Google’s chief search advocate recently stated that when ranking websites, a single, high-value link from a major news website carries more weight than “millions” of low-quality links. That means a single Tier 1 PR placement could have a greater impact on your search presence than all the efforts of your SEO firm over the past five years.
Google has made clear that combining PR and SEO is the most effective -- and least spammy -- search strategy of all. And media coverage earns you more than backlinks. It can land you high search visibility in Google News, earn you a Google Knowledge Panel and expand your overall footprint in Google's massive media universe.
Media coverage is the single best way to tell Google your site is important. It’s where search marketing starts and ends today.
Technical SEO and on-site optimization ensure your website gets credit for the quality content, coverage and relationships you are generating online.
Google is not just a search engine but the world’s largest media company; leverage all its products to stand out from competitors.
In contrast to most SEO firms, Idea Grove's knowledge and relationships span the world of technology, business and trade media. We help our clients improve their search presence the right way—not by gaming Google, but by pitching newsworthy stories and creating compelling thought leadership content. Many SEO firms are willing to do anything it takes to get a backlink, even if it might ultimately damage your relationships or reputation. We take the big picture into account to make sure your search presence strategy builds, rather than detracts from, trust in your brand.
Technical SEO refers to improving the technical aspects of a website, such as making the site faster, easier to crawl and understandable for search engines. On-site SEO, also called on-page SEO, focuses on improving the content, organization and internal linking strategy of your site to enhance search presence. Both technical and on-site SEO issues can be identified through a comprehensive SEO audit.
Virtually every trust signal—from media coverage to online reviews—is a ranking factor for Google in determining your website's search presence. That's why SEO professionals and software use terms like "Trust Flow," "TrustRank" and "MozTrust" to describe what they do. They know that Google is trying to determine how trustworthy your site is in the same way that potential customers are.
But there are certain trust signals that go mostly unseen by your website visitors that still matter to Google. We call these hidden signals "SEO trust signals." They include:SEO trust signals, like all trust signals, should be a key part of your search presence strategy.
Backlinks are inbound links from other websites to yours. They are the primary way that Google determines the authority of your website for search ranking purposes. When it comes to acquiring backlinks for our clients, Idea Grove focuses on quality over quantity—which Google has made clear is its preference.
Google's 5 billion daily visitors depend on it to tell them which sites and what content they should be consuming. In answering their queries, Google relies heavily on coverage in traditional media sources.
To highlight this point, Google’s chief search advocate, John Mueller, recently stated that when ranking websites, a single, high-value link from a major news website carries more weight with Google than “millions” of low-quality links. Mueller went on to say that PR is the most effective, and least spammy, link-building strategy of all.
In 2020, 65% of Google searches ended without a click to another web property, according to SimilarWeb. That's up from 50% in 2019. These users got the information they needed from the Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page).
That means it's important not only to optimize your brand's search position, but also the manner in which your brand appears on Google SERPs. Earning a featured snippet, featured video or appearing in Google Maps, Google Interesting Finds or Google Popular Products can make the difference in whether you are noticed or passed over.
Even when Google users search for your brand by name, you shouldn't assume those users will click through to your site. Most don't, in fact. That's why you should think of your first page of branded search results as your second homepage. Are your Google listings up to snuff? What other websites come up when visitors search for you? We can help you make as strong an impression on your brand's SERP as on your own website.
There are two dimensions to a strong Google presence: authority and relevance. Authority—as measured by tools like Moz's Domain Authority and Majestic's Trust Flow—is an indicator of how likely your site is to rank in Google search results. Relevance is an indicator of the topics for which you are most likely to rank.
Earning coverage and links from trade and vertical publications demonstrates to Google both your authority as a resource as well as the relevant industry sectors where your authority matters most. It's one of the best ways to kill two birds with one stone in your search presence strategy.
