The world of search engine optimization is constantly changing, shifting and morphing. New techniques and ideas spring up every day, either on their own or as advanced versions of regular methods. Sometimes the difference between an advanced method and a simple one is the effort and attention you need to invest in them. Other times, it’s an out-of-the-box, indirect technique that works the best.
Whatever the case may be, seeking to always outperform your competitors is a common direction for many companies. It’s up to you to implement the right methodologies into place and get the most out of your SEO efforts in 2019.
The right branding
Branding has been a staple of marketing methods since time immemorial. It’s not just part of your marketing, it’s who your company is. It’s also vital for your SEO. People will actually know who you are online, they will know your company’s name, and you will already have something of a following
Indeed, anyone from café owners, to real estate investors should invest in SEO because the benefits are indisputable. However, when you got the basics of SEO mastered, working on your brand will lead to an improvement for your SEO, and will also carry the obvious benefits of having a good brand behind you.
Structure your data
When Google’s algorithm says jump, you say how high. And now it says that structured data is important for your page ranking. Now, there are three formats you can try out, namely. RDF, JSON- LD, as well as Microdata. Now, we won’t get too much into detail on these formats, but do know that keeping your I’s dotted and your t’s crossed will always give you good results.
With properly structured data, you can generate rich snippets, and get better rankings. However, do your homework. For example, at the time of the writing of this article, JSON-LD is not supported by Bing. In other words, not all search engines are built the same.
Focus on mobile
Furthermore, understand that more and more people are using their smartphones to browse the internet. More and more searches are done using smartphones, and you would be remiss to not use this to your advantage. So, set up your website as mobile friendly. You want mobile optimization as much as possible. Make it simple for people to read your content, buy your products, and hire your services. Remember, smartphones are not going anywhere, and you need to ride the wave. If you don’t, you’re gonna get swallowed by it.
Integrate for voice search
Gadgets like Alexa or apps and functionalities like Siri have been on the scene for some time now. And first, they were fun little gadgets (or at least their predecessors were) – gimmicks, and nothing more. Now, however, it is turning into something else, something more. People are using voice apps to actually search for content, to browse the internet. This may be laziness, or it may be a sign of multi-tasking. Whichever one it may be, you need to optimize for voice search soon.
Now, there are three things you need to do. First, set up your website for mobile. Second, keep your page load times down and your speed up. And third, change up your keywords. Just think – how would you use voice search? You would most likely ask a question. In that same manner, set up your keywords (or shall we say – key phrases).
Work on your content
Content is king. It’s supposed to educate your audience and to help you make sales. It’s the part that holds most of your SEO efforts, the primary home of links and keywords. And if you want to have success, you need to make it as good as it can be.
But, a big part of good content is understanding who your audience is. For example, if you are targeting people in the Gold Coast, in Australia, then going with a professional SEO Gold Coast company can help you understand what to focus on. They can give you advice, or take up some of the work.
However, that’s not enough. The content needs to flow, it needs to be smooth. You need to figure out the audience, understand what content they should be presented with. However, you also need to present this content properly. Hiring people who know what they are talking about, and know how to write, is paramount.
Don’t forget about video
It’s always a good idea to mix thing up a little, to try to surprise your regular audience. You can do this by implementing video into your content. Now, this is also great for pulling new people in as well. You can place videos you yourself made into your articles, or you can serve them up as separate pieces of content.
As far as what these videos should be connected to, you have a couple of options, as long as it’s relevant to your website. So, for example, you can promote a video that represents a very thorough guide on using a product you are selling. Or it can show people how to use it in an unorthodox manner. Perhaps you can have a video detailing the history of a service you are providing, or maybe the benefits gained from using said service.
Focus on UX design
Implementing a focus on user experience within your design is vital for any further SEO development. A good UX design will pull people in, it will get them to visit your website, and to stay on your website. If you want to get the right design for maximum ROI, you want something organic, something that people can trust. Essentially, you hope people will make a purchase on their first visit to your website.
Quality links are vital
As always, quality trumps quantity every time. You should apply this in every section of your work (and your life) as much as you can. However, links deserve their own special mention due to how important they are. It seems a regular SEO tactic is getting as many links as possible. While this has its uses, it’s the quality that matters the most. Namely, backlinks are signals of a quality website. If the signals are poor, what does that say about the destination?
Try to get good websites, avoid spam and cheap content farms. You want something real behind you, you want a strong framework and reliable background.
Be mindful of penalties
Finally, understand how that Google has begun handing out penalties towards anything it sees as manipulative SEO practices. Well, it has been doing this for some time now, except it became much more efficient at it, handing out more serious fines, and noticing issues sooner. This will hopefully lead to better content all around, fewer content farms, and in general a cleaner, smoother internet space.
Now, as far as what you should do (or rather not do), here are a couple of pointers. Avoid dead links, spammy backlinks, keyword stuffing, and in general stick to Google’s own motto – don’t be evil.
Conclusion
Outperforming your competitors will not be easy, but with some hard work, dedication, and lateral thinking, you will defiantly come out on top. However, you need to implement the right techniques and methods. Try to avoid penalties that Google may send your way on account of your SEO errors. Always go with quality over quantity when your links are concerned. If you can, experiment with video, and in general give some focus to your content.
Furthermore, get on with the times. Voice search is all the rage now, and mobile is pretty much a staple of internet browsing nowadays. With a little bit of added branding, and getting your data structured, your arsenal of SEO tactics should be pretty much ready.
