Brighton Summary - October 2024

Mining The SERPS With Off The Shelf Tools To Find SEO Gold

Introduction

  • Charles Meaden specializes in creating processes and breaking down complex items into steps
  • Focus on using off-the-shelf tools for SERP analysis without coding

Mining the SERPs: What to Extract

  1. Images: Descriptions and categories
  2. Adverts: Titles, supporting text, and links
  3. News: Headlines, URLs, and publication dates
  4. People Also Ask: Questions, answers, and links
  5. Google Maps: Locations, descriptions, and reviews
  6. YouTube: Titles, categories, and captions
  7. Bing: Similar packs as Google

Tools for SERP Mining

  1. Browser-based tools: ScaleSERP and ValueSERP
  2. No-code tools: DataForSEO and Scraping Bee
  3. Recommended combo: DataForSEO and Analytics Edge

Cost-Effectiveness

  • 10,000 scrapes can cost as little as £5 (0.05p each)

SEO Gold: Tasks and Applications

  1. Identifying SERP Dominators

    • Run 1,000 starter queries to analyze who dominates the SERPs
  2. Analyzing SERP Ownership

    • Extract pixel heights to understand competition and multiple listings
  3. Finding Relevant Internal Links

    • Use site: command to understand which pages Google returns
  4. Discovering New Relevant Queries

    • Leverage "People Also Search For" and Autocomplete features
  5. Extracting Common Questions

    • Mine "People Also Ask" to discover user intent
    • Use AlsoAsked.com for low-cost PAA mining
  6. Categorizing Products

    • Harness Google's ML image algorithms for ecommerce taxonomies
  7. Analyzing Competitor Advertising

    • Extract competitor adverts from SERPs
  8. Monitoring News Presence

    • Download relevant news stories at scale
  9. Tracking AI Overview Appearances

    • Detect and analyze the impact of AI Overviews on CTR
  10. Analyzing Popular Videos

    • Extract video titles, views, channels, and transcriptions
  11. Local SEO Analysis

    • Scrape local pack information and reviews

Key Takeaways

  1. SERP mining is now accessible and cost-effective with off-the-shelf tools
  2. Analyzing SERP data can provide valuable insights for various SEO tasks
  3. Pixel height analysis can reveal competition dynamics in SERPs
  4. Google's features like PAA and Autocomplete are goldmines for keyword research
  5. Leveraging Google's ML algorithms can assist in product categorization
  6. SERP mining can inform content strategy, competitor analysis, and local SEO efforts

Action Points

  1. Set up and familiarize yourself with SERP scraping tools like DataForSEO or ScaleSERP
  2. Create a process for regular SERP analysis for your key queries
  3. Implement pixel height analysis to understand SERP competition
  4. Use site: commands to find relevant internal linking opportunities
  5. Regularly mine PAA and Autocomplete for content ideas and user intent insights
  6. Leverage image categorization for large-scale product taxonomy
  7. Monitor competitor advertising strategies through SERP analysis
  8. Track your brand's presence in news results
  9. Keep an eye on AI Overview appearances and their impact on your target queries
  10. Analyze video content in your niche for content strategy insights
  11. For local SEO, regularly scrape and analyze local pack information and reviews

By implementing these strategies and leveraging off-the-shelf tools, you can uncover valuable SEO insights without the need for complex coding or expensive setups.