Learn More: https://alexsanfilippo.com/the-future-of-google-search-results

#1. Image thumbnails in Google search results = Higher ranking.

I've mentioned this one many times before, but now it looks like it's starting to happen. A recent report by Mordy Oberstein from RankRanger shows that Google's mobile search results now show image thumbnails 45% of the time. That's a 183% increase in the changes you'll see these thumbnails for yourself.

#2. The "First page" of Google search results will no longer be a thing.

If you've noticed on your mobile device, there is no longer pages of search results listed on Google. It's now just a button that says "More results." Say goodbye to the classic, beautiful search results page links.

#3. We're going to see more answers in search results.

In my mind, the greatest feature Google has added in the past few years is having answers to questions right in the search results without having to visit a particular website or reach through more than just a few sentences. This feature has changed the way most people search. Actually, I think my first and second points above do not matter IF the answer you're looking for is automatically displayed by Google at the top of the page.

#4. Local results will become king.

We're already starting to see local search dominate the results pages. This is especially true with mobile devices. The search results are close to you.

Read the full blog post: https://alexsanfilippo.com/the-future-of-google-search-results

For more visit https://alexsanfilippo.com

For years, many of us have been laser focused on ranking for keywords. But things in the SEO world have changed. Focusing on rank for keywords is no longer the only way to earn a great rank on Google.

Get my free SEO eBook: 10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SEO

Keywords for the longest time have been what land you on the first page of Google search results. But recent marketing studies have shown that this is no longer the case.

Google is more focused on searcher intent. WHY is someone searching, not just WHAT they are searching for.

Google’s focus is to offer answers and solutions to people’s questions. That is why they are so successful. Over the past couple of years, the developers at Google have learned that searcher intent is better than keyword triggers.

You can learn more about search intent from my friends at Yoast, click here.

The solution is this, instead of focusing on rank for keywords, learn to anticipate people’s needs.

Hear me out, keywords are not dead. If used correctly, they will still land you on a very high ranking with Google. However, there are now other (simpler) ways to accomplish the same thing.

SEO voice search

One final though I want to leave you with on this topic is voice search. Voice search is being used more than it ever has before. Keywords don’t work the same when people are searching for answers using full sentences.

Many people are familiar with SEO plugins. But, most people that I talk to do not understand what they actually do. First off, SEO stands for search engine optimization. (For anyone new, I want to make sure you're with us!) This is an ever growing and trending topic in almost every business these days.

Whether you’re a business owner, marketing professional or website developer, we’re all hearing a lot about SEO these days.

Installing an SEO plugin is great for non-technical (and technical) individual managing a website. Having an SEO plugin is ideal.

You can manage SEO without a plugin, but it’s a lot of work and not recommended. Even the best SEO experts use plugins. We all use it, because it saves so much time.

If you’re not using an SEO plugin, I encourage you to get one. My favorite is SEO Yoast which is big among the WordPress community.

What do SEO plugins actually do for search ranking?

Believe it or not, it doesn’t do anything magic or cause you to rank higher. It is simply a guide which tells you how your content will (likely) rank in search engines results pages. An SEO plugin does not cause you to rank higher in search engines just because you have it installed.

One thing that was recently implemented into Yoast is the ability to rank higher for your key word when you’re using synonyms of your keyword. Google has considered this to be a ranking factor for the past few years, but no SEO plugin has implemented this ranking factor; until now!

For more visit https://alexsanfilippo.com/heres-what-seo-plugins-actually-do/

For images and additional notes visit https://alexsanfilippo.com/how-can-my-website-answer-peoples-questions-on-google

How Can My Website Answer People’s Questions on Google?

Google has a technical term for “answering people’s questions on Google” it’s called a featured snippet. To earn a featured snippet, you must answer a specific question by providing an accurate and direct answer or response. It must provide the answer that users are searching for.

Right along with the explanation I just provided, there are a few technical elements you can incorporate to improve your chances of answering people’s questions on Google through featured snippets.

How Can I Format My Blog to Qualify for Featured Snippets?

There are 4 key ways to optimize for Google’s featured snippets.

Answer length between 40 and 58 words.

You want your answer to contain more than 40 words, but never over 58 words.

Use text formatting such as H2 fonts and paragraphs.

Your answer should be asked in an h1 or h2 font. Example: I’m Ron Burgundy? While your answer should be immediately following your question in paragraph or bullet/number formatting.

The closer to the beginning of your content the better.

You don’t want your last paragraph in a blog post to be where you ask and answer the question. The earlier the better.

Excellent content is key.

Google does not rank content high in the search results if it is not well written. Also, it needs to be a legitimate answer to a question. Good content trumps all guidelines!

Optimizing to qualify for a featured snippet is not difficult or complicated. Focus on answering a specific question. Make sure your answers contain the right word count. Get the formatting right with “h2” fonts and paragraphs. Keep your answers as close to the top of your content as possible. But, the most important thing is to focus on publishing excellent content.

You’ll end up with a featured snippet before you know it!

Learn more on https://alexsanfilippo.com

Full notes: https://alexsanfilippo.com/simple-marketing-tips-for-non-marketers

3 simple marketing tips for non-marketers:

#1. Google Trends

This is so easy to use. It will help you find topics to write on that are trending on Google. What is going to get more viability? Here’s a pro tip for you, don’t look for what is the highest on the trending list. Everyone is already trying to rank for that. You want to search for trends within your niche that are smaller, more focused but seem to be experiencing a spike in search.

#2. Facebook Links

This is a great one to see what is trending for specific topics on Facebook. This is external links that are being shared the most on Facebook. Sort of “trending” for Facebook. From here you can see what people are sharing on the topics you’re looking to rank for. It’s great for inspiration on what to write about, and also how to form you titles. You’ll learn a lot from researching the different links that have been shared. This is another great tool that I’ve began to use a lot.

#3. Google AdWords

I know what you’re thinking; and you’re right. This one isn’t free. (Boo!) But, many of us who have a Gmail account or a Google Business profile set up have received coupons to run up to $50.00 or $100.00 of AdWords to test the service. Even if you haven’t received these coupons, I still highly recommend to spend a little bit of money. Just test out how you rank and what happens with your traffic when you advertise with Google.

Read the full notes: https://alexsanfilippo.com/simple-marketing-tips-for-non-marketers

How can I increase organic traffic to my website?

There are three key elements that you need to include within your content in order to increase organic traffic to your website.

Emotion

Surprise

Broad appeal

Let’s look at each of these three elements in more detail. We’ll start with the easiest of the 3 elements listed above.

Full notes: https://alexsanfilippo.com/increase-organic-traffic-to-your-website/

See full notes at https://AlexSanfilippo.com

Do you ever wonder if anyone stolen something you've written on a website or blog and used it somewhere else? If someone steals your website content, can you do anything about it? You actually CAN do both; find and act upon stolen content. I'll explain how...

This is something that each of us think about from time to time. We’ve all asked this question in our heads, or even vocalized. “What if someone steals your website content?” I certainly am included in the ranks of people who have asked this!

If you’re like me, you have many precious publications around the web. The last thing you want is for someone to steal your same blog post or web page and use it as their own. But also, we’ve all heard the rumors that it hurts your, original content’s, ranking.

If someone steals your website content, does it really hurt your ranking?

The majority of the time when someone steals copy from your website, it will have little to no affect on your ranking or Google’s “opinion” of the quality of your content. Why? Because most people that share duplicate content aren’t going to rank. They are normally small websites or something that is not SEO ready.

However, if someone has stolen your content and they have a bigger website with lots of traffic, it will hurt your ranking and Google will view your website as lower quality.

Scary right? How on earth are you going to track down these thieves? The internet isn’t just some small neighborhood.

Thankfully, Google has made this pretty simple for all of us! Our friends at Google have set up a certain search tool that will crawl the web for specific search terms and rules.

https://www.google.com/alerts

Search for some of your most popular content on this tool that Google is freely providing. See if anyone has in fact stolen your content. Side note: I recommend only searching through “Only the best results” because if it’s not listed here, it’s not going to affect your ranking.

What if you find someone who is stealing your content? If you do find a company/individual who is stealing your content and you don’t want this to be taking place any longer, you can use this Google Webmaster Tool to stop it. It’s called DMCA Complaint (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) Here’s the link:

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/dmca-dashboard

As an additional resource to learn more, check this link out: https://blog.kissmetrics.com/find-remove-stolen-content/

I decided to begin managing this process. I kept it very simple. All I did is set up a weekly reminder to go do some random checks of my popular content. I recommend that you do the same – It’s important to know if someone steals your website content; this is a simple way to make it happen.

Read the full post: https://alexsanfilippo.com/creating-a-professional-blog-post/

5 Steps to Creating a Professional Blog Post That Will Stand Out:

Step #1 Content (Draft)

First comes the idea, then comes the words. Begin writing your draft. Fight the desire to edit as you go, just get all your thoughts out on paper. Once you have done this, decide if you have a single focus or if your content covers a wide number of topics. If it does, break it up into multiple blog posts.

Step #2 Craft a Title

Most people will click on your blog posts because of the title. Your title must be on point! But it also must go along great with your content. This is when you can begin to connect your title and your content (draft) find the perfect title to use!

Much of what I have learned about creating strong titles came from a free eBook titled ‘How to Write Magnetic Headlines’. This is the best eBook I’ve read on creating headlines. I encourage you to get a copy of it for yourself.

Step #3 Select a Featured Image

“A picture is worth a thousand words” Let me add to this by saying, make sure the thousand words you’re saying are the right words. First off, you need to be using a featured image on every post you write.

Here are a few “don’ts” when selecting your featured image:

Don’t use an image just because you like it or have been waiting to use it. Use an image because it fits well with your title and content.

Don’t use an image that you’ve taken yourself unless you’re a professional photographer.

Don’t use images from Google unless you’ve selected “Labeled for Reuse”.

What I’ve done to have great looking images on my websites is I’ve used free stock image websites. Translation, anyone can use these images for free

Step #4 Content (Edit)

Now for the most important part. Editing your content. You’ve heard me say it before, and this won’t be the last time; “Content is king.”

Here are some of my best practices for editing content:

· Keep your posts short and straight the point.

· Stay focused on a single topic or idea.

· Make every word and every sentence count. (Remove the fluff!)

· Check your posts in Microsoft Word or Apple Pages for grammatical errors.

· Use hemingwayapp.com to clean up your content even more and make it easier to read.

· KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Step #5 Content (Format)

“Formatting is the icing on the cake. No one likes cake without icing.” This may be a joke, but it is the truth. I’ve read some of the best content on the market that will never gain any traction because it’s ugly. No one wants to read a paragraph with 500 words in it. Break it up! Make it appealing for eyes to follow.

Here are a few ways to do this:

· Utilize H2, H3 and H4 heading fonts.

· Insert “quotations” where it makes sense.

· Add bold, underline and italic text.

· Include internal and external links to show some depth to your post.

· Include “Share on social media” links, like a tweet.

· Use numbers and bullet points if you have any sort of list.

· Insert other images, but only where they make complete sense.

Conclusion

Creating a professional blog post that will stand out is no simple task. However, after years of practice and hard work, I’ve come up with these 5 points above. Ever since I implemented these points, my traffic has skyrocketed. I firmly believe that the same thing will happen to you when you implement these points.

Learn more at https://alexsanfilippo.com/

https://alexsanfilippo.com/facebooks-changes-to-the-news-feed

"One of our big focus areas for 2018 is making sure the time we all spend on Facebook is time well spent." Mark Zuckerberg said in one of his recent posts on Facebook. He was talking about Facebook's changes to the News Feed. It has caused quiet the discussion among brands!

Zuckerberg goes on to comment that Facebook's purpose is to help friends and family connect on greater levels. I will say that Facebook is great for this. Pictures of family that live out of town is always a joy to see!

How to continue to grow your brand/business on Facebook in the future:

#1. Your content must encourage meaningful interactions between people. Meaning, friends and family conversing. Create your content to get them commenting and tagging each other.

#2. You must avoid creating a passive experience. You must create an experience that brings people closer together in a positive way.

#3. Zuckerberg mentioned something important during the 4th quarter of 2017. He said the future of growing your brand/business on Facebook would happen through live video. Translation: If you want your name to get out there, use live video. Live video as more valuable than standard posts from your brand/business.

#4. Avoid the “engagement-bait” trap. Don't ask for people to comment, like, vote, share or anything. Asking for any sort of action is a red flag within Facebook's algorithm and will cause less viability.

#5. Get active in Facebook groups. If you engage your brand in Facebook groups, by commenting and sharing valuable feedback, your brand will grow.

Continue Reading: https://alexsanfilippo.com/facebooks-changes-to-the-news-feed

For visuals, video and notes visit: https://alexsanfilippo.com/what-makes-something-go-viral/

I finally found a video that explains what makes something go viral better than anything else I've read/seen. Nothing has been more helpful than the following video recently published by TED. In this video, Dao Nguyen talks about what her BuzzFeed team has come up with to create viral content. Here's the video:

In this video, Dao quickly explains what makes something go viral. I want to highlight the visuals that she used, because they are the most important part of the video.

According to Dao Nguyen Here's what makes something go viral:

The content that you share must contain at least one of the following if you expect it to have any chance of going viral:

"Makes me laugh."

Content that is just good, clean and non-offensive funny.

"This is me."

Content that helps you make a joke about yourself. (Often critical)

"Helps me connect."

Content that precisely describes your bond with someone.

"Helps me."

Content that reveals something you may not have known about yourself, typically in a quiz result.

"Makes me feel."

Content that lets you know that there is still good out there.

When you find a way to effectively hit on multiple items listed above, that's when you create something that will go viral! If you successfully have something go viral, let me know! I'd love to check it out and see which of the items listed above you used to make it happen.

Do you have any thoughts or comments? Join the conversation! https://alexsanfilippo.com/what-makes-something-go-viral/