#dgpconf19€¦ · and not super dry) to dry, you probably only need to wash it once or twice a...
TRANSCRIPT
#DGPConf19
Effective SEO In 2019
Ian LockwoodBoom Online Marketing
#DGPConf19
The Basics Still Apply
Title tag
Metadescription
The Basics Still Apply
<h1>surveillance capitalism</h1>
Internal linking withkeyword anchor text
Site Architecture
9
3 3 3
1 1 1
Home
Categories
Products
Further reading:https://builtvisible.com/solving-site-architecture-issues/
Site Architecture
9
1.8 1.8 1.8
1.8 1 1.8
Home
Categories
Products
Search Console URL Inspection
Search Console URL Inspection
Domain-Wide Data In Search Console
• Unifies search metrics to a single URL
• Also unified to canonical property (e.g. separate mobile site data could shift to desktop site)
• Transition occurred on 10th April
Canonical Consolidation In GSC
PageSpeed Insights Update
PageSpeed Insights Update
https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
Google Lazy-Loading Guide
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/guides/lazy-loading
Native Lazy Load Tag Coming
https://addyosmani.com/blog/lazy-loading/
Google Medic Update: 1st August 2018
https://moz.com/blog/googles-august-1st-core-update-week-1
Just Before The Update
http://bit.ly/bnmedic
Rank Ranger Data: YMYL Sites
https://www.rankranger.com/blog/august-google-core-update
Same Old Same Old
• Increase information on your site about your subject• Ensure content up to date & include proof of
expertise/information about the author• e.g. link to LinkedIn profile
• Obtain more links to demonstrate authority• Ensure contact information is readily available & you
have a solid About Us page• Improve online reputation through third-party reviews• Use https:// to serve your site
E-A-T: Expertise, Authority, Trust
http://www.blindfiveyearold.com/algorithm-analysis-in-the-age-of-embeddings
Medic: Natural Language Processing
“You can view the rater guidelines as where we want the search algorithm to go,” Ben Gomes, Google’s vice president of search, assistant and news, told CNBC. “They don’t tell you how the algorithm is ranking results, but they fundamentally show what the algorithm should do.”
From The Horse’s Mouth
Further core updates on 27th September & 12th March
But Wait!
https://searchengineland.com/google-on-the-march-2019-core-update-this-is-not-the-biggest-update-weve-released-314099
So What To Do?
• Identify thin/low-quality pages• Not much text• Very similar to other pages (but different URLs)
• Improve quality or block from search engines• Edit/add more text to pages• Delete unrequired pages (404)• Noindex pages needed for users but which
could be seen as low quality
Content Quality
• Page load speed• Mobile-friendliness• Canonicalization issues• Rendering problems• Crawl issues
Technical SEO
JavaScript SEO Video Series
https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2019/03/introducing-new-javascript-seo-video.html
• Check search terms vs. landing pages in Search Console
• Are users likely to get what they want?• Are standard features easy to find (contact info,
navigation, search function etc.)?• Do pop-ups or other “features” get in the way?• Get independent users to test your site
User Experience
• Quality over quantity• Use content to attract links• Avoid “spammy” links
Links Still Matter
https://www.blog.google/around-the-globe/google-europe/fighting-disinformation-across-our-products/
“But we’ve now reached the point where neural networks can help us take a major leap forward from understanding words to understanding concepts. Neural embeddings, an approach developed in the field of neural networks, allow us to transform words to fuzzier representations of the underlying concepts, and then match the concepts in the query with the concepts in the document. We call this technique neural matching. This can enable us to address queries like: “why does my TV look strange?” to surface the most relevant results for that question, even if the exact words aren’t contained in the page.”
Neural Embeddings
https://www.blog.google/products/search/improving-search-next-20-years/
Parsing through text, establishing relationships between words, understanding meaning & deriving greater understanding of the words.
Google analyses text one sentence, paragraph, section & page at a time.
In Short
• Connect questions to answers• 1 or 2 sentence answer you’d expect from a voice assistant• [Entity] is [Answer] uses the question in the answer
• Identify units, classifications and adjectives• Use expected units, be specific• “200 degrees Celsius” not “200 degrees”
Practical Application
Reduce dependency hops
Keep It Simple
Google Cloud Natural Language
https://cloud.google.com/natural-language/
Google Cloud Natural Language
“How often to wash hair?”
Example Text 1:
It seems as though we’re all divided when it comes to how often we should be washing our hair. Some people swear that washing less frequently makes their hair healthier, while others insist that double-shampooing is actually the way to go.
But how does your haircare routine stack up against the rest of America? A recent survey conducted by Lookfantastic set out to measure just that. It turns out that 49% of women polled admitted to washing their hair every damn day, which means that we, as a nation, are totally split 50/50.
If you’re not sure how often you should be washing your hair, it’s always a good idea to check in with your stylist next time you’re at the salon.
Clarity Is Important
“How often to wash hair?”
Example Text 2:
If your skin and hair are anywhere from normal (not super oily and not super dry) to dry, you probably only need to wash it once or twice a week, according to a Columbia University health column. If you have a greasy scalp, you probably need to wash your hair more often.
Much clearer = higher confidence in relevance &providing answer.
Clarity Is Important
• “The cat was often in the tree, but now it’s dead.”• What’s dead, the cat or the tree?• Antecedent is the noun the pronoun replaces
• Be careful with multiple sentences• Can be clear in a single sentence, but carried into another the meaning is lost.• “Vitamin B12 levels are important. On a TV programme last week, Ian said it should bewatched carefully.”
Avoid Unclear Antecedents
Cover letters are an important part of the job application process. You should almost always send a cover letter with a job application unless the hiring manager specifically asks you not to.
However, one thing that is less clear is how long your cover letter should be. If it is way too short, employers might think you do not care much about the job. If it is too long, employers might not take the time to read your letter, and will not consider you for an interview.
Being Correct Requires Clarity
Being Correct Requires Clarity
• Use related keywords as indicators, e.g. “people also search for” terms
• Brainstorm related keywords – tools can stick too close to the seed term
Improve Salience
• Salience is helped by addressing “does this article answer all the subjects and questions a searcher might have when they search?”
• Improves searcher satisfaction as Google is likely to know follow-up topics & questions
• Giving them this content eliminates additional searches
Follow The Query Through
• What else might the searcher need to know or ask?• What are the logical questions after searching for the keyword?• Related terms (definitions)• FAQs• Secondary topics (e.g. insulating a house/energy efficiency, securing your home, home décor)
Searcher Journey
• Isolate entities when not used in a sentence• Separate it in the text (e.g. separate paragraph) & avoid grouping it with a price, year or other data
• Use indicator words to disambiguate, e.g. “Beeston, Nottingham” not just “Beeston”
Disambiguate Entities
Much of this in more detail:https://www.briggsby.com/on-page-seo-for-nlp
A Little Light Reading