The search industry is always throwing a new curveball your way – and recently, the world of SEO saw many major shifts, from AI to SGE.
So how do you respond to the disruptions caused by technology advancements and algorithm changes?
How can you adapt your strategy to not just keep up with the latest trends, but stay steps ahead?
Join us on February 21 for an exclusive webinar with Conductor, where we’ll explore the seismic shifts, emerging trends, and imminent challenges shaping SEO in 2024.
Shannon Vize, Conductor’s Sr. Content Marketing Manager, and Ryan Maloney, Conductor’s SEO Success Manager will share exclusive survey data from today’s top SEOs and digital marketers to help you navigate search in the era of AI.
Register now to get the insights you need to guide you through the twists and turns of this ever-evolving landscape.
3 key takeaways from this webinar:
Top SEO priorities and challenges of 2023 and what’s changed for 2024.
The role of AI in SEO – anticipated disruption of SGE and AI overall, plus SGE-specific SEO priorities.
Winning SEO resourcing strategies and reporting insights to fuel success.
The State of SEO in 2023: Learn about the most significant transformations in SEO last year and what they mean for your strategy. Take a retrospective dive into the biggest trends that impacted SEO pros in 2023, what worked for them, what didn’t, and the lessons that set the stage for the year ahead.
Shifting Priorities in SEO for 2024: This dynamic digital realm demands adaptability, and what worked yesterday might not be what drives results for your business in 2024. We’ll cover what it takes to stay relevant this year, from content strategies to user experience, and beyond.
SEO Responses to Generative AI Disruptions: Generative AI advancements, like Google’s SGE, have reshaped the search landscape, influencing how content is created, discovered, and ranked. We’ll be uncovering new tactics to help you harness the benefits of generative AI and mitigate potential pitfalls.
The Role of AI in SEO Overall: Explore how SEO professionals are integrating AI into their workflows, leveraging machine learning algorithms for enhanced insights, and redefining the boundaries of what’s achievable in the search landscape.
This post was sponsored by Ahrefs. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own.
With generative AI and constant Google algorithm changes, how can you shift your strategy quickly enough to keep up?
How do you stay on top of the latest SEO trends, while maximizing your site performance?
2023 has forced SEO professionals to begin finding new ways to adapt their approach to SEO success in 2024.
The rise of AI technology is becoming a strong force in shaping search algorithms and user experiences.
Meanwhile, Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is shaking things up and altering the dynamics of online discovery by influencing how search engines interpret and deliver information.
So, if you’re looking to not simply survive but thrive amidst these seismic changes, a strategic pivot is imperative.
The key to success in today’s world of SEO is standing out and boosting your online presence.
In this guide, we’ll not only uncover strategies to help you increase your search discoverability, but we’ll also introduce the tools you need to implement them effectively.
Some of the most significant improvements you can start making in 2024 include:
Executing and measuring your SEO more efficiently.
Let’s dive into how these key strategy tweaks can completely transform your SEO this year and get you on track for higher SERP rankings and better performance.
How & When To Leverage AI Tools For SEO
Everyone’s talking about how to best harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2024.
But if there’s one thing you should take away from the AI conversation, it’s this: AI is not a human replacement.
Think of it more so as a formidable ally that exists to amplify the capabilities of human expertise.
Utilizing AI in 2024 is about striking the perfect balance and finding the synergy between human ingenuity and AI advancements.
Rather than relying solely on AI technology, find ways to use it to enhance your results.
For instance, if you’re a content marketer looking to streamline your process, AI could assist by offering insights, recommendations, and data-driven strategies to elevate the quality and relevance of your content.
What To Use AI Tools For In Content Marketing & SEO
Input your rough ideas and get an organized, well-structured outline in minutes.
Improve the quality, clarity, and readability of a sentence or paragraph with an instant content refresh.
Generate optimized meta titles for better search engine visibility.
Craft informative, SEO-friendly meta descriptions for your articles quickly and easily.
Simplify and summarize your content with precision.
Brainstorm variations of ready-to-use, SEO-friendly blog post ideas to drive more traffic to your blog.
Generate descriptive alt text for your images to improve accessibility and SEO without a hassle.
Get inspiration for your next piece of content by generating a variety of creative ideas.
And more!
Not only can AI help you save time while crafting compelling copy, but it can also automate keyword research processes.
If you’re familiar with Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer tool, you’ll be pleased to know that they recently launched a new AI assistant to generate keyword suggestions effortlessly.
With this new update, you can get AI keyword suggestions directly within the platform, without needing to go back and forth with ChatGPT when doing your keyword research.
Stay ahead of the curve and start leveraging AI to your advantage with Ahrefs.
How To Master Website Optimization & Technical SEO
A well-optimized and technically sound website acts as a sturdy foundation, insulating you from the impact of ruthless core updates that search engines may roll out.
With search algorithms becoming increasingly sophisticated, seamless user experience, fast loading times, and adherence to Core Web Vitals have become critical factors in SEO success.
By mastering technical SEO and keeping your site in top-notch condition, you’re not just offering a seamless user experience but also signaling to search engines that your content is reliable and trustworthy.
This proactive approach helps to ensure your site remains visible and valuable amidst ever-evolving ranking criteria.
With Ahrefs’ Site Audit tool, you can run a thorough SEO audit to uncover your website’s technical and on-page SEO issues, and find out exactly what’s holding your website back.
Plus, the platform recently added some exciting new features to enhance your analysis efforts.
Here are some key updates you should know about:
Core Web Vital (CWV) metrics: Filter your pages by various CWV data points during website recrawls. Visualize CrUX and Lighthouse scores, historical changes, and individual metric performance in the Performance report.
Google Data Studio integration: Build personalized reports by blending data from different sources and visualizing everything in the form of reports and dashboards.
Search by HTML code and page text: Easily search for specific elements extracted during a crawl, such as Google Analytics IDs or “out of stock” labels.
List of issues for a particular URL: Addressing an issue on a specific URL is streamlined with a dedicated tab showcasing all related issues, allowing comprehensive fixes.
Links Report in Site Audit Issues: Navigate issues more effectively with an additional links report tab, facilitating in-depth analysis at the links level. For instance, browse and export links related to 404 pages for a thorough understanding.
Easy Way: Use An SEO Plugin To Help Optimize Your Content
Ahrefs also launched a WordPress SEO plugin to further assist in your optimization efforts.
With this new plugin, you can automate content audits and see how each article performs for a chosen target keyword.
The tool also provides recommendations on how you can improve the article for better results.
Here are a few key capabilities:
You can import “focus keywords” for each article from Yoast, RankMath, and AIOSEO.
Smoother audit progress that shows real-time audit completion percentages.
Export to CSV all metrics for all analyzed articles or only articles with selected performance status.
Ready to get your site in tip-top shape for the year ahead? Check out Ahrefs’ latest offerings today.
How To Execute & Measure Your SEO KPIs More Efficiently
Keeping your website up-to-date with SEO trends is important – but the buck doesn’t stop there.
Staying competitive requires you to keep a vigilant eye on your rival sites as well, dissecting their strategies, and adapting your own accordingly.
Success in SEO isn’t just about visibility; it’s about outperforming your peers.
Reassessing the metrics that matter most and recalibrating your strategy based on real-time insights are the secrets to staying ahead of the curve.
In this evolving landscape, the ability to execute with precision and measure impact accurately will be the key to unlocking sustained SEO success.
You can start by knowing how to spot SERP changes effectively.
For example, with Ahrefs’ historical SERP checker tool, you can go back in time and see what the SERP looked like for any given query in their index.
And if you already use Ahrefs Site Explorer tool, you’ll love the recent updates they’ve made to their overview report.
Not only does it load noticeably faster than the previous version, but you get access to the following new features:
New history chart.
Comparison mode.
Paid traffic data.
Year-over-year mode.
Google algorithm updates.
Calendar report.
Site structure report.
Visit Ahrefs to learn more.
Start Ranking Higher & Maximizing Opportunities With Ahrefs Now
In the rapidly evolving SEO landscape, Ahrefs emerges as a strategic ally, providing the tools you need to not only stay afloat but rise to new heights.
From leveraging AI tools intelligently to mastering technical SEO and executing with precision, we’ve dissected the key strategies that will redefine your SEO in 2024 and beyond.
It’s time to embrace change and elevate your search performance.
Start your journey to sustained SEO success with Ahrefs’ vast array of tools and exciting new features.
With their updated usage-based pricing model, you can access the features you need most. Try it today!
John Mueller, Google Search Advocate, recently shared his “shower” thoughts on the use of AI-generated images on websites versus stock photography.
His discussion opened up an intriguing debate on how users perceive images created with generative AI tools like DALL·E, especially in contexts that are not primarily focused on art or AI.
The post included a disclaimer it is not meant to serve as SEO advice or foreshadowing of an upcoming Google search update.
AI-Generated Images Vs. Stock Photography
Mueller begins by distinguishing between situations where a specific photograph is necessary and those where imagery serves as mere decoration.
He argues that in some circumstances, like a suitcase a website aims to sell, authentic photographs are essential.
While real photos might undergo digital enhancements or editing, the foundation of product photography must be rooted in reality to provide consumers with an accurate representation of a future investment.
On the other hand, Mueller points out that for general content embellishment, there is little difference between using stock photography and AI-generated images.
Both types of imagery can enhance the aesthetic appeal of a website, making the content more engaging and enjoyable for the reader.
This distinction underlines that the decision to use real photos versus AI-generated images largely depends on the specific needs and goals of the website content.
The Value Of Images For User Experience
Mueller also touches upon the relevance of the subject matter of the website.
He suggests that for certain topics, audiences expect real images, while for others, the distinction between real and AI-generated images may be negligible.
This expectation ties into search engine optimization (SEO), as Mueller hypothesizes that users are more inclined to search visually for topics where real images are valued.
Further, Mueller offers practical advice for website owners considering the use of AI-generated images.
He encourages them to reflect on whether they would typically use stock photography in the same context. This approach can help in making an informed decision about the appropriateness of AI-generated images for their website.
Quality Standards Of AI-Generated Images
Mueller also cautions about the ease and temptation of using AI-generated images as a time and cost-saving measure.
He notes that taking a quick photo with a phone could be considered as creating ‘stock photography,’ but this might not meet the professional standards expected on a business website.
He emphasizes that quality and professionalism often require time and experience.
AI Images, AR Models, And Consumer Trust
Throughout the comments, Mueller answered questions about images, AI, and SEO. Here are some of the best responses.
Should you add rel=nofollow for an image credit link?
“Links are fine. No need to use rel=nofollow if they’re normal links.”
AR For 3D Modeling
Mueller expressed a desire for augmented reality (AR) support in online product displays, emphasizing the value of using 3D models.
“Seeing a photo is a good start, trying it out in my own space is so much better.”
He also differentiated between 3D-rendered images based on actual building plans and fully AI-generated images, likening the latter to decorative blog post imagery.
Decorative Images & Real Product Photography
Regarding conceptual illustrations, Mueller noted that decorative images indicated the level of effort put into the content, enhancing user trust.
However, he criticizes the use of AI images for product photos, comparing it to low-quality imported product sites where photoshopped images often lead to unrealistic representations.
“…if you have the product, why not get real photos, and if you don’t have the product, you wouldn’t be able to confirm that the image is ok.”
AI-Generated Images As ‘Low-Effort’ Content
Considering that creative visualizations and real product photos are considered indicators of high-quality content, it’s no surprise that some uses of AI-generated images could be considered the opposite.
Mueller also offered another perspective: if real images represent an original source of content, AI images could represent scraped content.
“If I noticed a recipe site were using AI-generated images, I’d assume all of the content is scraped spam and just go somewhere else.”
AI Content Decreases Consumer Trust
When visitors discover content has been “faked,” it could harm their trust in anything else on the website. Mueller suggested that even an obvious “team” stock photo was less deceptive than one created by AI.
He acknowledged the value of good stock photography over a unique smartphone photo and how the latter did not equal professional-quality content.
But he is also aware that the lines are blurred more now that companies like Getty and Shutterstock have launched AI tools trained on licensed stock photography.
Conclusion
The discussion on Mueller’s LinkedIn post is particularly relevant, highlighting the evolving role of AI tools in content creation and its impact on user experience and SEO.
As marketers continually adapt to new technologies, understanding these nuances is crucial for effective digital marketing strategies. It prompts us to consider the authenticity of our visual content and its alignment with our audience’s expectations.
It’s essential to strike a balance between authenticity, professionalism, and the practical benefits of AI-generated images, keeping in mind the nature of the content and audience expectations.
In a recent discussion on Reddit, a user inquired about the advantages of using keyword domain names for SEO to improve visibility for a specific phrase.
The user shared an example of utilizing a domain like “swimsuits.com” for selling swimsuits, a keyword with over 10,000 monthly searches in their country.
John Mueller, Google’s Search Advocate, offered a response that should help marketers decide on the best approach for SEO.
Are Keywords In Domain Names A Ranking Factor?
The big question: do relevant keywords in a domain name offer additional advantages in Google Search?
Mueller’s response was direct and insightful. He advised against relying on keywords in domain names for long-term SEO strategy.
“A keyword domain name is not going to give you any recognizable SEO advantage on Google.”
Screenshot from r/SEO, December 2023
The introductory if – “If you’re planning on using this [domain] for the long run” – suggests the advice does not apply to all website owners and that there could be short-term value in keyword-based domain names.
Omnichannel Brand Recognition & Versatility
For those with long-term marketing goals, domain names focused on a specific keyword or phrase could become a hindrance.
According to Mueller, such domain names can also be restrictive for targeting other keywords, making it difficult to diversify product or service offerings on the same website.
Mueller’s advice sheds light on the evolving nature of omnichannel marketing marketing. It highlights the importance of building a strong, recognizable brand for search and other platforms to connect with customers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Mueller’s insights are valuable for marketing and SEO professionals polishing up their strategy for 2024. It encourages a shift in focus from relying on keywords to developing a comprehensive, brand-focused online presence.
This strategy aligns with the current SEO trends, where brand recognition and quality content play a significant role in achieving SEO success.
Celebrate the Holidays with some of SEJ’s best articles of 2023.
Our Festive Flashback series runs from December 21 – January 5, featuring daily reads on significant events, fundamentals, actionable strategies, and thought leader opinions.
2023 has been quite eventful in the SEO industry and our contributors produced some outstanding articles to keep pace and reflect these changes.
Catch up on the best reads of 2023 to give you plenty to reflect on as you move into 2024.
The concept of search intent and the recommendation that marketers pay close attention to it when targeting organic keywords is well established in SEO.
Specifically, most discussions of search intent state the fact that search queries range from informational (people looking to learn about a topic), to comparative (people comparing solutions to their problem), to transactional (people looking to buy).
But regarding recommendations on how to use search intent to your advantage in SEO, the most common advice is to ensure you have a variety of content to “cover” the full spectrum of search intent; have some informational, some mid-funnel, and some transactional content.
We disagree.
Specifically, we’ve found in working with dozens of brands over many years in creating SEO-focused content that the vast majority of companies should not create an even spread of content across the funnel, but rather prioritize bottom of funnel content and slowly work their way up.
Why?
Because SEO resources are finite and bottom of funnel content (e.g., search queries with “transactional” search intent) generates tremendously more return on investment (ROI) on SEO spend than everything else.
In this article, we’ll explain our reasoning and share data supporting this thesis.
SEO Resources Are Finite: You Can’t Target All Keywords Well
The general recommendation that you should “make sure you have content for all stages of the funnel” (aka all search intents) would be fine if companies had infinite SEO resources – meaning unlimited writers to produce content, unlimited SEO strategists to pick keywords and do SERP analysis, and unlimited budget for link building.
But no brand has this.
Even the idea of AI-assisted writing making producing massive amounts of content easier doesn’t negate this fact.
Sure, AI tools can produce thousands of pieces in a fraction of the time it would take a human, but that doesn’t mean they will all rank or be good enough to impress prospective customers and convert.
If a bunch of sites are all producing similar AI-assisted content to target the same keywords, Google will have to differentiate somehow to decide who to rank – and two safe bets in how it will make this decision are content quality and backlinks.
In terms of content quality, it’s quite likely that the best pieces for a given keyword will be the ones with the most originality and specific personal expertise, traits that Google has clearly stated it prefers and which require human input.
And backlinks have been a known ranking factor forever in SEO. In a world where many sites produce similar AI-produced pieces targeting the same keywords, it’s safe to assume it will be just as, if not more, important.
So regardless of how content is produced, SEO resources for everyone are finite. There are a finite number of employee hours, a finite number of writing budgets (regardless of if writers use AI), and a finite link building budget.
That means you have to prioritize the keywords you will target.
And the most logical way to prioritize is to focus SEO efforts on whatever will generate the most ROI (that is, leads and sales attributable to SEO).
In our experience, that is bottom of funnel, transactional, keywords.
Bottom Of Funnel Keywords Convert Significantly More Than Everything Else
To conclude, as we have, that bottom of funnel content converts significantly more than any other type of content, the first step is to actually measure and track conversions from SEO.
This sounds obvious, but the reality is that most SEO and content teams don’t do this; they just assume the more traffic, the better, and their entire strategy is focused on growing traffic.
You can measure conversion from SEO in different ways via different analytics tools, but in general, the process will require the following steps:
Define a conversion. This is typically a lead form fill or trial start for SaaS or sales-based businesses, or an actual transaction for ecommerce businesses.
Create a goal in your analytics platform to measure this conversion event.
Generate reports of which landing pages on your site resulted in how many conversions. This can be done via different attribution models like first or last click, depending on the analytics platform, but any data here is better than no data.
When you do this, you’ll inevitably find what we have found over 5+ years, dozens of brands, and hundreds of SEO pieces.
Specifically, pages on your site that rank for bottom of funnel keywords convert at multiple single digit percent (1% – 5%), whereas pages that rank for top of funnel, informational keywords typically convert at a fraction of a percent (0.01% – 0.5%).
In other words, the difference in conversion rate between bottom and top of funnel keywords is not 10%, 20%, or even 50% – it’s multiple fold.
This is exemplified in this data across 60+ content pieces for a software client of ours, where the content ranking for bottom of funnel queries converted on average at 25X higher than articles that targeted mid to top of funnel queries.
Image created by author, June 2023
Bottom of funnel posts had a 4.78% conversion rate versus 0.19% for top of funnel posts. Based on 60+ posts for a client.
Even after accounting for top of funnel pieces getting more traffic, the raw conversions from just 20 bottom of funnel pieces were 3 times more than those from 40 top of funnel pieces:
Image created by author, June 2023
20 bottom of funnel posts generated 1348 conversions while 40 top of funnel posts generated 397 conversions.
To emphasize, the 1350 conversions from BOTF content above are from only 22 pieces, whereas the 400 conversions from TOF are from 42 articles.
In addition, we should mention the articles we labeled as “top of funnel” in this study still had some buying intent. We went after them only after exhausting most bottom of funnel keywords and chose the keywords strategically to ensure they still had some chance of a conversion.
In that respect it’s fair even to call them “mid-funnel.” For many companies, the majority of their content and SEO efforts are directed exclusively at top of funnel keywords that will convert to leads or sales at or below the conversion rates above.
That’s a tragic waste of SEO efforts, in our minds.
Why Are Informational, Top Of Funnel Keywords So Low Converting?
So, the story goes, you can get your brand in front of a large number of people who, at some point in the future, are likely to need a product or service like yours.
But as the data above shows, and our collective experience confirms, it requires so many steps to get to a conversion from top of funnel traffic that the conversion rates are minuscule.
Specifically, the journey from someone Googling a top of funnel informational query to becoming a customer is:
They Google the query.
They click into your results.
They read the article.
Some fraction of these users either return to your site on pure memory or give their email to download a white paper or gated resource.
Some fraction of those users open subsequent drip emails.
Then at some point, some fraction of those users will need your product or service and reach out.
Each of these steps has a small conversion rate, so in combination, the entire journey has an absolutely minuscule conversion rate.
So much so that, as per the data above, a possibly higher search volume of these top of funnel queries compared to transactional queries does not make up for the tiny conversion rates.
There Are More Bottom Of Funnel Keywords Than You Think
So if you buy into this notion that targeting bottom of the funnel keywords is a better use of finite SEO resources than evenly spreading SEO content across the full spectrum of search intent, the next important question to tackle is: “Which keywords in my space are bottom of the funnel are high converting and how many of them are there?”
We’ve noticed that many SEO pros and marketers have a limited view of which keywords are bottom of funnel – that is, have some level of transaction or buying intent.
In our experience, there are three common buckets of bottom of funnel keywords, only the first of which is commonly considered as bottom of funnel.
1. Category Keywords
If we use a hypothetical business that we’re all familiar with, SEO software, the obvious transactional keywords are things like “SEO software” or “best SEO tools.”
Yes, those are very high-converting bottom of the funnel or transactional keywords that any SEO software brand should absolutely target.
In our framework for BOTF SEO, called Pain Point SEO, we call these “category keywords” since they involve the user literally Googling the name of the product or service category.
Most SEO and marketing teams are aware of these keywords and do target them, usually with the homepage or one or two landing pages.
But what we’ve found is that many teams consider this to be the entirety of bottom of funnel or transactional keywords. They target a few category keywords and spend the rest of their time creating blog content to rank for top of funnel search terms.
But there are actually a lot of other high-converting search terms that we notice most brands don’t think about and ignore in favor of producing content to go after extremely low converting top of funnel keywords.
2. Comparison Keywords
Specifically, another extremely high-converting category of keywords is what we call comparison keywords.
These are keywords that show the searcher is comparing multiple options, such as “salesforce vs pipedrive” or “adidas vs nike womens running shoes.”
Many discussions of search intent categorize this as a mid-funnel query because, they say, the searcher may not be ready to make a transaction but is simply doing product research.
But in our measurements of conversion rates of hundreds of pages ranking for comparison keywords, they often convert just as high as the category keywords discussed above.
As a result, in my view, companies that want to maximize ROI from SEO should aggressively target comparison keywords.
They should identify every comparison keyword stemming from their top competitors that has any semblance of search volume and ensure they have a dedicated page on their site to rank for each.
3. Jobs To Be Done Keywords
The final of our three categories of keywords that we have found can generate conversions from SEO are jobs to be done keywords.
This is the largest of these three categories of high-buying-intent keywords, meaning there are usually a lot more jobs to be done keywords than category or comparison.
This category is often ignored or not prioritized by brands as being conversion-generating, though, because these are queries where the user is not overtly looking for or comparing product options but is indicating that they have a problem that your product happens to solve.
In our SEO software example, this would include queries like “how to do competitor keyword research,” “how to know search volume of keywords,” or “how to track which keywords a site ranks for.”
If you have an SEO software product with features that lets people do those things, then, in our experience, ranking for keywords like these will generate conversions.
Typically the conversion rate of these keywords is slightly lower than category or comparison keywords.
However, they are still much better than top of funnel queries like “SEO strategy,” “best SEO tips,” or even “digital marketing strategies,” which are typical top of funnel keywords companies go after but which have very little buying intent.
Wondering how to boost your ecommerce SEO to help you rank higher on SERPs?
Do you feel like you’re getting a new competitor every day?
In the era when everyone has an ecommerce storefront, how do you make sure your store has as many advantages as possible?
Gaining traffic and visibility is listed as one of the top issues that online sellers face, especially if you’re just starting your business and the next step is to choose your URL.
So, what are some of the major issues you might face as a new ecommerce company? How can you solve them?
Let’s dive in.
How To Boost Ecommerce Performance & Decrease Customer Acquisition Costs
The game has changed and .com domains aren’t the only way to get customers to take your business seriously.
If the primary goal of your website is to sell, nothing says that better than a .Store domain extension.
It’s the perfect call to action that instantly connects with potential customers and attracts them to your site.
An ecommerce website on a .Store domain gets 87% more visitors than its .com counterparts.
Your domain name is basically like the virtual storefront of your business, and choosing the right one can have a significant impact on your success.
Why It Works
When users see a .Store domain, it instantly communicates that they are on an ecommerce platform where they can make purchases.
This clear and direct messaging not only attracts more visitors but also translates into increased sales, which ultimately results in more revenue for your business.
Well, search engines love contextually relevant keywords, and having the word “store” in your domain name can be a powerful keyword tactic for your site’s rankings.
This added relevance doubles your visibility on search engines, ensuring that potential customers looking to make an online purchase can find your store more easily.
Marketing costs can be a major concern, especially for new and growing businesses – and this is yet another way the .Store domain can transform your SEO strategy.
When users come across ads for a product category, they are 12% more likely to make a purchase if the ad directs them to a “store” domain.
Thus, the cost to acquire your user is much lower.
Analyzing .Store Domain Performance: The Full Report
The true impact of .Store TLDs on both paid and organic traffic were examined in a groundbreaking study conducted by Contrast Digital.
This extensive report uncovers a wealth of insights that can reshape your understanding of domain performance.
According to the data, there’s a potential long-term benefit of using .Store domains from a SEO standpoint.
We’ll dive into some key facts from the study below, but you can download the full report to dig into the detailed results.
Organic Study
This extensive 12-month experiment examined the performance of two distinct websites.
The key difference between the two websites was the domain extension.
One website was on .com while the other was on a .Store; with the second-level domain being identical (think example.com vs example.store).
Both sites comprised 82 pages categorized into products, categories, blog posts, and information pages, maintaining identical layouts and product descriptions in order to control variables and conduct a fair assessment.
Googlebot’s crawl time, along with impressions, clicks, and click-through rate measured through Google Search Console, provided a detailed comparative analysis.
Significance testing using MATLAB code offered insights into potential differences between the sites’ metrics, forming a comprehensive overview of their organic performance.
Key Performance Trends:
Example.store achieved the first 100 clicks, 20,000 impressions, and 250 clicks in a 30-day window faster than example.com.
Example.store had a 49.01% larger keyword footprint than example.com, correlating with larger impressions over 12 months.
In non-blog content, example.store had a 30.27% increase in visibility compared to example.com.
In blog content, example.store had a 67.02% increase compared to example.com.
Overall, the significance tests consistently show that .Store TLDs outperformed equivalent .com TLDs in clicks, impressions, and click-through rate (CTR) over the 12-month experiment.
Want to learn more? Check out the full report for additional insights.
PPC Report
This report delves into the Google paid ads segment of the experiment, evaluating the performance of example.com and example.store over 5 months.
After allowing both websites to naturally perform for three months, paid media was introduced to assess their response to targeted paid traffic, with a primary focus on understanding consumer trust around TLDs.
To ensure fairness in the paid ads environment, settings were adjusted to rotate ads indefinitely, preventing bias toward any particular ad.
Additionally, landing page destinations, ad content, keyword targeting, and max bids were standardized across both accounts, eliminating variables and placing emphasis on individual performance.
Key Performance Trends:
Example.store had a 12.12% higher conversion rate than example.com, 1.48% vs 1.32%.
Example.store managed PPC spend more consistently through daily budgets, possibly contributing to better performance.
Example.store had a statistically significant 15.37% higher CTR compared to example.com, potentially due to the recognizable association of .Store with eCommerce.
Example.store outperformed example.com in conversions (33 vs 24) and had a cheaper customer acquisition cost (£39.59 vs £44.45).
After 5 months, example.store performed the best overall in clicks, CTR, average cost per click, and cost.
Overall, the.Store domain consistently outperformed .com and emerged as the superior performer in the paid experiment.
Navigating The Customer Acquisition Challenge
We know how difficult it can be to capture the attention of your ideal audience, particularly as a new online business without an established track record.
Another key issue you might be facing is profitability.
As essential as marketing may be for your brand, it can certainly be costly to execute effectively.
So what are some ways you can get the most bang for your buck and maximize your return on investment (ROI)?
How can you add value while keeping your customer acquisition costs low?
Though there are various marketing tricks and tactics you can try, sometimes, the answer can be just as simple as picking the right domain name.
Oftentimes, the domain you choose for your business can tell consumers a lot about what you offer and what they can expect.
So if you’re looking to enhance your online retail presence and lower your cost per acquisition (CPA), it might be time to switch things up.
With a .Store domain extension, you can gain a significant performance advantage and get a leg up on your competitors.
Diversify Your Digital Identity: Embracing The Evolution Beyond .Com
Now, I know what you’re thinking: Will customers trust an address that doesn’t end in .com?
How does Google classify a website with a .Store domain and how will it impact your search rankings?
Your choice of domain name can be an important aspect of your UX and public image, and should usually be the most recognizable aspect of your business.
Till now, the domain extension decision for anyone building an ecommerce site was largely determined by conditioning, perception, and an overall lack of data.
The idea that .com domains are the only viable choice for websites is incredibly common.
However, there’s now an objective, data-backed study available which, for the first time, shows that .Store as a top-level domain (TLD) can actually benefit ecommerce sellers in a major way.
2023 has been quite the roller coaster ride in the world of SEO, from critical ranking signal changes to Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE).
So, if you’re looking to gain a competitive advantage in 2024, now’s the time to reflect on the past year, understand its implications, and gear up for the future.
Join us on December 13, as Pat Reinhart, Conductor’s leading SEO expert, shares game-changing insights to ensure your site maintains peak performance in the upcoming year.
We’ll do a deep dive into the most crucial SEO industry updates, and examine what they mean for the future of SEO.
Here’s a glimpse at what you’ll get when you attend this engaging live session:
A roundup of the top Google algorithm updates of 2023 and how they impacted search rankings. Discover which of Google’s recent algorithm changes made the most waves this year and why. This retrospective analysis is your key to shaping your SEO strategy, moving forward.
A detailed analysis of the evolving search ranking signals and must-know SEO insights for 2024. This webinar will dissect the many ways SEO is currently evolving to help you get ahead of the curve and plan for 2024.
Actionable predictions for featured snippets, voice search, and more in the coming year. Understand how to optimize for these evolving search behaviors and position yourself at the forefront of SEO innovation.
Expert tips on how to prepare your SEO strategy for SERP changes resulting from Google’s SGE. We’ll guide you on what it takes to prepare your SEO strategy for what’s next. From staying agile to embracing AI, learn the tricks to adapting and thriving in this dynamic search landscape.
Sign up and access the insider knowledge you need to get ahead of the curve in 2024.
You’ll leave this webinar with the tools it takes to future-proof your SEO strategy and navigate the twists and turns of search with ease.
And if you’ve got some questions up your sleeve, be ready to fire them off during the interactive Q&A session following the presentation.
This is your opportunity to engage with our experts directly and tailor the insights to your unique challenges.
We’re hosting an exclusive deep dive into the evolving world of search – and you’re invited!
On November 29, join our live, roundtable discussion on the evolution of search, and learn how to navigate the changes that will shape your SEO journey next year.
This webinar features a panel of SEJ experts, led by editor-in-chief Amanda Zantal-Wiener. You’ll get insights directly from our very own SEO content strategist, as well as our senior news writer and editor.
Our team has combed through the year’s most substantial SEO developments and they’re ready to unpack what they mean for your strategies.
Shelley Walsh, SEO Content Strategist: Shelley is a distinguished digital consultant with over 20 years of creative, marketing, and tech experience. In addition to her work at SEJ, she’s also been published by Moz, Econsultancy, Smashing Magazine, and State of Digital.
Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer: Matt oversees strategy development for SEJ’s news department. He specializes in gathering details, checking facts, and making complex subjects easy to understand.
Ben Steele, Senior Editor: Ben has over six years of experience in crafting and refining SEO content. As a pivotal member of the editorial team, he spearheads the creation and development of SEJ ebooks.
Amanda Zantal-Wiener, Editor-in-Chief: Amanda is a versatile professional with a diverse skill set in writing, editing, and marketing. Joining the SEJ team from HubSpot, she has a proven track record with bylines featured in Thrillist, EcoSalon, and Fast Company.
Key Discussion Topics:
The biggest changes to the world of search in the past year, and where they’re leading: 2023 saw some significant shifts in the search landscape. From algorithm updates to user behavior changes, understanding these changes can provide crucial insights into the future of search, helping you adapt your strategies accordingly.
The fundamentals to focus on for next year, from the impact of SGE’s evolution on SERPs to addressing challenges with Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines: As search engine algorithms continue to evolve, a renewed focus on SEO fundamentals is essential for the upcoming year. Find out how updated search engine guidelines are redefining SEO success and learn how to align with these evolutions to boost your website ranking and visibility.
The leading Google ranking signals to focus on right now: In the realm of SEO, several ranking signals play a pivotal role in determining a website’s position on SERPs. Understanding the most influential Google ranking signals is key to optimizing strategies. We’ll provide valuable insights into which ranking signals and systems deserve the bulk of your attention in 2024.
How to integrate new AI technologies into content marketing and SEO (and where to avoid it): As AI continues to shape the digital landscape, it’s important to know how it can be used to your advantage. We’ll explore the practical applications of AI tools and technologies, and how they can significantly enhance content creation and optimization. We’ll also delve into the limitations and areas where AI might not be as effective.
Sign up now and secure your spot for this essential exploration of the evolving search landscape.
Whether you’re a seasoned SEO pro or new to the game, this session is your gateway to understanding what it takes to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving world of search.
It’s easy to just take whatever keywords you like from a keyword research tool and put them onto your site. But if you suspect that that strategy is a bad idea, you are correct.
Finding the right keywords requires planning.
The key is to put some thought into your keyword research; you will have a much better shot at making your site more visible in search.
So, here’s the first step: have a full understanding of the user search intent.
What Is User Intent?
Keywords can be divided into categories based on their purpose:
Commercial Intent: when users are looking for something to buy or comparing products. Example: best types of pizza.
Transactional Intent: when they want to spend money on something specific (not to be confused with commercial!) Example: order pizza.
Informational Intent: when they want to learn something. Example: how to carve a pumpkin.
Navigational Intent: when they want to find a site or a page. Example: Nicolas Cage Twitter.
Locational Intent: when they want to find a place. Example: car wash near me.
Seasonal Intent: when they want something related to a time period. Example: Halloween decorations.
As you can see, everybody browses the Web with a different purpose in mind.
For some, it’s to have fun, to buy something, to learn something, to find directions – the list goes on.
And these purposes don’t always intersect: for example, when you just want to watch a funny video, you probably aren’t in a money-spending mood.
As you can see, knowing the difference can make or break your business.
Use the wrong keyword, and you won’t get any visitors who actually want to become customers.
Keywords have to fit your site’s niche and topics. If you want to successfully attract the kind of audience you want, your content needs to:
Match your audience’s wants and interests.
Include phrases that they often use while searching for what they want.
This is the combo you need: both content and keywords that reflect user search intent. The two can only work together.
Step 2. Find The Best Keywords
Now that you know what kind of keywords you should look for, you can proceed to the next step: finding them.
These keyword research tools are required for measuring keywords’ effectiveness and providing helpful numbers, and here’s why.
When people Google things, they often use the same or similar search phrases. (Example: Halloween decorations and Halloween decorations DIY.)
SEO tools can count how often people use any given keyword.
They display it in a metric called search volume, and it’s usually monthly (i.e. number of searches per month). A higher number means more people using the keyword.
But there’s a catch: the most used search phrases tend to be too short and too vague, completely failing to reflect the user search intent.
It makes sense when you look at it from the users’ perspective. Have you ever Googled something without fully understanding what exactly you want? You tried a simple search query first, then a more descriptive one which narrowed the search results down a bit and gave you the right answer.
If you have experienced it, then you know firsthand that long search phrases (or long-tail keywords) work much better than short ones.
So, what’s the best practice for keywords? We have a great formula for you to follow.
Enter your keyword ideas, and the tool will show the most popular search phrases related to them.
Screenshot from WebCEO, October 2023
Also, remember seasonal keywords? Pay attention to the Search Trends column: it shows how often a keyword is used every month.
But that’s not all. You can find even more effective keywords in the same tool.
Spy on Competitors tab: Enter your online competitor’s URL and see all of their keywords. Use it in tandem with the Competitor Rankings by Keyword report. If a competitor doesn’t rank very high for a keyword with a decent search volume, that means they don’t use that keyword much – and if YOU use it more, you can easily outrank your competitor!
Top Queries tab: It shows how effectively you use keywords on your site. If you optimize a page for a keyword, it will appear in search, and this report displays how many users have seen your site in Google and clicked on it. If a keyword gives you a lot of impressions but not many clicks, you should polish the pages that use that keyword and improve their performance.
Let’s also not forget Google’s helpful features like autocomplete and People Also Ask. These features suggest search phrases used by other people – and what’s more, those phrases are often long-tail keywords. A safe bet to use on your site! (Although it doesn’t hurt to check their search volume and seasonal relevance anyway.)
Lastly, keywords and phrases related to your main keywords can serve you just as well – even if they are low-volume.
For example, if you run a fitness blog and have an article about training your back, you definitely want to mention all the muscle groups and the different exercises that target each of them. Even though gym enthusiasts don’t usually Google “rhomboids.”
Step 3. Use Keywords On Your Site Effectively
First things first: how many keywords do you need to use on a page?
English is a rich language (as is any other), and there are multiple ways to describe pretty much anything. When millions of people are looking for the same thing, they don’t all use the same words. They use a large variety of different search queries, sometimes even at once.
This means that in order to use keywords effectively, you can’t pick just one to optimize a page. You have to use several related keywords at once to cast a wide net.
With that in mind, you can finally start putting your keywords to good use. There are two major ways to do it:
Use keywords to optimize new pages.
Use new keywords to refresh old pages.
Where Should I Put My Keywords?
Here are the places to put your keywords:
Page URL.
Page title.
Meta description.
H1-H4 headings.
Throughout the text.
If you want to do more than optimize a webpage, you can also try these more niche uses for keywords:
Image filenames and ALT texts. This causes your images to appear in Google Image Search.
Video title, description, transcript, and thumbnail’s filename. For Google Video Search, natch. Works even for YouTube videos.
Internal and external link texts. Keywords placed there affect the linked page (i.e. help it rank), not the page where they are used.
That’s a lot of places and you don’t want to miss any of them. SEO tools can help you find important spots that you forgot to fill.
Note the mention of Google’s video search results. They appear in search along with regular results, and you definitely want to occupy as much space on Page #1 as possible.
And there’s a third way to get there: featured snippets. The easiest route to Position 0 lies in creating an FAQ on your site and optimizing it with long-tail question keywords. Unsurprisingly, that’s how you can also end up in voice search.
Step 4. Avoid These Big Mistakes When Using Keywords
Of course, even the best keywords can be used improperly and ruin all your hard work.
What are some of the biggest don’ts when it comes to keywords?
Don’t use the same keywords for multiple pages. Doing so causes your site’s pages to compete with each other for rankings and drop together. Compete only with other sites!
Don’t put keywords where they don’t belong. Some webmasters use keywords in their texts too often in an attempt to tell Google “this is relevant” – known as keyword stuffing. But all they get is an unnaturally sounding mess of a text shunned by users and Google alike. Instead, write about your topics in-depth, and you will end up using just the right amount of keywords.
Don’t be overly stingy with keywords. The opposite extreme of keyword stuffing can cause problems, too. If you use a keyword only once or twice on the entire page, Google may not consider it relevant enough – and then the page will not show up on a SERP for said keyword.
Don’t forget about the search intent. Before using a keyword, ask yourself: “Why would someone type this in Google?” If you can put yourself in the user’s shoes and realize their thought process, you can filter away the keywords that aren’t right for your content.
Don’t forget to use keywords that convert (i.e. lead to an action). This is most important for pages with a transactional purpose where you want visitors to do something, not just admire your writing and visuals.
Step 5. Monitor Your Keywords’ Performance
Have you found and used the absolute best keywords?
Then the next step is to watch how well they perform.
In the Keywords tab, add all your keywords and check their boxes.
In the Search engines tab, add where you want to check your rankings (search engine and location).
(Optional) In the Search results tab, check all the different types of results you want to track.
Click Save.
And let the tool give you your first report.
To see how your keyword rankings change, run new scans on a regular basis. You can set the tool to do it automatically by clicking on Scan Schedule.
What’s Next?
If your keyword rankings are high, great! If they are low or start to drop, it means some other website is stealing your thunder – in that case, you may want to refine other sides of SEO.
Either way, stay tuned on the news in your niche and the topics in your expertise. Any changes and innovations may result in the emergence of new keywords that you will want to use.
Wrapping Up
It turns out keyword research is a lot more complex than one might expect. But the reward for doing it right is more than just rankings and revenue. In the process of carefully picking keywords for your site, you gain a deeper understanding of your target audience – and that certainly makes you better at gaining new customers.
More specifically, advances in AI-powered speech recognition present exciting new opportunities for businesses.
For instance, with CallRail’s Conversation Intelligence, you can get the most important insights faster to proactively address your customers’ concerns and make smarter business decisions.
In the meantime, let’s dive into three of the ways you can start using AI to your advantage.
1. Identify SEO Trends & Patterns Without Prompts
One of the key ways AI has revolutionized SEO is by improving the way businesses conduct research.
Now, with the power of AI research tools, you can process vast amounts of data and identify patterns and insights that would be impossible to uncover manually.
For instance, you can use AI monitoring and listening tools to:
Stay on top of industry trends.
Monitor your competitors.
Identify opportunities for engagement with customers.
Track customer sentiment and respond quickly to negative feedback.
Start by using conversation intelligence to analyze the language your customers and prospects use during calls to discover what they really want.
Determine which key terms are important to your business and set up Key Term Spotting to automatically detect how often those terms are (or arenʼt) used in conversations.
Use these insights to adapt your marketing strategies or sales talk tracks to get better results.
With tools like CallRail’s Call Tracking, you can gain even more valuable insights into your customers’ journey.
Examine your web visitor tracking data to identify which campaigns, keywords, and ads your leads interacted with along their journey, making it much easier to know what’s actually working.
Get the ebook to learn more about how calls can boost your marketing efforts.
2. Mine Data To Enhance Online Discoverability & Increase Local SEO Market Share
With conversation intelligence, you can automatically identify key terms spoken in phone calls and map their frequency to spot emerging trends quickly.
You can then see how the most frequently spoken terms and phrases on your calls compare to the keywords you target for your marketing campaigns and use this data to boost your SEO and keyword bidding strategies.
Compare what your customers say they want to what your business actually offers, and fill in any gaps between the words you use to market your business and the terms your customers are using.
By using AI to analyze the top trends in your customer calls, you’re able to spot new opportunities for your business and better serve the needs of your audience.
How To Do It
Review the Key Terms Spotted report in Conversation Intelligence to identify the most commonly-spoken words and phrases at a glance.
Check Call Highlights for recommendations of relevant and powerful keywords and phrases not set up in Key Terms Spotting.
Use insights from both reports to further refine your SEO and keyword bidding strategies and respond to customer sentiment appropriately.
3. Use Voice-Recognition AI To Create Human-First Conversational, SEO-Driven Content
Although using AI for content generation is nothing new, only recently have marketers been able to refine their use of the technology for more authentic results.
In the past, there’s been a negative stigma associated with AI writing – for one, the data that some AI models use is outdated, but also, AI tools have been known to plagiarize content from other websites.
Today, however, there are more advanced AI tools for content generation, which allow SEO professionals to create higher-quality content that ranks well in organic search.
Plus, with insights from conversation intelligence, you can ask an AI content generation tool, like ChatGPT, to generate content topics or even a rough draft based on popular keywords and phrases your customers are using.
Then, once you have something to work with, you can go in and add your human touch to make sure the content really resonates with your target audience.
Try this:
Sign up for an AI-based writing service, or use Microsoftʼs ChatGPT or Google Bard for free!
Use keyword terms and phrases surfaced from Conversation Intelligence and ask it to generate interesting topics based on those keywords.
Use your AI writing tool of choice to generate drafts, but remember to put your brand’s personal spin and the human touch on your work before you press publish.
Learn more about how to use call data to improve your content strategy in CallRail’s latest ebook.
Start Using Next Generation AI With CallRail, Now
With recent advancements in AI technology, marketers are able to make significant improvements in their strategies – from research, to search and SEO discoverability, to content creation.
Are you ready to start leveraging AI to enhance your marketing results?
Learn more in CallRail’s new ebook, Unlock your marketing potential: Use AI to turn your calls into a competitive advantage, and try these services today, 100% risk-free for 14 days!
