In 2017, you shouldn’t just aim to compete in the SEO race, but to dominate it. The competition is fiercer and fiercer, thanks to the thousands of new websites entering the market each year. If you’re not in a tightly-knit nitch, then chances are, you are competing with hundreds, if not thousands of other businesses. Thankfully, there are different ways you can stay ahead of the game, such as by hiring a reputable SEO agency in your area.
Why SEO Still Matters in 2017
If you ignore your Search Engine Optimization strategy in 2017, you can almost guarantee a reduction in traffic and sales. It’s a quick death to your website’s ranking and relevance. Users rely on search engines to find products, services and information they want and need. So if your content isn’t showing up in the SERPs, then you’re out of luck.
This will also have a negative impact on your social media marketing strategy. If people aren’t finding your content, then how will they like and share it on Facebook and other popular platforms?
The key to getting a higher ranking in Google is to build trust. Google has over 200 factors, and trust is one of them. If you can work your way into Google’s good graces, then you can potentially watch your site soar to new heights. Of course, you’ll need a strategy created by one of the best SEO companies to ensure this.
So whether you’ve been implementing a search engine optimization plan or are just starting out with one, you can use the following tips to ensure you go about it the right way.
What You Need to Know About Google’s Algorithm
Google is on a mission to be the best search engine on the planet. This is why it’s so adamant about tweaking and updating its algorithm every so often. Internet marketers are always finding ways to exploit its algorithm, making it harder for users to find quality content. So to combat this, Google creates newer and stricter guidelines to help weed out the good from the bad.
As a marketer or entrepreneur, you want to make sure you’re always on the right side of the law. This means implementing white hat SEO methods. It’s not always easy to know what’s considered okay, since Google doesn’t release details about algorithm changes. However, the services from an SEO agency can be used to direct you along the right path.
Overall, Google likes content that is relevant to the audience, written in high quality and user-friendly (especially for mobile device users). If you’re not writing to please people, then you won’t be able to please search engine crawlers.
Now, let’s get into what it’s going to take to make your Search Engine Optimization strategy as powerful as possible. These are the factors that will help improve your visibility in the SERPs.
The Age of Your Site and Content
Being around for a long time does help give your site some credibility. It’s important to note that the age of your site isn’t the time you purchased your domain, but the date Google first indexed it. But this won’t matter much if you haven’t been keeping your site up to date with fresh quality content. If your content adds great value to your visitors, then it will help Google to trust you.
Your Authority Rank
This is where your link building will come into play. Google trusts sites with authority and one way to show this is having other trusted sites linking to your content. This proves to Google that your content is worthy enough for high-authority sites to share with their audiences. Just make sure the sites linking to you are already considered high-authority by Google, otherwise the links won’t help your ranking much.
High Value Content
We can’t stress enough the importance of delivering content that brings lots of value to your visitors. This can be in the form of blogs and articles, podcasts or videos. Whatever you’re sharing, make sure it is relevant and useful to your audience. One way to prove your content is high quality and has value add is to look at its shareability. If people are willing to share your content, then this tells Google your content is great.
For this reason, you should work with an SEO agency about implementing a social media marketing plan into your Search Engine Optimization strategy.