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Our passion for our visual thinking and visual explanations gets recognized in unexpected places. Over the years, a ton of blogs and several books have included our infographics. And now this: Randy Krum included our SEO infographic “Page Rank Explained” in his recent book. Check out page 115. Thank you Randy! And kudos to the Elliance team for dreaming of share-worthy infographics!
Posted in: seo infographics
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I attended a talk recently by Dr. Illah Nourbakhsh, a Robotics professor at CMU. The talk was about his book Robot Futures which discusses how machines are taking over our world. As technologists, we are always celebrating the amazing discoveries in the industry. Don’t get me wrong. I love and support technological innovation wholeheartedly. However, I also feel we don’t really think about the implications these technological innovations have on our lives. Let’s take a recent article I came across in Search Engine Land which talks about creating repeatable and scalable processes. Mitul Gandhi gives the example of SEO keyword research and how the human element in that process is a waste of time. His take is that automation of the keyword research process through usage of SEO tools is the optimal way of doing keyword research. I disagree. The key intuition that a human brings to SEO keyword research will be lost if the whole process is handed over … Continue reading
Posted in: Higher Education SEO
Google recently introduced a secure search protocol – meaning that every search performed on Google is now secure. Any keyword typed in as a Google search will be listed as “not provided” to the website owners using analytics software. This means that website owners will not have access to the keywords that directed readers to a website through organic search. But the good news is that some keyword data is still available in Google Webmaster Tools. Let’s look at some implications of the secure search protocol and how they can be overcome using data from Webmaster Tools. #1: Branded and non-branded traffic We often see a correlation between branded and non-branded traffic where an increase in non-branded traffic over time provides a lift to branded traffic as well. This data will become more obscure as a result of secure search. In a 100% not provided world, this trend becomes harder to prove. But as searcher habits don’t change over time, … Continue reading
Posted in: Google secure search, Search Marketing
When you search on Google, your results include data that is part of their Knowledge Graph – Google’s name for the way information is displayed beyond the normal search results. As part of the knowledge graph, Google lets you link your website search listings to your Google+ account using microdata. I used www.elliance.com as a case study to show how using microdata on a website can help produce richer search results. I’m sure you’re wondering, “What is microdata”? Well, it’s a way to make information on your website more available to the search engine providers. In essence, using microdata is a way of putting your data in a language that search engines understand. It allows you to explain data about your organization or company that’s available on the website — such as Organization, Address, People, and Events. Microdata adds more information to your HTML code, which makes it easier for search engine crawlers to understand what that data is for. … Continue reading
When it comes to a paid search (PPC) campaign, it’s not just important to make sure that your ads are seen. It’s important to make sure that they’re seen by the right people. Your goal is to ensure that the people who see and click on your ads are likely to connect with you and take action. Using negative keywords is an important way to do help optimize your campaign. What are PPC “negative” keywords? A negative keyword is a type of keyword that prevents your ad from being triggered by a certain word or phrase. Depending on where your PPC ads are running, the negative keywords that you choose tell Google or Bing not to show your ad to anyone who is searching for that phrase. For example, if you add “bachelor” as a negative keyword to your campaign or ad group, you’re telling Google (or Bing) not to show your ad for any search term containing “bachelor.” You … Continue reading
Retargeting is a form of online advertising that can help you keep your brand in front of prospects or customers after they leave your website. Did you know that 98% of visitors leave websites without converting?! That means that for every 100 visitors to your website, only two are likely to take a next step with you, whether that means making a purchase, completing a form, signing up for an event, or taking another concrete action. For most websites, only 2% of web traffic converts on the first visit. The rest of your visitors may spend a minute or two on your site and then leave, possibly without plans to return. Retargeting helps you reach the 98% of visitors to your website who did not initially convert. How does it work? Retargeting is a cookie-based technology that uses a Javascript code to anonymously ‘follow’ your audience all over the web. When a person visits a site that is tagged for … Continue reading
Many people approach PPC and SEO as completely separate strategies. But if your PPC and SEO campaigns aren’t talking to each other, you’re wasting time and money. It’s important to share insights learned in each area to avoid duplicated efforts and missed opportunities. When used strategically, PPC can actually help your SEO strategy. Here are a couple of things to consider: When running PPC, you can see what specific search terms are getting clicks and driving leads. It’s important to factor this in when deciding which keywords are best to optimize for organically. You’ll dominate the search engine results page when you effectively optimize both efforts: PPC + SEO = 2/20 listings. Increasing the visibility of your brand is always beneficial. Dominating the paid and organic search results will prove that you’re an established presence in your market, and greatly increase traffic as a result. Here you can see where our client’s PPC ad is in the #1 PPC spot … Continue reading
If it’s not already, it should be! When strategically managed, PPC can be a lead-generating machine for qualified prospects. Here’s why: Target by location: Target a specific state, city, or radius around your campus in which to run your ads. If you know most of your prospects come from five states, then you run ads in those states alone. Immediate visibility: PPC ads begin showing the minute you turn them on. This can be highly effective if you have a deadline quickly approaching and need to generate applicants. It can also be a great way to promote a new program you may be offering. You can generate interest quickly with PPC ads, and also drive prospects to an open house visit to learn more about the program. Quickly test and change messaging: With PPC ads, you have the ability to immediately change an application deadline or open house date, for instance, on an as-needed basis. You can also quick test … Continue reading
Posted in: higher education ppc advertising
If done right, SEO will literally outlive your website. On the internet, we don’t often think of our media as having any intrinsic permanent value. News headlines are expired within minutes; tweets are gone in a flash. Blogs squabble and compete for our momentary attention before disappearing again into obscurity. Even websites rarely stand the test of time: In a survey of over 160 companies, more than one third said they had redesigned their website within the last three months. In recent years, marketers have played along. They’ve taken to social media and “#hashtag” campaigns, with performance measured in durations of days or hours. They’ve pushed press releases onto the digital wires, to watch traffic spike for a day or two at best. An occasional campaign may outlast expectations — a viral video might last a few weeks before falling out of fashion — but then it’s back to the drawing board for another short-lived campaign push. Search engine optimization … Continue reading
Posted in: Marketing Strategy, ROI, Search Marketing
At Elliance we work with clients of all shapes and sizes, from many different industries. Regardless, it’s our passion for the work that helps them to reach their potential and beyond. One of our core beliefs is that SEO is a part of the larger picture. Instead of thinking of SEO as its own silo, we believe that SEO, content, story, brand and UX should be mutually supporting. We believe in tying it all together. Here are five principles that are at the core of Elliance and affect our work with all our SEO clients: 1. Quality Matters, Not Quantity. We spend hours coming up with great content for all our clients. Whether it is copy for a single page or an overhaul of a full website, our copywriters, strategists and search team work in tandem to make good content. 2. One Size Does Not Fit All. Every client has a unique problem. This means that every single client requires … Continue reading
Posted in: SEO Services