2017 SEO Strategy 101 (Search Engine Optimization)

WHAT IS SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?

If you are experienced in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) feel free to read on, if not I'll give a brief explanation. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a long-term process of getting traffic to your website, youtube channel, or social media platforms for free through organic or natural searches on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS). For example, when someone performs a search on Google, Bing or elsewhere the results that pop up are a result of a good SEO Strategy. 

On-page and off-page factors determine how well a website is going to rank. The on-the-page factors include substantive content, website architecture, and HTML. The off-the-page factors include the website's trust, links to the site, social media, and personal information. I'm going to be releasing a separate blog post on what substantive content is and how to create it - so stay tuned. 

SEO VS PPC (SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING VS PAY PER CLICK)

A question I often receive from very informed clients is, "With the increase in placements of paid ads on SERPS, is SEO really that important or is it dying?" As of early 2016, Google started to roll our four paid search results above all organic search results and in mid-2016 it became the norm. Another thing is that Google changed their "Ad" marker from an obvious yellow to a green that matches the URL. What this means is that many users making searches on Google are typically exposed to four ads that are harder to decipher before they see the #1 organic ad placement. So, that question is valid and I'm going to answer it with some key points:

• The most current data I can find shows Organic Listing grabs roughly 70% of Google's clicks while Paid Ads receive 30% of this traffic. Organic search results still receive the majority of the traffic but is a steep drop from 95% in 2012.
• SEO is everlasting while PPC stops as soon as you run out of money for the day or stop paying.
• Google processes 40,000 searches/second, capturing a percentage of these eyeballs is important for branding and top of mind awareness.
• SEO is FREE! If you implement the basic strategy you will begin to notice a rise in the ranks.

As I mentioned earlier, here is how a Google SERP used to look before the changes and below is how it looks currently. 

Previous State of SERP

Current State of SERP

FINDING SEO KEYWORDS

Since Google processes about 40,000 searches per second, it is important to know what keywords and phrases are important to rank for and what keywords you can live without. Guessing what keywords to rank for only gets you so far, but there are tools to help with your keyword research.

• Google Trends: A tool that shows how often a particular search term is entered relative to its total search volume across various regions of the World, US, and States. You can use this tool to see what search terms are popular, what search terms are on the rise, and where. It helps you target specific words and phrases when creating content.

• Keyword Planner: Google's Keyword planner is a tool often used for AdWords/PPC, but is great for SEO as well. It allows you to enter keywords and your landing page and it not only tells you the volume of the keywords but the competitiveness and related suggestions. You have the ability to chose your location and other targeting methods as well.

• Moz Keyword Explorer: This keyword explorer is a great tool that gives you the volume, difficulty to rank for this keyword, what opportunity you have, and a SERP Analysis

• Google Search Console: My personal favorite is Google Search Console. If you have analytics on your website enable search console. This tool will tell you what Google is trying to rank you for, where you currently fall, how many people saw your search result for a specific keyword or phrase, and how many people clicked.
• SEM Rush: SEM rush is a great tool for both SEO and PPC. It gives you historical ad data and organic data. This tool gives more data than many people know what to do with.

HOW TO RANK HIGHER ON GOOGLE (SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION TIPS)

With all of Google's algorithm changes and the increased difficulty to rank, there are some constants in 2017. I'll give you five tips on how to rank higher on Google. I wish I could say these tips are going to be the same forever, but up until this point, these five SEO tips have been relatively ageless.

1. CONTENT IS KING! Content Content Content. I cannot say more about this. Content has always been the main factor in SEO and continues to be. Writing keyword loaded substantive content is key in improving your Google rank.
2. Keyword Research & Implementation. If you write good content, but you do not load content with relevant keywords it will never be found. Do not overdue this point though. Googles algorithm Penguin's main factor is to punish those that cheat and overuse keywords to improve their ad rank. Write naturally with keywords in mind.
3. Quality of Quantity. When it come to money, quantity is probably better, but when it comes to SEO quality stomps all over quantity any given day. Focus on doing things right every time rather than doing something average over and over again.
4. Trust from Search Engines. There are many things you can do to earn Google and other search engines trust. Sites with https have been proven to rank higher. When you are building links to your site make sure they are from high-quality places. If you are linking away from your site make sure these links aren't broken.
5. Mobile is Tops. If your site isn't mobile-friendly or responsive it is time for a makeover. Mobilegeddon or Google Algorithm Panda was an update that took place in 2015-2016 which dings websites, slowly but surely, that are not mobile friendly. If you noticed your ad rank decrease recently, this is probably the culprit.

TO USE OR NOT TO USE AN SEO COMPANY OR SEO CONSULTANT

I'm going to finish this blog with this big question. There are hundreds and thousands of "SEO Specialist" all over the world that promise to get you to the #1 spot on Google and many of these companies and consultants you cannot trust. Most do not keep up with the ever-changing Google algorithms or use black hat tactics to get you to grow in the ranks rapidly, then you end up getting penalized later. If you are hiring a company, make sure it is for the right reasons and do your due diligence. I have worked with countless companies that have been screwed over by these "growth hackers." Make sure you do your research on these companies or have had a relationship with these companies, don't be afraid to question or press a company for information, and be sure to be your own advocate when considering working with a company.

Thanks for reading, if you have anything to add or questions feel free to reach out to me via email at [email protected]. 

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 Stuff I Referenced

https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/07/05/how-paid-and-organic-seo-results-overlap-in-2016/

https://moz.com/blog/eye-tracking-2016-how-searchers-interact-mobile-serps-desktop

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertadams/2016/11/29/seo-2017-8-crucial-rules-for-dominating-googles-search-results/#16e2964f7415