SEO is the buzzword of digital marketing, but you may be surprised to learn that it isn’t all about choosing the right keywords to reach an audience. In fact, using keywords incorrectly can actually result in losing readers, as your blogs appear littered with unnecessary repetition (known as “keyword stuffing”). Too many keywords can also clue your competitors into the type of phrasing you’re using to hook your audience — not exactly what you want as part of your marketing strategy. Of course, SEO is still as relevant as ever, but with Google’s ever-changing algorithm, newer trends and practices are beginning to replace those simple keywords of old.
SEO: A Quick Overview
SEO, or search engine optimization, is using available tools to help your website reach the highest possible ranks in a list of returned search results. For instance, if a person Googles, “restaurants open late,” and you own such a restaurant, you’d want your restaurant to appear at the top of the list. But how can you make that happen? The answer is in SEO.
SEO can take many forms, and some of the most common are, yes, to employ keywords; but there are many other, newer tactics that can help boost your website’s search appeal. Here are a few of the newest ways to increase the odds of your website getting on Google’s good side:
Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly
These days, the Internet is literally at our fingertips. Most people are never without a mobile device, and Internet searchers are increasingly viewed through a cell phone, rather than a computer screen. In fact, Google announced back in March that it would begin using the mobile version of websites to determine its ranking in search results. This is an incredible change, as Google had previously used the desktop version of websites in its rankings. These days, having a mobile-friendly website isn’t just an option; it’s a necessity.
Have a Quality FAQ Page on Your Website
Think about the last time you typed a question into a search engine like Google. Was the first result a box with a quick answer to your question readily available to view from the search page? With ever more websites crowding the internet and all of them vying for attention, it has become increasingly important for search engines to be able to pull an answer from your website in the least amount of time and with the least amount of effort.
Add in the creation and widespread use of voice-activated devices such as Siri and Alexa, and this will only become more important. These types of devices need to be able to quickly provide a concise answer. Having an FAQ page will allow search engines to pull the needed information from your website quickly and cleanly, boosting your search rankings.
Write Longer, Engaging, Original Blog Posts
Having a blog on your website will boost your search ranking, but not just any blog. In a world where quick information is valued, you may be surprised to learn that a 2015 analysis found that content longer than 1,000 words receives greater engagement return, with higher amounts of likes and shares, than content with fewer than 1,000 words. The Internet is saturated with short blog posts that don’t engage readers. Your blog must contain quality, in-depth posts that get readers sharing and keep readers reading. The longer that a viewer to your website stays on your page, the higher Google ranks your website.
Simply stuffing keywords into a short blog post just doesn’t cut it anymore. Don’t forget about pictures and videos, as well -- blogging is quickly becoming a visual realm, with text alone hardly ever enough to result in a strong search ranking. When you do include images, don’t forget about image optimization. You can use tools like Optimizilla or CompressNow to develop the most high-quality images for your blogs.
Writing this kind of content isn’t easy. It’s time-consuming and requires careful research. This is why one of the best investments you could make for your website is to hire a professional writing team to create content for you. A writing team can generate more posts more quickly than any individual, and knows the ins-and-outs of this evolving world of SEO.
When You Do Use Keywords, Find a Balance
There is absolutely still a place for keywords, but you have to find the balance. Use variations of your keywords, as opposed to repeating just one specific phrase over and over again. You want your blog posts to appear organic, not forced or unnatural. Remember, the more inauthentic your posts appear, the less likely your reader is to be engaged -- and the less likely search engines are to rank your website highly. With the popularity of mobile and voice devices, you’ll also benefit from using simple, everyday language that a person would be most likely to type into a search engine.
Bamboo Offers SEO Solutions
Since search engine algorithms, and SEO trends, are constantly changing, it can help to have someone in the know to guide you through the trenches of digital marketing.
Bamboo Marketing Solutions is a full-service marketing department that bends with these changing trends to implement effective SEO tactics, improving your position in the search engine rankings. We do our research and optimize your content for your success.
Contact us today for a free consultation regarding our SEO solutions for your business, as well as the many other ways that Bamboo Marketing Solutions can help you succeed.
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