It takes hard work to snag a spot on the first page of Google search results. There are many aspects to consider, such as creating relevant content, incorporating relevant keywords and links, and crafting an enticing search result that makes people want to click on it. But before you can craft content that excels, you need to understand how it might be displayed. 

Just because you write something doesn't mean it will rank well or be visible in search results. How an article is structured can make all the difference. This article outlines how to write an article both people and search engines will appreciate.

1. Publish on the right website
2. Choose the right title
3. Technical and psychological/clickbait headlines
4. The Description gets people to click
5. The first paragraph is important
6. Page length advice
7. Bullets and numbered lists (like this one)
8. How rich media increases dwell-time

Why does it take six months for a website to rank? We get asked this quite a bit. For the most part, it's because there is a lag time of between 10 and 20 weeks before listings start to improve in search results. The exception to the rule is viral content—if users signal content is of superior value, and they do so quickly, search listings can improve in hours. Unfortunately, not every piece of content is going to go viral. Spammy, low-quality SEO can have a quick effect, but it tends to rapidly off again and will more often than not make things worse.

How do you know if an SEO is doing a good job? Instead of waiting for results, you can get a glimpse of whether the work they are doing will be effective. Here are three relatively simple things you can check. Think of it as the SEO version of "trust but verify".

For all the brands looking to improve their online presence, here is a checklist of 50 SEO tips that briefly cover everything from SSL certificates to schema to search friendly URLs and much more. Note: If you are looking for an online reputation checklist click here. 

Welcome to Reputation Experiment #142

Sometimes you have to get the SEO ball rolling in order to improve search rankings. To get things started, consider a basic link and social media structure. Done correctly, it will attract organic links and shares on it's own without the need to buy links or engage in nefarious activities. While there are many, a classic link building pattern to prime content includes:

Create these five types of content at the same time, and in a specific order to give your inbound / SEO campaign consistency and make it easier to execute.

Google announced something surprising back in 2016: the news that voice search made up 20 percent of their mobile queries that year.

If you make or edit online content, you are are a content creator. As a content creator, you’ll need to strike that balance between SEO (search engine optimization) and a positive user experience. To make sure everyone is on the same page, here is a list of the different elements that combine to create an engaging and well optimized piece of content.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when performing online reputation management is to build a bunch of different web profiles and fill them with sloppy content. Worse, all these properties often can't be effectively maintained over time, and so lose relevance. The best way to manage reputation is to understand prospective customers, similar companies, and what search engines are looking for.

One of the first steps is to perform a form of competitive research called the search result audit. Here's why.