Atlantic Business Technologies, Inc.

Category: Search Engine Optimization

  • Are You Missing the Ultimate SEO Tool?

    Business owners and executives often come to us for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). What they almost always want is a number one position in Google’s rankings. But what if you could do better than that?
     
    Strange as it may seem, you can move in front of the first listing on Google for a given search party. Not only that, you can do it quickly. You only have to be familiar with search engine snippets and quick answers.
     
    You have seen and used these already. When Google is trying to help you answer a question, they give you the best match answers. Try searching for something like ‘chocolate cake recipe.’ Like magic, you’re presented with what you were looking for and ahead of the normal search results.
     
    As a marketer, you can see how having your own snippets showing up in Google’s search listings could help. It could generate lots of traffic to your website. But, how can you draw those visits to your pages? We want to give you some tips you can use to improve your visibility through snippets and quick answers.

    Keep Working on Your Organic SEO Campaigns

    Most snippet and quick answer traffic flows towards websites already at the top. In fact, these sites are usually in the top three of Google’s search listings. Are search spiders crawling your site often? Then there’s a good change your quick answer content is at a high ranking.

    Dig Deep into Your Frequently Asked Questions and Customer Conversations

    Knowing what your customers are thinking about and searching for is essential. It’s the key to generating snippets on your website. Then you can develop content with the right subheadings and brief answers. Paragraphs are popular, but there are other types of content you can use. Tables and mathematical formulas, for example, are great. Especially if they are useful to the user.

    Emphasize Natural-Language Text on Your Website

    You won’t get snippet or quick answer traffic by following SEO rules from a decade ago. Repeating generic keywords again and again won’t cut it. Answer questions with natural-language text. You’ll be far more likely to attract views and visits, both by Google and its users.

    Use Citations and Supporting Links When Appropriate

    Credibility is a hot topic in SEO. Google likes search results with verifiable information. Quoting a study, fact, or statistic? Consider adding a footnote, citation, or even an outbound link to support your data. That could give you more authority than your competitors. Even better, it could also bring you more snippet traffic.

    Ready to Put This Advice to Use?

    Stop thinking about what you could do with a strong SEO campaign and act on these ideas.  Contact the creative team at Atlantic BT. We can put our experience to work for you.

  • Know How to Win the Digital Ad Game Under Google’s New Rules

    2017 presented many challenges to the digital marketing world. Manipulative advertising, fake news, black-hat marketing, and bot traffic have littered the web. The good news is that Google responded swiftly. They implemented quite a few regulation changes. Both the pay-per-click and organic search platforms fell under this umbrella. But, it’s not only Google that reinforced their policies. Most major search engines and social media platforms have updated their regulations. The hope was that this would prevent manipulative content and obstructive advertisements.

    As marketers, it’s our job to adapt to these challenges. We must identify strategies that will maintain effectiveness in an ever-changing digital landscape. Google’s 2018 changes will affect marketing as we know it. Be ready and know how to avoid any negative impact on your ad campaigns.

    Google Introduces Stricter Ad Regulations in 2018

    In September of 2017, Google joined forces with the Coalition for Better Ads. Not long after, the search engine behemoth was ready for action. In February 2018, Google’s Chrome web browser had a new feature. A native ad blocker. It’s goal is simple. It will stop the display of any advertisement that features a non-compliant ad. Google has joined forces with many social media platforms to support this initiative. As a result, the impact could be drastic and far-reaching.

     

    woman browsing on laptop
    Google wants to change Chrome ads to make them better serve the user.

     

    Google’s strategy is to rid the internet of low-quality advertisements. This achievement would create a user-friendly browsing environment. While this is a noble cause, there is a great deal of risk involved. Online businesses and advertisers dread the regulatory change. This should come as no surprise. They stand to lose millions of dollars on wasted ad spend. It’s estimated that ad blockers contribute to a loss of billion dollars

    Google Chrome is the clear front runner as the world’s most used web browser. So, their introduction of a native ad blocker will cause that dollar amount to skyrocket. Here’s the added twist. Your advertisement could be compliant with Google’s standards. Yet, it will not show up on a website if there are any non-compliant ads there. And even if your ad gets blocked, you’ll still have to pay for the placement of that ad. Even worse, if your site features non-compliant ads, a warning could pop up. Your visitors would see this and sites will experience a significant drop in traffic.

    How Can Your Ads Avoid Negative Impacts from Google?

    With so many risks involved, your ad placement and quality both need careful planning. Google now scrutinizes your advertisements more than ever before. They are taking into account content quality, format, and animation. Google’s actions will create a domino effect. More websites and web browsers will introduce ad blockers. So, marketers will kiss more dollars good-bye, wasting them on blocked ad-placements. Also, the wrong ads could result in your entire website landing on the blacklist. You would no longer be able to show advertisements on Google Chrome.

     

    Google analytics page on laptop
    If you ignore Google’s new ad policies, you could end up wasting your advertising dollars.

     

    The stakes are high. If you’re feeling concerned right now, worry not. There is a way forward. Your overarching goal should be a user-friendly web environment. This means high quality content and non-manipulative advertisements across your site. To clarify, let’s discuss what Google considers to be “user-friendly“.

    What Makes Google Consider an Advertisement Bad?

    • Ads that Interrupt:  Low-quality pop-up ads are so named for one main reason. They block content. Most pop-ups appear after the content on a page has loaded. So, the user has a brief preview before a large window blocks the page. These hellish ads are among the most commonly cited annoyances of web users. As a result, they will be the first type of advertisement to receive a block.
    • Ads that Distract: We’ve all been here. You open a web page and begin reading a few lines of text. And then WHAM! A loud advertisement begins to play, causing you to jump our of your chair. In other cases, you’ll open a web page, and suddenly a large pop-up appears, flashing like a strobe light. Any sort of ad that has distracting audio or visual effects is cause for penalization.
    • Large Sticky Ads: Have you ever encountered a large, sticky advertisement? They usually lurk at the bottom or top of a webpage. These types of ads stay in the same position as you scroll through a website. To make them disappear, you have to click “exit”. Regardless of the position of these advertisements, they’re a high blocking risk.
    • High Density Mobile Advertisements: You’ve seen these sorts of ads. Most often while viewing full-page slideshows or lists. As you scroll through a slideshow, an advertisement will display between each slides. These ads? Blocked. If the advertisements on a website take up more than 30% of the vertical height of a page, they will not see the light of day.
    • Full Screen Advertisements: These advertisements often come accompanied by a 15 or 20 second countdown timer. Without a doubt, you have seen this before. We can all rejoice that Chrome will be blocking them out.

     

    What Makes Google Consider an Advertisement Good?

    • Immediate Ads: Users are much more likely to engage with ads that load fast. Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) have much higher click-through-rates. They also have more eCPMs (effective cost per thousand impressions).
    • Immersive Ads: The design of an advertisement should mesh well with the design of your website. Your goal should be to create advertisements that readers seamlessly interact with.
    • Relevant Ads: This needs to be a consideration for both website owners and marketers. Are you a marketer who utilizes Google’s display network? Then your advertisements need to display throughout websites within your niche. And if you’re a website owner, you need to track the ads on your website to make sure they are relevant to your content. If there is a lack of relevance between the ad and the website, there’s a good chance Chrome will block it.

     

    Man browsing web on tablet with coffee
    Follow these best practices and you will deliver advertising that Google and your customers will love.

     

    While the new regulations from Google have the potential to derail countless marketing efforts, they also present an opportunity to step back and consider your overall digital strategy. Your keys to success in 2018 should be focused around two main objectives: high-quality content and a friendly user experience. If you craft and place digital ads that are accurate and non-obtrusive, you’ll be able to avoid any wasted advertising dollars.

    Feel free to reach out to me and my team, to discuss your approach to marketing.  Be sure to read up on more of Google’s polices so you can be better prepared for the changes ahead.

     

  • Voice Search Demands to be Heard by Your Website

    Google currently estimates that voice search traffic accounts for more than 20% of its queries. This amounts to at least one billion voice searches per day. Some experts think that number will double or even triple in the next two years.

    Either way, it’s clear that voice-assisted search is not only a big part of online marketing now. It is also a growing trend for the future. Consider the increasing technological options we have. We have voice search functionality through home devices and on our smart phones. And as Google recently demonstrated, this is nothing but the beginning.

    Unfortunately, many organizations are not taking voice search into consideration. They are still approaching search engine optimization (SEO) the way they were 5 or 10 years ago. Now is the time to start thinking about ways to stay ahead of the search visibility curve. Let’s look at a few things you can do to optimize your website for voice search.

    Learn to Think and Speak Like Your Best Customers

    When optimizing your site for voice search, it isn’t enough to know what your best customers want to learn or find.  You actually have to think like them, so you can use the same words and terminology as they would.

    A lot of business and industry insiders use jargon or brand names that the public hasn’t quite latched on to. That can be problematic if you want to attract buyers who are using voice search, looking for answers.

    Emphasize Spoken Phrases Over Traditional Search Keywords

    This goes hand-in-hand with our first point, but it’s worth mentioning. You’ll still want to have text on your website optimized for traditional queries. And yes, by traditional we mean typed. But you’ll also want conversational content that matches voice search strings.
     
    In reality, it’s not usually difficult to find a balance. Also, using natural language content is a solid strategy for any marketer now. Google has made significant advancements with artificial intelligence. It can now understand things, like context and meaning, through a website. Keeping this in mind is a win for marketing.

    Use Lots of Content to Make Your Website Into an Authoritative Resource

    Google isn’t sending voice search users to random corners of the internet. Instead, it’s tweaking its existing algorithm to make better matches. So, websites with lots of existing content are benefiting from new voice capabilities. And these sites are the ones already receiving the most search traffic.
     
    The more there is to your website, the more authoritative you can appear to searches. Search spiders, too! It will be easier for you to draw in traffic from apps and devices processing spoken queries.

    Is Your Online Strategy Forward-Thinking?

    At Atlantic BT, we use a unique blend of experience and innovation to help businesses of all sizes. If you need large-scale web development or a new way to bring in customers, our creative team is ready. We can find the answers you need.
     
    Contact us today! We can schedule a free consultation and give personalized recommendations. Come on in to learn more about our capabilities.

  • Non-Secure Websites, Beware! Google is After You

    In July of this year, Google will take another step forward in their crusade to secure the internet. They will introduce a new feature on the 68th version of their Chrome browser. Its purpose? To warn users whenever they visit an HTTP website. A large “not secure” icon within the browser’s navigation bar will display. Google hopes to steer their users away from websites that don’t use a proper Transport Layer Security (TLS). This could create many challenges for web owners and designers.  Traffic and revenue losses, as well as drops in organic search rankings, could all be consequences. 

    Google’s Quest For Security

    Previously, Google only had non-secure warnings on pages that featured password input elements and credit card fields. This standard has now been dramatically modified with Google’s new warning system. By July, Google will require ALL websites to have their entire domain set up as HTTPS.

    This comes after several years of successful browser updates. Google was able to vastly increase the percentage of secure websites. In the last year alone, the number of protected websites on Chrome’s browser grew from 67% to 75%. Even more, 71 of the top 100 sites on the internet now use HTTPS by default. This is an increase from 37% one year ago. Google has surpassed all other browsers as the most used browsing platform. This means that Google’s policy update will have major implications on your site’s web performance.

     

    HTTPS sites guarantee a secure platform 

     

    What makes HTTPS different?

    Before stressing over the potential impact of this update, it’s important to recognize the countless benefits of establishing a secure connection via TLS. If your website is HTTP, as opposed to HTTPS, it means there is no active TLS. A TLS Certificate is a data file that binds a cryptographic key to all of a website’s details. In other words, this certificate creates an encrypted connection between a web server and your browser. This means that the connection between both points is unsusceptible of being hijacked or intercepted.

    When you load an HTTP website, someone else on the network can look at or modify the site before it gets to you. This can create a world of problems for both website owners and users alike. In a recent post on Google’s developer blog, Kayce Basques explains the potential damage that can occur on an unprotected website:

    “Intruders exploit unprotected communications to trick your users into giving up sensitive information or installing malware, or to insert their own advertisements into your resources. For example, some third parties inject advertisements into websites that potentially break user experiences and create security vulnerabilities.”

    In addition, if you submit sensitive information via a form or credit card field on an unprotected site, it can be intercepted before reaching the web server. This creates a number of threats, including identity theft, fraud, and invasion of privacy.

    What are the implications of Google’s update?

    Google is increasingly using security as an algorithmic ranking factor within their Search Engine Results Page (SERP). In 2014, Google publicly announced that websites would receive a boost in rankings if they switch from HTTP to HTTPS. And in-line with that policy, sites that remained HTTP would be at risk of losing rankings. This is a serious threat to the acquisition of organic traffic on HTTP websites.

    There is also an added risk of dropping conversion rates and losing customers. Studies show that  85% of web users would choose not to make purchases from a website if it was labeled as “non-secure”.

    If you’re concerned about the potential impact of this upcoming Chrome update, or the security of your site, contact the experts at Atlantic BT.

     

  • Facebook Shutdown? Be Careful What You Wish For

    After stunning news broke that over 50 million Facebook users had their data breached and unlawfully harvested, lawmakers are calling into question the future of Facebook Advertising and irate citizens are calling for a total Facebook shutdown.

    As a private citizen, you should be outraged. As both a private citizen AND consumer of any goods or service, you should be prepared for {gulp}…higher prices and potential job losses. Let’s break it down.

    Facebook Shutdown as a Private Citizen

    No explanation needed. Just be mad.

    Facebook Shutdown as a Consumer of Goods and Services

    This is where a dose of “Careful What You Wish” will leave a bitter taste. We’ve all been there…inundated with ads everywhere we turn. Your Facebook feed. Instagram (owned by Facebook). Facebook Messenger. Video ads on video ads.  They chase you around the internet. You literally cannot escape them.

    “They’re so annoying”

    Most won’t disagree. But it’s hard not to notice that those annoying ads are pretty damn close to relating to some aspect of your life or a specific characteristic of who you are as a person.

    Facebook Ad Revenue

    The simple reality is Facebook is a marketer’s gold mine. It’s a behemoth compared to Google when it comes to targeting abilities. Facebook Advertising is drowning in user-level data. Every click you’ve made, every post you liked, every petty argument you’ve had in the comment section of some ridiculous meme…Facebook is recording every single touch point and continuously building out the most dynamic profiles of all 2 Billion of its users. And needless to say they sell that data to advertisers in the form of placing relevant ads in front you.

    But let’s dive into how the potential demise of Facebook Advertising affects you, the consumer.  Most companies operate in a Cost per Customer or Cost per Lead model in some shape or fashion.  Company A, through their own analytics and data, have established they are willing to pay X amount of dollars for a specific group of customers with identifying characteristics. Invest X amount of dollars into one targeted audience, expect to get X amount of dollars out of them.  Dumbed down, it’s the establishment of marketing contribution margins.

    Pay $.75, get a $1 in return. 25% margin.

    With Facebook Advertising, companies and their products are literally getting delivered two feet from their ideal customer (or whatever unhealthy distance you hold your phone in front of your face).  There’s no wasted marketing spend on trying to find you…Facebook does the heavy lifting.

    Now let’s imagine a world with no Facebook Advertising. A Facebook shutdown. Maybe we’re relegated back to more “traditional” advertising.  Back to more radio spots, perhaps a local TV commercial here or there, or {gasp}…newspapers. Instead of paying for exposure to a specific group of potential customers that Company A can expect to purchase, that same company will burn marketing spend on eyes and ears that they know are less likely to engage and make a purchase. In our world, we call that burning impressions. Burning money. Strike a match and just burn it.

    Facebook Shutdown?

    In the Cost Per Customer world, the $20 it previously cost a company to acquire a customer has now turned into $50/customer.   That aforementioned 25% margin? Poof.  And not only poof, Company A is now forecasted to operate in the red on paper.

    How will Company A attempt to remedy? Raise prices. Reduce expenses. And what is typically a company’s largest expense?

    Payroll.

    So while we have every reason to be outraged (and then some) over this egregious, unethical breach in the trust of our most personal data, a Facebook shutdown along with other similar social media platforms could have some very expensive repercussions for all of us.  Hyperbole? Maybe.

    Or maybe not.

  • What Does SSL Mean and Why Should You Care?

    Most of us have spent enough time online to notice some websites have “http” at the beginning of their URLs, while others use “http”. However, many people don’t understand the difference between the two. To make things simple, the S in HTTPS stands for Secure, and what we call SSL is a “Secure Sockets Layer.” The term SSL is still widely used to describe a critical aspect of web security, though you should note SSL has become insecure and has been superseded by the more secure Transport Layer Security, or TLS. This kind of cryptographic protocol is not only essential to the security of your website, but also has a major impact on your organic visibility, SEO, and website performance.

    Why Does an SSL or TLS Matter?

    SSL/TLS is the foundation for secure browsing; it protects users from sharing their sensitive personal information. A TLS Certificate is a small data file that digitally binds a cryptographic key to a website’s details. In layman’s terms, this certificate creates a secure, encrypted connection between your browser and a web server. This secure connection means the encrypted information can ONLY be opened and seen by the user and the website—preventing the connection from being hijacked or intercepted.

    So why is this secure connection so important? Say, for example, a user visits an eCommerce website and they’re asked to submit personal information like their email address, mailing address, credit card information, or bank account number. What many people don’t realize is the information the user provides is passed from computer to computer before reaching its final destination. Without a TLS certificate, that sensitive information could potentially be acquired by any of the computers that it passes through. The TLS safeguards that personal information so it can only be seen at the final web server that the user sends information to.

    This process makes TLS vitally important to the security of your websites and users. Not only does TLS protect user information by encrypting the connection, it also verifies you are actually connected to the right server (rather than a server that intercepted your traffic). In case the security of your entire website wasn’t enough, SSL/TLS also has a significant effect on your SEO ranking.

    How Does an SSL or TLS Affect SEO Rankings?

    Google and the other major search engines have coined a term called “trust factors” or “trust seals” that signify a website’s identity is authentic, the site is legitimate, and the site is not susceptible to data breaches. These “trust factors” can include badges from the Better Business Bureau, detailed privacy policies, and most importantly, SSL/TLS certificates. Sites that utilize these trust factors are more likely to receive higher quality scores and hence, better SEO rankings.

    During the summer of 2014, Google explicitly stated websites would receive a ranking boost if they featured a TLS certificate. In addition, they provided the following “best practices” for getting started with TLS:

    • Decide the kind of certificate you need: single, multi-domain, or wildcard certificate.
    • Use 2048-bit key certificates.
    • Use relative URLs for resources that reside on the same secure domain.
    • Use protocol relative URLs for all other domains.
    • Check out Google’s Site move article for more guidelines on how to change your website’s address.
    • Allow indexing of your pages by search engines where possible. Avoid the noindex robots meta tag.

    While the amount of ranking boost provided by implementing TLS is still unclear, we do know that Google can severely penalize unencrypted sites.  And in January of 2017, Google announced any Chrome browser users would be warned before entering unencrypted websites. Since Chrome is the primary browser for over 55% of web traffic, this is something that should not be taken lightly.

    If you fail to include SSL/TLS on your site, not only can your site be demoted in search engine rankings, your users are less likely to make purchases or interact with your webpages. According to SSL.com, implementing SSL/TLS securely can lead to dramatic improvement in a website’s conversion rate. And in contrast, lacking SSL/TLS protection can have negative effects on conversion rate.

    Integrate TLS on Your Sites Immediately

    In conclusion, SSL/TLS certificates are vital to any website, but especially important to the performance of online stores or eCommerce sites. Without encrypting your website, you are leaving yourself susceptible to malicious attackers, data breaches, and lost customers. Unencrypted websites are much less likely to rank well in search engines, and even less likely convert users into customers.

    If you’re concerned about the security or performance of your website, contact ABT’s cybersecurity department, or continue reading the ten critical elements of a successful retail e-commerce website.