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Search engine optimization is constantly changing. Stay up to date with perspectives from our team.

<p>Search engine optimization is constantly evolving, and our team is here to ensure you’re always ahead of the curve. Stay informed with insights from our experts as we explore the latest trends, strategies, and best practices in SEO to help you grow your brand and dominate search rankings.&nbsp;</p>

SEO Content and Perspectives: Industry Trends and POVs | Brunner

Explore strategic insights from Kevin Amos, Brunner Partner, Chief Media and Data Officer.

Perspectives from Kevin Amos | Brunner

Partner, Chief Media and Data Officer

Kevin Amos

BlogArticle

<p>News about the leak of Google internal documents has ricocheted around the digital marketing world. This wasn’t just any leak. This was from the world’s dominant search engine and included insights on more than 14,000 potential ranking factors from Google’s internal Search API documentation.&nbsp;</p><p>Google <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/29/24167407/google-search-algorithm-documents-leak-confirmation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">verified the leak was authentic</a>, even if not all the metrics inside are still actively used.&nbsp;</p><p>At Brunner, our SEO team was on it.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Our top takeaways? The leaked documents provide a valuable perspective on Google’s priorities, and we learned some factors may be more important than Google communicated previously.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>But based on our team’s scrutiny, the leak confirms and reinforces the best practices we follow rigorously at Brunner, all built on decades of testing, learning, and optimizing in SEO. Here are some key areas of marketing strategy and tactics affected by the leak, along with tips to improve performance, so your website continues to deliver on your marketing and business goals.&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>User Interaction And Engagement</strong>&nbsp;</h2><p>One of Google’s stated goals for its search algorithm is to reward websites that best serve the needs of users. Google has said previously they did not consider clicks or click through rates as a ranking factor. At Brunner, our experience showed us there might be something else going on. That’s why we’ve always prioritized pre-site messaging, such as well-crafted page title tags and compelling meta descriptions, and onsite experience.&nbsp;</p><p>The leaked documentation shows Google could be tracking users’ behavior after they click your link in search engine results, even across multiple searches. In addition, Google could be measuring the quality of your site overall by how well you seem to meet those searchers’ needs. For your brand’s website to serve your business goals, it’s more important than ever to pay attention to what happens when a user lands on your site and to ensure the content users see is what they expect.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Clicks matter</strong></h3><p>Google has publicly maintained for years that they do not consider click-through-rate (CTR) when ranking sites. Yet the leak contains many metrics for users’ behavior around when and how often they click your links. This leak underlines how important CTR is for your SEO strategy.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Make sure your metadata is relevant</strong></h3><p>Since users see your title tags and meta descriptions in search results, make sure this information matches your page’s content. If your page is different from what users expect, they may go back to Google to try again.&nbsp;The leaked documentation indicates Google cares about measuring how often this happens on your website.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Page content should get to the point and move them along</strong></h3><p>Once users land on your website, your content should immediately show them what they want. You’ll lose their interest if your page takes too long to prove that. Making sure that visitors have a clear path from where they land to what they need next will also send good signals to Google as your users stay on your website to view other pages and content.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>The more impressions, the better</strong></h3><p>Page impressions are the total number of times a page shows up in the search engine results for all search terms. The leak documentation indicates Google aggregates and applies impressions based on topics. Based on that insight, creating thoughtful content on a broader range of subtopics that ladder up to your core focus should improve your sitewide ranking potential.&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>User Experience (UX)</strong>&nbsp;</h2><p>If your website is hard to use, visitors will be less likely to convert into customers. Brunner’s integrated approach to website design, content, and SEO ensures our clients’ sites meet this central need. Google’s Core Web Vitals have been a ranking factor since the Page Experience Update in 2021. But the leaked documentation shows that Google could be measuring how users engage with your pages directly through Chrome data.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Accessibility may be a ranking factor</strong></h3><p>Simple accessibility steps such as providing alternative text for images, ensuring proper contrast ratios and font size, improving readability, and enabling keyboard navigation can significantly enhance usability. Some metrics in the leak suggest that Google directly considers accessibility in its rankings.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Use video content</strong></h3><p>UX is about creating intuitive, accessible, and engaging experiences for users. Video content can fill many of these needs and provide a strong hook for potential customers.&nbsp;Google’s leaked metrics suggest that if you can increase the time users engage with your page content, Google may show your page to more search users.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Make sure your navigation isn’t frustrating visitors</strong></h3><p>Intuitive navigation is a critical component of good UX. Users should be able to find what they’re looking for with minimal effort. Implementing clear, logical navigation structures helps users interact more effectively with your website, reducing the rate at which users give up and go back to search again.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Your content should just be as long as it needs to be</strong></h3><p>Longer content can cover topics in more depth, and that may be what’s right for your users. However, the leak shows Google’s metrics focus more on measuring how well web pages cover a topic. Short content doesn’t have to be thin content if it meets your users where they are.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>As a regular part of Brunner’s content strategy, we focus on the creation of specialized content that addresses specific user needs rather than aiming for a particular word count on every piece.&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>Site Authority and Brand Awareness</strong>&nbsp;</h2><p>Despite Google’s past denials, documents in the leak suggest Google directly measures how authoritative sites are on their most relevant topics. This calculated “site authority” may significantly affect search rankings. Building site authority involves creating relevant and thorough content that establishes your website as a trusted source of information.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Show your authority in a wide range of formats</strong></h3><p>A diversified content approach enhances user engagement and strengthens your site’s authority in the eyes of search engines. Google seems to care about seeing your brand’s content speak to the needs of your users in many formats, such as text, videos, photos, illustrations, and infographics.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Focus on quality backlinks</strong></h3><p>While many agencies push services to gain as many backlinks as possible for your website, Google has consistently claimed that this is not an effective way to rank your site. In the leak, we can see metrics that favor backlinks with relevant anchor text from frequently updated, highly authoritative, and well-known sites. This supports the idea that you should focus on obtaining backlinks from quality, authoritative sites and avoid spammy link-building tactics.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Make it clear that your authors are authoritative</strong></h3><p>Google regularly denied that writers’ credentials were a ranking factor, but the leak metrics imply Google directly stores information about a website’s authors, so relevant credentials can help establish content authority. To do this, you should clearly state who your authors are and what makes them experts on your blog posts and dedicated author pages. That includes structured data that ties the author as an “entity” to the content they wrote.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>You need to build your brand outside of Google</strong></h3><p>Building brand equity and demand outside of Google is vital. In SEO, “entities” refers to distinct, identifiable things— like brands — that Google evaluates for authority. Establishing a strong brand presence on social media, YouTube, and other non-search platforms enhances your brand’s authority and trustworthiness, positively impacting SEO.&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>What’s Next? Let’s chat!</strong></h2><p>The leaked documents provide valuable insights, but it’s important to remember that Google’s algorithms continually evolve. This rare glimpse into how Google thinks reaffirms the core principles of effective SEO:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Focusing on user engagement&nbsp;</li><li>Enhancing UX&nbsp;</li><li>Building site authority&nbsp;</li><li>Building high-quality, natural backlinks&nbsp;</li></ul><p>Brunner’s holistic and time-honored approach to SEO leverages cross-channel expertise and knowledge sharing across disciplines and teams. If you’d like to chat about how SEO can help your brand’s website serve your business goals, please get in touch. We’d be happy to talk through your challenges and share ideas on how we could help.</p>

You’ve heard about the Google Search API leak, but what does it mean for you? We dive into key takeaways from the leak and how it affects your SEO strategy.

How the Google API Leak Could Affect Your Business

Gain valuable insights and perspectives to build your business and respond to market changes from Kristen Taggert, VP of Integrated Marketing Communications.

Perspectives from Kristen Taggert | Brunner

Vice President, Integrated Marketing Communications

Kristen Taggert

Social media is a key way to communicate with your customers. Hear from our teams.

<p>Social media is a key way to connect with your customers and foster meaningful relationships. Hear from our experts as they share insights on building authentic engagement, crafting compelling content, and staying ahead of trends in the organic social landscape.</p>

Organic Social Media Content: Industry Trends and POVs | Brunner

organic social media

From campaign tips to influencer collaborations, discover perspectives from our team.

<p>Discover perspectives from our experts on influencer marketing, where influence meets strategy. Explore insights on how to effectively partner with influencers to enhance your brand's authenticity and connect with your audience.</p>

Influencer Marketing Content and Perspectives | Brunner

influencer marketing

Unlock the potential of programmatic display advertising with our collection of resources and expert insights.

<p>Dive into our expert insights on programmatic display advertising and discover how to reach your audience with precision. From best practices to innovative strategies, we’ll guide you in maximizing your brand’s visibility and impact.</p>

Programmatic Display Content: Industry Trends and POVs | Brunner

programmatic display

Stay updated on all the latest paid social trends.

<p>Stay updated on the latest trends in paid social media to amplify your brand's reach. Explore insights on effective strategies, targeting techniques, and creative approaches to connect with your audience and drive engagement.</p>

Our Perspectives on Paid Social Media | Brunner

paid social media

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<p>Your brand has built a strong and effective presence on TikTok, for both organic and paid campaigns. The influencers you work with are building their communities on the platform.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>And your website data shows growing traffic from TikTok as people use it instead of Google to search for information.&nbsp;</p><p>But a new federal law President Joe Biden signed on April 24 will force a sale of TikTok or ban the platform within 12 months.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Marketers are asking, “Now what?”&nbsp;</p><p>Brunner manages TikTok as a marketing channel for clients in industries from building supplies and auto insurance to consumer packaged goods and quick service restaurants. We’re sharing our point of view on what brands should know about the ban at this point and our recommendations. ByteDance filed suit May 7 in U.S. federal court to challenge the new law, so the TikTok ban timetable could change.</p><h2><strong>What Does the Law Banning TikTok Require?</strong>&nbsp;</h2><p>The <a href="https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/395515/biden-signs-law-banning-tiktok-unless-its-sold.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">new U.S. law</a> gives ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, nine months to sell the app. If a sale is in progress at that point, ByteDance may be allowed another three months to complete the transaction.&nbsp;</p><p>If a sale does not happen, TikTok will be banned in the U.S., where more than 170 million Americans use it. The app is especially popular with Gen Z, which makes up 44.7% of U.S. TikTok users, according to <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/insights/guide-tiktok/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EMarketer</a>.</p>

With the U.S. TikTok ban looming, marketers face a pivotal shift in their strategies. Learn the potential impact the TikTok ban can have on various channels.

What Does the U.S. TikTok Ban Mean for Marketers?

What Does the U.S. TikTok Ban Mean for Marketers? What Brands Should Know

Stay ahead of SERP changes and Google algorithm impacts with valuable viewpoints and expert advice from Brady Ashe, Associate Director of SEO. 


Perspectives from Brady Ashe | Brunner

Associate Director, SEO

Brady Ashe

At Brunner, media is in our DNA. From ad targeting to ROI tracking, hear from the experts in media.

<p>At Brunner, media is in our DNA, blending data-driven strategies with creative execution. Explore our insights to optimize your media investments and engage customers at every touchpoint on their journey.</p>

Our Perspectives on Media: Trends and POVs | Brunner

media

<p>Our SEO team had the privilege to attend this year’s MozCon virtually, hearing from SEO professionals from all over, gaining insights into the ever-changing world of search engine optimization.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>MozCon is an annual conference to explore the future of search, gain insights into trends and connect with fellow marketing professionals in the SEO space. It brings speakers from all over the world who understand SEO initiatives and strategies and provide unique perspectives from their experiences.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>MozCon Trends</strong></h2><p>During this year’s conference, there were a few key themes that directly correlate with the future of search. Below are the ones our team found the most relevant, alongside our POV.&nbsp;</p>

Our SEO team attended MozCon 2023 virtually, gaining insights into the evolving world of SEO. Discover our top 5 key takeaways.

MozCon 2023: Our SEO Team’s Top 5 Takeaways

NestedList

<p><a href="https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/08/helpful-content-update" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google announced its Helpful Content algorithm update</a>&nbsp;on August 18th. The rollout is underway and will most likely be complete in early September. This update reinforces Google’s established stance on creating content for people, rather than search engines. As the algorithm has evolved over time, it’s become more adept at recognizing natural speech patterns and styles – it knows if you’re writing for a human reader or a search engine spider, and it prefers the former. This is why at Brunner; we always tell our clients to use keywords that are relevant to your product and your audience. And most importantly, write what you would want to read.</p><h2><strong>What Type of Content Will be Impacted?</strong></h2><p>The helpful content update aims to better reward people-first content from which visitors feel they’ve had a satisfying experience. Content built with a search-engine first approach (i.e. less substantive and valuable content created for the sole purpose of ranking in organic search to drive traffic flow and brand awareness) will be subject to devaluation.</p><h2><strong>How Do You Avoid Serving Search Engine-first Content? </strong></h2><p>In their <a href="https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/08/helpful-content-update" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Search Central post about the helpful content update</a>, Google poses the following questions:</p><ul><li>Is the content primarily to attract people from search engines, rather than made for humans?</li><li>Are you producing lots of content on different topics in hopes that some of it might perform well in search results?</li><li>Are you using extensive automation to produce content on many topics?</li><li>Are you mainly summarizing what others have to say without adding much value?</li><li>Are you writing about things simply because they are trending and not because you’d write about them otherwise for your existing audience?</li><li>Does your content leave readers feeling like they need to search again to get better information from other sources?</li><li>Are you writing to a particular word count because you’ve heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (It doesn’t.)</li><li>Did you decide to enter some niche topic area without any real expertise, but instead mainly because you thought you’d get search traffic?</li><li>Does your content promise to answer a question that actually has no answer, such as suggesting there’s a release date for a product, movie, or TV show when one isn’t confirmed?</li></ul><p>Likely, content aimed at answering simple fact-seeking queries will not be impacted by the update. Instead, content that could be served for queries helping users make a meaningful decisions, will likely be the focus.</p><p>As an example, ‘what is smart home integration?’ won’t likely be the focus of the update, but content that answers the question ‘will smart home integration save me money/energy?’ will be.</p><h2><strong>How Will Sites Be Impacted?</strong></h2><p>One of the reasons this update has the SEO industry talking (aside from being the first named update in a while) is how this will impact websites. The update will not devalue search-engine-first content on a page-by-page basis but rather on a sitewide basis. This means if you are guilty of any of the above guidelines and routinely publish content with a search engine-first approach, you likely will see visibility and traffic declines <em>across your entire site</em>, including content pieces that may not necessarily violate those guidelines.</p><h2><strong>What Should You Do?</strong></h2><p>Brunner recommends a review of any website content that you feel will violate the guidelines, or is providing little value to users, and proactively remove it. We also recommend proactive content creation in-line with Google’s guidance. Below is guidance around creating new content and removing the old in line with Google’s directives.</p><h3><strong>Create Expertise-Driven Content </strong></h3><p>At the heart of what Google (and other search engines) aim to achieve through core, ranking algorithm updates is an enhanced ability to assess content quality. Recently, due in large part to enhanced AI- and machine-learning-driven capabilities to understand authors as entities, content quality is assessed not only based on <em>what</em> is being said but <em>who</em> is saying it. Ask yourself, “is the publisher uniquely qualified to speak to the topic at hand? Are they credentialed in this particular field? What is their level of education and experience on the topic? Can they provide first-hand anecdotal evidence or first-party research to support their claims?” Keep reading for more detail:</p>

Google announced its Helpful Content algorithm update on August 18th. Discover how it can impact your SEO strategies.

What You Need to Know About the Google Helpful Content Update

SEO Content

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