Keep OS X’s Help Viewer from Floating Above Other Windows [Annoyances]
Continue reading →
Posted by Dr. Pete
As you start tracking your rankings and taking SEO more seriously, you’re bound to ask the question (and we hear it a lot) – “What are ALL of the keywords that my site ranks for?” Sounds simple enough, but it turns out this question isn’t just complicated – it’s probably unanswerable.
I’m going to walk you through why it’s such a tough question, discussing two myths that lead us to ask it in the first place. Then, I’m going to try to at least give you a partial answer – maybe not all, but enough to keep you busy for a long time.
If you have any experience with programming, databases, or even just Excel, it’s pretty easy to envision Google as some kind of giant ranking table. It might look something like this:
Keyword | Site | Rank |
---|---|---|
unicorns | www.unicorns.com | #1 |
unicorns | www.bobsunicornshack.com | #2 |
unicorns | www.unicornwrestling.org | #3 |
pretty unicorns | www.ohsoprettyunicorns.com | #1 |
pretty unicorns | www.sexymalibuunicorns.com | #2 |
pretty pretty unicorns | www.examplesgonetoofar.com | #1 |
While this approach might work for a very basic, closed system (like an internal knowledge base), it’s not remotely practical on the scale of something like Google. The sheer scope of data, the blinding speed it gets updated, and the way that data has to be distributed across server farms (made up of thousands of servers), means that modern search is essentially a real-time calculation. There is no master table.
Ok, so it’s not a table, but Google still knows what we rank for or they could figure it out, right? While Google definitely has plenty of data they won’t let us see, some things are mysteries even to them. Back in 2007, Google’s VP of Engineer, Udi Manber, shocked the search community by suggesting that as many as 20-25% of all Google queries were queries they had never seen before. Let’s say that again – as many as 1/4 of all Google searches are new. Google later clarified that this is within a time window (not all of search history), but the number is still staggeringly high.
Much of this has to do with the fact that queries are naturally getting longer and more specific, with over half of search queries in 2010 being 4 words or longer. As people get more comfortable with asking detailed, natural-language questions, this trend is only going to continue. One way or another, your site is ranking for new keywords every day, and some of them are a surprise even to Google.
So, is figuring out what you rank for as elusive as the unicorns in my table? Fortunately, no. While you’ll never know ALL of the keywords you rank for, you can definitely find a solid pile of data. Your best, first destination is your own analytics – here’s an example from Google Analytics (go to “Traffic Sources” > “Keywords > “Non-paid”):
Of course, these are only keywords that drove clicks, but for my own site this represents 1,435 keyword phrases in just 1 month. My blog is hardly exceptional – it gets just over 200 visitors per day. So before you dismiss your analytics because they don’t show you EVERYTHING, ask yourself if you’ve even come close to using the data they do provide.
The second place to look for keywords you’re ranking for is Google Webmaster Tools, which is one of the only places to see data for keywords that drive search impressions but NOT clicks. Within GWT, go to “Your site on the web” > “Search queries”, and you’ll see something like this:
The “Clicks” column actually only goes down to “<10”, so it’s difficult to tell exactly which keywords drove no clicks, but comparing this data to your analytics data can help fill in some of the holes, if you really want to see the big picture.
So, what if you want to find keywords that people aren’t currently searching for but for which you could potentially rank? One place you might look is the anchor text that external sites use to link to your site, especially the longer tail phrases. For example, in our own Open Site Explorer, click on the “Anchor Text Distribution” tab and you’ll get a full list of the phrases or terms external sites use to link to you (export to excel for up to 10,000 results):
For example, I would rank #1 for “muppet intern yoozer”, if anyone actually ever typed that phrase (before I did today). I’m not sure how that helps me, but at least conceptually, seeing what phrases people are using to link to you can give you a sense of what you have the capacity to rank for, even if those phrases don’t currently drive searches.
So, maybe you can’t find ALL the keywords you’d ever rank for, but so what? Using these techniques and extrapolating a bit (put in some quality time with Excel), you can easily generate a list of hundreds or thousands of keywords that you either currently or could potentially rank for. That ought to keep you busy for a while.
Here’s what we know about Google Hotpot: It’s a lot more visual and functional than the previous Places setup; it’s getting more promotions than any other Google product right now; it’s integrated with all of Google’s other local featuers; It’s so “full-service” that data providers, such as Yelp, are getting upset; and it’s surprisingly social. Some of that social functionality can be seen through Hotpot itself, where users are able to set up expanded Google profiles, include pictures, connect with friends, share information, and more. However, we’re also seeing some strong social functionality in other elements of Hotpot.
Specifically, I’m talking about the most recent update to the Google Maps for Mobile application. Maps, which has previously come bundled with a Hotpot widget for quickly finding and rating businesses while on the go, now also features a Twitter-integrated sharing mechanism. Once you’ve gone to and rated a location, you can tweet all about it with a single click (you just enable “Post review to Twitter” from the “Optional” panel of your review), directly from the Apps interface.
It’s important that Hotpot is showing as an even more outgoing socialite, but it’s even more important that this is happening via Twitter. Google has shown a strong partnership with Twitter in recent months. Most prominently, Google users can now connect their Google and Twitter accounts. This allows for the recent social search element of Google, which sites that have been “tweeted” by friends higher up on the SERP, displaying the avatar of the friend who shared the page. All these Twitterificfeatures simply fuel the rumors that Google may just end up buying the micro-blogging service that Buzz failed to beat (or even, if we’re honest, really compete with).
[via Tech Crunch]
Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal.
Google Maps Adds Twitter & Hotpot Functionality
Today I found out that the SEO WordSpinner plugin is no longer available via its WordPress Directory page. I emailed WordPress plugin-master Mark Riley asking what was up, and he just emailed me back:
Hi,
There were some complaints about some SEO plugins.
Your plugin was among those checked and given it’s purpose is not suitable for the directory now.Mark.
Show your support for SEO WordSpinner & help prevent WordPress from becoming a walled Garden!
The guidelines for the directory state that plugins “must not do anything illegal, or be morally offensive.”
The SEO WordSpinner plugin does nothing illegal or immoral. The only “morality” issue may be that the plugin is at odds with Google policies…but why is WordPress equating “morality” with Google policy?
Note: You can still download the plugin from the SEO WordSpinner plugin page.
Related posts: