-page SEO, including content creators and copywriters
Web designers and developers who contribute to technical SEO, as well as setting up SEO tracking like Google Analytics (more on that later)
Monthly or annual subscriptions to SEO tools like SemRush, Ahrefs, or anything else you use for traffic analytics, site auditing, keyword research, list management, etc.

When you add these costs up, you’ll have a figure that can be used in your SEO ROI calculation.

Remember that these costs may change monthly. Don’t forget to take those changes into account when measuring your SEO return on investment for a specific timeframe.

Step 2: Measure Conversions From Organic Traffic

In a nutshell, organic traffic is any traffic to your website from a search engine that you don’t pay for directly.

Whenever someone clicks on your site in Google search results ‒ as long as it’s not one of your ads ‒ it’s organic traffic.

Since SEO is all about boosting organic traffic, conversions from organic traffic provide one of the best metrics for measuring the ROI of SEO.

To get that number, we recommend using Google Analytics to track your organic conversions. You can use it for free and it just works.

The way you set this up will depend on the way your business and website work, and we won’t go into too much detail here. Setting up conversion tracking correctly is extremely important, so we recommend getting help from an experienced developer or digital marketer.

Once you have Google Analytics tracking your conversions, calculating the value of SEO conversions is a breeze:

For sales made on your website, simply segment conversions by channel and look at revenue for organic traffic. Narrow down the timeframe and you’ve got your number.
For leads that come in through your website, this is trickier, because the actual conversion happens offline and not every lead converts. You need to assign a value to your leads overall and use that as your value. Best practice is to base that value on the average lifetime value of a customer multiplied by closure rate %.

Step 3: Use This Formula to Calculate SEO Return on Investment

After you’ve collected your data, plug it in to this formula to calculate your SEO return on investment:

(Value of Conversions – Cost of Investment) / Cost of Investment

Here’s an example.

Say that organic traffic got you $100,000 in revenue over one year, and that the costs associated with SEO during that time were $20,000.

Put these figures into the formula above and we get:

($100,000 – $20,000) / $20,000 = 4

So for every $1 you spent on SEO, you got $4 back. This means you’re getting a 400% return on investment.

Using this formula, you can calculate the ROI of your SEO campaign over any timeframe you choose, as long as you know both the costs and the returns.

You can then use this data to help determine whether SEO is worth it for you or not…with a couple of important caveats.

We’ll look at those caveats next.

3 Challenges of Measuring SEO Return on Investment

Real-time conversion tracking has made it easier than ever to reliably measure the return on investment of your SEO efforts.

However, not even the best tracking tools can perfectly measure every facet of your organic search traffic. SEO is a time-consuming and complicated process with many moving parts.

Because of this, quantifying SEO return on investment will always be a bit of an art as well as a science.

Here’s what you need to know about the tricky part of measuring SEO and its ROI:

Challenge 1: SEO Costs Are Complex

First, measuring SEO ROI can be tough because of the sheer number of variables that contribute to a successful campaign.

An effective SEO campaign is based on a number of variables, from high-quality content, to link building, to technical SEO and more.

Having an agency handle your SEO makes quantifying these costs a breeze. You know how much you’re paying them, so use that figure in your calculation.

Tallying the costs of your internal SEO efforts is harder.

While PPC advertising has clearly identifiable click costs, SEO is about earning clicks rather than buying them. Those clicks are technically free. But the SEO you spend to get them isn’t.

You have to consider things like the cost of in-house labour (which you can break down by individuals or tasks), the SEO tools you use, and all the time you or your managers put into running that team smoothly.

It’s a lot, and you’ve got to get it right if you want a true picture of your SEO ROI.

Challenge 2: SEO Takes Time

When you’re doing SEO, it can be hard to tie specific investments and returns to work that was done in a specific timeframe.

That’s because it can take a long time for SEO to pay off. Quick wins are certainly possible, but there’s no guarantee.

From our experience and that of other reputable SEO agencies, we can estimate it will take 4-6 months for SEO to start ‘working’, meaning it begins to produce measurable results.

So, the simplified principle of comparing returns and investments over the same period does not quite work. It gives you a solid idea of whether things are working, but it’s not 1:1.

One way to get around this is to calculate ROI on a category, page, or keyword level, rather than an arbitrary time period, as Ahrefs describes here.

To learn more about SEO timelines, check out our blog post on how long it takes to get SEO results.

Challenge 3: Even ‘Perfect’ Conversion Tracking Isn’t Flawless

This problem isn’t specific to SEO.

But SEO is no exception.

The simple fact is that customer journeys are often more complex than any tracking software makes them seem.

Yes, Google Analytics will tell you if someone converted after visiting your website through an organic search. However, there may be things going on behind the scenes that you aren’t aware of or can’t track.

For example…say you watch a YouTube video about an interesting product. Then you Google that product, go to the website, and buy it.

Organic traffic gets 100% of the credit for that conversion…but it was really the YouTube video that got you there, wasn’t it?

Here’s another example with the opposite effect. Say you Google a product on your phone, find the website, and make a mental note of it. Later, you fire up your laptop and visit the website directly by typing the URL in your browser, and buy the product.

Since you switched devices, direct traffic gets 100% credit…but wasn’t that really an organic conversion?

You can see how customer journeys can twist and turn in ways that can skew your attribution.

So, no matter how well your Google Analytics is configured, you cannot always pinpoint exactly how many conversions you owe to SEO.

The more traffic and conversions you have, the more accurate it becomes, but it will never be perfect.

This begs the question: why even bother?

What You’re Missing If You Aren’t Measuring SEO Return on Investment

Put simply, not measuring your ROI is almost as bad as not doing SEO at all.

In spite of the challenges of measuring SEO ROI to pinpoint accuracy, you’re missing out on a lot of valuable data if you don’t do it at all.

The average business generates 53% of its traffic through organic search. Meaning that SEO does have an impact on the bottom line for most businesses. You can’t afford to ignore it.

And unless you know your return on investment for every dollar you spend on SEO, you can’t decide which strategies are working best, which you should scale, and whether something’s wasting your money.

Since SEO is a long-term strategy that generates results over time, you may not see a positive ROI right away. But once you’re past that, SEO will begin to deliver a return and can continue to pay dividends for years to come.

When that turning point comes, you won’t know it unless you’ve been actively measuring the ongoing ROI of your SEO work. And if you don’t know, you could end up pulling the plug on a profitable strategy just when it’s getting started.

If you need help moving the needle on your website’s search rankings, we are happy to help. Get in touch with our SEO Team to learn more about our services here at TrafficSoda.

September 15, 2022by Amanda TurnerSEO

On-Page vs. Off-Page SEO: Know the Differences for Best Results

On-page vs. Off-page SEO: in order to rank, you need to know the basics of both.

With Google’s latest ‘helpful content update’ many creators are sweating how to approach SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and keep their website traffic flowing. It’s never been more important to optimize your On-Page and Off-Page SEO, and ensure your website offers original and helpful content written by people, for people.

Traditional On-Page SEO best practices are tried and true. There are also important factors outside of your website that impact SEO as well.

Off-Page SEO gives your website more authority, trust, and relevance in the eyes of Google ‒ all key ingredients to better search rankings.

Your best results will come from incorporating both On-Page and Off-Page SEO. And to do that, you’ve got to understand how they work together.

Remember: Google is a business and searchers are their customers

SEO is hard. It takes consistent, meaningful efforts to get recognized by search engines and move up the rankings. Remember: Google is a business and searchers are their customers. They care deeply about what people think about their search engine, meaning they care about providing good search results.

If you can prove your website has useful, relevant, authoritative content that is easy to read and navigate, Google will reward you for it.

On-Page vs. Off-Page SEO: What’s the Difference?

To put it simply, the difference between On-Page and Off-Page SEO is where the magic happens.

On-Page SEO refers to things you can do on your website to boost its search engine ranking, like optimizing a page’s content, images, and meta tags. These are things you have control over.
Off-Page SEO refers to things you can do outside of your website using external factors like social media and influencer marketing to boost its search engine ranking. These are things you typically have less control over.

Of course, that’s the short answer, and there’s a lot more to it! So, let’s dive deeper into the difference between On-Page and Off-Page SEO and how they work together to get you better SEO results.

What is On-Page SEO?

On-Page SEO is a series of search engine optimization tactics that take place on your website.

Google’s mandate is to recommend the best web pages to searchers based on their search criteria. So, in essence, On-Page SEO is all about delivering an awesome user experience and making sure Google knows it.

This includes (but is not limited to) optimizations of various page aspects such as:

Quality of content (like articles, videos, and images) on individual pages
Behind-the-scenes code that helps Google read your website and understand it
Overall navigation and structure of your site
Page loading speed
How your site loads on mobile devices
Other on-page elements

Well-optimized pages provide a better experience to website visitors both in terms of performance and purpose. Since Google is more likely to recommend high-quality pages to its users, your SEO efforts pay off in the form of more visitors to your site.

If your website plays a significant role in your business, then it’s well worth the time and effort to make sure that your website delivers the best possible user experience.

What is Off-Page SEO?

Off-Page SEO is a collection of activities that happen off-site but pertain to your site pages. When these activities are beneficial, they help boost search engine rankings.

Generally, this part of SEO involves getting your brand or website mentioned in a positive light on other sites across the web.

Off-Site SEO includes, but is not limited to:

Backlinks on other websites
Social media shares and mentions
Activity on your Google Business Profile
Other off-site elements

Off-Page SEO is more difficult to control than On-Page SEO. Search engines are looking for ‘natural’ links and mentions, not ones you paid for, and they are excellent at spotting fakes.

That said, there are ways to do Off-Site SEO without going against the guidelines and risking a Google penalty.

Some Examples of On-Page and Off-Page SEO

To give you an overview of On-Page vs. Off-Page SEO tactics, here are a few examples of things that fall under On-Page and Off-Page SEO.

On-Page SEO examples:

Making sure your website loads quickly and is easy to use on a mobile device.
Publishing high-quality articles on your website’s blog.
Creating a well-organized FAQ page that answers commonly searched questions about your company, industry, products, or services.
Adding relevant and high-volume keywords to your page titles, descriptions, and headings, in a meaningful way. Keywords should not be used for the sake of being included, they should genuinely help explain the page’s content.
Adding relevant alt text to images helps people who use screen readers navigate your website.
Making it easy for people to get around your website with internal links and logical navigation.

Off-Page SEO examples:

Answering questions on a discussion forum and linking to a relevant page on your website.
Having social media users mention your website and share links to your content in relevant spaces.
Growing a loyal social media following that engages with your content.
Increasing the number of relevant links to your website on other high-quality websites, like reputable publishers and industry sources.
Using your Google Business Page.

Want to know exactly how these activities affect your website’s search engine ranking? Our next section takes a deeper dive into On-Page and Off-Page SEO factors.

On-Page SEO Factors: Things on Your Website that Impact SEO

On-Page SEO has everything to do with what you control on your own website, everything from the content you publish to how it’s designed. If you were to spend any time or money on SEO, we would absolutely recommend you start with On-Page SEO.

Below is a list of a few key factors that play into On-Page SEO. You can use these as a basis for assessing your website’s SEO friendliness.

Core Web Vitals: a set of metrics that quantify the user experience for the website. The user experience metrics include visual stability, interactivity, and load time. It is important to improve your core website vitals because it communicates to Google that you have a positive user experience.
Page Speed: load time for a page is an important part of On-Page SEO because Google ranks pages that load faster for the user. Optimizing page speed can also help get your pages to Google’s search index.
Mobile Friendliness: allowing users to easily navigate your website via mobile device will improve your rankings.
Title Tags: including defining titles for each page that thoroughly describe the content is important. Google needs keywords to determine whether a page is related or not.
Meta Descriptions: meta descriptions are HTML tags that assist in describing what the page is about in a sentence or two.
Content Quality: On-Page SEO thrives on quality content. Quality content answers a question for the user, is easy to read, relevant, and has a unique approach to the problem. If you can check all four of these off the list, Google will love you.
HTML headers: headers or tags that specify what the webpage’s content contains. HTML headers help your visitors understand your content and help search engines relate your content to a user’s search query.
Image Alt Text: image alt text is an HTML tag that describes an image or what it conveys. Search engines use image alt text to determine if it is relevant to the user’s search query, and people with screen readers need it to understand an image’s content.
Internal Linking: aside from linking related content to provide your readers with additional information, internal linking will benefit your website’s SEO by helping the search engines find new relevant content.
Navigation: important for On-Page SEO because it ensures that all users can access the content on the web page equally. Google prioritizes web page accessibility no matter what browser is in use.

Off-Page SEO Factors: What Impacts SEO Outside of Your Website

Online information about your website, instead of what’s on your website, is what Off-Page SEO is all about. Signals from around the web have a significant impact on how high and where your website ranks on Google. Off-Page SEO is tough to do since so many factors are out of your control. That said, here are a few key factors that play into Off-Page SEO:

Backlinks: create more authority and trust with search engines. Google takes backlinks seriously and has even implemented algorithm updates to attack spam links embedded in content. Building trustworthy and highly relevant backlinks should be done properly.
Social Media: does not have a direct correlation to search engine ranking but having a presence on social media allows people to engage with your content and is an opportunity for you to reach new consumers.
Unlinked mentions: occur when a third party, unaffiliated site mentions your company name or website and does not link to your site. Unlinked mentions hold some value when it comes to off-page SEO because they build authority and trust with your website.
Google Business Page: formerly called Google My Business, this is a Google platform for businesses to display information like their type of business, location, service, contact, and hours. Google uses GBP to populate Google Maps search results and is a key SEO factor for local businesses that need traffic in specific locations.

On-Page and Off-Page SEO: Why You Need Both

There’s more to search rankings than what’s on your website.

Both On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO are integral parts of a successful SEO strategy.

With so many moving parts and strategies to follow, navigating SEO can be tricky. If you’re new to the process, it pays to consult with SEO specialists for guidance.

Get in touch with our team of expert digital marketers today for all your SEO needs!

June 16, 2022by Amanda TurnerSEO

SEO Timelines: How Long Does It Take to Get Results?

You might have heard that search engine optimization (SEO) is a quick and easy way to get

Here’s why that’s wrong.

The truth is…once upon a time, SEO could work quickly.

But as search engine algorithms have evolved and the online space has become more competitive, the SEO landscape has changed drastically.

Every business owner wants to see results come quickly. But when it comes to legitimate, proven SEO strategies, results simply don’t happen overnight.

Any agency that says otherwise is not to be trusted.

Below, we’ll cover the real factors that will affect how long it will take for SEO to get measurable results for your business, as well as the minimum time investment to really get your money’s worth from SEO.

How Long It Takes for SEO to Generate Leads and Sales

When it comes to SEO, business owners often ask, “How long does it take for SEO to work?”

Which usually means, “How long before I rank #1 in Google?”

This is the wrong question to ask because ranking #1 in Google isn’t the end goal. The goal is to generate qualified leads and sales opportunities.

In other words, organic search traffic is only as valuable to your business as the revenue it generates.

The real question that you should be asking is, “When will SEO start generating sales and leads for my business?”

Based on our experience and that of our colleagues at other reputable SEO agencies, we can give an estimated timeline of 4-6 months for SEO to begin producing some form of results, which could include:

Overall improved average ranking
Website being indexed for more keywords
More traffic to your website and opportunity to close that traffic

The above timeline represents our average client experience. This is when things start to work, but not necessarily when you achieve your end goal.

There are numerous factors to consider when determining when you can expect to begin seeing SEO generate results. It would be impossible to cover them all in detail here ‒ but some of the most significant factors are:

Competition for high-priority keywords
How effective are the site’s inbound links
Healthy, SEO-friendly site
Regularly published content on the site

1. Importance of Competition in SEO Timelines

Generally, the more competing websites that your business is up against, the harder and longer it will take to see your website climb to the top of search engine results.

In a crowded industry, many of your competitors will have experienced SEO professionals behind them to improve and maintain their rankings. Understanding the level of competition based on your products/services and location will help you get a sense of how long it will take for SEO to get results.

For example, a small local massage therapy clinic will face less competition than a real estate brokerage business serving a large city, amongst many other real estate brokerage businesses. That same brokerage would face less competition than a national-level mortgage company with competitors in every market in the country.

Search results are all relative, and that is the key to understanding why SEO works differently for different businesses online

2. Importance of Inbound Links in SEO Timelines

Acquiring more inbound links will help your business achieve the SEO success you are striving for more quickly… but it is not all a numbers game.

Quality over quantity, like most things, is always the way to go. Having fewer, high-quality links from relevant websites will have a much greater impact on your overall results than having a greater number of low-quality links from other irrelevant websites.

Acquiring higher quality links are much harder to earn, having them on your website will make it more difficult for your competitors to replicate and compete with you. As well, higher-quality links last longer and keep their effective power.

The speed in which your business online can acquire links takes time, make sure to look out for any abrupt increase in links. This could identify an inorganic attempt at a manipulative ranking and negatively affect your business’ SEO.

3. Importance of a Healthy SEO-Friendly Website

SEO isn’t just about keywords and content. Your website’s internal workings also have a big impact on how it ranks.

When your website appears on a Google search results page, it becomes part of what Google offers its users. And Google cares a lot about its users’ experience.

So, a big part of its search ranking algorithm is focused on checking the ‘health’ of your website. It looks at technical aspects of the site that have an effect on the user experience, like:

Site speed
Crawl errors & broken links
Mobile friendliness
Site structure
Navigation
txt
Sitemap

When your site is healthy and SEO-friendly, the work being done on the content and external links side takes effect much faster. On the other hand, a site that is not technically optimized for SEO will move slowly or not at all.

4. Importance of Content in SEO Timelines

Quality content published on your website plays a vital role in how quickly you will see SEO results.

There isn’t a set length/word count for SEO optimized content. It just has to be long and detailed enough to solve the visitor’s problem.

Along with quality content requires consistent content. Maintaining a publishing schedule will encourage Google to come back to your website to read and learn more about your expertise. It also encourages users to return, suggesting a positive user experience that Google’s signals will notice.

If you focus on producing helpful content that answers specific questions your target market may have, you will see results. Users will come, have a great experience and build trust with your brand (possibly reaching out) and Google has more information about you to determine where else you can rank.

SEO Timelines Then vs. Now

To explain why SEO doesn’t happen overnight, it helps to recognize a crucial difference between the early SEO landscape and what we see today.

Old SEO: When Low Competition Got Big Results

In the early days of SEO, it was possible to skyrocket a website’s search ranking by identifying and optimizing for a small number of high volume, low competition keywords.

The trick was to target keywords that were popular, but not competitive.

You could build an entire strategy around these ‘golden’ keywords, climb to #1 in the rankings, and have most of your traffic come from them within a few months.

Nowadays, it’s extremely rare to find a single keyword or small group of keywords that can drive a lot of traffic to your site.

People just don’t search like that anymore. Plus, the web is way more competitive today than it was in the early 2000s. There are nearly 2 billion websites today, compared to just 17 million in 2000, an increase of nearly 11 thousand percent.

New SEO: Targeting the Long Tail

Today, people are adding more words than ever to their searches to get faster, more specific results.

They’re asking specific questions that they need answers to, rather than searching individual keywords and seeing what comes up.

We call these searches long-tail keywords. And search engines like Google and Bing have gotten very good at delivering long-tail keywords relevant results.

Long-tail keywords are:

Easier to rank for, because they’re less competitive
Generate more revenue, because they’re more specific
Account for a higher search volume in total than shorter “golden keywords”

Today, generating search traffic that brings you leads, sales, and revenue means curating a larger number of natural language or long-tail keywords searches that grow and change over time.

Is SEO a Good Investment?

When you have the funds and stamina to be patient with the results, as well as stay in the game for the long haul, SEO is an incredibly powerful marketing tool that all businesses should invest in.

A minimum of 4 to 6 months of SEO services will allow you the time and money to see the results that you want. For businesses that do not have a budget for SEO services for up to a year, we recommend a few key steps regardless:

Make your website SEO and user friendly – you may need a professional to help with this as a one-time project
Work on building out good quality content on your website if you build genuinely helpful content to your target market, it will pay SEO dividends down the road
Consider using additional funds towards paid advertising to start generating traffic to your website

It’s important to remain patient throughout the SEO process. When businesses fail to see results after a couple of months of SEO services, they are tempted to give up ‒ when they could actually see results in a matter of weeks. We often refer to this time period as the “trough of sorrow” in the industry.

We as agencies or individuals cannot control a lot of the SEO process. We don’t control Google, their algorithm, or what competitors do. The only thing we can do is understand what Google is looking for, give them what they want, connect with our customers and give them what they want, and we will start to see results.

SEO is not only a science, but also the art of adapting to changes in the industry.

Remember that SEO results increase over time, not overnight. Your results should be significantly better after 12 months than they were after 6 months.

To get the results that you need online for your business, professional SEO services are OFTEN worth the time, energy, and money that you invest.

If you would like more information about our SEO and digital advertising services, please do not hesitate to contact our SEO team here at TrafficSoda.

May 26, 2022by Amanda TurnerSEO

3 Fatal Risks of Cheap SEO Services (Avoid at ALL Costs)

Here’s the hard truth: cheap SEO is too good to be true.

Just because you’re better than your competitors in ‘real life’ (better products, better workmanship, better results, etc.) doesn’t always mean you’ll get a better search ranking.

Google and Bing search results are extremely competitive.

If somebody’s ranking higher than you, it’s likely because they hired an SEO company to optimize their website.

And the only effective way to outrank them is to beat them at their own game.

There’s just one problem…

Bad SEO is Worse Than No SEO at All

Many SEO companies are more interested in your money than your success.

Doing SEO cheaply is not only detrimental to your website traffic but can also harm your business’s reputation both online and offline.

The long-term risks of cheap SEO include:

Loss of business revenue;
Getting banned from search results, period; and
Handing all your potential search revenue to your competitors

Those are the consequences we want to help you avoid. So, in this article, we lay it all out on the table.

Read on to learn all about:

How, exactly, cheap SEO can tank your business
Biggest red flags of cheap SEO
Black Hat vs. Grey Hat vs. White Hat SEO (and why it matters)
What GOOD SEO can do for your business

1. How Cheap SEO Can Tank Your Business

Google and Bing are for-profit companies, and their customers are search engine users. This means that both Google and Bing want to give people the best, most relevant search results. Search engines have spent years building parameters to identify high quality, relevant search results.

The problem is that bad actors frequently reverse engineer these parameters to exploit rankings, which results in low quality search results and poor user experience. As a result, Google and Bing regularly update their algorithm to identify manipulative SEO tactics and suss out actions that are fake and spammy.

Cheap SEO services often use manipulative tactics that go against search engine guidelines.

Google and Bing actively scan the web for these shady practices using the most advanced machine learning algorithms available.

You might not get caught right away, but you must assume you will get caught at some point.

And when that happens, you can lose traffic, get block-listed, and potentially forfeit all your future search traffic to your competitors.

a. Cheap SEO Decimates Your Website Traffic

Organic search is by far the #1 source of website traffic online, and the most authentic.

If you successfully rank at the top of the search results, you will benefit from more clicks and visits to your website, presenting an opportunity to turn those clicks into customers.

Poorly done SEO can tank your ranking, meaning customers won’t be able to find you and will click on your competitors instead.

b. Cheap SEO Gets You Block-listed from Google and Bing

Google and Bing’s top priority is to create a positive user experience, so penalizing manipulative tactics is smart business for them.

Using cheap SEO tactics will cause search engines to penalize and even ban you, banning you from appearing in search results at all until the issue is rectified.

A search penalty means a real and immediate loss of potential revenue for your business.

If you ignore the penalty, you will find it almost impossible to recover. Your site traffic will continue to drop steadily, leaving you behind the competition and low on stamina to make a comeback.

c. Cheap SEO Funnels Revenue to Your Competitors

Now, you’re block-listed from the search results. So, who do you think all those potential customers are going to click on instead of you?

You already know the answer.

Shooting yourself in the foot with manipulative SEO is like handing your customers revenue on a silver platter.

Plus, ethical SEO practices can take weeks or months to have an impact. So, the more time and money you waste on cheap SEO, the longer you will have to wait for results on good SEO when you finally switch gears.

It’s not worth the risk.

2. How to Spot Red Flags for Cheap SEO

Hiring cheap SEO services can have serious immediate and long-term consequences to your business that can be difficult or even impossible to recover from.

To avoid them, you need to know what to look out for.

First, there’s some SEO industry jargon you need to know. These are the labels we use to separate cheap, manipulative SEO tactics from legitimate SEO: white hat, gray hat, and black hat.

White Hat SEO services follow the search engine-approved guidelines for optimizing a website. White hat SEO focuses on improving the user experience and creating high-quality content. There is zero risk in using white hat SEO.
Black hat SEO services rely on manipulating and violating search engine algorithms against guidelines to improve your search rankings. The short-term goals of black hat SEO services are to get you fast-paced wins to fool you into thinking their services have the best and fastest results on the market. Manipulating the algorithm is not effective because it can never keep up with Google’s constant updates, which results in your rankings being wiped out due to unethical practices. Black hat SEO is extremely risky.
Gray hat SEO services test the limits of what search engines allow, exploiting ‘gray areas’ in the guidelines. Once a gray hat tactic becomes known, search engines often crack down hard, which will cost you the same way as black hat SEO. The results do not stick well over time and require repeated work. Grey hat SEO is very risky.

No serious business should never engage in black hat SEO. Your website will no longer be trustworthy to users or search engines, and recovery could take years.

Although gray hat SEO is often sold as a ‘medium risk for a medium price’, which can be tempting for businesses on a tight budget, the risk is high and the results are not sustainable. Business owners should avoid this trap at all costs.

Overall, white hat SEO services are the only kind worth your money and time because the job done will be the safest and most beneficial for your business online.

So, how do you know when a company’s pitching you cheap, black/grey hat SEO? There are a few key phrases and promises that agencies will make that should ring alarm bells:

a. Big Promises for Low Price Tags

SEO is not rocket science, but it is not as simple as you might think. It’s not just sticking a bunch of keywords and tags on a website.

Achieving long-term success with SEO takes a lot of manual work that cannot be easily accomplished on a shoestring budget. Either you settle for a very small number of keywords, or you end up paying for the work that really needs to be done.

b. No Long-Term Strategy

Cheap SEO companies will offer you short-term solutions, but this is not realistic.

SEO is a long-term strategy. It takes time to gain the rankings you deserve. If the company you are considering offers no plan past one month, they are more than likely a scam. They are either not doing their job or just looking for quick and easy money from unsuspecting customers like you.

c. No Transparency

Do not trust any SEO company that doesn’t offer you transparency into what they’re doing. It is important that you have visibility over the SEO process so that you can assess the results and make changes as needed.

The best SEO companies will offer a full audit of your site and provide explanations for any errors found. They will also provide recommendations for how to fix these errors, give an overview of how to improve rankings, and show rankings progress.

d. Inexperienced Team

One of the most important things to look for when choosing an SEO company is their expertise and experience.

Do they have a website with a portfolio of websites that they have previously optimized? Do they have testimonials from satisfied clients? Can you find any information on them at all?

An experienced SEO company won’t mind telling you who’s on their team and should be eager to tell you about their experience. If they’re not transparent, they could be hiding something.

e. Guaranteed Results

No one can guarantee a #1 spot on Google.

It is an outright impossible claim to make for an agency, as SEO is a competitive practice that depends on hundreds of signals which can change at any point in the day.

What can be guaranteed are solid and safe practices that can win better results when done properly over time.

Agencies that claim their services will guarantee a specific result in a specific timeframe is one of the biggest warning signs for cheap, black hat SEO that will hurt your business.

What About Using Negative SEO to Attack Your Competitors?

Usually, SEO is about trying to boost your own company’s search ranking. Negative SEO is when one company uses manipulative tactics to hurt a competitor’s rankings instead.

Negative SEO is gray hat SEO. A negative SEO campaign against your industry competitors is risky because the traffic attacks can be traced back to you.

Search engine algorithms can detect bad links from good links when competitors create spammy backlinks to tank your SEO and organic rankings online.

Search engine algorithms can detect bad links from good links when competitors create spammy backlinks to tank your SEO and organic rankings online. Google will penalize websites for building spammy backlinks that use anchor text to improve their ranking by matching the exact keywords.

Any mentions of negative SEO practices should be shut down immediately, the risk is simply not worth it.

3. The Long-Term Value of Affordable White Hat SEO

White hat SEO isn’t cheap, but it’s effective – and it can be affordable. When done well, SEO is the most cost-effective and reliable way to reach your target customers and understand what they are looking for when they search for businesses online.

Investing time and money into effective, white hat SEO services will benefit your online traffic, leads, and sales in the long run.

Search is the #1 source of website traffic. Organic search is a key way people find your website and become customers, whether you sell products or services online or offline. Being highly visible on Google and Bing is money in the bank.
SEO builds trust and credibility. SEO creates trust and credibility by providing a positive user experience that is easily discoverable on search engines. Establishing authority online through good content results in natural backlinks that boost your ranking. Online credibility takes time, working towards your goals of authority and credibility online takes time, patience, and affordable SEO services from an experienced agency.
SEO boosts local businesses. Using SEO will improve your local engagement and traffic online by connecting users to your business based on their location. SEO professionals can do this by optimizing the businesses website content and including local citations and backlinks to guide the user to their product or service. An experienced agency can provide effective, local SEO services at an affordable price.
SEO is quantifiable. With SEO, you can measure your progress using analytics. A competent SEO agency has people dedicated to connecting the dots and assessing the improvements made through SEO. This information can also be used to maximize ROI and ensure that your SEO remains affordable. Hiring a team that is knowledgeable about tracking analytics and SEO data is essential.
Good SEO means a better user experience. Google is dedicated to providing a positive user experience through relevant search results. Search engine optimization also means optimizing your user experience, so people love using your website and come back for more. Optimizing your website’s user experience will also help maximize the ROI from both SEO and other digital marketing efforts.

Bottom Line: Avoid Cheap SEO Services at All Costs

Cheaping out on SEO is never the way to go. This will only cost you more money and more problems in the future that could potentially be irreversible.

We hope that you now understand the risks of cheap SEO services and the benefits to investing in white hat SEO services that put your success first.

TrafficSoda has built hundreds of successful SEO strategies for companies, like you, looking to increase traffic, leads, calls, online purchases and more. When you’re ready to jump in with a personalized plan, reach out for your free strategy proposal.

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