The 17 Most Important SEO Tips for Higher Rankings
Written by Brian Dean
![The 17 Most Important SEO Tips for Higher Rankings](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2020/03/actionable-seo-tips-post-banner.png)
Today youโre going to see the 17 most important SEO tips that you need to know.
And these tips actually work.
In fact:
These SEO tips have helped me get #1 ranking for keywords like โbest keyword research toolsโ:
![best-keyword-research-tools](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/09/best-keyword-research-tools.jpg)
And โoff page seoโ:
![off-page-seo-2024](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/09/off-page-seo-2024.jpg)
So whether youโre new to SEO, or a seasoned veteran, I hope you get a lot of value from the techniques in this post.
Here are the 17 most important SEO tips to follow when optimizing your website:
- 1. Use Keywords In The Right Places
- 2. Keep Users On Your Site Longer
- 3. Find โSuggestโ Keywords
- 4. Delete Zombie Pages
- 5. Do An Industry Study
- 6. Add Related Keywords to Your Content
- 7. Add Text to Infographics, Podcasts and Videos
- 8. Update Old Pages
- 9. Speed Up Your Website
- 10. Use the Google Search Console
- 11. Create Content Around Shoulder Niches
- 12. Get Backlinks From Your Visual Assets
- 13. Create Branded Keywords
- 14. Add โWhat is Xโ Definitions to Blog Content
- 15. Rank In The Featured Snippets
- 16. Find More Guest Post Opportunities
- 17. Improve Your Organic CTR
1. Use Keywords In The Right Places
You probably already know that you should add keywords to pages that you want to rank.
![Use your target keyword in your content Use your target keyword in your content](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2019/08/use-your-target-keyword-in-your-content.png)
But where you use your keywords is just as important as how many times you use them.
Specifically, you want to make sure that your keyword appears at least once in your pageโs title tag.
Webpage URL:
And in the first 100 words of your content.
For example, I have a page on my site thatโs optimized around the keyword: โcopywritingโ.
And I made sure to add that exact term in those key places.
![Keyword in URL, title and intro Keyword in URL, title and intro](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2020/01/keyword-in-url-title-and-intro.png)
If you want to get more advanced with your on-page SEO, I recommend checking out this video.
And once you finished with the video, check out the rest of the SEO tips in this post…
2. Keep Users On Your Site Longer
Hereโs the truth:
Pogostickingย can make or break your Google rankings.
So: what is pogosticking exactly?
Pogosticking is when a Google user clicks on your siteโฆ
…then โpogosticksโ back to the search results to find something that actually helps them.
![Pogosticking Pogosticking](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/pogosticking.png)
And when someone pogosticks, it sends a strong message to Google: โI didnโt like that result.โ
Needless to say: if your site doesnโt make users happy, Google will downrank you.
![Downranking Downranking](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/downranking.png)
The question is:
How do you keep users on your site longer?
Use lots of bullets and subheadings.
When your content is easy to read, people will spend more time on your site.
(It also stops them from hitting their โbackโ button.)
As it turns out, bullets and subheadings make your content MUCH easier to read:
![Bullets and subheadings in post Bullets and subheadings in post](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/bullets-and-subheadings-in-post.png)
This leads us to our next tip…
3. Find โSuggestโ Keywords
You probably already know that you can use Google Suggest to find long tail keywords:
![Google search – Link building – Suggestions Google search – Link building – Suggestions](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/05/google-search-link-building-suggestions.png)
But what you may not know is that you can use this same approach with OTHER search engines.
Like Wikipedia:
![Wikipedia Suggest Wikipedia Suggest](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/wikipedia-suggest.png)
YouTube:
![YouTube suggest YouTube suggest](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/10/youtube-suggest.png)
And yes, even Bing:
![Bing Suggest Bing Suggest](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/bing-suggest.png)
4. Delete Zombie Pages
Zombie pages are pages on your site that donโt bring in any traffic.
Theyโre just sorta…there.
And when you delete Zombie Pages, you can get higher rankings and more Google traffic.
In fact:
One ecommerce site saw a 31% boost in search engine traffic (not to mention a 28% increase in revenue) when they โprunedโ 11k product pages.
![Google Analytics – Screenshot of traffic Google Analytics – Screenshot of traffic](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/08/google-analytics-screenshot-of-traffic-1.png)
And theyโre not alone.
Proven.com saw their organic search traffic increase by 88.3% after deleting 40 thousand Zombie Pages from their site:
![Proven.com – Traffic Increase Proven.com – Traffic Increase](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/proven-traffic.png)
Why does this strategy work?
Well, Google doesnโt want to rank sites that are bloated with thin, low-quality content.
In fact:
Google stated that they prefer โone stronger page versus many smaller pagesโ:
![Google prefers one stronger page Google prefers one stronger page](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/google-prefers-one-stronger-page-1.png)
This is something I pay A LOT of attention to here at Backlinko.
To date, Iโve published 196 posts on this blog.
![Backlinko – Published posts Backlinko – Published posts](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/10/backlinko-published-posts-2021.png)
And those 196 posts generate 360k+ search engine visits per month.
![Backlinko – Organic traffic Backlinko – Organic traffic](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/10/backlinko-organic-traffic-september-2021-1.png)
5. Do An Industry Study
Whatโs the best way to get backlinks from authority blogs and news sites in your niche?
An industry study.
In fact, BuzzSumo found that publishing an industry study can bring you a ton of traffic, social media shares, and mentions in the press.
![BuzzSumo – Industry study benefits BuzzSumo – Industry study benefits](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/buzzsumo-industry-study-benefits.png)
A while ago I noticed that lots of SEO blogs were talking about voice search.
![Voice search is a popular topic Voice search is a popular topic](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/voice-search-popular.png)
But I also noticed that these posts gave out SEO tips for voice searchโฆ without any data or research to back them up.
So we decided to do the first large-scale voice search SEO study.
![Backlinko – Voice search SEO study Backlinko – Voice search SEO study](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/01/backlinko-voice-search-seo-study-2021.png)
How did this content do?
This post has generated 5.6K backlinks.
![Voice search SEO study – Backlinks Voice search SEO study – Backlinks](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/10/voice-search-seo-study-backlinks-1.png)
The best part?
I didn’t need to do a ton of outreach to get these links.
Because my content provides bloggers and journalists with dataโฆ
![Voice search data Voice search data](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/voice-search-data.png)
…they reference (and link to) my content automatically.
![Voice search study – Referenced Voice search study – Referenced](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/voice-search-study-referenced.png)
Sweet!
6. Add Related Keywords to Your Content
Thereโs a lot more to on-page SEO than: โmake sure to include your keyword a few times on your page.โ
(Although thatโs important too.)
To rank in Google today, you also need to add synonyms and other related keywords to your content.
Why?
Something called Google Hummingbird.
![Search Engine Land – Google Hummingbird FAQ Search Engine Land – Google Hummingbird FAQ](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/searchengineland-google-hummingbird-faq.png)
Googleโs Hummingbird update allows Google to go beyond simple keywords. Instead, they try to understand the topic of your page.
![Keyword bubble Keyword bubble](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/08/keyword-bubble.png)
(Kind of like how a human would.)
So:
How do you optimize your content for Hummingbird?
Include variations of your main keyword in your content.
To do that, just search for your target keyword in Google…
![Google search – “content marketing” Google search – "content marketing"](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2020/02/google-search-content-marketing.png)
…and scroll down to the bottom of the search results.
Add a few โSearches related to…โ terms to your content.
![Google SERP – Related searches Google SERP – Related searches](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/10/google-serp-searches-related-to.png)
7. Add Text to Infographics, Podcasts and Videos
Yes, visual content (like infographics and podcasts) is an awesome way to get traffic and backlinks.
But they have one big problem:
Google canโt understand โem!
Thatโs why I recommend adding plenty of text to go along with your infographic, podcast or video.
For example, hereโs an infographic that I published on my site some time ago:
![On-page SEO – Infographic On-page SEO – Infographic](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/on-page-seo-infographic.png)
But I didnโt stop there.
As you can see, I also added lots of high-quality content underneath my infographic.
![On-page SEO – Content under infographic On-page SEO – Content under infographic](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/on-page-seo-content-under-infographic-1.png)
And this text content helped search engines understand what my infographic was all about.
8. Update Old Pages
Do you have a bunch of blog posts on your site collecting dust?
If so, you can probably improve your rankings by updating that post.
Let me show you how this works with a real-life exampleโฆ
Few years ago, I noticed that this post from my blog wasnโt performing as well as Iโd hoped.
![SEO Checklist – Old SEO Checklist – Old](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/seo-checklist-old.png)
Despite the fact that the content was really good…
…my page was bouncing between the first and second page for my target keyword: โSEO Checklistโ.
![SEO Checklist – SERPs change SEO Checklist – SERPs change](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/seo-checklist-serps-change.png)
Not good.
So I decided to give this post a major update and upgrade.
Specifically, I added more external links to authority sites:
![SEO checklist – External links SEO checklist – External links](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/seo-checklist-external-links.png)
I also organized the content into sections to make the steps easier to follow:
![SEO checklist – Post sections SEO checklist – Post sections](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/seo-checklist-post-sections.png)
And wrote a new title and description:
![SEO checklist – New title and description SEO checklist – New title and description](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/seo-checklist-new-title-and-description.png)
(Note: As long as you publish your updated content on the same URL, you donโt need to worry about duplicate content.)
And those 3 simple changes quickly shot my page up to the top of Google for my target keyword:
![Google SERP – SEO checklist Google SERP – SEO checklist](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/01/google-serp-seo-checklist.png)
Which led to a BIG bump in that pageโs search engine traffic:
![SEO checklist – Traffic jump SEO checklist – Traffic jump](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/seo-checklist-traffic-jump.png)
9. Speed Up Your Website
Having a slow website can hurt your Google rankings. Googleโs โSpeed Updateโ specifically downranks pages that load slowly on mobile devices.
![Page speed in mobile search Page speed in mobile search](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2020/01/page-speed-in-mobile-search.png)
This is why you want to eliminate anything that slows down your page speed.
Well, we ran a large-scale page speed study.
![Backlinko – Page speed stats Backlinko – Page speed stats](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/08/backlinko-page-speed-stats-2021.png)
And we found that, in many cases, using a CDN actually hurts loading speed.
![Use of CDN correlates with worse desktop page speed Use of CDN correlates with worse desktop page speed](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2019/10/use-of-cdn-correlates-with-worse-desktop-page-speed.png)
So if you do use a CDN, I recommend testing your website speed with it turned on and off.
We also discovered that 3rd party scripts (like Facebookโs pixel) slow things down significantly.
![Third-party scripts negatively impact page load times Third-party scripts negatively impact page load times](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2019/10/third-party-scripts-negatively-impact-page-load-times.png)
You can see all of the 3rd party scripts on your site using a tool like BuiltWith.com.
![Builtwith report for Backlinko Builtwith report for Backlinko](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2020/01/builtwith-report-for-backlinko.png)
And if you find any scripts that arenโt super important, delete them.
10. Use the Google Search Console
This is one of my favorite SEO tips to improve SEO.
Hereโs how it works:
First, login to the Google Search Console.
And head over to the Performance Report:
![Google Search Console – Search performance report Google Search Console – Search performance report](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/10/google-search-console-search-performance-report.png)
Next, hit โPagesโ.
This will show you which pages bring you the most traffic.
![Google Search Console – Performance – Pages Google Search Console – Performance – Pages](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/google-search-console-performance-pages.png)
Hereโs where things get interesting:
If you click on one of the pages, you can see all of the keywords that page already ranks for.
![Google Search Console – Page queries Google Search Console – Page queries](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/google-search-console-page-queries.png)
And if you dig deep, youโll find LOTS of keywords that you didnโt even know you were ranking for.
For example, when I ran this report on this page from my site, I found 3 keywords that I had no clue I was ranking for.
![Three surprise keywords Three surprise keywords](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/three-surprise-keywords.png)
Why is this important?
Well, if Iโm ranking for these 3 keywords by accident, imagine if I actually tried!
So to get more traffic from those search queries, Iโd just need to sprinkle those terms into my post.
And now that Google sees those keywords in my content, theyโre probably going to boost my rankings for those search terms.
![Sprinkled keywords Sprinkled keywords](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/sprinkled-keywords.png)
Easy peasy.
11. Create Content Around Shoulder Niches
Publishing high-quality content is one of the most important SEO tips.
But what if youโre in a so-called โboringโ niche? Isnโt it impossible to create content that people will link to or share on social media?
Fortunately not.
All you need to do is create content around โShoulder Nichesโ.
Shoulder Niches are closely-related topics that you can easily create awesome content around.
For example, Mike Bonadio used Shoulder Niches to boost his clientโs organic traffic by 15%:
![Mike Bonadio client traffic increase Mike Bonadio client traffic increase](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/mike-bonadio-client-traffic-increase-1.png)
How did he do it?
Well, Mike was in a niche that couldnโt be more boring: pest control.
Now, you might be wondering:
โHow do you create an interesting piece of content about pest control?โ
You donโt.
Instead, go after closely-related niches that are actually interesting.
(In other words: โShoulder Nichesโ.)
In fact, thatโs what Mike did:
![Mike Bonadio shoulder niches Mike Bonadio shoulder niches](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/mike-bonadio-shoulder-niches-1.png)
And this ultimately led him to create an excellent infographic on the related topic of: โpest control for gardenersโ.
![DIY Pest Control for the Savvy Gardener DIY Pest Control for the Savvy Gardener](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2015/06/infographic-animated-gif.gif)
Because Mikeโs infographic got featured on a handful of authority blogsโฆ
![descriptive anchor text descriptive anchor text](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2015/07/descriptive-anchor-text.png)
…his clientโs traffic skyrocketed:
![Google Analytics referral traffic Google Analytics referral traffic](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/google-analytics-referral-traffic.png)
12. Get Backlinks From Your Visual Assets
In a perfect world, website owners would link back to you when they use your chart, visualization, or infographic.
But we donโt live in a perfect world.
On the bright side, Iโve found that most people are happy to link to you when given a friendly nudge.
So if you tend to publish a lot of visual content, spend an afternoon executing this technique.
And I can almost guarantee that youโll come away with a handful of backlinks.
Here are the exact steps:
First, find a visual asset on your site.
For example, hereโs the on-page SEO infographic that I mentioned earlier:
![On-page SEO – Infographic On-page SEO – Infographic](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/on-page-seo-infographic.png)
Then, right click and โcopy image addressโ…
![Copy image address Copy image address](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/copy-image-address.png)
…and paste the filename into Google โSearch by imageโ.
![Google – Search by image URL Google – Search by image URL](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/google-search-by-image-url.png)
And youโll get a complete list of sites that use your image.
![Google SERP – Pages that include image Google SERP – Pages that include image](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/google-serp-pages-that-include-image.png)
Now itโs a matter of finding pages that used your image on their contentโฆ but didnโt link to you:
![Infographic without link Infographic without link](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/infographic-without-link.png)
Finally, send them a friendly email asking them to add a link to the original source (you).
![Brian’s outreach email – Infographics Brian's outreach email – Infographics](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/brian-outreach-email-infographics.png)
13. Create Branded Keywords
Guestographics.
The Skyscraper Technique.
The Content Upgrade.
These are all terms that I coined.
And because of that fact, I rank on the first page of Google for all of them.
![Google SERP – Branded keywords Google SERP – Branded keywords](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/google-serp-branded-keywords.png)
Thatโs why I highly recommend creating your own terms.
How?
First, develop a strategy, technique, process or concept thatโs unique to you.
This sounds hard.
But it really isnโt.
All you need to do is take something that already existsโฆ and add a twist.
For example, a while back I noticed that lots of people were building links from guest posting.
So I simply added a twist where you pitch an infographic instead of a traditional guest post.
![Brian’s infographics pitch Brian's infographics pitch](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/brian-infographics-pitch.png)
Next, give it a name.
This is more of an art than a science.
But in general, you want the name to be:
- Short
- Easy to pronounce
- Easy to remember
- Unique
- Descriptive
For example, when I started guest posting with infographics, I combined โguest postingโ and โinfographicsโ into one term: Guestographics.
Finally, get the word out.
This is key.
For your term to catch on, you need to promote it like crazy.
In my case, I published a case study of Guestographics in action.
![Backlinko – How to get backlinks Backlinko – How to get backlinks](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/backlinko-how-to-get-backlinks-2021.png)
Then, a few months later, I published ANOTHER case study:
![SEO Strategy – Post SEO Strategy – Post](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/seo-strategy-post.png)
I also made sure to mention โGuestographicsโ in interviews:
![Guestographics mention Guestographics mention](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/guestographics-mention.png)
It took a few months to catch on.
But before I knew it, LOTS of people were writing about Guestographics.
![Guestographics examples Guestographics examples](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/guestographics-examples-1.png)
And whenever someone talks about that technique, they link to me. ๐
![Ninja Outreach – Infographics and guestographics Ninja Outreach – Infographics and guestographics](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/ninjaoutreach-infographics-and-guestographics.png)
14. Add โWhat is Xโ Definitions to Blog Content
This is one of the most important SEO tips that people tend to overlook.
Hereโs how it works:
When someone searches for a high-level term (like โsearch engine optimizationโ), theyโre usually looking for a definition.
And as Ross Hudgens points out, results on the first page of Google for definition terms tend to answer the question: โWhat is X?โ.
For example:
If you do a search for โinbound marketingโ, 2 of the top 3 results answer the question: โWhat is inbound marketing?:
![Google SERP – Inbound marketing Google SERP – Inbound marketing](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/google-serp-inbound-marketing.png)
So if youโre gunning for a definition keyword, make at least some of your content focused on answering the question: โWhat is X?โ.
Thatโs why I always include a โWhat is Xโ section whenever I target definition keywords:
![What are backlinks What are backlinks](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/what-are-backlinks-1.png)
15. Rank In The Featured Snippets
Youโve probably noticed more and more Featured Snippets in the SERPs:
![Featured Snippets in the SERPs Featured Snippets in the SERPs](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/featured-snippets-in-serps.png)
And if youโre like me, youโre asking yourself: โHow can I get my content in the Featured Snippet?โ
Fortunately, thereโs no need to guess.
SEMrush did a massive Featured Snippet study (they analyzed a whopping 80 million keywords).
![Featured Snippet study Featured Snippet study](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/featured-snippet-study.png)
And they found that adding a Q&A section to your content works really well for grabbing the Featured Snippet spot.
For example:
This page on my site is optimized around the keyword โChannel Descriptionโ.
![Channel Description – YouTube Marketing Hub Channel Description – YouTube Marketing Hub](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/channel-description-youtube-marketing-hub.png)
Like any good piece of content on this topic, it has lots of helpful tips on writing a YouTube channel description:
![Channel Description – Helpful tips Channel Description – Helpful tips](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/channel-description-helpful-tips.png)
But I also made sure to include โSnippet Baitโ in the form of a short Q&A section:
![Q & A section Q & A section](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/q-and-a-section.png)
And it worked!
![Google SERP – Channel description – Featured snippet Google SERP – Channel description – Featured snippet](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/09/google-serp-channel-description-featured-snippet.png)
Bottom line?
If you want to get your content to show up in the Featured Snippet spot, try โSnippet Baitโ.
16. Find More Guest Post Opportunities
Hereโs a simple SEO tip that will help you find sites to guest post on.
First, find someone in your niche that tends to guest post a lot.
![Larry Kim guest posting on Inc. Larry Kim guest posting on Inc.](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2019/12/larry-kim-guest-posting-on-inc.png)
Second, grab their headshot (you can usually find this on their LinkedIn profile) and pop it into Googleโs reverse image search.
Voila! You can see everywhere theyโve guest posted:
![Larry Kim – Reverse Image Search Page Results Larry Kim – Reverse Image Search Page Results](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2020/08/larry-kim-reverse-image-search-page-results.png)
And you can use the same process to find interview opportunities (like podcasts).
In fact, podcasts might be the most underrated link building strategy on the planet.
Why?
Well, itโs 10x easier to hop on a podcast than pitch, write, edit and publish a guest post.
And just like with a guest post, you get a sweet link back to your site (in the show notes):
![Interviewed On Podcast Interviewed On Podcast](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/01/interviewed-on-podcast.png)
Unfortunately, finding podcasts can be a chore.
That is unless you use Google reverse image search:
![Google SERP – Rand Fishkin podcasts Google SERP – Rand Fishkin podcasts](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/11/google-serp-rand-fishkin-podcasts.png)
Bingo!
17. Improve Your Organic CTR
When you improve your organic click-through rate more people will click on your site in the search results.
![Clicking in SERPs Clicking in SERPs](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2018/07/clicking-in-serps.png)
This means you can get more traffic… without needing higher rankings.
When we analyzed millions of Google search results to learn more about Googleโs CTR, we found that using question title tags significantly boosted CTR.
![Organic CTR of question titles .vs. Non-question titles Organic CTR of question titles .vs. Non-question titles](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2019/08/organic-ctr-of-question-titles-vs-non-question-titles.png)
So whenever it makes sense, I recommend using a question in your pageโs title.
Hereโs a real-life example:
![Question in title tag Question in title tag](https://api.backlinko.com/app/uploads/2021/10/question-in-title-tag.png)
Did I Miss Anything?
Now Iโd like to hear from you:
Which strategy from todayโs post are you going to try first?
Or maybe I didnโt mention one of your favorite SEO tips.
Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below right now.