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What Exactly Is Semantic Search (& How Does it Affect SEO)

Technical SEO
July 20, 2021/by
What Exactly Is Semantic Search (& How Does it Affect SEO) Ten years ago, SEO strategists across the world followed a relatively similar process. Step one, conduct keyword research. Step two, randomly write those keywords into the text on a page approximately five billion times. And step three — rank number one for that keyword. I hate to break to you, but that isn't the case anymore. Several algorithm updates like Hummingbird and RankBrain brought about a new concept: semantic search. While this may remove jobs for black-hat keyword stuffers, SEOs who prioritize the importance of providing a good customer experience can sigh in relief that Google is now on their side. Google and other search engines are continuously striving to satisfy the searcher with the most accurate results — which is precisely where semantic search comes in. In other words, it connects search intent with the context of your content to provide the most relevant and helpful results. With these updates in place, how does this affect search traffic? And what do SEOs need to consider moving forward? That's what I'll cover in this article. What is semantic search? To start, let's dive deeper into how semantic search works. Semantic search is the process search engines use to try to understand the intent and contextual meaning of your search query in order to give you results that match what you had in mind. In other words, semantic search aims to know why you are searching for these...
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The What, Why, and How of Canonical Tags & URLs

Technical SEO
July 14, 2021/by
The What, Why, and How of Canonical Tags & URLs "That's canon!"  You might've heard this phrase used to describe a creative piece that stays true to an original piece of work or fictional universe. If you're familiar with canon, you are well on your way to understanding canonicalization and how it impacts web pages. Here, let's explore what canonicalization is, why it matters for SEO, and how to add the tag to your own website. What is canonicalization? Canonicalization declares an original or preferred web page, which helps consolidate duplicate pages for crawling. Without naming a canonical URL, web crawlers could crawl and index multiple versions of your web page. Google indicates that it will crawl non-canonical pages less frequently to reduce the crawl load on your website. Less frequent crawling of low-quality, duplicate pages means more important pages can be prioritized for crawling, instead. Okay, but why would we purposely have duplicate content? Well … ever post your content on your website and also on Medium? Or, perhaps after guest posting you place a version of the blog post on your website, as well. To do so, you should reference the original version as the canonical URL. Canonical URLs can reference different domains — meaning the canonical can be on another website. Even if you aren't actively creating duplicate pages for cross-channel promotion, duplication happens naturally due to the different parts of a web address. Does your website use a secure protocol, like HTTPS? Then...
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Professional Invoice Design: 26 Samples & Templates to Inspire You

Business Tools
July 14, 2021/by
Professional Invoice Design: 26 Samples & Templates to Inspire You Invoices and infographics may seem like two entirely different business materials, but they actually have one key thing in common: they both exist to convey information. However, while infographics are known for employing colorful designs and data visualizations, invoices are typically pretty straightforward. While your invoices might not be a front-facing part of your business, it doesn’t mean they should be plain and boring. Of course, conveying important payment information in a clear and concise way is the name of the game — but that doesn't mean you can't add a little brand personality to them. To help you get a sense of the possibilities, we put together a collection of impressive invoice samples that may inspire you to rethink your current design. But first, let's review how to design an invoice in the section below. How to Design an Invoice You don’t need to be an expert to create professionally designed invoices. In fact, you can use customized templates to get started (more on that later). However, you need to know a bit about an invoice's structure if you want to create and send invoices that ensure you receive your payments on time. Here are some best practices for creating professional invoices: Decide on your invoice format. Start by choosing the format you want to use for your invoice. Do you want it in print? Or in digital formats like a PDF, Google Docs, Word, or Excel? Once...
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Your Cheat Sheet to Google’s 200 (Known) Ranking Factors

Technical SEO
July 14, 2021/by
Your Cheat Sheet to Google's 200 (Known) Ranking Factors If you're an SEO, I know you can relate to the following scenario. You do thorough keyword research and create super awesome content that ends up performing well — score! You are riding the waves of growth in SERPs and feel like you're on top of the world. And the next day, there's an algorithm update that comes along ... and just like that, your rankings have tanked. Regardless of whether an algorithm update rocks or destroys your world, they're an inevitable occurrence. So it's time to face the facts, and take the changes in stride. As difficult as ranking in the coveted number one spot may seem, there is a list that'll help you get there: Google's 200 known ranking factors. This list serves as our guide in a field that's constantly evolving. In 2006, Google declared that it was using over 200 ranking factors. While that's certainly the most comprehensive perspective, I've pulled all the known ranking factors together in one post and shared my personal top 10 to make it a bit more tactical. But before you jump in, understand that everything is arguable in SEO, and there have been some controversies concerning these "200 known ranking factors". SEO's often differ in their perspective on which ranking factors matter the most — or whether they're important at all. Nevertheless, user experience is one thing Google continually improves for their users. If you want to create more helpful content for...
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5 Ways to Add a Personal Touch to Your Sales Email

Sales Emails
July 13, 2021/by
5 Ways to Add a Personal Touch to Your Sales Email In a lot of ways, technology has made it easier to reach potential customers. Automated email marketing allows you to speak to an entire database of contacts with just the touch of a button. And while email has proven to be significantly more efficient at converting customers than social media, your potential customers’ inboxes are getting fuller every day.  We’ve reached the point where most consumers can smell a sales email a mile away and will delete it within seconds. They expect that if they open it, they’ll be subjected to blanket messaging, “talking at you” verbiage, and generic content. Usually, they’re right. One-size-fits-all emails are not helping your business, and they may actually be hurting it.  As a salesperson, you understand that getting to know your customers and building relationships with them is still the best way to close a deal. While more and more relationships are being forged from behind a screen, the need to create a connection is more important than ever. The question becomes, how can you leverage the power of technology and build a relationship with your customer? Adding a personal touch to your emails will set you apart from your competitors and help you stand out in a sea of sameness. A few minutes of research and personalization can create an entirely new playing field for you. There are a number of ways to achieve this with your sales emails, but...
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The State of Content Marketing in 2021 [Stats & Trends to Watch]

Content Marketing
July 13, 2021/by
The State of Content Marketing in 2021 Content marketing is the process of planning, creating, and sharing content with your target audience. It helps you generate brand awareness, convince customers to take action, and drive revenue. There are various types of content marketing, like social media and blogs, but new trends and techniques emerge every year that change the ways businesses reach their audiences. As a marketer, it’s essential to know what your competitors are focusing on, so you can create a strategy and stand out from the crowd. In this post, discover important stats to know about the state of content marketing in 2021 and trends to look out for throughout the year. Content Marketing Stats to Know 47% of buyers view three to five pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep. 82% of marketers report actively using content marketing in 2021, up 70% from last year. Marketers’ primary goals for running marketing campaigns are brand awareness, increasing sales, and increasing engagement. Video is the most commonly used form of content marketing, overtaking blogs and infographics. Google's search algorithms are trying to transcend text to images, voice/podcasts, and videos. The top technologies used by B2B organizations to supplement content marketing are analytics tools, social media publishing, and email marketing software. The top three organic content distribution channels for B2B marketers are social media channels, email, and website. Content Marketing Trends to Watch in 2021 1. Video takes center stage. Media uploads increased...
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How HubSpot Helps Users Prepare for Google’s Core Web Vitals

SEO
July 8, 2021/by
How HubSpot Helps Users Prepare for Google's Core Web Vitals It's no secret that poor user experience (UX) isn’t going to keep your customers and target audience coming back to your website. Poor UX also negatively impacts your ability to rank on Google's search engine results page (SERP). To ensure your website has delightful UX for your visitors as well as one that meets Google's standards for ranking, you'll want to focus on Core Web Vitals. Core Web Vitals At a high level, Google's Core Web Vitals exist to fix poor user experiences on your website — Google knows that poor UX leads to higher bounce rates and that's why they take page performance into consideration when determining your page's ranking. Core Web Vitals are meant to be applied by all site owners on each of their web pages to ensure all three Vitals — which we'll talk more about below — are measured. HubSpot Core Web Vitals HubSpot’s SEO audit tool reviews all three of Google's Core Web Vitals metrics for you. Below, we’ll cover the ways in which HubSpot can help you prepare for Core Web Vitals. How HubSpot Helps Users Prep for Core Web Vitals Google’s Core Web Vitals metrics are part of the search engine’s page ranking algorithm. HubSpot’s SEO audit tool flags pages with unsatisfactory scores based on Google’s Core Web Vitals metrics. Specifically, HubSpot uses Google Lighthouse to automatically scan all pages that make up a website. The tool then flags pages...
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What is Brand Salience? [+How Do You Measure It?]

Branding
July 7, 2021/by
What is Brand Salience? While branding can feel like a vague concept, it's one of the most important elements of a marketing strategy. Did you know that presenting a brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%? Plus, consistently presented brands are 3.5 times more likely to have excellent brand visibility than those with inconsistent branding. In fact, 82% of investors say name recognition is an important factor guiding them in their investment decisions. So, what does all this mean? Well, consistent branding leads to increased brand awareness which can then help gain investors and drive revenue to your business. Needless to say, branding is important for your business to succeed. In this post, let's review what brand salience is, how you can increase your brand visibility, and how to measure it. If you have high brand salience, then you have a strong brand presence that consumers recognize and think about when they need a product. If you have low brand salience, then consumers might not know your brand exists and therefore won't think of your brand when they need to make a purchase. Essentially, brand salience is a similar metric as brand awareness except it's focused on measuring awareness during the actual purchasing decision instead of overall brand visibility. For example, when someone wants to get a cup of coffee and is driving around, what's the first brand they think of? Probably Starbucks. When they want to buy tissues, they think of Kleenex....
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