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3 Latest & Effective SEO Tips You Must Know

Updated on by in Web Development

In the past few years, Google has made a number of meaningful changes to its search algorithms in order to supply people with better content. Though older search engines focused on keyword optimization and the volume of content a site was producing, Google’s new algorithms prioritize user-friendly websites that create their own original content and publish lengthy, well-researched articles.

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Google’s changes to its search algorithms have inspired a new wave of search engine optimization strategies. In addition to being concerned with quality more than quantity, modern search algorithms also take social media presence into account as well as the overall design and usability of a site. As a result, content marketing, web design, and social media marketing have become crucial components of current SEO practices.

With so many changes and updates to Google’s search engine algorithms, it can be difficult to stay up-to-date on the newest SEO strategies and many opt for a digital marketing agency to tackle the holistic approach that is needed in 2015 to succeed. Here are three things you need to know about SEO and why SEO is never a “one time deal” and “I had SEO done when my website was created” is a clear lack of understanding about the ever evolving process:

Crafting quality content is more important now than ever

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Although early search algorithms focused on keywords and backlinks, this is certainly not the case today. Google Penguin and many other algorithms now penalize websites that use keyword stuffing, link spamming, duplicate pages, and hidden text to manipulate their search engine rankings and increase their visibility. It is best to avoid these outdated strategies altogether and focus on the quality of content your site is producing instead.

As search algorithms continue to advance, content marketing should become an increasingly important component of your SEO strategy. Google updates like Panda and Hummingbird aim to find high-quality sites and prioritize them in search rankings. Panda emphasizes originality, usefulness, author/website authority, advertising ratio, and web design, while Hummingbird analyzes content, structural patterns, and common themes and motifs. In this broad and all-encompassing approach, search algorithms focus on the quality of a site’s content in order to increase the visibility of thoughtfully-crafted websites with unique, well-researched content. Google also displays results for “in-depth articles” that contain a minimum of 1500 words.

To optimize your site’s search engine ranking, you should take the time to create insightful, intelligent content that is dense yet easy to digest. Remember, the better your content is and the more it stands out, the better your page rank will be. In this case, quality is far more important than quantity.

SEO does not have to be a one-man job

In addition to content, search algorithms also take a site’s overall design into account. This includes everything from ease of use and aesthetic appeal to the presence of Meta tags for headings, titles, keywords, etc. Many algorithms also penalize sites for having dead links, bare pages, duplicated content, and 404 errors, so it is imperative that all of your pages load quickly and correctly.

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When it comes to appearance and navigability, remember that although your site may seem orderly and easy to use to you, this may not be true for everyone. Be open to advice and suggestion about how to improve the overall design of your site – it’s the user’s experience that matters here, not yours. It is not uncommon for someone to get frustrated with a poorly designed site, close the tab, and never go back to the page. Make yourself stand out from your competition by having a site that is easy to use and easy on the eyes.

In many companies, SEO duties are split up between multiple people. There may be one person who focuses on the on-page optimization details, another who handles design and coding, and another who deals with server and connectivity issues. In this situation, communication among these people is necessary in order to fully optimize your webpages. For example, if your SEO expert finds a 404 error on a page or an image that isn’t loading correctly, he or she should inform the IT guy or the webmaster. This kind of teamwork not only makes everyone’s jobs easier, it also improves the quality, appearance, and page rank of your site. It’s a win-win situation!

Coordinate your SEO and social marketing strategies to increase traffic

Social media is a great way to drive traffic to your site. For starters, the most widely-used social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) are completely free to use. Tumblr, StumpleUpon, and Google+ are also available at no cost. It should come as no surprise that out of all of these services, Google+ ranks the highest in Google’s search algorithms, as it owns the content posted there and has better access to it. That alone should be reason enough to incorporate Google+ into your SEO and social media strategies.

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Content-sharing is one of social media’s greatest merits. With just a few clicks, you share a funny video, an informative article, or breathtaking photo with everyone you know. Twitter Cards are a particularly efficient way of sharing content with your followers while also helping drive your social media traffic to your external website. The ‘share’ function on Facebook and blog entries on Tumblr and other popular sites can perform a similar function without limiting you to 140 characters.

In many ways, social media can function as an almost endless source of free advertising. To help increase your site’s visibility, start adding all of your blog entries to StumbleUpon and Tumblr while using Twitter and Facebook to get keep your followers up-to-date with new content. Always link back to your website if you can, use relevant keywords and hashtags to increase visibility in your specific area of expertise, and come up with your own unique hashtag to tie it all together.

If you are unsatisfied with your website’s search engine results, it’s probably time to rethink your SEO strategy. Google updates its searches algorithms multiple times a year, so be sure to modify your SEO practices accordingly. To increase to your visibility in search engine results, always strive for quality over quantity and encourage cooperation and teamwork between your content crafters, social media marketers, web designers, and IT personnel. Your hard work will pay off in the end, so start incorporating these easy tips into your SEO strategy today!

Author: Hayley Irvin

Hayley Irvin is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. When she’s not creating awesome content for Marketing Zen Group. She’s writing about basketball, learning about space, and thwarting her cats’ attempts to take over the world. Catch up with her on Twitter @HayleyNIrvin.

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