Rank Ranger Blog

Did you blink? Because if you did you may have missed Google's clandestine algorithm update that mystified not only the SEO industry but every single rank fluctuation weather tracker! How does it connect to the November 2019 Local Update?

We'll cover the latest update incarnation as well as changes and tests to the SERP that brought Google's travel domination to all-new levels, kicked Featured Snippet URLs out of the organic results, and gave recipe hunters one less reason to click on your site!

It's on. Welcome to the December edition of the SERP News!

Ross Tavendale of Type A Media joins us to reflect back on the major trends in SEO brought to us in 2019!

• Where we’re at with links, nofollow hints, news links, spammy links, and the future of links
• Featured Snippet clicks, no clicks, more clicks - everything clicks in 2019 and how to move forward
• The role of the Quality Raters Guidelines, links, and technical SEO in ranking now and going forward

Plus, what you can learn from Google when designing and creating content for your site!

How does Google differentiate between good and bad content?

Google is not merely adding up all the backlinks a site has and deeming it quality content once a certain quantity of links has been accumulated. Rather, all things considered, Google is doing a very good job profiling content. That is, Google is quite adept and knowing what good content looks and sounds like and what bad content looks and sounds like within a specific vertical.

Here's how they do it!

The great Ari Roth of Five Blocks joins us to talk about crafting your online reputation from an SEO perspective!

• How to maintain control of your brand’s narrative using Search
• Using the SERP to manifest your brand positively
• Handling inaccuracies that impact your brand’s identity when they appear within a Google property

Plus, is Google evil? The Wall Street Journal seemingly thinks so! We pick apart their article and the industry’s peculiar response to it!

Research. It’s simply not possible to run a thorough promotion plan without first doing some solid research: audience research, content research, and so on.

The same holds true for SEO. Everything rests on solid and substantial keyword research. It’s the bones of search marketing. But where do you start when doing keyword research? How do you find the most pertinent keywords and topics?

Here are the basics of how to do keyword research so that you can start the process of getting your web content on the right track!

Former Search Engine Land editor and current AimClear VP of Product Innovation, Michelle Robbins, joins us to talk about online brand reputation in the modern web era:

• Online reputation beyond links - expanding the SEO mind
• How to handle negative brand presence online
• Beyond gimmicks - how to build positive brand sentiment

Plus, we go into what might be a new way that Google is rolling out its algorithm updates!

Are you struggling to rank higher on Google even though you’ve double and triple-optimized everything under the sun? If you’ve mastered the content on your page the problem might be your off-page SEO... or lack of it. Let's get into what off-page SEO is and how can use it to bring your rankings up! 

Matt Giovanisci joins the show to explore the wide world of SEO when building a new site:

• What technical and design considerations should be on your mind when creating a new site so that you rank well?
• How to take an abstract plan and turn it into a concrete content and branding strategy for your site!
• How to build links for a new site and rank for keywords when you’re the newest site on the block!

Plus, we explore BERT… Google’s new and super-advanced algorithm for understanding the words to, of, and for…. Well, it’s more complex than that… all in good time. 

Another month... another series of changes to the SERP with far-reaching implications....but this month is special. This month Google says they've reached a breakthrough... and it's live on the SERP! On top of that, Google has dispensed a new set of enhancements aimed at making users salivate over Google Shopping. But wait, there's more! Google is giving you far more control over how your rich results appear on the SERP. And, of course, we'll get to a whole heap of changes to the SERP and its features!

This is the SERP News covering October 2019!

This week we have the wonderful, the delightful, the musical, Jason Barnard here to talk with you all about rich results & structured data markup:

• Why the "block construct” is so important to Google & what it means for your rich results
• The changing relationship between rich results and traffic to your site
• Thinking about structured data beyond clicks

Plus, we take a look at what you could do after being hit by a core update!

By now you've probably heard the news... over 50% of all Google searches do not result in a click! You've also probably heard things like this is the end of organic traffic and that Google is killing 'the website'. You may have even heard a few tips on how to handle this new age of the zero-click search. But between freaking out, blaming Google, and looking for the next organic SEO hack... we've missed the boat entirely.

It would be a bit braggadocious for me to say that I'm going to show you how to really handle zero-click searches and why most of the things you're hearing are a bit misguided....

That said, here's the real truth on how to handle zero-click searches and why a lot of what you're hearing doesn't pass muster.

So you've won a Featured Snippet on desktop, does that mean your URL shows within the zero-position box on mobile? How often does the URL that resides within a mobile Featured Snippet match the desktop URL? Is there even a desktop Featured Snippet? What is the likelihood that a Featured Snippet win on desktop equals a Featured Snippet win on mobile?

Here's a look at how often Google shows the same URL on desktop and on mobile.