Over the past couple of years, SEO has significantly changed as search engines get smarter. There is a huge difference between what SEO was five or two years ago and what it is today. This comes as no surprise considering the way the internet itself and search engines have been evolving. This development in SEO has led to online marketers and businesses changing their techniques in order to reach out to visitors for different reasons.
Content marketing has always been crucial but it is no longer enough to research several industry keywords, place them on your blog and rely on affiliate network to post links back to your site. Today, sites that fare best in search engines are those that are optimized for mobile and user experience.
Much to the amiss of Google's guidelines, 2014 saw significant changes in Search Engine Optimization. The giant search engine updated its algorithm, causing panic among marketers and dread among many others. It focused on reducing the visibility of low value pages particularly those that were over optimized for keywords.
With 2023 already here, it seems like there are hardly any optimization techniques left that will not get you into trouble. However, there are some strategies that will grow your website's organic traffic, today and beyond. It is important to stay on top knowing exactly what search engines want, how to optimize the quality of your content and the overall experience of your site in order to better your business. Here are the top 7 SEO techniques that you should implement.
1. Mobile Search Optimization
Over the last couple years, research shows that over 50% of mobile searchers are looking for a local business to make an in-store purchase. It is no longer a secret that majority of users are using this device more than computers today. The provide users with exceptional ease of use when accessing the internet on the go. Given these facts, predictions are that SEO will be customized to target this increasing market.
Today, smartphones have more than 100 times computing power than the average satellite. They are like personal computers carried in the pocket and purses of potential prospects. Mobile search optimization therefore, is crucial for your SEO campaigns, as it is critical in targeting those who are more likely to visit your business in person. If your business is targeting online consumers, you have to orient your marketing and SEO strategies to target these users.
2. Social Media Engagement
According to experts, social media signals are vital to a business' success in search engines. Researchers have revealed that businesses or companies with reviews on sites such as Google+, Trip Advisor, Facebook, Tweeter and Yelp, among several others, receive a large number of visitors.
Majority of internet users today are doing searches on these directories and social media platforms including Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest. These platforms have dictated SEO trends over the last couple of years and their use is increasing yearly. They present a number of techniques including fun pages, followers, social media mentions and frequency of posting to reach out to potential prospects. They are critical for exposing your business online and the trend is only expected to grow further.
3. Develop an Organic Search Strategy
An organic search strategy that involves a dedicated consumer focused approach is highly recommended. This entails total brand presence and not just keywords, understanding customer behavior, consumption preferences, needs and conversion paths. It is about informing and optimizing marketing functions and truly engaging all consumers that encounter your business' brand online.
4. Quality Content
Over the past few years, one of the most common phrases in SEO has been "content is king". Quality content that is original, well written and relevant is integral for any website and business or company. Ensuring that your content is effective in connecting with the prospects searching for your products or services is crucial. Your web pages should be geared towards focusing on individual topics instead of individual keywords. Choose the right keywords for your content and ensure the right density. When choosing keyword phrases, keep track of those that are more likely to drive traffic to your site, those that drive traffic to your competitors and how often people search for certain phrases.
It is expected that quality content will be critical for effective SEO strategies and its significance will be felt in different search engines. Google has guidelines that regulate the use of keywords and regularly updates its algorithms to regulate the industry.
5. Increase Site Speed
Many SEO experts agree that a website's inbound links will be crucial this year, with many contending that there importance will increase as search engine algorithms increase their attention on penalizing poor links. Ensure that you site is free of spam, malware among other problems for reputable and fast site. With algorithms getting savvier, focus on purchasing quality links and try to earn good inbound links. Excessive ads and pages filled with disavow links often lead to bad reputation and a slow website. The fastness of your site ensures a quality experience for your users. Experts say that a one second delay in page load time leads to about 7% decline in sales. Having quality inbound links is thus, a crucial SEO technique that only increases the authority and credibility of your website.
6. Hone the URL of your Website
Website with streamlined URL structures often tends to rank higher than those with a messy structure and confusing organization of content. URLs and links are building blocks of a website, therefore, ensure that they are consistent and are search engine friendly. Pages that have many outbound links are considered to hurt search engine ranking.
7. Website Structure
The more a site is appealing to humans, the more search engine like it. Websites with straightforward navigation tend to win over visitors than those with a messy URL structure and content organization. Google normally takes into account bounce rate and the time spent on a site as ranking factors. If visitors are bouncing away due to navigation confusion and poor content structure, you can be sure that the search bots are too. This leads to craw errors and affects your ranking significantly. Therefore, ensure that your site is well structured and attractive to visitors to increase and retain traffic.
SEO has tremendously grown over the past few years and search engines are getting smarter and smarter. Staying on top of the current updates and changes is thus crucial in deepening your knowledge of how to take advantage of it. With the aforementioned techniques, you will be able to reach out to more prospects than before and understand their needs even better.
Here is a sample video that takes you through our training for SEO terminology & concepts. Hope you find it beneficial.
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