In a previous entry, we covered the importance of SEO and some of the most relevant tendencies to follow, in order to obtain a good ranking In Search Engine Results Pages (SERP). However, developments are fast, so we need to present to you some of the new options that have been included in our catalog of services. Once more we keep our promises and we maintain out standards by helping you step into the future smoothly. Now, without further ado, here are six practices to improve your existing SEO strategies.
It’s a new type of search that doesn’t need the user to initiate it. It was launched in 2017 and it is another of their AI-driven tools. Its purpose is to basically identify the behaviors and patterns of the user over time. Based on that, it makes recommendations for content that can potentially be of interest.
Even if the beginning was kind of rough for the tool, the number of users has steadily grown and it seems that the tendency will be maintained in the future. The subscription of a website is as simple as asking for indexation. Just keep in mind that, even if Google has not released any official statement about the factors the Artificial Intelligence considers for the ranking, experts have discovered that content quality and user interest form the basis, alongside location and browsing and search history, of course.
It’s a matter of time for other search engines to follow suite on this trend and, to some extent, include versions of their own. Therefore, you need to be prepared.
- Pay attention to image optimization.
Including pictures to articles is a practice that was used even during the newspaper era. However, it’s not enough anymore to just add, if you want to make the best out of your content. If fact, if they are not optimized, it will be detrimental to your rankings. That means you need to use high quality images that are truly relevant to the content and that can be enjoyed on mobile devices too.
And that’s not all. The file itself also needs to be customized. For example, the name cannot be just random letters and numbers. Instead, chose one that goes in accordance to the topic of the text of the sub-header the image belongs to. Alt tags are also loved by crawlers as they facilitate indexation; therefore, make sure to include them in every photo file.
- Including video to your content might be a good idea.
Even if the relationship between text and video is not usually as close as text and images, in recent years, audiovisual content has far surpassed articles in popularity. It doesn’t mean you need to change platforms, though. Instead, include videos, preferably short ones, as a complement.
The term «complement» is to be taken seriously in this context. You should avoid at all costs presenting exactly the same information in both video and text. It is in your best interest to use the text-image relationship as an example and try to find a balance between the information provided in the article and the one in the video. For example, if your content is a review about one of the products you offer, the video should be a display of said product.
- Place importance on semantically related keywords.
Keywords are the foundation of any reliable SEO strategy. Even so, with the number of websites competing for ranking for the same search terms, choosing potentially good keywords and key-phrases has become quite a hustle. Fortunately, the introduction of Artificial Intelligence has changed the search algorithm quite dramatically. In fact, Google confirmed that they are no longer looking for what they called “strings of words”. Instead, semantics will take priority.
It means that the AI will give more importance to the “intention” of the user over the actual words or phrases they used in the query. To take advantage of this, content creators must think of primary and secondary keywords that are logically and closely related to the one they want to rank, before writing the text. In other words, keep in mind the context at all times and try to predict what kind of intent can a user’s query have.
- Prepare you content for local search ranking.
Even if the internet as a whole and most SE, are global platforms, when it comes to searching for products and services, most people want them to be as close to where they are, as possible. In fact, if what the user wants is a physical store, like a restaurant, yoga center or a mechanic shop, results that are not in the locale are seen as useless. That’s the reason why local SEO is just as important as any other practice.
Such importance is also evolving. Search Engines have realized that many of those queries do not lead to clicking on any links, since users expect to find the answers in the SERP itself. This creates a great opportunity, especially for businesses that require the physical presence of a customer in the store, as these so-called “zero click searches” have a higher potential for conversion, even though they won’t generate traffic to your website. Besides, chances are, that it can be integrated to your current SEO strategy just by creating, for example, a My Business account in Google, and adding names and local reference points to your content.
- Give priority to Data and Analytics.
Implementing a SEO strategy without monitoring its results, is a recipe for disaster and lost opportunities. For it to be successful, you need to receive and process data, in order to understand your clients’ behaviors and which techniques work or not. That way you will be able to adapt and act accordingly, prioritizing the ones that work and quit wasting resources on the ones that don’t.
On the other hand, analytics, not only for your own website, but also for the competition, is likewise crucial. Knowing which URLs are getting indexed, will give you a hint on what you are doing right and what you are missing. Additionally, it will allow you to keep in check your bounce rate, which is hugely detrimental to your ranking, and avoid other harmful practices.
As we can see, all these practices go a tad beyond the basic Search Engine Optimization strategies. However, their importance is just as high. Keep in mind that all these tips are for existing SEO strategies, therefore if you are just starting your journey, we recommend that you visit our blog and check out our previous entries. Otherwise, you can contract our services and let a team of professionals, guide you through the best practices according to your type of business.