SEO & SERPs FAQs

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What is a domain authority score?

A domain authority score predicts how likely a website is to rank based on its relevance within a specific industry or topic area. Each website is scored on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the best. This means the higher the domain authority score, the more likely the website is to rank on search engine result pages.

What is a page authority score?

A page authority score predicts how well a specific page will rank on search engine result pages. Page authority is determined based on number of quality links, use of images, and presence of relevant content. Similar to domain authority, page authority is also ranked on a scale of 1 to 100.

What is on-page SEO?

On-page SEO refers to internally improving your website in order to improve position in search engine rankings and traffic. This includes adding headlines, titles, alt text, internal links, meta descriptions, and images when publishing all content.

What is off-page SEO?

Off-page SEO involves focusing on factors that occur outside of the website. This involves backlinks from another website, promotional advertisements, and social media.

Another factor of off-page SEO is domain authority – websites with a higher domain authority are more likely to receive a higher position in SERPs.

What is Position Zero on the SERPs?

When you type a question into a search engine, there is sometimes a “featured snippet” that appears at the top of the search results page – that is Position Zero. This search result appears in a box, above all other organic listings, and directly answers the user’s inquiry.

Position Zero also offers the website’s page title and link so that users can learn more. This means Position Zero can greatly improve a website’s visibility and traffic.

How can my company rank in Position Zero?

To rank in Position Zero on SERPs, companies should pay special attention to their website’s content.

This featured snippet is pulled directly from a website’s copy, which means companies should routinely be uploading content that clearly answers frequently asked questions. This content can be incorporated into FAQs, pillar pages, blogs, or other webpages with high traffic and positive user engagement.

Should I be focusing on keywords or topics to improve my SEO?

Technically, both. Keywords have and always will be the key to success when it comes to SEO. But keywords perform best in a topic-based approach.

Focusing on topics allows companies to create effective content that is made up of multiple relevant keywords. A broad topic approach can generate authentic content that provides more information and encompasses more relevant terms, than simply focusing on one keyword.

What is the golden rule of SEO?

For the moment, the golden rule is to create a website for users, not for search engines. Your first concern when creating content or design should always be for the user and how it impacts their experience on your website. After that, you can tweak certain components to be “SEO friendly.”

Which SEO software is the best?

This is largely dependent on personal preference. However, our favorite SEO software is Ubersuggest and SEO PowerSuite (referral link).

Which is more important: SEO or paid marketing?

SEO and paid marketing both work best when they work in tandem. Having campaigns set up is a good way to see which works best for your business – and where you might need to tweak one or the other. It’s also important to remember that while advertising works more quickly, SEO helps build trust!

Why does SEO take so long to work?

When you first start implementing SEO strategies, you’re likely to notice that nothing changes for a few months. We generally recommend 3-6 months to look for any serious results. Google has about a BILLION websites to examine. Their bots are efficient, but it still takes a while to crawl that many sites and begin the process of indexing.

What is the next big thing in SEO?

Core web vitals is currently the big thing in SEO. This update from Google changes the way that the algorithm ranks websites. You can learn more about it here!

What are core web vitals?

A recent update to Google’s algorithm includes the top three web vitals they look for in order to process rankings. These include loading time, interactivity, and visual stability. While these aren’t the only factors that Google looks for, they’re considered some of the most important.

How can I check my Core Web Vitals?

Google Search Console has recently implemented a tool that allows you to check your vitals and see what improvements you need to make going forward.

Why do Core Web Vitals matter?

First, because Google has specified that they matter. Second, because they strongly impact the way that users interact with your website. Google is becoming more and more concerned with user experience, which means websites need to do the same.

What is keyword stuffing?

Keyword stuffing occurs when brands load their website with a bunch of keywords in an attempt to manipulate SEO and gain an unfair ranking on SERPs. This practice is considered web spam, which means search engines will most likely recognize this behavior and penalize the website. Websites can avoid keyword stuffing by focusing on creating quality content that incorporates these keywords and phrases naturally.

What are Google penalties?

A Google penalty is meant to punish websites that are in violation of the Webmaster Guidelines. Following these guidelines will help Google find, index, and rank your site on search engine listings. If your company violates the guidelines by participating in link schemes, having hidden text, or creating webpages with malicious behavior, Google reserves the right to lower your rankings or omit your website from SERPs entirely.

What are meta tags?

Meta tags refer to the meta title tags and meta descriptions shown on search engine result listings. These tags provide both Google and users with valuable information about the webpage. A meta title tag serves as the title of your webpage – it appears at the top of the listing and often includes the name of your business as well. A meta description appears beneath the meta title tag and includes a call-to-action button and target keywords to entice users to visit the webpage.

What is keyword density?

Keyword density refers to the number of times a keyword or phrase appears on a webpage or within a piece of content. To determine keyword density, simply divide the number of keywords by the overall word count. Best practices suggest including one keyword or phrase every 50 to 100 words – this will aid SEO while preventing keyword stuffing.

What is the Google Maps Pack?

Google Maps Pack, or Google Local Pack, are the first 3 listings on Google Maps search results page. Using the user’s location, Google can determine which results are the most relevant for each search query. Each listing features the company name, ratings, description, contact information, and location. Getting your brand featured in the Google Maps Pack can boost website traffic, and in turn, increase revenue.

What is the difference between categories and tags?

When publishing blog posts, categories and tags allow brands to organize content and increase SEO. Categories are meant for broad grouping of posts, allowing for sub-categories. Tags serve to describe more specific details of the content, including keywords and index words. All posts must be filed under a category, but tags are not required. However, both of these items help readers to better navigate the website when searching and browsing content.

What is guest blogging?

Guest blogging involves writing a blog post for another company’s website. This strategy allows brands to establish credibility and awareness within their industry, all while attracting users back to their own websites. It is also beneficial for brands to host guest bloggers on their website to keep readers engaged with new perspectives and content.

Does broken link building have any value?

Broken link building can be useful as long as you’re doing it right. However, it takes a lot of time, which can be costly, especially for small businesses. It generally makes more sense to share your links with businesses that are adjacent to yours and put in the work to share on social media.

What is a long-tail keyword?

A long-tail keyword is a keyword that is specific to your consumers. Given their specificity, users searching for these keywords are more likely to know exactly what they are looking for, which means they are more likely to buy once they find it. It is also easier for brands to rank for long-tail keywords, which will result in increased online traffic and a promising niche audience.

What is a meta keyword?

A meta keyword is a specific keyword that appears in the website’s source code – it is not visible on the page to users. The purpose of meta keywords is to reflect the content on the web page in order to tell search engines what the webpage is about. Meta keywords allow brands to not only optimize their pages for search engine crawlers, but they are also useful in determining how competing brands are optimizing their webpages.

Is an FAQ page good for SEO?

We’re about to get a little meta here – but yes, FAQ pages are AWESOME for SEO. Our FAQ page is the most visited page on our site. We add to it weekly and keep it updated, resulting in a ton of great traffic. 

Can I buy backlinks?

It’s technically possible, but you SHOULDN’T. Buying backlinks is strongly discouraged by Google and usually won’t do you a ton of good anyway because the links you’ll be buying will be from sites with low authority.

Instead, focus your time on getting organic backlinks to websites with good domain authority and fostering quality business relationships.

What is a negative SEO attack?

A negative SEO attack occurs when unethical techniques are using to sabotage a competing company’s search engine rankings. The most common attacks include website hacking, copying content, spam, and posting fraudulent negative reviews.

Small businesses can prevent negative SEO attacks by setting up Google Webmaster Tool alerts, keeping track of backlinks, and installing website security.

What is the difference between organic traffic and paid traffic?

Organic traffic comes from a couple of different sources: referrals from other sites, search engines, and people typing the information directly into the search bar. Paid traffic comes from ads, whether through Google, social media ads, or another ad platform.