Take a look at some of the best practices for reinventing your SEO approach to keep up with the digital revolution.
1) Priority of Relevance above Ranking
Consider yourself to be a search engine provider such as Google. When you think about it, they all have the same straightforward goal: to match user requests as nearly as possible. You can compete for the top place if you want to get on Google’s good side. You only need to embrace practices that will naturally lead you there.
Google has ceased putting too much attention on keywords as it has advanced.
Google has also created the ‘featured snippet’ format, which emphasizes websites its computers estimate most likely to contain the information the browser seeks.
The point is not how many but how useful they are. For thematically relevant links, you can:
• Optimize the proper page for the right topic
• Use descriptive anchor text
• Seek partnerships with authoritative websites
• Seek links from relevant pages
• Creating links to terms that people are more likely to click on
When you aim for relevance, you’ll understand that a high search engine ranking isn’t your ultimate goal. It’s only intended to be the start.
2) Buyer Journey-Based Content Creation
As a marketer, you know that no one just looks for what you sell and flows through the sales funnel. We don’t live in a world where firms merely pitch their products at random. They are extensively studying who they should contact and market to.
Previously, the SEO strategy’s keyword approach was relatively basic. However, it has gotten increasingly complex over time. Before creating a content strategy that complements your SEO, you must first understand your clients. Who are they, what are they searching for, and where are they in the buying process?
Companies have been able to categorize their buyer personas based on their positions, ambitions, pain points, industries, and so on, thanks to systems like CRM and marketing automation. This finally aids them in developing their content personalization approach.
How does this help SEO?
You need to clearly describe your target demographic to ensure your SEO efforts are effective. Remember what we said about relevance? According to the AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action) paradigm, an action-oriented blog will be meaningless for someone at the awareness level.
Consider the keywords, challenges, and goals each persona will have while creating content based on the buyer’s journey.
At each level, you’ll notice a keyword pattern. A person at an awareness level is more likely to ask questions and use informational terms like ‘tips,’ ‘How to,’ and ‘What is.’ Based on the sample above, you can tell that the prospect is at the interest stage. They will most likely visit one of the public company review websites with excellent SEO, such as Clutch and Yelp, to assess the trustworthiness and performance of your brand based on feedback from other consumers.
To do comprehensive keyword research, use tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs to generate a list of themes. You now know how to better target your audience at each stage of the purchasing process the next time you produce a piece of content or upload a video.
3) Improved Customer Experience
We’ve previously discussed how the customer experience is at the forefront of every digital transformation effort. But what does this user experience imply in the context of SEO?
Customer experience begins the moment a prospect begins their buyer’s journey. And for the vast majority of our technologically savvy audience, it will begin with a search engine. This implies that it is up to SEO to create a memorable first impression. We’ve already spoken about how relevance and tailored content greatly influence the consumer experience.
Some of the other important factors to consider are:
Backlinking and interlinking
Yes, the substance is important, but it is insufficient. Every marketer desires organic traffic to their website. And a well-balanced linking strategy is essential for improving your SEO. Because internal linkages are insufficient, the emphasis is on being well-balanced. Using contextual anchor text to link to an authoritative website increases your reputation and relevance.
Improve Page Load Time
Nothing turns off customers more than clicking on a search result and being faced with a buffering message. Understand that individuals seldom click on a single search result and open many SERPs in new tabs. If your page takes a long time to load, you may also bid farewell to your prospect since they’ve gone on. Your bounce rate rises, and the stuff you worked so hard on remains undiscovered. Ouch. Optimizing page load time may significantly reduce bounce rate.
The site that is mobile-friendly
Mobile devices account for more than 60% of all Google searches. Because the figure is at an all-time high, you must consider optimizing your SEO activity for mobile devices. The rise in mobile searches has also encouraged Google to make mobile-friendliness a key element in SEO. You must guarantee that your site requires little scrolling on mobile devices, avoids flash, and loads swiftly. All of these variables will contribute to a favorable CX.
4) Improved Channel Integration
Due to variations in KPIs or strategy, there has been a clear schism between Search and Paid marketing. Because of the immediate results and pleasure, businesses frequently emphasize PPC (pay-per-click) marketing. There has also been a noticeable gap in funding distribution, frequently resulting in the search and advertising teams operating independently.
Channel integration can boost organic traffic and improve paid search ROI. Here are a few examples of how search and PPC may complement one other:
Improved keyword targeting: It’s possible that one team is overlooking keyword opportunities that might assist other channels. If the search team and marketing utilize the same tools to examine keyword performance statistics and relevancy, there will be no information silos.
Recognize Keyword Intent: The click-through rate is critical for optimizing ad performance across channels. Using the selected keywords to create captivating ad text will allow you to establish a highly tailored and relevant ad campaign across channels while driving organic traffic through paid search. Consider the following Udemy example.
Improved Landing Pages: Your landing page is crucial in determining your AdWords quality score. And SEO is in charge of optimizing your landing, whether optimizing the load speed or discovering duplicate material. This is yet another perfect illustration of why search and advertising must work in combination.
Modern SEO strategies necessitate a more comprehensive strategy for advertising efforts to be noticed across channels.
5) Increased Level of Control
SEO is no longer only about letting Google decide your company’s fate. Yes, search engines like Google wield considerable power and influence over page rankings. However, as previously said, it also considers a brand’s organic initiatives.
Due to digital disruption, companies may exert greater influence over these organic initiatives. Thanks to digital technologies, you may have much control over who sees which sites and when.
Modern SEO strategies are all about allowing your business to communicate on a personal level with its target audience. It involves achieving scalability while also ensuring tailored search results for distinct client categories. Combining digital automation solutions with SEO may give you much-needed control over your SERPs and help you reach your search objectives.