SEO Intelligence Agency – September 2019 Report

Consider us your own personal SEO R&D lab, as an Agent in good standing, you are able also suggests tests & myths that would like to see and/or confirmed or busted.

SEO Intelligence Agency – September 2019 Report

A Scientific (Data-Driven) Professional SEO Association
STOP GUESSING & START RANKING
Why Would You Continue To Guess With The Latest Guru “Theories” Of What Works In SEO… When You Can Start Using TESTED SEO Techniques That Are Backed By Verifiable SCIENTIFIC PROOF!

You Wouldn’t!
In A Nutshell

The SEO Intelligence Agency is comprised of a small group of SEO Professionals dedicated to testing & reporting SEO metrics by creating singular tests that allow them to identify ranking variables.
When you join S.I.A. you get access to these studies delivered to you every month. The S.I.A also supports Agent Community in Facebook & Skype and sponsors a monthly & weekly webinars to go over tests, tactics and SEO questions.
Consider us your own personal SEO R&D lab, as an Agent in good standing, you are able also suggests tests & myths that would like to see and/or confirmed or busted.

Small Sampling of Studies In Dossier (see below)
We Test.. And Send YOU The Results
SEO CANDY

Each Test Below Represents A Full Blown Multiple Page PDF On the Test, The Results and Why It Matters.
All Accompanied by Video and MP3 Recordings Going Into Further Depth Of Each
Join Now and Receive Over 100 Reports
~Here Are The First Fifty~

1

Article Length: How Many Words Should I Put In My Articles?

This is one of the most often asked questions in the SEO world. We wanted to stop guessing and listening to Google so we built 10 different pages. Page 1 had 100 words and incrementally went up until Page 10 had 1,000 words. Now we know for sure. Want to guess how they all ranked?
2

What Type of Header Should You Use? Image or Text?

Some SEOs believe that you should use a Image in your Header (to get benefit from wrapping text inside along with the alt tag) instead of text. This was a huge discussion in the Warrior Forum with both sides going back and forth about who was right. So, we were tired of listening to all the theory and put it to the test. Header Text vs. Header Image: Does an image containing the target keyword in the image alt, wrapped in an H1 beat a regular text H1? We know who won the fight in WF now. _x0001F609_
3

The Top 10 Places To Put Keywords On A Site

There are 10 places you can put a keyword on a site, we created pages with the keyword in each area and then watched Google rank them from 1 to 10. So this is our test of “The top 10 On Page factors from best to worst- this test allows you to know where to focus your on page energy with your sites keywords! Very Important and Powerful Stuff Here!
4

A HUGE New Link Source Found, But What Is It?

A free, Google owned, platform that everyone in the SEO world is NOT using yet but we proved it passes GREAT link juice- you get to see the results plus add it to your arsenal. Our group now discusses different ways to use this resources and the best ways to juice up your money sites along with your PBNs if you have any. There is a course on this elsewhere that sells for $995, but you get the knowledge and our discussion around it for a fraction of that along with so much more!
5

Which Are The BEST Web 2.0s To Get Links From?

A lot of SEO’s use Web 2.0s to get links from. They will write an article and place it on one of these sites and place a link in it back to their money site or PBN. We wanted to know which ones were the BEST to use so we didn’t wast our time putting articles on sources that didn’t pass good link juice. So we tested them and this is Web 2.0’s Round 1- This report tells you which Web 2.0 our the ten we tested that you should you be using with your SEO strategies? We tested how they pass link juice and how they would rank the pages we linked them to. So in this controlled environment, we got to see exactly which were the best and which to avoid. Using out winners will not only along will increase your rankings but will save you a ton of time and money writing content for the ‘losers’ of the group.
6

Do Nofollow Links Hurt or Help You?

Most SEO’s want ‘Follow’ links because in theory (this is what Google says) if a webmaster puts the ‘No Follow’ code on the link, then no link juice will pass to the site it is linking too. So of course, in theory to rank, most think we need ‘Follow’ links. In this test we look at Both the ‘No Follow’ and ‘Follow’ Links how and if the ‘No Follow’ effects your rankings. Does it? _x0001F609_
7

Article Length Round 2: Can TOO MUCH ContentHurt You?

In test #1 we went up to a 1000 word article being our top article length. We wanted to further explore this as it really is the most asked question and deserved our attention to Drill down deeper to find the optimal on page word count for ranking. In this test we go all the way up to 4,000 words on this test and ABSOLUTELY FOUND A SWEET SPOT and when enough is enough.
8

More Web 2.0 Sites Tested For BEST To Get Links From.

Just like in Test #5, many SEO use Web 2.0 sites to put links on to link back to their money sites. But which are the Best Web 2.0s to use based on rankings, In this Round we pit different Web 2.0’s against each other to find the ones out of this group of 10 that rank the highest (and which ones to not waste your time on). Again, more information so you can spend your time and dollars on the right places to get links from.
9

Does Syndicated Content Hurt Or Help Rankings.

A lot of SEOs will create one article, post it on their money site and then blast the same article out to social properties to get links back to their money site.
The controversy is over the duplicate content this creates since you are syndicating the original article.   So the Test is: The Duplicate content to Social Media- what impact does this have on your rankings? The idea on this test is to see if posting duplicate content that could conceivably come from a program such as IFTTT or Jetpack or Syndwire or Onlywire or even manual posting is problematic or beneficial.
If this proves to be beneficial, then we would recommend to use this method to create links back to your site, if it sends our test page down in our controlled environment, then we will know NOT to use them at all! We have the answer.
10

Ecommerce/Local SEO URL Structure, what does Google like the best?

As humans we naturally trust program default settings and do so with web sites as well. In this test we are looking at URL structure of “out-of-the-box” e-commerce sites or local service sites that follow template silo structures (think plumbers or roofing repair sites). To find out, we tested if the way they have it is beneficial? Is that how we should be doing our structure, our silos, or should we be structuring it a different way? Is what they give us harmful even? So what we are looking at is ultimately.. “what is the right” URL structure for Google. [[If you are doing e-commerce or local SEO, you need these results.]] 11

Does Using ALL CAPs On A Page Hurt You?

This was a myth that had been sent in by a member as they had been told in a site review to take some of my CAPs down to a lower lever in my headlines and articles because it was hurting his rankings. So the question was, does Google perceive all CAPS as you are yelling at them and dropping a negative factor for it, or do they even care? We tested and now know the answer and the made our members day.
12

How Many Times Can I Place My Keyword In My Title?

This was another myth sent in by a member as they had ‘heard’ placing your keyword more then once in your meta title would place a negative score on your page thus hurting your rankings. So, we tested it, does ‘Placing the Keyword only once in Title Tag’- myth or fact? WE know now. _x0001F642_
13

Do I Need To Use Unique Images On My Website?

Google drills into our head ‘content is king’ and it better be original! So in our closed Facebook group (that you can get into if you join) we stared testing different ways to make an image unique in the eyes of Google. (ie. reversing it, different filters,) which you also get the results of when you join us, but then we though, wait, does Google even really care? So we decided to put it to the test and created pages that had unique images and put them up against pages with stock images. So this test is: Unique Image vs Stock Photo which will Google like more? (this is a smack your forehead you wont believe it reveal and will save you a butt load of time and money)
14

Article Length Round 3: How Many Words Should I Put In My Articles?

Over 3 months we have run tests with between 100 and 4,000 words on a page and our latest findings show the sweetest spot of words on a page based on actual, proven and tested results. Huge- You will no longer have to wonder how many words on a page you should aim for. Now you can just know! This report is and knowledge will help you out rank your competition and is OH SO White Hat!! We are just giving Google what it wants!
15

What Are The BEST of the BEST Web 2.0 Sites To Get Links From?

So we had 2 groups of GREAT Web 2.0s from previous tests, but we wanted to know which of the Best are the BEST. So we pitted all of the top Web 2.0’s across the board against each other and will show you exactly which one’s landed on top and the BEST of the BEST to get links from to send those rankings upward. So if you have a limited budget then this will allow you to focus your time and resources on the best of the best. Huge- saving you time and money! But remember, our earlier tests also show you which ones to avoid!! Very important!
16

If I Use Schema Markup, Will That Help Me Rank?

I know, what the heck is Schema anyway? lol Most SEOs are already familiar with Google’s stance on schema. In September 2015, Barry Schwartz published a popular article in SearchEngineLand, where he quotes John Mueller that schema markup is not yet a ranking factor but may be a factor in the future. To our knowledge, Google has not updated this statement so we decided to test it to see. Does Schema help? We now know that answer.
17

Should I Optimize My Title for Keyword Ranking?

We know that meta titles are critical SEO element. Another Moz Whiteboard Friday assertion is that a meta title optimized for a click will beat a meta title that is optimized for a keyword. Since we have long put our keywords in our Title, we needed to see if MOZ was correct or not so we put it to the test and the answer will amaze you.
18

Do Exact Match Domains still work?

No need to “wonder” when you go buy domains anymore this test will make you
confident in all of your domain purchases going forward.
19

Can I Over Optimize My Site And Be Penalized By Sending Links To My Site With The Same Anchor Text?

See what happens when we intentionally do a “known” Google “no-no” Does it really hurt to over optimize? I know most SEO’s will see this question and think they know the answer. It has been a while since Google’s hammer has hit, so we decided to see what would happen if we sent 25% exact match anchor (links) test to a page. _x0001F642_
20

If I Link From My Homepage BACK To My HomePage, Will It Help Or Hurt My Rankings.

Linking from home page to home page with links is a long time industry standard myth
that we set out to test. This one will really make you second guess EVERYONE that ever
gives an opinion on anything WITHOUT actually tests or proven facts to back it up. You WANT to know this one!
21

Do Links From Youtube Help Me Rank?

We had tested other major platforms and found that those links didn’t pass juice (didn’t do anything to help push the page in our controlled environment higher then a page without those links, and we WILL share those with you when you join) so we decided to test good old YouTube out and see if links from them would help push our site up in the rankings. So is this another great place to get White Hat links or a dude to not waste your time and money on?
22

Do Facebook Likes and Shares Help Me Rank My Site?

We all hear about Social, but when it comes to getting links from these places, do they help? Are we spinning our wheels thinking that these are important ranking factors for Google? So Facebook was the first place for us to start testing, we did a couple different tests. Links from posts with no likes or shares, posts with just likes, and then posts with likes and shares. We DID get to the bottom of it and do know if Facebook links and which kind matter. Again, this will let you stop wasting your time and money doing the wrong thing. And what we have to share will make sense and you can then pin-point what you need and can do it on a budget.
23

Will Paid Links Get My Site Penalized?

I know you think you know the answer, but you haven’t a clue. We rolled this out and it even shocked us. We define if and when Google will slap you for buying Links?
24

Is It Better To Optimize A Page For Mulitple Keywords Or Just One?

Rand Fishkin, at Moz Whiteboard Friday, says that a page intelligently optimized for 4 keywords will outrank one optimized for a single keyword… but will it? We don’t believe everything we hear, and you shouldn’t either, so we put it to the test and more. We share which ranked best and what it means for your silo structure. This is going to give you information you need to build your websites for the most bang for the goals you have.
25

Should I Use LSI Keywords More, Or Instead Of Keywords On My Page?

Is Google reading websites looking for target keyword placement, or are they looking for LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) for content that matches the search intent? We dialed down to see what happens if you pit a single target keyword against a page with the target keyword AND LSI keyword variations. What do you think happened? This is a rank breaker!
26

How Can I Build And Manipulate Trust Flow?

Follow us down the yellow brick road as we are uncovering just what it takes to make “trust flow” work. Imagine if you can start manipulating your own sites Trust Flow… wouldn’t that make life easier? _x0001F642_ This is a PBN builders dream report.
27

Will Duplicate Content From My Link Sources Hurt My Site?

Most SEO’s will right one article and then post it on multiple Web 2.0 sites to get links and to my knowledge, nobody has really tested if it is going to hurt or harm your site? We see a lot of people doing this so it was time to get to the bottom of it. Do you need original content on your posts or not. We got the answer.
28

Where In The Title Is The Best Place To Put My Keyword?

It is said in the SEO community to put your keyword in the FRONT part of you title to get the most ranking benefit. This goes back to the stone age, and was brought in by a member, so we decided to test keyword in front vs. keyword in middle, vs keyword at the end. So what we find here absolutely gives you the edge, but you might be surprised at what we discovered. We were.
29

If I Use Open Graph Protocols, Will It Help My Rankings?

Open Graph it just little pieces of code from Facebook and other social media sites. Your sites probably have them. This test reveals exactly what happens when you have them on a site. It’s like old school SEO when people figured out what putting keywords in Image Alts meant for their site. This alone can change the way you do SEO and change your rankings.
30

Do Links That Have Been Deleted Still Help My Site Rank?

This was sent in by member Mike Chrest because we have been hearing the rumble from other SEO Pros talking about ‘Link Echo’ or ‘Phantom Links.’ The idea on the link echo is that the value of the backlink remains long after the backlins has been removed. So, whatever you want to call them we set out to see what happens after backlinks are removed. You know you want to know the truth on this as it can potentially change the way you see backlinking and change your keyword structures.
31

Is Page Speed A Ranking Factor?

Google has been telling everyone since 2010 that page speed is a factor. We lay it all out in this test. Are you wasting your efforts on getting pages speeds up or is a good use of your time?
32

Does an AMP (Accelerated Mobile Page) Out-Rank A “Regular” Mobile Friendly Page?

This test not only reveals whether or not you should spend time on upgrading to AMP’s but also keeps you in on the cutting edge of SEO- AKA- you can know what AMP is.
33

What Does it Take to Get an Unnatural Link Penalty?

Most SEO’s are really afraid of what they might do to a money site or a clients site. We set out to show you exactly what it takes to get an unnatural link penalty _x0001F642_
34

What Are The Strongest Infographic Sites?

We put infographics on the top 20 infographics sites out there to see which places would rank the highest.
35

Will a Naturally Written Title and Meta Tag Get a Better Click Through Rate than one that is Keyword Stuffed just for the Search Engines?

This was a REALLY interesting result but more importantly you will learn how you can test this for yourself or your clients to come up with the best written tags for the SERPS. Hint- you use a human testing service to rule out any bias.
36

Do a Lot of Backlinks from Social Media Sites to a Page Supercharge Rankings?

Previous tests prove that “certain” social media sites pass juice so we looked to see if we could automate and supercharge this strategy by firing a lot of social media links.
How much time and money should you put into this type of strategy? This test reveals the truth.
37

Simulating Syndwire: What happens when you syndicate a “blurb,” a spun post and duplicate content?

We used Blog.com, tumblr and LiveJournal for this test. We wanted to come as close to possible to a real world implementation as this type of back linking is promoted by Syndwire and IFTTT style content syndication.
Are you really still reading all of this- just go buy these test results now- you need to know what is and is not working.
38

Thinking Deep Here: If You Build Links to a Page’s WP-Admin Can You Affect the Rank of that Page?

When you are editing a wordpress page you may have noticed that the page has an admin url that is displayed when you hover over the edit link. We wanted to see what would happen if you build links to that url?
39

Authority Outbound Links- Will a non­hyperlinked (just written as plain text) outbound link outrank a page that does not have an authority outbound non­hyperlinked outbound link?

There is a lot of discussion out there about placing an authority outbound link on your page but we dive deeper to test what happens when you place the link on your page as the url written out vs being clickable.
This one is fun!
40

Duplicate Content: How much original text is required for a page to be considered “unique”?

Our hypothesis is at least 50% of a page needs to be unique to not be considered duplicate content. Knowing this answer will save us from knowing how much of our resources need to be put into creating original content _x0001F642_
41

301 Redirect Link Strength – Do you lose link strength when you use a link shortener?

We have found research claiming you lose 15% of your link strength when using a 301 redirect. Come see for yourself what our test shows!
42

Lean Code vs Code Bloat – Does a page with “lean” code beat a page with “bloated” code?

Another one to add to your arsenal of knowing vs wondering.
43

User Metrics:

Is Bounce Rate ALONE a Ranking Factor?
44

Http vs Https test- Finally, right?

How long have we been just “wondering” if Https is better?- We have test results to let you choose your final answer.
45

Sub-domain vs Sub-directory-

This is a battle that often causes pretty heated arguments from both sides comparing notes of what they think works best. We set out to test and know-Will using Sub-Directories instead of Sub-Domains increase rankings?
46

6 Tests within 1 all about:

Link Building/Stacking Using Google Properties (YouTube, Google Docs and Google Drawings)- Many members have asked to see how link building stacks are set up so we took a deep dive to show specifics on certain steps or to see the actual mechanics of stacks. Previously, we were hesitant to show specific stacks that weve built because while we have tested different principles of stacking techniques, we have not put complete stacks through a testing process from start to finish.
This test is 40 pages of us testing stacks- come see what works, what doesn’t and one thing to make sure you do not do when you are stacking!
47

Cloudflare-

It seems to have become all the rage for SEO’s to use Cloudflare in hopes that “better performance” will lead to better rankings. We tested- you get to see the answer
48

Link Strength – Do you lose link strength when you use a link shortener (Part 2)?

Or in Kyle’s words: pretty kick ass little test, provides some real insight on how Majestic works. Great info for people that do PBNs or when doing competitive audits.
49

Page Speed Testing Part 2 –

Will compressed images lead to an increase in rankings?
50

Social Adr- Does it work? How should you use it for best results?

A lot of our members wanted to know if certain tools they pay for move the needle. SocialAdr is the first one we tested and we have the results inside and how best to use it for maximum benefit.

And Many More! (We just can’t list them all)
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Plus A Members Area Full Of SEO Training, Tools, & Resources!
Plus Video Recordings, MP3s Of Our Weekly Training’s, Q&A & Other SEO Goodness By TOP SIA Influence’s & Friends.
Plus Our Bonus Facebook & Skype Communities To Keep You Connected With Other Advanced SEO Professionals!

Just Some Of The Benefits Of Using REAL TEST RESULTS Instead of  SEO Theory.
Benefits

SEO Mythbusting

How much money and energy have you wasted on persisting SEO “best practices” that don’t actually work? We test and debunk the “ninja hacks” and “guru secrets” that waste your valuable resources. Find out WHAT’S REALLY WORKING NOW.

ALWAYS Close your Client

Walk into any client meeting with measurable, provable, RELEVANT test results  – and then ask if your competition can provide the same.  This is your potential client’s AHA Moment, and you’ll close the sale EVERY TIME.

Save Critical Time

We test and show you RESULTS. SEO Intelligence Agency runs over 100 tests per year, with critical variations, using scientific process and painstaking record keeping. We tirelessly tackle the tedious details of “sciencing SEO”, leaving your time free to focus on making sales and developing relationships.

Save Labor and Money by Eliminating Useless Steps

If you have a 10 step process and our testing reveals that steps 7-9 are unnecessary, you’ve just saved yourself 30% of your work load. Redirect that saved energy into more PROVEN EFFECTIVE tactics.

Prevent Money Site Russian Roulette

Most SEO’s take huge risks by experimenting on live sites and hoping for the best. Many times, the result is tragic.

We don’t experiment, we TEST. YOU get the RESULTS WITHOUT THE RISK.

Stop Guessing!

With SIA, you get ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE that you can put to use IMMEDIATELY. No more guesswork. We give you proven, scientific results that challenge the status quo, giving you a huge advantage over your competition.

Scientific Tests Revealed

The “stealthiest” way to link together inner pages. (This little-known way to structure your website actually won the silo building test we have already done)
The “nuclear” link source we found that has been under our noses for years that no one has taken advantage of! (Funny what you find when you start testing. This one is so powerful we thought of selling just THIS alone for $997.)
The “water-cooler” Google indexing system that runs on auto-pilot  (I was told this several years ago while playing blackjack at the Hyatt in Lake Tahoe with the Google index team, I tested it and sure enough, it tested positive, but time to retest.)
Exactly “how many” links to send to a site with the same anchor text before you over-optimize for that keyword. (We will have to wait for the next Penguin update that runs in real time to get Google’s new penalization formula)
What we know from test results about the best place to place your keywords on the page and if they should be bold, in italics or ALL CAPS. (And how to use this knowledge to better effectively write your site content).
The completely backwards approach (yet 100% accurate) way to dominate your competition using Google as your link source. (It’s astonishing how few people know this, yet it is so easy and powerful and tested positive.)
Take the pressure and anxiety off guessing about how long an article on a page should be, our testing got us the number. (This test has already been done and the we have the run down and just like clockwork the answers came back systematically straight forward, but see to believe)
Do the “secrets” of all the latest SEO gurus stand up to scientific testing? (Which secret would you like us to confirm or bust, just let us know and we will put it to the test)
Does inner linking your PBNs really harm them or does it pass magnificent authority and link juice to each other. (A question that SEO’s have assumed the correct answer to since 2010. Will we bust or confirm?)
Understand optimization so you can confidently answer your clients biggest question; “How many words should I have on the page?” (This took building 10 different pages but was worth all the effort to get the answer.)
How to inner link your pages to boost your product pages effectively.  (In fact, do it this way, and what we have seen from test results, Google will practically look forward to crawling your website _x0001F609_
What to do to the links that bring you no love. (The truth about using the Disavow tool that Google has shoved down our throats, test will prove YAY or NAY)
The “un-sexy” link format that tests confirmed to be the bee’s knee’s of links, often gets overlooked, but needs to be included in your anchor formula. (So under used by newbies it makes Googles job easy to spot SEOs)
The best way to build links if you can’t afford to build your own PBNs. (And also… the best places to build these links from and the ones you need to ignore because they never get indexed as shown in our tests results)
Which methods “kicked-the-most-ass” for building ‘high quality’ web 2.0s as tier 1 links. (And which web 2.0 sites you should use and which to avoid like the plague)
Test shows how to use this strange and bizarre strategy to stick out like a sore thumb to Google’ yet stay under the radar and not get an over-optimized penalty. (Especially when surrounded with a bunch of the “same old, same old” white hat Google kiss butts.)
A “breakthrough discovery” that lets even total newbies build links easily from a source that will blow your away. (Even I didn’t think of this, it is ALL Kyle!)
Testing how many times to plug your links in a paragraph. (And if they need to be different anchor text when going to same site)
Is “Less is More” in the new era of link penalties? (Get the low-down on what exactly will over-optimize your site and once you have slid over is there ever a chance to regain Google’s confidence? Testing will confirm or deny our hypothisis)
Tests show the most valuable sites to build links from. (And in what order they rate)
Which sites index quickly (but drop out of the index even though the page has not been removed. Tests reveal interesting tidbits of useful information)
Which little thought of domain extension gets more power then you would think. (And is the first to index! Came out of my domain extension test)
Which is better — HTML or Images? (The answer is BOTH, but which will win the Myth Busting debate?)
A secret spammer technique that lets legitimate white hat SEOs ethically get more links out of their own Google accounts. (Although I don’t believe in White Hat, but what the heck, let them think it is OK to build links without being a Black Hat lol Test confirm we can get links from the king-pin itself)
Have you ever heard of “Keyword Density?” (How many times do you place your keyword on the page for maximum benefit and when is it too much? Time to stop guessing and to test it once and for all)
Does CAPITALIZING in headlines with your keyword over-optimize your page (or is that just another Myth that needs busting?)
Do H tags factor into keyword density? (or do they just count in body content, what is the exact number to place and if different variations? Testing it!)
How to “program” (like Google) your knowledge to give you almost unlimited power to reverse engineer the greatest search engine of all time. (and does that make you a tiny bit scared to know you can harness each bit of information to build the “perfect website?” _x0001F642_
What “exact number” of words on a page wins the test and what is the amount you should avoid? (Has already been under the gun and in your first dispatch)
Do the rules change from niche to niche? (We have to test it, and we will even learn if we can use lorem ipsum in place of “original content” when link building. And Does the content surrounding your link really matter? Oh, SO testing it!)
When Duplicate Content is OK and is it “really” that bad. (Our industry has been plagued by the phantom “duplicate content” penalty. Does it even really exist? We will be testing this shortly, muwahaha)
If Google penalizes for a site being over or under optimized (and does Google have an optimum optimization rate that we should try to calculate? We will find out)
What is “Optimization Rate” and what is the best rate to have when building a web page? (This is different the “Key