Welcome to the Q&A Forum

It will do zilch. For one, you should never buy followers/likes - what is the point other than to inflate your following count?

Social media is all about engagement. It's better to have a small number of followers who like, comment and share rather than thousands. Social media's part of SEO is to help encourage your community to like, comment and share your blog articles and web pages. It's an amplification tool to get your content in front of more eyes online and to hopefully encourage natural link building.

I'd suggest having a read of this: https://moz.com/blog/battle-for-traffic-organic-vs-social-media

Good luck!

Hi Emma,

I'd highly recommend you do the new free SEO course that the team at Yoast has just released: https://yoast.com/academy/course/free-seo-course-seo-for-beginners/

It'll help you understand both SEO and the plugin a lot better.

In my opinion, the premium plugin is worth getting. Yoast typically has a number of sales on it throughout the year, so you can pick it up a bit cheaper.

Good luck!

I'd recommend trying to remove the links manually first by contacting the webmasters.

You should only disavow links if you are sure they are impacting your website, make sure to read Google's guidelines on the subject very carefully first: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2648487?hl=en

Good luck!

I am very dubious of those figures too! Since actively doing Google Posts and adding campaign URLs the clicks through to the website as calculated by Google My Business vs Google Analytics is substantially different.

I also put tracking URLs on my website, appointment links, etc on GMB listings as I trust GA data more so than GMB.

Yep exactly! Every page should be targeted to a specific keyword theme, therefore it makes sense the keyword is in the h1 so the user (and Google is one of those users) knows exactly what the page is about from the get-go Good luck!

You’re welcome Luke. Good luck

Exactly what Logopedia y Más said!

I've just made some sitewide changes to a client site today (3-4 hours ago) and done a fetch straight after, some are already reflected in the SERPs while some aren't. So it really just depends, however, I find it typically doesn't take too long with the sites I have dealt with

No worries. Likewise, I mostly work with WordPress, so Blogger is definitely not my forte.

It hasn't been updated for some time, but something like this plugin may help:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/blogger-301-redirect/

Or otherwise, some further digging may be needed

Sorry, I can't be of more help.

Good luck Ed!

Hey Ed,

Firstly, my apologies for any typos, I’m writing this on my mobile!

Is the content going to be essentially the same? If so, 301 redirecting would be a smart move. Plus, even if there’s a small chance of the old blog having some SEO value, I would believe the safest option is to redirect on a page to page basis.

If you’re going to completely change the content and don’t want to have to worry about redirects then ensure you send the proper HTTP header: a 410 content deleted header. Once in place, I’d then do a fetch and grab on the old blog so Google drops those pages from its index asap.

I hope that helps somewhat

Good luck!

Congrats on the little one Lauren! Time is always a factor!

To be honest with you, I’m regularly updating and tweaking old content to get better results. Whether it’s a simple title tag change or adding more content to the page as I‘ve realised website visitors will benefit from the extra info.

Is your traffic also dropping? If so it might be worth investigating the following:

• New competitors in the SERPs

• Are featured snippets now showing for your key terms? If so you may need to review your structured data (Moz recenrly did a great 3 part Whiteboard Friday series on these)

I‘d also highly recommend watching/reading the below resources:

- https://neilpatel.com/blog/#p-59557

- https://moz.com/blog/seo-rankings-drop-guide

I hope this somewhat helps. Goodluck Lauren

Unless you are targeting outside of the UK, it's not applicable to use the hreflang tag.

If you were also targeting Australia for example or the US alongside the UK, then it would be applicable.

Therefore hreflang is for:

• Websites with the same content in multiple languages
• Websites with content aimed at different regions, but in the same language e.g. AU, UK, US etc

Hope this helps

Thanks for the response Lisa. Fingers crossed the site moves this way

Yep same here Ed!

Hi team!

I was just wondering if there’s any plans for the forums to move to a more mobile friendly format? I love reading the latest questions and advice however I’m typically on the go.

Cheers,

Casey

In my opinion you shouldn‘t ’chase’ a backlink with the only aim to improve your DA. Which after all is an estimation and always needs to be taken into context with other metrics.

You should go after backlinks that are on relevant websites that will also bring your site:

• Potential referral traffic

• Potential brand awareness

I hope that helps!

Agree with thr above. Don’t buy links. Spend those resources on doing your own link acquisition strategies such as creating high quality content onsite and amplifying this to attract natural backlinks. I know it’s not easy, but you’ve got to work hard to reap rewards that will benefit you for the longterm.

Goodluck!

And Google also encourages you to respond to all good and bad reviews too

https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474050?hl=en

I wouldn't see it as a problem either, however, I'd look into whether moving away from microformats and moving to schema might be better and cleaner for the code.

Google recommends JSON-LD: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/guides/intro-structured-data?visit_id=1-636614196659196059-2807489360&hl=en&rd=1

And you can also add it through GTM, which I find really handy

Here’s my suggestions:

1. Utilise Keyword Explorer to show them that there’s search volume for their products and services. This will show clients that it’s worthwhile investing in SEO.

2. Utilise the new Link Explorer to show that they need to continually build up high quality, relevant backlinks.

3. The on-page grader to show target pages aren’t up to scratch

4. You could even do a quick crawl and run the audit tool however you need to take each issue into context before mentioning anything to a client. This tool will help you convey their technical SEO health.

Personally for me, it’s that keyword report which is the most valuable to start with in the pitching stage as it really shows if an investment is feasible on their part.

When possible I also try and show where they are compared to competitors too.

Thats my two cents, hope it helps!

Cheers,

Casey

I feel your pain! It's highly frustrating when you spend time crafting a great meta description and then Google decides to use its own! Especially now that you can play around with up to 320 characters in that space!

From my knowledge, there is very little you can do. As Ed pointed out, you may want to review those lines of content from the block of text Google is currently pulling.

Other than that the best advice I can give you is to try different descriptions.

Goodluck!

It sounds like you're on the right track to me.

With regards to business listings, I have found regularly adding posts to GMB listings quite helpful. While it's not a 'ranking factor', there have been a few case studies done which suggest they can be helpful. E.g. https://searchengineland.com/google-posts-impact-ranking-case-study-285668

Since they take about 5-10 minutes to do, it definitely doesn't hurt!

And then yes if you can create more localised blog content that could help too

Thanks for your response Nigel. I guess at the end of the day we all need to do what's best for our clients. I don't agree there is 1 right way for SEO, you need to experiment and be open to trying different things. Obviously, things which stick to Google guidelines.

What may work for one client, won't necessarily work for another. Which is completely fine with me, if this works for me and not you - well so be it.

For the example above, the search intent for 'buy wine online' is what we want to target rather than a generic, term like 'white wine'. While optimising for this may bring more traffic, it probably won't bring the targeted traffic we seek. I'd prefer 10 hits a day with a 50% conversion rate than 100 hits a day with a 1% conversion rate.

Your points are very valid and I appreciate the challenging discussion.

Also in your list of optimisation techniques, don't forget image alt text either While only a small ranking factor, it still counts and can be very helpful for showing up in image searches.

Hi Nigel,

I don't think a private message or deleting any of my responses is needed.

As my first statement said, keyword research is a must before any further action is taken by Onlineorders.

The Moz community is about sharing ideas and knowledge. I am simply sharing my experiences. Yes it's a different industry and a different country, which is why keyword research must be done by Onlineorders first.

With regards to my experiences, I am actually tracking a website which has 'buy wine online' in the title tag. See the search analytics from Google Search Console attached and the Google Analytics stats backs this up (just imagine if I can get higher rankings for this term!). It works for me, for this website and this particular industry. So it may work for others too.

I am not sure where Onlineorders is based, but looking in my market and going off the Moz keyword tool, there's decent search volume around 'buy flowers online' too. SEMrush reports 320 average searches a month in Australia. However when looking at Google autocomplete/suggested searches it more leans towards using 'online' moreso than 'buy online'. So it's definitely worth investigating whether it may be a feasible course of action.

I am not trying to ruffle any feathers, just sharing ideas. Anyone in this industry should know that you've got to experiment and read a lot of differing opinions to then work out what's the right course of action to take.

All the best,
Casey

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Hi Nigel,

I am not trying to drag this on, however, my points are coming from personal experience.

I agree, that everything needs to start with keyword research for this - it's undeniable.

However, perhaps the market here in Australia is quite different as I know for the wine industry here in Aussie there are a lot of searches around 'buy wine online' - see screenshot.

I have optimised a site for such keywords and are getting great results.

Every case is different, so perhaps we can agree to disagree

Moral of the story: keyword research is a must.

Cheers,
Casey

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Completely agree with the above two answers. I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole if I was you!

Hey Luke,

You can also use the Moz Keyword Explorer tool. Simply go into Keyword Suggestions and then filter by questions (see screen grab).

I also use Google's autocompleted and suggested related searches quite a lot for this type of research.

Hopefully, someday we may see some of the data voice assistants gather to help us further!

Cheers,
Casey

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Hi there!

I remember seeing this Whiteboard Friday by Rand which may provide some food for thought: https://moz.com/blog/why-pages-rank-poorly

While your pages aren't ranking overly 'poorly' it may spark some ideas.

As you mentioned looking into building up the backlinks to these pages both internally and externally is a good strategy. Hopefully the above may give you some new avenues to look at.

Cheers,
Casey

I see your point Nigel. In regards to what I meant, I would see a good title tag (depending on keyword research of course) as something like:

Buy Blue Flowers Online - Bespoke Bouquets | Flower Palace

Or like you mentioned Nigel, adding in a price/USP would be ideal.

But split testing is key. When I am changing title tags on key landing pages, I will add an annotation in Google Analytics so I can review the impact.

Goodluck!

Is it possible to move the GTM code higher up in your tag so it's right after it?

I'd suggest doing some keyword research to see.

I know a few industries where there is quite a lot of search volume around the 'buy online' keywords and we have optimised accordingly to try and get those transactional intent searches.

Therefore for the title tag I'd try and put that 'buy online' keyword at the front and brand name at the back of the tag. Hopefully, by that stage, there's still some room in the middle to add a unique point of difference or highlight to make the tag stand out more.

Either way, if you're a florist selling blue flowers then the second title tag you mentioned explains that very clearly, which Google likes to see. The first title tag could very well be for an educational piece on different blue flowers or something of the like.

I hope this helps

Have you tried consolidating the tags as much as possible?

Custom variables may help to do this: https://support.google.com/tagmanager/topic/7683268?visit_id=0-636607210631473682-3757403381&rd=1

From what I know, if you can avoid multiple containers it’s better. However I’d recommend checking out this for more info: https://developers.google.com/tag-manager/devguide?hl=en#multiple-containers

I hope that helps

No problem, happy to help

If you are on WordPress, then I'd highly recommend Yoast's premium plugin as you can set up 410s via the plugin (see screen shot attached) - it's super handy! If you're not using Yoast premium, then it is probably best to chat to your web developer.

I hope that helps!

Cheers,
Casey

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Hi there!

If the pictures aren't going to be reloaded (so you can 301 redirect the old URL to the new URL) then in my opinion it would be best to make sure you set a 410 HTTP header (aka a content deleted header) for all those URLs.

The 410 header would be better suited (from what you have said above) as it's more specific. When it comes to Google and 410s, Google will understand you have removed the URL on purpose and if the URLs are indexed, then it should removed them.

I hope that helps!

Cheers,
Casey

Hi there!

I would recommend contacting the GMB support team via Twitter - they are highly responsive and fix things very quickly

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Casey

Hi James,

I always prefer shorter over longer URLs. They look a lot cleaner which I believe Google likes. However saying that, I don't think there is a preference over one or the other as long as your website structure is SEO friendly.

What are the pros to the longer URL for you?

Cheers,
Casey

Hey Michael,

If you have no luck getting it manually removed and you think it's harming your website, you may need to consider using Google's disavow tool.

However saying that, Google has said fairly recently that you should really only use the tool if you get a manual action.

Google is pretty good at knowing what are spammy links and it's probably already disregarded them. As for your Moz spam score, I think Meghan has that covered for you

I hope that helps somewhat.

Cheers,
Casey

I just did the same thing Daniel. I contacted the Moz team straight away and they actioned the refunded. It was over the weekend too!

Great service by the Moz team - once I can afford the pro subscription I'll definitely be signing up

Hi

I’d recommend trying to manually remove them first by going directly to the webmaster. Failing that you may need to look at using Google’s disavow tool however lately I heard you shouldn’t really use it unless you have a manual action.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Casey

I would firstly review whether the content can be touched up to make better use of it.

Failing that, I’d 301 redirect all to the homepage/most relevant page on the site. doing this many redirects will not hurt your site from my experience.

Best of luck!

Cheers,

Casey

I would keep the same property and create new views.

Also it’s always recommended to create one view which is completely untouched so that you have access to raw data at any time

I hope this helps!

Cheers,

Casey

Very thorough answers already provided however I wanted to make a couple of suggestions on how to build up internal links further:

• Adding an htm sitemap if you don’t already have one

• Adding breadcrumbs if you don’t already have them

I hope this helps somewhat

Cheers,

Casey

Is the GA code in the recommended section of the page?

The Tag Assistant extension for chrome can sometimes help pick up on issues (though it can also be a bit buggy at times).

Fingers crossed you find a solution soon!

Cheers,

Casey

Hi there,

I do a back link audit for my clients annually, just to ensure I have a good idea of what links have been created every 12 months that may be out of my control.

I usually pull all the links from as many tools as I can; Open Site Explorer, Google Search Console, Cognitive SEO, Ahrefs, SEMrush etc and compile them into a Google Sheet.

You'll find most of these tools will have some sort of gauge to show you the trustworthiness of each link, however I still find it's good to scan through them manually. You get a good feel for which ones are fishy after a while.

From there I go through them manually, to see if there's any really worrying ones (I also highlight ones to keep an eye on).

If there are ones I want removed, I will attempt to contact the webmaster to do this.

If I cannot remove certain links and I believe they are harming the site (typically it would only come to this if there is a manual penalty) then I'll look to disavow those links: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2648487?hl=en

I hope this helps

Hey Matt,

From my knowledge this is what I know about FB competitions:

• You can't ask people to share or tag: "3. Promotions may be administered on Pages or within apps on Facebook. Personal Timelines and friend connections must not be used to administer promotions (ex: “share on your Timeline to enter” or “share on your friend's Timeline to get additional entries”, and "tag your friends in this post to enter" are not permitted)."
• You have to acknowledge the competition is in 'no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.'

I also recently read the following article which provided some interesting insights: https://www.macandernie.com.au/blog/how-to-run-a-competition-on-facebook

Hope this helps