Two of the most powerful Internet Gurus have collaborated to take over the industry even more than they already have. Google, the lord of search engines and the master of Social Media, Twitter, are changing things up a bit to better the results for everyone – pun intended. Twitter […]
Without utilizing SEO practices on your website, you’re selling your success short. Google is basically the God of the Internet as they have completely transformed the online marketing industry with their consistent algorithm updates, tactics and tools used to engage viewership and traffic to your website. Now, the thing […]
The power of SEO has taken over the industry, and despite being able to read an overload of articles pertaining to this subject online, SEO really isn’t all that simple. In fact, it’s risky business that is super complex, and that also comes with a variety of factors to […]
Two of the most powerful Internet Gurus have collaborated to take over the industry even more than they already have. Google, the lord of search engines and the master of Social Media, Twitter, are changing things up a bit to better the results for everyone – pun intended. Twitter and Google have reestablished their agreement to allow tweets to appear within the Google search results, but what does this all mean for you and your online marketing regime? The power of SEO is no longer limited to your website and content; and the benefits of utilizing social media is about to get even more extreme.
Social media is all about engaging your audience with consistent interaction. Now, you could tweet all day but if you aren’t providing 150-character updates geared towards your specific audience, they won’t work their magic. So, you really have to think about your audience (customers) and what information they’re looking for from your social media updates. Better yet; think about what they might need and provide it. Thinking ahead of the game never hurts. Not only will these kinds of tweets enhance your social media game but they will also enhance your rankings as Google places importance on high quality content that is being shared and seen. That’s the secret! With only an allowed 150 characters, you have to be able provide direct, engaging content; and not random jibber that won’t be shared – or worse, seen! Make sure your tweets have a purpose! Engage and interact, folks.
You have the social media part down pat but how does this help your rankings? Great question! It’s a little complex, so listen up. There is no direct connection between a tweet and your Google rankings. However, audience engagement and interaction encourages traffic and contributes to your overall authority. Tweeting your keyword in every status may not put you at the number 1 spot in Google search results, but it will form your audience of what your tweets and content focus on, which will help you get noticed by people who want to see what you’re talking about.. Which is why you’re interested in SEO anyway, right? To get your name out there! It sort of creates a snowball; you tweet, people retweet, visit your site, retweet a link of your content and so on and so forth. It’s the only kind of snowstorm you should be excited for. As a result, Google will recognize that your tweets and content are creating traffic and attention, which are vital components when it comes to ranking higher. Google won’t promote content that no one wants, just like a store won’t sell a computer that is too slow to function in today’s modern world of technology.
Whether you’re a local business or not, you should certainly consider those within close proximity to you. Twitter, as well as other social media platforms, are able to target your local market. For example, when you log onto your Twitter account, you probably see recommendations of people to follow that have somewhat to do with your location. This can be a huge benefit to you. Sure, you might be thinking ‘big picture-big globe’ but focusing on the local market will create brand recognition within your local market, and people seem to favor companies and brands within their area because your content is relatable. If you’re selling surf boards in Canada, but are only tweeting to those in California, you may want to start providing content for Canadians who need to get away on a vacation to go surfing. It takes a bit of a creative angle to find a way to engage your local audience, but it is absolutely do-able within every niche. While it all may seem a little vague because there is no direct connection between your tweets and your Google rankings, you can see that there is a connection that improves your online presence. You want to reach the maximum level of engagement and traffic, and by completely ignoring the new agreement that Google and Twitter have re-established, you aren’t allowing your brand to do that. Create high quality content that your audience wants, and watch the snowball effect work its wonders, and never stop at one tweet. Social media is about
Without utilizing SEO practices on your website, you’re selling your success short. Google is basically the God of the Internet as they have completely transformed the online marketing industry with their consistent algorithm updates, tactics and tools used to engage viewership and traffic to your website. Now, the thing that surprises many people is that there are 2 different kinds of SEO; onsite SEO(content) and offsite SEO (link building) – and between the two, there is on that is taking the spotlight as one of the most significant marketing practices.
While Google is constantly changing what’s the ‘best practice’ in the industry, SEO as a whole has always remained on top; alternating between onsite and offsite. Currently though, onsite SEO has taken the lead which means that you should be putting the link building lower on your priority list and placing higher importance on content put on the front page of the site. Offsite SEO comes with a lot of penalties, and ways to take advantage of the tools which is likely why it is taking a seat in the passenger side. By Google raising importance on Onsite SEO, they can eliminate those individuals out there who manipulate the rules and regulations to get higher rankings, and reward those who genuinely practice Google’s online marketing regimes.
It is no secret that you can spend hours on end optimizing your website to coincide with Onsite SEO, without seeing a huge change in traffic and ultimately, the success of your website. This is because there are two kinds of people who utilize this industry-winning marketing regime; those who understand SEO, and those who really don’t. Of course, you want to be the prior to ensure that your invested time is well worth it in the end.
You cannot go too far with Onsite SEO without knowing your keywords. You need to know what people are searching online for, and with that, you are able to create content formed around what people want; making your website a valuable source of information. So, start your SEO practices by determining what your website is talking about, and how people are going to go about finding such information; or in other words, what will they type into the search engine to find the content you are offering. Those are keywords.
Once you have your keywords down and have implemented them into your content, naturally (super vital), you need to make sure that your content is saying exactly what people are looking for. Does your content answer the questions of the keywords? For example; if you have a travel website and use the keyword ‘things to do’ but never actually answer the question, your SEO marketing game isn’t on point. It all goes back to utilizing keywords naturally while also providing the audience with what they’re looking for. A better example is to think about company website pages, such as a ‘service’ page. While the website may list the services, the actual keyword isn’t necessarily being used appropriately, thus, not actually working. To enhance the use of keywords and also answer the desires of the audience, the company will create individual pages for each service provided. It just elaborates the content. Some other important places to input your keyword(s) include; the title, meta description, headings, and image alt tags. Again, just be sure to input the keywords naturally.
One major component of Onsite SEO is the speed of your website and many people completely ignore this issue that can drastically decrease your Google ranking and SEO status. It’s not brain science though; when a site runs slow, people are less likely to use it as it isn’t as fulfilling. Use a website like webpagetest.org to ensure that your loading times are sufficient; not only for your audience and Google, but for your own success as well. Another vital thing to look for on your website is error pages; as that certainly puts the speed of your website and audience at a halt. Log into your Webmaster Tools and see if any of your pages have 404 errors. Many people have no idea that they’re site is full of dead ends, and Google isn’t a fan.
The rules of Google Onsite SEO may change frequently, but they’re extremely easy to follow and the benefits are incredible and will thoroughly increase your ranking and overall success of your site. Now, if you have considered manipulating the rules to enhance your SEO rankings, think again. Google is the God of the Internet again; and they will find any faults and penalize your website accordingly. Stick to these simple and easy to apply tips and your marketing regime will be smooth sailing.
The power of SEO has taken over the industry, and despite being able to read an overload of articles pertaining to this subject online, SEO really isn’t all that simple. In fact, it’s risky business that is super complex, and that also comes with a variety of factors to be concerned about. This might even be the very reason why you have not yet indulged into the world of backlinks, keywords and the rest of the jargon that surrounds search engine optimization this far. While some fully entertain this modern day way of marketing, and others are a bit more hesitant. In order to determine whether it’s truly the correct path for you and your business, there are some things you must know.
So, you decided to take the SEO plunge and invested a significant (and possibly grueling) amount of time to get your website Google savvy, but the end is far from near. Google is consistently changing the rules surrounding SEO, and if you’re not up to date with the latest guidelines, you risk losing your rank in the search engines and it could even result in a red flag from the internet God itself.
That’s also not to mention that there are a variety of search engine rules that are hard-to-follow and that also have a lot of gray area that simply isn’t covered. The confusion will be almost unbearable for someone who is only starting to get into SEO now. Your marketing degree may not do much for you unless it’s catered to the future. The SEO guidelines are full of text that is troubling and the jargon is near-impossible to understand, and as any SEOer knows, if you aren’t following the guidelines precisely, you aren’t gaining the benefits of investing in this marketing tool.
Even if you are to fully understand the current guidelines that Google has put out there (since it’s always changing), you still aren’t guaranteed anything at all. This is another risk that you take on when investing time and money into utilizing SEO practices. You put forth an incredible amount of effort to learn all about SEO, and even more to input the rules into your website, but all of that may not result in any benefit to you. While one may argue that very little comes with a guarantee within the business world, we should remind you that there are online marketing tools that guarantee results, such as AdWords which is a service in which you pay a dollar, you are likely to receive a couple of clicks. The results are also fairly instantaneous.
Google itself has even warned people of any SEO services that offer a guarantee, but this is a huge contradiction because SEO is said to guarantee better rankings. Confused? Join the club. Now, let’s go back to hiring an SEO company since this is an avenue many people explore. That company still can’t predict what changes Google will make in the future. Thus, they can’t guarantee that, despite their best efforts and work, that it’ll do anything for you, and you could be left completely redoing everything you just paid for, and likely will due to the never-ending-changes. A reputable company should inform you of these factors as well.
So, let’s say that you still decide to do the SEO thing. You’ve done your research, you understand the rules and have implemented them correctly, and understand that there is no guaranteed results, but you still feel like it’s the correct solution for your business’ marketing plan. You should expect to not have results anytime soon. SEO takes time, right from the beginning to the invisible end. It’s a long term marketing strategy that could work, but not necessarily for everyone or at all. Rankings may not also get you leads, or sales. It’ll get you higher ranked in search engines but it isn’t going to get you anywhere without clicks or calls to your business to purchase your goods and/or services.
While there is a higher risk when taking on the SEO strategy, it also comes with higher benefits… if it works. Our suggestion to you is to dip your feet into the online marketing industry before diving in head first. This will allow you to decrease your risk of putting forth time, effort and funds without any sort of outcome; or positive one, rather. If you don’t understand the complexity of SEO, it won’t ever work for you. Educate yourself first, and then move forward because with SEO, there are some risks.
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