Is your SEO strategy failing? Well, you can always blame it on Google and claim that it’s beyond your control. However, we have bad news and good news. The bad news is, your SEO is failing because you’re doing it wrong. The good news is, we are here to help you set it on the right track using these strategies:
1. Use Updated Tactics
SEO is always changing so you need to keep up with the updated SEO algorithms of Google and other search engines. How?
- Avoid content machines – Content marketing works but large quantities of low-quality content don’t. So think twice about content machines. You have to make sure your posts are addressing your users’ questions which will help Google show your page in the SERPs.
- Use the Skyscraper Technique – If you’re creating little pages that rank for one specific long-tail keyword, it can let you down. Instead, do topic-based keyword research, find comprehensive content, work on improving it and making it your own, and share it.
- Use Fresh and Alternative Keywords – If you’re stuffing your content with keywords and not place them in a useful context, they do not only fail to work but keyword stuffing can get you a Google Penalty.
- Build Useful Links – High-quality links from an authoritative source can help your SEO strategy. See strategy Number 7 below for more.
2. Boost Your Website User Experience (UX)
You need to increase your UX so that customers and visitors would spend at least 10 minutes on your site. This will help Google rank you high. How?
- Improve Your Site Speed – Every second it takes to load a page is equivalent to lost sales so make sure to speed up your load time. Check your site speed using PageSpeed Insights which is a free Google tool.
- Use More Media – Interactive or engaging images on your website can help improve dwell time. Include videos, images, and charts as well as take advantage of white space to help increase user experience.
- Use Accurate Article Headlines – Your headlines should precisely describe what the page is about. Give your readers exactly what you say you will.
One more thing you have to keep in mind is that you should optimize your website for your customers, not for Google. They are the ones buying from you, not Google!
3. Install Analytics and Goal Tracking
Analytics and goal tracking programs can provide you with all the information you need to determine what’s working – and what’s not – on your site. This is why you need to set it up. You can begin by setting up Google Analytics and Google Search Console and track the following elements in Google Analytics:
- New or unique visitor conversion
- Sources of incoming traffic
- Interactions per visit (pages/sessions)
- Return visitor conversion
- Value per visit
- Bounce rate
- Lead generation costs (costs per conversion)
- Exit pages
- Page views
- Average session duration
Tracking these can help you look into the past to see the effect of previous choices on your current performance. Once you get the hang of it, you can learn advanced settings and other tools that can help grow your business.
4. Get a Loyal Following
If you are competing against big brands, you might find it hard to rank well so you need to stop depending entirely on SEO. Building a loyal following is one of the keys to success. Together with a user-friendly website, interactive and engaging media, and up to par site speed, you’ll generate leads in no time.
5. It’s Okay to Stop Focusing on Keywords
Modern SEO has changed and super specific long-tail keywords don’t work anymore. So how do you go about it?
- Produce Great Content – Make sure you thoroughly answer all the questions that your customers are asking. Keep your content up-to-date with a personal style. Once you do this, you shouldn’t have too much trouble gaining a following which will help grow your brand.
- Associate Yourself with Bigger Brands – You can do this through guest posting on the sites of industry leaders, having an influencer on your podcast, or other creative ways you can think of. Trade the deal with something useful for them that you can do really well.
- Tell a Great Story -. Build a bond with your audience by telling relatable stories. Gaining a following this way can help you beat your competitors with superb SEO.
6. Target Keywords With High Search Volume
It is important to measure keyword search volume, no matter how hard it is to do. Make sure that each of the keywords you’re targeting has a search volume that’s consistent with your website goals before you start working on your campaign.
Using keywords that are searched for by regular users, even if it is a fairly high-difficulty keyword, should rank for some keywords. You can go back and check your post after six months to see which keywords have stuck. Revamp, upgrade, and reoptimize for those.
7. Build the Right Links
High-quality, natural-looking links are crucial to land you on the top of SERPs. Building links using spammy profiles and link promotions is not a good idea. Therefore, you should avoid the following when building links:
- Link Directories – Links placed in a directory won’t fool Google. They don’t have any value so stop using them.
- Links in Footers – If you see a website linking to you externally from the footer, it could be harmful so you should disavow them in your Google Search Console. However, Google can assess which links can be trusted so most sites do not have to use this tool.
- NoFollow Links – If you’re planning to do a guest post in exchange for a link back to your website, make sure to ask if your link will be followed. You can check this yourself by downloading the Chrome extension “NoFollow” and it will box any nofollow link in red.
- Low DA Website – Links from websites with low domain authorities won’t hurt you, but won’t boost your website either. You can check the DA of a website by downloading the MozBar Chrome extension which will allow you to see it in Google’s SERPs. Once logged in, you can also see the DA under the URL at the top of a website’s page.
- You can also login to SEMrush to see the links you already have. Click Backlinks > Referring Domains > drop-down arrow next to the number under authority score > DA
- Irrelevant Topic – Make sure the links that are pointing to your website are in the same niche as you are. This will help make Google see you as a major authority in your industry.
- Reciprocal Links – Though top-ranking pages do this, it is against Google’s guidelines so avoid “I’ll link to you if you link to me” scenarios.
8. Stop Over-Optimising Your Anchor Text
Make sure your anchor text is not an exact match with the URL or title as this might give you problems. Use no more than 50% of SEO keywords in your anchor text and use varying keywords to avoid being dinged for manipulation. Here is an example of an over-optimized anchor text:
We offer the best flower delivery in the USA at the lowest price ever!
Link to www.example.com/best-flower-delivery-in-the-USA
How do you do it correctly while still including the keywords?
We offer one of the most sought-after flower delivery services at competitive pricing.
Link to www.example.com/best-flower-delivery-in-the-USA
Here, you can see that the keyword has been expanded and takes up only a percentage of the anchor text.
9. Understand Your Target Audience
Good SEO begins by identifying your target audience and knowing what their needs are. This can help you select the right keywords and the right SEO techniques that will bring positive results. It will give you a complete picture so make sure to get to know your ideal customers on an intimate and personal level.
10. Use Social Media
Social media are powerful sites with increasing daily social shares and relative user authority in the Google ranking algorithms. Without one, you will leave out plenty of search traffic which is what you are looking for. They can also help improve brand search volume by helping people remember your label. Take a look at how social media helps an SEO campaign:
- Creative, informative, and inspiring content is published.
- Content is shared and linked to.
- Social media collects followers while the site gains traffic.
- A community grows around the brand.
- Consistent interactions made through social media and authoritative SEO reinforces the brand reputation.
- Search engines index the website higher.
- Users find the site organically through search engines.
Even if social media users don’t click on your post initially, there is a high chance they’ll remember, go back, and search for it.
11. Don’t Ignore Your Customers
When customers engage with your website and talk about your brand in the social sphere, it gives you a tremendous amount of important information that you can use in your SEO strategy. This is why you should listen to them!
What do you look out for? Pay special attention to the keywords that they are using to describe your brand and how they navigate through your website. They may dictate the keywords you target in both your internal and external link-building campaigns.
12. Be Patient
SEO results don’t happen overnight. If you don’t see your desired results in the timeframe you have set, keep going using the best practices you have learned. You will get there sooner or later.
