Improve Keyword Research and Targeting, SEO Ranking Factors in 2017, Content Marketing Strategy Guide, Speedlink 44:2017

Hi everyone, hope you all had a great and productive week.

One of the most helpful functions of modern-day SEO software is the idea of a “keyword universe,” a database of tens of millions of keywords that you can tap into and discover what your site is ranking for. Rankings data like this can be powerful, and having that kind of power at your fingertips can be intimidating.

In Rand’s Whiteboard Friday video below, he explains the concept of the “keyword universe” and shares his most useful tips to take advantage of this data in the most popular SEO tools.

How to Use the “Keywords by Site” Data in Tools (Moz, SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc.) to Improve Your Keyword Research and Targeting

SEO Ranking Factors in 2017: What’s Important and What’s Not

SEO Ranking Factors 2017

As technology advances, search engines can refine their ranking algorithms to better determine relevance and return results that better align with searcher intent.

Because these ranking algorithms are constantly being improved and refined, search engine ranking factors are always evolving. Factors that might once have had a huge impact on search rankings may no longer matter all that much, and new ranking factors (such as mobile-friendliness or HTTPS) can emerge to reflect changing technologies and user behaviors.

So, what are the most important ranking factors today, in 2017? A panel at SMX East, “SEO Ranking Factors in 2017: What’s Important and What’s Not,” sought to answer that question. This panel featured data from large-scale studies performed by SEMrush and Searchmetrics, as well as case studies and practical advice for adapting your SEO strategies to current realities.

Read full article here

Content marketing strategy Guide — SEMrush

content-strategy

Until extremely recently in marketing history, when content primarily existed in paper and ink, the process of creating content was simple: all you had to do was write a semi-interesting article and get it printed in the newspaper. There was a downside, though; the lifespan of these articles was short-lived, ending when the newspaper was tossed. There was also no way to know who actually read your article or the impact that it had.

It goes without saying that the world of content has been completely revolutionized thanks to the internet, where it can now live on forever. This helps you keep a store of great content on your site, which is a huge plus, but it means that everyone else is keeping their content too; your competition for user attention is higher than ever before. It’s not just enough to have an interesting idea and write about it; you need to consider your specific audience and make it possible for them to find your content and share it.

This is called content strategy. This is the first article in a series of guides for content specialists on how to write successfully both for people and search engines.

And as usual, in no particular order: