Keith L. Goode presented on changes happening in search engine results pages (SERPs). The presentation discussed how Google is rewriting page titles for 23% of top results, reducing the number of results shown on SERPs which makes ranking harder, and including more local listings and instant answers which takes up valuable real estate. Goode advised focusing on relevant titles, mitigating duplication, targeting topics not keywords, and creating how-to and instructional content to work with these SERP changes. The presentation emphasized controlling on-page elements and adopting a user-first approach to succeed with evolving personalized search algorithms.

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@keithgoode
SERPs:
They’re Not
All About You
Presented by:
Keith L. Goode
Chief SEO Evangelist, seoClarity

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@keithgoode

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@keithgoode
What’s in a SERP Anyway?
“What you put on your website pages isn’t necessarily
what shows up on the SERPs. Title tags, descriptions,
and 3 pack lines can show almost anything on Google
SERPs. This session will look at SEO techniques and
systems for getting good click through rates to the
page, while effectively controlling what shows up on
the SERPs.”

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@keithgoode
IT HAS NEVER BEEN ABOUT
WHAT SEOS WANT
A Little History…

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@keithgoode
Remember NOODP and NOYDIR?

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@keithgoode
I have lived
long enough
to see the
same eyes in
different
people.
I am looking
at the eyes
of a man
who wants
to stuff
keywords in
his titles.

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@keithgoode
Algorithm-Chasers Go All In On
Temporarily Effective
Tactics

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@keithgoode
Recommended Viewing/Reading
https://moz.com/blog/8-old-school-seo-practices-not-effective-whiteboard-friday

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@keithgoode
Tap Into the Evolutionary Direction of the Algorithm

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@keithgoode
Change Your Perspective, Change Your World
For more on Search Experience Optimization: http://bit.ly/1JKxigC

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@keithgoode
IN THE SERPS
Happening Now

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@keithgoode
Did you know?
Google is Rewriting Titles?
23%Titles for Top 5 Ranking URLs
Rewritten

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@keithgoode
Did you know?
Local Results Aren’t Just for Local Queries?
6.1%of ALL Keywords
Contain Local Listings

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@keithgoode
Did you know?
Google is Showing Instant Answer for Non-question
Queries?
3.6%of Keywords
Contain Instant Answers

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@keithgoode
The Happening #1:
NO! Not THAT
Happening!

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@keithgoode
Google is Reducing the Size of SERPs
16.3%
Queries Show Fewer than 100 Results
Happening #1: Google’s Big Squeeze

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@keithgoode
Happening #1: Google’s Big Squeeze
http://bit.ly/22vNuLi

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@keithgoode
Happening #1: Google’s Big Squeeze

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@keithgoode
Happening #1: Google’s Big Squeeze

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@keithgoode
What Does it Mean for …?
USERS SEOs
Who goes past
Page 2 anyway?
Much harder to
get baseline
ranking data?

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@keithgoode
https://flic.kr/p/emQ7ku
What Do I Do With This Information?

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@keithgoode
Realigning Metrics for True Success
Yes… But…
Traffic increases are a
measure of online success
Stickiness and
Conversion Rates
tell you if it’s good
traffic or not
Rankings are
highly influenced
by links
Links are earned
as a result of a
Great Product or
Great Content
Targeting
keywords in
content
establishes
relevance
Being relevant for Topics, rather
than keywords, establishes broader
Relevance

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@keithgoode
Happening #2: Title Rewrites

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@keithgoode
Happening #2: Title Rewrites
23%Titles for Top 5 Ranking URLs
Rewritten

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@keithgoode
Happening #2: Title Rewrites
The Problem:
What you want
What you get

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@keithgoode
Happening #2: Title Rewrites
We Looked at:
– Top 5 Ranking URLs for 50,000 Keywords
– 200,000 SERP listings
– Titles in Google vs. On Site

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@keithgoode
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100 >100
Rewritten Not Rewritten
Happening #2: Title Rewrites

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@keithgoode
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100 101-110
Happening #2: Title Rewrites
E-Commerce
Edition

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@keithgoode
Happening #2: Title Rewrites
Reasons Google Will Change Your Title:
1. Length
2. Extraneous Text
3. Extraneous Branding
4. Duplication or Near Duplicates
5. Hokey Markup :-) :: **

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@keithgoode
What Can I Do?
https://flic.kr/p/a8vEBr

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Control What You Can Control
• Keep Title Concise and Relevant
• Mitigate Duplication on Search Refinement Pages
– Rel “next” and “prev”
– Rel “canonical”
– Nofollow and noindex for extremely granular search
refinements
• Focus on Topics. Don’t Stuff with Tons of Variations

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@keithgoode
Happening #3: Lost Real Estate
“Hey! Yeah you!
Users. Please
scroll down.
There are
organic results
down here.

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@keithgoode
Why Enterprise SEOs Should Care About Local
>93%In #1 position

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@keithgoode
No Local
Intent in my
search
Happening #3: Lost Real Estate
“Hey! Yeah you!
Users. Please
scroll down.
There are
organic results
down here.

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@keithgoode
Why Enterprise SEOs Should Care About Local
6.1%Of All Keywords
Contain Local Listings

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@keithgoode
Knowledge Graph Instant Answers
• Provide an answer to
specific queries
• Answer comes from an
external source
• External source attribution
provided

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@keithgoode
Knowledge Graph Instant Answers
Wait! Did I ask a
question?Sucks to be
in Position 5.

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@keithgoode
Knowledge Graph Instant Answers
3.6%Keywords
Contain Instant Answers

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@keithgoode
Knowledge Graph Instant Answers
15% - 30%
CTR!

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@keithgoode
What Works? What Doesn’t?
40
• How-To’s
• Guides
• Instruction
Instructional
• Weather
• Stocks
• GDP
Public

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@keithgoode
Example of an Instant Answer

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@keithgoode
Example of an Instant Answer
Note: being in Position 1 is not required.
Position 10

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@keithgoode
Elements of an Instant Answer
In the Snippet:
• Clear step-by-step
instructions
• Friendly URLs

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@keithgoode
Elements of an Instant Answer
Not “metal fence”
but “wrought iron.”
RankBrain?
Position on page
is not
completely
above the fold

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@keithgoode
Elements of an Instant Answer
Ordered or
Unordered
List
List items
are H5
headers H5’s are succinct
and clear

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@keithgoode
More Information Available
On the seoClarity blog:
http://bit.ly/1SBt3XA

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@keithgoode
Advancing A.I. = Personalized SERPs
=
The perfect answer for you.

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@keithgoode
Organizational Shifts to Match the SERPs
• Democratize SEO in your Enterprise
• Adopt a User-First Approach to Everything
– Yes: Adopt Best Practices
– No: Don’t Focus on the Latest Tricks
• Focus on the Experience, Not the Engines

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@keithgoode
Your Presenter
20 years of Online Experience
– AMD
– HomeAway.com
– Builders Digital Experience
– SpareFoot.com
Dell (4 years)
– SEO Technology Lead, DCS (formerly eDell)
– Technical SEO Instructor
Currently
– Chief SEO Evangelist, seoClarity
www.linkedin.com/in/keithlgoode
@keithgoode
Keith L. Goode, Chief SEO Evangelist

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@keithgoode
THANK YOU!
Happy Trails!