This is the second of a two part series for what I considered to be the best of the best takeaways from my visit at SMX West in San Jose of 2014. Inside you'll find internet marketing tips for improving your search engine optimization (primarily local SEO), mobile SEO, link building & social media strategies. I even have some of the talking points from the Q&A session with Matt Cutts from Google.

1. Takeaways
The
Part Deuce
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2.  Social
 Linking
 Mobile
 SEO
 Food for Thought
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4. “Create a Google+ account so you can setup authorship.
Doesn't mean you have to use it.”
- Danny Sullivan
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5. “Don't focus so much on creating endless streams of content
on Google Plus Local.”
- Adam Dorfman
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6. “Customize your Google+ page. Use a banner, images & video to
differentiate yourself from competitors.”
- Adam Dorfman
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7. “Google+ description doesn't impact rankings much, but great for
driving funneled traffic to landing pages.”
- Adam Dorfman
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8. “Use the Open Graph Metabox WordPress plugin to customize how
blog posts display on social platforms.”
- Greg Gifford
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10. “If you buy links, just make sure we are aware of it.”
“The computers NEVER forget.”
- Duane Forrester
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11. Q: “Should I proactively disavow bad links?”•
A: “Yes, if there is a worrisome amount. Disavow at domain level.”
Q: “Can you show all bad links in GWT so we can disavow bad ones?
A: “No, but we give you 100,000 links to review.”•
- Matt Cutts
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13. “People should be thinking about mobile first.
We'll be more likely to show mobile search errors.”
Q: “What is mobile friendly?”•
A: “There are different good strategies.
But DON'T redirect all pages to the home page!”•
Q: “Will mobile site ranking impact desktop rankings?”•
A: “Not likely.
- Matt Cutts
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15. Understanding Hummingbird
“Google is trying to understand the intent,
context and entities of a search.”
- Marcus Tober
Hummingbird is about three things:
1. Contextual search
2. Conversational search
3. Semantic search
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16. Example of Contextual Search
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17. Example of Conversational Search
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18. Example of Semantic Search
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19. Understanding Hummingbird
• Pre-Hummingbird, 4/10 ranking pages matched
for semantic searches. Post-Hummingbird: 9/10.
• As a result, # of unique domains dropping week by week.
• There was no increase to knowledge graph integrations.
• Hummingbird is a work in progress.
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20. Hummingbird Tips
• Incorporate Google Instant suggestions within
your content.
• Write conversational content!
• Consider an FAQ page.
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21. Understanding Schema
“You should include structured data on your website to
capitalize on rich snippets.”
- Janet Miller
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22. Types of Schema
• Creative Works
• Embedded non-text objects
• Organization
• Event
• Person
• Local Business
• Product
• Review
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23. Schema Tips
• Only use what’s relevant to your business.
• Use video schema
• Use aggregated
reviews schema
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24. Understanding Local SEO
“Create iconic pieces of content
that are locally targeted!”
“Blog about your community
on your local landing pages;
don't be vain!”
- Greg Gifford
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25. Local SEO Tips
• Easiest way to identify a Google Places page: look for a map.
• No custom categories = sucks for niche businesses.
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26. Local SEO Tips
• Dot your i‘s and cross your t’s.
• Great local aggregator tools:
• Localeze
• Info USA
• Acxiom
• Using geographic modifier in Google Places listing = OK!
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27. Local SEO Tips
• If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
• Google states not to manually merge Google Plus/Places.
• Use consistent themes for local listings.
• Apple Maps reaches 23% of smartphone users.
• Google Places = highest priority for directory building.
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28. Local SEO Tips
• Prioritize directory building (quality 1st, suckiest 2nd):
• Yext
• Moz Local
• Bing Local = easiest directory to claim.
• Yahoo Local = hardest directory to claim.
• Email YP support for directory verification help.
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29. Local SEO Tips
• Only pay for enhanced listings on Yelp as test pilot.
• Maintain consistent NAP & use company e-mail.
• Capitalize on Barnacle SEO!
• Vertical directories are ranking very well recently.
• Use City, ST in content, URL, metas & alt tags
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30. Local SEO Tips
• Embed a Google Map.
• Toll free call tracking #’s =
BAD for SEO.
• Local call tracking #’s =
OK for SEO.
• Sponsor local events & create
local event guides.
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31. Local SEO Tips
• Create a local resource directory.
• Build links to local landing pages.
• Build directories within your niche.
• Rebranding your local business will be a huge endeavor.
• Threshold for # of reviews needed to rank well.
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32. Local SEO Tips
“If you want to kick @$$, and you’re all out of bubblegum,
you have to build citations.”
- Greg Gifford
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33. Local SEO Tips
• Unstructured citations still count!
• Clean up citations & expect big results.
• Local SEO tools:
• Whitespark
• BrightLocal
• PlacesScout
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34. Q&A with Matt Cutts
Q: “Will new TLD domains
influence better rankings?”•.
A: “No.”•
Q: “Is filtering out hack sites a priority?”•.
A: “Very important priority. Helping people identify via GWT.”
Q: "Are Penguin updates on a 6 month refresh interval?”•.
A: “It depends on what we have in the works, but yeah.”
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35. Q&A with Matt Cutts
“If you got hacked and repaired it,
it should not affect your rankings
for long term.”•
Q: “Can iFrames be read?”•
A: “They can.”
Q: “When will you update the
Google Webmaster Tools keyword data?”•
A: “It's on the list. Not sure when.”
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36. Q&A with Matt Cutts
Q: “Is there AuthorRank?”•
A: “ AuthorRank is used in one way:
in-depth articles!”
Q: “Do we need to be worried about
negative SEO?”•
A: “I don't think so. We try to make sure our algorithms are
negative SEO resistant.”
“We're also working on the next generation of Panda. DON'T
PANIC! It'll appear more fierce to a small %.”•
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37. Q&A with Matt Cutts
“Some themes Google will be
working on this year:
mobile, SSL and JavaScript.”
“We're looking at revamping
Webmaster Academy.”
“Don't just talk about recent events. Put it into context. Give
historical insight!”
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38. Q&A with Matt Cutts
Q: “How do you prioritize your
marketing efforts?”
• Content
• Usability
• Social Media
• Link Building
• SEO
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40. “The measurement of successful SEO has changed.•
Stop relying on just ranking reports!”
- Janet Miller
“If your traffic for IE8 looks like it drops for a few weeks, don't panic.
It'll only be temporary.”
- Matt Cutts
“We are at the end of stupid for this industry.”
- Brian Clark
“It's not just our jobs to setup the sites and walk away.”
- Justin Sanger
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41. “Data has got to become a bigger part of our jobs.”
- Unknown
“2/3 of sales require more than one click for completion.”
- Brad Geddes
“Panda updates daily behind the scenes;
Penguin about every 6 months.”
&
“Unblock your CSS files so Google can properly crawl your site.”
- Matt Cutts
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