SEO Marketing Plan for 2017

The perception of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) varies among businesses, but one constant remains favorable. It is necessary to utilize effective SEO to stay ahead of the competition.

Just as changes in technology seem to occur at lightning speed, SEO does also. The only way to dominate the SEO challenge is to remain aware of these changes, and implement them in your business. There is more to the process than strategically placing a few keywords throughout website or general content. The new year has just arrived and changes in the industry have already taken place. There are a few trends to keep you in sync with the changes of SEO in 2017.

Super Charge Your Content

Let’s face it! There is a ton of information out there for readers to absorb. It’s important to realize that readers will not waste time reading crappy content. Eliminate the fluff that will cause people to move on to the next article, which happened to be written by the competition. Provide informative content that engages readers and remember to keep it simple. At one time, it was considered best to use long pieces of content, but that is not always necessary. Utilize the smallest amount of space to present the most engaging type of info.

Enhanced User Experience

This is one of the trends that finds its way into each year in one way or another. It is imperative that users have a pleasant experience while visiting websites. Web pages that are adequately equipped to properly handle mobile devices and usually load without lagging or interruption, are primarily favored by Google. Expect an increase of attention to be directed towards the quality of user experience. Web pages that are designed to interact efficiently with mobile devices are among those that Google will favor for providing a quality experience to its users. Web pages that attract the attention of visitors is a great start, but it is important to present quality material to engage them once they log into the page. Extended visit times is another characteristic that Google favors.

Accelerated Mobile Pages

There are a large percentage of web browsers that log into a site from their mobile devices. The worst-case scenario presents itself at the point of log in when the page fails to load or loads slowly. Many times, this occurs because the point of access is a mobile device and the page being visited is not equipped for mobile visitors. This will result in a loss of business for some businesses because the redirected visitor will choose to visit the site of a competitor. Make certain your business page is designed to offer an enhanced experience for those utilizing mobile devices. Google makes known its appreciation for those sites that make mobile access an easy experience. It makes them visible in a carousel, which includes the image of a bolt of lightning to indicate that the site is mobile accessible. Many brands have upgraded their website to accommodate mobile users to enhance their visibility and improve their productivity.

Voice Search

Voice search is by far the new kid on the block, but usage of the feature has increased over the past couple years. This is especially true with teens and older generations. It is a convenient feature that saves time and expedites return of results. More than 50% of teenagers and adults say they find the feature convenient and use it whenever possible. Websites should be optimized for voice search to ensure that there is a clear understanding of the terminology being spoken by users. Aim to optimize the site to accommodate those utilizing voice search as part of a strategy to dominate SEO this year.

Brand Building

Businesses must give attention to the continued development and building of their brand in 2017. Effective branding efforts increase the odds of consumers browsing for your brand specifically. Make certain the brand is visible and highly recognized because of its design and development. Keyword ranking is beneficial but it is not enough. Search engines have improved dramatically at recognizing artificial linking and calculated SEO strategies, including keywords. Execute strategies that diversifies the brand’s online presence.

Social Media Marketing

Simply put, your clients are on social media almost 80% of the day. Brands cannot afford to be absent from the social media platform. Social media sites have become almost as effective as Google, in that they present a variety of options to users when searching for certain categories.