15 Actionable Takeaways from #MozCon 2019
Marketers of all stripes gathered at The Washington State Convention Center in Seattle this week to discuss the emerging search landscape, exchange SEO successes and challenges, strategize how to invest for the future and more.
As a first time attendee at MozCon, the extremely actionable presentations, unique perspectives, and cutting edge strategies that were shared blew me away. The impressive line up of speakers included industry leaders like Rand Fishkin, Britney Muller, Wil Reynolds, Dr. Marie Haynes, Casie Gillette, Greg Gifford, Paul Shapiro, Ruth Burr Reedy, Andy Crestodin and the list goes on.
Here are some of the key takeaways from MozCon 2019, including a compilation of thoughts from speakers, attendees and industry influencers at the conference.
1. Search is evolving, and SEOs must adapt.
Rand Fishkin talked about the many ways in which the search industry (and Google) is evolving, and how digital marketers can adjust their strategies to be more successful. We learned that it all comes down to establishing site authority, improving content accuracy and ensuring information is aligned with authoritative consensus.
"Mobile didn't kill desktop. It just killed all our free time." lol truth @randfish #mozcon
— Travis Lofley (@TravisLofley) July 15, 2019
Voice search is cool, but it doesn’t really change anything. @randfish #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 15, 2019
There are very few voice searches where the result is materially different from what you'd see if you typed in the same search. @randfish #mozcon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 15, 2019
When someone says “New technology will destroy old usage." I don’t buy it. @randfish #MozCon pic.twitter.com/tNmCf7QFW4
— ::kayla:: (@kmyrhow) July 15, 2019
95% of search in the US happens on Google or on Google properties. @randfish #mozcon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 15, 2019
Zero click decision tree #mozcon pic.twitter.com/2vqGLX5Zeh
— Jeff Russell (@rock_hawk) July 15, 2019
“If you’re going to lose, the next question you have to ask is would you rather have that than [allow] a competitor [to have it]?” @randfish #Mozcon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 15, 2019
this is ✨SO ✨important. my all-time favorite slide from @randfish's talk #mozcon pic.twitter.com/mOxJLN0p9u
— kristen vaughn (@kristen_vaughn) July 15, 2019
Google saw a 16% growth in ad CTR since switching the “Ad” icon from green to black (and making it virtually indistinguishable from organic search results) #mozcon @randfish pic.twitter.com/NaLzOayUH8
— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) July 15, 2019
Google increased ad revenue 16% by changing a little green ad logo to a little black ad logo@randfish #mozcon
— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 15, 2019
So @randfish is speaking truth!!! Google has basically made it impossible for average people to know the difference between ads and organic w/ a new layout, and that caused google to increase CTR by like double digits, they print their own money. #mozcon
— Wil Reynolds (@wilreynolds) July 15, 2019
I’ve been preaching this for years now. Why is #socialmedia important to SEOs? #mozcon #seo #digitalmarketing pic.twitter.com/2UrMslgVeD
— Amanda Leeman (@amanda_leeman) July 15, 2019
The future of SEO will be:
1️⃣a return to less-trackable marketing
2️⃣a vastly bigger industry
3️⃣more competition & sophistication
4️⃣more searches, but fewer organic clicks
5️⃣a shift in ranking signals
6️⃣ever-changing tactical effectivenessrecap from @randfish's talk #mozcon
— kristen vaughn (@kristen_vaughn) July 15, 2019
This #mozcon deck from @randfish is likely the most important document you'll see on the changing state of Google + SEO in 2019:
• Organic clicks = 41%
• Google Ads CTR Rises to 4.14%
• Zero-click searches exceed 50% for 1st time"Web Search in 2019" –https://t.co/i2rBw7uCqA pic.twitter.com/naHkhqYmq1
— Cyrus (@CyrusShepard) July 15, 2019
https://t.co/j0GNTYba9X my slides from today's #mozcon cover the modern search landscape with loads of new data from @jumpshotinc… Including June's CTR data (spoiler, zero-click searches crossed 50% for the first time)
— Rand Fishkin (@randfish) July 15, 2019
2. We need to optimize for humans AND machines.
Ruth Burr Reedy discussed the importance of writing and optimizing content for both human and robot readability. Oftentimes, there are commonalities. Both robots and humans want you to be clear, be concise, provide accurate information, get to the point, avoid jargon and cover subtopics.
https://twitter.com/WojKwasi/status/1150819512893095941
Optimize for human readability and you'll be optimizing for bot readability. #mozcon @ruthburr
— Lori Ballen (@LoriBallen_) July 15, 2019
Do you write content? Do this. @ruthburr #mozcon pic.twitter.com/xw2dYJVSdw
— Jeff Russell (@rock_hawk) July 15, 2019
Human-readable content can also be machine-readable. @ruthburr #mozcon
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 15, 2019
Understanding how Google can parse text can help us create content that’s more readable for humans and robots alike #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 15, 2019
“Optimizing for machine-readability and optimizing for human-readability has a lot in common. They can be the same. It’s clear, concise, puts answers next to the question, avoids jargon and covers enough related topics to give you a full picture of that topic.” @ruthburr #Mozcon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 15, 2019
Google is increasingly using neural matching and natural language processing – optimize for both machine and human readability. They are becoming one in the same. @ruthburr #mozcon pic.twitter.com/Me6aSs6JiD
— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) July 15, 2019
"Just write good content" we are awful at writing content that is actually useful… keep that reading level under control #mozcon @ruthburr
— Jara Moser (@JaraMoser) July 15, 2019
How to use lighthouse reports at scale https://t.co/qReuEGm2SH @ruthburr #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 15, 2019
Ruth Burr Reedy exploring the different ways that humans and robots process information..
"I ask myself 'How can I demonstrate quality in ways that are both human and machine readable?'"#mozcon #mozcon2019 pic.twitter.com/2F7OPG0eyB
— MacNaught Digital (@MacNaughtSEO) July 15, 2019
If you chase the algorithm too hard, the algorithm will end up chasing you. @ruthburr #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 15, 2019
If you lost rankings for specific pages, someone else is ranking instead. What does the SERP look like now. #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 15, 2019
3. Digital marketing reports should stand on their own.
With so many different Google tools available to us, sometimes it can be confusing and difficult to figure out the best way to utilize each and how they can work together. Dana DiTomaso covered this, and how to make reports more valuable for clients.
How Google tools work together:
• Tag manager – The factory, where it's made
• Analytics – The warehouse, where it's kept
• Data studio – The show room, where you sell it
@danaditomaso #MozCon— kristen vaughn (@kristen_vaughn) July 15, 2019
Once your systems talk to each other, you can do some AMAZING things – tie offline and online purchases together, for instance @danaditomaso #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 15, 2019
Planning ahead is crucial for analytics reporting. Also, document your plan for future usage. Explain not only what but WHY – Why do we do this? So we can trust and control our data. @danaditomaso #MozCon
— ::kayla:: (@kmyrhow) July 15, 2019
“You need to address what you’re going to do with that data. Because if you don’t, that’s how you end up with pages that have 50 events fire because ‘we might need that later.’ Everything should have a reason why it exists, and why you’re doing that thing.” @danaditomaso #Mozcon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 15, 2019
You cannot measure what you cannot define. But be sure to ask the why question too. Why the data and what are you doing with it? #mozcon
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 15, 2019
Explain EVERYTHING. Add notes, Your reports should stand on their own. @danaditomaso #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 15, 2019
Use the client’s own language in your reporting – make the report do the explaining for you. @danaditomaso #mozcon pic.twitter.com/DsxF6IVRHC
— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) July 15, 2019
Sessions by channel doesn't really mean anything. Hurts, but it's true. @danaditomaso #mozcon
— Jeff Russell (@rock_hawk) July 15, 2019
Reporting gold standard: "You don't have to be there to explain the report — it explains itself." Lord, I nearly cried. TY. @danaditomaso #mozcon
— Larry Waddell (@larry_waddell) July 15, 2019
Ignoring what doesn't help you is just as important as watching what does help you@danaditomaso #mozcon
— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 15, 2019
"Isn't default sessions by channel traditionally everyone's go-to section in Analytics for reporting, regardless of whether it's actually important to the client or not?" @danaditomaso #mozcon
I feel exposed.
— Travis Lofley (@TravisLofley) July 15, 2019
“Ignoring what doesn’t help you is just as important as watching what does help you. So demote that stuff, it’s not important.” @danaditomaso #Mozcon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 15, 2019
Love how @danaditomaso encourages the use of labels for her report names…
"Are people getting in touch" such a great basic label. That doesn't require a lot of interpretation / translation #mozcon pic.twitter.com/ZLUwoY1L7J
— Wil Reynolds (@wilreynolds) July 15, 2019
4. Localization matters.
We know that Google changes SERPs based on the location and device of the searcher, but what are we actually doing about it? Rob Bucci talked about the challenges involved, and how SEOs can better leverage localized SERPs. He also introduced a new Moz tool, Local Market Analytics.
Local-Market Analytics matters because people search from their phones, and Google changes the SERP based on the user's location. @STATrob #MozCon
— Caleb will always be a Sanders Sibling (@CosperClick) July 15, 2019
We know Google changes the SERP based on the location of the searcher@statrob #mozcon
— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 15, 2019
Everyone's using their phone to Google. For many queries, national SERPs don't exist. @STATrob #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 15, 2019
Google changes the SERP based on the location of the searcher. This is why local marketing analytics are important. @STATrob #mozcon pic.twitter.com/SM2CQPQQ7Y
— Yosef Silver (@ysilver) July 15, 2019
“Google will change the SERP based on a variety of different variables, including the location of the searcher. In order for a business to thrive and grow, it needs to be visible to the potential customers searching for it.” @STATrob #Mozcon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 15, 2019
Influence of localization is stronger than the influence of personalization in SERP results. More than 85% of the results can be dynamic based on user location @STATrob #mozcon
— Jara Moser (@JaraMoser) July 15, 2019
Search results can vary 15-85% in any market based on geographic location (like a zip code). National search doesn't really exist anymore #mozcon @STATrob
— Lori Ballen (@LoriBallen_) July 15, 2019
SERPs change depending on where the search is coming from, and for different kinds of intent.@STATrob #mozcon
— Sha Menz (@ShahMenz) July 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/mhankins12/status/1150845449302970368
Look at queries that perform worse in one market than another – if you care about that market, optimize that content bc it's dragging down performance in that market @STATrob #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 15, 2019
If you’re in the featured snippet game but only changing them nationally, you may be missing out on performance and opportunities. @STATrob #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 15, 2019
Your rankings can fluctuate BY ZIP CODE. If you’re not rank tracking your keywords by city, there’s no way you are getting an accurate glimpse of how your SEO is performing. @STATrob #mozcon pic.twitter.com/OXYMR8p5CO
— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) July 15, 2019
Moz Local Market Analytics launches today! #mozcon pic.twitter.com/WEf5PEU7Sl
— kristen vaughn (@kristen_vaughn) July 15, 2019
5. Keyword research isn’t enough anymore.
Ross Simmonds explained that it’s time for us to think beyond keyword research when creating content. What content ideas should you chase? What’s the best angle? What’s the best format? He answered these questions, and shared the secret sauce to gaining a competitive advantage – research, rethink and remix content.
Accomplish 3 things:
Find the channel your audience spends time on.
Find the content that your audience wants most.
Measure how your audience responds to the content.@TheCoolestCool #mozcon— Kelly Schaefer Hill (@kel_schaefer) July 15, 2019
We are all using the same keyword research tools and optimizing accordingly by one-upping each other with content targeting the same terms…
Re-think this process to find the channels your audience spends time on & the content they like most.@TheCoolestCool #mozcon pic.twitter.com/MIbmeprxYd
— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) July 15, 2019
Where are your people spending time? Do you understand the content on those channels that your audience is hanging out in/on? @TheCoolestCool #mozcon
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 15, 2019
Love this content process from @TheCoolestCool #mozcon pic.twitter.com/sDYR9d45Hl
— Casie Gillette (@Casieg) July 15, 2019
Research: look for insights that inform what you're going to create later. Once you've done the research you can use those insights to create content time and time again. @TheCoolestCool #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 15, 2019
“The questions that you ask during the research stage is where you validate the channels that your audience is spending time on, and then you can move into the rethink phase.” @thecoolestcool #Mozcon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 15, 2019
During the remix you have to tie your content ideas back to business and organizational goals. You still have to pay the bills. @TheCoolestCool #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 15, 2019
You can't just take your great idea, put it on a blog, and call it a day. Remix your blog post into a video for YouTube, then shorten that for an Instagram video, then turn the best parts into a GIF, etc.@TheCoolestCool #MozCon
— Caleb will always be a Sanders Sibling (@CosperClick) July 15, 2019
"You can’t pay the bills with links and likes." #mozcon @TheCoolestCool pic.twitter.com/Sts4sAxrXG
— Kameron Jenkins (@Kammie_Jenkins) July 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/joshgallantco/status/1150875503257014272
Yes, find customers talking about your brand as content material. Community notes. Maybe it's just on the review platforms? @TheCoolestCool #mozcon @Quora
— Jake Hales (Trainer) (@closeratetrain) July 15, 2019
Use keyword research to guide initial ideas for your content, but don't stop there. Continue further research in areas like Pinterest, Twitter, Reddit, etc. to find what people are legitimately interested in. @TheCoolestCool #mozcon
— Travis Lofley (@TravisLofley) July 15, 2019
Online communities are a great place to both get ideas and to distribute the content you create. @TheCoolestCool at #mozcon
— Mike Arnesen (@Mike_Arnesen) July 15, 2019
The content ideation process shouldn't stop at keyword research. Tap into online communities, people, forums, social media to see what people are ACTUALLY talking about + interested in. (re: @TheCoolestCool talk at #MozCon)
— Mitch Hankins (@mhankins12) July 15, 2019
Another excellent source for content ideas? Facebook groups! Research the topics that matter to your audience. Research and rethink the topics that float to the top. @TheCoolestCool #mozcon
— Kyle J. Freeman (@kylejfreeman) July 15, 2019
6. Interactive content takes the cake.
In today’s extremely noisy digital world, link building is not easy. Shannon McGuirk shared how to set up a digital PR newsroom that will generate valuable links. The key? Create a content bank of evergreen, newsworthy, interactive and attributable pieces.
Interactive features like maps can help create successful planned reactive editorial campaigns for your brand. @ShannonMcGuirk_ #mozcon pic.twitter.com/YQ0ALByy9c
— Thomas Nitzsche (@repaydebt) July 15, 2019
According to @ShannonMcGuirk_ “interactive maps for the win” when it comes to link building #mozcon #contentmarketing
— Joe Wilson (@JoeWilsonMusic) July 15, 2019
Want some killer link building process insight and resources?
Check out the goodies from @ShannonMcGuirk_ here:https://t.co/rysMRrGVHS#mozcon
— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 15, 2019
This is the link that @ShannonMcGuirk_ just mentioned at #MozCon containing all of the @airadigital templates and processes which you can make copies of – https://t.co/tEN8gf9kbZ
— Paddy Moogan (@paddymoogan) July 15, 2019
– You need a content bank of evergreen, newsworth, attributable pieces.
– Document and frameworks to live in.
– Editorial content calendar
– Media list for outreach
– Evaluation template for constant review
– Buzzsumo, Moz, #journorequest, #PRRequest@ShannonMcGuirk_ #mozcon— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 15, 2019
What content format gets the most coverage+links? “Interactive” content like digital resources, pages and data visualizations take the cake. @ShannonMcGuirk_ #mozcon pic.twitter.com/SjrXP5kiGP
— Mitch Hankins (@mhankins12) July 15, 2019
Best content types to attract most links @ShannonMcGuirk_ #mozcon
…Interactive Maps @airadigital pic.twitter.com/8jm1ZodQ43
— Woj Kwasi (@WojKwasi) July 15, 2019
#mozcon #TIP https://t.co/GKczpjDsH4
"Control-F" what niche or product your client sells.
Brainstorm content ideas for the secular observance
Reach out to local news orgs, asking them if they'd post about your content idea.
Build a piece of content around that date.
Link!
— Matt Chalk (@MattAudiophile) July 15, 2019
This is the deck that @ShannonMcGuirk_ mentioned from @learninbound last year which I presented:https://t.co/gPn0TIpDV5
I share data from nearly 200 link building campaigns and show the patterns we found in what works and what doesn't.
— Paddy Moogan (@paddymoogan) July 15, 2019
“For a Digital PR newsroom, teams are split into storytellers and storymakers.” @ShannonMcGuirk_ #Mozcon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 15, 2019
Not an easy thing to do! 🙂
INCREDIBLE talk by @ShannonMcGuirk_ !!!
Don't miss her #MozCon deck on strategic link building! https://t.co/f10KGDYt7y
— Britney Muller (@BritneyMuller) July 15, 2019
7. There is power in interdisciplinary teamwork.
Heather Physioc’s presentation was like no other. She covered the ins and outs of creating an integrated and collaborative search team that is set up for success. Simple right? Not so much. But, interdisciplinary teamwork will certainly make it easier.
Complementary search teams and interdisciplinary search teams aren’t the same. Interdisciplinary teams bring unique knowledge and experiences to create new, cohesive, custom offerings – then it makes them repeatable and refinable as similar needs arise. #MozCon pic.twitter.com/THFJ2BR4EO
— Heather Physioc (@HeatherPhysioc) July 16, 2019
“There is no one magical way to shape a search team, but these principles for collaborating in search work no matter what [the shape of your team looks like].” @HeatherPhysioc #Mozcon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 16, 2019
Anyone can learn SEO or PPC – but very few do interdisciplinary to join forces. @HeatherPhysioc #mozcon
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 16, 2019
There is a difference between Complementarity and Interdisciplinarity
Like yah we all use keywords and stuff but are you ACTUALLY coming together to solve the problem?
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 16, 2019
True interdisciplinarity is when the sum of it's whole is greater than that of its parts. #mozcon @HeatherPhysioc
— Yosef Silver (@ysilver) July 16, 2019
obstacles to interdisciplinary: moving from saying it to doing it. Make a case to your teams about the benefits of working together. Agree on the importance of doing it. @HeatherPhysioc #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 16, 2019
That specific feel when you once again see someone at #mozcon giving a glossy presentation on the very muddy process you've been working through yourself…
— Ryan Glass (@RyanGPhx) July 16, 2019
As solitary as the digital world can feel sometime, I've found working with other to only lead to success #mozcon
— Joe Williams (@hamboy_hs) July 16, 2019
Neuroscience, biochemistry, cybernetics… all examples of interdisciplinarity that @HeatherPhysioc is pointing to as examples of how VMLY&R created a collaborative culture between digital teams. #mozcon
— Travis Lofley (@TravisLofley) July 16, 2019
Individual teams still need to maintain autonomy, as long as that doesn't directly interfere with the interdisciplinarity of the teams @HeatherPhysioc #MozCon
— Caleb will always be a Sanders Sibling (@CosperClick) July 16, 2019
Don’t force integration between teams, empower them with autonomy but integrate where it makes sense – @HeatherPhysioc #MozCon
— Andrew Dennis (@AndrewDennis33) July 16, 2019
Trying to overhaul everything at once was like boiling the ocean@HeatherPhysioc #mozcon pic.twitter.com/UROOvS2WwW
— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 16, 2019
@HeatherPhysioc: There's a difference between true interdisciplinary teams vs. complementary. Interdisciplinary brings teams together to create completely unique deliverables and competitive advantage for clients, not just sitting in the same room. #MozCon
— Mitch Hankins (@mhankins12) July 16, 2019
"No process is precious" She is talking about working in an agency but it is good business advice regardless of industry. @HeatherPhysioc #MozCon
— Amanda (@Lenelie16) July 16, 2019
Job swapping within a multi-disciplinary team is brilliant. I've long dreamed of partnering with a dev shop and job swapping people. Would be TERRIBLE for productivity and output, but wouldn't it be fun?!
— Mike Arnesen (@Mike_Arnesen) July 16, 2019
“This should go without saying, but we should be making recommendations and reporting together. We should be collecting our data together, and sitting in a room to analyze the data together and finding the stories to tell our client about.” @HeatherPhysioc #Mozcon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 16, 2019
8. Visual content is no longer an option, it’s essential.
80% of people remember what they see, compared to 20% of people remembering what they read. What does that mean for marketers?
If you want people to remember you, creating engaging visual content is no longer an option – it’s an absolute necessity. And, you have no excuses anymore since Casie Gillette shared a variety of free tools to help in the process.
If you missed the presentation or simply want to read more about it, be sure to check out this recap: Creating Content People Remember (MozCon 2019)
"I am challenging you to use your content to CONNECT with your audience and connect people with your brand. Make them remember you." #MozCon @Casieg pic.twitter.com/RzdOAwOcm0
— Yosef Silver (@ysilver) July 16, 2019
“Use your content to connect with your audience, to connect people with your brand, and to make them remember you” @Casieg #mozcon
— Carly Schoonhoven (@carly_ciara) July 16, 2019
We're still making too much content y'all…but we're getting better at creating content for the journey, not just at the top of the funnel. Want to be a better writer, understand and be curious about your users needs. Via @Casieg at #mozcon pic.twitter.com/JiFPh25hd8
— Lisa Williams (@SEOPollyAnna) July 16, 2019
If we're thinking about what people care about, we should also be thinking about their problems.@Casieg #mozcon
— Kelly Schaefer Hill (@kel_schaefer) July 16, 2019
We don't all sell something as cool as swimsuits, but an interactive tool to help you find the product that fits you applies even in "boring" B2B/SaaS industries. @casieg #MozCon
— Caleb will always be a Sanders Sibling (@CosperClick) July 16, 2019
Create a guide and keep it updated. Become the place your users come to when they have a question. @Casieg #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/emilytlentz/status/1151198794089787392
Keep it simple, stupid. Make your answers easy to find! People remember helpful content, and long, wordy pieces aren't it. #mozcon @Casieg
— Stephanie Newton (@n3w70n5) July 16, 2019
Content creation pro tip: "Make the answers easier to find. Don’t bury them." by @Casieg #MozCon @sucurisecurity
— Juliana Lewis (@julianadflewis) July 16, 2019
80% of people remember what they see versus 20% of people remember what they read. That's the impact that visual content has! @casieg #MozCon
— kristen vaughn (@kristen_vaughn) July 16, 2019
We don't have to live in stock image hell.@Casieg #mozcon pic.twitter.com/aHuKOGsaFa
— Growth360 (@growth360) July 16, 2019
In a sea of static imagery:
Choose colors wisely
Add movement
Location location location. YES!@Casieg #MozCon— ::kayla:: (@kmyrhow) July 16, 2019
The colors you use in your posts convey a message. @casieg #MozCon pic.twitter.com/LPWirp7h2k
— Warrior Forum (@warriorforum) July 16, 2019
Messages delivered as stories can be up to 22x more memorable than those without. @Casieg #mozcon
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 16, 2019
"If we want to create something that people remember, sometimes that requires using more than words." @Casieg #mozcon
— Travis Lofley (@TravisLofley) July 16, 2019
Sometimes an image does a better job of telling a story than words ever could. UGC can be powerful in this regard – get real images of people loving your products @Casieg #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 16, 2019
Old ways won’t open new doors. We need to always try to be better.@casieg #mozcon
— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 16, 2019
Image editing tools to make content more interesting:https://t.co/p5O83v658N – free chrome extension to do simple image edits (e.g. crop)https://t.co/s5S6tThGLm – removes backgrounds
https://t.co/4aTJv66Moz – screen recordings & converts to GIFs
@Casieg #mozcon— Woj Kwasi (@WojKwasi) July 16, 2019
Slides. Blog Post. Resources. Everything from my #Mozcon talk is here –> https://t.co/7HPR0JiM0M pic.twitter.com/ypmPvCUezK
— Casie Gillette (@Casieg) July 16, 2019
9. Every client deserves thorough data analysis.
There’s plenty to say about Wil Reynolds – his presentation was passionate, engaging, funny, cutting-edge and so much more. I hope that the compilation of thoughts below is helpful, but it does not even come close to covering all of the important tactics that Wil shared.
If you want to drive better results from your paid search campaigns and save money, I highly recommend checking out the full video (set to become available in August).
@wilreynolds doesn't want you to ask him about…page speed…voice search…keywords……….he wants to see the data. And wants you to, too. #Mozcon pic.twitter.com/Pcf4UkEKVU
— James (@JayCohh) July 16, 2019
Instead of asking my what I think about (insert buzz term), I’m going to answer “why not pull your own data so I can give you a real answer in your actual vertical?”@wilreynolds #mozcon
— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 16, 2019
When you combine data from different teams, it FORCES teams to work together. @wilreynolds #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 16, 2019
I'm gonna help you save money, two things
1) Google my session on power BI and big data from last year.
2) This year is about changing your thinking.You have bias. Ask yourself how much you really know. Let's do this. Via @wilreynolds #mozcon pic.twitter.com/W0m1b0H3AV
— Lisa Williams (@SEOPollyAnna) July 16, 2019
You should be targeting zero-search-volume terms. You can double the number of conversions. @wilreynolds #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 16, 2019
Incorporating "with" into your PPC strategy is POWERFUL!!!
+Target zero search volume keywords & increase your conversions!!! —@wilreynolds #MozCon pic.twitter.com/t7mkU8x85a
— Britney Muller (@BritneyMuller) July 16, 2019
Toss your bias out the window. Your bias + small data costs your clients/brands money. @wilreynolds #mozcon
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 16, 2019
Nearly 15% of all paid search accounts that @wilreynolds reviews are deemed to have wasted spend and inefficient. #mozcon
— Travis Lofley (@TravisLofley) July 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/lilyraynyc/status/1151209019509317632
Whoa @wilreynolds super heated about how Google Ads will expand your keywords and take your money – basically steal your money – because Google should know better between building a deck and going on a cruise. Such a passionate speaker. #mozcon
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) July 16, 2019
Me watching @wilreynolds tell everyone at #MozCon how Google has built a $17B business in questionable/fake clicks pic.twitter.com/OhlVWszQ3B
— Julie Kittka (@JulieKittka) July 16, 2019
My client sells turkey, why the hell did Google march them to “Turkish” keywords?!?@wilreynolds #mozcon
— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 16, 2019
“Who knew there was a limit of negatives that you can put into any account? They won’t limit the number of keywords you can have in an account, but they’ll limit how many negative keywords you can have. Why? Money.” @wilreynolds #MozCon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 16, 2019
If only google could use their impeccable machine learning from organic search on the paid side to help customers save money. 🙁 @wilreynolds #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 16, 2019
Instead of going off *best practices* how about pulling your own data and gleaning insights from there? @wilreynolds #Mozcon
— Carlos Fabuel (@seovalencia) July 16, 2019
Google is teaching their machines on your dime, with wasteful clicks. And they will not use these improvements to save you money.
— Matt Robison (@jazzdrive3) July 16, 2019
Who pays for curiosity clicks? You do. #MozCon @wilreynolds
— Yosef Silver (@ysilver) July 16, 2019
“We, my friends, are getting clowned by Google. You are being made a fool of daily, and it's sad. But we're going to get them back and I'm going to show you what they're doing…” says @wilreynolds #MozCon #mozcon2019 pic.twitter.com/LDzO4I43EW
— Eddie Childs (@Eddie_Childs) July 16, 2019
One of my favorite slides of the day from @wilreynolds helping to justify my insistence that low search volumes can be ignored if the keyword theme has been derived from real business data and insights; customers, sales & marketing, other channels etc. #mozcon pic.twitter.com/uFP5YEAnvo
— Anthony Lavall (@AnthonyLavall) July 16, 2019
10. Technical problems are people problems.
Areej AbuAli generously explained a methodology that she created and used to restructure a large aggregator website that had a variety of complex indexability issues. While this was not a case study that shared a happy ending, with upward trending traffic charts and major keyword wins, she shared the real life challenges that SEOs face everyday.
“Canonical tags are just hints for bots. Google might decide to ignore the tags and pick other pages to index.” @areej_abuali #MozCon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 16, 2019
Now I’m not a technical SEO but these flow charts from @areej_abuali are super actionable and will help you make concrete decisions about what steps to take when working through indexability challenges!#mozcon2019 #mozcon pic.twitter.com/fvPMuS9s68
— Shannon McGuirk (@ShannonMcGuirk_) July 16, 2019
Getting recommendations implemented is the hardest part. You have no control and the most you can do is influence priorities. @areej_abuali #mozcon
— Mike Arnesen (@Mike_Arnesen) July 16, 2019
“The SEO recommendations were solid, but getting them implemented was the hard part. As a technical SEO, the most you can do is influence priorities. You have no control.” @areej_abuali #MozCon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 16, 2019
Sometimes the best you can do is to influence priorities. You have no control. – @areej_abuali #mozcon
— Andy Odom (@AndyOdom7) July 16, 2019
"All technical problems are people problems. As a tech SEO, all you can do is influence priorities … don't recommend nice-to-dos until there are only nice-to-dos" @areej_abuali #MozCon
— Yosef Silver (@ysilver) July 16, 2019
Go to https://t.co/9c8i4Ab8Sm for the slides! Do it now!!! @areej_abuali #MozCon
— Caleb will always be a Sanders Sibling (@CosperClick) July 16, 2019
Instead of giving comprehensive recommendations, how about recommending one thing at a time, and once that is implemented, move to the next? @areej_abuali #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 16, 2019
11. Technical SEO needs to be redefined.
Paul Shapiro talked about why we need to throw our traditional viewpoints on technical SEO out the window, and how we can integrate modern SEO concepts with our broader search engine marketing programs.
There is more to technical SEO than the definition you were taught in SEO grade school. @fighto #mozcon
— Kelly Schaefer Hill (@kel_schaefer) July 16, 2019
Technical SEO is far beyond just crawling and indexing a website – it's any sufficiently technical action undertaken with the intent to improve search results @rjonesx @fighto #MozCon
— kristen vaughn (@kristen_vaughn) July 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/ysilver/status/1151260938282123264
33% of ALL websites run @WordPress and have "good enough" technical SEO. The barrier is lower than in is for "good enough" content. @fighto #mozcon
— Mike Arnesen (@Mike_Arnesen) July 16, 2019
33% of all websites have "good enough" SEO. @fighto — this is kind of true when you put it that way #mozcon
— Casie Gillette (@Casieg) July 16, 2019
Oversimplification of technical SEO as crawling, indexing, rendering, and ranking is one of the biggest errors we can commit when discussing SEO with our clients.
Redefining Technical SEO@fighto #MozCon #BoostatMozCon pic.twitter.com/fjhKwdaptW
— Boostability (@Boostability) July 16, 2019
.@fighto redefining what it means to do technical SEO:
– implementing SEO testing
– data science
– NLP and ML
– automation #mozcon pic.twitter.com/weFDk5yfdm— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) July 16, 2019
Tech SEO and content ideation? You are making my heart flutter @fighto! #mozcon pic.twitter.com/nD9sBR6xIu
— Casie Gillette (@Casieg) July 16, 2019
If there’s one thing worth automating, I recommend working towards automated reporting – @fighto #MozCon
— Andrew Dennis (@AndrewDennis33) July 16, 2019
“Coding is a fundamental skill for advanced, applied, technical SEO. It isn’t the only way to contribute […], but it is important and I recommend that people learn the fundamentals of coding.[…] You’ll be better at solving crawling and indexing problems.” @fighto #MozCon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/BritneyMuller/status/1151265259186819073
12. Google realized that people want answers, not websites.
Google is on a quest for answers, which means our keyword research must evaluate the questions that people are asking online.
But, how can we find the best questions to answer, craft content around them, and evaluate our successes from doing this? Dr. Pete Meyers and Cindy Krum covered this topic in their presentations.
The inverted pyramid for answers can help you answer questions with you own content.
3: Answer
2: Detail
1: Data@dr_pete #MozCon #BoostatMozCon— Boostability (@Boostability) July 16, 2019
“The slightly more intelligible version of the 3 Cs is credibility, competition, and cannibalization. Am I credible enough to write about this? What is the competition like? Am I already ranking for this?” @dr_pete #MozCon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 16, 2019
How to tell if a question is relevant for your site? If the site is ranking well already for part of the question, it's probably relevant @dr_pete #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 16, 2019
"People Also Ask" boxes now appear in 87% of search results…@dr_pete at #mozcon pic.twitter.com/bW5nkZFeUf
— Andy Crestodina (@crestodina) July 16, 2019
People Also Ask (PAAs) are exploding in visibility, even for transactional queries, and they generally have low CTR. Google may be mining the data collected from PAAs? @dr_pete #mozcon pic.twitter.com/Aq5wE7UHce
— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) July 16, 2019
Google may be using PAAs not to serve us immediately, but to learn more about searcher-query intent. #mozcon
— Mike Arnesen (@Mike_Arnesen) July 16, 2019
-PAA was on 30% SERPs in 2018 – 90% for 2019!
-Google is using PAA to learn about search intent
-Targeting PAA answers, watch for credibility, competition, and cannibalization
-Answer the question right away to get snippets
-Use PAA to improve page SEO— Alycia (@artdecotech) July 16, 2019
There is a vast world of long-tail keywords that we're possibly undervaluing because we're paying attention to high monthly search volume keywords. Don't be afraid to embrace low/zero-volume keywords. @dr_pete #mozcon
— Julie Kittka (@JulieKittka) July 16, 2019
"Google algorithm update history" has low search volume – but that page ranks page 1 for 137 keywords and got 21K page views a month. @dr_pete #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 16, 2019
.@Suzzicks is reminding us that Google isn't a search engine, they're an answer engine. #mozcon
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/mccuedan/status/1151535163752341504
Google knows people want answers more than they want websites. Pages are often an inefficient way to organize answers @Suzzicks #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 17, 2019
“The reality is that for years, Google told us to put answers to multiple questions on multiple pages, and that's kind of a crutch for Google.” @Suzzicks #MozCon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 17, 2019
“Fraggles” = a piece of information on the page that Google can serve directly as an answer within the SERP@Suzzicks #mozcon pic.twitter.com/J0vJTTbUtw
— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) July 17, 2019
“The important thing about an entity in the knowledge graph is that entities are language-agnostic. They are the same in every language, and you can have different keywords in every language that all refer to the same entity.” @Suzzicks #MozCon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 17, 2019
A rose by any other name… entities are the same no matter what language they're in, and keywords are just tools to describe them. – @Suzzicks on entity indexing at #MozCon
— Heather Physioc (@HeatherPhysioc) July 17, 2019
13. The world is not waiting for mediocre content.
As an SEO, your main goal should be to make the best page on the internet for your topic. Andy Crestodina explained how we can leverage data to find content refresh opportunities that will increase our rankings and drive more traffic.
“The world is not waiting for another medium quality blog post”
Great quote by @crestodina #mozcon pic.twitter.com/RDfQhJDpta
— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) July 17, 2019
Don’t take shortcuts… they take too long @crestodina #mozcon
— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 17, 2019
Good content is amazing and bad content is worthless. YES! @crestodina #MozCon
— Casie Gillette (@Casieg) July 17, 2019
If you aren’t doing this, you aren’t doing SEO. #mozcon @crestodina @WojKwasi pic.twitter.com/yI1GObZSXr
— Yosef Silver (@ysilver) July 17, 2019
Old, out-dated content sucks. I would go farther and say it hurts your goals. Deindex / Remove it or update it. @crestodina #MozCon pic.twitter.com/2HNFSxGhGt
— Jake Hales (Trainer) (@closeratetrain) July 17, 2019
Content creation should include people, faces, and names in the content. Include expert contributors in your content – makes your content better, gets more social reach, and grows your professional network.
(Great for E-A-T as well) @crestodina #mozcon pic.twitter.com/W303xMVsaT
— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) July 17, 2019
“Strong opinion and original research [are what outperform most published content].” @crestodina #MozCon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 17, 2019
Turn your top blog post into other forms of content – infographics, videos, etc. @crestodina #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 17, 2019
Updating high performing content is better than creating new content @crestodina #mozcon
— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) July 17, 2019
The "Evil Twin" – If you write the best practices piece, pitch the mistakes piece. [super cool idea] @crestodina #mozcon
— Casie Gillette (@Casieg) July 17, 2019
14. We need to test, test and test some more.
Rob Ousbey discussed the idea that many traditional ranking signals don’t hold the same value that they used to, and factors like UX and brand are becoming more impactful. This means SEOs need to test, tweak and learn from our experiments.
"SEO is changing."
We've gone from easy-to-describe bad user experiences to hard-to-define good user experiences.
Running Your Own SEO Tests: Why It Matters & How to Do It Right@RobOusbey #MozCon #BoostatMozCon pic.twitter.com/BIz0zKiXlr
— Boostability (@Boostability) July 17, 2019
Remember. Google has the data from search, browsers, phones, etc. @RobOusbey #mozcon
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 17, 2019
"Google is comfortable with machine learning." @RobOusbey #AI #mozcon
— Travis Lofley (@TravisLofley) July 17, 2019
Google is making itself a "machine learning first" company and collecting loads of user data.
– Most popular web browsers
– Most popular search engine
– Least popular social media network
– Internet provider
– And more…@RobOusbey #mozcon— Portent (@Portent) July 17, 2019
The weakest correlation between links and ranking is on page 1 of the SERP. *BOOM* @RobOusbey #MozCon
— Kennfusion (@kennfusion) July 17, 2019
in head terms, it's about user engagement metrics. However, links are more correllated with long tail searches. @RobOusbey #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 17, 2019
The top 5 results on Google have the weakest correlation between links and ranking. You need enough links to be in the running for page 1 or 2, but as you move up the results @RobOusbey argues it's diminishing returns #MozCon
— Warrior Forum (@warriorforum) July 17, 2019
Google is changing and UX is becoming a much more important ranking factor than it used to be. We can adapt by isolating each change we make and test how it performs. @RobOusbey #mozcon pic.twitter.com/O8peCMDO0u
— Lily Ray (@lilyraynyc) July 17, 2019
If you are involved in a site that puts things in the way of providing a good user experience @RobOusbey has a few slides that are very relevant to reason why you need to make changes. #mozcon
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 17, 2019
This talk by @RobOusbey highlights important values (and a theme that most speakers have touched on) for any successful SEO: be agile, test, take risks/try something new & document. #MozCon
— Tim Marshall (@timlmarshall) July 17, 2019
Proper SEO tests say: The effects of changes are reversible. @RobOusbey #mozcon
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 17, 2019
“No change has the same impact on two websites. Every now and again you have to challenge your beliefs” #SEOTesting #SEO #MozCon @RobOusbey pic.twitter.com/gMstDKjsHV
— Abeer Ghosheh (@abeerghosheh) July 17, 2019
Sincerely appreciate the use of the scientific method for approaching SEO testing. Actually *slow down to pose a hypothesis,* design a proper test using a proper tool, and get statistically significant results. So often SEOs casually shoot from the hip. Re: @RobOusbey at #MozCon
— Heather Physioc (@HeatherPhysioc) July 17, 2019
15. Featured Snippets aren’t going anywhere.
To end the conference, Britney Muller of Moz gave us a breakdown of featured snippets and the variations currently happening in search results. Based on a recent analysis by the Stat team, we learned 65% of SERPs contain People Also Ask boxes, 24% of SERPs contain snippets and what types of queries were likely to have a snippet.
Think about how you can challenge conventional wisdom about Featured Snippets more, and what you can test in your space @BritneyMuller #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 17, 2019
7 Featured Snippet(FS) actions to take from @BritneyMuller
1: Know which FS keywords you rank for
2: Know intent
3: Provide succinct answers
4: Add summaries to blog posts
5: Identify commonly asked questions
6: Leverage Google's NLP API
7: Monitor FS#MozCon #BoostatMozCon— Boostability (@Boostability) July 17, 2019
Leverage google's NLP API to get your content in a format that will rank for featured snippets @Britneymuller #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 17, 2019
1 key takeaway from #mozcon? Source questions from PAA boxes. @BritneyMuller @dr_pete @Suzzicks have all mentioned these!
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 17, 2019
Sometimes you can get featured snippets simply by adding "Here's How" to your content. @Britneymuller #Mozcon
— Matthew Decuir (@MattBasically) July 17, 2019
If you provide summaries (or tl;drs) at the end of your content, you might very well get more featured snippets @BritneyMuller #MozCon
— Caleb will always be a Sanders Sibling (@CosperClick) July 17, 2019
Know your searchers intent. Please, can we think about the "why" of your user in 2019!? @BritneyMuller #mozcon
— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/lilyraynyc/status/1151633297056776194
If all else fails, leverage ranking third-party sites. Sometimes content on e.g. LinkedIn will get a snippet where you couldn't. @BritneyMuller #MozCon
— Ruth Burr Reedy (@ruthburr) July 17, 2019
“We have to keep track of featured snippets, and you can [use a dynamic tag in STAT to notify you if you gain or earn any new featured snippets].” @BritneyMuller #MozCon
— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 17, 2019
Words to live by in our industry: “If you aren’t breaking things, you aren’t trying hard enough”. –@BritneyMuller #MozCon
— Paul Shapiro – SEO Edition (@fighto) July 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/TheCoolestCool/status/1151632382451052545
These sites appear in the Featured Snippets the most. Study their structured markup and content layouts!@BritneyMuller #mozcon pic.twitter.com/cC5lVwUB0L
— Woj Kwasi (@WojKwasi) July 17, 2019
Final Thoughts
To recap, MozCon 2019 was packed with exceptional speakers, actionable takeaways and fun.
While this is just a compilation of some of the key takeaways that I was exposed to at the conference, I’m sure that there is more to be shared. I would love to hear your thoughts on actionable tactics that you learned at MozCon 2019.
Feel free to share in the comments below, or reach out to me directly on Twitter.