What is keyword stemming

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The algorithm that Google uses to rank websites has become much more sophisticated over the last decade. At the turn of the century, ranking on Google was simply a matter of stuffing your pages with a chosen keyword. But that’s not the case anymore.

Today, Google’s algorithm is much cleverer. You no longer have to target a single specific phrase. It can now understand slight differentiations in words. That means it knows run, running and ran have the same core meaning. Because it can understand stem words, you should be optimizing your content based on a topic, not a keyword.

 

What is keyword stemming?

Keyword stemming or stemming for short is the exact thing we discussed above. It is Google’s ability to tell that certain words and synonyms have the same intent. It is called stemming because the word variations that Google groups together all stem from the same core word. In the example above, running and ran both stem from the root word “run”.

What you might not know is that Google has been using this tactic for over a decade now in English queries. Although it has taken a little longer for searches in other languages. Since then, Google has got even more advanced. It can take a very broad approach to search phrases and work out similar intent even if the phrases used are completely different.

That means if you are a divorce attorney, you should be able to use the word lawyer, family, separate and law firm and still rank just as well in Google.

How does stemming impact SEO?

Stemming has had a big impact on SEO. Because Google can now understand synonyms and stem words and can associate them with the same intent, businesses no longer need to focus on specific phrases. Instead, businesses should focus on creating content around key topics, making sure to include synonyms and relevant subtopics as much as possible.

So the next time you write content, don’t use the same phrase over and over again thinking that it will help you to rank. Instead, write widely and insightfully on a topic to make your content a great resource for both humans and search engines.

 

Summing it up

It is crucial to understand what stemming is and how it works if you want to write high-quality content that ranks well in Google for several search terms. If you keep stuffing your content with the same keyword phrase over and over again, you simply aren’t going to rank. Worse, you’re going to miss the opportunity of appearing for multiple search terms.

 

Get help with your keyword research and content

It can be difficult to get to grips with topic-based keyword research. It can be even harder to write effectively on topics to a level that is needed to rank. This is one of the reasons we provide a done-for-you service that takes care of both the keyword research and the writing to ensure you have every chance of ranking effectively. Get in touch for a free consultation and quote today.

How to get your cornerstone content to rank

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Your cornerstone articles are the most important posts on your website, no question. These are the articles that you really want to rank for in Google and they are the pieces that will bring in the most traffic when they do rank. That being said, they are often the hardest ones to rank. That’s because they typically targeted the largest volume (and therefore the most competitive) search terms. So what’s needed to get them to rank?

In this post, we’ll dive into what you need to know and what you need to do to get your cornerstone content to rank in Google.

 

Start by creating awesome content

You can only rank with cornerstone content if you are creating the best, most valuable content that you can. It needs to be outstanding in every way possible. It has to have a killer headline, it needs to be long and informative, it needs to have great images and it needs to provide exceptional value to your audience. It also should probably have a great calll to action or at least a link to a sales page given how much traffic it is going to get.

 

Then optimize it for the right keyword

When it comes to choosing keywords for your cornerstone content you’re going to want to choose the most searched for terms that you can. These will tend to be the most competitive terms as well. Just make sure that you aren’t overstretching yourself and trying to rank for keywords that you’ll never be able to rank for.

 

Next, build internal links

Building internal links is the next thing that you need to do in order for your cornerstone content to rank. You might not think it’s that important, but creating a great site structure will be crucial if your cornerstone content is to rank effectively. That’s because Google uses internal links as one way to tell which pages are the most important. So your cornerstone articles need to have more internal links than any other page. Go through all of your existing articles and make sure to link back to your cornerstone content at every relevant opportunity.

 

Finally, promote your cornerstone content

You should now have an incredibly high-quality piece of content that is well written, well optimized and linked to all over your site. The final step is to get other websites to link to it. This will be easier than it would otherwise be because you should have created an exceptional piece of content that everyone is happy to link back to. That’s not to say your outreach won’t get rejected by some people. It almost certainly will. But just a dozen or so links can be enough to get your content ranking. And once it’s ranking links will start to flow in organically. This is the most important part of the entire process, so don’t skimp on the effort here. Give content promotion the attention and effort that it deserves.

What website owners need to know about headings

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Headings are a crucial part of any article. Not only do they help readers to navigate your content and read it more easily, headings also allow Google to better understand hat your article is about.

But using headings correctly can be a little more tricky than it first seems. Here’s what every website owner needs to know about using them correctly.

 

What’s the point of headings in the first place?

You’ll want to include headings in your content for a number of reasons.

They add structure to your text

You can use headings to aff structure to your article and guide readers through the content. When they are reading online, people don’t tend to read every article in full. Instead, they skip ahead to bits that catch their interest. This is very hard to do without headings. So most users won’t even attempt to read a piece without headings. Instead, they’ll leave your website and go to a competitor.

 

They improve accessibility

Headings can be used to make your text more accessible even for people who can’t read well from a screen. That’s because they are picked up by screen readers that will read headings allowed before reading the related content. If visually impaired readers don’t want to read that section, they can skip forward until they find a heading they like.

 

To improve your article’s ranking

Headings can also improve your article’s ranking in Google. That’s because they are a great way to include your targeted keywords in your content and because Google specifically uses them as a ranking factor. They can also increase the amount of time that readers spend on your site, which is another ranking factor.

 

How to use headings the right way

If you want to use headings effectively, you’ll want to take care house you use them. There are certain rules that you’ll need to follow if you want to use them effectively.

The first rule to abide by is that you can only have one H1 tag per page. The good news is that you don’t have to think too hard about which heading that should be as it will almost always be the title of the piece. In this article, for instance, the title is “What website owners need to know about headings”.

Once you have used your H1 tag on the title, you can use as many H2, H3, and H4 tags as you like. Don’t just use them in any order, however. You’ll want to use them sequentially. So an H3 will follow an H2 and an H4 will follow an H3.

If you were to look at the structure of a page, it might look something like this:

H1: Page Title

H2: First Main subheading

H3: Related subheading

H3: Related subheading

H2: Second main subheading

H3: Related subheading

H2: Final Subheading

Use headings in this way and you’ll create awesome pieces of content that are very easy for both humans and Google to read.

Knowing the Creative Commons License

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The copyright law was discussed previously, and I reiterated the implications when you infringe someone else’s work of art. Luckily, the Creative Commons License is here to save the day. Thanks to the people behind the Creative Commons team; we are able to use and share other people’s work without having to pay fees.

What is a Creative Commons license?

Creative Commons licenses are present to ensure that web content such as pictures, videos, songs, and other creative works, are free to use, easy to search, and easy to discover.

What makes CC different?

  • The CC team has many affiliates all over the globe, and they ensure that all the CC licenses work internationally. Through the Creative Common’s legal tools, it can provide flexibility to the users. he author has the liberty to grant the public rights to download, edit, and modify his /her work. Moreover, he or she can choose a CC license that best applies to his/her current situation.
  • For example, the author can grant personal use of his work. However, commercial use is prohibited. This strengthen the CC’s vision to help people see the kind and giving side of the internet.

The Licenses

As I stated earlier, the Creative Commons are flexible. All six copyright licenses could fit your original piece. These are the 6 types CC licenses:

  • The Attribution (CC BY)
    • This is the most easygoing and permissive of all 6 six licenses. The public can pretty much do anything lets others. People can download, share, edit, and modify works of art both for commercial and non-commercial use. Just don’t forget to give a shout-out to the owner!
  • Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
    • Ever wonder what license Wikipedia uses? This is it, folks! So, if you would incorporate various materials, you may use this license. The CC BY-SA allows users to tweak, edit, and modify creative works for both personal and commercial use. The owner must be credited and all new creations will be under the identical terms.
  • Attribution-NoDerivs (CC BY-ND)
    • The CC BY-ND allows commercial use, but the people cannot share their own interpretation. Thus, no tweaks or modification is allowed. Of course, you should be credited as the owner.
  • Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)
    • The CC BY-NC can let other people edit or modify artworks, but it has to be for personal use ONLY. The modified works should also be for non-commercial purposes, but they don’t have to register their work under similar terms.
  • Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)
    • The CC BY-NC-SA allows people to edit or modify your work to their own accord just as long as the piece is going to be for personal use ONLY. The newer edits share the same terms so they will only be available only for personal, too! Furthermore, people need to mention you as the original owner.

  • Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)

    • Out of all the 6 licenses, this has to be the severely limiting option. The CC BY-NC-ND only allows people to download and share just as long as you are cited as the owner. No one is allowed to make changes or modify the works. Commercial use is also prohibited.

What Could Cause the Decrease in Web Traffic?

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Your website is one of the first to appear on the search results. How come now it’s not? Why did the website traffic dropped too? The changes in web traffic are not surprising. It’s also not complicated to know why web traffic fluctuates from time to time.

three person pointing the silver laptop computer

Here’s a list of factors to observe:

  1. Google made changes to its algorithm.

  • Google is constantly updating their products and services. Ranking factors could vary from time to time. This is not new because SEO is always evolving. That’s why SEO professionals always look for new updates.
  • Each day, Google is trying its best to detect spam and learn more about its users’ real intent upon search. So, make sure your web pages abide with the latest Google regulations and it matches with the users’ search query.
  • If your website is not getting much attention, try to research on the changes. Compare your website with the top websites on the SERP. There might be alterations on the traffic patterns. You are most likely to find the answers why traffic went down.

Related: Take Your Website to the Next Level Using These Tips

  1. The web browsers are discouraging its users.

  • Speaking of changes, Chrome, Google’s web browser, could made changes too. The newer and more advanced web browsers could have the features that combat spammy and suspicious sites.
  • Today, web browsers, not just Google Chrome, can already warn the users before entering a potentially harmful site. It could be that your web visitors are being warned by their browsers not to proceed.

Related: 9 Bad Links Habits That Can Get You in Trouble

  1. Hacking could also be one of the causes.

  • When a website is compromised, it could have unauthorized pages and links, which have a negative impact on your site’s current ranking. Using an FTP client software could offer a quick fix. I will discuss the different free and open source FTP programs on another blog post.
  • Basically, you use this FTP program to thoroughly review your website files. Check every web page and file folder for anything suspicious. You could notice some files are not made or modified by your team. Be on the lookout for files that’s been recently been changed.
  • You could also go to the Google Search Console and check if there are indexed pages that seem foreign.

  1. There’s a shift to mobile devices.

  • The rise of mobile devices are definitely changing playing field. Changes on how people search for products and services could disrupt the current flow of web traffic.
  • There are obvious changes on the shift from desktop to mobile. People now prefer to search using their mobile devices. It could also alter the preferred time and date for people to search. Another factor could be the keywords people are using.
  • So, you need to understand these factors brought about by the millions of mobile users. There are changes in the search patterns, and grasping this could help you bring back the misplaced web traffic.

Related: Mobile Design Elements to Ditch this 2019

How to Choose Catchy Images for Your Blog (Part 2)

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Adding images greatly enhances your content. It plays an important role in convincing people to read what you offer. Previously, I discussed that stock photos could have some disadvantages. So, I thought of formulating more useful tips for you in acquiring the best photo for your blog post. Below are the second batch of tips and tricks:

  1. Use GIFs!
  • To start off, a GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. It has gained popularity because it supports animations. Yes, the pictures move. Thus, it can provide humor and entertainment to bored readers.
  • However, you have to remember that GIFs are suitable for all content types. For the serious types, of course, you need helpful guides to aid your readers. For lighter topics, this is where you will find GIFs applicable.
  • When you have a funny and comical articles, GIFs can be a great addition. Your readers would appreciate the laugh. It would be a break from the usual blog posts they read all over the internet.
  • So, where can you get amusing GIFs for your commentary? There are 5 famous GIF websites namely: Gfycat, AwesomeGIFs, Tenor, ReactionGIFS, and GIPHY. All these sites can give you the fun and humor when you need it the most.

spongebob squarepants internet GIF

 

  1. Make Custom Images.
  • When you are still struggling to find the right photo, you can always make your own. Luckily, today, there are a lot of tools available online. You don’t need to master Photoshop because ready-made templates are there to help you.
  • Online websites, like Design Bold and Canva, provide you with luxury of creating something you actually like, and convenience to be able design with just a few clicks.
  • Personally, I use Canva. Though both websites provide free accounts, I still prefer Canva because of the wide variety of available templates that are useful in my line of work.
  • If you wish to have a program that you can install in your computer, well, there’s GIMP and GetPaint. Both of them are available for Windows while GIMP has additional support for OS X and Linux users.
  • They are free to use; just click on the links I provided to redirect to their respective download pages. With GIMP and GetPaint, you won’t worry about not being able to edit when there’s no stable internet connection. Online or offline, these programs will surely help you create the custom-made images for your blog post.

Making your own photos help in boosting your website credibility. It also proves that you are able to transform complex data into simple and understandable graphs. More people would appreciate how you made their lives easier with your stunning visuals.

This would guarantee reliable backlinks for website because people love it when you help them digest a lengthy article. They go to the internet and search for a simpler explanation on things. It would be also easy to market your original pieces because cite your website.

Wrapping Up

Blog posts with just words are not exactly bad. However, people would not enjoy reading it. Thus, they would click away. That would mean no views and no social share for your written articles. So, spice things up by applying the tips in part 1 and part 2.

How to Choose Catchy Images for Your Blog (Part 1)

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Adding images greatly enhances your content. Finding catchy images for your blog aids in enticing people to click and read your posts. However, you should remember that adding more pictures do not equate to having a more clickable blog post.

black Minolta DSLR cameras

For one, these images serve as a divider in segregating lengthy articles. Thus, readers will have a better understanding of what you wrote. So, how to choose the right one?

The magic number.

Before we go the tips, let’s discuss first the number of images you should add. There is NO definite number of images that can guarantee page views and successful customer conversions. Adding 20 images will not make a huge difference. To be honest, adding too much can be distracting. So, you really need to find the right balance and gauge each post carefully.

The number of images is dependent on:

  • Your blog readers.
  • Your chosen topic.
  • The type of content you are writing.

The number 1 factor is your readers because you are writing to cater to their needs. If they need help in how things work, you need to be able to explain in detail how to use a specific app or program.  Screenshots will be the best accompanying image for this type of post.

Same is true with beginners; they need a step-by-step tutorial to help them grasp the essence of what they are reading. You need to be there to provide clarity, and you can only achieve this by adding visual guides and screenshots.

Now, that’s done. It’s time to move forward, and discuss the tips in choosing the correct image.

  1. Lessen the number of stock photos.

  • Stock photos can get too dull and repetitive if used constantly. Customized images work better because ready-made stock photos won’t be able to explain what you are trying to point out.
  • When you are looking for the best featured images, then, go for stock photos, but they are worthless when casually added to your blog post.
  • Moreover, there is no proof that it adds value. There are even studies that indicate that it could generate unfavorable effects to your web page. So, stay away from stock photos whenever possible.

Related: Where to Find FREE Stock Photos?

  1. Add more screenshots instead.

  • If I previously mentioned to skip the stock photos, what I’m trying to promote are screenshot photos. When you are more screenshots and tutorials, there’s more motivation to stay and read on the article.
  • Besides that, some articles are better explained if you show your readers. NOT TELL THEM. It’s more captivating for them to interact and follow your instructions if screenshots and guide are added.
  • You can avoid the frustration and confusion if you guide the readers what to look for and where to look. Screenshots are the perfect visual guide to save both your time and the reader’s time.
  • If you use helpful apps like, Skitch by Evernote, you can easily make visual cues and add the necessary annotations. There are free alternatives available online such Greenshot, PicPick, LightShot, and many others.

How to Measure Link Quality

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It is important for you to know what makes a link pertinent and useful when it comes to web rankings. I will present notes on determining the link quality.

Analytics, Charts, Business, Woman, Laptop, Computer

HOW MANY CONVERSIONS WILL YOUR SITE HAVE?

There is one way to know if a link campaign recommended by a friend is good. Just ask yourself, will the visitors from other websites where they get links from will actually convert? This is not about having the right numbers. It’s about roughly estimating if something can be useful or not.

QUALITY SHOULD ALWAYS BE CHECKED.

You need to check from time to time. You should know the types of links other sites have. It is good if there is a good number of inbound links. But if a lot of their links comes from conspicuous link building strategy, you have to move away. If the outbound links are too doubtful or impertinent sites, then, be safe and back away.

WOULD YOU ADVERTISE ON A CERTAIN SITE?

This does not mean that you should pay for a link. This is just to make you think if you would care to put money to advertise on a certain site.  If you think you would want to, then, have a figure in your mind and ask yourself the reason for paying that amount. On the other hand, if your answer is because of a third party metric, then, don’t!

THE FINAL METRIC IS NOT THE TRAFFIC.

Not all sites have traffic. Not all of the excellent web pages receive a high PageRank as few of the pages have little outward metrics when it comes to quality.

KNOWING VISITOR INTENT RELEVANCE.

What is the probability that a site visitor looking for Japanese recipe will convert and book a flight to Japan? What is the probability that a site visitor for vintage car site will actually buy a vintage car? This shows the pertinence of visitor intent.

KNOWING TRAFFIC INTENT.

While it is true that a link that has traffic means it is a great link. But, traffic is not always good. It could also be worthless. And this is because of the visitor’s intent. So why do they hang around the site? Read on to know the reason.

THE FAILED FRANTICALLY VICTORIOUS VIRAL LINK CAMPAIGN.

There was this campaign that got such an overwhelming result. The web page became viral. All those social media post cause a heavy traffic! The problem was, although the site had so much links and traffics, the sales remained the same. This only meant the brand awareness was poor.

How can this terrible thing happen? Well, the people had the wrong reasons. This tells us that the true measure of success is not just having a great traffic quality, but most of all, it is the sales that matters the most. Besides, we do all those tedious work just for it, right?

THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO EXAMINE THE QUALITY OF THE LINK.

The first way, ask yourself, will that link able to successfully convert visitors to customers?

Second way, analyze both the inbound and outbound links.

The third way is to know whether the link is useful or not. Thoroughly discuss the connection of links, and if such actually relevancy exists.

Why Building a Loyalty Program Boost Your SEO Strategy

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There is an innate connection in brand loyalty and search that contribute to your business. It is an awesome marketing duo. The thing is, creating a loyalty program helps in mapping out and basically grasping the perfect customer experience.

Smiling Customer

One happy customer.

Brand Loyalty & SEO Joint Fortification for Life

  • Yes, you have gained customers through your schemes, and the sale you got from it is not the end of the job. It is actually a good start for a shopping pattern and possibly a beginning of a relationship between your brand and the customer that could last a lifetime.
  • Linking brand loyalty & SEO will allow the marketers and their team undoubtedly draw the line among detection and customer recall which will achieve bigger lifetime worth.
  • Spending a lot of money monthly on SEO services is futile. Everything will just go to waste because the important thing is for people to visit your website on a regular basis.

Related: The Importance of Product Advocates

Gathering Latest Calculations

  • Take a look at Amazon to clearly see the connection among SEO and loyalty. They can always entice and keep their customers. When people look for something they like, Amazon is able to serve them with the many choices they offer.

Related: 3 Amazon Strategies You Can Apply on Your Website

  • Amazon does not stop from there. After the sale and the delivery are completed, they ask their customers about their journey with Amazon using a product review. They also make endorsement telling the customer what the other people bought the same item are currently purchasing.
  • Knowing the customer is the beginning of building loyalty, and that is something that other companies should do as well.

Related: Psychological Tricks You Can Add to Your Website

Study: From Intention to Motivation

  • At the center of it all, loyalty marketing is actually encouraging customers’ actions that initiate engagement that can affect the business. The sale is not the end of it.
  • What will make a business feel good is when a faithful customer shares a picture on social media and makes the effort of tagging a distinct brand, promotion or service. They should be inspired to make a nice review by you giving them various motivations. Reviews are a great content scheme and this supports SEO.

Related: Passive and Active Product Reviews

Detection will never happen in being alone.

  • Without a doubt, objectives and KPE (key performance indicator) connected with SEO effort and loyalty marketing program are different. But guaranteeing the ROI of the two types of programs converge with each other is simple and easy.
  • When the brands and companies do their marketing plans projection, you should think of the method of how realization and customer relationships progress. There is a good 70% chance that customers will say that it takes three purchases to consider themselves loyal to the brand.
  • This is achieved when you inspire and lead your customers to go back again and again. This will form a good attitude to facilitate loyalty to develop.
  • Finally, brands and companies can make it simpler for customers to find what they need again, and this is by looking for it in places where search query and brand loyalty collide.

How to Achieve Success in Guest Blogging? (Part 2)

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Did you ever try guest blogging for other website? What if someone asked you to do a blog post on their website? Do you know what to do? How should you prepare for it?

person writing on brown wooden table near white ceramic mug

I already talked about a few tips on this post. Here’s another batch of useful tips in attaining guest blogging perfection:

  • Aim for the best pitch.
  • Your idea must be different from the usual blog post. An outstanding pitch is imperative. Without an exceptional concept, your guest blog post will be meaningless.

  • With this being said, try not to make these mistakes:

    • You did NOT acknowledge the host. It’s common courtesy to acknowledge and thank the host when you get invited into their home. However, for some blog posts, the host was not even mentioned. Many people fail to provide relevant information about the host. What worse than that? Out of all the things you can misspell, please don’t misspell the name of your host. It’s embarrassing that the website team welcomed you with open arms and yet you butchered their names.
    • You did NOT add links to your online portfolio. Within your guest blog post, include links of your blog posts. It’s a way to promote your other works and enhance brand awareness. Not adding links to your website portfolio and blog just invalidates the goal of guest blogging. So, don’t forget to insert at least 3 links so the host site can verify and evaluate if your content fits their terms and conditions.
    • You are insisting an unrelated topic. Know the host website and propose a topic related to their field. Please do not talk about pop music when you are about to blog for makeup brand. Perhaps, makeup products and fashion trends will be a better pair than insisting your favorite song.
    • You did NOT abide with the rules. If a website permits guest bloggers in their site, they probably have a set of rules and regulations before you start writing. It’s not always handed to you so be responsible enough to search for these guidelines. It could be on their sidebar or footer. Look for phrases like “blogger guidelines,” “blog for us,” or “contribute.”
  • Add your own personal touch.
    • Your readers will appreciate it if you write about a particular topic that interests them. Know what they want and listen to their suggestions. Find out what they want to know from you.

    • To do this, as a writer, you need remember the following:

    • Use a keyword tool. By using a keyword tool, you will know what’s trending and what’s popular among users worldwide. There are lots of tools you can use; there’s a list of free keyword tools here.
    • Fill the gaps. Another way to read the previous blogs and see if readers have other questions. If they do, simply fulfill a request posted by reader. That should give you an idea on what to write for your guest post.
    • Add links. You can also do a follow-up post on an existing post, and link them together to enhance link building efforts. The web admins would be happy to know that you have interconnected 2 related topics together. This helps in boosting popular post; it amplifies and increases its reach.