September 2018 - Saba Digital Marketing

Advantages of Google’s Automatic Search Console Verification

Posted on September 28, 2018 by admin@saba4321

Google plans to make the process of verification on Google Search Console (GSC) easier. The search engine giant recently announced that websites will be verified in GSC if owners of those sites are already confirmed with Google Analytics. Website owners will no longer have to go through the process of manual verification to get full access to all Search Console features. The San Diego SEO specialists at Saba SEO discuss a few benefits of this new update.

Contains Fewer Issues with Verification Errors

With manual GSC verification, you would have to sign into Search Console, click “Add a Site” or “Manage Property,” and choose one of the listed verification methods. The procedure sounds easy enough, but there are several verification errors that can make it time-consuming and frustrating. With automatic verification, errors are less likely to occur since a site is already successfully verified by Google Analytics.

Provides Access to Full Search Console Perks

Automatic verification means you’ll be able to enjoy all of the perks that go along with GSC access. The free, multi-functional tool provides information designed to help you keep your site healthy, improve your rankings, and correct issues sooner rather than later. Key GSC features include: • Emails and notifications when there are issues requiring attention (e.g. attempted hacks, manual actions from Google, CMS upgrade alerts) • Comparisons of desktop and mobile click-through rates (CTRs) and other detailed search analytics • Suggestions for HTML improvements • Sitemap and Robots.txt testing • Crawl error report access Note: If you don’t want your site verified in GSC, delete the property in Search Console settings. If you want to attract the attention of local searchers or set up paid ads, you’ll need to go through the verification process specific to other Google assets such as My Business. However, GSC offers many insights and reports that can help you make well-informed decisions about the way you interact with your target audience online. When it comes to increasing your online engagement and conversion rates, let the experts at Saba SEO help you out. As a leading SEO company in San Diego, we have designed successful digital marketing strategies for businesses all over the globe. We specialize in search engine optimization, paid marketing, content writing, web development, and social media management. If you need a comprehensive SEO strategy for your business, give us a call at 858-277-1717 today.

Should You Stick with 301 Redirects for HTTP to HTTPS Migrations?

Posted on September 26, 2018 by admin@saba4321

In 2014, Google first announced sites with HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) would enjoy a ranking boost. HTTPS websites provide more security for visitors entering personal information and help site owners avoid performance issues or potentially serious data breaches. Google displays a warning sign for all non-HTTPS websites, which often steers visitors away. Consequently, many website owners are using 301 redirects to transition from HTTP to HTTPS. The San Diego web design specialists at Saba SEO discuss the importance of 301 redirects.

What’s Wrong with Using Other HTTPS Redirect Codes?

303 status codes and other non-301 redirect efforts may not necessarily indicate a migration from HTTP to HTTPS. As a result, Google is likely to reprocess each URL on your site to determine what you’re doing. The process of reevaluating URLs significantly slows down the migration process, which could have an impact on your website’s visibility and performance.

Will Google Penalize Sites Using Other Redirects?

Google prefers 301 redirects, but it’s not a mandatory requirement. The important thing for the search engine is to be able to recognize a clear migration from HTTP to HTTPS and detect that all URLs have successfully moved. If Google can confirm you’re making a generic move, they’re also more likely to facilitate the transfer process. Google also wants to make sure you’re not:

• Removing content or code

• No-indexing pages differently

• Altering the overall structure of your site or its individual pages

There’s a common misconception that only websites that collect user information need to switch from HTTP to HTTPS. Even if there’s nothing sensitive on your site and you don’t ask for visitor details, the data being transferred to and from your site is still susceptible to viruses and malware. Plus, there are scammers who intentionally infuse vulnerable sites with ad content. These are just some of the reasons HTTPS is essential today. Just remember to use appropriate 301 redirects when you make your upgrade.

If you need help creating a secure website for your business, trust Saba SEO. We are among the leading marketing companies in San Diego, with over ten years of experience in website development. Our professional web designers can create a unique, secure, and highly responsive website that is sure to result in increased traffic and more conversions. We also offer SEO, PPC, and social media management services to make sure your website achieves and retains the top spot across all search engine results pages. Whether you’re looking for a transition from HTTP to HTTPS or a new website altogether, give us a call at 858-277-1717 today.

Tips for Optimizing the Career Page on Your Website

Posted on September 24, 2018 by admin@saba4321

Finding the right people for vacancies at your business can be a challenge because of all of the competition with online recruitment. Simply having a career page on your website isn’t enough. Some popular job sites are powerful and hard to compete with, but they often lack authority, which is an increasingly important factor for search engines like Google. The internet marketing service providers at Saba SEO discuss a few ways you can optimize the career page on your website to attract the right type of job seekers.

Research Your Keywords

The competitiveness of the keywords you use for your career page will ultimately determine how well those pages perform. Google’s Keyword Planner and Ahrefs are some of the tools you can use to get an idea of what keywords will likely perform well for you. Pay particular attention to words and phrases with low keyword difficulty that may be able to help you outrank some of the bigger job boards.

Harness the Power of Internal Linking

Internal links can help your career page rank better because they let search engines know this particular page is important. Use free tools such as Ahrefs to see which URLs on your site have the most authority, then use this info to place internal links to your vacancy page(s) within relevant supporting text on your top-performing pages.

Fine-Tune the Content

People visiting career pages normally expect to find the basic facts about the position and a brief summary of what your company is about. Keeping the searcher’s expectations in mind, consider optimizing your own career page by: • Keeping word count under 300 • Offering a few appealing reasons why working at your company is so great (e.g. paid training period or group-oriented work environment) • Answering questions likely to be asked by potential employees (e.g. hours, salary range, key job duties, basic qualifications required) • Including a brief virtual office tour video Another tactic is to use the Google for Jobs tool, which works by pulling information from all leading job sites. If you want to harness the power of Google for Jobs, you’ll need to include listings on some job sites. By also optimizing your own career page on your website, you’ll be giving searchers yet another way to find your latest vacancies. If you need help optimizing some or all of your webpages, turn to Saba SEO, one of the best SEO companies San Diego has to offer. Our search engine optimization experts can develop a customized SEO strategy for your business that is sure to boost your online visibility. For over ten years, we have helped organizations all over the world increase their search engine rankings and develop a strong brand image. We offer SEO, PPC, web development, content marketing, and social media management services. Call us at 858-277-1717 to talk to one of our professional SEO Managers.

SEO Practices E-Commerce Businesses Should Adopt in 2018

Posted on September 21, 2018 by admin@saba4321

Like any type of search engine optimization, e-commerce SEO involves a series of techniques designed to increase online visibility. The difference is that e-commerce SEO is centered on organic search results. Specifically, there are three main goals associated with e-commerce optimization: getting more organic traffic to online store product pages, generating organic sales without having to invest in paid ads, and boosting organic brand/product awareness. The San Diego SEO service providers at Saba SEO share some of the best search engine optimization practices for e-commerce businesses in 2018.

Attract Attention with Title Tags

Title tags are the clickable headlines that show up when organic results are displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs). Because title tags are highly visible, you’ll have a better chance of generating clicks back to your site if you optimize your tags with:

• One or two of your primary keywords

• Latent semantic indexing (LSI) keywords, if applicable

• Text limited to 50-60 characters (longer titles are cut off)

• Title tags unique for each product page or category

• A mention of your company’s name at the end to boost brand awareness

Hook Potential Buyers with Meta Description Tags

Meta description tags are positioned just below titles tags on SERPs, and they give you a chance to explain more about your products in a way that’s likely to catch the attention of your target customers. Adding keywords to description tags won’t help you much with SEO, but well-crafted content can give you a decent click-through rate. You can create unique and compelling meta description tags by:

• Using your primary keyword or appropriate keyword variations

• Keeping your descriptions clear, concise, and compelling

• Excluding irrelevant content just to generate clicks (click bait)

Optimize Your URLs

One of the most overlooked e-commerce SEO tactics is to add some SEO power to URLs. Optimizing your URLs also provides another opportunity for searchers to get exposed to your business. To make your URLs SEO-friendly, you may have to:

• Include your main keyword

• Optimize URLs that show the entire address (absolute URLs)

• Be consistent with your URL format for the different pages of your online store

• Keep URLs short and direct

Provide Useful Information in Your Product & Category Pages

You’ve only achieved half of your SEO goals if you’ve managed to effectively direct traffic to your product or category pages. The content on these pages encourages conversions and sales. For optimization purpose, include the same primary keywords or variations you used in your tags and URLs.

When it comes to content, your objective should be to provide sufficient information without overwhelming your visitors. Set up a product page with truncated descriptions that only expand to provide more text when a visitor clicks a specific product.

Embrace Rich Snippets

A rich snippet is structured data markup that enhances existing HTML. For e-commerce SEO, rich snippets include details such as product info, review ratings, pricing, relevant keywords, and images. You can also reference things like availability (e.g. “limited offer”) to further generate interest.

Use Redirects for Expired Product Pages

Product pages can expire for many reasons. For instance, a limited-edition product may no longer be available. However, removing such pages won’t stop them from being linked to another site or showing up on SERPs. Use 301 redirects to take searchers from expired product pages to active ones.

Choose the Right Platform for Your Business

When choosing your e-commerce platform, there are many possibilities. For instance, you could partner with a marketing firm to create an e-commerce site. Another option is to use one of the many e-commerce platforms available for this purpose, like Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, or the WordPress plugin WooCommerce. Yet another possibility is to sell your products directly via Amazon, which is the world’s largest e-commerce company.

Lastly, determine how well your e-commerce site is optimized for conversions. Take a look at your customer feedback to see why some customers weren’t satisfied with your website. For instance, you might discover visitors are having difficulty with your site’s navigation, or you may not be making shipping costs clear enough. Remember, you’re more likely to get a steady flow of conversions if you’re consistently creating a good user experience.

If you’re managing an e-commerce platform and you need help with any aspect of search engine optimization, turn to Saba SEO. We are the leading San Diego SEO agency. For over ten years, our team has designed focused and results-oriented SEO strategies for businesses all over the globe. With our help, you can boost your search engine ranking, increase your online revenue, and build a strong brand image. To talk to one of our professional SEO Managers, give us a call at 858-277-1717 today.

How to Create Content That Is Perfectly Optimized

Posted on September 19, 2018 by admin@saba4321

When it comes to online engagement, content is still king. However, your content is only going to live up to its full potential if it’s perfectly optimized for the intended audience. Optimizing your content may seem like a monumental task, but there are a few steps you can take to make it more visible and appealing to both search engines and searchers. The experts at Saba SEO, one of the leading San Diego marketing companies, share a few tips on how to create perfectly optimized content.

Do Keyword Research

Even the most amazing content won’t perform well if keyword research isn’t part of the equation. Google’s Keyword Planner, Moz’s Keyword Explorer, and KWFinder are some of the handy tools you can use to figure out things like:

• What searchers are using to find info about your business, products or services, or topic

• How competitive your preferred keywords are

• What keywords your competitors are using to target the same searchers

Keep Your URLs Short

If searchers see long URLs with a bunch of meaningless numbers and characters, they’re likely to think the corresponding content is from a questionable site. Add some SEO power to your URLs by:

• Including your main keyword

• Shortening the URLs as much as possible

• Adding a brief description of the content and mentioning your target location (e.g. restaurant-guide/affordable-eateries/Miami)

Create Compelling Title Tags

The title tag is the headline associated with your content on search engine results pages, which is why it’s so important. Again, you’ll want to use your main keyword. You only get a maximum of about 60 characters, so make the tag as descriptive of its corresponding content as possible.

Write Unique Meta Descriptions

Google doesn’t use meta descriptions as a ranking factor anymore, but these descriptive blurbs of text still impact click-through rates (CTRs). A perfectly optimized meta description includes:

• Use of the main/target keyword

• A compelling reason to click

• A short call to action, if appropriate (e.g. “30-day free trial”)

Focus on H1 and H2 Tags

An H1 tag usually wraps around the title for your content. On WordPress, the H1 tag is where you’ll see the “enter title here” prompt. Your H1 tag will be very similar to your title tag. However, you can always add a few more details to your H1s for added impact.

H2 tags are often used for subheadings that support the main title. Avoid keyword stuffing by using natural variations of your keywords in some of your H2 (or H3) tags.

Update Your Content Every Now and Then

Google doesn’t pay attention to “last updated” timestamps for ranking purposes, but it can make a difference with CTRs. Searchers are more likely to click on the latest content.

Naturally Add Keywords within the First 100 Words

Keyword stuffing is still not advisable. However, for optimization purposes, you can naturally use your primary keyword(s) within your opening paragraph or within the first hundred words of your content.

Include Images and Videos

Searchers form an opinion about content within 50 milliseconds. Plus, more than half of all internet traffic is video, and posts with images get about 650 percent more engagement than text-only posts. The point is that your content is more likely to get attention if it includes relevant images and/or videos. Options with visual content include:

• Infographics

• Properly sized images (with alt-image text so search engines can tell what they’re about)

• Embedded YouTube or Vimeo videos

Pay Attention to Outbound and Internal Links

Outbound links can boost your content’s authority, especially if you’re linking to reliable and trustworthy sources. These links can also help search engines determine the relevancy of your content. Internal links make it easier for both searchers and search engines to navigate your site. A good way to use internal links is to include links within your content to other pages that offer more info. When appropriate, use anchor text for your internal links that includes your keywords

Increase Page Speed

Google now considers page speed an important ranking factor. Besides, it only stands to reason that slower pages aren’t going to create a very good user experience. Google’s PageSpeed Insights reports provide important details about page speed. Pingdom, GTmetrix, and WebPagetest are among the other tools you can use to keep tabs on page speed and overall website speed.

Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

Google now looks at websites based on how they appear on mobile devices first. If you want your content to perform well, it has to be on pages that perform well on mobile devices. Boost your content’s mobile-friendliness by:

• Using a responsive website design (adjusts to whatever screen content is being viewed on)

• Avoiding the excessive use of images, HTML, JavaScript, and other elements that could slow down pages

• Fetching and rendering as mobile Googlebot (to spot potential issues)

Another issue with content is determining how long it should be. The answer will depend on its purpose. On contact or form pages, for instance, short, compelling content tends to be more effective since people visiting these landing pages are usually ready to take the desired action. However, visitors checking out your blog are likely to expect something more in-depth. With any type of content you present, put yourself in the place of your target audience and ask yourself this question: “Would I find this content useful, relevant, and compelling?”

If you need unique, compelling, and fully optimized content for your business, turn to Saba SEO. As a leading SEO company in San Diego, we have created and optimized high-quality content for organizations all over the world. Our experts are up to date with the latest Google upgrades, and we can help you create content that is sure to resonate well with your audience, encourage conversions, and boost your online visibility. We have over ten years of experience in digital marketing and an A+ rating on BBB to our credit. Call us at 858-277-1717 to schedule an appointment with one of our SEO specialists.

Why Do You Experience a Drop in Your Website Traffic?

Posted on September 17, 2018 by admin@saba4321

Even if you’re investing in paid ads, uploading insightful blogs, and engaging with your customers on social media, your website can still inspire conversions and generate revenue. Any unexpected drops in traffic should be a cause of concern for your business. The San Diego web design experts at Saba SEO discuss a few reasons website traffic drops.

Not Targeting Your Audience Effectively

Just because your keywords were a perfect match for your target audience when your site first launched doesn’t mean this will be the case forever. A simple way to target your audience effectively is to think like a searcher and see what results come up when you perform a search for what your business offers. If your site’s link isn’t showing up prominently on the results page after your experiment, possible issues may include:

• Using keywords/terms that are too technical for your audience

• Not using long-tail or conversational keywords (which are more popular with searchers these days)

• Using keywords that are either way too specific or too general\

Lost or Poor-Quality Links

Dead Link Checker, Ahrefs, DeepCrawl, and W3C Link Validator are some of the tools you can use to check your website’s internal, external, and anchor links. When evaluating links related to your site, pay attention to:

• Whether or not a spike in lost links correlates with the pages that have also seen a drop in traffic

• The relevance and quality of your external link sources

• Broken links that need to be removed

• Links that may be nonfunctional because corresponding websites have been updated or changed*

*You may be able to contact site owners to secure updated backlinks.

Issues with a New or Redesigned Website

You may experience a dip in traffic if you redesign your website. However, if the issue persists, the reason may be improper 301 redirects from your old site to your new one. XML sitemaps, canonical tags, and links have to be updated.

If you just recently updated your site, this could be another reason for traffic drops. Use stats from your original site as a baseline to compare metrics for your redesigned site and identify the specific pages that are affected.

Server Problems

Server issues related to your site’s markup or caching functions can prevent search engine crawlers from scanning your webpages correctly. To identify server problems, check your server logs and use the Fetch and Render tool to see how URLs are being crawled.

Manual and/or Automatic Penalties

Google has two ways to penalize websites: automatic and manual penalties. Automatic penalties are generated based on what crawlers are finding. Manual penalties are site-specific issues discovered by Google employees. Accumulated penalties you haven’t resolved can affect your website’s performance. If there are issues, make an honest effort to fix them and you’ll likely see a return to more desirable traffic patterns.

How to Add SEO Power to Your WooCommerce Plugin

Posted on September 14, 2018 by admin@saba4321

Adding a WooCommerce plugin is a good way to turn an existing WordPress site into an e-commerce website and generate a steady stream of online revenue. While the plugin operates on nearly 40 percent of all online stores, it still needs an effective SEO strategy. The San Diego SEO service providers at Saba SEO share a few tips on how to add SEO power to your WooCommerce plugin.

Do Your Keyword Research

If you’re running an e-commerce website, you need to find out what keywords people are using to search for your products. The Google Keyword Planner tool can give you plenty of useful keyword data. SpyFu is a tool you can use to see what keywords your competitors are using to target the same customers.

Create Product Descriptions

Provide a brief description of all your products and include keywords when it makes sense to do so. Just avoid using the manufacturer’s description verbatim since this could raise duplicate content flags with Google.

Make Unique Title Pages

Since online searchers are habitual skimmers, anything that clearly states your offer can be helpful. Make your titles for product and category pages unique and SEO-friendly with relevant keywords. Using primary keywords for category pages may attract a broader range of customers. For instance, you might use a main keyword for swimming pools and secondary keywords for pages specific to in-ground and above-ground pools.

Present Clear Navigation

Many people find e-commerce websites difficult to navigate. To improve navigation, make sure your WooCommerce-backed site includes:

• Your main product categories

• Visible links to a few of your high-ranking pages

• Secondary links to your footer to give search engine crawlers access to your site’s details

Upgrade Generic URLs

WooCommerce URLs use product IDs for permalinks, which results in generic, non-descriptive URLs. Make your URLs more appealing to searchers by going to Setting >> Permalinks to change your product page URLs to something like: “Website.com/name-of-product.”

Make Your Meta Descriptions Unique

Using generic meta descriptions won’t help you out much with your optimization efforts. Instead, take the time to create your own unique meta descriptions for product and category pages with relevant keywords and mentions of your brand/business.

Add Alt Text for Your Product Images

The purpose of alt text is to allow search crawlers to read your product images and make it easier for visually challenged visitors to know what your images are. Go to the media gallery on your dashboard to add image-related text in your WordPress site.

Watch Out for Duplicate Content

If you sell certain products that are very similar, watch out for possible duplicate content issues. For instance, you might sell four kinds of chocolate chip cookies. Make the page for each product as different as possible by highlighting unique differences between each one.

The WooCommerce plugin is popular because of the many ways it can be customized to fit specific business needs. When it comes to the WordPress platform, there are several marketing tools that can be used to boost your site’s appeal to your target customers. All in One SEO Pack, Yoast SEO, and WPtouch are a few plugins that can increase your e-commerce site’s SEO power by pointing searchers in your direction. Lastly, there are some WooCommerce SEO themes already optimized for search traffic that may work well for your website.

If you need help creating an effective SEO strategy for your business, turn to Saba SEO. We are a leading San Diego SEO agency with over ten years of experience in search engine optimization. Unlike other marketing companies, we rely on time-tested white hat SEO tools and tactics to boost our clients’ online visibility. Our experts stay up to date with the latest changes in search engine optimization rules and offer customized and quality-assured solutions. To talk to one of our professional SEO Managers, give us a call at 858-277-1717 today.

What Is Google’s Speed Update All About?

Posted on September 12, 2018 by admin@saba4321

Google’s planned page speed for mobile rollout is here. In a nutshell, it means page speed is now a mobile search ranking factor. Given the fact that more than half of all global website traffic now comes from mobile devices, the move isn’t much of a surprise. If you’re a webmaster, you’ll need to be mindful of how fast your pages load if you want to remain competitive online. Whether you’re managing your search engine optimization independently or consulting with a reputed SEO company in San Diego, here’s what you need to know about Google’s Speed Update.

Will Your Site Be Affected?

Google says that only sites with the slowest speeds will be affected by the new mobile page speed ranking factor. Since speed is just one of the many ranking factors, it’s predicted that only a small percentage of queries will ultimately see noticeable adjustments. It’s entirely possible for a site with a slow mobile page speed to rank high if it contains:

• Well-optimized, relevant content

• High conversion rates and low bounce rates

• Authoritative backlinks and other important ranking factors

What Metrics Should You Focus On?

When it comes to user experience, Google encourages web developers to think broadly. There’s no need to obsess over page speed at the moment. However, you should pay attention to content quality and length, social signals, and other issues that could affect your website’s mobile performance.

What Tools Can You Use to See Where You Stand with the Speed Update?

There’s no tool available right now that will specifically determine how your site may be affected by the new mobile speed update. However, there are some tools that can be used to help you evaluate page performance. These include:

• Chrome User Experience Report to access a collection of user experience metrics for top web destinations

• Lighthouse tool to audit webpage quality

• PageSpeed Insights tool to view real-world performance data about pagea

Due to the growing impatience of smartphone users, it’s important to keep mobile page speed as low as possible without affecting the intended purpose of various webpages. According to Google, the average mobile page load time is 22 seconds. However, research suggests more than half of all searchers will abandon a mobile page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.

If you need a responsive website with fast loading time, turn to Saba SEO. We are among the leading marketing companies in San Diego with over ten years of experience in website development and search engine optimization. To date, we have designed unique and highly responsive websites for countless organizations all over the world. Our web designers, SEO specialists, and content marketers work together to boost your search engine ranking and maximize your online visibility. Whether you need a simple web redesign or a comprehensive SEO strategy for your business, give us a call at 858-277-1717 today.

5 Ways to Prevent Negative SEO from Affecting Your Website

Posted on September 9, 2018 by admin@saba4321

Negative SEO is a classic black hat SEO tactic that could result in a noticeable dip in online visibility. It’s essentially an assault from a competitor that involves things like directing bad links to your site and crashing your server by sending bogus requests your way. The way to fight negative SEO techniques is to be proactive. Here are five steps you can take to protect your site from negative SEO, brought to you by the experts at Saba SEO, a San Diego SEO company you can trust.

1. Don’t Purchase Backlinks

Unsafe practices can make your site more vulnerable to negative SEO issues, especially when you purchase backlinks. The potential problem is that some of those purchased links may have issues that reflect poorly on your site.

2. Sign Up for Email Alerts

Sign up to receive email alerts from Google Webmaster, and you’ll get a heads-up when you have a penalty or your site is being attacked by malware. Signing up for email alerts also allows you to respond quickly before your site’s ranking is seriously affected.

3. Make Sure Your Backlinks Are Healthy

One way to spot shady links suddenly being directed at your site is to get into the habit of checking your backlinks. Tools like Ahrefs Backlink Checker and SEO SpyGlass can be used to monitor your backlinks. Err on the side of caution and use Google’s Disavow Links tool to block suspicious or poor-quality backlinks.

4. Make Your Website Secure

Any lapses in your website’s security can make it easier for unscrupulous competitors to find their way in and do some serious damage. If you have a WordPress CMS, security plugins or extensions can secure your site. Further secure your website to discourage negative SEO tactics by: • Using free website security tools like Netsparker and SecurityHeaders.io • Switching to HTTPS and keeping software on your site up to date • Not permitting users to upload files • Validating your site from the browser and server side • Checking the security of your website’s passwords

5. Use Software to Check for Plagiarism/Duplicate Content

The purpose of using software like Copyscape is to make sure competitors aren’t duplicating your content in an attempt to devalue the content or get you penalized by Google. SEMRush also has a handy duplicate content tool you can use. On a related note, consider using tools to perform periodic site audits to spot other issues you may not be aware of. Websites susceptible to negative SEO tricks are usually ones in highly competitive fields or industries. Typically, this includes financial-based sites (e.g. insurance, payday loans, bail bonds). Even if you don’t have an especially competitive niche, there’s always the chance an overly-aggressive competitor could resort to negative SEO tactics. In addition to the tips already discussed, further boost your peace of mind by paying attention to your stats to look for any suspicious ranking dips. If you need help protecting your website from negative SEO tactics, turn to Saba SEO. We are one of the best marketing companies San Diego has to offer, with over ten years of experience in search engine optimization, website design, and content development. Our experts utilize a wide variety of white hat tactics to boost your online visibility. Even if your website has been hit with negative SEO, we can help you get back on the right track. To learn about our quality-assured services, give us a call at 858-277-1717 today.

Don’t Get Burned with These Risky SEO Tactics

Posted on September 7, 2018 by admin@saba4321

It’s only human to want to take shortcuts whenever possible to achieve the desired results faster. However, some of the steps sometimes taken to boost your search engine results are a bit risky. In the world of SEO, such questionable tactics are referred to as black hat or gray hat SEO. You may be able to sneak past the watchful eyes of Google with some negative SEO methods, but the resulting hit to your online visibility could have a serious impact on your bottom line. The San Diego SEO experts at Saba SEO discuss a few common search engine optimization tactics to avoid.

Private Blog Networks (PBNs)

With PBNs, links back to your site are created from expired domains with good authority. The risk is that some defunct domains could have a sketchy history that includes previous penalties or a high turnover rate with domain ownership. Domains with such histories are a big red flag to Google.

Recycled, Borrowed, or Keyword-Stuffed Content

The need to produce fresh content on a consistent basis can sometimes result in the temptation to take shortcuts. Some time-saving techniques like updating popular blog articles with new insights or data are just fine. However, what can get you in trouble with Google is content that includes:

• Scraped articles from your competitors with little or no changes
• Spun articles stuffed with extra keywords
• Multiple variations of the same article

Negative SEO Tricks

“Negative SEO” is the intentional sabotage of your competitors’ websites or content, which might include pointing poor-quality links to their sites, intentionally driving too much traffic to their sites to crash them, secretly inserting malware on their sites, or changing content in a way that’s likely to negatively affect ranking. Aside from just being wrong, such tactics could result in banishment by Google and, in extreme situations, possible jail time.

Link Buying

It’s perfectly fine to reach out to other sites and solicit links in exchange for content that’s relevant to their audience. In fact, this can be an excellent way to get high-quality backlinks likely to expand your outreach. However, simply purchasing links violates both Google and Bing’s policies. Also, you could end up paying a hefty price to buy links, and your efforts may be a total waste of time and money if you get caught.

Cloaked Content

With cloaked content, two separate forms of content are created. For instance, you might have one version of a webpage that’s in line with what search engine crawlers want to see. However, visitors to the site might see a different version of the same page loaded with ads or spammy content.

Search engines are capable of analyzing many different elements on webpages, so cloaking is easy to detect. It’s also one of those offenses that could get you banned by search engines. There’s also the risk of annoying visitors to your website, which isn’t good for your brand.

Playing safe with SEO often requires a lot of effort. However, you’ll enjoy more positive, long-term benefits if your approach to optimization is based on a solid foundation, including high-quality backlinks, relevant content, and active engagement with your intended audience.

Hiring the right search engine optimization experts is the key to boosting your online visibility and avoiding unnecessary penalties. When it comes to high-quality SEO services, San Diego businesses and organizations all over the world turn to Saba SEO. We have a team of specialists with in-depth knowledge of search engine marketing, and we rely on a wide variety of white hat SEO tactics to help our clients increase their online rankings. Whether you need a focused paid marketing campaign or a comprehensive SEO strategy, give us a call at 858-277-1717 today.