#SMX #13A2 @AdriaK Be prepared, or be unpleasantly surprised Future- Proofing Your SEO Adria Kyne SEO Manager, North America Vistaprint
#SMX #13A2 @AdriaKBe prepared, or be unpleasantly surprised
Future-Proofing Your
SEO
Adria KyneSEO Manager, North America
Vistaprint
#SMX #13A2 @AdriaK
What are the next changes that will hurt websites that are not prepared?What are the trends worth investing in?What is going to decline in importance?
Today’s Topics
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Potential algorithm changes
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
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HTTPSThey’re not really being subtle about this one.
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Maybe it’s a factorPerhaps in some circumstancesIt could happen
Google SOP for algorithm info
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June 2014 “this is important, you should do this” - Google I/O Aug 2014 “we’ll give a ranking boost” – Webmaster Central BlogDec 2015 “we’ll index pages that have this by default” – Webmaster Central Blog
HTTPS is a thing
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Encryption – prevent eavesdroppingAuthentication – spoof your site to collect passwords or payment information Data integrity – not intercepted or modified between client and servers
What’s the big deal?
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Get a certificate, with 2048-bit encryption.a) Non-commercial or open source sites can get free
certificatesb) https://letsencrypt.org/
a) “Anyone who owns a domain name can use Let’s Encrypt to obtain a trusted certificate at zero cost.”
c) Commercial sitesa) Single host—one domain—is $10.b) Multi-domain certificate—localized, or a couple of subdomains—
using a CDN to serve contentc) Wild Card—if you don’t know what you’ll need—can be more
than $100
What do I do???
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Set your certificate up correctly• Configure your server with consistent best practices
• Mozilla’s wiki page “Server Side TLS” http://mzl.la/Uew3xY• Qualys SSL Labs “SSL/TLS Deployment Best Practices”
http://bit.ly/1ImpYEW• Test the configuration• Optimize your server performance
Don’t let it expire.
SEO and your Certificate
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Redirect your URLs with a 301 redirect• Avoid creating redirect chains
Make sure your internal links only point to HTTP pages on your site
• (Beware hard-coded links)Don’t block the insecure version of the URL with robots.txt
• SEs won’t see the redirect
Migrating the Site Correctly
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Use the rel=canonical to self-reference on the new pagesUse the HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) header
• Sets a policy for the browser to automatically request the HTTPS versions of pages on your site
Other Signals
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Mobile PerformanceAgain, not being particularly subtle.
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Feb 2015 announced that they will use mobile-friendly factors starting April 2015#Mobilegeddon
Mobile Friendly
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Where’s my Google Dance?
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“traffic to non-mobile-friendly websites from Google mobile searches fell 12% in the two months after the changes took effect April 21, relative to mobile-friendly sites.”
Adobe Digital Advertising Report“nearly 50% of non-mobile-friendly URLs dropped in rank”
Stone Temple Consulting
It Was a Big Deal...Eventually
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Over 50% of searches are on mobileMost new internet growth is coming from mobile
This is not going to become less important.
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Mobile-Friendly Websites Guide “Common mistake: Slow Mobile Pages” Render a mobile page in 1s
– 3G network round trip time at 250ms
They’ve already told us what they want
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Response to proprietary platforms like Facebook's Instant Articles and Apple's NewsOpen source, built entirely out of existing web technologies
• Third-party JavaScript code is disabled in the AMP framework
• Images won't load until they're in the user's viewMassive distributed caching systemIntegrates monetization instruments : advertising, analytics and subscription systems
AMP HTML
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“Google says its search engine, for example, may prioritize AMP-primed pages, since speed is among the signals favored by Google’s ranking system”
Wired December 2015However“AMP doesn't mean adopt AMP and get a massive boost in search ranking. That is not the case.”
Richard Gingras, Google AdAge February 2016
Here’s the sign of things to come
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Promising Trends
Get them before they’re old news!
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Server-Side JavaScript
The Next Big Thing that your developers are going to be badgering you about
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Why are we even talking about JavaScript?
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Performance!Client-side apps are FASTNo need for time-consuming round-trips with your server
Pros of JavaScript
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Cons of JavaScript
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Performance!Until you load all the assets, you’re waiting, so the initial experience suffersUnpredictable—affected by users’ devices
Cons of JavaScript
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1. Run the app on your server2. Renders the page on the server3. Deliver HTMS and CSS4. Deliver JS app assets
What is Server-Side JavaScript?
Source: tomdale.net
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Functionality works without client-side processing Generate standard URLs and <a> tags User gets fast initial load – server-side fastSubsequent interactions are JS-app-fast
Benefits of Server-Side JavaScript
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NetflixNew York TimesPayPalLinkedIn
Example of sites using SSJS
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Knowledge Boxes
Get them while you can
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Dec 2014 to July 2015
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Branding Value Traffic
Is this really worth doing?
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1. Don’t use public domain data; provide unique content
2. Provide a simple, direct answer to a question
How do I get a Knowledge Box?
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Retailer – Customer Service
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Page Content
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Unordered List
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1. Don’t use public domain data; provide unique content
2. Provide a simple, direct answer to a question3. Use an HTML list format
How do I get a Knowledge Box?
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Content Provider – Driving Traffic
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Photo carousel of step-by-step instructionsList of necessary tools and materialsShopping listTips for success
Page Content
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1. Don’t use public domain data; provide unique content
2. Provide a simple, direct answer to a question3. Use an HTML list format4. Offer more in-depth information on the page
How do I get a Knowledge Box?
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Best choice for Knowledge Box?
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List format vs. other HTML
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1. Don’t use public domain data; provide unique content
2. Provide a simple, direct answer to a question3. Offer more in-depth information on the page4. Use an HTML list format, either ordered or
unordered
How do I get a Knowledge Box?
#SMX #13A2 @AdriaK
What is going to be less important?
I have controversial opinions.
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Mobile is cannibalizing desktop traffic• PC base is static or even falling• The number of people with smartphones is growing
Most new internet growth will be mobile, not desktop• Internet penetration is about 85% in the US, 90% in the UK• Most of the new additions will be in the rest of the world
The Internet Is Shifting to Mobile Devices
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Time spent on Digital Media
Image credit: comScore
87% of all time on mobile in the US was on apps
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Google Search #2 in 2013
Image credit: Nielsen
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Google Search #2 in 2014
Image credit: Nielsen
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Google Search drops to #4 in 2015
Image credit: Nielsen
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50-80% of searches are “Informational” or “Know” queries1
• Rich Answers• Intelligent Personal Assistants
10% are navigational, e.g. “Facebook” or “Gmail”Searches per device per day2
• Desktop/tablet: 1.23• Mobile: 0.925
Mobile users search less than desktop users
2Charles Arthur, former tech editor The Guardian bit.ly/1RlRKTN
1http://bit.ly/241klWJ
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Google’s revenue has not grown at the rate desktop alone didDuring some quarters, revenue per user has gone down1
Revenue per user much lower outside of US/UK, where most internet growth is likely to occur
52% of searches is not 52% of revenue
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1 Statista.com http://bit.ly/1wOO2qr
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Advertisers are not enthusiastic• Mobile traffic does not convert as well
“Enhanced” campaigns• Artificially increasing demand for mobile ad clicks
Trying to bolster mobile revenue
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Reorganization into AlphabetExpansion into Google Now, Now on TapNew messaging app with personal assistant
• WeChat model• Payment integration with apps
Google’s diversifying interests
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What is going to be less important?
Wait for it...
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Mobile search
I’m not kidding
#SMX #13A2 @AdriaKSEE YOU AT THE NEXT #SMX
THANK YOU!