Keyword ranking stuck in neutral... Suggestions needed

[trumpfinc]

Hi everyone. I wanted to make a post in hopes of getting some opinions on my next course of action when it comes to SEO.

I have worked for my current company for 3 years and raised their keyword ranking from 39% to 55% (according to MOZ's keyword tracker). I did this mostly through improving on-page SEO for each keyword.  I think the on-page SEO is as good as it can get?

Just so you guys know there are 101 keywords they want to rank for nationally. We currently rank for 56.

My current company has really starting to ask me more about the percentage we are at and they of course want it to grow (or show consistent growth) as time passes. Since May 2014 it seems to have fluctuated each week from 50% to 58%.

Some other info:

• We are well known in our industry
• We post on social media almost every day
• We are at event trade shows
• We are a global company
• We have tons of ads in industry magazines etc.
• We have industry news sites write about us and link to us
• We are consistent with press releases (a few a month)

With that being said, where should I go from here to get those number to grow? As I mentioned, my company is starting to look at these numbers more.

[trumpfinc]

Hi guys,

Thanks so much for your input. The strange thing is that we are doing so many of those things you have already mentioned.

I guess I am just confused as to where to go next to show increases for words that we aren't ranking for but want to rank for AND to raise words that we currently rank for. (To my company it is more important to rank for the other keywords at this point)

• We use social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, YouTube) - we make one post a day so we aren't spamming it.
• The keywords are within the recommendation standards on the website.
• We have a huge presence in our industry.

I guess I am just looking for other suggestions on how to get those other keywords up.

[Fuel]

Have you explored different types of content? Videos, customer resources, blogs, etc?

For example, you said power tools is a business section. Are there videos on how to use different power tools? Are there blogs on DIY projects that one could do with the power tools? Do you have any resources for people to use - guides, best practices, etc. that have to do with power tools? Becoming an expert and a "knowledge hub" in that given area through different mediums might be something to explore. Product reviews might also be helpful if you do not currently utilize those (assuming that is an option that would make sense for your site).

[MonicaOConnor]

NAP is your name, address and phone number. Making sure that is consistent throughout the web is very important.

I would recommend getting some really good links with anchor text that includes your key terms. I think that is right next to great content on the list of most important things. Anchor text linking to the pages with the relevant key terms is a must.

If my key word were power tools in Michigan, I would find a related article and have the text on top of my link power tools in Michigan, and make sure the link goes to the page where I am targeting that key term.

[trumpfinc]

Hi everyone, thanks for some quick answers.  (Two follow up questions below)

Ryan - Thanks for the suggestions on how to present the data in a better way!

Monica - Basically for off page SEO, it just consists of press releases and articles on industry news sites. We haven't really targetted specific keywords for off page SEO. What I mean by that is if an article appears on another website for power tools we dont have them linked to the power tools section of our website, just our index page.

We do consistently have new links to our site but not to sections about those keywords.

I am not sure what you mean by our NAP being up to date... Can you explain a bit further?

Fuel Interactive - Yes, I have done research and the keywords do pertain to the company. Our company has various different business sections, power tools, machine tools, electronics, so there is a LOT to come up for. Each section has a few different managers and they provide me with a list of important words.

-- I have two follow up questions:

1. In your opinion, what would be the best way to go about moving the keywords that are unranked (past page 5) up - if the on-page SEO looks good?

2. For those keywords ranked in the top 5 pages, would using social media to point to specific pages and articles on other sites pointing to the pages be the best way?

[Fuel]

Hi there,

Have you done any analysis as to whether or not the keywords the company wants to rank for actually make sense for the company? Just because they want to rank for something doesn't mean it is necessarily a feasible goal. Google's job is to provide the most relevant content to a search query.

Also, you mentioned 101 keywords that the company wants to rank for. Have you done any research for the search volume for these keywords? Ranking for a term is great but if that term only has a tiny amount of search volume then it might not be worth your time.

Finally, while ranking for a keyword is a step in the right direction, ranking on page 7 doesn't do much good. Do you monitor / report specifically on page one keywords? Those are, in theory, the most valuable keywords that you have. It might be more valuable to try and focus on the "low hanging fruit" - say, keywords ranking on page two - and how you can improve those.

You might also want to set up a content / keyword map to see what pages on your site are ranking for what terms to see if you are lacking content in any area that could help boost rank for those terms.

The others have covered some great topics as well.

Hope that helps!

[MonicaOConnor]

What kind of off page SEO are you doing? Is your NAP up to date? Do you have new links consistently? How about web mentions and social media? If your on page is 100% (assuming you are adding fresh content as well) then I would focus on the off page SEO. I know some SEOs would argue that back linking is on the way out, but it isn't out yet and it is still very much an important ranking factor.

Without seeing anything specifically I can't elaborate further, but Ryan has some great ideas listed here. I just wouldn't forget about the 360 degree view of SEO.

[RyanPurkey]

That's always a tough spot when the numbers people care about the most are the ones that you're having the most trouble moving. From my hunch perspective, it sounds like you're targeting some pretty competitive keywords for the remaining 40 or so.  Perhaps you can show them progress on the company presence in a few different ways...

1. Report on the first page of the rankings as a whole and highlight results that mention your company in some way. This is always a nice strategy for indicating you might not have the domain at X numbered ranking but you're 57% (random example number) present on the first page in a different way.  This can also include universal search, images showing up, that sort of thing.  A highlighted screen cap is a nice visual.
2. Report on referral traffic, especially to landing pages that focus on your target keywords. This shows that you're getting the links in some way and people are getting exposed to the brand in the same way as they would (via that landing page) as they would had they come from the search engine to that page.
3. Quantify the competition. Report on numbers that should be helping you move the needle in comparison to the competition that's ranking ahead of you.  How are yours improving?  Where do you need additional lift?
4. Compare market penetration by city / metro. Are you X amount of search from New York, but significantly less from London as a percentage of population?  Report on initiatives to increase that number.
5. Report on Organic Search Value. Detail the associated value of traffic from the current rankings and the amount of expected lift from gaining the other rankings. Bonus points if you can tie it in to conversions / assisted conversions.
6. Create a new executive summary. The C Suite is looking at rankings because they're a quick and easy method of measuring success, but they might be way off in how they're evaluating your work, i.e. thinking that ranking #1 for, 'really in-depth and detailed long-tailed keyword' is the same weighting as ranking for 'tough keyword'. If that's the case, having 56% of 101 rankings that are all--in their minds--the same equals a D grade.  Create a summary that shows you're on top of the situation with A+ analysis.

Hope these points help. Cheers!

"We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems." ~ Lee Iacocca