As Google gets smarter in identifying ranking factors for websites, it’s high time that we reconsider our #SEO strategy with the shifting landscape. And with the previous year shaking things up for everyone, it did so as well with SEO trends. It’s a good time to audit your site and review your own SEO #strategy for your brand.
Here are a few tips to consider:
1. Pay attention to search intent
The adage, “The customer is always right” could not have been more timely. Identify your customers and give them what they want. Google and other search engines are designed to provide answers that people seek. Pay closer attention to search results surrounding your products and services -- questions that can arise including the how’s (how to, how much, etc.). These results are reflective of Google’s expectation of the users’ search intent. You can use this data to your advantage and point out the specific questions the information on your site needs to answer.
2. Cater to your visitors
It’s obvious that to retain visitors to your site, you need to provide them with a good user experience. This means easy navigation through your pages but most importantly, it’s all about keeping your site simple. Instead of showcasing your products, give your visitors what they are looking for -- answers to their questions, needs, and concerns regarding your products and services. It’s also about providing content that is readily available for your visitors, without them having to search for it.
3. Prioritize topic clusters
Instead of creating content for a single topic, take a look at the topic and delve deeper. Create multiple pieces of content around your topic so that you can make the most out of it. This way, you not only provide more and robust information to your visitors, but you can also take advantage of interlinking content around the same topic. By doing so, more people read different articles thus increasing engagement.
4. Provide long-form articles
Social media may have shrunk our collective attention span but there is consistent data shown by SEO trends that long-form content does get more links and shares. It generally ranks better on search engines, too. Longer reads tend to drive 4 times more traffic than articles that have an average length (900-1,200 words). But also, with long-form content, you can use more headers -- specifically H2 and H3. Adding the right headers to your articles has the potential to increase traffic and engagement as opposed to those with none.
5.Update old content
Make it a habit to update the links in your previously published content every time you publish a new one. Take a look at the top keyword you’re gunning to rank for and check for other pages on your site that rank for that keyword. You can check Google Search Console or Keyword Explorer to search these. Once you’ve identified these pages, add your new links to these pages. But more importantly, keep your content fresh to keep it from going stale. Update outdated data and statistics with the latest findings. This way, you’re relaunching content (especially top-performing content) and breathing new life into them so they’re more likely to come up in search results.
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