Tag: google search

How to Improve Your Visibility in Search Results? 5 Tips That Can Help

According to a report by Backlinko, the #1 organic search result on Google has an average CTR (Clickthrough Rate) of 31.7%. Moreover, the #1 organic results receive ten times more clicks than a webpage listed at the #10 spot.

When it comes to boosting your digital footprint, improving your search engine rankings is the place to begin. The higher the search engine rankings, the higher the visibility, clicks, conversions, and sales.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. With hundreds and thousands of businesses competing for the top spot in search results and Google regularly updating its search algorithms, landing on the #1 spot or even the first page is very challenging and time-consuming. But as visibility can do wonders for a brand, the struggle is worth the efforts and time.

So, what are the things you can do to improve your search visibility? Here are 5 tips that can help-

1. Target Specific Keywords

Whenever a user enters a search query, search engines try to present most relevant results to the query. If you are just starting with SEO, ensure that every web page targets a particular topic. In other words, you should find high-volume keywords relevant to the web page and use them in the content and meta-tags.

The more targeted and specific the topic of a webpage is, the greater the possibility of ranking higher in search results.

2. Add a Blog Section to Your Website

Blogs are one of the most effective ways to supercharge any SEO strategy. Every blog provides you with the opportunity to target specific keywords and improve your chances of ranking higher in search results.

Blogs can also work as a voice for your brand and enable you to engage with the website visitors directly.

But if you do add a blog section to your website, ensure that each post is informative and helpful. Remember that Google doesn’t simply focus on web pages that target keywords but presents results that it believes would be most helpful to the users.

3. Claim Your Business on Google

Web crawlers discover search results based on the ease with which they can read and categorize the page content. Want to make this process easier and faster for the crawlers? Claim your business on Google My Business (GMB) and Google Maps. It is a free service offered by Google which only requires you to create a GMB account and complete the verification.

Optimize your GMB listing to improve your search visibility, especially for local search results.

Ensure that you provide as much information about your business in your GMB listing so that the crawlers find it easier to understand your offerings and your web pages have higher visibility.

4. Start a PPC Campaign

You can also consider starting a PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaign to improve your search visibility. If you target the right keywords and place an adequate bid, your ad can be presented next to the organic search results. Why not use only PPC when it can help you get listed above the organic search results?

For starters, these are paid ads and might not be the best choice for every brand with a limited marketing budget. Moreover, with SEO, you can continue holding a higher spot in SERPs for an extended period. But with PPC, your ads will only appear as long as you keep funding your ad account.

A combination of SEO and PPC offers the best results.

5. Use Backlinks

Domain authority is a critical ranking factor. One of the best ways to improve your domain authority is to use backlinks. In simple words, a backlink is a link on one website that links to another website. They are also commonly known as “incoming links” or “inbound links.”

For instance, if you write an amazing piece of content on your website and some other website links to this content, this is a backlink.

Creating content that influencers in your industry would want to link to in their own content, can help you generate valuable backlinks. Think infographics, detailed blog posts, market reports, industry-specific case studies, e-books, etc.

Apart from creating great content, you can also consider guest blogging, web directory submissions, and broken link building to get more backlinks for your website and improve visibility in search results.

Get Your Brand Noticed by People with Improved Search Visibility

As search engines like Google are used by most people to search for products/services or information, improving your search visibility is definitely the best way to get noticed. Consider these tips to improve your visibility and get closer to your digital goals.

For faster and more effective results, you can look for a reliable digital marketing agency that has worked with several businesses struggling with their digital presence.

May 18, 2021

Studies Reveal that the Layout and Elements on SERP Determine User Navigation Behaviour
The Google SERP is constantly evolving, and today for any search query, SERP includes several features like – featured snippets, Q & As, rich answers, product carousels, video carousels, top stories and many more. There’s no fixed format. It depends on several factors like – the device used, the search query and intent of the user and more.

The assortment of results plays a crucial role in determining user behaviour – how they navigate the search results.

Here, in this post, we walk you through the results of two new studies that determine the impact of the SERP changes on searcher behaviour.

Study #1:

A recent study by the Nielsen Norman Group reveals vital insights about how the various elements on the SERP impact user behaviour. The study presents results derived by analyzing over 471 user search queries. It was conducted for three years, starting from 2017 to 2019.

Here are the key highlights of the study:
- 74% of searchers looked at featured snippets, product carousels, video carousels, Q&As and other rich-search results.
- The layout of the SERP determines which links get clicks and whether organic results gain visibility. Additionally, the positioning of visually rich elements like product carousels etcetera, determine whether organic results get clicks or not.
Image via NNGroup
- Consider the above SERP page result for the query, “best refrigerator to buy.” Participants of the eye-ball tracking survey first directed their attention to the various rich results like – sponsored shopping cards, featured snippet, sponsored results before they even looked at the first organic result.
- A few years back, the gaze of searchers followed a linear pattern, as search results were arranged sequentially and contained only one type of results. However, today, the gaze pattern is non-linear as the user’s gaze is influenced by the various visual elements present in the SERP. The Norman study team has dubbed this phenomenon as the Pinball pattern.
Image via NNGroup
- Since the results page varies significantly from one query to another, users are forced to assess the entire page, instead of just clicking on the first result as they used to do a few years earlier.
- While images drew in the attention of a large number of searchers, other elements that gave quick answers like – knowledge panels, featured snippets are increasingly clicked on by a majority of searchers.
- While the SERP has increased in complexity, surprisingly, the time taken for a searcher to take action remains relatively quick at just 5.7 seconds.
- One significant difference between search behaviours in 2006 and today is that in 2019, the first result on the SERP received only 28% of clicks. In contrast, this number was 51% in 2006. The study also found that though the first three results received more than half (56%) of all clicks. The results in lower positions also received a higher proportion of clicks compared to a few years ago.
- Below the fold clicks – The study found that for simple fact-finding queries, only 5% of clicks occurred below the fold. On the other hand, for complex research-oriented queries, 20% of clicks were below the fold. It suggests that businesses that publish in-depth content can attract higher clicks, even if they rank down the SERP.
- Searchers went past the first page only for 2% of all queries.
Study #2:

Another independent analysis by Yext revealed that actions on local business listings like – making a call, asking for directions – have increased to 17% from 10% last year. This study suggests that users are getting quicker at finding what they are looking for from the results page. They are spending lesser time searching and more time engaging with local businesses.

The Key Takeaways – What do these results mean for SEO experts and marketers?

The results from the two studies mentioned above indicate that newer features of SERP like rich answers, snippets, video carousels, local business listings, matter just as much or even more than organic search results.

Marketers need to work on revising their content and SEO strategies by keeping these trends in mind. Optimizing for these strategies will help businesses reach out to their audiences, even as traffic from organic results fall.
December 6, 2019
Will Okay Google and Visual Search replace the Search Text Box?

The search behaviour of internet users have come a long way from the advent of Google search in the late 90s. Today, the devices used, the queries asked, and the sites accessed are all changing the search landscape in new ways.

The increase in the adoption of smart speakers and the use of images instead of search queries are making brands rethink their SEO strategies to keep up with the future of search. Here, in this guide, we look at the two big trends of search right now – voice and visual and its implications.

Voice Search Rapidly Gaining Search Share

You may have come across the notoriously famous stat, “50% of all searches in 2020 would be made without a keyboard.” While econsultancy has investigated that this statistic is more of wishful predictions than reality, voice searches are not far behind.

In 2016, Google revealed that 20% of all searches carried out in the Google app are via voice. While voice may not have reached 1 in 2 searches yet, it’s getting there.

Visual Search Not Getting Left Behind

Compared with voice search, the visual search doesn’t get much media spotlight. But, that doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant. Just like voice, users are using images instead of typing text for search queries. Google Lens is now available on both Android and iOS and comes with an array of features. It can scan barcodes, translate text from one language to another, search for objects scanned in the real world, and find it online, and much more.

Not just Google, Bing the other big search engine has also made significant improvements to its visual search capabilities. Bing offers third-party app developers to create feature-rich apps using visual search.

The third major development in the field of visual search is Pinterest. Pinterest allows users to use specific items in pins and search for them online. Alternatively, the app also allows users to search for objects in real life and find it online, thereby driving eCommerce sales, all from the Pinterest app.

Visual search also helps in boosting local search capabilities. An example of this is “search by photos,” introduced by Google. The search by photos option appears for specific verticals and is placed along with regular search results.

For instance, if a user searches for “tacos near me,” the search results include photos of tacos from local restaurants. The user can click on these photos to find a taco restaurant.

Another example of the increasing relevance of visual search is the addition of AR into Google Maps. Several recent studies reveal that visual search is increasingly preferred by millennials, who prefer images instead of typing text queries.

What does this mean for Marketers and SEO strategists?

Marketers have to move beyond keyword optimization of content and rethink their content strategy to be suited for voice and visuals. The fundamental strategy for PPC marketers, SEO specialists and content creators is to start preparing for these new technologies. Stay ahead of these changes, as consumers migrate to voice and visual searches, giving up text-based queries.

October 25, 2019
Google Adds Sticky Header to Search Page

Google has rolled out a couple of interesting updates to its search page. If you have recently accessed the search engine results page you must have seen that the search bar doesn’t disappear even when you have scrolled from the top of the page to the next fold. This is a part of the extensive testing it has been conducting since August this year. Now it is rolling out these updates at a universal level.

A look at the changes

Now when you scroll on a Google search results page, you will see that the search bar remains fixed to the top of the page. This way, if you need to quickly type a query again, you can do so without travelling all the way back to the top of the page. All you need to do is type on the sticky search bar and hit Enter. As compared to the older search bar, this is the key change that is now visible. It saves users a couple of seconds if they want to search another query. They can save time in travelling to the top of the page and type the query from the current location itself. It is interesting to note that this is for desktop- only change and no change will be visible on tablets or smartphones.

The new design does feel a lot wobbly and might need some fine- tuning work so that it doesn’t shake so much at the time of scrolling up and down. Users might take some time to get accustomed to the new design. There is expected to be a lot of complaints that will emerge against this change. But eventually they will have to be prepared to see this update being visible for a long time.

What are the initial reviews?

While many customers have welcomed the change, there are many users who have complained about the new update. The constantly visible search bar at the top even after scrolling seems to be a distraction for many users. Also, users feel that there is already a way to access the search bar at all times even in the older layout, i.e. typing the search query on the address bar, which will re-direct to the Google search results page.

However, we feel that Google has been testing this update for pretty long. Hence we can expect the changes to stay on the site for long even if the number of impressed users is a bit lower than expected.

What else has changed?

The search bar/ field too has undergone a design revamp. Instead of the sharp edges we are accustomed to seeing for so many years now, there has been a slight update here. It now features rounded edges on all four corners.

What is your opinion of these new changes brought about by the search engine giant on its search engine results page? Do leave us a comment and let us know your thoughts.

December 6, 2018

Tag: google search

How to Improve Your Visibility in Search Results? 5 Tips That Can Help

Studies Reveal that the Layout and Elements on SERP Determine User Navigation Behaviour

Will Okay Google and Visual Search replace the Search Text Box?

Google Adds Sticky Header to Search Page