Improve your SEO in 2015
Update Your SEO Strategy
2015 is here, and there have been a number of changes in search engine ranking systems lately. Follow these tips and keep checking with us for the latest changes and SEO trends throughout 2015.
First, an important stat: According to Business-2-Community, 70 percent of the web links searchers follow are “organic,” as opposed to clicking on paid ads.
That means bringing your website to the top of the search page using effective SEO approaches is essential to your ongoing success online. As you update your SEO tactics, keep the following tips in mind:
1. Be mobile-friendly.
According to Google, people are spending 15 hours or more each week searching the web on their mobile devices. Having a website that is mobile-friendly can improve your search engine rankings and boost revenue. If your site is not mobile-friendly, make those improvements now.
2. Remember that keyword ranking isn’t everything.
Search engine rankings are important, but only when they translate into revenue for your company. Brands should look at both keyword rankings and ROI as they evaluate campaigns in 2015 and beyond. Likewise, brands should also make sure that they are targeting the right keywords. Targeting long-tail keyword phrases that are more specific and have less competition, as opposed to shorter, more generic keywords will be easier to rank for and bring you more of the visitors you want.
3. Put more focus on social media.
In the beginning, social media networks were just another outlet for your content. However, as time has progressed, these channels have become an important component of successful marketing campaigns as well. As you revise your SEO strategies, remember to allocate a portion of your resources to the social media platforms (LinkedIn, etc.) that are best in reaching your target clients and your SEO efforts.
4. Write what you would want to read.
In the past, SEO experts have spent a great deal of time decoding search engine algorithms and devising SEO tricks in order to manipulate rankings. However, with each Google algorithm update, these tricks become less and less effective. From the beginning, the goal of all of Google’s algorithms has been to find the best, most relevant content for its users, and this goal isn’t going to change. Instead of trying to outsmart the algorithms, spend your time creating valuable content that will move to the top of search engine results on its own.
5. Learn about “Pigeon” and It’s Impact on Local Search Results.
When it comes to search engines, Google is still king. During 2014, Google implemented its latest algorithm update, which was called “Pigeon.” Pigeon focuses on local search rankings. As an example, until recently, searching Google and then searching Google Maps often provided different results for the same phrases. This inconsistency changed after the roll-out of Pigeon. If you haven’t already done so, take a look to see if Pigeon had any impact on your site’s rankings.
6. Don’t build links just for links
Traditionally, link building has been an important component of any valid SEO strategy. However, there are a number of reports in the last year that have concluded that building large quantities of links to your site is no longer an effective method of increasing your visibility online. Quality and highly relevant sites linking to you are now much more valuable than sheer numbers of links and are where you should focus your time. These links come because you are posting the kind of content that other site owners want to share.
Summary
Keep your website at the top of the search pages using effective SEO approaches and your online success will improve. As you update your SEO tactics, keep the above tips in mind.
As always, if you are looking for help or advice to improve your marketing efforts, give us a call.
