#I like that they gave him more different filters in the digital version

[fiepige]

Compilation of EVERY single time they changed Hobie's filter in the digital version:

Left: Theatrical release Right: Digital release

You might have to click on some of them to get a better look at Hobie, sadly I don't have a video editor that allows me to make better edits than these :')

[owl-with-a-pen]

Prompt where brainy gets very angry over something and nia just wraps her arms around his waist to give him a big hug from behind. That “it’s okay, I’m here” trope. Specific but I’m curious to see how you would write it x

- Okay so this gave me a cute idea that I decided to run with. Hope you enjoy!

Nia knew it was bad the second she saw Alex walking quickly in the opposite direction from the Tower’s lab.

“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you,” Alex warned as she passed Nia by, offering her a strained smile. “He’s in a mood.”

Nia winced.

Right. One of Brainy’s classic moods. The Super Friends had learnt to make themselves scarce when one presented itself. And, oh boy, did they present themselves.

Although Brainy had had a tendency to get moody before removing his inhibitors, this was way different. Anger was still so new to him in this sort of a capacity, and when he needed to focus on something – really focus - distractions were something he just couldn’t stand. Outside stimulus became too difficult to manage when he was in that kind of headspace. It was times like those that he valued his privacy, and would readily snap at whoever didn’t grant it to him.

Nia leant hesitantly in the archway to the lab, digging her shoulder into the brickwork as she watched Brainy worriedly from behind. He was tinkering with something on his workbench; his back and shoulders were rigid, and although she couldn’t see his face, Nia was certain she could hear a distinct crack from how tightly he was clenching his jaw.

It wasn’t good for him to hold everything in like this, but the alternative wasn’t exactly pretty. When Brainy had told her about the broken keyboard, the broken tablet and the very nearly broken TV, it had become clear to her that he’d needed a healthier outlet.

Kelly had spoken to them both about ways to support each other when it came to nightmares or outside stressors, but Brainy was more of a complicated case than Nia, simply because he’d never experienced these emotions before. He had no frame of reference for even half of what he was feeling, and that terrified him.

And so, as much as she wanted to respect Brainy’s unspoken wish, Nia knew she couldn’t let him stay holed up alone in his lab like this. It'd only encourage his emotions to grow even further out of check.

Her concerns were verified when Brainy jerked his hand suddenly, throwing the device he had been working on clean from the table, sending it to the floor with a jarring clang.

“Sprock,” he muttered tightly. He made no move to retrieve it. Instead, he gripped tightly to the workbench’s edge, leaning his full weight into it. He ducked his head, chest heaving with the effort of holding back this newfound rage.

Nia knew the signs well enough by now. He was seconds from bursting wide open, his most unruly emotions reaching an intensity he wouldn’t be able to filter out on his own.

Nia hated seeing him like this, but what hurt her the most was knowing just how helpless all of this made Brainy feel. He didn’t like what these emotions did to him, and most certainly didn’t want to act on his most violent impulses. It was why Kelly had offered her help in the first place, even suggesting some breathing exercises for when things got too volcanic for him to handle. Right now, though? Brainy was barely able to work those exercises through his lungs.

It wasn’t working. This tightly wound, it would be impossible for Brainy to come down organically. Nia’s heart clenched, the urge to do something for him so profound that she could barely stay put in the doorway. But what could she do? It wasn’t exactly like she could rip this anger out of him. She couldn’t control a person’s emotions, her powers didn’t work that way.

If only they could. If only she could offer him something…

Unless…

Nia frowned suddenly, glancing down towards her hands, the energy filters she wore as bracelets around her wrists.

Surely, it couldn’t hurt to try… right?

Nia pushed herself from the wall, heading carefully across the room. She managed her footing well enough that Brainy didn’t hear her over the laboured pants of his own breathing. By the time she was in reaching distance, she could see the tremors running through his arms, the pinched corners of his lips as he swallowed down the urge to unleash his most tempestuous emotions.

Nia didn’t think. Instead, she took that final step forward, sliding her arms around Brainy’s back, clasping her hands firmly together against his front.

It was a bold move, all things considered. After all, Brainy wasn’t always welcoming to anyone’s touch, not even her own.

Expectedly, Brainy stiffened the second he felt her arms around him, although he didn’t try to move out of her hold. “Nia-?” he managed weakly. “What’re you-?”

“Just breathe, okay?” Nia said softly, tucking her face into the private warmth of his shoulder. She could feel his pulse quivering against her cheek, sidling close enough that she was able to mould herself against the gentle curve of his spine. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”

Her question was clearly enough to throw him off guard. Brainy glanced about himself restlessly before relenting, closing his eyes. “This rage,” he muttered. “It- it won’t stop. Every time I think I have a hold on myself, it comes bubbling back up.” He swallowed hard, baring his teeth. “I can’t stop it, Nia.”

“You got frustrated,” Nia said, holding her voice steady. “You just need to take a break. It’ll pass, I promise.”

Brainy choked out a strained laugh. “I- don’t know how it can. Not without…”

He didn’t finish. He didn’t need to; Nia knew exactly what he was implying. Previously, these attacks had only ended in one way: with him breaking a particularly complex piece of his own equipment, which only furthered his frustrations later on when he inevitably had to rebuild it from the ground up.

Lena had encouraged him to let his emotions out, and maybe at first that had been helpful – cathartic, even. But, Nia knew Brainy. When not directed at a bad guy, the act of violence only made him feel uneasy, reminding him none too gently of the cruelty his ancestral line was capable of. He may have only ever broken inanimate objects when releasing his pent-up rage, but it didn’t stop him from ending every outburst with a tearful comedown. It was usually only then that Brainy would normally let her in, which was why Nia knew exactly how exhausting this was for him.

Every episode was taxing on Brainy, both physically and emotionally, and yet they never got any easier for him to manage. He just couldn’t catch a break. No matter how hard he tried, his anger was always prickling just beneath his skin, ready to burst through at a moment’s notice.

This time, though?

“What if I helped?” Nia suggested, spreading her hands tactfully across his abdomen.

“What do you m-” but Brainy didn’t finish. Instead, he sucked in a sharp breath, arching his back instinctively as Nia closed her eyes, allowing her dream energy to wash across her palms, encouraging Brainy to absorb it in earnest.

Brainy sagged into the desk immediately, the metalwork denting like putty between his fingers. He groaned aloud, his voice distorted against the crackling static of his modulator. When she was certain it was working, Nia summoned more energy, not just to her hands, but to every part of her, willing it to swirl and crackle in the air around them, transferring to Brainy's body in a whirl of blue fog. Brainy laxed further into Nia’s touch as a result, lashes fluttering as he tried to hold himself steady against the workbench.

Nia smirked, running her hands tenderly across Brainy's ribs before slipping them both behind his back, working her fingers carefully into her boyfriend’s shoulders. Her energy looped around every digit like electric blue coils as she continued to massage it through his muscles. The tension inside of Brainy unravelled all at once, enough that his legs very nearly gave out, but not quite. After all, this wasn’t the knock-out potency of her energy that she’d been steadily perfecting against her enemies. Instead, this was something new, a far weaker version Nia hadn’t seen much use for in the field. If anything, it worked as her own brand of Nyquil, instilling a drowsiness that encouraged total relaxation of the host in question. It wasn’t exactly something that could do much on the offensive. But, for this? Nia couldn’t think of anything more perfect.

“How does this feel?” she asked after a long moment, pressing her thumb experimentally into the base of Brainy’s shoulder blade.

“Good,” Brainy murmured, a pleasant shudder rolling down his spine. His voice was still distorted by a mechanised echo, and he showed no signs of trying to correct it. “Really good.”

“Good.” Nia grinned, kissing his throat. She kept kneading circles across her boyfriend’s back, tracing her fingernails down both sides of his spine. When she reached just above Brainy’s tailbone, she bit her lip, slipping her hands quickly beneath his shirt, pressing them against his skin.

Brainy's body ran far warmer than Nia's, even with dream energy burning through her blood. Brainy inhaled sharply at the foreign sensation of Nia's cold fingers before his eyes rolled to a close. The sudden lack of tension in his jaw caused his lips to part, allowing his lungs to unlock. Already, Nia found the steady rise and fall of his chest much improved, allowing him to breathe unrestricted for the first time since this episode had started.

Nia tucked her face against Brainy’s neck, pressing another kiss just above the collar of his jacket. Even her lips were alive with static, potent enough to cause Brainy’s throat to spasm. If the droning hum of contentment issuing from his chest was anything to go by, she figured he was starting to really enjoy this.

She grinned, looping her arms back around his front. “Still angry?” she asked.

Brainy’s eyes were half lidded when he shook his head. “I—thank you.”

“Anytime,” Nia said.

Neither of them were willing to separate just yet, so Nia stayed exactly where she was, feeding gentle waves of energy against Brainy's back the whole while.

Kelly had told them that there was no overnight solution for this, warning that at times, it might feel like they were barely making any progress at all.

Today, though? Nia felt like she’d made enough to be proud of.

And hopefully, Brainy felt the same way, too.

[smokeybrand]

Chasing Rabbits

This essay started out as a rather mediocre review of The Matrix Resurrections but it began to evolve into something wholly different; I started and stopped this essay at least six times in the last day and change, trying to coalesce my thoughts of the fourth, and absolutely unnecessary, Matrix film. It’s surreal to say that, as a film, it’s serviceable. Probably the second best of the quadrilogy but, at the same time, not good. Resurrections feels corporate, it feels forced. For a film to focus so heavily on love, there is really none to be had while viewing it. This is the Matrix version of The Force Awakens. Like all of these types of films, i understand why they were made. There are generations who don’t know the source material, whole ass adults who were born after the first Matrix revolutionized cinema. Bullet Time, the style of camera set-up which gave us those dope ass slow motion, panoramic, shots, is not actually from The Matrix. It was pioneered by a f*cking Gap commercial for khakis. Not a lot of people know that because the way the Wachowski used that sh*t was sublime. It’s wild to think that there was literal commentary on “finding a new bullet time” in this, the fourth Matrix film, as a plot point.

I mention this because, as mundane as bullet time has become (cats can do that sh*t with Tik Tok filters now), that’s how pedestrian Resurrections feels. There’s a lot of rehash, a lot of splicing between the older, better, version of this narrative which does the current one, a massive disservice. The first Matrix was revolutionary. It asked poignant questions and entertained with sh*t we had never seen before. We’ve seen bullet time, three more times since then in this franchise, alone, not to mention literally very goddamn parody of it over the last, what? twenty years or so? Max Payne guilt an entire gaming franchise on the gimmick and he hasn’t had a new game released in a decade, that’s how inundated we are with this film trope. The meta nature of Resurrections commentary on the cultural, and corporate, impact that first trilogy has is an interesting thread to unravel but the execution was very poor. It just felt like Lana was b*tching about having to make a fourth film when the story was finished and those characters ran their course. And she was right. Resurrections is an absolutely unnecessary film.

Now, i can’t sit here and pretend i didn’t like a lot of this film. I absolutely did. It was dope seeing Neo almost do “Neo” things but, at the same time, jarring to see Trinity doing “Neo” things. Like, why? How? I get Neo wouldn’t be at his peak after being in the box for so long but how the f*ck did Trinity develop the same powers as “The One”? Also, how the f*ck are they even alive? No answers to be had whatsoever. I liked the new tech on display with the nanite program sh*t. I thought that was cool. I also like the new “Morpheus”. It’s not Morpheus, per say, just a weird latent memory of him given digital form. I like the new Smith, to an extent, but my gripe with him is the same as with Morpheus; They don’t hold a candle to the originals. Hugo Weaving and Laurence Fishburne leave big shoes to fill and, while i like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jonathan Groff in their respective roles, they never try to imitate the originators, they just don’t have the same level of charisma Weaving and Fishburne did, way back when. Actually, i think that sums up the entirety of my experience with this movie; There’s no charisma, no heart.

A perfect example of this, and maybe a better parable for the awkward duality of good and bad with this film, is Bugs. Jessica Henwick is one of my favorite actors working today. I loved her Coleen Wing and have wanted her to get a shot at the big time. Her Bugs in this movie has a lot to do. She’s kind of the POV character to the post-Machine War world, guiding the audience through what has turned out to be sixty f*cking years of evolution. Just like that skeleton of a narrative, Bugs feels almost as superfluous. With everything that she has done, with her direct necessity to the narrative for reasons explained and others not so much, she could have been anyone. Literally anyone. Some of whom would have made more thematic sense, like Mouse or one of his descendants. Morpheus’s kid or grand kid. Any plethora of characters would have fit the bill much better and we got Bugs. That’s how this movie feels. There are any number of stores that could have been told and we got this one. It’s f*cking wild.

The Matrix was never a great film series. The first movie was exceptional. It wasn’t winning any Oscars and got a little too heady for it’s own good, but it was a great experience that triggered a culture revolution. It asked big questions and trusted the audience to come up with their own answers. Every film after that, has been trying to feed you those answers in stark contrast to the strength of that first film. Every sequel to The Matrix, has tarnished what The Matrix was supposed to be, and we’re on the fourth dilution. There is nothing that The Matrix Resurrections does on it’s own, that hasn’t been done better in the previous four films. Not even the action is good. We live n a post-John Wick era and the action in this thing is so Nineties, it hurts. The big ass questions asked in this film are just petty gripes and frustrations the creators have with the corporate aspects of their process, not the heady, existential, dread which permeated that first trilogy. The Matrix Resurrections is a victim of The Matrix franchise’s success. They’ve done everything they can with this narrative. There’s no where to go. There’s no where new to follow that white rabbit and this movie feels like it knows that better than the audience watching it.

[gamebazu]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

[noithatotoaz]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

[thanhtuandoan89]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

[lakelandseo]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

[epackingvietnam]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

#túi_giấy_epacking_việt_nam #túi_giấy_epacking #in_túi_giấy_giá_rẻ #in_túi_giấy #epackingvietnam #tuigiayepacking

[bfxenon]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

[nutrifami]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

[xaydungtruonggia]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

[ductrungnguyen87]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

[camerasieunhovn]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

[gamebazu]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

https://ift.tt/3AXaNSg

[kjt-lawyers]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.

[drummcarpentry]

Come One, Come All! The MozCon Virtual 2021 Day One Recap

Our favorite time of the year is here! The second ever MozCon Virtual kicked off yesterday with attendees from over 35 countries. There were networking rooms, photo booth pics, and live tweets. It almost felt like we were back together in one place (just minus the donuts).

Lack of donuts aside, everyone was super excited to be back at MozCon for another action-packed conference. Day one’s speakers brought their A-game and really got people thinking.

Already had several 🤯 moments at #MozCon and it’s only Day 1! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Cheers!

— Kavi Kardos (@therarevos) July 12, 2021

For those of you who may have missed it, or those of you who had a hard time keeping up with this three ring circus, here's a quick recap!

Sarah Bird — Welcome to MozCon

Moz's fearless leader started MozCon Virtual off with a bang! She introduced Moz Group, a result of the merger with J2. Then, she announced two product releases — one in alpha and one in beta! Both will be further explained by Mozzers later in the week.

A big announcement during the opening session at #MozCon today: "The Moz Group" is now a collection of brands and technologies for digital marketers: pic.twitter.com/F62glc6b89

— Rob Ousbey (@RobOusbey) July 12, 2021

Sarah’s introduction concluded with a moving tribute to Russ Jones. You can share your own memories with Russ or donate to his family at RememberingRussJones.com. 

Shannon McGuirk — Lessons in Surviving the Covid News Agenda & What it Means for the Future of Digital PR

As always, Shannon started out strong with some radical transparency. She walked us through Aira’s journey through COVID and how it changed everything. 

I have so much love for @ShannonMcGuirk_'s raw honesty #MozCon 💙 pic.twitter.com/lxo08YJS4K

— Areej AbuAli (@areej_abuali) July 12, 2021

In past MozCon presentations, Shannon has shown us the outreach strategies that Aira has depended on for several years, but 2020 threw everyone for a loop. In the first two weeks of lockdown, Aira lost 50% of their revenue. Something had to change.

Actually, everything had to change.

We got insight into Aira’s three-prong, PR future-proofing system that developed as a result:

Ideation: using the ROR framework of relevancy, opinion, resolution

Production: create proven frameworks that can be customized for your client

Promotion: through accessing, communicating, and having perspective

Shannon gave us the nitty gritty of how this system works for Aira, complete with actual photos of their best-performing, always-ready frameworks. Honestly, it felt like we were seeing something confidential, but we were here for it.

Um, I think @ShannonMcGuirk_ is sharing some *serious* @Ariadigital secrets here... They have templates for production that are wireframed and customizable. They run TONS of campaigns off of THREE main templates.#MozConpic.twitter.com/6PcZ3lIlee

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Flavilla Fongang — The Science of Purchasing Behavior: How to Use it Effectively to Attract & Convert More Prospects Into Customers

Flavilla was ready to prescribe some tactical medicine to those looking to increase their conversion rate. She jumped right in with explaining how our brains function. Ya know, limbic system, neocortex, and reptilian brain? Don’t worry, we didn’t either!

She broke them down as the emotional brain (limbic), rational (neocortex), and fight or flight (reptilian). Then Flavilla asked the big question: which brain has the most impact on buying decisions? The answer (which shocked most) was the reptilian brain.

Flavilla took us through six ways the reptilian brain can be stimulated.

Killer slide from @FlavillaFongang#mozconpic.twitter.com/6N5OC5jlOz

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

But it wouldn’t be a MozCon presentation without something that can be put into action today. Flavilla dropped all sorts of tactics to test: putting the CTA closer to the consumer’s picture, using the power of the gaze, tapping into negative emotion, showing contrast (think before and after), and putting the most important information first.

We could have listened to Flavilla talk all day long. Hearing her take on buyer behavior was a bit like looking into a glass ball and getting answers to all of our questions. We can’t wait to put it into action!

Dr. Pete Meyers — Rule Your Rivals: From Data to Action

Always a crowd pleaser, Dr. Pete showed off a new Moz tool currently in Beta: True Competitor. True Competitor is a project Moz has been working on for the last few years, and this year it’s finally ready to take the stage! (You can request early access to True Competitor here.)

Dr. Pete used the new tool to remind us that those we assume to be our competitors sometimes aren’t actually our competition at all. Instead of focusing on who we think we’re losing traffic to, we need to be focused on who is preventing us from making money.

There's a big difference between who you "think" your competition is and who you compete with in the SERPs. #MozCon

— Jason Dodge (@dodgejd) July 12, 2021

Using the new True Competitor tool, and a few cool search modifiers, Dr. Pete was able to find some opportunity keywords to test out.

The process looked a bit like this:

Use True Competitor to identify potential keywords

Use search modifiers to find the ranking pages for the competition

Find Moz’s current ranking content

Create content using the similar keywords

Link to the most updated and relevant content

Get Keywords, competitor pages, and my best piece of content to compete with: @dr_pete#mozconpic.twitter.com/VFk5beIbvI

— Noah Learner (He/Him) (@noahlearner) July 12, 2021

We knew that Dr. Pete would bring the heat, but it’s safe to say he outdid himself this year. 

Great talk by @dr_pete from the #mozcon. Take aways: Don't make assumptions about your competitors Do not make a massive novel - come up with a plan including what is missing from your site content issues. Track what works/what doesn't and amend accordingly. @Mozpic.twitter.com/pnUWqeL2vX

— J Turnbull (@SEOJoBlogs) July 12, 2021

Noah Learner — Game-Changing Ways to Use the Google Search Console API

This first-time MozCon speaker came ready to play! Right away, Noah gave us some perspective on the actual limitations of Google Search Console. As most of us know, Search Console only gives you access to 1,000 rows. Well, Noah knew that there was a lot more data to be seen and started dabbling with the API.

Apparently this led to a 15-hour journey down the GSC rabbit hole, as Noah started working on creating a custom Google Search Console tool using Big Query and Google Data Studio. This tool, Explorer for Search, has already gotten some buzz from those in the industry.

If you haven't seen Search Explorer from @noahlearner and Two Octobers you're missing out. Native GSC is abysmal in comparison. #MozCon

— Taylor Murchison (@TaylorMurchison) July 12, 2021

Honestly, if you look at the Twitter feed for #MozCon, there aren’t a ton of tweets because nobody could keep up with him! Noah moved rapidly through exactly how he built Explorer for Search with his team, and how they’re using it.

Loving this striking distance report @noahlearner is showing off #Mozconpic.twitter.com/VgUa1CeAcC

— Jordan Choo (@JordanChoo) July 12, 2021

Almost instantly, Noah and his team found over $300,000 of keywords that weren’t available in Search Console. They did this through building in position sorting, top of funnel/ bottom of funnel sorting, branded vs. non branded filters, and more.

We cannot wait to play with this and get started with the Search Console API!

Dana DiTomaso — Build for Search: Modern Web Dev That Puts SEO First

A long time MozCon favorite, Dana DiTomaso put on her coach’s hat for this year’s session. Far too often, we find ourselves in awkward situations that require us to scrap all of our work and start over again.

“Developers [also] come in way too late […] and come in and say, “oh, I can’t do that” […] or “this isn’t going to work on mobile,” and now you have to start the design all over again. @danaditomaso#MozCon

— Melina Beeston (@mkbeesto) July 12, 2021

Dana ran into this way too many times, so she and her team came up with a better solution. She was ready to make us, and our web dev processes, agile(ish).

She showed us her team's entire process from presenting keyword research (IN A PIE CHART?!), to using GatherContent to create a website blueprint for clients, all the way to wireframe creation and presentation.

SEO projects shouldn't be done in silos. SEO, UX, Design, Dev, & Content teams should all be involved early and often(as needed). The Agile project management method is a great framework that makes this easy to do. Insights from @danaditomaso 's talk #mozconpic.twitter.com/Fl5B8ncSG0

— Ọla King (@justolaking) July 12, 2021

At each step, anyone can jump in and see what is going on and add to the conversation or process. It’s far less linear and allows for more collaboration.

Jackie Chu — Internationalization Errors: How to Go Global Without Losing All of Your Traffic

With a track record like Jackie’s, it’s hard to imagine not blowing minds. Jackie started by explaining one of the most complex SEO concepts: Hreflang. This explanation led to a few tactical suggestions right off of the bat:

Define target language and country

Self-canonicalize all URLs

Use consistent URL patterns

Honestly, there were so many takeaways from this presentation that they were hard to keep track of. Imagine, all of that information on Hreflang alone was in the first 17 slides… and this presentation was 60 slides long!

Great tip by @jackiecchu about using extra signals beyond hreflang to show Google which version of your site is targeted to which international audience, such as linking to that country's respective social profiles, or editing the NAP to reflect that country's info.#mozconpic.twitter.com/2T24euwRyZ

— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) July 12, 2021

You’ll definitely want to revisit this presentation in the video bundle, available Friday, to glean all insights possible! 

Cyrus Shepard — Mastering 3 Click + Engagement Signals for Higher Rankings/Traffic

Cyrus, a long-time MozCon emcee, takes the stage himself this year to discuss how Google may — or may not — use user engagement signals as an input in ranking websites.

Cyrus started by explaining how 20 years of Google patents describe three different types of click signals they could measure: first clicks, long clicks, and last clicks. He then walked through a multitude of small-scale SEO experiments that attempted to influence these click signals to see if he could influence rankings.

Some of the experiments included:

Optimizing Meta Descriptions in non-traditional ways

Removing Title Tag "Boilerplate"

Improving the visibility of "Related Articles"

Adding FAQs

Don't do it. For the love of God. Don't do it.#MozCon@CyrusShepardpic.twitter.com/hWxCxLlpju

— Brie E Anderson (@brie_e_anderson) July 12, 2021

Finally, Cyrus shared some case studies including the migration of the Moz Q&A — which involved over 100,000 URLs — and how they improved user engagement.

What a great URL path migration process and conduction from @Moz's SEO team! Moving the Q&A section with some important checklist is something, but also, when it comes to user-generated content, it's hard to change. So @CyrusShepard came with over 16% success after that. #MozConpic.twitter.com/bIHk8uVHA6

— Roman Adamita (@AdamitaRoman) July 12, 2021

At the end, Cyrus emphasized that SEO is not about manipulating numbers, but that "User satisfaction is ranking factor #1." After watching this presentation, you'll definitely walk away with several ideas for engaging your visitor.