Mediaboss Marketing

Got a solid blogging strategy? Im here to challenge it.

Dont have one? Keep reading.

Developing the right blogging strategy and optimizing it regularly is essential.

Heres why: You need a strategy for efficiency. But when the strategy overruns creativity, the value is lost.

If youre consumed by looking for keyword synonyms, perfecting keyword placement, and choosing the optimal anchor text for internal links, your blog will turn into a word game (read: boring).

What you should be focusing on instead is user intent and providing valuable answers to the questions your audience is asking.

Thats where the beauty of quality SEO content comes in. When you do it right, everyone benefits search engines, your target audience, and of course you.

Lets start with the factors that are an absolute must for your blog SEO.

I call these blog busters because any one of them can make or break your blog.

Advertisement

Continue Reading Below

Open up your to-do checklist.

More than 50% of search traffic comes from mobile devices.

Blog readers expect mobile-responsive blogs, and Google knows that. Thats why being mobile-friendly is a ranking factor.

A blog should provide an exceptional user experience for readers on desktop and mobile not one at the expense of the other.

Its a perfect example of how pleasing readers and search engines go hand-in-hand.

Advertisement

Continue Reading Below

Readers have short attention spans and if the page doesnt load near-instantly, you can expect them to bounce.

Moving on to the next runner-up on the SERP is less frustrating than waiting.

Make sure your visual elements dont slow down page speed.

Remove anything from the page that may interfere with loading such as unnecessary code, overused plugins, and other extra baggage.

Google knows if your page is slow and people are leaving right away. So load time is crucial for getting eyes on your article and climbing the SERP rankings.

Very short blog posts are easy to read and may get a lot of views. But how much valuable information can you provide in 300 words?

Itll always be little more than a teaser. (Fun fact: Youve read over 400 words already.)

Longer posts will increase the value of your content if you deliver relevant insights.

Heres a little secret trick (well, not so secret anymore): If you prefer short posts, create clusters of short articles around the same topic and interlink them.

Readers can easily move from post to post, and you kill three birds with one stone.

Google wants to know who your friends are. I mean, they know just about everything, but you get the idea.

Creating an optimized blog goes beyond writing relevant, engaging, and informative content for your audience.

It requires promoting, networking, and distribution as part of the content marketing strategy.

To establish a loyal readership, you need to build trust.

Google is on the readers side, and backlinks are an important ranking factor. They are considered a kind of proof that you are a recognized authority on a subject.

To rank well, you need established sites to vouch for you.

Lets stick with gaining the readers trust here.

Advertisement

Continue Reading Below

How can a random searcher be sure whether you know what youre talking about?

Before they trust you, theyll trust Google. The search engine wont send people to your page on skincare if your company sells computer accessories.

The question you need to ask is, what expertise can you offer to your audience?

Your blog content needs to streamline what your brand stands for.

If you are clear on that, authority is a logical consequence. The search engine recognizes your area of business based on the relevance of keywords to the URLs of your domain.

Proper keyword research is still the holy grail.

Your keyword strategy is useless if you target the wrong terms. You need to identify the keywords your target audience uses to find what they need and effectively target them.

It means putting yourself in their shoes.

Evaluating search volume and keyword competitiveness wont cut it.

Advertisement

Continue Reading Below

Ask yourself, Why and what does your audience want to read and learn about?

How does search intent alter the way searchers use keywords?

What intent does your blog satisfy?

Which keywords drive the most traffic to your type of blog or website?

These are questions you want to answer for your blog as a whole and for the individual articles, as well.

Theres no time like the present. Take a look at the top keywords in the United States (i.e., what people are actually searching for) right now:

You need to think optimization before you even create the first bit of content and never stop.

Advertisement

Continue Reading Below

What do I mean by optimization? After all, there is SEO optimization, conversion optimization, image optimization, and simply optimizing your content to stay relevant.

Optimization is simply the process of making something optimal higher quality, more effective, just better.

The bottom line though is you want to optimize your new and existing content to meet your goals. That likely includes all of the above, plus some more.

Youll want to implement the focus keyword in your title and metadata.

Select secondary keywords that appear in H2s and incorporate them naturally throughout the text.

Create titles with a clear message that drives people to click and keep reading.

Add visuals that enhance the written content and optimize those images with the right keywords in the alt texts.

Put some thought, and research, into your CTAs. Make them interesting and most importantly clear.

If you have old content that is losing relevance, you can update it in keeping with on-page SEO best practices and see powerful results with a lighter lift.

Advertisement

Continue Reading Below

If I had to choose a single SEO tip, this would be it: Treat your blog as a central pillar in your digital marketing strategy.

We used to think of blogging as extra content that isnt essential. Those days are over. And so are the days when blogging was merely writing freely about an interesting topic.

This is one piece of critical advice every SEO pro will give you.

Many blog managers assume they know their audience but never analyze how close to reality their assumptions are.

If you want to get (and keep) your blog a step ahead of your competitors and improve your audience targeting, go the extra mile and analyze your actual audience vs. your target audience.

This is a critical part of our SEO strategy, and we use our audience analysis tool to identify demographics, interests, and behavior.

See what your web analytics software offers, collect and track data about your blog audience.

Advertisement

Continue Reading Below

You may not make mind-blowing discoveries, but youll fine-tune your SEO strategy to generate more qualified traffic and reach more relevant readers.

No matter how you turn it, keyword research is your foundation.

Research in Context

The most sophisticated SEO strategy cant generate results unless its built on the right keywords, which is why I believe in addressing keyword research (or any other research) in the context of the market landscape.

Investigate the search volume for keywords, but also reverse the angle.

How? By starting with the destination, not the term.

The idea is to reveal which keywords drive the most traffic to sites similar to yours.

It helps pinpoint user intent and identify relevant audiences.

Research Performance

Research how keywords perform and to what type of content they drive traffic.

When you see your chosen keyword generates traffic to sites that answer entirely different issues, reconsider.

Research Relevant, Current, Accurate Data

Advertisement

Continue Reading Below

The abundance of data thats available on the web can be overwhelming. What metrics are most relevant? How come different analytics tools provide conflicting info?

Its because each has its unique definition and measurement method. Whats best for you depends on your type of business and business goals.

But one thing is increasingly important for all blogs and websites: Research with real-time data.

Averages from past months arent indicative of whats working today. Keyword performance and rankings change quickly. You want to identify the most promising trends so you can create new content and optimize existing content.

Pro tip: Identify whether your target keywords are driving organic traffic or generate mainly paid traffic. This helps you laser-focus on the most relevant terms and avoid losing traffic to ads.

Your closest competitors are likely targeting the same keywords.

Searchers get SERPs full of similar page titles. When that happens, your potential reader turns to the meta descriptions those 160 characters summarizing your blog content to determine whether the article answers their query.

See the article here:
10 Blogging Tips to Capture the Right Audience (and Keep Them) - Search Engine Journal

Remember that joke of how a woman who had to once choose between her husband and her maid, and she would pick the latter? Although a joke, its an example of how much Indians depend on their domestic helpers. To that end, Meenakshi Gupta Jain along with her husband Punit Jain founded Helper4U.in, an online platform that aims to link domestic workers with employers.

Helper4U was initially started as a small community-based project in Mumbai to maintain a database of domestic helpers who were showing up for work. But when Meenakshi realised that they were subject to exploitation while hunting for jobs, she quit her lucrative job to devote her time and attention to the cause for a comprehensive and systematic approach to the problem.

The objective was to create an easy-to-use application like Naukri.com but for people without an email-id. Besides, mobile application was at that time the simplest thing to do as mobiles were booming in India and even the poorest of the poor had mobiles at their place, says Meenakshi.

Thus emerged the mobile application as the platform that became a common denominator between employers and job seekers. So, Helper4U serves as the database with all details of the job seekers, and employers just need to go online, filter their requirements, get the details, and call them directly. The pandemic has led the startup to recently introduce elderly care services.

The couple, along with 12 members comprises the operations and technical support team, where a major part of the operations is handled by people from underprivileged backgrounds. This was a conscious decision as we realised that these people coming from slums have a certain sense of empathy and understanding while talking to job seekers, says Meenakshi.

The founder boasts of the one lakh job seekers registered with them.

Helper4U got registered as an online business under the .in domain since it didnt want to go through the operational challenges of a physical company. Infact, our employers and job seekers find it easier to remember the .in domain as it is shorter. Also, it gives a local advantage with the Indian identity, especially beneficial for NRIs looking for services based in India, adds Meenakshi.

Apart from the exorbitant cost of the .com domain, the growth potential of the .in extension led the startup to take the plunge. Having an appropriate domain name and extension is an investment for Meenakshi as it not only sets the identity but also helps to increase the SEO while people search for the company.

The National Internet Exchange for India (NIXI) is helping many businesses across the country to get a .in or .Bharat domain. Enterprises irrespective of their scale and size can avail a .in domain with the help of NIXI. It is affordable and can be availed in more than 22 languages for businesses coming from all regions of the country.

Helper4U ensures hiring when you need, and where you need at the blink of an eye. In the days to arrive Meenakshi aims at proper training and orientation of the employees on a mobile platform before joining elsewhere.

Talking of operational growth, the startup had its base in Mumbai but soon had an organic growth with word-to-mouth publicity, receiving calls from every corner of the city. The website has almost 40,000 visitors each month. The starting package from the employers which was Rs 150 has now turned into Rs 1,000 within five years.

According to Meenakshi, the domestic sector bears the greatest opportunity for them which has ready-made jobs, is constantly growing, and always has room for employment. Discussing the future roadmap, Meenakshi explains, Apart from the training of job seekers, we are focussing on two things that include proper training in a formalised manner, and create a mini-LinkedIn kind of network to grow the database.

The Shaping India Inc's Online Growth series chronicles the journeys of startups and SMEs in India and how creating an online presence on the .in or .Bharat domain powered their success stories.

Go here to see the original:
How Helper4U acts as the perfect matchmaker for Indias semi- and unskilled workforce - YourStory

Kieran Reed.

Alpha Digitals Kieran Reed, outlines how the latest Google update is likely to impact your brand

Googles search algorithm is constantly becoming more sophisticated, and its latest breakthrough harnesses new AI to answer more complex queries. The end goal? You can start asking Google questions in the same way that you would ask a friend or a trusted expert.

Speaking at its recent Search On event, Google revealed how its Multitasker Unified Model (MUM), a neural network, will allow people to get the answers that they need with less searches. MUM is an AI-powered super-algorithm which provides a massive update; with huge potential and many implications for brands which are yet to unfold. Marketers who have been creating helpful and insightful content that delivers the best value to people can rest assured that the update will work to their advantage.

Whats new to search?

Google has used a great example, which makes the benefits of the update easy to understand. Lets say that you want to climb Mount Fuji. Using the new search functionality, you could take a picture of your hiking boots and ask, Can I use these to hike Mt. Fuji?. Its the type of question that you might have to ask an avid climber, or someone local to the area if you wanted to get your answer offline - and you can imagine that you would get a pretty rich response. Its the type of human interaction which has been difficult for Google to parallel in the past.

If you wanted to get that type of information online, you would probably have to make multiple searches like, best hiking boots or recommended hiking boots for Mount Fuji, and stitch together the answers and compare them to your own boots to find your answer.

How does MUM work?

Its not easy to bring so much context into the search equation and deliver an answer quickly. Thats why the algorithm is evolving to understand 75 languages to unlock more information. For example, if there is important information that is only available in Japanese across the web, Google can now consider it and make it available for English searchers. MUM is also mutlimodal which means it can understand and utilise information from a wider variety of formats like webpages, pictures, videos and more, simultaneously. This is a huge update for Google Lens, Googles existing image recognition platform. Its also important to note, that while human biases can reduce the social utility of AI, Google is taking active measures to document and limit these.

As Google becomes more sophisticated, so should marketers.

Googles new super algorithm will better understand the context of content, not just the number of times you used a keyword. Marketers that prioritise value for people through their content and user experience will benefit massively. Manipulative SEO tactics, such as keyword spamming and low quality links (that dont provide value to the end user) and having less and less influence on the algorithm. People that try to manipulate search engines simply wont be prioritised as Google continues to provide more valuable information to its end user.

SEO is not magic or sorcery. Nor is it something to compromise on. Its about showcasing value to your end user and ensuring Google has the best chance of understanding that value. Lets go back to that hiking enthusiast who dreams about the views from the summit of Mt. Fuji. The marketers that commit to supporting that dream and making it a reality by publishing practical and inspiring advice online, will position their brand right in front of that person who is open to considering all of the intel and equipment that they need to get to the top.SEO should be a considered element in your marketing mix, because it demands that you realign with your customer through considered and thoughtful content. Good old-fashioned, walk a mile in your customers shoes marketing is now rewarded handsomely. This is because Google is helping users answer more complex queries and are getting better at providing the value that searchers are seeking.

Google seeks to serve our complex needs and so should you.

As Google gets a wider understanding of the potential context and intent of a search query, it can provide more rich answers. The hiker can surface helpful subtopics for deeper exploration, such as top-rated gear or best training exercises, with pointers to helpful articles, videos, and images from across the web. Its the perfect opportunity for empathetic and data-driven marketers who want to tap into the ever-evolving search landscape and provide more value to their customers.

Kieran Reed is a senior digital experience account manager at Alpha Digital

Read the original here:
Brands that add value to benefit the most from Google's new 'super algorithm' update - AdNews

News flash, you're not a tree, so if you're feeling stuck. It's time to dust yourself off, stretch those limbs and make some moves! New job, first job or part-time positions are all available, and below is a fresh list of local options and companies ready to say, "you're hired!"

First Things First

Resumes are a must when you're applying for a job so instead of getting butthurt because it's an inconvenience, spare yourself the wasted energy and get cracking. Use the positions with experience that fit the jobs you are applying for and keep the whole thing to one page. Feeling lost? Reach out to Worksource Yakima and they will get you all set up!

The more jobs you apply for, the more options you'll have in the end so apply, apply, apply and you've got this! If I could steal a line from Bridesmaids, "you're beautiful AND you smell like sunshine!" Positive vibes are currently being sent your way.

Business Currently Hiring

Prosser Memorial Hospital

PediaStaff

Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic

The Salvation Army Western USA

Round Table Pizza

WinCo Foods

Valley Mall

Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital

El Parrillon Loco

READ MORE: See 50 remote jobs that can pay well

KEEP READING: Here are the best places to retire in America

Just saying the names of these towns immediately conjures up images of grand mansions, luxury cars, and ritzy restaurants. Read on to see which town in your home state took the title of the richest location and which place had the highest median income in the country. Who knowsyour hometown might even be on this list.

Go here to read the rest:
Time to Update the Resume and Grab a Job! - newstalkkit.com

VIENTIANE, Oct 19 (Vientiane Times/ANN): A Lao-Chinese project that will encourage people in Phongsaly province to grow agricultural crops instead of opium poppies has been launched, at an estimated cost of 161 million yuan.

The Chinese government is funding the initiative to help improve the lives of people living in Phongsaly as well as bolster economic development.

The aim is to reduce poverty levels by weaning people off the cultivation of opium poppies and encouraging them to grow other crops that have more overall benefit.

An agreement on the project was signed last week in Seo Chai village, Yot Ou district, between Huaphan province and a Chinese company.

The project will run for 30 years from the date of signing, with the Chinese company to work with local residents to grow crops.

The company will provide funding, technical advice and a market for the crops grown, which will be farmed by local residents.

The government has allocated 140 hectares for crop production in Seo Chai and other villages where opium poppies have been traditionally cultivated. The crops harvested will be sold in Laos and to other countries.

Under the project, a secondary school will be built in Seo Chai village, as well as a village office, a police office, health centre, a Lao-Chinese Cultural Friendship centre, and an agricultural training centre.

A market will also be built along with a warehouse to store agricultural produce, a park, housing and dormitories for workers, a crop processing plant, and a place to demonstrate economic development.

The Chinese company will undertake construction of the secondary school in Seo Chai village at a cost of 1.3 million yuan. - Vientiane Times/ANN

Original post:
Laos: Crop growing project to replace opium poppies in Phongsaly province launched - The Star Online