SEO Blog

Email has become so important now that personal contact has been limited.   The hardest thing for a business owner to know is how your email campaigns stack up with others, both within and outside of your industry. Many of the answers are in a Study released this Spring by Campaign Monitor.   Campaign Monitor analyzed 100 Billion emails sent […]

I will admit that some of the changes outlined here do not affect most advertisers.  I will also admit that Google’s message of “Deliver relevant ad experiences to the right people at the right moments—all while being respectful of their privacy preferences” is not a terrible way to look at Google Ads, please use your own judgement as to whether or […]

AI technology is becoming the “new norm” for SEO.  With AI in search engines and its place in SEO and digital marketing, the future is now.  With AI tools, the future of SEO is all about data use and personalization on levels that we have never seen before. Ranking in search engines will be about providing the most intuitive and […]

Google has made a lot of changes to search criteria, and these changes have made gaining rankings on Google more challenging each year. Starting with the Penguin Update, which mainly affected spam link building practices, through RankBrain and now BERT, Google continues to refine their search algorithms.  While there continue to be updates from Google (as judged by SEMRush Sensor), […]

First Page Sage is the largest pure SEO company out there.  Each year, they do a study of the top ranking factors in Google Search based on a large number of clients and what brings success or failure to their SEO campaigns on Google. I have not published the entire list, but have listed the top 10 factors and the […]

Spoiler Alert: This is meant to be an “executive summary” designed to explain why the latest major Google algorithm update may be affecting your rankings. However, we in the SEO industry have seen wide fluctuations in rankings. So far, all of our rankings have come back at least once, but we continue to see volatility in rankings and traffic. My […]

Wireframe v. Mockup v. Prototype If you are having a website (or mobile app) designed for your business, you will hear the terms wireframe, mockup for sure, and for more advanced applications, prototype.  It is helpful in defining your design process to understand the basic difference between these tools that will help you to successfully design a website that reflects […]

We work mainly in WordPress for our clients, and we have seen a swift and direct connection between improving mobile load speed and placement on Google and increased traffic.  Search Engines clearly favor fast loading sites and these sites have the added bonus of improving user experience. Most SEO experts agree that a key component in search engine ranking factors […]

SEO in 2019 Google and its Algorithm Updates Just last year, Google had released a number of algorithm updates. With Google changing so frequently, one thing we can not ignore is: User Experience is important. By the end of 2018, Google released a number of algorithm updates: Mobile first indexing and Pagespeed, to name a few. User experience was huge […]

In 2018, Google released several SERP (Search Engine Results Page) display updates. Along with the rash of Google core algorithm updates, 4 of these 5 updates changed the look and feel of Google SERPs significantly. The traditional text-only SERPs are gone and have been replaced by featured snippets, video, images, knowledge graphs and related products. SEO experts have been challenged […]

Or: Why We Do Not (Usually) Do SEO/Paid Search For 2 Competing Businesses in The Same Geographic Area At Zenergy Works, we have a policy not to work with competing businesses in the same geographic target market, unless they both give us permission to do so. Yes, this has cost us business over the years, and is not, from what […]

Google has announced a new ranking algorithm that will downgrade the search rankings of slow loading mobile pages. Google stated that the new algorithm will go into effect in the Summer of 2018. The search engine giant went on to state that the algorithm change “will only affect pages that deliver the slowest experience to users” and that it “will […]

In reviewing 2017 and getting ready for 2018, I have been forced to take a close look at SEO and Online Marketing strategies and the following are some of the thoughts that I have shared with my clients in the last couple of months. So in the spirit of a Q and A session-here goes: At this time next year, […]

In talking with clients and analyzing the performance of their websites, I find that there are common misconceptions about the definitions behind the numbers. Bounce rate is defined as when a user has a single-page session on a website. That is to say, they entered on one URL and left the site from the same page (defined by the URL […]

Email marketing, for most of my clients, delivers the maximum return for minimum investment. Like most marketing endeavors, email marketing is a divine mix of art and science. Maintaining a connection with your audience and what they want to see and keeping a close watch on the metrics will ensure that your email campaigns are successful. A few basic strategies […]

SemRush, a world renowned resource for SEO and Online Marketing Tools and Resources, has released a 55 page study of ranking factors for SEO. The data was compiled by comparing the status of sites in SERP rankings, and while no study of Google algorithms would crack 100% of the code, and there are specific conditions that exist for all websites […]

Google has used a machine-learning artificial intelligence system called “RankBrain” since early 2015 to help rank search results. RankBrain uses AI (Artifical Intelligence) to accumulate information relevant to search rankings. AI uses Machine Learning, which is the process where a computer teaches itself how to do something, rather than being taught by programming or human beings. All indications are that […]

Mixed Content can be a negative factor for SEO rankings It also can theoretically be read or modified by attackers, even though the parent page is served over HTTPs. This will cause a warning message to appear in most browsers. Website visitors will either pay no attention to the warning or they will navigate away from your site and presume […]

Many of you have heard me mention a number of Google Algorithm updates that have occurred in February and March. Below is a quick summary of the nature of the Google updates and, based on what we know now, what they effect and how to comply with the new standards. February 1st update From a review of various online forums, […]

Email campaigns can be frustrating, even when your list is your good customers and folks who are familiar with your business. 1. Use A Known Sender Name. The From name is one of the most prominently displayed elements of your campaign. According to studies, 68% of American email recipients open or delete the email based on the From Name. Most […]

Voice search continues to increase according to a new survey from Stone Temple Consulting. 80% of consumers still prefer to use text search in most cases, but the survey data suggests that consumers have a mostly positive experience with voice search. The top three rationales behind voice usage were: Speedy response. The answer is read back to me. Not having […]

Email marketing has been forgotten by many Small Business Marketers because it has just been “done to death”. For most of our clients, email is still a viable marketing medium, and I wanted to take a moment to explain some of the positives of email marketing, and share a few things that have been done, but still bring results. 2 […]

Influencer Marketing? Really? Yes, Really. Imagine if you wanted to sell a new kind of cookware, and you had a celebrity chef (Hello, Mr. Fieri) on social media explaining how this new line of cookware could make your time spent in the kitchen more enjoyable and produce better tasting, more appetizing dishes? Mr. Fieri would definitely have a following of […]

Google may have made some more adjustments to their algorithms in the first week of February. The adjustment appears to affect how Google targets spam links and other forms of spam. Google would not officially confirm or deny there was an algorithm update. Most of the discussion of this Google update on line is from sites who routinely use “black hat” […]

2016 Google Updates The search engine started the year with a flurry of activity – an intense weekend of ranking fluctuations led many to predict that a new Penguin algorithm was imminent. This was denied by Google at the time but it preceded a series of major changes to the search index through the year, some of which will continue […]

The primary goal of SEO is to improve the website so that the site is organized with the themes matching the targeted keywords and keyword phrases. Siloing a website will establish the groundwork for high keyword rankings. Siloing has become fundamental for search engine optimization and is no longer a high level theoretical topic. The term siloing describes grouping related […]

Look, everyone loves 5 gold stars for their business pages. Facebook, Yelp, Google, Trip Adviser, whatever it may be we want great ratings. Ratings can have an enormous impact on your business – but did you know ratings also make an impact on SEO? Reviews on your site as well as third party sites make up nearly 10% of your […]

You already know that successful B2B marketing requires a solid strategy. You’ve likely even already attempted to nail one down once or twice. However, the content marketing portion keeps slipping through your fingers. Try as you might, you can’t get that piece to work. What now? Here are seven practical ways to implement an effective B2B content marketing strategy. 1.) […]

Google just made a minor adjustment and that’s making everyone happier, users no longer need a G+ account to leave a review for a business. This is great news for anyone who simply wants to leave a review on Google, but doesn’t want to go through the time and hassle of creating a G+ account. Businesses no longer need to […]

Over the last couple months Zenergy Works has been quite busy, we have moved offices and launched our newest business called zentiv agency (more on that later). Our new office is located at 819 4th street, Santa Rosa, 95404. Basically we moved to the other side of downtown. Our office is very spacious, friendly and feels a lot like home. […]

Ratchet + Wrench, a site featuring strategies and inspiration for auto care success, recently featured several auto repair shops in an article detailing the benefits of Google Business View. Among them was long-time Zenergy Works client Fisk Auto of Fullerton, CA. Fisk’s particular Business View goes above and beyond the typical virtual tour to include interactive features, allowing current and […]

View Larger Map Florist City 205 Flowers in Santa Rosa 205 5th St Santa Rosa, CA 95401 (707) 525-8318 Google Business View for a Florist. Look Inside!

The world of Organic Search Engine Optimization is changing quickly and many business owners are struggling to keep up. Sometimes the details of content upgrades, link structure, and the latest Panda update cause people to lose focus on the big picture. I would like to suggest that most business owners would be best served by keeping an eye on the […]

Google Plus Pages are becoming more and more important to local businesses who are working to market to a local audience of potential customers. Many businesses do not give their Google Plus Page enough attention. The list below is intended as a list of tips to help a local firm use a Google Plus Page to more effectively market to […]

Online marketing continues to grow and eclipse traditional advertising channels. For the first time ever, ad revenue from U.S. Internet advertising surpassed broadcast television advertising according to 2013 data compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers and released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Digital ad sales in the U.S. totaled $42.8 billion, up 17% from 2012. Broadcast and cable television revenues combined total $74.5 […]

This past week, Google+ has come out with a new metric for a Google+ profile account called “views.” The purpose of adding this metric was to illustrate how interactive a Google+ listing might be. Yonatan Zunger, the first adapter of this display on his page, has posted the details of this new feature: What does this number count? This is total […]

If your website has an SSL certification to take credit cards online, secure email forms, or internal secure chat forums, the Heartbleed Bug is a real threat to your site’s security.  If you are a hosting customer of Zenergy Works, this vulnerability has been addressed.  If not, please review. The Heartbleed Bug attacks a vulnerability in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic […]

Google Place Listings are a critical piece of the online marketing equation for local business. Google recently made some critical changes to the way businesses can verify and update their Google+ Business Listing, and you should know what they are. Many businesses received an email on this subject, and many took it for spam. However, it was, in fact, from […]

Local SEO has become more complicated for small business owners, and when rankings deteriorate, it can have disastrous effects on a business. Is it Panda, Penguin, or Hummingbird that is causing your local listings on Google to suffer? It can be any of the above, but usually it is something much simpler. I would recommend that everyone check the issues […]