The big question for anyone serious about SEO is “How can I improve my SEO skills?”, and if you want to stay on top of the game of SEO there are some simple, yet fundamental approaches you need to take heed of.
Today’s search engines are following in Google’s path. Google is the 600 lb gorilla of search engines and whatever they do, all the rest have to fall in line with. That being said, we need to look at what we know Google is looking for and why you may need to change up regarding your present SEO strategies.
Nowadays, because of Google’s powerful suite of algorithm software, the old tricks and techniques of SEO are being whittled down to the basics. This means not only are keywords, links, content, being important in various degrees, but how they’re being applied as well. Google has switched up to spotlighting sites that are active, of interest and use to surfers, not businesses. No more grandstanding with words like “the best such-n-such business” or “the top site on the internet” nonsense. Nowadays you’ve got to prove it through statistics and metrics of an organic nature.
This means your surfers have to come from a diverse variety of sources, mostly from social media. People chatting about your site and posting a link to it from Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, and the other social media sites, means that people are finding your site, engaging in it and references to it. They’re also recommending it to their friends and colleagues which is like getting a first hand review of whatever your site has to offer. When this is done, those comments and shares and likes and links add up to a powerful array of positive references to your site and Google sees this as indicators that your site is worth the visit.
This all falls under active website engagement. You site shouldn’t just sit there with keywords and links on it. It has to have an updated blog with entertaining and engaging content on it. You’ve got to get people to wan to stop by to get the latest news about the products and services on the website and not just glance at it. When people start talking about your site and even if it’s during those heated debates on Facebook, it shows the search engines that your site is of high interest and is serving the public, not exploiting the public.
Now here’s the word for reference: engagement.
What does engagement mean? It means an active effort on your part to engage the audience at every opportunity. This is done by responding to comments made about your site that appear on your site or on other websites. Don’t let an opportunity pass you by when someone has commented on your site on Facebook or Twitter, when you see that mention or inbound link, jump on it right away. You want to say ‘thanks’ to any positive comments and diffuse any negative comments. Here’s where you get that opportunity to mention sales and discounts too. Be always at the ready for this as it can be a boon to your business and SEO. If you see a happy customer posting on an authority site or popular site, say thanks and let them know there’s a discount going on or a contest or a sale. Mention that it’s only for people who visit from said site and set up your sales regimen to recognize this. A few tweaks should do it and you’ve got happy customers who’ll boast about it thus drawing people to the site that made the initial comment and then segue’ into your site for the sale.
It’s all about recognizing opportunity when it knocks. Knowing when and where to saddle up and take the bull by the horns. You have to reach out and reach in via your site to let people who are asking about your site or who comment about your site know that you’re around to respond and clarify things if need be. That shows them you’re a cognizant person who cares, and Google will detect this type of engagement and rank you higher.