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5 Key SEO Changes That Your Business Needs to Implement Right Now
Posted on October 22, 2014
If your business relies on search engine optimization to attract new leads and customers then you need to pay close attention to the ever changing SEO environment. Business owners are always asking if SEO is dead every time a new update or change is rolled out. SEO will never die — it will continue to change and evolve, but it will never die.
Google is constantly rolling out algorithm updates and data refreshes in an attempt to combat low quality websites, spammy link building tactics, and poor quality content. It is important that you (or your SEO company) are up to date on the changes and how to adjust the search engine optimization strategy to avoid penalties and keep moving up in the search engine rankings.
SEO is not an overnight process, regardless of what some of the fly by night companies will tell you. Brand development, content marketing and outreach, social media marketing, and excellent mobile experiences are all parts of a successful search engine optimization strategy. Take a look at five SEO changes that your business needs to implement right now if you want to have success moving forward.
1. Brand Building Results in Link Earning
Simply building links all over the World Wide Web isn’t the ticket these days. Focusing on building your brand is going to result in natural link earning. Establishing your brand as an authority is going to present you with several opportunities to gain mentions on high authority websites, and it can also help you make valuable media connections that will reach out to you when they need information about your industry.
Content outreach, guest blogging, and making contacts with influencers (as well as establishing yourself as an influencer) are great ways to help increase brand awareness and earn links. Instead of making building links your main focus, concentrate on building your brand and you will not only see natural links built, but they will be the high quality type that Google loves and rewards accordingly.
2. Mobile Friendly Website is Mandatory
There is absolutely no doubt that Google prefers mobile friendly websites. They give their users a much better experience. Investing in a responsive website design is a very smart move and something that you should not be delaying. Your site needs to be easy to navigate on all devices and your content needs to be easy to read on any screen size.
The number of mobile and tablet users continue to increase and there are no signs of it slowing down. Everyone, regardless if they are viewing your website on a tablet, smartphone, or a desktop, needs to be able to access your content and find what they are looking for.
3. Content Marketing is No Longer a Trend
Over the past two years “content marketing” was a very popular term in the digital marketing world. It is no longer a trend — it is something that is essential if you want strong search engine optimization results. Many businesses still think that content marketing involves just throwing up some articles filled with words on their blog and calling it a day.
Content marketing allows you to tell your brands story and connect with your target audience. Now that content marketing isn’t just a fad, there are several ways to measure its performance and pinpoint the ROI it delivers. Since it is so measurable it allows you to really see what is working, and develop your content strategy around what works for your brand.
4. Your Customers Expect Your Brand to Interact Socially
For many businesses, social media was just an after thought. They would put up a Facebook and Twitter page and send out the occasional Tweet or post. That just doesn’t cut it these days. Not only do your social media outlets give you a great opportunity to post your content — but it also allows you to earn links as well as introduce your brand to a new audience.
Social media has now become an extension of every brands customer service department. Consumers are quick to turn to social media when they have a question or want to share information with a brand. How does this help your SEO? A positive interaction with your brand on social media can result in positive reviews posted as well as social sharing.
5. SEO Budgets Need to Increase Moving Forward
The creation of amazing content, video, and infographics is not cheap. A successful search engine optimization strategy built to attract high quality authority links is not cheap. If you expect to achieve results that produce an attractive ROI with a SEO budget from the past couple of years then some of the quality is going to be sacrificed and that is actually going to do more harm than good.
Brands need to up their SEO budget to include more interactive content that draws attention, along with mentions and links on authority websites. An SEO campaign that earns you some links on authority websites such as Forbes, Inc, and The Huffington Post signal is far more valuable than one that gets you random links from unknown sites.
Budget accordingly for your SEO and don’t fall for the “monthly packages” – a one size fits all solution will ruin your website.
Don’t let the “monthly SEO packages” that are advertised online. SEO is not, and never will be a cookie cutter service or one size fits all. If you are serious about obtaining strong and long lasting SEO results then you need to focus on building your brand, publishing great content, attracting authority inbound links, and creating a social media presence. Solid SEO results won’t be far behind when you build a solid brand and implement the changes above. It is important that you don’t stop here though, as SEO is constantly evolving.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/seo/5-key-seo-changes-business-needs-implement-right-now-01041672