Day: November 29, 2017

Search engine optimization also called SEO is a subject covered by numerous people and also blogs, its the procedure of making your internet site look attractive to the online search engine in the hope of getting a special ranking for your targeted keyword. Throughout my research study I find numerous write-ups that offer some fantastic understandings to search engine optimization.

Below you could discover an write-up from Kiss Metrics which I discovered to be helpful as well as extremely interesting .

In a study conducted by SEMrush and Ghergich & Co., we analyzed 1.6 million featured snippets. Furthermore, we analyzed 80 million keywords. The goal was to break down featured snippet percentages by keyword group.

Our focus was on questions, prepositions, and comparisons search phases. I have seen great success earning featured snippets in these three areas. But I wanted the data to back up what I saw on the ground. Now, thanks to SEMrush, I have it. TL;DR Raw Data Linked at the bottom of this article.

Let’s start by looking at the power of question keywords.

New to Featured Snippets? The data says start here!

Something shocking happens when I remove questions, prepositions, and comparisons from our large data set. Contrary to popular belief, only 7% of generic keywords have featured snippets. Small studies show higher numbers, but 80 million keywords is the largest study I have seen.

(Generic keywords are any non-question, preposition, or comparison keyword.)

You can see in the chart that 41% of questions have featured snippets. Comparison and preposition keywords are also more likely to show featured snippets.

If you are starting to look at featured snippets, side with data and optimize questions.

Questions show a 480% increase in the percentage of keywords with featured snippets.

Featured Snippet Question Findings

What jumps off the page is how well questions do at earning paragraph featured snippets. The main exception to that rule is “how” phrases. “How to” keywords are fantastic at earning featured snippet lists.

Featured Snippet Preposition Findings

Look closely at preposition keywords, and you can see what I mentioned about “how to” keywords. Prepositions are a great opportunity to optimize ordered and unordered lists.

Featured Snippet Comparison Findings

Our analysis of comparison keywords is a bit tricky to break down. On the surface, it seems they are well suited for paragraph featured snippets. But that is because there are not a lot of well-structured comparison tables for Google to pick from.

I have had success formatting pricing comparisons into tables and earning featured snippets. The content did not change — only the way we presented the data. Pricing keywords are the type of end-of-buying-cycle keywords that tend to have high conversions.

Featured Snippet Overall Breakdown

The chart shows that if you try to rank for questions, go for a paragraph featured snippet. If you are trying to rank for prepositions, use a list. Pricing comparisons perform well in tables.

Now you have the data on what type of featured snippet to optimize for. Let’s look at how to optimize your content for featured snippets.

How Long Should Featured Snippet Content Be?

As a good rule of thumb, I tell copywriters to create paragraphs in the 40–60-word range. You need to be succinct and avoid giant walls of text.

You should use longer lists whenever possible, so Google is forced to truncate the results. You need to give the user a reason to click through to your site. If it only makes sense to use a short list, try to use enough words for each item, so Google truncates each list item.

That said, keep what is best for the user in mind. Sometimes that is a short, straight to the point list, and that is ok.

Like lists, you should look to create tables that Google will truncate. Focus on end-of-buying-cycle keywords, such as price.

The takeaway is to use landscape images. We found that the most common aspect ratio for featured snippets images is 4:3. The media image size in pixels was 600w x 425h. Landscape images also look less pixelated when Google scales them down.

What is a Featured Snippet Hub?

A featured snippet hub is an internal URL that has earned 10 or more Google featured snippets for a single page.

I coined this phrase to give a name to something exciting we saw in the data. You can’t really be in marketing without naming everything you come across.

We found individual pages earning 200-300 featured snippets for a single internal URL.

Breakdown of Featured Snippet Hubs

In total, we discovered 3,800 URLs earning 10 or more featured snippets for a single page. Analysis on these featured snippet hubs shed interesting light on featured snippet optimization.

Secure HTTPS Adoption is No Longer Optional

70% of featured snippet hubs have adopted HTTPS. This number shows a steep rise over the past six months.

Use Media to Break Up and Visualize Your Content

Analyzing image use is hard because some images are for design purposes. To combat this, we only looked at images containing alt tags. On average, we found 14 images with alt tags per URL. Some of these images are still likely to be design-oriented, but the takeaway is pretty clear.

The days of using a stock photo at the top of your article and calling it a day are over. They should never have existed in the first place. Don’t fixate on the count, fixate on providing visual aids inside your content to drive your points home.

Authoritative Domains

1. Median Root Domains 3,500

2. Median Awesome Score 60

Think of authoritative domains as relative to your niche. Few small businesses need to earn 3,500 root domains to be considered a topical authority vs. the competition.

Social Engagement

89% of the featured snippet hub URLs have social activity. This does not mean social shares equate to higher rankings or earning snippets. What it means is that content we see in these positions shows strong user engagement signals.

Mobile Friendly or Die

We ran all 3,800 URLs through Google’s Page Speed API. Site speed scores were what I expected, but the mobile friendliness and usability scores were off the charts!

The average Mobile Friendly Score is 95/100. The average usability score is 96/100. For a list this large, obtaining that high of an average score demands attention.

I do not believe the exact score matters in the end. What matters is that mobile users have an excellent experience on your site. They must be able to access answers quickly and navigate your site with ease.

HTML Elements

95.77% of featured snippet hubs use lists. Not only one list, but many ordered and unordered lists per URL.

Anatomy of a Featured Snippet HubExample 1

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-lose-weight-as-fast-as-possible
This URL Earned 96 Featured Snippets

• High User Engagement: 750 social shares

• Mobile Friendly: 99/100

• HTTPS Adoption: Yes

• Media Usage: 12 health-related images

• Word Count: 2,100 words

• Clear Headers: 12 h1–h6 tags

• Succinct Content: Average paragraph length is 42 words

• Uses Lists: 7 ordered or unordered lists

• Cite Facts: 48 external fact citations

Anatomy of a Featured Snippet HubExample 2

http://trendblog.net/how-to-track-your-lost-iphone-or-ipad-without-tracking-app/
This URL Earned 87 Featured Snippets

• High User Engagement: 7,000 social shares

• Mobile Friendly: 98/100

• HTTPS Adoption: No

• Media Usage: 15 iPhone related images

• Word Count: 2,078 words

• Clear Headers: 16 h1–h6 tags

• Succinct Content: Average paragraph length is 34 words

• Uses Lists: 6 ordered or unordered lists

• Cite Facts: 6 external citations

This is a great time to mention that correlation is not causation. I do not look at featured snippet hubs as a black box that holds secrets to earning featured snippets. I am simply pointing out some common themes that I think are instructive for content creators. Understanding that, our findings make total sense from a search engine’s perspective.

Let’s look at a few things Google must do when sending users to specific content.

If you look at the common findings for these hubs, they align with a search engine’s goals.

1. Provide succinct answers

• Average paragraph is 42 words

• Lists are great for mobile

• Clear headers for scanning

2. Use trusted sources

• Strong external links

• Strong social engagement

3. Establish thorough topic coverage

• 48 external fact citations

• 2,100 words

4. Focus on secure browsing

5. Ensure great user experience across devices

• High mobile friendly scores

• High mobile usability scores

Thanks to SEMrush, we have the data on what type of featured snippet to optimize for. You know the exact lengths you should use for each type of snippet. You also have insights into feature snippet hubs and why Google trusts their content.

Use this study to re-optimize your best old content that ranks in the top 10, but lacks featured snippets. Put these findings in place for all future content production.

Give search engines the answers they need. Use succinct formats, focus on mobile user experience, and you will reap long-term rewards.

Get the Raw Data (Save Google Sheet as Copy)

I wish you have enjoyed this article on Large-Scale Study: How to Rank for Featured Snippets in 2018 If you would like to check out even more write-ups on seo then do not hesitate to surf our various other articles. We have many more curated posts from Ahref and also I hope you delight in reviewing them.

Read more……>click Here<

Search engine optimization likewise referred to as Search Engine Optimization is a subject covered by many people as well as blog sites, its the procedure of making your site appearance eye-catching to the internet search engine in the hope of gaining a preferential ranking for your targeted keyword. Throughout my research I stumble upon many write-ups that offer some wonderful insights to seo.

Listed below you can find an post from Ahref which I located to be very intriguing and valuable . The short article is titled Google News Digest: Handling Black Friday Buzz with AdWords Updates, New Look for Flights and Securing Content Credibility as well as you can locate it below

The madness of Black Friday has passed (by the way, please share the best and most notable Black Friday deals you have encountered this year) and now everyone is preparing for the Christmas and New Year holidays. And Google is no stranger to that. We can see how the search giant is preparing for the festive season with #SmallThanks to small businesses, richer product knowledge panels for mobile and a more comprehensive and advanced functionality in AdWords.

With the year coming to its end, this is also the time to draw some conclusions and look at some data to make sure that you enter the next year more informed and data-driven. Thus, we can see an unprecedented amount of important research being released – scroll down to see what trends dominated this Black Friday, and what caused a pretty high number of Google accounts’ hijacking.

Oh, and since the New Year is all about leaving old stuff behind and entering it with a new feel, Google Maps, Flights, and Google Analytics for Firebase are shaking the dust off their shoulders and celebrating the New Year with new looks. Check it all out below!

---

GOOGLE SEARCH NEWS

Black Friday Search Query Trends Research

Yes, this has already happened – twice as many people searched for “Black Friday ads” as those who needed a “turkey recipe” from Google. This is one of the findings of a recent research by Thinkwithgoogle that looked at trends that surrounded all the Black Friday buzz.

According to Google, the number of search queries for Black Friday has increased by up to 80% since 2014, and thematic Black Friday videos views have gone up 120%. In 2016, the number of mobile search queries for “Black Friday” peaked right on Thanksgiving. The majority of queries has to do with learning about the best time to shop during all the sales, yet the most popular searches were coming from bargain-seekers who were wondering – “Cyber Monday or/vs. Black Friday”.

And, if you are curious about products that were at the top for Black Friday bargain-seekers, you can read our research on the Top 2017 Black Friday Deals.

Source: Holiday Shoppers are in the Driver’s Seat Now – Here’s What They’re Looking For

Google Pushes Content Parity with AMP Pages

Google continues to improve user experience with Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), as AMP adopters are sometimes “guilty” of publishing two versions of their content – one for the AMP page, and the other one for the canonical page not based on AMP. Webmasters often create AMP pages as a teaser for the original content, which contradicts the nature of the AMP Project, which was originally designed as a way for users to consume valuable web content but with a faster loading speed.

Here is an example of a teaser AMP page:

Thus, starting Feb 1, 2018, Google’s policy will demand that an AMP page is in relative parity with the canonical page and includes all the “critical content”. Otherwise, your AMP page will not be considered as a worthy candidate for all the AMP perks, i.e., search features like top stories, carousel, and so on. You should check out your Google Search Console for any notifications about such issues. That said, Google emphasized once again that AMP is not a ranking signal.

Source: Engaging Users Through High Quality AMP Pages

Richer Product Knowledge Panel on Mobile

With the holiday season upon us, along with a tougher competition for pre-holidays internet shopping buzz, providing users with all the relevant information about products is essential. So, Google updated its product-oriented knowledge panel on mobile search. The changes concern both the appearance – blue color, new carousel format – and the content of the panel. Users will now be able to see product reviews, detailed descriptions, videos, and, shopping ads within one place – the Knowledge Panel. The scale and geography of the updates are still unclear.

Source: Google Updates Mobile Product Knowledge Panels to Show Even More Info in One Spot

Research on the Causes of Google Accounts’ Hijacking

Holidays are holidays, but security concerns remain at the forefront of Google’s attention. Therefore, Google cooperated with the University of California, Berkeley to conduct some research, with Google user account as a case study, that studied all the ways in which hackers managed to take over user accounts.

The results indicated that 250,000 Google user accounts are being hijacked every week. Google and Berkeley tracked black markets for 12 months and found out that more than 788,000 credentials were stolen via keylogging,12 million were hacked via phishing, and 3,3 billion logins and passwords were taken due to third-party breaches.

Google intends to use the data from the research to improve detections and blocking of hijacking attempts. If you want to learn more about the research, you can find the full report at Research at Google.

Source: New Research: Understanding the Root Cause of Account Takeover

Google Joins the Trust Project to Bring More Credibility to Web Content

Only a person that has been far away from Earth has not heard about fake news. Search and tech giants are taking the issue of online news transparency very seriously. Thus, Google, Facebook, Bing, and Twitter have joined the Trust Project, that aims to bring more credibility and transparency to web content – be it a news article or a shopping ad. The key parts of the project are «Trust Indicators» – icons that display the news publisher’s ethics, standards, journalists, and practices. These icons will appear right next to articles within Google, Facebook, Bing, and Twitter.

How does the Trust Project decide which indicator it should assign to each publisher? The “Trust Indicators” are guided by eight indicators, negotiated by the leading 75 news organizations. 

To learn more about the “Trust Indicators”, check out Barry Schwartz’s SEO recap.

Source: Facebook, Google and others join the Trust Project, an effort to increase transparency around online news

Job-Seeking With Google Made Easier

Having analyzed plenty of feedback from job-seekers who already engage with the Google’s job feature, Google rolled out a couple of updates. Like it or hate it, salary is one of the main factors for applying for one job or another, yet many employers are playing it safe and don’t disclose the salary. Thus, the main novelty has to do with displaying salaries for each vacancy mentioned on Google or a rough estimate if the employer does not mention a specific amount. Other updates include enhanced location filtering and the ability to save jobs you are interested in.

Currently, the job-seeking with Google option is only available in the US.

Sources: Make Your SIte’s Complete Jobs Information Accessible to Job Seekers; New Tools to Make Your Job Search Simpler

---

GOOGLE ADS NEWS

Google AdWords Updates

Inspired by the coming holiday season and in the move to push advertisers to use the new AdWords interface, Google AdWords is introducing new features that should help you create the best, paid advertising campaign you can:

• Promotion extensions: You can now add deals and special offers to your existing ads without the need to create new ones. This is particularly handy around the holidays when people are more prone to be pickier with all the deals available on the market. You can only access the feature within the new AdWords interface.

• Ad variations: Have you ever wondered how much your ads’ click-through-rates might change if you used “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Xmas”? Well, now you don’t have to wonder anymore, as AdWords’ new feature will help you test thousands of your ads in just a few clicks, and change your entire ad groups according to the results you see. Once again, the feature is available for those who are already enjoying the new AdWords experience.

• Custom intent audiences for Google Display Network will help you reach those shoppers who are looking for a particular deal you offer. This is “purchase intent”, at a high level. The feature allows you to create custom audience groups with the highest purchase intent based on keywords that you target.

• Opportunities page will help you increase the efficiency of your ad campaigns. The page includes information about all the new features, actionable recommendations, and insights on how to optimize your bids, budgets, ads, and keywords to enhance the overall performance of your ad campaigns.

Source: New AdWords Innovations to Drive Better Results for Your Business

---

GOOGLE TOOLS NEWS

#SmallThanks Transforms Small Business Customers into Brand Advocates

Google has launched a new project – the #SmallThanks Hub, which is completely dedicated to serving small businesses. The project is a free Google initiative to help small businesses leverage digital channels to their advantage. #SmallThanks Hub provides you with customized marketing materials – posters, Social Media posts, prints, stickers, and so on – that are based on your online reviews. All you have to do is search for your brand name on the site, and if the search giant spots any customer-produced greetings towards your business, it will automatically generate all the content you may need. People trust fellow users more than they trust your marketing team, so this seems like a great holiday gift to small business from Google, and from you to your loyal customers.

You can sign up for #SmallThanks Hub for free, yet the service is so far only available in the US.

Source: Turn Customers into Advocates with #SmallThanks

Google Flights Redesigned

Google has completely changed its Flights interface, along with adding new features to its functionality.

Here is how it looked before:

And here is what it looks like now:

The new design is currently in beta and is intended to facilitate the flight search and reservation process. So far, the new look is in preview only.

Source: Google Travel

A Fresh Look for Google Maps

The state of permanence is not a common state for Google and one of Google’s key services – Google Maps – is getting a new look with a fresher design.

There is a new interface, different colors, category icons, and a different navigation system – these are all features of the new Google Maps which engages more than 1 billion users.

Here is the new look:

All the places that belong to one category – cafe, museum, gas station – will be designated with a certain color. For instance, the “Food & Drink” category will be identified with an orange icon, “Shopping” – with blue, “Health” – with pink, and so on.

All the Google Maps changes will be fully rolled within the upcoming weeks to all of the products that are related to the service – Assistant, Search, Earth и Android Auto, аlong with other apps and websites that use Google Maps API.

Source: Google Maps Gets a New Look

A New Design of Google Analytics for Firebase

Google Analytics for Firebase, an instrument that allows tracking user engagement with mobile apps, is getting a new look and some new functionality.

The new design looks more consistent with the recent redesign of Google Analytics. Apart from a more familiar look, the tool will also now provide more real-time data, so developers will have more timely and interactive information to track their app’s performance. Google Analytics for Firebase also includes a new Stability Card with data from Firebase Crash Reporting and Firebase Crashlytics. The card will display the number (in percentage) of users who haven’t witnessed any app bugs/crushes. Another novelty has to do with the Latest Release report that allows you to monitor adoption and stability of the app after merely few hours post-release.

Source: Google Analytics for Firebase: New Look and New Features

---

Final Words

After all the excitement of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, we can already feel the preparations for another holiday season. Our Google News Digest goes live every two weeks, which means we only have a couple of left this year; make sure to stay tuned to make sure that you aren’t missing anything significant. Especially since December is the time when people and companies draw conclusions and directions for the upcoming year! And, for any SEO and digital marketing professionals, knowing about Google updates, news, tweaks, and trends are of paramount importance.

And don’t forget to give me a shout in the comments if you spot anything unusual, interesting and worthy of mentioning in the next digest!

I wish you have actually enjoyed this short article on Google News Digest: Handling Black Friday Buzz with AdWords Updates, New Look for Flights and Securing Content Credibility If you would love to view more posts on search engine optimization then don’t hesitate to surf our various other short articles. We have much more curated posts from Ahref and also I wish you enjoy reading them.

Read more……>click Here<