Whiteboard Friday

Should SEOs Only Care About DIRECT Ranking Signals in Google?

Can a new friend you connect with at a conference be as strong of a ranking signal as a quality backlink? Can it be ​stronger​? The power of indirect ranking signals is something that can often be overlooked or brushed aside in favor of what we know as hard truth from Google, but doing so is a mistake. In today's Whiteboard Friday, Rand talks about the importance of broadening your perspective and tactics when it comes to considering both direct and ​indirect​ ranking signals in your SEO.

How to Optimize for Competitors' Branded Keywords

It's probably crossed your mind before. ​Should​ you optimize for your competitors' branded keywords? How would you even go about it effectively? Well, in today's Whiteboard Friday, Rand explains some carefully strategic and smart ways to optimize for the keywords of a competitor, from determining their worthiness to properly targeting your funnel to using third-party hosted content for maximum amplification.

Can SEOs Stop Worrying About Keywords and Just Focus on Topics?

Should you ditch keyword targeting entirely? There's been a lot of discussion around the idea of focusing on broad topics and concepts to satisfy searcher intent, but it's a big step to take and could potentially hurt your rankings. In today's Whiteboard Friday, Rand discusses old-school keyword targeting and new-school concept targeting, outlining a plan of action you can follow to get the best of both worlds.

Targeted Link Building in 2016

SEO has much of its roots in the practice of targeted link building. And while it's no longer the only core component involved, it's still a hugely valuable factor when it comes to rank boosting. In this week's Whiteboard Friday, Rand goes over why targeted link building is still relevant today and how to develop a process you can strategically follow to success.

Creating the Right Marketing Mix

From search ads and SEO to display ads, content, and your social efforts, there's a lot to consider when creating the correct marketing concoction. In today's Whiteboard Friday, Rand goes over advice on how and why you should be auditing your funnel to ensure you have a balanced, effective marketing mix.

Content Marketing Tips for B2B Organizations

B2B companies face different challenges than B2C companies. From which stages you target in the funnel to how you measure your success to the ​team you end up selling to, content marketing can be a horse of a different color when you're business-to-business. In this week's Whiteboard Friday, Rand shares his tips for successful content marketing when you're a B2B.

Using Your Niche's Demand Distribution Curve to Improve Your SEO, Social, and Content Strategy

It's a new year, and that means it's time shift into some new habits regarding your keyword research. Rather than simply targeting marketing blasts at either the in-demand or the long tail, you may want to think about carefully targeting your tactics to the shape of your niche's keyword demand distribution curve. In today's Whiteboard Friday, Rand details four steps to using these curves to support and improve your existing strategies.

How to Build the Right Traffic Metrics Dashboard for 2016

What you measure is what you're able to improve. Setting yourself up for success involves measuring your traffic metrics the right way, so you can identify areas to work on and implement the right actions. In the first Whiteboard Friday of 2016, Rand explains what you need to include when building your own traffics metrics dashboard in the new year.

Giving Searchers a Reason to Prefer Your Brand

It's the season of giving, and that notion extends to search! Brand preferences have an almost tangible impact on several levels, from consumer affinity to a rankings boost on Google. In this holiday edition of our now-traditional White​beard​ Friday, Rand explains why it's important to keep brand recognition at the forefront of your strategy, and offers up a framework on how to get started on giving searchers a reason to prefer your brand.

What You Need to Know About Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs)

You may have heard the term "AMPs" thrown around lately. What exactly are Accelerated Mobile Pages, what do they mean for search, and how can you prepare for it all? In this week's ​British​ Whiteboard Friday, Will Critchlow and Tom Anthony of Distilled lay out all the important details.

6 Techniques to Dramatically Upgrade the Quality of Your Presentation

Presentations are so much better when your audience isn't bored — when they're engaged with what you're saying, and attentive, and wowed. But what's the secret formula to giving a great talk? In this week's Whiteboard Friday, Rand will help you boost your presentations to the next level with six tips that have spelled success for him.

Mobile Web vs Mobile Apps: Where Should You Invest Your Marketing?

Mobile's been a hot topic for a while now. We know it's not something to be ignored, but when it comes to different mobile mediums, it can be tricky to determine where to focus your efforts. In this week's Whiteboard Friday, Rand goes over the differences between marketing via mobile apps and mobile web, examines some criteria that can help guide your decision, and speculates about the future of the mobile world in general.