Category: Marketing Automation

If you’re confused about when, why, and how to disavow links — you aren’t alone.
We all know that backlinks are critical to your SEO success, but the quality of those backlinks can make all the difference in that success.
This post will help you understand when and how to submit a Google disavow file, which is important for protecting your domain.
Let’s dive in — but first, what is the disavow tool?

What is the disavow tool?
The disavow tool gives you the opportunity to ask Google to ignore low-quality backlinks to your website.
When you submit a disavow file to Google, you are asking them to ignore certain links that are pointing to your domain. There is no obligation for them to respect your request, but if they do, those links won’t be used in determining your ranking in search results.
It’s important to understand, however, that disavowing backlinks doesn’t remove them from your backlink profile.
Do you actually need to use the disavow tool?
Google has made it clear that they only want you to use the disavow tool if you need to.
They recommend using it if you have a manual spam penalty, or if you knowingly took part in link-building practices that might be harming you.
In 2019, Google Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst John Mueller talked about the disavow tool during Google Webmaster Central office hours.
He says, “I think for most websites out there, pretty much the really largest majority of websites, you don’t need to use the disavow tool. That’s why we have the disavow tool so separate from search console so that you don’t get tempted to using the disavow tool because it looks like this normal part of search console that everyone should be using.”

Mueller says, “[The disavow tool] is really something that you only really need to use in really extreme cases.”

To decide if you might benefit from filing a disavow, you’ll need to analyze your backlink profile, which you can learn more about below. But if you knowingly participated in what would be considered unethical backlink practices, chances are a disavow would be helpful.
What is considered a ‘bad’ backlink?
Before we tell you how to do a disavow, it’s important to understand what makes a backlink a bad one.
Google considers any link created to manipulate PageRank or a website’s ranking to be a bad link. They want you to work on creating great content that gets linked to naturally!
If you’ve purposely taken part in any kind of link-building campaign, then chances are you might have bad backlinks.
This could include:

Purchased backlinks
Link schemes
Product for backlinks
Link exchanges
Footer links

You might look at your backlinks in various tools and see lots of spammy-looking backlinks and think you need to get rid of them — but you don’t need to worry about those.
Google will understand spammy links to some extent and ignore them.
As an example, here are some backlinks from a website pulled from Ahrefs. These are all spam, and none of them have DR ratings:

I wouldn’t bother disavowing these since these are probably backlinks that a lot of websites have, and Google is smart enough to know we didn’t create them to manipulate our backlink profile.
When should you create a disavow file?
Google has stated that most websites will not need to disavow links, and only in certain circumstances should it be used.
Below are some examples of when a disavow might be recommended or needed.
1. Manual Action: Unnatural Links To Your Site
This is the one occasion where you will absolutely want to file a disavow. If your website has been hit with a manual penalty due to link building practices, then disavowing links is a must to have that penalty removed.
If your website is connected with Search Console — and it should be — you will be notified if there is a manual action on your website.
At this point, you would begin analyzing the backlinks you have in Search Console and trying to find the links that may be seen as violating Google’s guidelines.
If you find offending backlinks, the first step would be to contact the website owner where the backlink is and ask them to remove it. If that doesn’t work, then you can try using a disavow file.
Once you have removed or disavowed the links, you can select the “Request Review” button in your Manual actions report to ask them to remove the action.  

2. Link Schemes
If you knowingly participated in link schemes, then you may benefit from adding them to your disavow file. These are links you – or someone you may have hired – paid for. These may be private blog network (PBN) links or even guest posts on websites of no relevance to your niche.
3. Directories
A long time ago, adding profiles to every directory that existed with a link to your website with your “money keyword” as the anchor text was all the rage. Maybe you are guilty of this, or the SEO you hired is – but these are backlinks that should be removed. If you can manually remove them that would be best, but adding them to the disavow is recommended if you cannot remove the link.
4. Comments
Another old tactic was to spam comments on other blogs and add keyword rich anchor text in the comments box or even for the name field.
If you have any backlinks from comments, directories or editorial links with anchor text like “buy red widgets” or “best tennis shoes” it would be recommended to add them to your disavow file if you cannot get the link removed or changed. Normally for these types of links it would be expected to be your first name or brand name.
Finding all of Your Backlinks
To create the most accurate analysis, you will need to retrieve as much backlink data as you can and understand how to analyze that data.
You can use a variety of tools to review your backlinks, and you can choose to download them all to a spreadsheet to manually review them or do an analysis right from within the tool.
Here are a few options of tools to use for finding backlinks:
1. Google Search Console.
In Google Search Console you can go to the links area and click the export external links button and then the more sample links option to get a full list of the backlinks to your website.
2. Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, or your preferred tool.
Export your list of backlinks and merge it with your Google Search Console file or analyze your data in the software.
3. A Link Audit Tool.
There are a few tools that can really minimize your time in auditing your backlinks like LinkResearchTools.
Semrush also has a backlink audit tool that shows all of your backlinks and gives them a toxicity score based on a variety of factors. You can work right from your dashboard to assess the links and determine if they truly are toxic or not.
If they are, you can then add them to a disavow right from the tool. When you are done reviewing them all you can then download the formatted disavow .txt file and submit it to the tool.
While this is a useful tool, it does not have all of your backlinks in its database! You should still do a manual review using other tools as well.

Creating A Disavow File
Once you are done assessing your links you can create the disavow.txt file that will be uploaded to Google Search Console.
Creating A Disavow.txt File
Below are some guidelines from Google on how to create your file.

The file name must end in .txt
File size can be no larger than 2MB and 100,000 lines
Each URL should be on its own line
If you want to disavow a whole domain you should start the line with domain: 
If you want to disavow a URL you can just enter the URL

Below is a sample portion of a disavow file that I recently created as an example.
By adding a # before text you can add comments, these lines will be ignored by Google.

If you would like to test your disavow file before uploading it you can use the Disavow File Testing Tool which was created by Fili Wiese, a former Google Engineer.
Uploading a Disavow File
Once you have completed your disavow file it can be uploaded to the Disavow Tool in Google Search Console.
Below are a few easy steps to uploading your disavow.

Login to Google Search Console
Go to https://search.google.com/search-console/disavow-links

Select the property you would like to add a disavow file to
Click the upload disavow list button and find your .txt file to add

If you had uploaded a previous disavow.txt file, your new one will override that one. If your file has any issues, you will see error messages and be prompted to upload a corrected version.
While there is no guarantee that submitting a disavow file will help, there have been reports of success when using it.
It will take some time for Google to process the information you uploaded, so you will have to have a bit of patience.
There is no way to really know if the disavow.txt file is doing what you want it to do, but keeping an eye on your rank, organic traffic and impressions could be a good indicator.

When you create an email using a drag-and-drop or module-based tool, you’re actually generating an HTML email.
There are two main types of email you can send and receive: plain text emails (these are exactly what they sound like — any email that contains just plain old text with no formatting) and HTML emails, which are formatted and styled using HTML and inline CSS.
HTML emails are easy to spot — most of the styled, multimedia marketing emails in your inbox are HTML emails.

As a marketer, you’ve probably compared HTML emails versus plain-text emails and realized that there are different benefits to each type. HTML emails aren’t inherently better than plain text emails, and in different situations, both types can be part of a successful email marketing program.
Here’s what an HTML looks like on the front-end. Click on the HTML button to see the code behind it.
See the Pen HTML Email Template from HubSpot by Christina Perricone (@hubspot) on CodePen.
In this article, we’ll cover how you can get started creating HTML emails, regardless of your experience level and comfort with coding, and share some free templates you can use. Let’s dive in.
How to Create an HTML Email
Good news: You actually don’t need to know how to code to create an HTML email.
Most tools that create and send email (like HubSpot) will offer pre-formatted, ready-to-go HTML templates that enable you to design emails without ever needing to access the actual code on the back-end.
As you make changes in the email editor, those changes will be automatically coded into the final product. Email building tools like this are an ideal option if you don’t have an email designer on your team, but you still want to send professional-looking marketing emails.
Still want to create an HTML email from scratch?
If you’re comfortable with HTML and want more direct control over the code of your emails, most email tools will allow you to import HTML files directly for use as custom email templates.
There are a wide variety of free HTML email templates available on the web (some of which we’ll share below), and if you know your way around an HTML file, it’s usually quite straightforward to adapt the template to the email building tool of your choice.
To create an HTML email completely from scratch, you’ll need to have an advanced knowledge of HTML (or work with a developer who does). This guide offers a solid overview of coding a basic HTML email. Because the process of creating an HTML email from scratch can be quite involved, we recommend working with a developer or using a pre-made HTML email template instead.
Developing an HTML email specifically for HubSpot?
If you’re developing an HTML email template specifically for use in HubSpot, you’ll want to make sure you include the required HubL tokens (these ensure your emails can be customized and are compliant with CAN-SPAM laws). You can find a complete guide to coding HubSpot-specific HTML email templates here. Or alternatively, just use our simple what-you-see-is-what-you-get email editor.
Now that you understand the basics of what goes into developing an HTML email, let’s go over a few important best practices you should keep in mind. No matter what method you plan to use to create HTML emails, these best practices will help improve the design, user experience, and deliverability of your emails.
1. Make sure your HTML email is responsive for different screen sizes and devices.
The way your email looks in a user’s inbox depends on a wide variety of different factors.
One of the biggest and most obvious factors is the screen size of the device it’s being viewed on. An email that looks amazing and well-formatted on a desktop can easily devolve into a tangle of illegible, overlapping text and images when viewed on a smartphone screen.
To ensure your HTML emails look the way you intended across a wide spectrum of screen sizes, the best thing you can do is keep your layout simple and straightforward. When you start adding more complex elements like multiple columns and floated images, it becomes more difficult to translate the format of your email for different screen sizes.
If you do decide to develop a more complex layout, make sure you’re actively solving for how the elements will be rearranged to suit different screen sizes. For example, if your email displays as multi-column on desktop, that same structure won’t fly on mobile — you’ll need to use media queries to define how elements will be displayed on different screen sizes.
Remember, developing truly responsive HTML emails goes beyond the structure and format of your message. Think about how the overall user experience of your email will be perceived on different devices. Make sure your font choices are just as legible on mobile as they are on desktop, and use mobile-friendly buttons or CTAs in place of hyperlinked text (have you ever tried to tap a little line of hyperlinked text on mobile? It’s not very easy).
You can find our more in-depth guide to mobile email best practices right here.
2. Make sure your styling works in different email clients.
Another big factor that heavily impacts the way your HTML emails appear in your subscribers’ inboxes is the email client they’re using to open the message. Every email client loads emails slightly differently, so an email that looks a certain way in Gmail will likely look different in Outlook.
Luckily, if you know how most popular email clients load particular HTML and CSS elements, you can create a pretty consistent experience across different users’ inboxes. It’s all about knowing which unsupported tags to avoid and adapting accordingly. This comprehensive guide explains how the most popular email clients (including Gmail and multiple versions of Outlook) support and render different styling elements.
You can also check out an article we wrote on optimizing emails for different email clients.
3. Be conscious of how long your HTML emails take to load.
How long your email takes to load could very well be the difference between gaining a new customer and losing a frustrated subscriber. While it can be tempting to take advantage of all the different styling options and opportunities to incorporate visuals that HTML emails offer, none of that matters if your email takes too long to load.
As you design your HTML email, remain conscious of how long your email will take to load — especially if someone is, say, opening your message on their morning subway commute with a weak data connection. Here are a few little steps you can take that will go a long way towards improving load time.
Use images sparingly.
That way, you’ll bolster the message you want to get across to subscribers. Always use an image compressor (like Compressor.io) to reduce the file size as much as possible. Most image compressors can significantly reduce the file size of an image without compromising on quality, so taking this extra step won’t hurt the visual integrity of your email.
Use standard web fonts.
Custom fonts are great for spicing up a landing page, but they can add an extraneous layer of complexity when added to an email. As we talked about above, all email clients handle style elements differently, and this especially extends to fonts. To be safe, use standard web fonts and check to make sure the email client most of your subscribers use supports a particular font.
Try an HTML minifier.
An HTML minifier (like minifycode.com and smallseotools.com) automatically removes code that isn’t needed in an HTML file. Repetitive, extra elements will be stripped out, but the actual rendering of your email should remain the same (always test it out!). Each line of code impacts how long an email takes to load, so taking the time to remove junk code can have a positive effect on load time.
Keep your message focused on a single objective.
The best way to reduce email load time is to reduce how much content you add to each of your email sends. It might seem obvious, but too many marketers try to stuff too much content into their emails. Not only does that lead to an off-putting user experience (nobody wants to read a novel in email form), but it can send your load time off the charts and cause users to abandon your email. Keep it simple, and your users will thank you.
4. Plan (as much as you can) for end-user inconsistencies.
The screen size and email client aren’t the only factors that can alter the way your HTML email renders in your subscribers’ inboxes. Elements like the version of their email client, their operating system, their unique user settings, their security software, and whether or not they’re automatically loading images can all impact how your email loads.
As you can probably guess by that hefty list of factors, trying to solve for all of them (every single time you send an email) would probably be enough to make you throw your computer across the room.
But you don’t have to be completely helpless in the face of these variables — you just have to do a little pre-planning.
Consider creating a webpage version of your email.
This is kind of like giving your email a fail-safe button. If for some reason — due to one of the many factors discussed above — your lovingly designed email renders like an absolute mess when a subscriber opens it, they will at least have the option to click “view as web page” and see the email as you intended it to be.
Since style elements render much more consistently across web browsers versus email clients, you’ll be able to have way more control over the web page version of your message. In HubSpot, there’s an option you can turn on that will generate a web page version automatically.
Create a plain text version of your email.
A plain text version is exactly what it sounds like — an alternative version of your HTML email that renders in completely plain text. Adding a plain text version of your HTML email is important because some email clients and user settings can’t (or choose not to) load HTML.
If this is the case, the client will look for a plain text alternative version of your HTML email to load for the user. If one doesn’t exist, it could signal to the recipient’s email server that your message is spam — or potentially dangerous.
Most email tools like HubSpot will automatically provide a plain text version that displays if a recipient’s email server requires it, but if you’re coding an HTML email from scratch, you’ll need to create something called a multipart MIME message.
A multipart MIME message is an email that contains both a plain text and HTML version of the same email. If a recipient’s email client or security system doesn’t allow HTML email, the plain text version will be displayed. This is a process that requires an advanced knowledge of coding, so we recommend working with a developer.
Make sure your email still makes sense if the images don’t load.
Some users have automatic image-loading turned off, which means they’ll see your email without images when they open it. For this reason, don’t rely entirely on images to get the meaning of your message across, and always add alt-text to the images you do include. Alt-text will load even when images don’t, so your subscribers can get the general idea of what the visuals include.
5. Conduct thorough testing.
Finally, you’ll need to test your HTML email at every stage of development to ensure it works across different email clients, operating systems, and device types. Don’t wait until the very end of the process to test out your email — testing as you work is the best way to spot inconsistencies between different email clients and ensure you’re creating the most consistent experience possible for your recipients.
Some email tools (like HubSpot) offer in-app testing within their email builders to make the process easier. If you’re working from scratch, you can use a tool like HTML Email Check or PreviewMyEmail to get a better idea of how your email will look in different email clients and devices.
Simple and Free HTML Email Templates
There are an overwhelming amount of HTML email templates available on the web, and they vary in quality, responsiveness, and price. We’ve pulled together a selection of free HTML email templates that provide a responsive user experience. Be sure to read the terms and conditions on each individual template before use.
1. HubSpot Free HTML Email Template

Included in the free version of Marketing Hub, this template is a great place to start if you’re looking for a template with more room for customization. You can easily add images, text, and buttons in an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, and you can be confident that the templates you design will be fully responsive on any device.
2. Company News HTML Email Template by Campaign Monitor

This modern template is sophisticated and minimal. The subtle color palette and simple design make it a versatile option for many different industries and purposes, and it’s been tested on different email clients and devices to ensure a consistent user experience across different platforms.
3. Free HTML Email Template by Unlayer

Though this template was designed for a fitness company, you can easily adapt it for your own. This clean, muted template is a great way to display content your team has created and connect subscribers with your most recent products or blog posts. The design features two fully responsive columns with multiple color scheme options, and room at the top to highlight a call-to-action.
4. MINImalist Free HTML Email Template

Proof that sometimes less really is more, this easy, fully responsive design makes the most of whitespace and keeps the focus firmly on your words and visual elements. Without design distractions, your content can really shine — on any device.
5. Free HTML Email Templates from Bee Free

This collection of free, open-source templates are completely responsive and tested across popular email clients. You can edit and build on them on the Bee Free platform, then export the HTML file to your local drive.
These are an ideal option if you want a more styled, polished starting place, but you still want to be able to customize the design to fit your company’s needs. Each template is available in multiple formats for different marketing purposes, like transactional emails, NPS collection, and email subscriber re-engagement.
6. Free HTML Email Template by Campaign Monitor

This sleek, responsive design from Campaign Monitor would be perfect for sending out a discount code — but it could also serve as a stylish way to showcase your latest products to email subscribers. It’s also worth checking out Campaign Monitor’s full library of responsive email templates.
Create HTML Emails to Increase Your Subscriber Count
HTML emails are an engaging way to share what’s happening in your business and keep subscribers coming back for more. With the tips and templates we’ve shared, you’re well on your way to creating beautiful HTML emails without writing a single line of code.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in June 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Summer is here!  It’s the time of year for taking time off from work and setting up much-needed vacations. Taking advantage of the warmer weather (or traveling to climates with warmer weather) is what summer is all about. And while it all may seem like fun and games, summertime is also synonymous with declining sales.…
The post 5 Emails for Summer Campaign Inspiration appeared first on Benchmark Email.

According to Michael Scott, “Real business is done on paper.” Considering we help companies send more than 180 billion personalized emails every year, however, we have other opinions.
Regardless of how you do business, though, the last year has been full of changes. After all, who thought you’d be balancing Wi-Fi priorities between your work and school Zoom calls? Or that you’d forget what wearing pants all day feels like?
We’ve been away from work for so long that many of us have forgotten our favorite parts about office culture. So, how will things like Casual Friday, coworker gossip, and coffee breaks change as a result of this ‘new normal?’
The Future of Work?
The truth is, nobody has all the answers. So, we asked two of our favorite accountants to lead Back to The Office: An Evening with Dunder Mifflin’s Finest. And while Chili’s wasn’t at 100% capacity yet, this virtual experience still brought Kevin, Oscar, and hundreds of marketers together to discuss the future of office life.
If you weren’t there, you missed out on an intimate, hour-long Q&A session with Brian Baumgartner and Oscar Nunez that covered topics like:

The art of prop comedy
What they’ve both been learning and doing at home during the pandemic

Untold, behind-the-scenes stories from the set of The Office

Their predictions about the future of office culture

Fortunately, for the next month you can access our full recording of this experience. Simply click here, enter ‘dundies’ into the password prompt, sit back, and enjoy!
The post Getting Back to The Office: An Evening with Dunder Mifflin’s Finest appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

According to Michael Scott, “Real business is done on paper.” Considering we help companies send more than 180 billion personalized emails every year, however, we have other opinions.
Regardless of how you do business, though, the last year has been full of changes. After all, who thought you’d be balancing Wi-Fi priorities between your work and school Zoom calls? Or that you’d forget what wearing pants all day feels like?
We’ve been away from work for so long that many of us have forgotten our favorite parts about office culture. So, how will things like Casual Friday, coworker gossip, and coffee breaks change as a result of this ‘new normal?’
The Future of Work?
The truth is, nobody has all the answers. So, we asked two of our favorite accountants to lead Back to The Office: An Evening with Dunder Mifflin’s Finest. And while Chili’s wasn’t at 100% capacity yet, this virtual experience still brought Kevin, Oscar, and hundreds of marketers together to discuss the future of office life.
If you weren’t there, you missed out on an intimate, hour-long Q&A session with Brian Baumgartner and Oscar Nunez that covered topics like:

The art of prop comedy
What they’ve both been learning and doing at home during the pandemic

Untold, behind-the-scenes stories from the set of The Office

Their predictions about the future of office culture

Fortunately, for the next month you can access our full recording of this experience. Simply click here, enter ‘dundies’ into the password prompt, sit back, and enjoy!
The post Getting Back to The Office: An Evening with Dunder Mifflin’s Finest appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

If you have been in SEO for a while, you may remember the days of working hard to increase the PageRank of websites — it was the metric every SEO cared about and wanted to improve.
Improving PageRank meant improving your authority (usually with backlinks), which in turn could result in higher rankings and more traffic. 
But what happened to PageRank? It’s rarely talked about anymore. 
Believe it or not, PageRank is still used as a ranking signal for Google, even if you haven’t heard it mentioned in a while. Here, we’ll explore what you need to know about Google PageRank in 2021.

What is Google PageRank?
Google PageRank is a very complex concept, but we are going to try and break it down to make it easy to understand.
PageRank uses a mathematical formula to score the value of a page based on the quality and quantity of the pages linking it to it. 
The PageRank formula will look at the number of inbound links, external links, and the PageRank of those links to determine authority. The formula will create a score using a logarithmic scale with values ranging from 0-10. 
The higher the PageRank score of a page, the more authoritative that page is.
You can get more in-depth information about the PageRank formula in the original paper that was published back in 1997.
The PageRank Toolbar
Years ago, there used to be a toolbar that could show you the PageRank of any webpage you visited. 
Unfortunately, the toolbar was removed by Google back in 2016 — and the mystery of what your PageRank is has existed ever since. 
The problem with the toolbar was that it created an obsession and caused many SEOs to try and find ways to manipulate it. 
Essentially, the Google team realized that making this score public was adding little value to website owners and decided to stop investing in it. 

Image Source
Does Google still use PageRank?
Yes, Google does still uses PageRank. 
While it may not be a metric that website owners have access to, it is still used in their algorithms.
A tweet by John Mueller, a Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google, solidifies that PageRank is still used as a ranking signal.

Yes, we do use PageRank internally, among many, many other signals. It’s not quite the same as the original paper, there are lots of quirks (eg, disavowed links, ignored links, etc.), and, again, we use a lot of other signals that can be much stronger.— 🍌 John 🍌 (@JohnMu)
February 24, 2020

How important is PageRank?
There is no clear measure of how important PageRank is. With there being over 200 Google ranking factors, they do not provide data on the importance of each factor.
But we do know that backlinks play a very large part in SEO success. So it’s safe to assume that PageRank still plays a part in how highly your pages rank. 
Spending time trying to improve your PageRank is probably not the best use of your time. But building relevant and authoritative backlinks to your website is an undeniably effective SEO strategy, and will likely improve your PageRank as a result.
You may not see the improvement as a metric, but you will see it in your organic traffic.
What influences Google PageRank?
There are some factors you should know about that can positively impact your PageRank. Let’s dive into a few of those, now. 
1. Backlinks
The primary way to improve your PageRank is through backlinks. The more relevant, high authority websites that link to you — the higher your PageRank will be. 
Below are some ways to build valuable backlinks:

Build relationships with influencers and community members in your niche.
Create original infographics, webinars, videos, and other creative assets that encourage website owners to share and link to your post.
Participate in forums and communities that are related to your niche. 
Share your content on social networks — tag relevant people if they are part of your content so they can share, too. 
Create amazing content! 

Building backlinks is one of the best ways to grow your website, but it needs to be done properly. Be authentic, do not spam groups or communities, and most importantly — create content with which people can engage.
You also want to be sure you have cleaned up any bad backlinks. You can learn more about how to Disavow Links here. 
Getting links from directories or pages that have a lot of links is not as beneficial for improving PageRank. Every link on a page will dilute the value of your link, so while directory-type links can be valuable in other ways, they will not be a big help for improving RageRank.
2. Internal Linking
One of the most underrated SEO tactics is internal linking. By using internal links to pass PageRank from one page to another, you can make a big impact on your rank and traffic. 
As an example — your homepage will usually have the highest PageRank because of the number of websites linking to it. 
Every link from your homepage to another page on your website will boost the authority of the page being linked to. 
Additionally, consider using an SEO tool to identify pages within your website that have high authority, and adding links from those pages to lower-authority pages (when relevant) to give your pages a boost. 
A quick trick is to look at your Google Analytics — usually the pages with the most organic traffic are the highest authority pages. So you can start using those pages to build internal links to less authoritative pages to give them a quick boost, as long as the links are relevant to the content on the page.
3. External Linking
One of the biggest myths I can remember about external links is that linking out from your content can diminish the PageRank of that page.  
This is not true. Remember, the whole premise behind PageRank is links. 
While the number of links on a page might affect the “value” of that link to the page being linked to, it does not harm your own. If you find a resource that is helpful for your viewers, then you should absolutely add a link to that resource.
A study done by Reboot showed that there was a positive correlation between rankings and the outbound links of a page.
How To Check Your PageRank
Unfortunately, there is no way for you to accurately know what your PageRank is. 
There are some websites that claim to provide you with your PageRank, but these are not verified tools so there is no proof they are providing accurate data.
Other tools — like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz — have all created their own version of numerical values that were meant to replicate the PageRank score. 
For example, SEMRush has what they call an “authority score”, which offers a numerical value that can signal how helpful a backlink from a website may be. This score is based on the following:

Monthly traffic to a website
Average keyword position
Backlink data

But Google doesn’t use these scores in their ranking algorithm. So, while you can use them as a guide to understand your website authority, they do not replace PageRank. 
While most SEOs don’t give much thought to PageRank anymore, and do not try to optimize for it, it’s still worth understanding. Ultimately, if you’re working on building backlinks, improving your internal linking, and using authoritative external links, your PageRank will thank you for it. 

In many ways, marketing is a game of trend watching. The marketer who’s best at spotting and using trends earns their business market share, brand recognition, and ultimately, revenue.
But how do you search for trends? And where do you start?
Well, since it owns more than 92% of the global search engine market, the answer to both of these questions is, Google.

Google’s nearest competitor, Bing, only holds 2.5% of market share, while Yahoo accounts for 1.5%. The distribution has remained relatively stable over the past few years with Google consistently claiming competitive victory thanks to detailed search results, in-depth analytics, and evolving service offerings.
Consider the rapid uptake of “Google” as a verb meaning, “to search” — “I’ll just Google it,” “can’t you Google that?” “isn’t it on Google?” It’s not an exaggeration to say that when it comes to searching for information online, Google is — by far — the digital frontrunner.
Google also makes efforts to personalize search results, in turn, increasing the chances that users will opt for Google the next time they have a question. For users that aren’t logged into a Gmail or another Google account, the company uses anonymously stored browser cookies to get a sense of search histories and preferences.
For users signed into their Google account, Chrome’s browser history provides the data necessary for Google to construct a profile based on age, language preference, gender and search preferences, which informs the type of search results returned. Location offers an easy example of this approach — if users have location services turned on, Google search results will be filtered by geographic location to increase overall relevance.
Now, let’s look at a few of this year’s top Google Search statistics and take a deeper dive into the trending searches that guide your marketing strategy.
Top Google Search Statistics in 2021
Now that we know how to search for trending topics, let’s look at how Google influences search with these latest statistics.

The top five Google searches in 2020 were “Election results,” “Coronavirus,” “Kobe Bryant,” “Coronavirus update,” and — unsurprisingly — “Coronavirus symptoms.” (Google)
More than 50% of Google searches end without a click. (Search Engine Land)
92% of all search queries are long-tailed keywords. (Backlinko)
As of October 2020, there were more than 267 million unique U.S. visitors to Google. (Statista)
89% of URLs and 37% of URLs in positions 1-20 rank differently on mobile and desktop. (SEMRush)
There are now more than 1.8 billion Gmail users worldwide. (TechJury)
Compressing images and text could help 25% of web pages save more than 250KB and 10% save more than 1 MB. These changes reduce bounce rates and increase page rank on Google SERPs. (Google)
Chrome accounted for 69% of web browser market share in 2020. (Net Marketshare)
In 2021, 56% of web traffic took place on mobile phones. (Broadband Search)
14% of Google searches are a question. (Backlinko)
In 2020, 500 keywords accounted for 8.4% of all search volume. (Backlinko)
The average click-through rate for first place on desktop is higher than that of mobile, at 31.5% and 24% respectively. (Advanced Web Ranking)
Four times as many people are likely to click on a paid search ad on Google (63%) than on any other search engine — Amazon (15%), YouTube (9%), and Bing (6%). (Clutch)
55% of teens use voice search on Google every day. (Marketing Dive)
55% of people clicking on Google search ads prefer those to be text ads. (Clutch)
For every $1 businesses spend on Google Ads, they make an average of $2 in revenue. (Google)
The average click-through rate in Google Ads across industries is 3.17% in the search network and 0.46% on the display network. (WordStream)
The average cost-per-click for a keyword is about $0.61. (Backlinko)
The average cost-per-click in AdWords across all industries is $48.96 for search and $75.51 for display. (WordStream)
More than 90% of web pages receive zero organic traffic from Google. Just about 5% receive 10 visits or less each month. (Ahrefs)
A third of all Google searches are for an image and 13% of SERPs feature an “Image Pack.” (Moz)
The average keyword is roughly two words long. (Backlinko)
The average conversion rate in AdWords across all industries is 3.75% for search and 1.77% for display. (WordStream)
There are over 190 different versions of Google Search. (GiT Magazine)
25. When Google opened its proverbial doors in September 1998, it only averaged about 10,000 daily search queries. (“The Search

With search volumes constantly fluctuating in response to world events and evolving news coverage, it’s worth knowing what searches are trending, how quickly they’re ramping up, and how they tie into similar keyword queries.
While one option is a scattershot approach — simply type a potential trend term into Google and see how many total results are reported — more targeted options often provide an easier path to improved search performance.
Let’s review some of the most useful tools available in the section below.
1. Google Trends

Review the “Year in Search,” take Google Trends lessons, and see what’s trending now. You can also view the peaks and valleys of topic interest over time, which uncovers seasonality and allows you to plan your marketing calendar accordingly. Plus, find related topics and queries, and identify sub-regions your topic has been trending to better target your campaigns.

2. Think with Google

Discover articles, benchmark reports, and consumer insights that keep you up to speed on search. From ad bidding strategies to brand jingles, you’ll find interesting content that helps you think bigger while staying educated on how to leverage Google search for your business.

3. Twitter

Sign on to Twitter for more than vaguely hostile political debates. Use the “trends” feature to uncover what’s trending in your state, country, or around the globe. When you click into a trend, you’ll see top tweets about the topic, relevant news stories, and live responses as well.
Image Source
4. BuzzSumo

Identify the most shared content in the previous 12 months or the last 24 hours with BuzzSumo. BuzzSumo allows you to drill down and analyze the topics that matter to your industry, your competitors, and the influencers you learn from.

5. Feedly

This RSS feed aggregator allows you to follow your favorite brands and see their most recent content in one place. Add your favorites and discover new publishers by searching your industry, skills, or — you guessed it — trending topics. Feedly also allows you to set up keyword alerts, so you’re always tracking the latest trends on topics you’re interested in.

6. Reddit

Freshness and user-based voting determine how content is prioritized on Reddit. A quick visit to the homepage shows you trending or popular posts. And, you can filter by country or recency for a more relevant feed.

7. Ahrefs

Conduct competitive research, home in on a keyword, or search for trending topics. Ahrefs helps you identify trending content and shows you what to do to outrank your competitors.

8. Pocket

Pocket allows you to save content from anywhere on the web. Review your content whenever you wish and head to the Explore page to find trending topics that are relevant to you.

9. Quora

Sign up for Quora and select topic areas that interest you (e.g., “startups,” “marketing,” and “economics”). Quora will stock your feed with questions related to your content interests. This gives you insight into what your customers are asking, real-time debates about competitors, and even allows you to answer questions about topics you have experience in.

Expanding Your Google Impact
Bottom line? Google owns the largest piece of both search and web browser market shares and provides a host of interconnected services that empower the company to deliver personalized, real-time search results.
For marketers, this makes Google an irreplaceable tool for boosting consumer loyalty, courting new clients, and improving customer conversions. Armed with actionable trend data and relevant source statistics, marketing teams can expand their Google impact and ensure the right content gets seen by the right customers to jumpstart the sales process.

Nowadays, video is an undeniably popular channel for marketing purposes.
In fact, in 2021, 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tactic.
If you’re an email marketer, I’m willing to bet you’ve considered how you might spruce up your subscription and click-through rates with video. It’s a good idea in theory, with roughly two-thirds of consumers preferring video over text when learning about new products or services.
In reality, however, it can be tricky. Major email clients including Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook don’t support embedded videos, so your subscribers either won’t be able to watch your video within the email, or worse — they won’t see your email at all, because it’ll end up in their spam folders.
Fortunately, there’s a creative workaround to help you embed part of your video within your email, and incentivize subscribers to click-through to watch the rest. Here, let’s explore how to do just that.

Embed YouTube (or Any Other) Video in Email
There are two options you might consider when embedding a video within your email — you can either embed a GIF of your video with a “click here to watch full video” CTA, or you can embed a still photo of your video, and when subscribers click the “Play” button, they’ll be re-routed to your video’s URL.
Let’s explore the GIF option, first.

You can use the following instructions on any video from a video hosting platform of your choosing, including YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, DailyMotion, etc. In the following examples we used a Facebook URL, but a YouTube URL would work just as well. 
1. Find the URL of the video you want to include, or download and save your video to your computer.
To create a GIF of a video I wanted to include in my email, I first went to HubSpot’s Facebook page and copied the URL of a recent video the team uploaded to the site — “How a Senior SEO Strategist Sees the World”.

2. Go to Imgflip.com, a tool that enables you to create GIFs of videos.

You can upload a URL directly to Imgflip, or you can upload a video you have saved on your computer. For our purposes, I copied and pasted the URL from HubSpot’s Facebook page. Alternatively, you can copy and paste a YouTube URL or website URL. 

3. Choose a starting point and end point for your GIF.

Once your video is finished downloading, you’ll see this pop-up. There are two triangles that can help you choose where you’d like to start and stop your GIF — if you move the green one you’re choosing a starting point for your GIF, and if you move the red one you’re choosing an end point.

 

(It’s important to note, for non-Pro accounts, you can’t create a GIF that lasts longer than 20 seconds on Imgflip.)

Once you’ve chosen a clip you’d like to use for your GIF, click “Generate GIF”.

4. Download your GIF. 
Once your GIF has been generated, you’ll have the option to copy-and-paste the image link or image URL. Instead, click “Download .gif”.
5. Drag-and-drop your GIF into your email, and add a video CTA linking to the full video. 
Now comes the fun part! Simply create your email to send to your subscribers, and drag-and-drop your GIF from your desktop into the email itself.
Below the GIF, create a video CTA, like “Click to view full video here” with a URL to your video (the URL will likely lead to your own website, YouTube, Facebook, or another social platform).

You can spruce up your email subject line with “Video included” to further incentivize click-through rates.
Of course, you’ll want to use email marketing best practices when embedding a GIF, and ensure the video you want to include is truly a compelling, interesting piece of content for your email subscribers.
This is a unique opportunity to further engage with your prospects and customers, so make sure to use it wisely — don’t just send a video advertisement for your products or services.
Next, let’s explore how you might include a still image of your video with a “Play” button.
How to Create a Still Image of Your Video With a Play Button
1. For this example, I’ll use the same video as before. Instead of copying the URL, however, I simply screenshotted a paused section of the video.

2. When I paused the Facebook video, it automatically included a “Play” button. However, if you screenshot a video while it’s playing, you might not have a “Play” button. To add one to a still image, go to the website Add Play Button to Image, upload your image, choose a play button design, and click “Create Play Button Image”.
Then, click “Download Image”.

3. Next, simply click “Insert Photo” in your email to include the image with the Play button. Then, highlight the image and select “Insert Link”. Copy-and-paste the link to the full video (in this case I pasted the Facebook URL, but you can also paste a URL to a website with your video, or YouTube).

4. And that’s it! Now, when a subscriber clicks on your image, they’ll be redirected to the full video. Ensure the video auto-plays so the subscriber doesn’t have to click “Play” again.

How to Embed a Video in a HubSpot Email
1. If you’re a HubSpot email tool user, you’ll see a Video module on the left-side of your screen when you’re creating an email. 
Simply drag-and-drop the module into the section of the email you’d like to include a video.

2. Next, you have the option to Embed a video using a URL, or uploading a video to your COS. For our purposes, let’s copy-and-paste a YouTube URL into the text box.
3. Finally, edit the video to suit your needs. You can modify the video’s width and height, and even create a custom thumbnail.
4. When you’re ready, click the orange “Review and send” button at the top-right of your screen.
How to Use HTML5 Code to Embed Video in Email
Finally, some email clients do support embedded video. If you feel it’s the right strategy for your subscribers, you can embed a video within email using HTML5.
Here’s an example of an HTML5 code you might use in your email:
<video width=”300″ height=”200″ controls>
<source src=”movie.mp4″ type=”video/mp4″>
<source src=”movie.ogg” type=”video/ogg”>

</video>
If the video isn’t supported, your subscriber can see a static image linking to another page, instead.
If you don’t have experience coding, you might consider asking a developer to help you, or take a look at W3 School’s HTML5 Video article.
However, it’s important to note — we don’t recommend this strategy, since you risk either ending up in your subscribers’ spam folders, or using code that many of your subscribers’ email clients won’t support. Ultimately, it could be more trouble for many of your subscribers’ than it’s worth.
To ensure your video can be seen by all your subscribers, I’d recommend one of the strategies listed above, instead.
If you’re looking for other opportunities to boost email click-through rates and conversions, take a look at HubSpot’s free email marketing tool.

 

When it comes to web traffic, the more, the merrier. Part of your job as a marketer is to come up with new and inventive ways to drive more eyes to your site. This has a couple of big benefits for any business, including ramping up brand awareness and sales as well as growing your…
The post 35 Unique Ways to Increase Your Website Traffic appeared first on Benchmark Email.

Hello folks! I am currently trying to develop a way to see my whole funnel in one big picture simultaneously People come from every different sources, and they get tagged via Active Campaign and/or UTMs, and I want to combine those infos in one single chart to see which steps are more profitable for the business, you see? I am currently trying to combine Active Campaign + Google Sheets + Data Studio to get to something similar to this sketch: ​ (only a sketch, no data behind it) As you see, many different front-end funnels are source to my back-end big funnel, and I want to see which channels converts the most (proportionally) in one big picture I tried using “Venn Diagram” on Data Studio, but so far, no much have been accomplished ​ Do you think I am going too far and trying something impossible? Do you know a way to see the logic between sources on my funnel as a whole? This is really bugging me out as I want to know where to focus for the long term! ​ Hope someone can share some experience that enlightens this issue ​ Thank you guys.
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