How do businesses use SEO? Secrets that SEO agencies don’t want you to know
While learning SEO is not natural and takes a lot of time, it is not rocket science. For a long time, people have viewed SEO as a preserve of virtual agencies. The myth has been propagated by agencies that want you to keep paying substantial sums even for results that do not result in actual value. For example, being on the first page on Google though paid ads do not necessarily mean that users will click on your ad and go to your website. Similarly, an increase in traffic to your site may not increase the conversion rate.
SEO is a critical skill, and learning it can help you unlock the doors to content marketing Nirvana. Here are some of the secrets that SEO agencies don’t want you to know so that you will forever be bound to their exploitative antics.
While ranking is essential to your SEO strategy, it can by no means be guaranteed. Google’s algorithms use too many variables that, even with the best keywords and content, it is impossible to ensure rankings. Having a solid marketing strategy can make up for this uncertainty in digital marketing. It provides your visitors with an irresistible value proposition that will provide organic growth to your company.
Keywords are catchphrases that are not guaranteed to attract visitors or convert them to paying customers. As a result, the process of keyword targeting involves a lot of hits and misses. It’s a game of testing what works and what does not.
Today’s SEO strategy involves using an integrated approach that considers rankings, user experience, user intent, conversion optimization, pricing methods, data management, and payment methods. Considering all these factors can guarantee an improvement in your bottom-line and reward your efforts in implementing a robust SEO strategy.
The traditional methods of using paid links have become outdated and may even be penalized by Google. Today, you build traffic to your site by having authoritative content that will ensure other websites are linking to your site naturally. Thus, modern SEO is driven by building relationships with influencers and businesses that can improve the visibility of your site. Building these networks will direct traffic to your website, creating better value for your business.
Tools such as social media networks and SEO SpyGlass help you to establish patterns of your site visits and are great for building relationships.
Additionally, comment marketing is another crucial strategy in relationship building. Engaging comments on your site or social media postings help to inspire discussion surrounding your topic, creating more hits for your keywords. Tools such as Google Alerts help you to set up email or RSS notifications about comments using your keywords.
While building relationships with influencers and businesses is vital to SEO, metrics are more critical in getting value from the SEO strategy. Analyzing data helps you to determine which strategies are working and which ones are not.
A data-driven SEO strategy helps you to make informed and objective decisions that create long-lasting value. You can evaluate your plan using free tools, for example, Google Analytics. Such tools can enable you to keep track of the effectiveness of your SEO strategy and make adjustments appropriately.
Using too many keywords and links can make your site look too mechanical. A cogent SEO strategy should involve naturally integrated keywords and links. You should use an optimum number of keywords to avoid over-optimization. Moreover, you should use a diversity of anchor text for your links for them to look organic. Some other ways your site can be over-optimized include:
Google was built to serve people. Therefore, the search engine changes based on the needs and considerations of individuals. While SEO experts know the general factors of Google’s ranking algorithm, no one really knows the specific criteria that the company uses at any particular time. Therefore, no one should lie to you that they have the silver bullet for all aspects of SEO. Instead, good rankings can only be realized through a consistent commitment to sound SEO principles, such as creating high-quality content, on-page optimization, and building valuable relationships through links.
To avoid such scenarios, do a regular analysis of your entire online presence and counter check the source of your inbound links. You can monitor the backlinks to your site using tools such as Monitor Backlinks.
Content is at the heart of every SEO strategy as it helps you to establish authority in your area of expertise. However, even excellent content is not worth much if you cannot put it out to the right audience. You must have solid strategies to deliver your content to your audiences by publishing in the best channels and syndicating the content in the best networks.
SEO marketing is not a gilded art that is the preserve of a secret order. Instead, it is a skill that you can teach yourself and use it to unlock your business’ growth potential. Let no one lie to you that they can guarantee you rankings as Google and other search engines are the masters of the game, and everyone else plays by their rules. The most crucial step is to learn about their ranking criteria and tailor your strategy accordingly, but nothing is guaranteed.
