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SEO is everything traditional marketing is not. It is fast, a little complex, and way too pocket-friendly.
However, the speed at which SEO is changing can leave you spellbound. Having the upper hand on fluctuating search-engine algorithms is mandatory to maintain a decent lead generation.
Data from Global Web Index shows that 81% of people search online for a product or service. If your venture doesn’t pop up at the top, you will likely drown in saturated corporate waters. It’s even more convincing when studies show that 75% of the users don’t scroll past the first page of search results.
As an SEO marketer, consider yourself the new-age knight who bravely battles against SERPs to reign supreme. The flag-bearers of this field are those who leverage tech tools and stay aware of modern trends. This post has broken down the modern SEO techniques to help you maintain and increase your organic search presence.
Let’s dive in:
- Improve UX across your site
UX optimization is all about focusing on the visitors. An ideal website design helps to shape a user’s experience. A site that does a better job of meeting the searcher’s needs stands a better chance of making it to the first page of search results. A bunch of strategies to study user experience include:
- Check the bounce rate – When it comes to bounce rate, the lower the percentage, the more favorable it gets for you. According to a RocketFuel study, a bounce rate between 26% to 40% is perfect. The bounce could be the result of one or ten things wrong with your portal. Your job is to determine what is causing this behavior and work on the loopholes.
- Monitor Average Session Duration – The more engaging and valuable content you provide, the longer people stay on your website. This includes reading blogs, leaving comments, and buying your products/services. A/B testing your web elements will allow you to make data-driven decisions to improve your site’s UX.
Once you know your user sentiments, you can then proceed to polish weak areas of your website. Remember, there are essential features to consider for a well-designed website. If you successfully infuse those in your design, your chances of coming up with a flawless design, go up a notch.
- Focus on Internal Deep Linking
Deep linking is the SEO strategy where hyperlinks connect to a webpage with specific content. When done the right way, it can push your site higher up the search engine, bring traffic, and increase domain authority. It also enhances the user experience by giving them more content to feast and enjoy on.
Instead of having “click here” links, you should try writing the name of the destination. “Click here” has no search value. Whereas “Seattle Tech Program” is rich with keywords and will improve your search engine rankings. Furthermore, always link to authoritative websites. A link leading to the New York Times website will be far more valuable than a link that crawls back to a local independent journal.
Hiring professionals to work on link-building will allow you to come up with a solid backlink structure. For instance, automotive SEO companies are aware of the best strategies that help you claim a shining spot in SERPS. Taking them on board is vital if you own a car dealership.
Make sure that the shared link sheds more light on the subject being discussed. Robyn Stone, the popular food blogger, does this in her chocolate cake blog post as she links it to her buttercream frosting recipe. A couple of other internal linking methods such as informative content, guest posts, and fixing broken links are also crucial to strengthening your backlink game.
- Optimize for Voice Search
Voice search optimization is the primary requirement of modern-day SEO. Back in 1987, when “Star Trek: Next Generation” aired, having a casual conversation with computers seemed pretty fascinating. Fast forward to this day, and we see people speaking to their watches and getting a response from their phones.
Voice search is one of the fastest-growing search types. According to Perficient, 55% of the users conduct a voice search to ask questions. With the increasing use of digital assistants like Siri and Alexa, optimizing for voice search is critical for SEO success.
Some ways to optimize for voice search include:
- Understand the customers and device behavior
- Focus on conversational keywords
- Create compelling persona-based content
- Provide context with schema-based markup
- Incorporate pages to answer FAQs
Work on mobile-oriented search behaviors
Voice search is on the rise, and turning a blind eye to this trend will turn tables against you. According to eMarketer, 39.4% of the US internet users operate a voice assistant at least once a month. Tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Apple have already leaped voice search domain. If you don’t make a move right now, there is a high chance of losing prospects.
- Design a Mobile-friendly website
Mobile SEO is the process of optimizing your site to rank better in the search results and make mobile leads stay on your page. The growing use of mobile phones is not news for us. In June 2013, Google announced a penalty for websites that produce bad mobile experiences. The next year, they announced a “mobile-friendly” designation that made responsive websites more important than ever.
If you care about SEO, try to steer clear of the negative impacts due to lack of mobile-friendliness. For starters, use the following tools to check your website status:
- Conduct a test on Google’s Mobile-friendly Testing Tool
- Check the speed on Google’s Speed Test
- Check your site for errors using Google’s Mobile Usability Tool
Example of Google response for a site that doesn’t meet mobile-friendliness standards
A robust mobile SEO plan will help you to reach your leads effectively. If their first experience on your portal goes as per expectations, chances of their return and positive feedback go higher.
Etsy, an e-commerce website, has created a mobile-friendly website that’s worth taking lessons from. It greets the user with an option to search for specific items and shows thumbnail images of the most popular items right below the search bar.
Over to you
By now, you must have an insight into how modern-day SEO is clever and more radical. It isn’t about stuffing keywords anymore. Do you think we left something out? Feel free to share your opinions below.
AUTHOR BIO
Mary Warner is an enthusiast blogger. Her compelling research and communication capabilities exchange offerings that have value for the reader. Her passion for writing has been an ever-evolving affair. She loves to share her views related to the latest trends in marketing, technology, e-commerce, and the like.