A featured snippet provides a summarized answer to a users search query at the top of the Google search engine results page (SERP), right above position 1. These answers are scraped from other sites content that best satisfies the user’s search. Also referred to as position zero, the featured snippet answer is contained in a…

Latent semantic indexing (LSI) is a complex system used by search engines to analyze the relationships between terms and concepts on a page in an effort to provide the most accurate and relevant search results.   The importance of latent semantic indexing for search Latent semantic indexing uses natural language processing (NLP) to help a…

To gate or not to gate, that is the question — content, that is. The dilemma over gated content is near the top of the pack when it comes to the choices facing marketers today. Gated content has emerged in the past 10 years as a major method of lead capture and nurturing, but recent…

Multichannel marketing is considered a top-of-the-line advertising method, but finding the best marketing channels for your agency can be a daunting prospect. With your precious marketing budget on the line, you naturally want to avoid missteps and keep waste at a minimum. Fortunately, finding the best marketing channels can be achieved by following a simple,…

Small business marketing isn’t easy. It can often feel like there are plenty of options — but not enough time or budget — to figure out what works. Marketing is never one size fits all, but these do’s and don’ts will help you keep your small business moving in the right direction. Don’t: Push your…

If you’re reading this, you’re likely a marketer who sometimes really hates being marketed to. Chances are you’ve been served annoying ads, sent excessive emails, or simply dealt with being sold products that you don’t like or don’t need. But consider another perspective: Have you ever knowingly or unknowingly run annoying ads, sent excessive emails,…

This is a guest post from Darren Shaw, the founder of Whitespark –– a local search software and services company. He has been working on the web for over 19 years and loves everything about local SEO. Darren leads research initiatives such as the annual Local Search Ranking Factors survey and the Local Search Ecosystem. He…

Image optimization involves making your website images useful to both visitors and search engines. This includes techniques like reducing file sizes without sacrificing quality in order to increase site speed, or providing alt text for screen readers and search engines to identify what an image is about. Learn more about CallRail’s recommended SEO best practices……

Link building is a crucial element in off-page search engine optimization (SEO). This guide will explain the basics of link building and tactics, to help you get the most from your call tracking software to improve your link building efforts. What is link building? Why are links important? Types of link building Types of link…

What is Google Analytics? Google Analytics is a tool that offers in-depth data and reporting on the acquisition, behavior, and conversion of website traffic. This tool can track… How users get to a website (organic search, paid search, social, referrals, etc.) What users do when on a site (what pages they visit, how long they…

Over the past several years, I’ve answered hundreds of questions, written several guides, and given multiple presentations on how to harness the benefits of call tracking and analytics for local SEO campaigns without interfering with one of the most critical ranking factors, NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) consistency. Today I’d like to dive into the…

What is SEO? Search engine optimization (SEO) is the set of techniques and methodologies dedicated to improving online visibility for a website’s organic search rankings. All major search engines have primary search results and set algorithms to rank organic search results based on what’s most relevant to the user’s search query. SEO involves both on…

If you’ve recently wandered into the admin area of your Google Analytics account, you may be wondering, “What is this new gtag.js script showing as my tracking snippet?” We’ve come to know the Universal Analytics (analytics.js) script since 2013, when it replaced Classic Analytics (ga.js) as the script for tracking the interactions on our websites.…

A solid understanding of what happens during phone conversations is fundamental for reaching marketing or departmental goals. CallRail alleviates much of this frustration by providing predefined keywords via Keyword Spotting. While this is a game-changer when it comes to categorizing and scoring calls, it is only as effective as the words or phrases you know…

Introduction [Madelyn] Hi everybody. Welcome to today’s webinar. We’re really excited that you could join us today. We’re going to be talking a ton about SEO and how you guys can improve moving forward, especially as you’re getting ready to plan for 2018. So let’s go ahead and get started. So my name is Madelyn…

Guest post by Dsquared Media In the world of today, with the help of the internet, an increase in technological advancements and numerous print options, people are starting to find the services they need differently. While many service-based businesses have thrived off of word-of-mouth and referrals for years, they’re starting to realize that these efforts…

How Do Search Engines Work? Search engines crawl websites for information, index and store the data, and then retrieve the most relevant and popular result specific to a user’s search query. Crawl Most search engines crawl through the vast expanse of material on the internet through links. “Links allow the search engines’ automated robots, called…

Last month, Google announced that businesses could choose to participate in messaging directly from their Google My Business (GMB) profiles. This option allows local businesses to connect directly with searchers to answer questions and potentially attract more in-store visits and conversions. In theory, the messenger is a huge step forward for more direct, search-to-business communication…

SEO is Not Dead The search industry has been suffering under “SEO is Dead” headlines for ages. If that were true, SEO jobs wouldn’t be growing 5 times faster than the overall job market.  By now, most SEOs consider this headline mere clickbait, but there is a small grain of truth in these article titles.…

A few weeks back I presented at a small workshop for entrepreneurs, small business marketers, freelancers, and individuals in similar business situations. My presentation was geared toward helping people who don’t typically deal with SEO, covering the topic from a broad perspective and diving into the details from there. While I was talking to some…

Changes to layout of Google search results point to growing clout of AI & mobile Google recently made some significant alterations to how they serve up search results and index pages, which point to shifting priorities that digital and SEO marketers would be wise to consider. Namely, a de-prioritization of organic search results and an increasing…

What Matters in SEO Right Now? SEMRush released its Rankings Report last week using data collected from all their users. As expected, the report determines that user signals are some of the most important ranking gauges. Indicators like bounce rate, time on site, and pages per session are three of the top four ranking factors…

SEOs and Keyword Research: A Complex Relationship A recent Advanced Web Ranking survey (AWR) of digital marketers across industries found that SEOs believe keyword research is one of the top three most difficult SEO tactics to implement (just behind link building and content creation). This might be because 88% of digital marketers perform keyword research in-house,…

For local search marketers, deciding whether to implement call tracking can be a nerve-wracking process despite the many benefits of knowing which marketing channels are driving calls to your business. However, adoption of call tracking has grown steadily among SEO-savvy marketers, who are learning how the old wives’ tale of it having a negative impact…

Google Goes Mobile Google is in quite the transitional period. The search giant plans to push mobile-first indexing sometime in 2017 (or soon thereafter), and the whole internet is jumping to comply. This move means Google’s mobile index will become the primary index, and exist completely separately from its desktop index. Since more than half…

The evolution of voice search and its place in the the future of search engine marketing is a hot topic among marketers these days. CallRail’s Director of Demand Generation, Mark Sullivan, joined Greg Sterling, VP of Strategy and Insights at Local Search Association on their On Target podcast to discuss voice search, virtual assistants, bots and…

What is NAP consistency? NAP Consistency refers to the accuracy of a location-based business’s Name, Address, and Phone number across all digital platforms, directories, citations, and websites. It is widely considered a local search ranking factor in local SEO. What are local citations? The online properties that list a business’s NAP are called local citations.…

CallRail is looking for a company with multiple business locations interested in implementing keyword-level tracking with Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI) for each business location to participate in a professional study of DNI impact on Local SEO. We have partnered with renowned local search experts at Local SEO Guide, Andrew Shotland and Dan Leibson, to conduct…

Google Ads (formerly AdWords) and Algorithm Changes to Watch in 2017 By some reports, Google controls nearly two-thirds of the organic search industry. This means that two-thirds of consumers trust Google to help them find a restaurant nearby or the best lawn mower or a pet groomer. If you are not paying attention to the…

From February 27th – March 1st, Team CallRail will be attending LSA 2017! This dynamic local marketing event will feature workshops, case studies, and professional networking opportunities. Produced by Local Search Association, the event will be held at Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego. Why is CallRail attending? We strive to empower data-driven marketers…

On February 27th and 28th, Team CallRail will be joining in-house, agency and consultant marketers for a dynamic local marketing and SEO conference, MozCon Local. The event will be held at the Hyatt at Olive 8, Seattle. So why are we going? We believe in empowering local marketers to create quality content and understand how…

A main line tracking number is a phone number used with software to track, record, and analyze phone calls to a business’s main line. It is primarily used by location-based businesses but can be used with any business’s main line telephone number. Business phone numbers have traditionally been provided by a local service provider that…

“SEO” is one of those buzzwords that many claim to understand. The reality is that SEO isn’t a cut-and-dry formula; there are seemingly infinite factors at play that can influence your website’s ability to drive traffic. The overarching goal of SEO is to make improvements to a website with the goal of boosting organic traffic…

Who owns your tracking phone number? Knowing you’ll always be able to receive calls to your business is something most of us take for granted. However, if you’re planning on using call tracking phone numbers in your marketing efforts, you will want to know who owns the phone numbers you’re using. After all, you’re going to…

    We’re joining other leading experts in the local search game to share in the hottest marketing strategies and trends at LocalU Advanced. These advanced-level sessions will give you the opportunity to discuss local search and SEO topics like keyword research, Google Analytics, and measuring ROI on your local campaigns. Additionally, attendees will be…

In our recent webinar, “How Local SEO Experts Onboard Clients” we shared real life examples of how Local SEO experts set their client’s up for success. Big thanks to Moz Local’s George Freitag for sharing his insights. Here’s the recording of the webinar. We were pretty impressed by the amount of engagement we received during the…

The independent authority on search marketing vendors, topseos.com, has named CallRail a call tracking software leader. CallRail was chosen based on their strong performance in an in-depth analysis of the solutions they offer. The rankings consist of vendors which offer a solution to track the source of a call in addition to various metrics and…

Use Call Tracking and SEO to Generate More Leads Your website is the hub of your company’s online presence. It’s where you share who you are, what you offer and why your customers choose to buy from you instead of the competition. Today, there are so many additional ways for potential customers to find you…

You know how valuable phone calls are to your business. You know that a ringing phone is better than a click on an online form any day. The problem is, you don’t know what is making some people call, and why others aren’t calling. Even if you have some level of call tracking, the odds…

Often here at CallRail we’re asked about the best way to implement call tracking for multi-location businesses and franchises. That’s why we decided to write this guide on how to make call tracking work for exactly these types of businesses, and why we’re taking the time to answer your questions in our latest webinar. Attendees will learn: Why…

Facebook Adds ‘Call Now’ Button to Local Ads Last week, Facebook released the ability to add a “call now” call to action button to mobile newsfeed ads. Business advertisers can add the ‘call now’ button during the ad creation process, and when mobile users tap the button, their phone initiates a call to the business.…

Guide to Call Tracking for Franchises & Multi-Location Businesses For a sector of the U.S. economy that directly employs 9 million Americans, generates close to a trillion dollars in economic output, and whose growth is expected to outpace overall economic growth in 2015, you’d be forgiven for thinking that franchises have marketing figured out. The…

Targeted Landing Pages and Subdomains for Campaigns By now, you probably know the importance of using targeted landing pages for your online marketing campaigns. In fact 48% of marketers build a new landing page for each marketing campaign and 68% of B2B businesses use landing pages to capture sales leads for future conversions, according to Marketing Sherpa.…

Over the past few years I’ve read several blog posts and local SEO articles warning about the use of call tracking numbers. The headlines of these pieces range from a general warning like “Be Wary of Call Tracking Numbers in Local Search” to more expressive headlines like “Why Call Tracking Numbers in Local SEO Make Me…

According to data drawn from more than 10,000 businesses in the last 12 months, organic search, web sites, and search advertising top sources of inbound customer calls to businesses What makes the phone ring? This is an age-old question for business owners, marketers and marketing agencies. CallRail, a leading call conversion, reporting and analytics solution…

You’re about to be (not provided) like you’ve never been (not provided) before. For online marketers everywhere, the day has come: September 23rd will be the day we remember as the “notprovidapocalypse”. Google is moving entirely to secure search, cutting off organic keyword data entirely. In October 2011, Google began redirecting users who were logged…

How do I view new callers in Google Analytics? Integrating call tracking and Google Analytics is a great way to track which pages a caller has visited on your website. Calls are reported as page views in Google Analytics and repeat callers can appear more than once in your Google Analytics data. Why Would I Want…