The GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) format was originally developed in 1987. Debuted by Steve Wilhite of Compuserve, GIFs improved on the black-and-white images in use during that time by allowing the use of 256 colors while maintaining a compressed format that could still be loaded by those utilizing slow modems. Furthermore, web developers and designers could create animations via timed delays. And to this day, little has changed regarding GIFs. Due to its simplicity, the widespread support Continue Reading ...

Welcome to the seventh installment of our educational Next Level series! In our last episode, Jo showed us how to better optimize our sites when we think we've done it all (but still aren't ranking). This time around she's giving us the tools and the knowledge to finally capture ourselves a SERP feature. Read on and level up! Are you within striking distance of traffic-bumping SERP features? The content on your freakin' awesome site better be targeting the intent of the searcher. People of Continue Reading ...

At risk of sounding cliché, we're right smack in the middle of the season of giving. And when it comes to giving, there's no better example in our industry space than the topic of communities. Moz itself is a great example: You — the reader, the commenter, the Q&A inquisitor, the subscriber — are what sustains and inspires us. What kind of value does your community add to your site, and how can you provide incentive and value to your site contributors, social media fans, and Continue Reading ...

In our ongoing quest for local prominence, are we leaving anybody out in the cold? For years, a fundamental message I’ve shared with almost every incoming local business client is that they need local SEO, specifically, because they need to be found on the web by local people. I’d estimate that 98% of everything our industry writes about is tied to this concept, and while this focus is sensible, today I’d like to highlight an underserved (but enormous) target local market: non-local Continue Reading ...

You've been hearing a lot about featured snippets from us at Moz lately, including how they power answers on the latest technology wish-list item, Google Home. I hope by now that you understand the value of ranking "#0," but you might be left wondering where to start. How do you find questions, determine if they have featured snippets, and track them over time? I'm happy to say that, between Keyword Explorer and Moz Pro, we now have all of the tools you need to practically tackle featured Continue Reading ...

Disclaimer: This post, as with every post that aims to predict the future, should be taken with a grain of salt — no matter how authoritative the author. The main purpose of this post is to offer ideas and open a constructive discussion around the future of SEO and digital marketing over the next 12 months. 2016 is, finally, close to its end. It was an intense year, especially when it came to SEO and Google in particular. Because I'm deeply convinced that we cannot attempt any preview of the Continue Reading ...

This week, Whiteboard Friday is hosted by the amazing Tara Reed who'll walk us through how to use social media broadly and Twitter in particular not only to earn engagement and a following, but to drive visitors directly to our websites and to the content that converts. Let's dive in! Click on the whiteboard image above to open a high resolution version in a new tab! Video Transcription Hey. My name is Tara Reed. I'm the CEO of appswithoutcode.com, and you're hanging out with me today for Continue Reading ...

When you first start out with content marketing, you often have a very basic challenge: you have to build an audience for your content. Even if you're a large brand with lots of people who are passionate about you, they're not yet conditioned to see you as a publisher of valuable content. In other words, either way, you've got work to do. In today's post, I'm going to outline why you should focus on reach and influence, and how to do it so that your content marketing efforts can deliver the Continue Reading ...