There has been an upsurge in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) interest among our clients recently, and I suspect it’s because folks want to be able to feel like they can control a variable in their web presence that will make a difference. The problem is…
SEO is not what it used to be.
While you can optimize a web site for a set of keyword phrases, it is not going to get the true search rankings lift that were once promised when good web site SEO was happening, say… two years ago? Today is a whole different ball game. With the prevalence of social signals and content marketing, it’s more about that than anything else.
Just look at this chart which shows what is influencing Google search today:
Out of the top 10 search signals, 7 out of 10 are social network related.
What else does this say?
1. We need to pay attention to Google+
Coming in at #1 in the search signals, its going to be a powerhouse that marketer’s need to better understand. Google+ has its own rhythm and style, and Google Hangouts have tremendous promise. If you are not active in this network, I’d kindly suggest getting yourself and your brand over there.
2. Backlinks still rule.
Good inbound links are still a critical component for your SEO rankings. How do you get good inbound links? Well, aside from signing up with directory listings (that are valuable and relevant) to your business, a blog is one way to build up inbound links. More on blogs…
3. Blogging Helps SEO Rankings
Apply your web site keyword strategy by building a content plan around those keyword phrases. This approach essentially builds out your keyword “footprint” in the world of Google and the Internet. Want to be found for “video teleconferencing in government”, then create a series of postings that would help share the story of how your products/services serve the government audience. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Secondly, when you write good blog posts, over time you will see your reading audience making comments and potentially referencing your blog posts in other blog posts. These are the inbound links that lift your search rankings. And if you think you are too busy to blog, my friend Jon DiPietro disagrees.
4. Take your social presence to the next level.
Move beyond the pure curation and sharing to finding relevant conversations happening in the industry. I just read this article about Cisco’s success with their social listening program. Start tying in some of your keyword phrases to your postings in social networks and through the use of #hashtags. Share your blog posts and re-share older posts on a regular basis – while trying to maintain the 80/20 rule for sharing 80% useful content, 20% brand specific.
5. Take small bites.
The challenge with SEO is it can all of a sudden feel overwhelming. We recommend taking small bites of the SEO sandwich. See how you can incrementally shift your search rankings by focusing on one phrase at a time. Do what you can to build out that phrase by adding more web site content, building a blog post series, adding it to your Google AdWords campaigns and so on. Then monitor the shift with your reporting tools like Google Analytics.
The main thing to keep in mind is, the world of search and social media are forever intertwined and need to be considered together. We will continue to highlight key insights around SEO in the upcoming months. Stay tuned!
UPDATE 9/20/13
Since I have written this post, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with a number of my colleagues at the ISA Marketing & Sales Summit last week in New Orleans. We were in agreement that Google+ is something we need to watch.
Then I came across this latest study in my Twitter travels:
Study Shows No Clear Evidence That Google+ Drives Rankings
This, of course, got my attention. It appears, after a very methodical approach using authoritative Google+ users, the study had 3 goals….to see if Google Plus would drive discovery, indexing, and ranking.
According to the study…the results concluded:
- Google+ shares do drive discovery.
- Google+ shares appear to drive indexing, but there is some possibility of error if the pages received links we are not aware of.
- We saw no material evidence of Google+ shares driving ranking.
Read the study for the details…