{"id":593,"date":"2016-10-02T18:55:49","date_gmt":"2016-10-02T18:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onlinemarketingdiy.com\/?p=593"},"modified":"2022-05-26T12:35:30","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T12:35:30","slug":"6-mind-blowing-seo-ranking-secrets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/6-mind-blowing-seo-ranking-secrets\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Mind Blowing SEO Experiments &#038; Secrets"},"content":{"rendered":"<header id=\"main-content-header\" class=\"clearfix\">\n<p class=\"page-title page-container page-container--padded page-container--unpadded\">Search Engine Ranking Algorithm Change Frequently. However, the SEO ranking secrets revealed within these Search Engine Optimization experiments and <a href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/keywords-on-google-to-rank-1\/\">keywords on Google to rank<\/a> will keep your SEO rankings solid for the long term!<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a053271bdd78\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a053271bdd78\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/6-mind-blowing-seo-ranking-secrets\/#6_Mind-Blowing_SEO_Ranking_Secrets\" >6 Mind-Blowing SEO Ranking Secrets<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/6-mind-blowing-seo-ranking-secrets\/#1_Does_Organic_Search_Click-Through_Rate_Matter\" >1. Does Organic Search Click-Through Rate Matter?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/6-mind-blowing-seo-ranking-secrets\/#2_Is_Organic_CTR_an_Organic_Search_Ranking_Factor\" >2. Is Organic CTR an Organic Search Ranking Factor?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/6-mind-blowing-seo-ranking-secrets\/#3_Can_Rewrite_Your_Titles_Boost_Your_CTR\" >3. Can Rewrite Your Titles Boost Your CTR?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/6-mind-blowing-seo-ranking-secrets\/#4_Do_Website_Engagement_Rates_Impact_Organic_Search_Rankings\" >4. Do Website Engagement Rates Impact Organic Search Rankings?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/6-mind-blowing-seo-ranking-secrets\/#5_Do_Engagement_Metrics_Impact_the_Selection_of_Featured_Snippets\" >5. Do Engagement Metrics Impact the Selection of Featured Snippets?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/6-mind-blowing-seo-ranking-secrets\/#6_Whats_the_Real_Relationship_Between_Organic_Rankings_Social_Shares\" >6. What&#8217;s the Real Relationship Between Organic Rankings &amp; Social Shares?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/6-mind-blowing-seo-ranking-secrets\/#What_Does_It_All_Mean\" >What Does It All Mean?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"page-title\" class=\"page-title page-container page-container--padded page-container--unpadded\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Mind-Blowing_SEO_Ranking_Secrets\"><\/span>6 Mind-Blowing SEO Ranking Secrets<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content-region region\">\n<div id=\"block-system-main\" class=\"block block-system no-title\">\n<article id=\"node-12598\" class=\"node node-blog node-promoted article clearfix\">\n<header class=\"node-header\">\n<div class=\"node__meta clearfix\">In SEO, there\u2019s no shortage of theory and best practices. But experimentation is what really keeps this great industry moving forward.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"node-content\">\n<div class=\"field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-full\">\n<p>All of today\u2019s best practices came as a result of past experiments \u2013 both failures and successes. Everything we do in SEO is an opportunity to learn and improve.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why I love doing experiments. While Google may reveal a few bits and pieces of information, they\u2019ll never tell us <em>everything<\/em> we need to know to evolve our SEO strategies from the ordinary into the realm of unicorns.<\/p>\n<p>Today I\u2019d like to share six mind-blowing Omaha\u00a0SEO experiments we did this year, what we learned from them, and what it all means.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Does_Organic_Search_Click-Through_Rate_Matter\"><\/span>1. Does Organic Search Click-Through Rate Matter?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>We know that machine learning \u2013 including Google RankBrain \u2013 is changing SEO as we&#8217;ve known it. Already, Google uses RankBrain for every search, and it impacts &#8220;a lot&#8221; of queries.<\/p>\n<p>Is RankBrain (or other machine learning-based elements) impacting rankings? If so, how? Well, that\u2019s exactly what wanted we wanted to find out: what\u2019s a good click-through rate for organic search.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3762 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/good-ctr-for-organic-search-flux-3-300x161.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"632\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/good-ctr-for-organic-search-flux-3-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/good-ctr-for-organic-search-flux-3-513x276.png 513w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/good-ctr-for-organic-search-flux-3-573x308.png 573w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/good-ctr-for-organic-search-flux-3-600x323.png 600w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/good-ctr-for-organic-search-flux-3-335x180.png 335w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/good-ctr-for-organic-search-flux-3.png 738w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 632px) 100vw, 632px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For this experiment, we looked at a set of 1,000 keywords from Google&#8217;s Search Console for the WordStream site. What we found is very interesting. In April, the average CTR for the top position was 22 percent. That increased to 24 percent by July and 27 percent by September.<\/p>\n<p>So our data clearly showed that our top-ranked results had their highest CTRs by September. Meanwhile, on the other end, the data showed that lower positions (4-10) were being clicked on less than ever.<\/p>\n<p>Clearly, the click curve is bending. <strong>I believe this is exactly what you would expect to see from a machine learning algorithm <\/strong>\u2013\u00a0it\u2019s about providing the best answers (based on the highest user engagement), which means fewer people will need to scroll down and click lower results.<\/p>\n<p>So does organic search CTR matter? YES! More than ever before.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Is_Organic_CTR_an_Organic_Search_Ranking_Factor\"><\/span>2. Is Organic CTR an Organic Search Ranking Factor?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>So we\u2019ve established CTR is important. But what\u2019s the relationship between organic CTR and organic search rankings?<\/p>\n<p>Numerous people who work at Google have said they don\u2019t use click-through rates for the purposes of ranking. But when they say this, they mean they don\u2019t use it as a \u201cdirect\u201d signal. Could it be that clicks have an indirect impact on Google\u2019s search results?<\/p>\n<p>We decided to find out the answer to this question with an experiment designed to figure out whether CTR impacts SEO rankings.<\/p>\n<p>The goal of this experiment was to see whether there was any clear relationship between organic search CTR and organic search position. The biggest challenge was that separating CTR and ranking is like separating Kanye West from his ego.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3761\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/kanye-west-unicorn-300x236.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"494\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/kanye-west-unicorn-300x236.jpg 300w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/kanye-west-unicorn-434x342.jpg 434w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/kanye-west-unicorn-335x264.jpg 335w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/kanye-west-unicorn.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 494px) 100vw, 494px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So we attempted to\u00a0isolate the natural relationship between CTR and ranking by taking the difference between an observed organic search CTR minus the expected CTR:<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3760 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rankbrain-rewards-penalties-300x167.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rankbrain-rewards-penalties-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rankbrain-rewards-penalties-768x428.png 768w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rankbrain-rewards-penalties-513x286.png 513w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rankbrain-rewards-penalties-573x319.png 573w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rankbrain-rewards-penalties-600x335.png 600w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rankbrain-rewards-penalties-335x187.png 335w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rankbrain-rewards-penalties.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After looking at our data, we found that, on average, pages that beat the expected average organic CTR for a given position were far\u00a0more likely to rank in the top four positions. These are unicorns! For example, a page that beats the expected CTR for a given position by 20 percent will likely appear in position 1.<\/p>\n<p>Also, pages that failed to beat the expected organic search CTR were more likely to appear in positions 6\u201310. These are donkeys. For example, a page that falls below the expected CTR for a given position by 6 percent will likely appear in position 10.<\/p>\n<p>So, based on the data, does CTR impact organic search rankings? It certainly seems that way!<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Can_Rewrite_Your_Titles_Boost_Your_CTR\"><\/span>3. Can Rewrite Your Titles Boost Your CTR?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>So if you\u2019ll be rewarded for having a higher click-through rate, what\u2019s the best way to raise your CTR?<\/p>\n<p>If people see nothing else, they will see your headline in the SERPs. Your content may be totally awesome \u2013 but they won\u2019t click on it if the headline is boring.<\/p>\n<p>SEO has evolved. It\u2019s silly to write title tags like it\u2019s still 2008!<\/p>\n<p>WordStream has been trying to move away from overly \u201coptimized\u201d \u201cSEO titles\u201d like this one: &#8220;Guerilla Marketing: 20+ Examples and Strategies to Stand Out.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That old headline followed \u201cSEO best practices.\u201d The most important keyword was at the front and everything fell within 60 characters. But it\u2019s kind of a snore, right?<\/p>\n<p>So we ran a little CTR optimization experiment. Our content and SEO manager Elisa Gabbert changed only the title of the post \u2013 to \u201c20+ Jaw-Dropping Guerrilla Marketing Examples.\u201d The new headline is closer to this super-successful headline template that foregrounds the list format, the emotional impact, and the content type (examples):<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3759 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiments-title-tag-formulas-300x177.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"569\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiments-title-tag-formulas-300x177.png 300w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiments-title-tag-formulas-1024x604.png 1024w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiments-title-tag-formulas-768x453.png 768w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiments-title-tag-formulas-513x303.png 513w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiments-title-tag-formulas-573x338.png 573w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiments-title-tag-formulas-600x354.png 600w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiments-title-tag-formulas-335x198.png 335w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiments-title-tag-formulas.png 1058w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 569px) 100vw, 569px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The article text, images, links, or anything else you can think of were left untouched.<\/p>\n<p>After updating the headline, the article CTR increased to 4.19 percent (up from 1 percent) and it ranked in position 5 (up from position 8).<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3758 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiment-title-change-increases-ctr-300x126.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"638\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiment-title-change-increases-ctr-300x126.png 300w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiment-title-change-increases-ctr-513x215.png 513w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiment-title-change-increases-ctr-573x240.png 573w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiment-title-change-increases-ctr-600x251.png 600w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiment-title-change-increases-ctr-335x140.png 335w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/seo-experiment-title-change-increases-ctr.png 738w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 638px) 100vw, 638px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So can you increase your CTR just by changing your title? Yes!<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t be boring! Write brilliant headlines that people will click on like crazy. (Just make sure the content behind them backs them up.)<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Do_Website_Engagement_Rates_Impact_Organic_Search_Rankings\"><\/span>4. Do Website Engagement Rates Impact Organic Search Rankings?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s super important to create clickable headlines, but <strong>the goal isn\u2019t just to create clickbait<\/strong>. You also must have great engagement metrics. If people feel cheated and go right back to the SERP, Google can detect that.<\/p>\n<p>Dwell time is really the thing that matters. And time on site is a much better proxy for dwell time than bounce rate.<\/p>\n<p>My theory is that Google uses dwell time (which we can\u2019t measure, but is proportional to time on site) to validate click-through rates. These metrics help Google figure out whether users ultimately got what they were looking for (i.e., a successful search).<\/p>\n<p>So do engagement metrics (bounce rates, time on site, conversion rates) impact organic search rankings?<\/p>\n<p>To put this theory to the test, we gathered some engagement rate data. First, we looked at whether the bounce rate of the pages\/keywords we rank for had any relationship to their ranking:<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3757 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bounce-rate-vs-google-ranking-data-300x152.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"647\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bounce-rate-vs-google-ranking-data-300x152.png 300w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bounce-rate-vs-google-ranking-data-768x390.png 768w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bounce-rate-vs-google-ranking-data-513x260.png 513w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bounce-rate-vs-google-ranking-data-573x291.png 573w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bounce-rate-vs-google-ranking-data-600x305.png 600w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bounce-rate-vs-google-ranking-data-335x170.png 335w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/bounce-rate-vs-google-ranking-data.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 647px) 100vw, 647px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>See that \u201ckink\u201d in the graph? Kind of hard to miss, right?<\/p>\n<p>Landing pages that had a bounce rate below 76 percent were more likely to show up in one of the top four positions. But landing pages that had a bounce rate of 78 percent or higher were more likely to show up in position five or lower.<\/p>\n<p>What about time on site?<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3756 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/time-on-site-vs-google-organic-ranking-300x173.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"635\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/time-on-site-vs-google-organic-ranking-300x173.png 300w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/time-on-site-vs-google-organic-ranking-768x443.png 768w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/time-on-site-vs-google-organic-ranking-513x296.png 513w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/time-on-site-vs-google-organic-ranking-573x330.png 573w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/time-on-site-vs-google-organic-ranking-600x346.png 600w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/time-on-site-vs-google-organic-ranking-335x193.png 335w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/time-on-site-vs-google-organic-ranking.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 635px) 100vw, 635px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This graph shows that if your keyword\/content pairs have a decent time on site, then you\u2019re more likely to be in top organic positions 1\u20136. If engagement is weak on average, however, then you\u2019re more likely to be in positions 7 or lower.<\/p>\n<p>And how about conversion rates? This data shows that higher CTRs tend to lead to higher conversion rates:<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3755 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/high-ctr-vs-conversion-rate-data-wordstream-300x182.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"663\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/high-ctr-vs-conversion-rate-data-wordstream-300x182.png 300w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/high-ctr-vs-conversion-rate-data-wordstream-768x466.png 768w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/high-ctr-vs-conversion-rate-data-wordstream-513x312.png 513w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/high-ctr-vs-conversion-rate-data-wordstream-573x348.png 573w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/high-ctr-vs-conversion-rate-data-wordstream-600x364.png 600w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/high-ctr-vs-conversion-rate-data-wordstream-335x203.png 335w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/high-ctr-vs-conversion-rate-data-wordstream.png 797w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Why is this? Because if you can get someone excited enough to click on your offer, that excitement typically carries through to a purchase or sign-up.<\/p>\n<p>Higher CTRs, engagement rates, and conversion rates lead to more leads and sales. But I believe this data clearly shows proof that improving engagement metrics and conversion rates will also lead to better organic search rankings.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Do_Engagement_Metrics_Impact_the_Selection_of_Featured_Snippets\"><\/span>5. Do Engagement Metrics Impact the Selection of Featured Snippets?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Google&#8217;s Featured Snippets, which appear in so-called Position 0 above the organic search results, come in the form of text, lists, images, and charts, among others. But how does Google&#8217;s algorithm pick Featured Snippets?<\/p>\n<p>First, I wanted to find out whether Google&#8217;s traditional organic search ranking factors impacted whether your site gets snipped. So I looked at data for 981 snippets that the WordStream site has earned.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3754 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/organic-ranking-for-featured-snippets-seo-300x160.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"634\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/organic-ranking-for-featured-snippets-seo-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/organic-ranking-for-featured-snippets-seo-513x273.png 513w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/organic-ranking-for-featured-snippets-seo-573x305.png 573w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/organic-ranking-for-featured-snippets-seo-600x320.png 600w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/organic-ranking-for-featured-snippets-seo-335x178.png 335w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/organic-ranking-for-featured-snippets-seo.png 747w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Clearly not. Otherwise, the top-ranked position would get the snippet every time. Google is featuring snippets from content that rank on page 2 to as far back as the 71st position!<\/p>\n<p>Having on-page copy that is clear and concise is also clearly important. But, again, word count isn&#8217;t the full picture.<\/p>\n<p>So we dove deeper and investigated this page after seeing it as a snippet for searches relating to getting Bing Rewards points. We discovered two interesting things from our Google Analytics and Search Console data:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An unusually high CTR (21.43 percent), even though it had an average position of 10<\/li>\n<li>Unusually high time on site (14:30), which was 3x above the site average.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So do engagement rates play a role in the selection of Featured Snippets? I absolutely believe so!<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Whats_the_Real_Relationship_Between_Organic_Rankings_Social_Shares\"><\/span>6. What&#8217;s the Real Relationship Between Organic Rankings &amp; Social Shares?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019ve heard about the ridiculously high correlations between social shares and organic search rankings for about five years now (see the ranking factor studies done by SearchMetrics and Moz). Many people have assumed that social shares are a ranking signal, even though Google shot this down every single time.<\/p>\n<p>My belief was that it\u2019s not the visible social share counts that matter. What\u2019s more important is having high social engagement.<\/p>\n<p>So we tested it out to find the real relationship between organic rankings and social shares. Here\u2019s what we found:<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3753 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/does-engagement-rate-affect-seo-rankings-300x200.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"641\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/does-engagement-rate-affect-seo-rankings-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/does-engagement-rate-affect-seo-rankings-513x342.png 513w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/does-engagement-rate-affect-seo-rankings-573x383.png 573w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/does-engagement-rate-affect-seo-rankings-600x401.png 600w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/does-engagement-rate-affect-seo-rankings-335x224.png 335w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/does-engagement-rate-affect-seo-rankings.png 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 641px) 100vw, 641px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This data showed that Facebook posts with super high engagement rates (above 6 percent) also had an organic search CTR that beat expectations. In other words, if you have Facebook engagement that is 4x higher than average, you\u2019ll have an organic search CTR that is 4x higher than average.<\/p>\n<p>Why is this? Well, I believe that the same emotions that make people share content on social media also make people click on those same pieces of content when they see them in the SERPs. This is especially true for headlines with unusually high CTRs.<\/p>\n<p>The correlations were much stronger with unicorn content (those \u201cblockbuster\u201d pieces of content that drive 10-100x more traffic to your site than most of your other donkey content put together). Unicorns with high social engagement rates almost always had high organic CTR, and vice versa.<\/p>\n<p>The correlations were substantially weaker with donkey content. Donkeys sometimes had high engagement rates, sometimes low engagement rates. The same was true with CTR, some high, some low.<\/p>\n<p>So yes, high social engagement rates correlate with high CTR, and vice versa. That\u2019s the real relationship between search and social. It\u2019s all about how engaging your content is!<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Does_It_All_Mean\"><\/span>What Does It All Mean?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>As these five experiments highlight, SEO is continuing to evolve in a way that rewards your pages and site based on how people engage with your content.<\/p>\n<p>That means it\u2019s mission-critical to optimize for engagement.<\/p>\n<p>In other words: <strong>Optimize for PEOPLE!<\/strong> Write headlines that will make them click and then reward them for that click by publishing amazing and memorable content that will make them want to stay on your site and share your stuff.<\/p>\n<p>Check out all six experiments summarized below:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3752 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/six-seo-experiments-1-219x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"594\" height=\"814\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/six-seo-experiments-1-219x300.png 219w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/six-seo-experiments-1-748x1024.png 748w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/six-seo-experiments-1-768x1051.png 768w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/six-seo-experiments-1-250x342.png 250w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/six-seo-experiments-1-314x430.png 314w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/six-seo-experiments-1-365x500.png 365w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/six-seo-experiments-1-234x320.png 234w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/six-seo-experiments-1.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Did any of these experiments surprise you? What SEO experiments would you like to see next?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m28!1m12!1m3!1d48021.31883339288!2d-96.08077047979619!3d41.21452564562503!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m13!3e0!4m5!1s0x8793f37b238a3cdf%3A0xc9a5a647707c6b86!2s120th%20%26%20P%20St%20NW%2C%20Omaha%2C%20NE%2068137!3m2!1d41.2069417!2d-96.10068559999999!4m5!1s0x87938c0451f47bf1%3A0xa17acb9545e08125!2s50th%20%26%20L%20St%20SW%2C%20Omaha%2C%20NE%2068117!3m2!1d41.212376299999995!2d-95.9909886!5e0!3m2!1sfil!2sus!4v1653435678165!5m2!1sfil!2sus\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Via\u00a0 http:\/\/www.wordstream.com\/blog\/ws\/2016\/11\/22\/seo-experiments<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Search Engine Ranking Algorithm&#8217;s Change Frequently. However the SEO ranking secrets revealed within these Search Engine Optimization experiments will keep your SEO rankings solid for the long term!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3372,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[507,42],"class_list":["post-593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-search-engine-optimization","tag-seo-rank-factors","tag-seo-rankings","cat-1-id"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>6 Mind Blowing SEO Experiments &amp; Secrets - Omaha SEO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The SEO ranking secrets revealed within these Search Engine Optimization experiments will keep your SEO rankings solid for the long term!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/6-mind-blowing-seo-ranking-secrets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 Mind Blowing SEO Experiments &amp; 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After leaving a CFO role at a seven\u2011figure nonprofit, I built my first online business and hit #1 in AOL search within weeks\u2014then clients started asking me to replicate those results for them. Since then, I\u2019ve helped businesses turn WordPress sites into high\u2011performing assets through technical SEO, site architecture, speed, and content strategy, and I\u2019ve built and sold a WordPress site after growing it to 1,000+ organic keyword rankings. Today I own or co\u2011own multiple city\u2011based SEO properties that compete at the top in tough U.S. markets, and I now offer AI SEO so brands can show up in Google results and AI\u2011generated answers. To work with me, book a call from the homepage of Omaha SEO (Omaha\u2011SEO.com).","url":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/author\/philbell\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}