When it comes to search engine optimization, website owners exhaust all possible means to rank their pages. This includes writing stellar copies, building backlinks, and using the power of social media. One thing that many SEO newbies overlook is the potential of images as an area for additional optimization.

For this post, we listed seven simple ways on how you can leverage your photos for an added edge on the web:

Choose relevant photos

When choosing a photo to use for your post or pages, you have to ensure that each one is relevant to the topic. As much as possible, use original photos with real members of your team on it. That way, page visitors will feel a more authentic vibe on your website. Plastering another stock photo guy on your homepage will not do any good.

Select the optimal format

After choosing the right photo, you should also select the right format. If you’re using a high-definition photo, you can choose between JPEG and WebP. Basically, the latter offers smaller file sizes without compromising visual quality.  On the other hand, if you need transparent backgrounds, PNG is the way to go. As you see, image formats should be used based on your needs.

Resize the image

Resizing the image is crucial so it won’t impact the loading speed of your website. Use lower definitions if you’re just using it as a small image. Through that, you can also cut the file size so it will be lighter for your website. Various web plugins can help in automatically resizing a photo in case you’re uploading dozens at a time.

Use Alternative Text

If you want to optimize images for SEO, the first step is to place Alternative Texts on some of it. Alt Text is the phrase that will show up if your image fails to load. Aside from making your pages inclusive, you’re also using the image as an added tool for visibility. Make sure that you utilize your keywords in this area as well.

Write a proper filename

A lot of newbie website owners are guilty of using random filenames, thinking that it will not be a big deal for their optimization. Take note that your filename will show up if someone downloads the image. Also, it’s best to write a decent filename so the search engine will find it easy to crawl your pages. Instead of 123.jpg, why not try to be specific like Eiffel-tower-paris.jpg.

Write succinct captions

Captions aren’t always required, but it does give you brownie points on the SEO department. Take note that that photo captions are three times more appealing than the entire text of your post. With that, make sure that you write a concise yet informative caption using your keywords.

Structure your data 

This one is quite advanced, but if you can, consider using structured data. It helps Google index your pages, plus it gives you more edge when it comes to image listings. It’s an added value for your website, considering that visual search is becoming a big trend.

Spammy local listings are everywhere on the internet. It prevents legitimate listings from gracing the local pack, not to mention that it confuses searchers. So if your business is suffering from these spammy listings, you should act by getting it removed. In as fast as 24 hours, you can rank higher once these listings are deleted. In this post, we will teach you how to deal with these fake listings so you can show up on the local pack.

Check the following steps to get started:

Search your keywords

The first step is to search a keyword that you’re ranking for. Make sure that you’re on your business’ location to ensure that Google will yield location-specific results. From there, check the local pack and see which businesses made the cut.

It’s good if you’re already in the top 3 spots. Still, you can remove the spammy lists to prevent it from snatching your spot on the local pack.

You can do this by clicking “More Businesses” after the third listed business. You’ll be redirected to the Local Finder, where the long list can be seen. This is the full view of the local pack and has the same rankings.

Spot the spammy listing

The next step is to look for spammy lists. It could be ranking higher or lower than you. First, check the NAP (name, address, phone number) of each listing. If you spot two or more that share the same NAP details, note it down as suspicious.

Next, check the Google Streetview of the suspicious business listings. Most of the time, one of them will turn out to be addressed in the middle of the road, a random house, or a desert. If that’s the case, the listing is spammy and should be removed from the Local Finder.

Flag the spammy listing 

Once you found the spammy lists, you should report it to Google, either to be edited or to be removed completely. To do this, you simply have to click the Suggest an edit button. From there, you’ll be prompted to choose an option where the listing falls. Usually, it would be ‘Change name or other details’.

If this first method didn’t get the listing removed or changed, you could consider using the Google Redressal Complaint Form. Google launched this form to crack down on fake listings on Google Maps. Here, you can document why you think listing should be removed together with documents and screenshots to support it.

See the results 

Google will send you a confirmation email that they have received your complaint. They will usually take action within 24 hours. Within this timeframe, you can expect your Local Finder ranking to change once the listing has been removed. If Google didn’t find the listing spammy, you could re-send another complaint with a better description.

Once you’re done with one keyword, you can repeat the process for more keywords you’re ranking for. This way, you can clean up any fake listings that prevent you from being on the local pack. You’ll also do Google and internet users a big favor by doing so.

As the New Year approaches, website owners are also cramming to get their sites ready. The New Year marks a pivotal season for website owners as it’s the period where editorial calendars end and start. Also, many consider it as the time to fix issues and SEO problems within their websites. So to ensure that yours are all set for the year 2020, the following are some of the tasks you need to accomplish:

Update your privacy policy

Before the New Year arrives, make sure that you have brushed up your privacy policy. If you’re in the EU, check if you’re complying with the latest GPDR updates. For those outside of the EU, it also pays to give your privacy policy a quick rundown. There might be clauses that need to be changed.

Audit your site

A site audit is a common practice before the year ends. It allows website owners to see where problems are so they can fix it right away. Also, you can use your findings in the site audit to shift your priorities. You can even compare it with your competitors to see how you can do better.

Check your competitors

Aside from fixing your website, you should allot some time to check what your competitors are doing. This is a great way to know where you stand. Are you ahead or do you need to do better? This will be perfect alongside a website audit.

You can take a look at the keywords your competitors are using and how they performed in search of the past year.

Clear your expired CTAs

Call to actions probably flooded your website during the previous holidays. Some of these are outdated and the links have already expired. With this, it’s best to clear the old CTAs and replace them with new ones that match the season. It’s not an urgent task, though, but a very important detail that you shouldn’t put off for too long.

Say goodbye to Flash

Sadly, Adobe announced this year that Flash will be shut down by 2020. The creator aims to focus on more updated and sustainable technologies. So if some features of your website are still running in Flash Player, it’s time to make the revamp. Switch to HTML5 or video content instead.

Address customer concerns

You shouldn’t focus only on yourself; you should also think about how you can make your service even better for your customers. If there have been major issues this year, think of solutions on how to fix it and how you can make it up to your patrons. The year 2020 is also a good year to roll out new features or products.

Plan your editorial calendar 

The end of the year also marks the end of your year-long editorial plan. It’s also a great time to draft a new one with better content and strategies.

Make more video content

Video search has been dominating the internet over the past years. For 2020, this is seen to make more waves. This is why creating more video content is an excellent strategy for added website traffic.

If you’ve been doing SEO for your business, then you’re at least a bit desensitized to the panic many feel about Google algorithm updates. Just recently, Google confirmed that it has rolled out its November 2019 update worldwide. This is the neural matching update, which is set to affect the rankings of local businesses on the web.

How the neural matching works

The November 2019 update is composed of the worldwide roll-out of the neural matching algorithm. This is somewhat similar to BERT, which was also released in November.

What it does is interpret search queries with local intent. So even if the search query entered doesn’t have any location or business name in it, Google can interpret and associate it to a specific business or area. This is the reason why the search engine giant calls this update the “super synonym system”.

Actually, neural matching isn’t really new. It was already in use on some searches since 2018. But after a period of testing, Google has decided to make it effective in all countries where their search engine is in use. Take note that this works not only for English searches but to all languages that use Google.

Why you have to be aware?

There are two main reasons why businesses have to be aware of this update: traffic and rankings. The neural matching algorithm will cause a change in rankings and a noticeable decline in traffic.

This is due to Google’s new appreciation of a website’s relevance. This way, you can re-align your strategy so you can rank better and reach your target audience in your locality.

What should I do about it?

Well, according to Google, there’s nothing that businesses have to do with this update. It’s like a maintenance update to make search results more accurate. It benefits both the internet users and website users in the sense that the former gets accurate results and the latter gets high-quality traffic.

If you noticed a decline in traffic in the past month, you shouldn’t panic. Unless the decline has been massive, you might need to check other ranking factors that potentially caused your losses.

Also, it’s quite normal for local businesses to experience a change in rankings. This is due to the effect of neural matching in interpreting search queries and the relevance of business websites.

Don’t panic!

The November 2019 shouldn’t be a cause of panic. It might be as a big deal as BERT, but there’s nothing you can do to circumvent it. Google advises website owners to continue optimizing according to their guidelines, which was published long ago.

Anyway, if you want to have peace of mind, you can consult with an SEO expert. This way, you’ll have professional advice about you can improve on your website to regain your rankings.

Conclusion

November 2019 is one of the biggest strides of Google in terms of search query interpretation. It will surely shake newbie website owners, but the upside is that it will make Google a better platform. You, the website owner, and your visitors will benefit from this change.

The BERT update was first launched in October in the United States only. But just recently, Google announced that it had rolled out BERT globally in 72 languages. This is set to affect the flow of traffic and rankings of websites, both globally and internationally.

So how does BERT work?

BERT is an algorithm that Google described as the biggest update in search for the past five years. With BERT being a milestone update, many website owners are starting to get panicky about its effect.

First of all, BERT affects how Google interprets search. Instead of interpreting the query based on individual word meanings, it’s now identifying the whole context with the help of BERT.

Through this process, internet users will receive better search results. On the other hand, website owners will lose low-quality traffic.

Moreover, BERT is expected to affect only 10% of all searchers, the same scale as it was launched in the U.S. months ago.

This deep-learning system will also directly affect rankings based on the relevance of the webpages to the entered search query.

How it affects international searches

As for the effect of BERT on international search, it would be the same as its effects in the U.S. but on a larger scale.

First, websites will experience a decrease in traffic. Since the BERT algorithm improves search results, you will lose low-quality traffic. Still, the decline should not be massive. If it does, you may want to check for penalties that are causing the problem.

Also, BERT will affect how featured snippets are generated. You may notice that your pages are no longer displaying rich snippets while others will be surprised that theirs are enjoying this benefit.

Still, this doesn’t mean that Google is giving favor to other websites. It just happened that other websites are well-optimized for the new algorithm. Also, you should note that BERT will not penalize webpages.

If you received any penalties, this is due to other algorithms or violations of Google guidelines.

The positive effect of BERT

Overall, BERT has a positive effect on both internet users and website owners.

Internet users will see more relevant results for their queries. In return, website owners will enjoy high-quality leads. In short, Google is re-aligning its search results to drive traffic to webpages that are more relevant to the query.

How to react to BERT

There’s nothing you have to do about BERT. As long as you produce high-quality and relevant content, you can survive this update. Google itself emphasized that BERT is just a change in how they interpret search queries.

On your end, all you have to do is to ensure that your content is highly relevant to your business and niche. Also, you can boost your optimization to improve your rankings.

Final words 

The BERT update has revolutionized the way Google interprets search results. It’s a new update, but it will surely bring a positive change for the search engine. Besides, there’s nothing you should do about it. Just continue optimizing with relevant content and performing SEO efforts.