Search Engine Optimization is of vital importance to successful online marketing plans and plays a huge role in their ROI. Like the web itself, SEO is constantly evolving, due to Google’s ever-changing search algorithm, competitors’ actions, and any number of other strategic factors. The list below provides some of the latest information you need to maximize your SEO efforts.
- Conversion results matters more than ranking. Analyze your data, and if it shows that you get a higher conversion rate for a lower ranking keyword, invest in the keyword that converts; that’s the one getting results for your business.
- Top SEO results are based on solid SEO data. Relevant, current and strategically considered data will always be the foundation for successful SEO efforts. Some of the data you need to focus upon revolves around authority scores, trust factors, social signals. If you haven’t seen this information for your site please let us know and we’d be happy to provide you a snapshot into these powerful metrics.
- Social Media signals offer important data, just like backlinks do. Social Media sites are increasingly important in driving customer traffic to websites, and as such, their data needs to be reported on and analyzed, much as backlinks are. In addition, Google and Bing factor social signals such as Facebook Likes and Shares, Tweets, etc. into their search algorithms, making them directly influential in search rankings. If you don’t have a social signal reporting report configured let us know and we can show you a sample of the type of data you should expect to see.
- Use SEO technology for better results. SEO software and tools advance your ranking efforts by allowing you to track various aspects of your web presence on a consistent and ongoing basis. Zephoria uses a combination of tools including gShfit, Raven, SEOMoz, and a number of other tools to help our clients maximize their online exposure. Relying simply upon ranking reports is no longer going to be sufficient for the online marketer of the future.
- Track SEO data daily for better insights. Your SEO data is available for analysis on an ongoing basis; reviewing it as often as possible is the best way to adjust plans and remain on target to meet your goals. It has been fascinating to see that rankings can adjust dramatically within a 24 hour period. If this is something that you haven’t seen before let us know and we’d be happy to show you the type of data you should be expecting.
- Always include a content marketing strategy along with a backlink plan. It is a proven SEO fact at this point: spammy backlinks are generally worse than no backlinks. Relevant, interesting, and unique content produced regularly, with keyword optimization, is the best way to drive organic search conversions, build natural backlinks, and even generate social media signals.
- Spend more time on SEO and less on reporting by generating information efficiently and thoughtfully. Use technology to maximize your time and efforts, avoid including repetitive or unnecessary information, and make sure you strategically choose which data to focus on in order to meet your goals.
- There’s more to SEO than Google – Social Media sites matter. Google is vitally important, but social media sites are becoming increasingly vital in SEO efforts. Potential customers may start searches on sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and keyword optimization efforts need to focus on these markets as well.
- Consider Clickthrough Rate (CTR) opportunity cost. To do this, pick a high-converting keyword that is important to your business; use data to analyze the difference in click-through rates by ranking using that keyword. The opportunity cost between different positions – for example, between position number one and number five for that keyword search – will demonstrate how many clicks you could be missing out on based on ranking, and give you a way to determine how much SEO efforts for that keyword are worth to you.
- SEO is really about overall web presence optimization. Traditional SEO doesn’t stand alone any longer – web content and social media, as well as keyword and competitive research, all must be integrated in a meaningful way to generate the best results.
Zephoria is here to help you with the most current and meaningful SEO, social media, web content and data analysis strategies to successfully maximize your web marketing efforts.