AIOSEO Release Testing

Tag: SEO tips

  • Choosing the Right Domain Name for SEO

    Back in the day, way way back, your website domain could have had a major impact on your site’s rankings. That changed a few years ago (2012 to be exact) when Google wanted to weed out websites that may have good domain names but very little “substance”.

    Exact Match Domains (EMD) is where the problem started. Businesses would essentially purchase keyword domains to rank for a particular keyword. And the EMD was enough for them to rank: they barely focused on quality content and relevance (two things that matter greatly for SEO nowadays). That strategy no longer works.

    That’s not to say that domain names no longer affect SEO. They still do (and studies have proven that), but how?

    Let’s find out.

    How Domain Names Impact SEO

    There have been a lot of changes to SEO, particularly from the largest search engine: Google. But one thing that hasn’t changed, but has been emphasized more, is original quality content, relevance and always aligning with search engine best practices. A component of this is your domain name – it’s unique, only you can have it.

    Even though it may not directly impact your rankings anymore, a good domain name will get you more brand recognition, trust and higher click-through-rates (CTR).

    However, the definition of a good domain name has changed, at least according to Google. We see this in how the search engine treats certain types of domains.

    Exact Match Domains (EMD)

    EMDs are domain names that include keyword phrases. For example, let’s say you are selling hair products and want to rank for “quality hair products.” The EMD you would most likely use is qualityhairproducts.com. Just purchasing that domain would have gotten you the first page ranking a while ago.

    Yup! You wouldn’t have needed original content or backlinks. You would simply rank for it with your domain name. That all changed after Google released the Exact Match Domain Update.

    The update essentially made EMDs obsolete in search engine rankings. In fact, a study by High Position showed that the average EMD ranking went from position 13.4 to 26.6 (yikes!) after Google’s update. The average top 10 EMD also dropped in rankings: from 3.2 down to 11.9. So now we know that choosing an exact match domain in 2017 is quite pointless, a bad idea even.

    So how should you decide on a domain name to maximize SEO? You need only do two things: choose a memorable brand name (to make your domain name) and pick a .com extension.

    Let’s go into more detail.

    Your Brand Name Should Be Your Domain Name

    We can all agree that your brand is important. Your brand name is how your customers recognize and find you in search engines and social media platforms. So think of your domain name as the foothold of your online brand.

    In fact, the more customers are using your brand name to search for you online, the more your SEO and rankings will improve. This is referred to as brand signalling (any reference of your business online). Matt Cutts, former Head of Web Spam at Google, claimed that Google “actually came up with a classifier to say, okay, IRS or Wikipedia or New York Times is over on this side, and the low-quality sites are over on this side.”

    That’s right, Google now cares more about brands for SEO than it does about keywords and links. For that reason, using your brand name is more important than keywords. You’re probably scratching your head at this point, wondering how Google would associate your brand with certain keywords…

    Well, Google will associate keywords with your brand as your brand becomes more popular; and as you produce more relevant and high quality content. Let’s take a look at Bitly as an example. It’s a URL shortener and link management platform yet their brand name does not match those keywords. It however ranks at the top for those keywords in Google.

    That’s because of its popularity. As long as people recognize it and are searching for it, Google will measure that brand signal and rank it accordingly. For this reason, it is important to have a memorable brand name and consequently, a memorable domain name.

    Don’t worry if your brand name contains a keyword, or in other words, is a PMD (partial match domain). That’s because Google is only searching for spam sites with EMDs and PMDs – the actual problem isn’t the keywords, but rather the content and quality of the site. A PMD or EMD with bad user experience and low quality content would experience a steep downgrade in rankings. Whereas, a PMD or EMD with great user experience and content would not be greatly affected.

    However, if you are just starting out, you should go with a memorable brand name domain and avoid using keywords.

    Opt For a .com Extension

    You probably already know that .com is the most popular domain extension. That is because most other domain extensions like .biz and .us are viewed as spam. Although choosing it may not directly impact your rankings, you may be viewed as a low-ranking site which could affect your SEO.

    .com is simply the most convenient and safest choice to go with. When in doubt, go with it.

    Tips for Choosing the Perfect Domain Name

    Now let’s recap and go over the tips on picking the best domain name:

    • Use your brand name
    • Don’t use exact match domains. Partial match domains are OK but a brand name is always more effective
    • Choose a .com extension
    • Make it memorable so users can easily remember it
    • Keep it short, 15 characters at most
    • Avoid numbers, hyphens and special characters
    • Avoid misspelling words on purpose. It’s a no-no for branding
    • Make it easy to spell

    Wrapping Up

    We hope you now have a good understanding of how domain names affect SEO in 2017. If you’re starting a new business or changing to a better domain name, the tips above should help you pick out the best one for your business.

    Remember: As long as you have great content and a good SEO strategy, a strong and unique domain name may rank you higher. Choose one wisely, use it correctly and start reaping the value.

  • Keyword Research Trends That Matter In 2017

    Despite what you’ve been hearing, keyword research isn’t dead. Without keywords, there is no SEO… right? Let’s look at the facts.

    93% of online experiences in 2016 started with a search, and search starts with words. Keywords will remain relevant as long as people use words to interact with search engines. The only thing that has changed are the additional factors that have influenced how we use keywords for SEO.

    The truth is that search engines are no longer looking only at keywords, but also value many other factors. Keywords are now just a miniscule part of the pie. That is not to say that keyword discovery isn’t important. In fact, it is important in the way you go about it: we need to go levels deeper – to the precise level that users are searching for; and search engines are indexing for.

    This post will focus on the three main focuses of valuable keyword research in 2017:

    (1) user intent
    (2) long-tail keywords
    (3) Google voice search

    User Intent

    User intent is critical to keyword research and discovery in 2017. Marketers need to understand how to work together with search engines to provide the content users really want. After all, it’s not about attracting visitors to your site, but the right kind of visitors.

    So what exactly is user intent? User intent refers to “a user’s ultimate objective or goal” in making a search query. Every single search query has an intent, a goal, perhaps a problem the user wants to solve.

    For example, a search query of “Chicago to New York” gives me flight schedules. Adding “travel” to make it “Chicago to New York travel” does not only provide me with flight results, but bus and car information as well.

    Adding one word to a search query greatly impacts the results of the search as Google automatically recognizes the change in intent. In fact, Google refines its algorithms 500-600 times a year to get user intent right. And if Google is focusing on it, so should you.

    You need to make user intent central to your keyword research. It is critical that you understand your user’s goals when they make search queries. This understanding or lack of it could make or break your organic traffic.

    The great thing is that user intent is pretty easy to figure out the longer the search query is. Long queries give us a lot of information on what a user exactly wants so we can give it to them. They also enable us to get targeted organic traffic for long-tail keywords. Speaking of which…

    Long-Tail Keywords

    I’m sure you’ve heard long-tail keywords uttered over and over again by marketers in 2016 (and even before). It looks like it’s set to dominate 2017 as well. I’m sure you’re already familiar with long-tail keywords, being that you’ve been focusing on them, but let’s cover the basics first before we delve into how to successfully incorporate it in your SEO strategy.

    What are long-tail keywords? Long-tail keywords are search terms with four or more words. In fact, 51% of all search queries in 2016 contained four or more words (source).

    So where should you start off on finding relevant long-tail keywords for your business? Well, you need to first find actual terms that are being used in your specific industry or field.

    You don’t need to use the expensive keyword research tools to get a good list of long-tail keywords. There are some free keyword research tools that will give you a good list to start with. Keyword Finder (suggests long-tail queries and search volumes but only allows a few daily searches) and Keyword.io (suggest long-tail queries but does not provide search volumes) are free (but limited) tools you can start off with if you’re on a budget. And of course there’s always Google’s very own Keyword Planner that’s integrated into Adwords.

    By far the best premium keyword research tool is Moz Pro’s Keyword Explorer. You start by searching your main keyword and it will return a comprehensive list of keywords that you can rank for relevancy and search volume. From there, you can go down the list and pick out the long-tail keyword phrases or search queries. The great thing about the Keyword Explorer is that you can click on any long-tail keyword to generate a new list of queries related to that keyword. The new list features more long-tail queries than the initial list.

    Perhaps the most interesting development in keyword strategy is Google’s voice search and natural language capabilities. According to Google, 20% of mobile searches are now voice searches! This trend is quickly taking and has prompted Google to create answer boxes and Knowledge Graph panels. Here you can also find a fun infograph regarding the matter.

    Let’s take a look at how natural language, both spoken and typed, has changed search. For example, users, like you, used to search for “keyword research”, but now ask, “what is keyword research?” or “what is the most effective keyword research strategy?” You can see the change from keywords to long-tail keywords or queries. Voice search capability is quickening this development in SEO content marketing.

    Google voice queries are rising in popularity and will only continue to do so in 2017.
    Google voice queries are quickly rising in popularity and will only continue to do so in 2017.

    So how can you keep up with this development to plan an effective SEO content marketing strategy?

    (1) Look at the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for your industry or brand and match this to your existing content. Do you have pages or posts that address those questions? If so, make sure that the questions are put forward in a very natural way and are highlighted on the page.

    (2) Create an FAQ page for questions that you can answer in a couple of paragraphs. Answer the questions in clear, concise and natural language.

    (3) Try and come up with long-form content for the questions by breaking them up into “What, when, why, how, who and where?” components. Create subheadings for each so that search engines can index them and users can easily find the content.

    Wrapping Up

    A good understanding and grasp of user intent, long-tail keywords and Google voice search will help you better refine your keyword, and overall SEO, strategy for 2017. Start to figure out what your audience really wants so you can begin communicating with them in the best way as soon as possible.

  • HTTPS: Is It Enough to Keep Your WordPress Site Secure?

    Your website is a goldmine for cyber criminals. They are fast, invisible and always on the prowl for sensitive customer account details or to simply destroy. If you’re a WordPress site owner, you are no doubt aware of the vulnerabilities WordPress sites have experienced in recent years. The good news is that Automattic recently took a much anticipated security step by adding HTTPS encryption to all custom WordPress.com domains (more than 1 million WordPress sites).

    You are probably familiar with web encryption as one of the most effective ways to keep data secure. Indeed, encryption is a hot topic right now. Apple recently made headlines after refusing to comply with a court order to assist the FBI to unlock the iPhone used by the San Bernardino shooter. Apple stated that it would need to write new software that would essentially be a master key to opening any iPhone. The main argument was that if the FBI could unlock that iPhone, they could unlock many others, putting everyone’s privacy and personal safety at risk.

    For those reasons, among many others, web security should always be at the top of your mind in running your business. But what exactly is HTTPS and how is it beneficial to your business? Can HTTPS alone sufficiently protect your WordPress site? This article will answer those questions in the quest to help you bolster your site security.

    What Exactly Is HTTPS?

    HTTPS stands for Hyper Text Transport Protocol Secure – the secure connection protocol for HTTP. When you connect to HTTPS, you are using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols to protect communications between your computer and a remote server. Both protocols use encryption to keep cyber criminals from intercepting communications.

    HTTPS certificate per browser

    The information you send across the web passes from computer to computer before it arrives at the end server. That means that all computers the information passes through could read the sensitive information: from usernames and passwords to credit card information and social security numbers. SSL or TSL encrypts the sensitive information through its journey to the intended recipient, so that only they can understand it.

    How Is HTTPS Beneficial to Your Website?

    HTTPS encryption is very important for both site security and SEO.

    HTTPS keeps your business communications with your online customers safe and secure. When it is enabled, any information between the server and a client cannot be diverted, modified, or stolen. This kind of security is essential for any site that has a login and/or payment system – basically any ecommerce business. It not only protects your data but allows web visitors to view your site as credible. In that sense, HTTPS is essential for all businesses and new websites.

    Google has also highlighted the importance of HTTPS encryption. In 2014, Google announced that it would start using HTTPS as a ranking signal. That’s right: Google is ranking sites with HTTPS encryption higher than those without it. That announcement pushed a lot of websites across the globe to obtain HTTPS.

    Is HTTPS Encryption Enough to Keep Your Site Secure?

    No. Although it helps protect your sensitive data, securing your websites is much more complex than HTTPS. The bottom line is that it does not protect your site, network or server from getting hacked. It also does not prevent hackers from abusing software vulnerabilities that may be present in WordPress. In fact, in general, we’ve seen quite a few major attacks on SSL and TSL protocols: Poodle, Heartbleed, Shellshock, LogJam to mention a few.

    So what are your options? What can do you to fortify your site?

    What More Can You Do to Protect Your Site?

    Security is highly important and as such, there are quite a few things you need to do and stay on top of. We’ll go into this in more detail in another post. For now, here are a few things you need to do to fortify your WordPress site.

    Know What the Threat Is

    Stay on top of hacking threats. You need to know what is happening, what is possible, in order to protect your site against potential threats. Set up news alerts or follow hacking news sites. The information you receive will give you the ability to take precautionary measures.

    Update, Update, Update

    Update software as soon as an update is available. The reason behind a lot of updates is to protect against a security vulnerability, so delaying an update greatly exposes you to a potential attack. Hackers are constantly on the lookout for vulnerabilities. If you don’t move quickly to patch vulnerabilities, chances are you’ll become easy prey.

    Secure Your Admin Dashboard

    Access to information in the admin dashboard of your website is every hacker’s dream. Set usernames and passwords that cannot be easily guessed; greatly limit the number of login attempts within a specific time period; don’t send account details over email etc. Your admin panel is a treasure-trove so keep it secured at all times.

    Keep Your Network Secure

    An insecure network provides fairly easy access to your site servers. Take some precautionary measures such as frequently changing passwords, expiring logins after a certain period of inactivity, setting strong passwords, and scanning malware on each and every device that connects to your network.

    Back-Up Everything

    Back-up everything, both on-site and off-site. Set up automatic backups several times a day, to various locations, so you don’t lose everything when the worst-case scenario happens.

    HTTPS encryption is great for security, SEO and credibility. You most likely were quite overjoyed when Automattic made the announcement that all custom domains would automatically switch to HTTPS encryption. But that does not mean you’re in the clear when it comes to site security.

    There is a whole lot more that needs to be done to keep any website safe from advanced, constantly evolving and persistent cyber threats. Some of the tips mentioned in this article will help to reinforce your site security; and keep your mind at ease to tackle the more fun business operations.