Author name: 417 Marketing

UPDATE 6/2/18: This was a short-lived change. Google reverted back to showing shorter meta descriptions by mid-May 2018. According to Moz.com, most meta descriptions are now being cut off at approximately 155-160 characters, as they were before the update was made. No one knows how Google will adjust meta descriptions in the future, making it […]

Take a look around. Have you noticed something different about Google Search Console? Believe it or not, it’s been “rebuilt from the ground up” (source). Although a limited number of beta testers have been enjoying the revamped service for months, Google finally released it to the general public earlier this year, announcing the change on

Where are you? No seriously, where is your business located? Your physical place in the world and its proximity to people searching on Google is currently the most important ranking factor when it comes to local search pack results. In some ways, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. It is called local search, after all.

Just as new musicians relish hearing their songs on the radio and authors adore seeing their novels in bookstores, webmasters delight in reaching the top of Google’s rankings. A top ranking isn’t a trivial or superficial feat. It can increase your click-through rates and traffic, save you money on PPC marketing, and boost your website’s

Before you read any further, search for your business on Google. Do you see a box of information on the right side of the search results? That box is known as the Knowledge Panel, and it contains valuable information about your business, such as a map with your location, photos, reviews, hours, and contact information.

Who truly enjoys searching for a new job? Not only is it difficult to quickly convey your worth to employers, not only is it frustrating to scan through vague and inapplicable job openings, not only is it tedious to fill out numerous applications, and not only is it nerve-racking to meet potential employers for interviews,

Those in the know at Google insist that the company updates its algorithms three times a day on average. Yet despite the frequent alterations – and shrugs from the search engine – SEOs pine for news about major updates. They would undoubtedly adore it if algorithm updates were announced like babies with cards that provided

NOTE: This post was originally published on August 30, 2016. We updated it on March 8, 2017, to include a new section that reviews the impact of Google’s interstitials update. You know those obnoxious ads that block the main content of a website? They pop up immediately after you navigate to a page and unless

If Google doesn’t know you exist, how can you hope to compete with more tech-savvy companies? How can you expect potential customers to find your business at all? Do you expect them to wade through pages of search results before stumbling upon your listing? The key to catching Google’s attention is search engine optimization (SEO).

Everywhere you go, there are people staring at screens. Some do it with ease and dexterity – navigating crowds, walking a dog, or shopping for groceries all the while. Others are a little less successful – dropping their devices, bumping into trash cans, stumbling over curbs. As more and more people choose to use their

Do you feel like your website is getting lost in the crowd? Are you worried that you’re missing out on important opportunities for exposure because Google doesn’t like your site? Do you want to improve your search engine rankings and increase your site’s traffic? Many people avoid learning about search engine optimization (SEO), because they’re

The passive voice is frowned upon by grammarians. Grammarians prefer the active voice. In a sentence composed with the active voice, the subject completes an action: The girl read a book. In a sentence composed with the passive voice, the subject is acted upon: The book was read by the girl. When prepared in this