It’s no secret a quality search engine optimization strategy is crucial to any digital marketing program. But, what do you really need to know and do as part of that quality SEO strategy? There are over 200 ranking factors in the Google search algorithm. You know keywords are important and you are using them in your content. You have great page titles and meta descriptions on your website pages. Your website pages load fast. Your website is responsive and you’ve optimized for mobile. You’re utilizing video marketing and your YouTube channel and videos are well optimized. What else is there?
1. Optimize Your Pages for User Intent and Task Completion
What does the user mean and what do they want to accomplish based on the keyword query they’ve used? For example, a user searches, “best independent living communities in florida.” You own an independent living community in Florida, and you want to rank for that search keyword query. Are your results going to be what that searcher is looking for? Are they looking for a single independent living community? Most likely, they are looking for a comparison of highly rated communities in Florida.
Having a complete understanding of user intent needs to drive your SEO and keyword strategies. Some keywords seem like great words for your site to rank for, but your pages need to meet the intent of the user.
The second part is task completion. Can the user complete the task they set out to do on your website? Can you provide everything the user needs to meet their goal? Will the user be completely satisfied, or will they need to return to Google for additional searching and information?
Your best keywords for truly great search engine optimization fulfill both the user’s intent in the search and provide page results that allow the user to complete their task.
2. Utilize Structured Data for Improved Results
Schema is a unique semantic vocabulary in a microdata format that drives rich snippets in the search results. OK, what does that mean? Essentially it’s a way to tag the copy on your website so the search engines know what the page means, not just what it says.
For example, I searched “flights from chicago to hawaii.” Google was able to display flight times & prices right in the search results because these airlines have added markup to the information about flights.
Google offers the Structured Data Markup Helper tool to help you determine exactly what code to use on a webpage or in an email to add structured data.
3. Don’t Forget Social and Apps
Google has been indexing social posts for
some time now. The search engine giant does not index all social posts, but indicators are that quite a bit is being indexed. That means your Tweets and Facebook posts can show up in search engine results. Are you using relevant keywords in your posts? Do your posts link to pages that will provide an opportunity for user task completion? (see #1 above.) Are you posting social content that gets shared and builds authority? The line between your social media strategy and your SEO strategy is going to get more and more blurred as the two become more interdependent.
What about apps? Google introduced indexing of app content back in October 2013. That meant you could potentially see content from your installed apps in the search results. In April 2015, Google announced it would display content from any app, not just the ones installed on your phone. The results would help users discover useful apps in mobile search. As search becomes increasingly mobile-focused, getting your app indexed and discoverable is hugely important.
Anything Else I Need to Know About SEO?
Optimizing your web presence for the search engines has changed dramatically since the early days of the internet. Long gone are the days of keyword stuffing and link farms. Users are savvy and search engine algorithms are sophisticated. If nothing else, simply stay focused on providing great content within a great user experience. There aren’t any magic SEO bullets or special tricks that will make you rank and get the traffic you need. Quality content that meets your users needs will be recognized by the search engines.
