Rank Ranger Blog

In March this year, Google announced that as of July 1, 2023, they will no longer be supporting Universal Analytics. This means the digital marketing community will be moving over to Google Analytics 4.

Now, it’s important to understand that GA4 is not built on the old Universal Analytics platform. This is a whole new platform with a whole new interface.

And, a new interface means a steep learning curve. That said, who can live without Google Analytics?

Realizing that you are most likely moving over to the new platform, we want to give you an opportunity to integrate your GA4 property with your Rank Ranger account.

This will give you the power to play with your data, presenting it any way you want.

In episode #117, Chris Green shares five SEO tasks that are better handled on the edge.

The five tasks are:

• Split testing   
• Redirect management   
• Bot access logging   
• Sitemap building/management   
• Injecting content

Over the last few months, our SERP Team has been keeping an eye on a new SERP feature using our Mobile SERP Features Tool.

Things to Know.

This feature is designed to give the searcher well-organized Featured Snippet style information on a topic as well as click through to specific URLs to dig into those topics and read more.

Our CEO Shay Harel recently asked a question about the Things to Know feature.

Surely the new feature plays the same role as a People Also Ask box, just with fewer options?

Personally being a curious person, the question kept me up at night.

After looking at the data and doing a little SERP analysis, I found an answer. In this post, I explain what I found.

How can you become more effective at SEO by working more closely with PPC?

In this episode, Jay will share seven tips to help SEO and PPC to work together.
The tips are:

• Not viewing each other as competitors   
• Common goals and taking credit for brand revenue   
• Using SEO to reduce PPC costs   
• Using PPC to test an SEO Strategy   
• Landing page development 
• Using dynamic search campaigns to find keyword ideas   
• Keyword level SERP features from your rank tracking tool     

Okay, you’re convinced that content marketing can improve your business.

The question is…

How exactly do you create an effective content marketing strategy?

I mean, let’s face it, just publishing blog posts or videos is not a strategy. Successful content marketing requires the right content delivered at the right time.

This will allow all your content to work harmoniously together providing a great user experience for your target audience.

So to get you on your feet, I decided to create an in-depth digital content marketing strategy step-by-step guide.

What link types are you actively trying to build your website right now?

Do you even differentiate between the different types of links that you build?

In episode #115 of the In Search SEO Podcast Alexandra Tachalova explains three backlink types you need to be building.

The backlink types are:

• Links that bring SEO benefits     
• Links that boost your authority     
• Links that build brand awareness

How closely do you keep an eye on how the SERP is changing? And how is the changing SERP changing the way that SEO should be done?

In this episode, Gerald Murphy shares nine ways the Google SERPs are changing. 

The nine ways are:

• SERP-Less
• Complex SEO behaviors     
• SERP feature evolution     
• Quality importance for ranking 
• Integration of different engines on each engine   
• Keyword/Query understanding   
• Devices/Mobile   
• Zero clicks   
• Personalization

Is it really possible to create all of your content on an automated basis using AI?

In this episode, Arpad Balogh will be sharing five steps to creating successful AI-generated content.

The steps are:

• Research, research research
• Make an outline   
• Use an AI writer to generate content   
• Make a standard operating procedure (SOP) 
• Optimize AI content with Surfer SEO

Do you ignore zero volume keywords? If so, that could be a big mistake.

That's what I'm discussing today with Mark Williams Cook, the director of Candour, a digital agency based in Norwich in the UK. 

In this episode, Mark will be sharing four steps to getting started with zero search volume keywords.

The tips are:

• Forecasting with Zero Volume Keywords
• Researching Zero Volume Topics
• Planning Zero Volume Content
• Discovering New Zero Volume Opportunities

After a long wait, we finally saw the May Core Update. When the update started, the Rank Risk Index reported violent SERP fluctuations starting on May 26th. Fluctuation levels quickly returned to normal the following day and remained that way until Google announced that the update was over.

However…

The story was far from over.

We then saw violent SERP fluctuations starting again on June 20th. What’s more, the fluctuations continued all the way to June 29th. We can only speculate that the updates are related.

Is it really possible for other marketing channels to positively impact your SEO efforts? And if so, how?

That's what we're going to be discussing today with the founder of the Atlanta-based digital marketing agency Hum JAM, Joseph Kahn.

Joseph shares five steps to creating a harmonic marketing campaign powered by SEO.

The steps are:

• Keyword Intention
• SEO Content
• Email Campaigns   
• Social Campaigns
• CRM

Now that the May 2022 Core Update is officially rolled out and the dust is settling, we are all looking at the Google SERPs wondering what has changed.

Yes, there are always rankings that change based on quality signals. But, as Google adds and changes its many SERP features it really pays to be aware of those changes.

In the aftermath, a SERP feature caught my attention. Things to Know From what I'm seeing, the new feature could change how you do SEO moving forward.

Here is my analysis.