Best of Austin

Since the early days of search, Google has used links as a means of judging the reputation and relevance of webpages. The more links pointing to a particular page, particularly from other reputable pages, the more importance Google would award it in search. And so link-building developed as an SEO strategy, with SEOs doing everything they could to win, buy or otherwise gain links pointing to their website in order to boost it up the rankings. Over the years, Google has made a lot of adjustments to the way it treats links, cracking down on paid-for or freebie links and implementing algorithm updates like Penguin or Fred which penalize sites with a lot of spammy links. This has made link-building a lot trickier for SEOs than it once was. At the same time, the web has evolved , and search engines have evolved along with it. With the rise of social media, digital assistants and voice interfaces, and the increasing merging of the online and offline worlds, the number of links pointing to...

Your ad campaigns should bring you closer to new prospects and clients. But how well are you able to judge their success? Your  conversion rate in AdWords is your success rate at persuading consumers to click on your ads and carry out a particular action, such as a product purchase. It is estimated that the average conversion rate for an Adwords account is just 2.35%. According to analysis carried out by WordStream on more than 2,000 client accounts, the top 25% of accounts had conversion rates of 5.31% or higher, while the bottom 25% of accounts had a conversion rate of 0-1%. Where on the performance scale do your ads sit? An alarmingly high proportion of PPC campaign managers and marketers don’t know how well their ads are performing. Or maybe you do know, but aren’t sure what to do to improve your conversion rate. In this article, we’ll outline three areas where you should focus your efforts to improve your AdWords conversion, and give practical tips on...

Writer-focused fest plans to amplify more unheard voices from The Austin Chronicle – Daily http://ift.tt/2oMzG2b via Austin Statesman from WordPress http://ift.tt/2oOlC83

The complexity of an organic search campaign necessitates some technological assistance. There are plenty of tools on the market, but they vary in price, functionality, and effectiveness. Once you have all the basics in place, which SEO tools should you invest in to take your strategy to the next level? The SEO landscape is highly competitive, with every company battling for precious real estate at the top of page one . The points of differentiation between competitors fall into the following, intertwined categories: people and technology. Assuming you already have your SEO team  or agency partner  in place, you will need to enable them with the best technology on the market. The Google-owned products (Keyword Planner, Search Console , Google Analytics ) are essential to cover the basics, but an advanced SEO strategy usually requires some investment in third-party technology. That need has created a crowded market – one that can be difficult to navigate without guidanc...

You don’t need us to tell you about the importance of mobile. You already know about the mobile-first index and that mobile constitutes more than 50% of all website traffic . So instead, we’re going to tell you what to do about it. Mobile optimization should be an integral part of your SEO strategy , and it goes beyond just checking whether your site passes Google’s Mobile Friendly test . In order to cover off all the factors involved in achieving the ultimate mobile-optimized website, it is necessary to carry out a mobile SEO audit on your site. In this post, we explain the key components of a comprehensive mobile SEO audit. From keywords and UX through to handy tools and content, you’ll be dominating the mobile SERPs in no time at all. Mobile keyword strategy Due to the nature of mobile searches, users typically use different search queries on mobile than on desktop. When typing in a query, search terms tend to be shorter and less wordy, as speed and accessibility are key on...

Austin Jukebox group takes over Red River punk cavity from The Austin Chronicle – Daily http://ift.tt/2kbTnvu via Austin Statesman from WordPress http://ift.tt/2BC9Oes

Judith Sims retires, Deming sculpture Mystic Raven returns from The Austin Chronicle – Daily http://ift.tt/2j5KS48 via Austin Statesman from WordPress http://ift.tt/2ADrMtu