Search engine optimization (SEO) is key for anyone who owns a website and wants to direct traffic and make conversions. If you owned a land-based business, people might amble in off the street and you may even make a sale. However, the internet isn’t like the high street, and to find what you want, you need to use a search engine like Google or Bing. These search engines use a range of metrics and methods to estimate websites and pick how relevant they are to a user’s search.
This means that the search engine will look at the content, optimization, user experience, mobile-friendliness, keywords, age of the web page and how newly it was updated. Every year it gets harder to be on the first page of Google searches as the metrics change and opponents tweak and update their sites to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Google has already stated a slew of new metrics based around user experience set to go live in May 2021, and there are other areas that website owners and developers need to be alert of.
Digital Marketing
Endorsing your brand and website is vital for driving traffic and can aid in improving search engine optimization. Digital marketing is a good way to get a business off the ground and can be done by using a professional agency or an in-house team if you have the skills and talent available.
By attracting targeted audiences to your site, you will be much more likely to convert visits into sales. Digital marketing can help. Using SEO along social media and a content marketing campaign can help get you noticed and bring more traffic to your website.
Video Content
Study has shown that websites holding video content retain their audiences for a longer time. Customers are more likely to stay on a site with video elements. Visual images are stimulating, and videos are more likely to result in a sale than text and static images alone.
Mobile-Responsiveness
It is more important than ever for your website to be mobile-responsive. Google has been viewing at the mobile versions for the last couple of years and placing less importance on the desktop versions. In fact, Google is moving to full mobile-first indexing this month!
Of the total eCommerce industry, around half of all sales were conducted with mobile phones. This percentage of the market has grown-up every year and is forecasted to continue. Moreover, more than 70 percent of people only use smartphones to access the internet and never use computers.
You should make sure your mobile site is responsive, as this will help with SEO and also increase loading speed. Your core urgency is providing a positive user experience, so make sure you don’t have annoying pop-ups and that information is easy to locate. You can also use the free Google tool to see if your website is mobile-friendly – this will also give you indicators on where to make improvements.
Extensive-Form Content
The healthier the content, the more likely traffic will be driven to it. There is also some evidence that extensive-form content gets shared more often earns more backlinks, and therefore executes better on searches. However, this doesn’t mean just pumping out thousands of words. Quality, relevant content is important to SEO too.
You want to generate content that occupies your audience, makes them return and ultimately transforms into sales. Articles should make use of H1, H2 and H3 tags to break up the text and make it more readable. Links should be as unique as possible and point to relevant authorities. There are content tools that can help with recommendations on how extensive an article should be and what keywords to contain all you need to do is enter the search query that you want to be ranked on.
Local Search Listings
This area will become more standard as the need to find local products and businesses rises. Partly due to an inability to travel much in 2020, local businesses are more expected to be searched for on the internet than overseas ones. Because of changes to Google, this has led to a new phenomenon called zero-click searches. This is where, after a search is executed, the answer to the query is displayed at the top of the screen, negating the need to visit a website. For example, someone may search for the opening time of a local restaurant and the answer would seen at the top of the results.
Social Media
Do not pass over Facebook pages or other social media in your local SEO campaign. Facebook pages can show up in Google searches, and they are an priceless way to interact with your local audience. You can answer queries quickly and add short-form posts with campaigns and advertising. You can also put links to sales-landing pages or your blog to drive traffic, and write about local events that your business is involved in.
