The year 2013 saw many developments in the Google’s core
ranking algorithm. Major updates like
Hummingbird along with Panda and Penguin refreshes took place in 2013. These
updates forced the internet marketers to think differently and creatively. The
old school seo marketing strategies were packed up giving way for new and
better ones in order to boost up the marketing efforts in 2014.
ranking algorithm. Major updates like
Hummingbird along with Panda and Penguin refreshes took place in 2013. These
updates forced the internet marketers to think differently and creatively. The
old school seo marketing strategies were packed up giving way for new and
better ones in order to boost up the marketing efforts in 2014.
Here are 5 effective strategies on which you need to lay the
foundation of your overall SEO strategy in 2014.
foundation of your overall SEO strategy in 2014.
1- Think Topics, Not Keywords
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| Comprehensive content focussed around topics is required (Image credit: bloodpower.com) |
Keyword based seo strategy is growing old. The new way to
market your content is by thinking about the topics on which your customers
would be interested. Google has made changes in the way it processes the search
queries. The recent Hummingbird update backed with the power of “KnowledgeGraph” has made Google think semantically. This means Google will now try and understand
the context of the query before presenting the final results to the users.
market your content is by thinking about the topics on which your customers
would be interested. Google has made changes in the way it processes the search
queries. The recent Hummingbird update backed with the power of “KnowledgeGraph” has made Google think semantically. This means Google will now try and understand
the context of the query before presenting the final results to the users.
A thorough knowledge of semantic analysis would be required
in the same manner as Google has. Creating content focused around topics
instead of keywords will provide the maximum benefit. Also, writing content in
a conversational manner will become essential.
in the same manner as Google has. Creating content focused around topics
instead of keywords will provide the maximum benefit. Also, writing content in
a conversational manner will become essential.
2- Create OKR’s the Way Google Does
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| Fig. showing bloggers OKR. (Image credit: businessinsider) |
OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. I have seen a
majority of seo companies only focusing on getting rankings without working on
identifying major objectives and results that will help to fulfill those
objectives. I would strongly suggest all the internet marketers to create their
OKR sheet in order to identify their objectives along with the key results that
would enable those objectives to get fulfilled.
majority of seo companies only focusing on getting rankings without working on
identifying major objectives and results that will help to fulfill those
objectives. I would strongly suggest all the internet marketers to create their
OKR sheet in order to identify their objectives along with the key results that
would enable those objectives to get fulfilled.
OKR is not a new term for the Silicon Valley majors. Companies
like Intel and Google have already implemented OKR’s in their work strategy.
OKR’s are great because work becomes easier and more user focused when you know
your objectives.
like Intel and Google have already implemented OKR’s in their work strategy.
OKR’s are great because work becomes easier and more user focused when you know
your objectives.
All Google employees need to maintain their own personal OKR
sheet to better judge themselves. It was first introduced by Rick Klau for
improving the reputation of blogger.com. All the key results mentioned on his
OKR sheet hinted at improving the overall user experience and publizing the
platform by taking part in seminars and promoting PR activities.
sheet to better judge themselves. It was first introduced by Rick Klau for
improving the reputation of blogger.com. All the key results mentioned on his
OKR sheet hinted at improving the overall user experience and publizing the
platform by taking part in seminars and promoting PR activities.
3- Analyze and Test what’s working
Anything which is not tested should not be implemented on a
larger group of people. Google offers so many FREE testing tools in Analytics
and Webmasters like the AB Testing, Multivariate Testing, Page Speed Insights
tool, Universal Analytics etc which can be used for testing and better serving
the users.
larger group of people. Google offers so many FREE testing tools in Analytics
and Webmasters like the AB Testing, Multivariate Testing, Page Speed Insights
tool, Universal Analytics etc which can be used for testing and better serving
the users.
SEO’s and inbound marketers need to understand the purpose
for which the users are visiting the website. WebPages should be tested and
analyzed before the final launch. This would help to enhance the user
experience and gather user love.
for which the users are visiting the website. WebPages should be tested and
analyzed before the final launch. This would help to enhance the user
experience and gather user love.
4- Make Your Brand a Social Superstar
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| User engagement is the key! (Image credit: boldandfierce.com) |
Social media is set to play an inseparable role in every SEO
marketing strategy. Brands should have an excellent social media presence
especially on sites like Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. Google
always puts greater focus on its users and stuffs loved by users are always
loved by Google. Being active on social media platforms is one of easiest and
most preferred ways of getting social love. Although Google has not publicly
accepted that Google Plus helps in ranking but they are certainly a great way
to judge the quality of content that are loved and shared by people.
marketing strategy. Brands should have an excellent social media presence
especially on sites like Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. Google
always puts greater focus on its users and stuffs loved by users are always
loved by Google. Being active on social media platforms is one of easiest and
most preferred ways of getting social love. Although Google has not publicly
accepted that Google Plus helps in ranking but they are certainly a great way
to judge the quality of content that are loved and shared by people.
5- Improve the Quality and Presentation of
Content
Content
One thing that has remained constant all through the path of
the career of an SEO is the focus on content. Content has been King in the past
and will remain to be in the future. But, Google has allowed several ways to
enhance the presentation of content to its users. Webmasters who are making use
of several techniques made available to Google for better presentation of their
site’s content have already experienced high rankings and traffic to their
site.
the career of an SEO is the focus on content. Content has been King in the past
and will remain to be in the future. But, Google has allowed several ways to
enhance the presentation of content to its users. Webmasters who are making use
of several techniques made available to Google for better presentation of their
site’s content have already experienced high rankings and traffic to their
site.
As far as the quality of content goes, it needs to be
comprehensive and conversational. The LSI (latest semantic indexing) and TF-IDF(Term frequency and Inverse Document Frequency) score should not be ignored.
These are great metrics that are still utilized by Google in order to determine
the relevancy of a web page.
comprehensive and conversational. The LSI (latest semantic indexing) and TF-IDF(Term frequency and Inverse Document Frequency) score should not be ignored.
These are great metrics that are still utilized by Google in order to determine
the relevancy of a web page.
The presentation of content is as important as having
quality content. Here are some of the elements you can implement in order to
present your content in a user friendly manner.
quality content. Here are some of the elements you can implement in order to
present your content in a user friendly manner.
Google Authorship
– Google has greater plans to move from anonymous web to known web and for that
it has made the use of author snippets in its search results. The search
snippets returned by Google now contains author information. Webmasters have
already witnessed a greater Clickthrough rate by displaying their author
information in the search results. However, due to increased spamming and
misuse of the authorship markup, Google now plans to display only genuine and
reputed author information in the search results. Author rank which is based on
metrics like the quality of content, the number of plus ones and social media
shares the content receives, the number of positive comments the content
receives along with the DA (Domain Authority) of the domain where the article
is published all plays an important role in making an author genuine and
trustworthy in the eyes of Google.
– Google has greater plans to move from anonymous web to known web and for that
it has made the use of author snippets in its search results. The search
snippets returned by Google now contains author information. Webmasters have
already witnessed a greater Clickthrough rate by displaying their author
information in the search results. However, due to increased spamming and
misuse of the authorship markup, Google now plans to display only genuine and
reputed author information in the search results. Author rank which is based on
metrics like the quality of content, the number of plus ones and social media
shares the content receives, the number of positive comments the content
receives along with the DA (Domain Authority) of the domain where the article
is published all plays an important role in making an author genuine and
trustworthy in the eyes of Google.
In 2014, having author information as a snippet will make
your website look trustworthy and will help to increase the number of clicks
your site receives. Hence, work towards implementing authorship and increasing
your author rank.
your website look trustworthy and will help to increase the number of clicks
your site receives. Hence, work towards implementing authorship and increasing
your author rank.
Rich Snippets –
Google has been increasing the importance of rich snippets to make the search
snippets more user friendly. There are many forms of rich snippets that can
help the user to understand the contents of your web page. Some of them are
recipe snippets, reviews and ratings snippets, event snippet, products snippets
etc. The display of rich snippets also rests with the decision of Google. You
need to add the snippet markup and work to increase the domain popularity of
your site in order to enable the display of rich snippets associated with your
site in the search results.
Google has been increasing the importance of rich snippets to make the search
snippets more user friendly. There are many forms of rich snippets that can
help the user to understand the contents of your web page. Some of them are
recipe snippets, reviews and ratings snippets, event snippet, products snippets
etc. The display of rich snippets also rests with the decision of Google. You
need to add the snippet markup and work to increase the domain popularity of
your site in order to enable the display of rich snippets associated with your
site in the search results.
Schema Vocabulary–
Addition of Schema vocabulary like microformats, microdata and RDF helps the search
engines to better understand the contents of a web page. Rich snippets are also
a part of Schema Meta data. You can increase the relevancy of your site and
better serve your users by adding Schema data associated with every element of
your web page. Schemas can be added related to books, movies, person,
organization, place, local business, review, recipe etc. The Facebook OpenGraph Protocol is also a part of Schema vocabulary.
Addition of Schema vocabulary like microformats, microdata and RDF helps the search
engines to better understand the contents of a web page. Rich snippets are also
a part of Schema Meta data. You can increase the relevancy of your site and
better serve your users by adding Schema data associated with every element of
your web page. Schemas can be added related to books, movies, person,
organization, place, local business, review, recipe etc. The Facebook OpenGraph Protocol is also a part of Schema vocabulary.
Page Speed- The
world is going mobile and one of the major issues which most of webmasters
struggle to maintain is the speed of their site. Ever wondered why the world’s
best IT companies prefer to have a simple website? The reason is the site speed
and the browser compatibility. Opting for responsive design and maintain an excellent
site speed are some of the essentials of getting good rankings. It is for this
reason that Google offers a special Page Speed checker tool called the PageSpeed Insights that displays the current loading time of the page and also
gives some recommendations for improving the overall page speed.
world is going mobile and one of the major issues which most of webmasters
struggle to maintain is the speed of their site. Ever wondered why the world’s
best IT companies prefer to have a simple website? The reason is the site speed
and the browser compatibility. Opting for responsive design and maintain an excellent
site speed are some of the essentials of getting good rankings. It is for this
reason that Google offers a special Page Speed checker tool called the PageSpeed Insights that displays the current loading time of the page and also
gives some recommendations for improving the overall page speed.
Thus, there were some of the major factors that need to be
taken care of before planning any SEO strategy in 2014 and ahead.
taken care of before planning any SEO strategy in 2014 and ahead.
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