Author: Poondi

1. Optimize your Content based on your Personal Strategy and Approach

You now have the option to pick different strategies and approaches for your content optimization. Every page is different and so are the competitors. Choosing the strategy and the approach you want to follow enables you to tailor the POP recommendations to your specific needs and SEO situation.

Strategy
You can choose different strategies depending on the competitors or the signals you would like to compare your page to. This can either be all competitors or only your focus competitors. You can also choose a strategy based on the signals adjusted to your word count or based on the highest numbers for each signal.

Approach
The approach you choose determines how aggressive you conduct your optimization. You can pick between a regular, conservative, aggressive, or a hyper aggressive approach.

This may seem like a lot of choices but don’t worry, there are in-depth explanations to help you make the right one. 

We also make recommendations on which strategy to use. 

Once you have made your selection, POP will display your Optimization Score based on your strategy and approach. As you make improvements, your personalized Optimization Score will improve.

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2. Live Count Recommendations 

​If you are using the POP Chrome extension you are now able to see the current word count recommendations while you are editing your content.

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3. Variations and LSI Terms

Maybe you have seen a shift in your recommendations for keyword variations and LSI terms. This is due to the fact that our algorithm updated with the latest Google update.

That’s it for this month. Now it’s on you: check out the new proces and bring your optimization to the next level!

We set up the test like this..

Two pages were set up using a business keyword and local suburb. For example “marketing” and “Perth” (a suburb in Western Australia). The keywords were then run through Cora, which has an entities report that gives back entities ordered by strength of correlation to the main keyword.

On the first page we added 13 sentences that included each of the entities from the entities report. On the second page we added 13 sentences of a similar length that included keyword variations and no entities at all. 

The variations and entities used on each page are summarized below:

1. Extended Possibilities for Local Targeting

With the POP Chrome Extension you can already search for competitors by country - either your own or another. But what if you are targeting a particular city? Watch the video to find out more.

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2. Add and Remove LSI Terms and Variations

​During your page setup you now have the option to add or remove LSI terms and keyword variations. This allows you to focus only on the terms that are relevant to you.

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3. Simple Editing with Google Docs

Up until now, if you wanted to check your content within a Google Doc, you needed to publish the document to the web, run POP, and then stop publishing. Editing in Google Docs is now way easier. You don't need to publish the document to the web anymore. With the new Chrome Extension you can just check your work like you do in WordPress or other content systems. 

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4. Bug Fixes and Speed Improvement

​​As always we fixed some bugs to make sure POP is running smoothly for you. We were also able to take one minute off the run time!

1. Toggle between http and https

Have you already run several pages of your website with POP but in the meantime updated from http to https? No problem! You don't need to create a new report for your new URL. Now you can toggle between http and https during the report set up. This way all your keyword data is in the same place.

2. POP is at its fastest

​POP speeds were dragging over the past 30 days. We worked hard to address this issue and improve the speed and performance. We are very happy to announce that as of now, POP is faster than it has ever been.

3. Updated content editor

The checklist in the content editor has been tweaked to allow you to update as you edit for more accurate results. Just click the “Update Checklist” button on the right.

4. E-A-T dashboard with explanations

​We added explanation popups to the E-A-T dashboard to help clarify the recommendations.

5. Your checklist includes all necessary data

Your keyword, variations, and LSI Terms are now also listed in your checklist. This way you don't need to switch back and forth between the checklist and the recommendations tab.

5. Twice as many NLP API analyses

​We doubled the limit for the NLP API. You are now able to run the analysis 60 times per month.

1. ToDo Tab: All Your Action Items in One Place

Look no further - in your ToDo tab you will find all the top recommendations for your target page.

The Quick List will be populated automatically based on all regular recommendations. It is also downloadable.

The Checklist is your custom list, based on recommendations you added manually. Here you can follow your optimization process and add and remove recommendations from the list.

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2. More Relevant LSI Terms

We have updated how LSI terms are calculated so that your list consists of more relevant terms.

3. POP Runs Significantly Faster

Updated processors have brought POP to the next level in terms of speed.

THE CRUEL TUTELAGE OF SEO MYSTICS

You may be wondering how I got interested in testing and why I am so passionate about it.

In all honesty — and like most things in life — it was out of necessity.

Back in 2013, my brother and I were running our own design and development agency and made the fateful decision to open an office in India.

Much to our surprise, the local authorities were not so keen on our presence. They swiftly and forcefully kicked us out of the country.

To add insult to injury, we still had clients to service and no additional staff to help with the workload. The decision was made to dissolve the company and split up the clients. My brother had no interest in SEO, so I was left with those clients.

Unfortunately for them — and myself — I had no formal training in SEO.

In order to pay the rent and put food on the table, I had to learn real quick.

Fortunately, I am very good at research (hey, I even took an advanced class on it in law school.)

So, I was able to find a boatload of advice on what you must and must not do to rank higher in Google.

After implementing these strategies with mixed results, it occurred to me that the “experts” touting them couldn’t explain why they worked.

I asked myself, “Are these teachings based on nothing more than theory or supposition? Is there no way to find out how Google really ranks sites?”

Then — an epiphany.

Google isn’t a person, or persons, sitting in a room looking at every website in existence and subjectively choosing which are the most deserving of a first-page mention.

Google uses an algorithm.

And that algorithm is most likely predictable.

If that’s the case, thought I, then surely there is a way to figure out how it works.

But how?

The answer was (and continues to be) testing.

I wanted to find out if, by using the basic principles of the scientific method, I could run experiments to determine which factors directly affected rank.

I started by looking at those pages which were ranking on the first page and tried to find commonalities. Then I ran single variable tests to confirm my suppositions.

After a period of rigorous testing, I was able to map out a clearer picture of the strongest ranking signals.

My testing continues to this day, and I use the knowledge gleaned from those tests as the basis of my SEO practice.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED FROM TESTING

Over the past five years, I have conducted more than 350 tests on Google’s algorithm. As a result, I have made some pretty interesting discoveries.

Here are five things I have learned as a result of my own testing:

• Google can’t read.
• Grammar, spelling, bad words, and reading level are not ranking factors.
• Google can’t see a webpage – it doesn’t matter how pretty the page is, which fonts or colors you use, you must optimize specific factor areas.
• Contextual terms (or whatever label you want to call them) are a ranking factor.
• Click depth and the placement of internal links are factors.
  
  Clearly, this is not an exhaustive list, and my knowledge grows with every test I run.
  
  It’s also important to bear in mind that I don’t just run SEO tests for fun.
  
  This is not a hobby. I don’t spend weekends holed up in my basement, pontificating on how Google works.
  
  I use the data I have derived from testing on a daily basis to service my digital marketing agency.
  
  I use the data to teach others – through writings, podcasts, and consultations.
  
  I use the data to write and present speeches at conferences around the world.
  
  SEO testing is a cornerstone of my professional life.

HOW DO YOU DO THAT VOODOO THAT YOU DO?

Look, SEO testing is not rocket science. In fact, it’s much closer to primary school science in terms of fundamentals.

Anyone can run SEO tests. (Really!)

The basis of SEO testing is rooted in the scientific method.

You remember the good old scientific method, right?

Make an observation. Ask a question. Hypothesize an explanation. Make a prediction. Test that prediction. And finally, iterate or reflect on the results and use them to guide your next steps.

In other words, if the hypothesis was supported, do additional tests to confirm it, or revise it to be more specific.

If the hypothesis was not supported, come up with a new theory.

Wash, rinse, and repeat.

When it comes to SEO testing, there are some guidelines to follow in order to ensure your tests are clean, accurate, and repeatable:

• You should only use keywords that do not currently exist in Google search results.
• Use domains whose sole purpose is for testing.
• From these domains, create pages that are identical in every way but the URL.
• Once the identical pages have been created and indexed (show up in the SERPs), the stage is set for testing.
• Only alter one variable to test each hypothesis.
• You can also test the variable in reverse, where all but one page is altered.
• The final tenet is that once you have “proved” a hypothesis to your satisfaction, publish it for peer review.

ONE OF US…

When I started this journey, I felt like I was alone in the universe. I didn’t know there were, in fact, other people out there doing what I was doing, or something very similar.

I would have given anything to have had a support network of like-minded individuals. People I could ask questions of or bounce ideas off.

People I could learn from.

I vowed then that if I reached a certain level of success, I would do what I could to create the kind of network I longed for.

Internet Marketing Gold (IMG) is just such a place.

One of the core features of our platform is that it is a community where members share the results of their own SEO testing. Those results can then be discussed, debated, and tested by others.

My co-founders and I believe that the knowledge gained from testing digital marketing theory and sharing our findings in a private online community makes us all the better at what we do.

IMG is a place to find trustworthy answers, learn from one another, and make connections.

We have a brand spanking new platform that I am very proud of, and we are eager to welcome as many members as possible.

Are you interested in running SEO tests yourself?

Not sure how to get started?

Looking for more guidance?

If you’re interested in getting involved as a tester, we will show you exactly how to set up and run the tests using a scientific method.

You will even get paid and get FULL credit amongst the group of over 1500 digital professionals to boost your reputation and authority.

Just shoot an email to support@internetmarketing.gold, and we’ll support you in becoming the next SEO tester.

TRY IT, YOU’LL LIKE IT

I meant it when I said that I believe SEO testers are the future leaders of our industry. And I’m not just being self-serving here.

There is a real need for us to poke and prod Google because Google is never going to stop updating their algorithm.

Constant updates mean SEO will never reach a state of stagnation.

If you want to properly service your SEO clients (even if that’s just you), doesn’t it make sense to understand the current state of SEO?

Testing is a surefire way to do just that.

So I encourage you to get out there and start testing.

I guarantee you will learn something.

Kyle Roof

February - LSI Feature
In February, we added LSI Feature to the tool. In addition to providing LSI terms, POP also gives suggestions on which ones to use, where, and how many times.

How does it work?
POP starts off with a wide set of possible terms and then runs through different filtering processes to get down to terms where LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing / NLP (Natural Language Processing) / TF-IDF (Term Frequency - Inverse Document Frequency) are in relative agreement. The tool then calculates a “weight” or importance score - the number in the screenshot that is less than 1. The closer to 1, the more important the term. Lastly, the tool counts the number of times you have used the term and compares that to the average usage.

The goal is to show how many LSI words you are using right now versus how many times you might want to use them.

March - Schema Feature, 62 languages available
In March, we introduced a brand new Schema Feature. You can see what type of schema your competitors are using and get recommendations on how to improve your own schema.

Despite statements to the contrary, we believe that schema markup is a ranking factor. Why? Well, we ran a scientific test to prove it. You can read the description of the experiment, including the test setup and the outcome here. Therefore, we absolutely recommend using it to your advantage.

We also increased the number of languages available from 21 to 62.

April - Agency Plans
In April 2019, we introduced Agency Plans - game-changer for the Agency Level users of POP. Effective immediately, Agencies can grant individuals with access to select parts of their projects. That means employees, contractors, freelancers, and VAs can work on specific tasks within the Agency Dashboard.

June - Automatic Competitor Search
This has been the #1 request of POP users. We listened to you and improved it in June 2019! POP now pulls competitors into the tool automatically so that you don’t have to copy and paste them. Instead, you can simply select the relevant competitors out of the list provided by POP.

July - Google NLP API
We started July with adding Google NLP API to the tool. If you are concerned that Google is moving away from keywords and into concepts, this is the dashboard for you. Here you can see the entities and categories that Google has identified for your content, as well as the content of your competitors. Entities are "things" that Google understands - literally it is a person, place, or object. Entities have a salience score. Salience is simply how prominent or important that entity is within the text. When there are enough salient entities that Google understands, Google can begin to classify text into categories. Available for Agency users only.

August - New UX/UI
In the last month of this summer, we introduced a brand new UX/UI across all pages in the tool. POP displays a lot of complex data and the idea of the new UX/UI is to simplify this down to the most enjoyable and intuitive experience.

September - Content Editor
How do you go through the process of optimizing a target page? You run the page in POP, log in to your content management system, update the content, and run POP again. And sometimes you repeat these steps several times.

The Content Editor speeds up this process. Now you can edit the content of your target page directly in POP and re-run it after you are done editing. Once you are happy with the result and reached a good score, you can copy and paste the content from POP to your target page.

October - EAT
In October, E-A-T signals have become part of POP for agency plan users. That means you can easily improve Expertise, Authority, and Trust for your site following the POP E-A-T recommendations.

Why are E-A-T Signals important?
After a broad core update in 2018 Google increased its standards to measure the trustworthiness of websites. In order to rank well, you need more than just content that is relevant and comprehensive; your website also needs to prove its trustworthiness. This is especially important for “Your Money or Your Life" sites - those that deal with health, happiness, or financial topics. After analyzing Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines we incorporated E-A-T signals into the POP page analysis. Some examples of these types of signals include the number of internal links, linked social media accounts, and schemas currently being used.

October - POP Express
We also introduced POP Express in October. POP Express is a simplified version of the POP Content Editor for all those who want to implement basic on-page optimization without digging too deep into SEO. If you are a copywriter or content manager, this is for you!

There is so much to come in 2020, and we can't wait to take you for another incredible & wild ride. In the interim, thank you for staying with POP this year and have an incredible holiday season!