Weโre absolutely thrilled to share that Cedarwood Digital has taken home five trophies from this yearโs European Search Awards โ including all three Agency of the Year categories!
๐ฅ Best Small SEO Agency
๐ฅ Best Small PPC Agency
๐ฅ Best Small Integrated Agency
Winning these three awards is a huge honour โ not only do they recognise our teamโs dedication across SEO, PPC and integrated campaigns, but they also position Cedarwood as one of the top-performing agencies in Europe. Thatโs a huge milestone for us, and one weโre incredibly proud to achieve.
Award-Winning Campaign Work
In addition to agency accolades, we were also recognised for the outstanding results of our client campaigns, winning:
Best Use of Search (FMCG)
Best Use of Search (iGaming)
These awards celebrate the strategic, creative and data-led work we deliver for our clients day in, day out. It’s amazing to see that effort recognised on a European stage.
A Standout Year For Growth & Community
2024/2025 has been a standout year for Cedarwood Digital. Not only have we seen incredible growth as an agency, but weโve also focused on giving back to the community and helping shape the future of digital marketing talent.
This year alone, we:
Launched Manchester DM, a brand-new digital marketing meetup focused on sharing knowledge and growing the northern digital community.
Partnered with colleges to help students upskill and explore careers in SEO, PPC and beyond.
Delivered talks, training and insights at a range of conferences and events across the UK.
Itโs been a year of ambition, collaboration and meaningful impact โ and we couldnโt be prouder.
Thank You
A massive thank you to Donโt Panic Events for organising such a brilliant event and to the judges who dedicated so much time reviewing entries โ your hard work doesnโt go unnoticed.
And of course, to our team, clients and community โ thank you for being part of the journey. Hereโs to continuing to push boundaries, drive performance and make 2025 our best year yet.
We are over the moon to announce that we won SIX UK Search Awards at the event last Wednesday – a great way to finish off a record year in 2024! ๐
On the night we took home:
๐ Best Small PPC Agency ๐ Best Small Integrated Agency ๐ Best SEO Agency (Silver) ๐ Best Use Of Search (Healthcare) – Patient Claim Line ๐ Best Low Budget PPC Campaign – Salt Of The Earth ๐ Best Use Of Search B2C (PPC) – Salt Of The Earth
2024 has been a great year for us as we continue to grow from strength to strength, improving partnerships with our existing clients while growing each of our departments in turn so it’s great to have been recognised in particular for the agency awards which are testament to this.
It was a great evening all round and we are already looking forward to 2025!
Last week I spent a few days in one of my favourite places for my first BrightonSEO conference. Along with other team members, I made the 250-mile journey across the country, in the hopes of finding fish & chips and gaining some SEO insights.
As a Digital Content Executive, I had the pick of the litter when it came to the talks and panels, and I went to quite the range. I left feeling very impressed by how actionable and engaging the discussions were (and still dreaming of the Donatelloโs Tiramisu).
If you couldnโt make it to the conference or found yourself torn between conflicting talks, this blog is for you. Iโll be summarising my standout talks and sharing the top takeaways and highlights. Read on for a comprehensive overview of my most impactful sessions from BrightonSEO.ย
I kicked off my first day bright and early with two talks on relevancy in Digital PRโฆ.
Liv Day – How To Find The Relevance Gap
Liv opened the conference by highlighting the crucial role relevance plays in a siteโs link profile. She offered a clear explanation of why relevancy is a metric we simply canโt afford to neglect. Through a compelling case study, she demonstrated the impact of irrelevant backlinks on traffic and rankings. These links, she explained can contort the topicality of a website, potentially causing search engines to misinterpret the siteโs focus.
She then shared her process for identifying and bridging the relevancy gap between a siteโs themes and its backlink profile. Her team employs tools like IBM Watson’s natural language processor to identify relevant concepts, analysing both the site and the linking pages to check for alignment.
Livโs talk underscored the importance of maintaining a relevant backlink profile, and thinking carefully about the subject of your campaigns. Today, shoehorning a connection can do more harm than good but the good news is, there are new tools being developed every day to help us guarantee topical alignment.
Sophie Coley – Audience-centric Planning and Creative Personas: a strategic approach to relevancyย ย
Sophie then followed up with a different, but equally compelling angle on link relevancy. Drawing from her journalism background, she advocated for a persona-driven approach to help brands create more resonant content.
She recommended using platforms like Reddit or TikTok to understand audience pain points, or simply playing around with seed phrases in an incognito browser (e.g. โtravel insurance whenโฆ โ, โtravel insurance forโฆโ etc.โ
Sophie then used this travel insurance example to outline a framework for using AI tools like Perplexity to assist with ideation of relevant content ideas. Upon providing a detailed prompt, the tool generated five hypothetical persona examples, complete with first-person statements explaining their experience shopping for travel insurance (including motivating factors, challenges faced etc.)
It became evident that considering these tangible personas makes it significantly easier to ideate creative yet relevant campaigns. As Sophie put it: โHaving broad boundaries in place makes ideation a lot easierโ.
ย ย
Yasmin Birchall – The Digital Generation is Here: why youโre about to overhaul your online strategyย ย
Later in the morning, Yasmin drew our attention to Gen Z, how they are changing search, and how we can adapt accordingly. She highlighted that weโre now living in a new age of people whoโve never lived without technology at their fingertips – and that this generation now makes up 15% of our population! As a result, we need a holistic, multi-touch approach to guarantee engagement. Some key points I took away were:
–>Users are diversifying away from Google, now itโs TikTok that the new generations are looking to first when considering where to go for dinner, or when planning their holiday agenda.
–>Gen Z prioritise authenticity and individuality โ theyโll respond well to tailored content, rather than being โcreeped outโ by how well the ads are aligned with their online behaviour.
–>Price is as, if not more, important than sustainability – Yasmin drew on a Mintel survey to highlight that for 51% of Gen Z, managing their finances is their biggest priority.
Yasminโs insights provided a valuable glimpse into the minds of Gen Z consumers and reminded us not to get comfortable with our strategies. Brands and marketers must evolve their approaches to meet the changing expectations of our younger audiences.
Nathan Height – Diversifying Beyond Googleย
Nathanโs talk similarly discussed how search is changing, but focusing on the search engine landscape. Whilst Google still undeniably dominates the market, weโre seeing a greater number of competitors than ever before. He even highlighted that Google and OpenAI themselves are turning to Reddit to inform their generation of information.
So, what can SEOs do to cater for these changes? Nathan shared some practical advice, including the importance of creating content for conversational long-tail queries. He pointed out some good ways to build an understanding of these specific searches (Quora, Reddit, TikTok keyword insights etc.) that Iโll be factoring into my keyword research going forwards.
This talk offered a persuasive case for SEOs to broaden their horizons beyond Google. My overall takeaway was the importance of diverse content creation and understanding user intent across multiple platforms. The online search scene is increasingly fragmented and itโs important to stay ahead.
ย ย
Carla Dobson-Elliot – Is SEO killing curiosity
How many times a day do you find yourself reflexively reaching for your preferred search engine when a question pops into your head? For many of us, this habit has become all too frequent. Carla opened her talk with the now-familiar scenario of “going down an online rabbit hole”, highlighting how search engines have become the go-to source for satisfying our curiosity.
Carla emphasised that brands need to tap into this curiosity as well, rather than letting search engines monopolise our inquisitiveness. She argued that traditional demographics like age and gender are no longer sufficient for understanding audiences. Instead, she proposed a new framework based on “curiosity cohorts” – five distinct modes by which people search for and consume information and advertisements.
These cohorts should inform content strategy. For example, an “exhilaration hunter” might be drawn to Uber’s random promotion spinner, while a “novelty seeker” could find a Spotify playlist as a call-to-action more appealing. Carla urged marketers to identify their audience’s curiosity type and create fresh, engaging content tailored to these preferences.
I found this a really innovative approach to content creation, and will definitely be taking Carlaโs curiosity quiz to discover which category I fall into.
ย ย
Chris Meabe – 100% Evergreen Articles To Survive Search Updates
Now, while this title sounds a bit too good to be true, Chris delivered a practical guide for creating content resilient to algorithm changes. By analysing a set of evergreen articles, heโd uncovered several suprising commonalities:
๐Most articles began with โwhat isโ, or at least opened by defining key terms
๐Introductions typically ranged from 100-150 words, with overall word counts between 1,200 and 3,000.
๐The number of backlinks was less crucial than internal links. Successful articles contained at least 10 outbound links to authoritative sources, often citing statistics.
๐Total word count mattered less than the depth and quality of information provided.
๐Lastly, Chris cautioned that while these articles were evergreen, they were not just left to their own devices, but were refreshed annually to maintain relevance.
๐This was a super actionable talk, giving me some clear Doโs and Dontโs to keep in mind when content-writing.
ย
Sabine ljunggren – How To Maximise Your Search Visibility On Social Media
The final track I attended before sadly bidding Brighton farewell focused on social media, beginning with Sabineโs guide to maximising visibility on social.
Continuing a recurring theme, she emphasised TikTokโs emerging role as a new search engine. She cited a 2024 Adobe survey revealing that “new recipes” and “DIY tips” are among the most searched keywords on the platform. A particularly striking statistic showed that over 90% of TikTok users use the search function within 30 seconds of opening the app. So, if youโre not capitalising on this evolution of search behaviour, youโre missing out on some hefty search volume.
To capitalise on this trend and increase brand visibility, Sabine offered a few key tips:
Prioritise creating optimised content that will improve click-through rate and maximise the time users are spending on the platform.ย
Implement โpattern interruptsโ – unexpected frames or different camera angles.
Develop โcomment-friendly contentโ that encourages interaction and debate in the comment section.
In summary
If I was to distil everything I learnt from the conference, the overarching themes were:
๐กUnderstanding your target audience is more important than ever, and go beyond basic demographics
๐กLike it or not, TikTok has evolved to be a significant search platform and ignoring it potentially could mean missing out on engagement opportunities
๐กThe quality and relevance of your links matter more than quantity. Irrelevant or low-quality links can potentially harm your SEO efforts more than they help.
Need a hand with your performance marketing strategy? Whether itโs SEO, link-building, or paid advertising that youโre looking to enhance, weโve got you covered.
Cedarwood Digital are an award-winning digital marketing agency, based in Manchester but working with SMEs and large multinationals internationally. Get in touch today to chat about how we can improve your online visibility.
When it comes to driving traffic to your website, increasing your organic click-through rate is essential. If your website is ranking highly on the SERPs, thatโs great, but if users arenโt clicking through then your SEO efforts may be wasted. In this blog, we will be discussing five ways to increase your organic click-through rate (CTR) so that users will click through and you can increase your traffic.ย
What Is Click-Through Rate?
Organic click-through rate (CTR) is the number of users who click on your website in the SERPs. You can calculate your organic click-through rate by dividing the number of clicks divided by the number of impressions.
Organic click-through rate is extremely important for SEO because the higher your CTR is, the more traffic you will receive. Boosting your CTR will mean more visitors, more engagement, and ultimately, more conversions.
5 Steps To Increase Your Click-Through Rate:
1. Optimise Your Title Tags With Descriptive Keywords
The title of your webpage will be the first thing users see in the SERPs and it can play a significant role for users deciding whether theyโll click through to your site or not. A well optimised title tag can grab attention and communicate relevance at the same time, both of which are essential for increasing CTR.
When creating title tags you should focus on your most important keywords. For example, if youโre targeting โwooden garden furnitureโ, your title tag should reflect that phrase. Using your target keywords within your title helps you to match the search intent closely and show users that the content and products on your page is relevant to what they are searching for.
Your title tag will obviously very much depend on what your web page is, if it is a product/ category page, it should clearly state what those products are, if it is blog style content it may be more of a longer title such as, โHow Toโฆโ or โThe Ultimate Guide toโฆโ. When optimising title tags, as a general rule you should use between 50 and 60 characters for your title – as long as it tells the user exactly what is on your page, and it matches the user intent, users will be more likely to click through.
2. Optimise Your Meta Description
Meta descriptions can play a significant role in driving clicks. A meta description is the short description of text that appears below the title in the SERPs, it gives users a brief overview of what they can expect if they click through to your site.
Like title tags, meta descriptions should also contain your target keywords that are relevant to search intent to confirm to users that this page is going to provide them with what they are looking for.
Your meta description should be between 50 and 160 characters and it should describe exactly how your website is going to provide the user with valuable information that they are looking for to solve their problem. Make it clear to users why they should click onto your webpage rather than a competitor’s page by highlighting your unique selling points (USPs) within the description, this could be free next day delivery, expert advice or 5 star review – whatever makes you stand out from your competition should be included here alongside what the page is offering.
3. Optimise Your URLs
Although it may seem obvious, your web pageโs URL can play a significant role in increasing click-through rates. When creating and optimising our URLs, keep it short and descriptive. Avoid long, complicated URLs.
Again, you should use your target keywords within our URL to give users and search engines a clear understanding of what your content is about.
You should also ensure to utilise subdomains within your URL structure to device your site into logical sections. For example, if you are targeting wine glasses, it is likely that they will sit underneath the main glassware category, so your URL will read as follows: www.example.com/glassware/wine-glasses.com.
A logical, easily readable URL that contains keywords relating to the search intent reassures users that they are clicking on the correct page.
4. Use Structured Data
Adding structured data, also known as schema markup, to your website can help search engines better understand your content. It allows search engines, such as Google to display rich results and enhance your SERP listings with reviews, prices and more information to make them more interactive for users.
Structured data is coded using in-page markup on the page that the information applies to. The structured data should describe the content of that page and this will help Google to further understand what the page is about.
As previously mentioned, implementing structured data can help to display rich results in the SERPs and this can attract more clicks for your web page because your site is more likely to appear at the top of the SERPs, particularly if you have the featured snippet, it is more interactive than a plain URL and it gives the user more information when they see your site in the URL so they can clearly see that the content on your page is going to match their search intent.
Types of structured data you can implement can include:
โก๏ธ Product markup – for e-commerce sites, including product markup including price, availability and ratings can attract shoppers more effectively.
โก๏ธ Review schema – displaying user reviews and ratings directly in the search results can showcase credibility and attract more users to click through.
โก๏ธ FAQ schema – answering commonly asked questions and including FAQ schema can help your content appear as featured snippets or people also asked and can help to attract more traffic to your site.
Implementing structured data can be extremely beneficial to increase your organic click-through rate – to have a look at what structured data you currently have implemented on your site, you can use the Rich Results Test tool to see what is currently found on the page as well as any errors or suggestions for your structured data.
5. Create Fast Loading Pages
Site speed is a very important part of click-through rate – if a user clicks on your site and the web page doesnโt load quick enough, the chances are that they will click off and go to a competitor site and your bounce rate will increase a lot. Page speed is also one of Googleโs ranking factors so if your page is too slow, it can have an impact on rankings.
There are many different ways you can optimise your site speed including:
โก๏ธ Optimising your images – reduce your image size without compromising the quality
โก๏ธ Reduce any unused JavaScript
โก๏ธ Make sure all images have an explicit height and width set
โก๏ธ Eliminate render-blocking resources
How you can optimise your site speed will vary depending on your website, in order to find ways of making your site speed faster, use PageSpeed Insights. This tool will allow you to enter your URL and it will provide you with diagnostics and opportunities on how to improve the overall site speed for your website. You can also do this on a page by page basis if there are particular pages which you would like to improve.
Summary
Increasing your organic click-through rate is a combination of many different strategies. By optimising and following these five steps, you can increase your click-through rate bringing in more traffic, better engagement and potentially higher conversion rates.
It is important to consistently refine all of the above elements to ensure your website is always targeting and meeting the needs of your users – make sure to stay up to date and constantly optimise your website for SEO purposes and you can make sure your website brings in relevant traffic through the SERPs.
If you need help increasing your organic click-through rate and arenโt sure where to start, get in touch with our team of SEO experts today and we can help you maximise the traffic coming to your website by optimising your website to increase organic click-through rate.
If you have experienced a loss in organic traffic, it can be a worrying and frustrating challenge. Whether your website is for a personal blog or a large e-commerce site, a drop in organic traffic can potentially mean a drop in rankings and can affect your visibility, engagement, conversions and ultimately your revenue. If you have noticed a drop in your organic traffic, donโt panic as there are steps you can take to find out what has happened and how you can recover your rankings and traffic in order to increase conversions.ย
In this blog, we will discuss why your organic traffic could have taken a drop, how to identify the cause and actions you can take to regain your traffic.
Initial Analysis
Understanding the causes behind your drop in traffic is essential in order to know how to address these causes, so the first step if you have noticed a drop in organic traffic is to conduct an initial analysis.
Use tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush, Google Analytics and Google Search Console to review traffic decreases – you can identify which pages of your website have been affected and look at specific dates to see if you can find any information about a potential cause.
There can be many potential reasons as to why youโre organic traffic has dropped including:
โก๏ธ Google algorithm updates – Google releases hundreds of search algorithm updates every year. While some are minor, some core updates can significantly affect search rankings. These updates can impact how Google evaluates website content and ranks pages and if your website is not providing the most helpful and relevant content, you may experience a loss in traffic.
โก๏ธ Technical SEO problems – technical issues can prevent Google and other search engines from properly crawling and indexing your pages which can in turn affect your rankings, visibility and traffic. If Google cannot effectively crawl your website, it may not be able to index it and it therefore wonโt appear in the SERPs.
โก๏ธ Content issues – personally, I would say that content is the backbone of SEO and it is a huge part of SEO overall. If your content is outdated, irrelevant or thin, it is likely that it wonโt rank highly and you can lose out on a lot of potential organic traffic.
โก๏ธ Competition – another reason you may lose traffic is simply because your competitors are actively improving their SEO strategies. If a competitor has updated their content, built backlinks and are providing optimised content, they may increase their rankings and could push your content further down the page, potentially reducing clicks and traffic.
โก๏ธ SERP intent change – SERP intent is vital when it comes to optimising your website – it is so important that your website is giving the users what they want. This means that if the user intent changes, and your website is not providing users with the information they are looking for, youโll probably lose rankings so that Google can provide users with the most helpful and relevant content.
How To Figure Out The Cause Of Your Traffic Loss
There are many ways in which you can figure out the causes of your traffic loss:
Google Search Console
โก๏ธ Analyse the performance report to understand which pages have experienced traffic drops.
โก๏ธ Review the search results report to analyse which search queries are bringing in traffic and which queries have dropped off.
โก๏ธ Analyse the page indexing report to look through any crawl errors and any technical issues that could be preventing Google from crawling and indexing your site.
โก๏ธ Utilise the page experience report to ensure your website is providing a good page experience.
Google Analytics
โก๏ธ Identify which pages have seen the biggest traffic drop off in the user acquisition report – comparing current data to historical data is a good idea to see what has dropped off. If it is applicable, make sure to factor in seasonality.
โก๏ธ Look at the highest revenue driving pages to uncover which pages are having the biggest impact due to the loss in organic traffic.
โก๏ธ Analyse user behaviour metrics such as engaged sessions, engagement rate, engagement time and bounce rate to see if there are engagement issues on particular landing pages.
Ahrefs
โก๏ธ Review which pages have seen decreases in rankings for specific keywords.
โก๏ธ Check keyword volumes to analyse any trends or decreases.
โก๏ธ Look into search intent for target keywords and review whether or not your landing pages are matching the intent.
โก๏ธ Analyse your backlink profile against competitors.
โก๏ธ Review how competitors are ranking for target keywords and if they have seen similar decreases or increases.
Algorithm Updates
โก๏ธ Research whether there have been any algorithm updates – check what these updates were regarding and align the dates of the update with your loss to see if you have been impacted.
Review Website Changes
โก๏ธ Identify any recent website changes; content, design, or technical to see if there are any issues with these changes or if these could have negatively impacted your SEO performance.
โก๏ธ Check your robots.txt file and sitemap to ensure there are no issues.
Conduct A Competitor Analysis
โก๏ธ Analyse your competitors’ sites to see if they have made any significant changes that could be impacting your rankings.
โก๏ธ Check their content, backlink and on-page efforts to see if they are actively updating and refreshing their website for SEO purposes.
Ways To Increase Organic Traffic
Once you have identified the cause of your traffic drop, you can now start to take actionable steps to improve your rankings and traffic so that you can increase conversions and revenue.
Technical SEO
Start by addressing any technical issues that could be preventing your site from being crawled and indexing. There are many different technical fixes but below are some of the key areas to ensure they are working correctly and are optimised for SEO.
โก๏ธ Crawl Errors
Use Google Search Console to identify crawl errors and ensure you fix all issues that are preventing Google from crawling your site. Errors such as 404, page not found or any other 4xx issues should be resolved to ensure Google can crawl your website correctly.
โก๏ธ Indexing Errors
It is important to make sure that Google is indexing all of the important pages from your site so firstly, review your sitemap to ensure that there are no errors and all necessary pages are included. Secondly, review your robots.txt file and make sure there are only pages that shouldnโt be indexed in there. If there are urls in your robot.txt file that you want to be indexed, make sure to remove these and optimise them for search engines.
โก๏ธ Site Speed
Site speed is important for user experience and search engines so optimising it is highly recommended. Using PageSpeed insights, you can assess your site speed and look for areas for improvement. Consider compressing images and minimising JavaScript to improve page loading times.
โก๏ธ Mobile Friendliness
Google uses mobile-first indexing, and with the majority of users using their mobile device to conduct searches, it is extremely important that your website is mobile friendly. Make sure to check that your site is responsive on all devices and make sure to make any necessary improvements – you can use Googleโs Mobile-Friendly Test to check your websiteโs mobile usability and from there, you can see if you need to make any changes to your site.
Content
Once you have identified areas of your website that have seen a decrease in traffic, you can update your content accordingly. Outdated and thin content can cause traffic losses over time as they are not providing users with helpful information, so it is important that you are regularly updating your content to ensure it is satisfying the user intent by staying relevant and providing informative content.
To update your content, you should conduct a content audit to evaluate the quality of your content and identify which pages are a priority to update. When updating your content, ensure to carry out the following steps:
โก๏ธ Keyword research
โก๏ธ Content updates
โก๏ธ Internal Linking
It is important to make sure your content is relevant, unique and helpful to users. By improving your content you can increase rankings and engagement and recover lost traffic.
Backlinks
Backlinks are an essential part of any SEO strategy and a high quality backlink profile can have a large impact on your websiteโs organic rankings. A drop in the quality of backlinks to your site can therefore have a large impact on your organic traffic. Focus on acquiring high-quality backlinks from authoritative sites to improve the quality of your backlink profile. Continuously work on strengthening your backlinks by creating high quality Digital PR campaigns and by creating high quality content that can naturally attract links. Gaining high quality backlinks can increase the authority of your site and can have great impacts on your SEO performance.
User Experience
User experience is highly important when it comes to engagement, so make sure you are optimising your site for your users first. Googleโs primary goal is to help users, so optimising your site for your users is therefore essential. When improving user experience, make sure to optimise the following:
โก๏ธ Meta title and description
โก๏ธ Readability
โก๏ธ Design elements
โก๏ธ Navigation
โก๏ธ Engagement
โก๏ธ CRO analysis
By creating a good user experience throughout your site, you can improve engagement and conversion rates.
Optimising Your Site For SEO
The above information can be extremely helpful if you have experienced a drop in organic traffic. However, the main thing to remember is to make sure your SEO strategy is ongoing. Focus on creating high quality content, ensuring your website is in good technical stance, conducting regular audits and keeping up to date with industry news and updates. This will allow you to proactively stop your traffic from decreasing in the first place.
By staying informed, you can make sure your website is optimised at all times and adapt your SEO strategy accordingly.
Experiencing a drop in traffic can be difficult but by navigating it carefully and carefully analysing what has happened and how you can fix it, you can work to regain any lost traffic.
If you have noticed a loss in your organic traffic and you need help understanding what has happened and how to regain this traffic, make sure to get in touch with our team of SEO experts. We can help you create a targeted SEO strategy and increase your organic traffic in order to meet the goals of your business, whether that be engagement, conversions, or revenue – we can help.
Even in 2024, with Google’s algorithm boasting over 400 ranking factors, the concept of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) continues to hold significant weight in the SEO realm. This framework emphasises the importance of content created by experienced sources with demonstrable knowledge and a strong reputation for accuracy. By prioritising E-E-A-T, Google aims to deliver search results that users can confidently rely on for trustworthy and valuable information.
While on-site optimisation is crucial for building E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), its reach extends beyond website elements. Discussions surrounding E-E-A-T often emphasise on-site tactics like testimonials, author profiles, and internal linking. However, for websites in the Your Money Your Life (YMYL) category, leveraging external link building strategies effectively can significantly enhance E-E-A-T. By acquiring high-quality backlinks from reputable sources in your niche, you demonstrate your website’s authority and trustworthiness to search engines. This comprehensive approach to E-E-A-T ultimately leads to a stronger SEO foundation.
How Do I Build E-E-A-T Friendly Links?
While building E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) friendly links might seem straightforward, the focus should remain on acquiring high-quality, genuine links through effective digital PR. Digital PR campaigns, when executed well, naturally contribute to E-E-A-T by securing placements on reputable websites that acknowledge your website’s expertise.
However, if your goal is to strategically strengthen your E-E-A-T, particularly when paired with on-site improvements, consider focusing on these specific digital PR tactics:
Thought Leadership
Thought leadership is a powerful tool for establishing E-E-A-T. By sharing your expertise externally through insightful content or interviews, you demonstrate your website’s knowledge and credibility. This knowledge-sharing approach effectively builds trust and positions your website as an authority in its field.
Thought leadership initiatives can be implemented in various ways. You can leverage interviews with your clients or internal subject matter experts to showcase their experience and insights. Providing strong biographies highlighting their credentials strengthens their authority in the eyes of journalists. Additionally, staying updated on industry news and proactively seeking opportunities (newsjacking or event participation) increases your chances of securing media placements. This comprehensive approach to thought leadership ultimately contributes to a stronger E-E-A-T foundation for your website.
To find out more about how effective thought leadership can be, check out our case study for client Little Loans where we achieved some great coverage in a traditionally tricky vertical.
Newsjacking
Newsjacking presents a valuable opportunity to build external E-E-A-T for your brand. It involves capitalizing on trending news stories and offering insightful commentary or unique perspectives from your resident experts. This strategy allows you to showcase your website’s expertise on relevant topics while potentially securing placements in high-quality publications.
Newsjacking doesn’t require complex or time-consuming efforts. For instance, we created a successful piece with our client Hayes Garden World, leveraging their resident gardening expert Angela Slater’s knowledge. The piece focused on the impact of lockdown on houseplants, providing a simple yet engaging angle on a trending topic. This approach resulted in acquiring high-quality backlinks, demonstrating the effectiveness of newsjacking for E-E-A-T building.
Data-Led Campaigns
Data-driven campaigns offer an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your E-E-A-T. By analyzing relevant industry data or your own data sets, you can create valuable resources that showcase your expertise and provide journalists with compelling insights. This approach fosters trust and positions your website as an authority within the industry.
Data campaigns can be implemented in various ways. Consider creating data-driven guides or reports addressing industry trends or consumer behavior. A well-executed example could be a guide titled “How Much Energy Do Your Household Appliances Consume?”. This type of informative content, especially when relevant to your industry (e.g., energy providers), establishes your website as a credible source and has the potential to attract long-term backlinks from journalists who reference it repeatedly.
Each of the approaches above will really help you to hone in on building that E-E-A-T through each of your external link acquisition campaigns which, when paired with a solid on-site strategy, will improve your website visibility in no time.
Product Reviews & Placements
If you’re an ecommerce agency, then chances are you will be looking to build external trust through visibility for products. Top 10 lists and product round-ups are a great way to get exposure for your products and brand and they also help to build those all-important external trust signals which are a great way to build key E-E-A-T signals here.
To find out more about how our Digital PR and Link Building service can help your SEO efforts, or to enquire about our white label digital PR services you can contact us here.
In 2024, digital PR is bigger than ever. 9 out of 10 PR professionals send their pitches to digital media, an increase of 14% since 2022. This growth is largely due to the increasing importance of online visibility for businesses and brands – driven by the rise of social media and online news outlets.
Today, digital PR should be factored into every digital marketing strategy to increase brand awareness, provide high-quality backlinks and increase search engine rankings.
We are now over half-way through the year, so have a strong sense of how the digital PR landscape is looking. Itโs now clear to see which trends are here to stay, which campaign styles have been gaining traction, and the new techniques that show long-term potential.
This blog will be looking at the trends weโve been seeing in 2024 and our predictions for suspected future trends still to come this year. If youโre a digital PR professional or a business owner hoping to land online coverage, staying informed about the latest trends will ensure youโre staying relevant, so read on.
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What are digital PR trends?
Firstly, letโs check youโre up to speed with what digital PR is all about. In 2024, itโs no hot take that weโre living in an online-centric world; as a result, traditional PR has had to adapt. Itโs the art of building visibility online through pitching press releases to online journalists, providing quotes for online articles, and guest posting in blogs.
And whatโs the point of all this? Well, digital PR has a whole array of benefits, all ultimately feeding into increased brand awareness and visibility online – at the end of the day, increasing conversions. It improves SEO by earning high-quality backlinks, it will help to establish your company as an authority in its industry, and can even help with crisis management.
Digital PR trends, then, are the shifting behaviours and techniques defining the digital PR industry. This can include new softwares, audience preferences, and particular styles of campaign that are landing with journalists. Below, we take you through the 4 trends you should be aware of this year which are here to stay in 2024.
The top trends for 2024:
Weโre increasingly seeing new tools automating aspects of digital PR
AI isnโt going to steal our jobs, but itโs certainly making them easier. Every week thereโs another software on the market to help with a different task in digital PR. In a study by Prowly AI came in as the top trend prediction from respondents, with 36% predicting it would be a primary trend in 2024 – they werenโt wrong!
AI tools and platforms are playing more and more of a significant role in digital PR campaigns. A couple of our new favourites are:
Sourcee: This tool acts as your own personal Journo Request lookout, with the slogan: โLetting you know about relevant requests, straight away.โ
Midjourney: This can be used to create imagery for your campaign, or to provide inspo for your ideation.
AI technology can help you analyse large amounts of data to create a story, automate tasks like media monitoring, and provide sentiment analysis about a brand on social media. Have a browse at whatโs on offer, your boss and clients will thank you!
TikTok as a research tool
I donโt need to tell you that the popularity of this platform continues to grow. And, more and more, brands and agencies are using it in digital PR as a research tool. Itโs surprisingly valuable for gaining insights into consumer preferences and trends. Tiktok can also be used to identify viral trends and popular hashtags – helping brands stay relevant to their audience.
A good digital PR campaign addresses an issue or topic of interest of your target audience; where are customers most vocal and transparent about products theyโre using? TikTok! Have a look for yourself when ideating your next campaign.
A shift in metrics
If you havenโt got the memo, links are out and relevancy is in. Quality over quantity is what matters now – PRs are digging deeper than surface-level metrics, focusing on how their campaigns can put a brand in front of the right people and drive conversions.
Metrics like brand mentions, relevancy of links, and sentiment analysis are increasingly being paid more attention. Hundreds of links at face value is no longer impressive, but hundreds of links aligned with the brand, in a credible and relevant publication, is.
So, in 2024:
โ๏ธEnsure your campaigns and placements are consistent with your brandโs messaging
โ๏ธShift away from link-building tactics, focusing instead on creating content thatโs genuinely valuable for your audience
Impact of the cost of living crisis
Weโve all seen the price of a Tesco meal deal these days – the cost of living crisis is unfortunately continuing to rise and people are feeling the pinch. In light of this, journalists are looking for tips and stories on how to save money. In our work, weโve noticed a pattern of good coverage for campaigns like โwhere to find the cheapest school uniformsโ or โbest deals this bank holiday weekendโ. For example, if your brand is in the automotive industry, could you provide tips on fuel efficiency, to save money on petrol? Or, tips for getting the best deal when buying a used car? If you work in the entertainment sector, could you create a guide to a DIY home theatre?
Equally, the cost of living crisis is just one of the many things making our news very negative in 2024. Considering this, any light-hearted and optimistic content is increasingly popular with journalists – they know it’s what readers want to see, to brighten their day a little.
What future trends can we expect to see?
โก๏ธWeโre seeing a surge in data-led digital PR campaigns, with journalists increasingly looking for fresh and fact based stories. PRs that can create a narrative from client research or survey data will stand out in a busy inbox. Raw statistics can be turned into attention-grabbing headlines, especially with the help ofโฆ
โก๏ธAI. You guessed it – expect to see AI filtering into more and more areas of digital PR, automating routine tasks and freeing us up to concentrate on strategy and client relationships.
If your digital PR strategy could do with a bit of a spruce up, why not get some professional help? Cedarwood Digital is an award-winning digital PR and SEO agency based in Manchester – drop us a message to get the ball rolling.
In September 2023, Google ran its helpful content update, focused on improving the ranking of high-quality content. In preparation for the update we undertook an audit of our clientsโ websites to ensure they were all meeting the mark. We analysed just how helpful the content was and where improvements could be made. So what were we looking for? And how can you make sure your content adheres to the โhelpful contentโ guidelines?
What is โhelpful content?โ
Helpful content can be summed up as content that is created for the user, not for the search engine. Humans are typing queries into search engines,ย so the answers should be written for humans. If the answers have been written to serve an algorithm or a search engine, then the average user isnโt going to find that helpful or enjoyable. When done correctly, helpful content will boost your SEO because the information you provide will demonstrate that your pages put people first, not crawlers.
What did the 2023 helpful content update add?
A year after the helpful content update was launched, Google made some further changes. Itโs important to have a clear understanding of what was added, to inform your SEO strategies. Whilst nothing too dramatic was introduced, there are a few things to be aware of:
โก๏ธ The 2023 update demonstrated more of an openness to AI-written content, as long as itโs still providing value. Google specifically removed the words โwritten by peopleโ and just wrote โhelpful content created for people in search results.โ
So, no more is AI-generated content an absolute no-go. Go ahead and use it to support your content strategy, but proceed with caution and ensure the writing remains well-written and informative.
โก๏ธ The update had an emphasis on User Experience, placing more focus on things like mobile-friendliness and website design. For Google to deem your site helpful, it might therefore be a good idea to give it a quick technical audit.
โก๏ธ We saw a crackdown on third-party hosted content with Google warning against placing low-quality content on subdomains to try and improve search ranking. They said:ย
โif that content is largely independent of the main siteโs purpose or produced without close supervision or the involvement of the primary site, we recommend that it should be blocked from being indexed by Google.โ
โก๏ธ And finally, the update targeted the popular practice of updating content with minor changes and a recent date to appear fresh in search results. No shortcuts allowed Iโm afraid guys.
Why is Google bothered?
Search has come a long way since the simple days of keyword stuffing. 45% of people using their mobiles online now use voice search and itโs no wonder. A whole generation has grown up with search engines as an everyday tool and we are now moving towards using search much more naturally than ever before. Google wants to make searching and finding what we want even easier, and is striving to understand meaning, context and intent far beyond a few keywords.
The helpful content update is part of Googleโs Natural Language Processing (NLP) masterplan. Essentially, Google wants to give users what they want rather than users having to guess which words to type to get the best results. The helpful content update ensures that websites and pages are providing the best, most informative content possible.
How to write helpful content
The easiest way to target this mammoth subject is to break it down into key areas:
โก๏ธ The User
โก๏ธ E-E-A-T
โก๏ธ Semantics
โก๏ธ Copy
1. The user (you, me, them, us)
No matter what you are writing about, always (I repeat always) remember who you are writing for. Understanding your audience is key to writing content that will be helpful to them. There is no use writing about the quality and composition of a leather dog lead if your clientโs target market is price focused. To make that point clearer, here is how I would approach user intent when setting out writing content:
Industry/product/service: what does your client sell and what are the typical pain points when selling that product? Our client in the gardening industry sells high end garden furniture. People searching for garden furniture are likely to be concerned with quality, price and maintenance. So I would structure my content around these pillars:
Demographic: Our gardening client has an affluent target market and wants to hone in on the quality of their product rather than the final price. Therefore, their customer is less likely to be typing price related queries and more likely to be considering longevity and overall value.
Possible queries: Now that youโve broken down your user you can consider what they might actually be searching for. Tools like alsoasked or answerthepublic are great for researching real queries that real users are regularly typing into search engines. Even a basic Google search on something like โgarden furniture setsโ can give you some direction.
This approach can be applied to all clients. Understanding the nuances of the end user enables you to write content that helps them find answers even if they donโt not know exactly what they are searching for.
2. E-E-A-T (aka friends donโt lie)
Much is made of E-E-A-T, or experience, expertise, authority and trust, not being a ranking factor. Not that Iโd argue with Google, but the concept of E-E-A-T is intrinsic to helpful content so, for me, it follows that if you are creating expertly written, authoritative and trustworthy content you are being more helpful and, ergo, you will likely rank higher.
When I set about integrating E-E-A-T into copy, I think about three key areas:
Bullet points and numberingย
This helps you to clearly set out your content and improve the user experience. The information held in these lists can be some of the most valuable on the page, allowing for featured snippet opportunities and, on a more basic level, setting the content apart so the user can easily identify it (remember what we said about writing for the user). It can be something as simple as a list of Doโs and Donโts, but having these distinct sections of information demonstrates that you know what you are talking about and arenโt afraid to show it.
Linkingย
Linking is the pat on the back of the digital world. It shows search engines that you have mates vouching for you and it helps users to understand and trust what you are saying. Adding internal links to your content can direct traffic through a clear marketing funnel and allows you to utilise content pillaring effectively. Linking related articles together will form one big picture on your pillar topic and signal that you have plenty of expertise and authority in your subject.
And what about external linking? This is when you point to a website outside of your organisation and say โlook they can back me up.โ It shows that you arenโt pulling information from thin air and can corroborate your points. In some instances, for example, Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) industries, external linking can be especially helpful because the subject matter requires an extra degree of expertise and trust. When researching your content, keep a list of any useful links and weave them into your final piece where relevant and appropriate.
But remember, with the 2023 updateโs emphasis on user experience, itโs super important that these links are all working correctly. Tools like Googleโs Lighthouse will assess the mobile-friendliness of your links, while Screaming Frog or Ahrefs will quickly identify any broken links.
Hard facts and figuresย
Firstly, donโt make stuff up! This might be obvious but weโve all been there – convinced we remember something only to find out it wasnโt quite right. For instance, if Iโm writing an About Us page, I make sure to have an in-depth list of facts on the client to hand, so that my content has gravitas.ย
Second to this, I always look to see where I can add value into my content with social proof, like reviews, featured articles or any accreditations. This might be a simple banner at the footer of a blog but it shows users and SERPs that the page, and therefore the site, can be trusted. Author profiling is another great way to double down on the information you provide so, where possible, include an author bio.
3. Semantic SEO (hey Bert)
Semantic SEO goes back to meeting your users needs. In short, itโs the use of keywords and phrases that relate to your chosen topic. Think of it as a natural way of speaking. If you were talking about your morning routine, you would naturally mention breakfast, showering and leaving the house. You wouldnโt veer off on a tangent and start talking about putting your pyjamas on. This is what Google refers to as salience.
In 2019 Google launched BERT, an algorithm which impacted 10% of all search queries straight away. BERT is an AI demo that will tell you how salient, and therefore relevant, your content is to your intended topic. So, as we touched on in the morning routine example, you should be using lexis that is relevant to your subject matter and shows your audience that what they have landed on is exactly what they’re looking for. Start off with some keyword research to identify your core keywords for your topic and donโt be afraid to use common sense as well!
For example, if I was writing category copy for a piano retailer, I would use the top tier keywords around that specific piano brand but also talk about keys, pedals and soundboards to effectively demonstrate what the content was about. This is useful for content pillaring too, and those all-important linking opportunities. You can then run your content through BERT and get a salience score to see how it stacks up against other similar content.
BERT will also show you if it is a positive, negative or neutral piece of content. This doesnโt refer to its state of mind but rather its relevance to other similar articles. If you were writing content about the best apps for 2024, BERT should give you a neutral score as it isnโt an emotive subject. Or, if you were writing about how to be more motivated in the mornings, your copy may need to have a more positive sentiment score. Carefully consider the value your content offers, who it is targeted at and what needs they are trying to meet in searching for that content. This will help you achieve the right level of sentiment.
4. Copywriting (your English teacher would be proud)
Given half the chance, Iโd talk about the virtues of good grammar and syntax all day long. Donโt underestimate the importance of simply writing well when it comes to helpful content. Readers donโt want to read overly long sentences with no clear end point. Think of every piece of content as a conversation. If you were asking someone for directions and they digress into how they used to live nearby, you would quickly forget the valuable information. So stick to the point and set out a clear beginning, middle and end before writing anything. I never start any article without drafting a brief first. Then, when I do come to actually crafting the content here are some of the basic rules I live by:
H2 & H3 headings โ long blocks of content are off putting and make it harder to find the info you are looking for so always separate with headings.
Short simple sentences โ ideally a sentence should be no longer than 20 words. If it is then commas are your friend.
Follow questions with an answer โ even if the answer is โit dependsโ โ give a definite answer first and then follow up with any variables.
Use simple language โ the average reading age for the UK is 9 years old. Of course, this can change depending on the topic and who youโre writing for (a professional audience might require more jargon). But the golden rule is to keep your content clear and understandable. Simple synonyms are a copywriterโs best friend.
In summary
Google will definitely thank you for setting your content out clearly and using good English. They will high five you if you have some good E-E-A-T signals and they will get down on one knee if you are meeting the needs of your users (sorry I got carried away).
Writing helpful content is mainly about matching user intent, and the 2023 helpful content update is just part of making search engines as effective as possible for the people using them โ us. So perhaps the biggest takeaway when writing for humans is to be human. Donโt try to trick an algorithm into trusting you, just be trustworthy. There are SEO specialists and data analysts who can take care of the technical aspects of SEO, but as a content writer you should be focused on creating content that is enjoyable, valuable and genuine. So, to summarise, as a content writer, here areย the basic steps to get you started with writing helpful content:ย
โ Define your user and their needs
โ Find opportunities for bullet or number lists
โ Include internal and external links
โ Fact check your content and ideally include evidence or social proof
โ Research keywords and optimise for salience and sentiment
โ Use good English and grammar
โ Write for your audience not a search engine (you should have figured that out by now)
Relevancy – youโve probably heard this term buzzing around LinkedIn recently and may be wondering: is it just another industry fad, or does it actually matter? Surely any coverage is good coverage?
Weโre here to break the news that, as a PR, links arenโt the only metric you should be tracking and it’s no lie that the majority of digital pr companies are now also looking at relevance as a key metric of campaign success. To see real growth, a business needs campaigns that are relevant, in publications that are just as relevant. We know how tempting it can be to jump on any old topic thatโs trending and exciting, but if it doesnโt resonate with your target market, it can be harmful.
This blog will get into the details of why this is, explaining what exactly relevancy is when it comes to digital PR, why you should care about it and our tips for creating relevant but still newsworthy content. Weโve even shared some examples of our recent and relevant campaigns to give you a bit of inspiration.
But, if you prefer to skip the ramble, here are some key takeaways:
๐Quality over quantity: aim to secure placements that align with your brand, even if it means fewer links
๐Relevant campaigns put you in front of the right people and increases visibility, driving conversions
๐To create a relevant but newsworthy story, you need to understand your audience, and have a close eye on your industryโs trends
What is relevancy in digital PR?
In 2024, the phrase โtheyโre not relevant anymoreโ is tossed around in pop culture, as a jab at former Love Islanders or child actors who havenโt survived the cutthroat cycle of mainstream popularity. In fact, it offers an interesting parallel to digital PR, but whilst both brands and celebrities must continuously work to stay connected to their audience – thereโs a key difference.
In digital PR, relevancy isn’t about chasing fleeting trends or viral moments; itโs creating lasting, meaningful connections that align with your brand’s core values and resonate with your target audience.
So when we talk about relevancy, in practice this means asking yourself โdoes it make sense for my brand to be mentioned in this particular article and this particular publicationโ. Securing a feature in a prestigious magazine like GQ might seem like a big win, but if your business has nothing to do with fashion, it’s not a strategically relevant placement.
Itโs time for us to move away from the outdated numbers game of link building that characterised the early days of SEO. Today, the best marketers are focusing on quality and brand relevancy, steering clear of spammy tactics.
Relevancy is about ensuring that every mention, every link, and every campaign reinforces your brand’s identity and speaks directly to the audience you’re trying to reach. This approach has a whole host of benefitsโฆ.
Why is it important to make DPR campaigns relevant to the brand?
Thereโs a growing consensus in the world of digital marketing that relevancy isnโt just important – itโs crucial for the success of a digital PR campaign, and growth of a business. Hereโs why:
โก๏ธVisibility
When your digital PR efforts are relevant, you’re more likely to appear in publications and platforms where your target audience is actively engaged. This targeted visibility not only increases your chances of being seen but also ensures that you’re reaching the people who are most likely to be interested in your products or services. Each mention drives relevant traffic back to your site, boosting what we all ultimately care most about – conversions.
โก๏ธBrand alignment
When your PR activity is in sync with who you are as a brand, it creates a more cohesive narrative for your audience – strengthening your brand image and helping to build trust. From a messaging perspective, you donโt want to confuse your customers by having your brand linked to campaigns that say drastically different things.By prioritising relevancy, youโre building a consistent image that resonates with your core audience.
โก๏ธSEO
A handful of highly relevant links provide far more SEO value than hundreds of non-relevant ones. This is because when a link comes from a source closely aligned with your brand, it carries more weight in the eyes of the search engines. Google is getting increasingly good at understanding context and it now evaluates the relevance of the linking site to your content; when you secure a link from a highly relevant publication, youโre sending strong signals about your siteโs authority and relevance in your niche.
โก๏ธE-E-A-T
This is partly because relevant coverage plays a huge part in enhancing your websiteโs E-E-A-T signals. When you consistently appear in relevant discussions within your industry, you’re demonstrating your expertise and building authority. This improves your standing with Google, boosting your rankings and also positioning your brand as a go-to resource to your audience.
โก๏ธWhy the journalists should link to your page
Aside from anything else, relevancy increases the likelihood that a journalist will want to use your content in the first place. Relevant content enhances their article and offers the journalist genuine value. You want the connection to be plain as day, so that itโs no question that they include your content to enhance their article.
Examples of relevancy in our work at Cedarwood
The best way to explain a relevant campaign is just to show you one! Here are three examples in our work recently where weโve crafted a story both relevant to our client, and newsworthy – resulting in lots of coverage.
A super relevant campaign that went viral just last month across national papers is our newsjacking piece for a printer toner client. We aligned our clientโs products with the peak in summer holidays through identifying essential documents to print before boarding your flight. This transformed a mundane product into a timely solution and landed our client widespread coverage:
For our new DIY supplies client, we launched a newsjacking piece where we jumped on a topical trend (apprenticeships) to provide relevant data that appealed to their target audience. We outreached the campaign to outlets in their industry and landed a number of hyper-relevant niche links to the website:
There’s no hiding the fact that you have to be a little more creative in some industries than others when it comes to crafting relevant digital PR campaigns. The vaping space is a great example of this – thereโs certainly a less exhaustive list of related topics. So, to get round this, we thought outside the box and submitted FOI requests to local councils to identify how many illegal vapes had been seized over time. With this data, we then created an infographic showcasing the UKโs vape raid hotspots, outreaching it as an asset for journalists.
The outcome was over 150 relevant and targeted links that enhanced E-E-A-T signals across the brand:
How to create relevant but newsworthy content
๐Audience understanding
Your first step should be getting a deep understanding of your target audience, their interests, and problems theyโre facing. But the insights from tools and AI aren’t really enough, so how can you go about this? First, have a clear contact page and form so that people know how and where to go to send you their feedback.
Secondly, platforms like TikTok are a great way to get a better sense of the thoughts and feelings of your audience. Search your product or service keyword and have a look at what the main discussion points are – is there opportunity for you to provide data or expertise that solves an issue theyโre having? For example, searching โprintingโ into TikTok reveals viral videos surrounding the idea of DIY- printed t-shirts. Therefore, a campaign looking at this new gen-z trend of upcycling our clothes at home, and an expert how-to guide, would be a relevant campaign for a printing company.
๐Timely, trending content
Relevancy is time-sensitive and journalists donโt want stories that are yesterdayโs news. To create relevant stories, you need to be constantly monitoring the emerging trends and events within your niche and create content that offers unique insights on these. Content calendars are a great way to do this, marked with key dates and relevant events. With this, you can then brainstorm ideas in advance, allowing you to newsjack quickly. To return to our printing example, key educational dates like the dissertation submission period or GCSE exam period would be worth marking in advance as this allows you to create timely content surrounding printing dissertations or practice papers.
๐Keyword research
Whilst often overlooked in digital PR, this shouldnโt be left to the SEOs! In fact, keyword research should be one of the first steps of a digital PR ideation process, as it guarantees that youโre narrowing in on genuinely relevant ideas. Looking at these terms guarantees that your campaigns are going to align with what your audience is actively searching for. Plus, by incorporating these keywords into your pitch, youโre hitting two birds with one stone – speaking the language of your audience, and increasing the likelihood that your content is discovered organically in the SERPs.
Cedarwood Digital is an award-winning SEO, digital PR & PPC agency based in Manchester. If relevancy isnโt your forte or your campaigns just arenโt landing, how about getting some expert help. Contact us today to find out what we can do for you.
In the world of SEO, we all know that content is king and creating engaging, informative content for your website is extremely important. However, it doesnโt just end there and one aspect that can often be overlooked but can significantly impact your E-E-A-T signals is author pages. Even though author pages are not a direct ranking factor, they can play a significant role in building trust and credibility and can enhance your websiteโs overall SEO performance. In this blog, we will discuss what an author page is and why it is important that you include them on your website.
What Is An Author Page?
An author page is a dedicated page on your website that showcases the expertise and credentials of the people who have contributed to your website, whether they have written a blog or reviewed a service page, an author page should be created. The author page will highlight the authorโs background, experience, expertise and knowledge for a certain topic or field.
What Should Be Included On Your Author Page
In order to maximise the impact of your author pages, you should include the following:
โก๏ธ Name – clearly identify the author at the top of the page.ย
โก๏ธ Role/ title – include their role so users know where their expertise lies.ย
โก๏ธ Image – including a high quality image/ headshot will help to humanise the author and give the author page a more professional look.
โก๏ธ Bio and expertise – provide an overview of the authorโs background, experience and different areas of expertise, this should all be relevant to your website.ย
โก๏ธ Qualifications – include a list of relevant qualifications to showcase the authorโs expertise within the industry.
โก๏ธ List of articles written – include a list of articles that the author has previously written to further showcase their knowledge and expertise.ย
โก๏ธ Links to other profiles – if relevant, provide a link to the authorโs other profiles, such as LinkedIn, to build a strong online presence.ย
โก๏ธ Contact information – include an email address/ phone number so that users can get in touch with the author.ย
By including all of the above information, you can truly showcase the expertise and knowledge of the author and provide those all important E-E-A-T signals for search engines and users.
Below is an example of an author page with all of the relevant information showcasing expertise and experience signals which will provide users with trust. This author profile is linked to throughout the website so that users can see the expertise behind the website easily and they can then build trust with the people behind the brand.
Why Are Author Pages Important To Have On Your Website?
Creating author pages does involve an extra step when creating content, however they can offer significant benefits for your website. By including author profiles on your website and showcasing the expertise and experience of your authors, you can easily improve your websiteโs E-E-A-T signals, which Google heavily favours in their search quality guidelines. Google actually mentions the term โE-E-A-Tโ 116 times in the Search Quality Rater Guidelines, therefore emphasising the importance of establishing trust and authority throughout your website.ย
It also states the following as one of the guidelines: โAssess how trustworthy the page is. Experience, Expertise and Authoritativeness can help with your assessment of Trust. Some types of pages require a high level of Trust.โ
Building E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) signals is one of the main benefits of author profiles and this is extremely important for SEO because it will contribute to quality content that can go on to perform well in the SERPs. Even though E-E-A-T is not a confirmed direct ranking factor for Google, it is important to showcase these signals throughout your website to show that you are meeting Googleโs requirements relating to quality and trustworthiness.
Author pages can significantly help strengthen your E-E-A-T signals. By showcasing to Google and other signals that your content is written by knowledgeable people who have relevant expertise and experience, you are demonstrating that your content is trustworthy and that it will be providing users with factual, helpful information.
However, as well as building E-E-A-T signals for your website and showing to search engines that you are providing trustworthy content, you can also build trust and credibility for your users. One of the most important reasons to have author pages is to build that trust with your audience, particularly if your website falls under the YMYL category. Building trust with your website users is crucial for any online business – trust can significantly contribute to user engagement, brand loyalty and conversions so building this on your website is key.
If a user trusts your website and the content you are providing them, they are more likely to engage with your content, share their personal information and become a return user who may purchase from your site. If a user does not trust the site, or the content that is written, it is likely that they will not engage with the website and they will leave the website and go onto a competitorโs site who is showcasing their trust signals clearly.
By incorporating author profiles into your website and including these on your blogs, service pages and other pages throughout your website, you are showing your users that your content is written by experts who know what they are talking about and they can trust that the information they are being provided with is true.
Summary
Author pages can often be overlooked for websites but they can be a key component of a successful website. By creating thorough, informative and engaging author profiles, you can easily enhance your websiteโs credibility and build trust with your users. In doing so, you will be able to improve your E-E-A-T signals which can help to build your overall SEO performance – remember that even though E-E-A-T is not a direct ranking factor, it is still a crucial element of organic search and the addition of author pages on your website can significantly contribute to these signals.
If you are looking to find out more about E-E-A-T and author pages and how these can contribute to a successful SEO strategy, make sure to get in touch with us today and our team of SEO experts can help provide you with the information you need to build strong E-E-A-T signals through author pages.
In any aspect of digital marketing, understanding user behaviour is crucial and that is no different for SEO. One of the key components of a successful SEO strategy is to understand search intent and in this blog, we will discuss everything you need to know about search intent – what it is, why it is so important for SEO, how you can identify it and how you can optimise your content to match search intent.
What Is Search Intent?
Search intent, also known as user intent, is the purpose behind a userโs search query. It encompasses what a user is trying to achieve when they are searching for a specific query. Whether the user is looking to buy something, looking for a specific website, searching for an answer to a question or they are just looking for more information surrounding a particular topic, understanding the intent behind their search is highly important.
What Are The Four Main Types Of Search Intent?
Generally, search intent can be grouped into four main categories:
Informational Intent
Informational intent is when a user wants to learn more about a particular topic and they are seeking information. Informational intent searches often include questions containing how, what and why.
Examples of informational intent keywords include:
โก๏ธ What is SEO
โก๏ธ How do you make pancakesย
โก๏ธ What are the benefits of drinking green teaย
โก๏ธ How old is Taylor Swiftย
โก๏ธ Why is my sunflower not growing
The most common returned pages for informational intent keywords will be blogs and even though informational intent keywords may not lead to conversions, they can be very beneficial for your online business because they can:
โก๏ธ Increase visibility – creating blog content and ranking for informational keywords that are very relevant to your product or service will massively increase your visibility for your target market.ย
โก๏ธ Build trust – ranking for relevant keywords will also help to build trust with your target audience as they will see your name as a reputable source who has helped them gather information that they needed.
โก๏ธ Target the user journey – by creating blog content and targeting informational queries, you can create helpful content that will guide your target audience through the user journey. By creating the awareness and then guiding those users down the user funnel, you will be able to take those users from the awareness stage all the way down through consideration and then to conversion. If users have all of the information they need on your website, they will be more likely to convert on your site as well.ย
Navigational Intent
Navigational intent occurs when the user wants to visit a specific website or page, the user already knows what they are trying to find in the SERPs and they do not want additional information, they just want to see what they are looking for at the top of the SERP.
Examples of navigational intent keywords include:
โก๏ธ YouTubeย
โก๏ธ Facebook loginย
โก๏ธ Prettylittlething returns policy
The majority of navigational intent keywords will be brand focused as the user knows what page they want to land on. For navigational keywords, it is important that your customers/ target audience can easily find the page that they are looking for.
Commercial Intent
Commercial intent includes keywords that users are searching for when they are conducting research before purchasing a product or service. They are in the stage of considering a purchase and they want to research their options.
Examples of commercial intent keywords include:
โก๏ธ Best hair dryer for curly hairย
โก๏ธ Iphone 15 pro reviewย
โก๏ธ Gousto vs Hello Fresh
Commercial intent lies between informational and transactional as the user will likely be looking for information that is very closely related to their future transaction.
Transactional Intent
Transactional intent occurs when users are looking to complete a specific action, this could be to make a purchase, download a software, or sign up to a newsletter for example.
Examples of transactional intent keywords include:
โก๏ธ Sign up to Netflixย
โก๏ธ Buy a coffee machineย
โก๏ธ Purchase a railcard online
When a user is searching with a transactional intent keyword, it is likely that they already know that they want to convert and they are going to do it off the back of this search query. These keywords are targeted at your customers when they are ready to convert.
Why Is Search Intent So Important For SEO?
Understanding the search intent behind different queries and keywords is extremely important for SEO as it allows you to optimise your website specifically for your target audience so that they are satisfied when they land on your website. Below are some of the reasons why understanding search and user intent is so important for organic search:
Enhances the user experienceย
User experience can be considered one of the most important aspects when it comes to SEO and search engines like Google prioritise user experience. If your website and content aligns with the intent behind certain queries, then it likely means that you are providing users with the information that they are looking for and enhancing their user experience as they are satisfied that their search query has been fulfilled. Satisfied users that are experiencing a good user experience are also more likely to stay on your site for longer periods of time and engage with your content more, they will also be more likely to convert.
Improves rankings and visibilityย
Googleโs algorithms are extremely sophisticated when it comes to interpreting the search intent behind certain queries so by understanding the search intent and optimising your website accordingly, you can increase the likelihood of better rankings in the SERPs.
Increases click through rate
Once you have understood the search intent behind your target keywords and queries, you can optimise your content and metadata accordingly. By optimising your metadata specifically for your target audience, they will be able to easily see that your content matches their search intent and they will be more likely to click through to your site. This increased click through rate can lead to increased traffic and conversions but it can also signal to search engines that your content is relevant and valuable for users.
Drives targeted trafficย
Optimising your website to match the user intent of your target audience will ensure you are driving the right traffic for your specific product or service. When optimising your website for organic traffic, it will always be more valuable to bring in targeted traffic at lower levels than traffic that is not relevant to your niche and that will likely not convert. By targeting the search intent of your target keywords, you can ensure that high intent users are going to be landing on your site.
Reduces bounce rate
If your content doesnโt match the user intent, then the likelihood is that your bounce rate will be high as users will leave your site quickly. By matching the specific user intent, you can keep users engaged on your website for a longer period of time.
Understanding search intent is absolutely essential for SEO so that you are able to satisfy the userโs needs. Googleโs primary goal is to provide users with the most relevant, valuable and helpful information, so if you are accurately targeting the search intent, then it is likely that you will be providing the user with whatever it is they are looking for and you will be able to rank higher in the SERPs, increase your visibility and ultimately increase conversions and revenue for your business.
So, if you want to be ranking in the top 10 positions of the SERPs, you need to thoroughly understand the intent behind your target keywords and optimise your content and web page accordingly. Overall, understanding the user intent and aligning your content with that intent can help you attract more relevant traffic and increase engagement levels, which in turn can lead to having more conversions and leads.
How Can You Identify Search Intent For Different Queries?
Because identifying search intent is so important for SEO, youโre probably wondering how you can identify the intent of different search queries. Well, this is where Ahrefs comes in. Ahrefs has an Identify Intents tool which is designed to help understand the intent behind different queries.
The tool uses AI to analyse each result in the SERP and describes what people are looking for when they are typing in that particular keyword. It will give you a percentage for each intent and this is the estimated traffic share for each of the results associated with each intent.
For example, when we look into the search term โwhat is seoโ, which has a search volume of 6,800 in the UK, 61% of the traffic share is attributed to โDefinition and Explanation of SEO – Users are looking for a clear definition and a thorough explanation of what SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is.โ This is then followed by a 26% traffic share of โSEO Best Practices and Guidelinesโ, 13% traffic share of โSEO Fundamentals for Beginnersโ, and a 2% traffic share for โNeed for SEO Servicesโ.
As you can see above, the tool gives you a clear understanding of what the search intent is. By searching for your desired query/ keywords and clicking the โIdentify Intentsโ button, the tool will give you clear information about the exact intent users are looking for when they are using those specific keywords.
This information is extremely valuable and it can be used to form the strategy when optimising your website for SEO. By knowing exactly what your users are searching for and what search intent Google is returning, you will be able to know what content you need to include on your landing page in order to rank for relevant keywords. By using the Identify Intents tool and incorporating this into your SEO strategy, you can ensure that your content will satisfy the user intent which can ultimately lead to better rankings, more traffic and increased conversions.
How To Optimise Your Content To Match Search Intent
In order to match user intent, it is important to optimise your web page accordingly.
To optimise your content to match search intent, you should:
โก๏ธ Conduct keyword research – use tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush and Google Keyword planner to identify keywords that are related to your site and what users could potentially be searching for.ย
โก๏ธ Identify the search intent – once you have compiled a list of target keywords, you need to identify the search intent behind all queries to see what your users are looking for when they are typing in relevant keywords.ย
โก๏ธ Analyse the SERPs – conduct a thorough analysis of the SERPs to see what type of content is appearing in the top results. This can give you insight into what type of content is ranking well and what you need to do in order to reach the top positions of the SERPs for your target keywords.
โก๏ธ Create content that matches the search intent – once you have fully understood the search intent and what the user is looking for, you need to create unique and helpful content that will match their needs. If the search intent is informational then you will need to provide comprehensive content that will fully answer the userโs query. If the intent is transactional, you need to ensure your product pages contain detailed information and product descriptions and CTAs.ย
โก๏ธ Optimise metadata – title tags and meta descriptions should always match and be relevant to the search intent so that users can see that your content meets their needs.ย
โก๏ธ Use structured data – implementing structured data to your web pages can help search engines to understand the intent behind that specific page. This can help enhance visibility in the SERPs and will also allow you to target featured snippets.
โก๏ธ Regularly monitor and update content – SEO is an ongoing process and user intent may change. It is therefore imperative to constantly monitor the search intent for different queries and adjust your content accordingly. It is not enough to look at the user intent once and then forget about it, you should always keep up to date with changes in user behaviour in order to match the needs of your target audience.ย
Summary
Understanding search intent is absolutely essential for SEO. If you are not giving users what they are looking for then your visibility will be extremely low. If you want your site to rank organically in the SERPs, understanding search intent is crucial. Make sure that you are providing users with exactly what they are looking for and you will build a solid SEO strategy.
If you are looking for help with understanding search intent for organic queries, get in touch with our SEO experts who will be able to help you identify exactly what it is your target audience are looking for when they want to purchase your product or service.
Since the very beginning of SEO , the follow vs nofollow links debate has been getting a lot of airtime. Are nofollow links brought into the ranking equation at all? Is a nofollow link from a high DR valuable? Are all nofollow links entirely useless for SEO and therefore not an important PR metric? These are questions raised and debated on a constant cycle in the world of SEO. And, with nofollow links recently becoming more and more common, we thought weโd chip in our two pence.
This blog will firstly take it back to the basics, explaining what nofollow and follow link are, and how they came to be. Weโll then get into the juicy stuff – how they differ in terms of SEO and overall value. But if you donโt have all day, hereโs the whole blog nicely summarised in 3 takeaways:
โก๏ธThe difference between nofollow and follow links lies in the message theyโre giving to Google. Follow links pass link equity and tell Google to crawl the page, whilst nofollow links are a way of saying itโs not very important.
โก๏ธDespite this, nofollow links are still valuable for SEO and should not be overlooked! Search engines value a natural backlink profile with a mix of dofollow and nofollow links. You should aim for a ratio of roughly 80/20.ย
โก๏ธNofollow links can also directly improve your sales by bringing in relevant traffic and improving brand awareness – especially when found on a reputable website.
So whatโs a nofollow link?
A nofollow hyperlink has โnofollowโ in its HTML code, which tells Google not to crawl the linked page.
So, to put it simply, a nofollow link is a way of telling search engines to ignore a link on your website. Youโre essentially saying itโs not very important and not recommending it for search ranking purposes.
They were introduced in 2005 with the aim to combat a dodgy practice where sites were attempting to manipulate rankings by acquiring lots of irrelevant links.
And what are dofollow links?
As the name would suggest, โdofollowโ or โfollowโ links are the opposite! Theyโre the standard type of hyperlink on websites and tell search engines to follow and rank the attached page. With this, youโre saying to Google that the linked site is relevant to your content and providing valuable information – itโs like a vote of confidence.
How to know if a link is nofollow or dofollow
I see you now scrambling to check your links, and luckily for you, itโs very easy to find out if the link in question is follow or nofollow. Simply hover over the link, right-click it, and choose โInspect.โ Youโll then be able to view the source code and have a look for that โnofollowโ tag.
How do they differ for SEO?
Follow links have a direct impact on SEO; acquiring high-quality follow links from relevant sites will have a significant impact on your rankings for related keywords. This is because follow links pass on link equity, boosting the page they link to.
Nofollow links on the other hand are more of a grey area. Some believe they cannot directly impact search ranking and, after all, they were created with the intention of telling search engines not to follow the link and pass ranking powder to the page. However, thereโs some evidence to the contrary.
Matt Cutts, a former Google engineer, has acknowledged that nofollow links might be used as a signal in a โcomplex wayโ. What heโs possibly referring to here is that some studies suggest search engines consider nofollow links in a couple of situations:
If a nofollow link comes from a trustworthy and relevant website, this might still hold some weight in Googleโs eyes
Search engines will often look at the whole link profile of a website, including both follow and nofollow links, to get a good sense of its reputation. And the evidence suggests that a diverse backlink profile is valuable for SEO, but more on that later.
But whether or not nofollow links can pass link equity, to say they have no value for SEO would be short sighted. Hereโs whyโฆ
Why you shouldnโt dismiss nofollow links
๐Referral Traffic
Despite not necessarily passing on link equity, nofollow links can be a powerful tool for driving referral traffic, especially if the linking site is relevant to your niche, with a wide established audience. Their audience can click through this link, land on your website, and be exposed to your content – this increases your traffic and potential conversions!
๐Brand awarenessย
Getting linked to, even with nofollow, is great for brand awareness. If your website gets linked to on a popular industry blog or high-traffic news outlet, your business is exposed to a huge new audience who may not have known about you before.
Being linked to by reputable websites reflects positively on your brand. Users arenโt checking the code for each link they see, theyโre taking it for face value as a signpost that youโre as much of a trustworthy source as the site linking to you.
Increased brand awareness from nofollow links can also trigger a domino effect. As more people discover your content and find it valuable, they might go on to link to your site themselves โ and these could even be dofollow links this time around.
๐Backlink Profile Diversityย
Search engines want to see a diverse backlink profile; what this means is a profile including a mix of link types, anchor texts, and crucially, follow and nofollow links.
This is because a website with only follow links could appear unnatural for search engines. Having a few nofollow links in there too shows that your site is not suspicious and instead, shows that it has grown organically.
This being said, the ideal backlink profile does lean towards follow links. Search Engine Journal recommends a ratio of 80/20 or 70/30 in favour of follow links.
You can find out your siteโs ratio by using tools like the Ahrefs backlink checker. Hereโs ours:
So there we have it, our defence of nofollow links. Enough of the hate and leaving them out of your reports – theyโre probably benefitting you far more than you know!
Who are we? Cedarwood Digital is a link-building agency based in Manchester, with a track record of landing businesses a healthy mix of follow and no-follow links, all from top tier sites. Contact us today to have a chat about your Digital PR strategy.
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