Whether you see SEO as a science or an art, there are some strategies that, when used correctly, have huge impacts on how successful your business will be at getting high rankings on Google, Yahoo and Bing. When you understand these strategies, you can focus your resources on actions that improve your results.
This article looks at a few effective search engine optimization strategies that your SEO team should employ right now. They are based on both research and the experience of experts in the industry.
- Optimizing for mobile browsing and searching
Mobile optimization has been a large part of the conversation in the industry for a long time now. However, mobile and tablet browsing overtook desktop browsing in October 2016, albeit by a small margin at just over 50 percent.
A month later, Google’s mobile-first index was launched. Before the launch, the search engine first crawled through the desktop version of a website, using it as the main index. After the update, the search engine changed that and made the mobile version of websites the main index. You should optimize your mobile content and website design to reflect these changes.
- Implementing intentional link building
For years, links have been among the most important factors in ranking. Google has even confirmed that links are among the top three factors used in ranking, and a number of other studies carried out on ranking factors agree with this. Stone Temple carried out a study which concluded that links are, in fact, even more significant than most digital marketers think.
It is in light of this that SEO experts assert that for links to be helpful, it is important that the SEO Company you hire complements your links with content that is not only relevant but also competitive.
- Optimizing for voice search
A report by KPCB on internet trends in 2016 revealed that queries made through voice search have increased by more than 35 times since 2008 and more than 7 times since 2010. As improvements continue to be made, the number of people using voice will increase to the point where nearly everyone will be on board.
It is only a matter of time before this happens. You need to start making preparations by optimizing your content in readiness for the rise of voice search.
- Optimizing for rich answers
By 2015, it was reported that rich answers appeared for close to 20 percent of all search queries, and this percentage is probably much higher this year. It is important to deliberately optimize your content for questions that are common to your industry in order to increase the likelihood of your pages being featured in rich answers boxes.
One way to achieve this is by featuring the question as it is prominently in your content and giving a brief direct answer followed by more comprehensive information. You can also use lists and have a Q&A page in your domain. Being featured in rich answers makes your content look authoritative as well as credible.
