I’m tappin’ out this newsletter in the most frantic and burrito-conscious of fashions, folks.
It’s been that kind of day.
We have a lot of SERPy goodness for you—but first a quick update on Facebook’s data scandal.
You know how we thought Cambridge Analytica had gained
access to 50 million Facebook users’ data? Well, Facebook says that estimate might be a bit off.
And by "a bit," I mean another 37 million off. According to the New York Times, Facebook says the controversial political campaign firm may have harvested up to 87 million users’ data.
Sheeeeesh.
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A guide to every Google SERP feature
You’ve noticed that Google is plugging rich content into search results. From the super-helpful dictionary definitions, to maps, to music videos, Google continues to circumvent organic results to give searches exactly what they’re looking for—without ever needing to leave Google.
These are collectively called "SERP features." ("SERP" standing for "search engine results page"—it’s what you see immediately after Googling something.)
To many, this is Google upping its UX game. To some marketers, this can feel like Google is hogging the mic.
So, what should you know about these SERP features?
Well, my colleague Ryan Nelson penned a guide to every single SERP feature. This is a post you’ll want to bookmark and return to again and again.
… and how to get there Britney Muller is the senior SEO scientist at Moz, and has been leading a really helpful Whiteboard Friday series on capturing one type of those SERP features: featured snippets.
Featured snippets are those clippings from other articles that show up at the top of SERPs, like this:
Britney has two videos out on the subject thus far, with a third one on the way. (She’s sharing some results from her experiments, too.)
Check out episodes 1 and 2. You’ll be glad you did.
How to find EVERY featured snippet opportunity At this point in today’s newsletter you should be wondering, "Hey, I’d like to get my website in those featured snippets! But how do I know which ones are within reach?"
Or maybe you’re wondering, "I really need to invest in an SEO tool to start putting all this Overthink Group newsletter gold to work for me—but which one should I start with?"
If you already use Ahrefs, you’re in luck. If you’ve been trying to convince your boss that it’s worth the price point—Ahrefs is NOT a discount tool—this will help your case.
"Good vs free?" I don’t think so. Ev Williams, the CEO of social blogging platform Medium released a think piece last week, —casting a vision for a glorious future in which good content can be easily identified by its price tag.
He makes a few good points, but he also makes some rather troubling ones,
like comparing blog content to music and video streaming …
And even comparing reading free content to dumpster diving.
Why should marketers care? It’s common for tech startups to build their blogs on Medium. Many companies want to provide a great reading experience to their market and a great writing
experience to their marketers. But, keep an eye on how this platform’s leadership thinks about what makes content valuable, folks.
As for me, I’m still processing this article. I can tell you one thing though: if we’re doing our jobs right, nobody will have to choose between good content and free
content.
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In other news, April 9 is a big day for Overthink Group.
It’s my wedding anniversary. It’s also my business partner’s wedding anniversary. It’s Overthink marketing powerhouse Tyrel Tjoelker’s birthday.
So I’m going to have a lot of confetti to clean up tomorrow.
I think you’re great. (But you don’t have to take my word for it.)
Thanks for reading! Jeffrey Kranz Co-founder and editor Overthink Group PS: If you’d like to talk about getting your website to show up in more featured snippets, shoot me a reply. Maybe we can help. =)
