SEO has continued to evolve since it become a popular online marketing strategy. Most SEO tactics that were used 5 to 10 years ago are now considered obsolete. Gone are the days of keyword stuffing, directory submissions and link exchanges. As we get inch closer to 2016, lets look at the SEO tactics that you should use to continue to perform strongly on search engines.
- Keyword research – Finding keywords that you should optimise your website for remains important. Using tools like Google Adwords Keyword Tool, SEMRush and many others, you need to find keywords that help drive traffic/conversions. Rather than stuffing your content with these keywords, you need to write content around these keywords for e.g. if your primary keyword is ‘trade mark registration’, you should write content on subjects like ‘how to register your trade mark online’ etc. Google will put emphasis on user intent so providing content that answers the intent will help you perform well organically.
- Website optimisation – The stronger a website from a technical perspective, the better your chances of performing well on search engines. Website loading times have always been very important and will continue to play a prominent role in 2016. Mobile accessibility is going to become a major player owing to increasing mobile traffic. Make sure your website is mobile ready and complies with Google’s standards.
- Content – The more information you share, the more relevant your website will be for your keywords. User intent is a growing focus of search engines. Developing content that focuses on user intent is the way to go. If you sell mobile phones, you should write content on the best budget mobile phones or mobile phones with this best cameras. This will help you answer information searches and target long tail keywords.
- Link building – It’s becoming increasingly difficult to get links and rightly so. The link building tactics used a few years ago should not be used anymore. Getting links through blog posts is still effective, however the focus should be on creating content that gets interaction. Creating blog posts and guest posting for the sake of links is not a strategy to pursue. Shareable content, journalistic pieces and methods which generate links naturally will be the strategies to pursue. For smaller businesses that struggle with link building, the focus should be on creating great content for their website.
- Mobile SEO – Mobile optimisation will overtake desktop optimisation this coming year. Mobile searches have overtaken desktop searches which naturally makes mobile the greater focus for search engines. Websites which are fast, light and provide content in a mobile friendly format will get a better organic reach. Focus on building light websites which offer a good mobile user experience and bite seized content.
SEO is ever evolving. Following the above tactics will help you perform well this coming year. SEO is a long term effort which means that building a better website and great content will be part of a greater marketing and promotion strategy. It goes without saying that old habits die hard, but changing your SEO habits will make sure that your website doesn’t suffer organically.
