How Does Squirrly Determine if a Keyword is Easy to Rank for?
For keyword research: To determine if a keyword is easy to rank for, we look at the TOP 10 positions in Google for that keyword and compare your web authority against theirs.
We use our Market Intelligence for this. You can learn more about it below:
Over 8 years of stored data inside our databases, using APIs from our own Squirrly SPY, ContentLook, Workers (processing technology created by Squirrly), Crawlers, SERP Checker Cloud by Squirrly.
Plus APIs from: MOZ, Majestic, Piwik, Google Search Console, Google Analytics, SEMrush. Plus Plus: data collected and stored from those APIs for many years.
We have propiretary technology and algorithms working around the clock for our Market Intelligence service that we use in Squirrly SEO tools such as:
SEO Audit,
Focus Pages,
Keyword Research.
Such proprietary tech designed by the Squirrly Company was used by Telenav, Microsoft, Ann Handley, Neil Patel, Top Gear, CyberGhost, SeedCamp.
Is it possible to work with Squirrly without using GA/Search Console?
Yes, it is possible to work with Squirrly without using Google Analytics and/or Google Search Console.
However, those integrations are necessary if you want to use Squirrly SEO at its full potential. We use those to show you complete reports for Focus Pages and complete Audits. For example, if you don’t connect GA, we won’t be able to show you data regarding the traffic your pages receive.
So, while we absolutely recommend enabling Squirrly’s connection to Google Analytics and Google Search Console, it’s NOT a requirement to using Squirrly.
How is the Visitors’ Privacy Handled by Squirrly SEO and our Site Data Kept Safe?
In the beginning, we were using a custom Piwik that WE were hosting, instead of Analytics, but sadly it was not popular with our users and we had to drop it.
Based on feedback we’ve received from users, we’ve added making an integration with privacy-oriented analytics tools such as Plausible.io to the roadmap. Once more users will request the same thing (or something similar) we will start working on it.
Many things we’ve built over the years have come from user feedback, and we’re certainly keeping it that way.
We only keep total numbers and we don’t track information about website visitors ourselves.
We keep data on private computers that we have with Hetzner in Germany.
And we don’t sell any data, because our data is the most valuable thing we have and we’d be ruining our incredible advantage over our competitors.
For example: we only keep words when people create content on our Cloud App. Otherwise, it’s all keywords and numbers.
Can I Use Squirrly for My eCommerce Store on Shopify?
If you want to use Squirrly for a Shopify site, you can do that using the Squirrly Cloud app.
Our very own Shopify app for Squirrly SEO is used from the Cloud App, so you won’t need to install it inside Shopify to use it.
Here are the differences between Squirrly SEO for WordPress and Squirrly SEO for Shopify:
https://completeseofunnel.com/squirrlyshopify/
As you will see from that graphic, if you are just using the Cloud App, you wouldn’t be getting these:
Also, the Cloud App won’t help you optimize the meta data and descriptions. However, Shopify has built-in options for that, so you don’t need an app for that.
Many Shopify sites rank high just by using keyword research and then creating amazing content for product and category pages by using the SEO Live Assistant from our Cloud App.
After that, the SEO Audit and Google Rankings sections will do the trick if there is anything that needs fixing.
I Create YouTube Videos. How Can Squirrly Help Me Rank My Videos?
You can use some of the features from Squirrly for platforms like YouTube.
For example, you can use the keyword research tool to determine what topics you should tackle when creating content that you want to distribute via YouTube.
Using the SEO LIVE Assistant feature, you can also optimize your video descriptions for your target keyword (you can do the optimization inside the Cloud App or using the WordPress plugin and then simply copy/paste the optimized content as your YouTube description).
Can I use Squirrly for a Site That’s Not Built on WordPress?
The Squirrly Cloud App can help if you want to use Squirrly for sites that are NOT on WordPress.
Watch the VIDEO below to learn more about how to use Squirrly with Wix, SquareSpace, Shopify, or any CMS.
Some features such as Focus Pages are not available, but the Cloud App can be used to:
perform keyword research
build your keyword portfolio
optimize using the SEO Live Assistant
Audit pages
Monitor rankings
+ more
A comparison between Squirrly SEO for WordPress and Squirrly SEO Cloud App (for all other kinds of websites) can be seen here:
https://completeseofunnel.com/squirrlyseocloud
^^ The ! mark you see on the graphic means that you need to look further inside that place and you will see that some features have red dots with NO, which means they are not included in the Cloud App.
So perfect green means all is included. Green with! requires attention, because some parts of that are not included in Cloud, only in Plugin+Cloud.
Related Questions:
Q: If I don’t use WordPress, can I still use all the features? Would there be any feature I can’t use? How much will the fact that I’m not on WordPress and can only use your cloud version affect my ability to rank high on Google?
A: Some features are not available in the Cloud App. For example, you will not be able to use Focus Pages. Because of how the Focus Pages system works, we are unable to offer this feature unless you use WordPress. Also, the Cloud App won’t help you optimize the metadata and descriptions. That is only available with the Squirrly SEO WordPress plugin.
However, all the following features are included Cloud version, which means you can use the cloud app to perform key SEO tasks to rank higher.
Keyword Research;
Briefcase;
SEO Audit;
SEO Live Assistant to optimize content in real-time;
SERP Checker Cloud (if you are on a plan that includes this)
^^ all are included. So it’s still a solid SEO software, even though it’s missing: Next SEO Goals and Focus Pages, which we can only fully provide when used together with the WordPress plugin.
Q: For non-WordPress sites, do we install a script, or does Squirrly connect to GA and GSC or something?
A: Squirrly connects to Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Q: My website is done by a third party (Promote my Place) and I’ve not been able to add any personal plugin which is why have never used Yoast. Can I still use Squirrly?
A: Yes, if you can’t install the plugin, then you can use the Cloud App, which doesn’t require you installing anything on your website.
Q: Can Squirrly SEO be used as a stand-alone application? Or does it have to be implemented as a WordPress plug-in to function properly?
A: The Cloud App can be used for websites that are NOT on WordPress as a standalone app.
Q: Is this application valid for an drop shipping store?
– Keyword research. You can use Squirrly’s keyword research tool to find keywords that people are typing into Google and analyze their potential;
– Keyword Management for different SEO Strategies using Labels;
– On-Page SEO. You can use the SEO Live Assistant to create optimized product descriptions or optimized blog posts, for example. (you would create the optimized content on the Cloud App and then copy-paste it on your website)
- SEO Audits for the pages you want to track
– Google Ranking monitoring
What gets configured automatically in SEO Beginner mode?
Everything inside Squirrly SEO can be customized in order to suit a wide variety of needs. However, in the SEO Beginner mode, our system knows exactly the kinds of settings required to get to a good starting point for SEO.
This document is intended for experienced SEOs who are curious about the automatic settings. Non-SEOs should just start focusing on completing the Next SEO Goals. Each Next SEO Goal gets generated for each particular site, and it’s very rare to get the same next steps on multiple sites.
For SEO beginners, the whole experience is built in such way that a user will be able to get quick SEO wins, by following the Next SEO Goals. To be able to deliver such an easy experience, Squirrly aims to keep users out of the SEO Configuration and Automation sections and rely on what the system does for everyone out of the box.
Based on the Evolution Data and the things we look at for Ranking Vision AI, we could determine the minimum number of settings that have a good probability to rank high.
What this means is: you can start getting important SEO wins right from the start without even touching the SEO Configuration (the technical aspect of the settings). Just leave them to automatic and focus on the Next SEO Goals, Keyword Research, and Focus Pages.
NOTE: some of the following by-default settings might be different from site to site, according to what you complete in the on-boarding sequence.
Warning: there are more settings that can be made by Experts, than what you will see in the screenshots inside this document. They are hidden in the SEO Beginner mode. They get displayed once you switch from SEO Beginner mode to SEO Expert mode.
So then… what are the settings that get configured automatically?
Automation
It starts with SEO Automation: patterns and visibility definitions according to post type.
This helps avoid unwanted items getting indexed or ending up in the sitemap.
Then we also help with URL redirection, made automatically, since many users will change their URLs after seeing the information from Focus Pages.
Also: it will add a rule for 404. If a site visitor ends up on a non-existing URL, then that visitor will be redirected to homepage by default.
Recap:
Patterns (help against missing definitions and duplicate content)
Visibility Definitions
URL re-direction automated
404 Definition and Automation
For Homepage
For Posts
For Page
For Category
For Tag
Tax Post Format
Tax Category
Tax Post Tag
Profile
Archive
Search
Attachment
404
^^ warning: agreetalk.s1-tastewp.com is completed there, because that was the test site we used when taking the screenshots for this article. The Default Redirect URL will get completed with the domain URL of the WP install.
Custom
SEO Links:
They are turned off on new installs. To activate this, go to Squirrly SEO > All Features > SEO Links and use the click to activate option shown below.
Once you activate this option, you will be able to make additional settings to increase the website authority by NOT sending authority to external links.
SEO METAs
SEO Configuration > SEO METAs
JSON-LD Structured Data and Settings for Schema implementations.
Important: because this is the part for SEO Beginners and the settings are made automatically, Squirrly SEO makes all defaults create a json-ld that gets validated by Google !!!
It exists and is validated, which helps any website pass some of the basic requirements in Google’s algorithm.
The technical side of it is already placed and created by default.
The user is covered, even if the user doesn’t go to write their info inside the fields for either Organization or Profile.
Social Media
SEO Configuration > Social Media
The automatic mode sets all important defaults for you, in order to help your sites get validated Open Graph and validated Twitter Cards. << it even inputs a default twitter account, so that the user will pass validation, even if user does not have a twitter account. The important aspect is to have beautiful posts displayed on Twitter when someone shares something from your site.
Connect Tools
SEO Configuration > Connect Tools
No fields get completed by default, but it activates compatibility mode with the WordPress AMP Plugins, so pages for which you have AMP will have SEO by Squirrly.
Sitemap XML
SEO Configuration > Tweaks & Sitemaps
Activates sitemap
Robots File
SEO Configuration > Tweaks & Sitemaps
These are the items that get created and added on any new setup, when Squirrly SEO settings work in the automatic mode.
What Other Settings Get Made with Automatic Mode?
SEO Live Assistant Settings
Live Assistant > Settings
Rankings Settings
Google Rankings > Settings
Other things that are active can be seen in the All Features Section
3) You can use the snippet from the front-end of your site. Once on the front end look for the Custom SEO orange button on the admin bar above.
How do I make sure all my settings are made properly and that I can get results in the first 14 Days?
Question/Issue:
“Greetings! I just signed up for your SEO software for my news blog. I will upgrade if results are achieved within these 14 days. Kindly let me know and take a look at my account if the setting is done correctly for optimization.”
Answer:
You’ll know if the settings are made properly just by following the Next SEO Goals for each of the 14 days and by looking in the Squirrly Assistant sidebar. If you see grey elements/tasks in the right sidebar, that don’t have a check mark next to them, click on them to see how to complete them.
Once you complete all the Next SEO Goals it means you’ve successfully set everything up.
You can also use the Squirrly Settings Assistant and complete all of the Mastery Tasks it shows you for:
