A well thought out and strategically planned SEO strategy is the foundation of a high performing website. Creating a website is simply not enough. Search Engine Optimization or SEO as it is famously called is the process of optimizing your website for performance on search engines like Google.
In this article, we will look to cover some important aspects governing SEO, like-
- What is a SEO strategy?
- Which are some of the components of a good SEO strategy?
- What are the best SEO strategies to execute in 2019?
- How can SEO benefit a brand website?
- What is the period of time and investment I am looking at when it comes to SEO?
SEO Strategy- Meaning, Definition and Benefits
As I have already mentioned, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the process of helping websites according to Google’s Quality Guidelines and Ranking Factors. Every website needs to outperform the one who is above it in order to climb the search rankings for the keywords that dominate their industry.
SEO is composed of two main elements- On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO.
On-Page SEO is optimizing the architecture of the website so that it fits Gogle’s quality guidelines. Website loading speed, URL structures, Mobile Responsiveness, SSL certificate and security and SEO friendly website content are some of the critical On-Page SEO components.
The process of Link Building dominates Off-Page SEO. Backlinks are one of Google’s core ranking factors. Building backlinks is seen as a sign of authority and credibility. The more backlinks your website has, the higher are its chances of ranking and improving site metrics.
Some of the major benefits of a successful SEO strategy are-
- Improvement of website traffic
- Increase in website metrics and the health of the website (DA, DR, PR and Alexa Rank).
- More opportunities for increasing sales and leads for the brand website
- Heightened credibility and authority in the industry
10 Actionable SEO Strategies that work great in 2019: The List
- Guest Posting-
Guest Posting is one of the most effective digital marketing strategies for a very long time. It involves creating content that is to be published on another website. In return for the content, the external website gives a site a backlink and a mention.
This helps in attracting the website traffic from the external high authority website as well as helps in getting the much coveted backlink to your site. Guest posting if done in the right fashion is still the most effective digital strategy for 360-degree SEO exposure.
- Blogger Outreach-
In the last few years, Blogger Outreach has given guest posting a string fight when it comes to building backlinks and gaining website traffic. This is the process of reaching out to industry niche bloggers and asking them to publish your sponsored post on their website.
Like guest posting, this helps in not only transferring traffic from the blogger’s website back to your site, but also contributes to increased conversions and sales. Bloggers command influence and authority over their traffic is buying preferences.
- Official Link Directories-
Every country and business industries have official databases where they list all the businesses that exist within the territory. For example, if you are a dentist or a dental brand, you can have your website link listed with all the requisite Medical Associations in your region.
This not only helps in gaining valuable links, but also leads to increased exposure and authority building. More people are going to find your business reputable and credible if they find your brand mention on multiple platforms.
- Quora and Reddit Link Building-
Even though the nature of links that are built on Quora and Reddit are of a no-follow nature, yet Google continues to maintain ambiguity on whether they contribute to SEO scores or not. These are high authority sites, which see huge traffic volumes.
You should always have a sustained plan of answering on Quora and Reddit. The educative and informative nature of such platforms helps in garnering trust, respect and builds credibility. It also helps in diverting significant traffic to your brand website.
- Social Media Links-
Like Quora and Reddit, social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram are also credible platforms for placing your brand’s no-follow links. These platforms help in diverting traffic from social media to your brand website.
Every brand’s SEO strategy needs to follow a similar keyword strategy on social media. This helps in reach, search rankings and exposure. The more links that your share on your social pages, the better will be the performance of your SEO strategy.
- Create High Quality Content-
Google counts quality content as one of its top three ranking factors. This means that all content on the website needs to be properly optimized. Content, which is both user intent friendly and search engine friendly, performs high on search rankings.
The content needs to be SEO friendly and created post proper keyword research. A website, which does not have high quality original and non-plagiarised content, does not have much chances of performing on search engines.
- Have a Blog Section on your Brand Website-
All brands and businesses regardless of the industry they are in need to have a Blog Section. A blog is critical when it comes to ranking for keywords. It is much more difficult to rank product and services pages than to rank blog pages.
Blogs also work to build credibility, trust and act as a source of Inbound Marketing for the brand. You should always try to create Long Format (2000+ word articles) on the blog. This will help in attracting website traffic in the end.
- Mobile Responsiveness and Optimization-
According to Google, more than 60% of all searches takes place on Mobile Devices. This is why in 2018, Google announced a Mobile-First Indexing Policy. Every brand website needs to ensure that their site is mobile responsive and optimized.
People are no longer just using the internet on their desktops. They are also doing in on cell phones, tablets and laptops. If your site is not Mobile responsive it can never rank on search. This counts as one of the most important aspects of Technical SEO.
- URL Structure, Site Architecture and Loading Speed-
These fall under the purview of On-Page SEO Optimizations. Some of the best SEO agencies ensure that all On-Page optimizations are done at the stage of development itself. Arranging the URL structure, title and meta tags and ensuring a fast website is critical to success.
From a consumer standpoint, a fast website is one the most important pre-requisites for engagement. This also helps in reducing the bounce rate; again a ranking factor for Google.
- HTTPS and SSL certificates- Safety and Security-
Data breaches have become so common and serious in nature that Google prioritizes websites on search that have HTTPS instead of HTTP. SSL certificates hold a lot of value in terms of ensuring a website’s security and safety.
Websites that are safer and have better security features in place find higher rankings and more engagements. It also boosts the confidence of the user in terms of submitting their financial details like card, payments and so on.
Conclusion
Brands and businesses prefer investing in SEO as it is a highly trackable digital marketing strategy. The best SEO strategies are can be monitored, are time bound and ensure real results. If you are following all the above stated 10 SEO techniques, you can rest assure that this will help you to avail all the advantages that have been mentioned in the article.
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