Achieving a place at the top of Google (and other search engines) is the goal of every website owner, including you – right? Getting there is just the first step; staying there also takes time and commitment, as well as a little know-how when it comes to SEO.
Welcome to our third SEO story…I’ve decided to put together a series of articles about SEO because it is one of the top three things I get asked in my workshops…the other two include the structure of how to write a blog/online content and how to repurpose that content.
SEO is a constantly evolving art and science and to stay ahead of the curve, you need to have your finger on the pulse of current practice to take advantage of the latest trends as they arise. With an estimated 12 billion web searches conducted each and every month, having a great plan for SEO is crucial to being seen and capturing attention.
With no further ado, here are a few of the biggest tricks and industry trends to use in 2016 to improve and enhance your SEO efforts for success…
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Social media is critical
This is your best and most affordable way to build brand visibility – so make sure you have a social media campaign strategy. Choose one or two social platforms that complement your business and its demographic, share unique content regularly and include your blog as well as links directly to your website. Post content that is highly sharable; this means it’s informative, emotional, interesting and captivating. Respond to fans when they comment or ask a question. A strong social media presence will be a boon for your business.
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Optimise for mobile
More than 50 per cent of online searches are now conducted via mobile – and as such, it’s essential that your website be optimised for mobile use. Nothing will drive visitors away from your page faster than viewing a desktop site on a mobile device. Don’t abolish desktop optimisation; just ensure you add mobile optimisation to the mix.
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Embrace video content
Video is a great medium for engaging an audience and for those who are not inclined to read text, watching a video is the key to being captivated on a website. Google will favourably rank a website with good use of relevant video content.
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The importance of local SEO
With the internet bringing the entire world to your door, it needs to be understood how important it is to inform search engines of your locality. Even though you might be seeking global business transactions, you first and foremost need to be visible to the most relevant audience, and for most small to medium businesses, this audience will be local, either in your city, region, state, or country. You can achieve this by using location-specific keyword phrases and content that is personalised for your locality.
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Blog on!
It may (or may not!) surprise you to learn that blogging is the single most valuable element for generating traffic for most businesses. Consistent, high-quality, original and regular blog content publication leads to more search traffic than any other element – including SEO itself. In depth, quality articles will help you reach the top of page one.
These are the biggest trends in SEO this year; there is much more to the overall equation, but this is a great starting point for getting your webpage to the top of search results – which is where you need to be!
Learn how to write a blog at one of my workshops where I’ll discuss the other two main points I get asked all the time, plus some more on SEO.
