7 seo hacks for 2017 | digital marketing strategy

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Search engine optimization is a collection of small adjustments.

7 SEO Hacks for 2017

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(Be sure to develop your strategy to support your unique goals.)


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SEO is constantly changing. Build your strategy for 2017.

#1:7 SEO Hacks for 2017

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Optimize for on-site engagement

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Why bother?Google is paying attention to user behavior.

They have access to a bunch of user engagement metrics through Google Analytics, Android and Chrome.

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Source: Presentation by Google search engineer Paul Haahr at SMX 2016. View on SlideShare

That data influences algorithmic choices.

https://www.slideshare.net/SearchMarketingExpo/how-google-works-a-ranking-engineers-perspective-by-paul-haahr

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What’s at stake?Engagement.

Better user engagement has the potential to improve rankings, but before that happens, users are spending more time on your site. That means you’re providing them with value and becoming a trusted resource.

Isn’t that what all brands want?

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How to optimize for engagement?• Add a table of contents with anchor links to long-form blog posts.

• Add video and interactive elements to your content. If users have something to do on your site, they stay longer.

For more tips, read the full “7 SEO Hacks for 2017” post.

http://ervinandsmith.com/blog/seo/7-seo-hacks-2017-marketing-strategy?utm_source=slideshare&utm_campaign=seo_hacks&utm_medium=content


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#2: Pay attention to page speed

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Why bother?We live in a mobile-first (and mobile index) world.

In mobile, page speed can make or break you.

“40% of consumers will leave a page that takes longer than three seconds to load.” - Think with Google

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/mobile-page-speed-load-time.html

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Bounces vs. conversions.

If consumers “bounce” because of slow page speed and don’t return if they’re dissatisfied with site performance, your bottom line is at stake if you continue to ignore page speed.

What’s at stake?

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How to improve page speed?• Look for images that aren’t optimized for web.

• Reduce the number of elements on the page.

• Minify your HTML, CSS and JavaScript where possible.

For more recommendations, read “7 SEO Hacks for 2017.”



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#3: Use schema markup

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Why bother?Only 3% of searches result in 10 blue links.

Google currently has 18 different types of SERPs. Using schema markup can help you appear in different SERP types.

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Source: Moz

Google SERP Types

https://moz.com/learn/seo/serp-features

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What’s at stake?Real estate in the search results.

Many of the SERP features that result from schema markup increase CTR (which means more organic traffic to your site).

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How to use schema in your SEO strategy?

• Analyze which SERP types appear most for the keywords that you want to target.

• Select and implement relevant schema (you’ll need a developer).

For more ideas, read the full “7 SEO Hacks for 2017” post.



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Adjust your keyword strategy for 2017 realities

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Why bother?Many search queries no longer result in a click (because the answer is given on the search results page).

Focus your SEO strategy on keywords that have traffic potential.

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Thanks, Google. I have my answer.

(no need to click)

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What’s at stake?Organic traffic.

If you’re targeting keywords with SERP features that eliminate the need to click, you are missing the mark.

If you’re only focused on single keywords and not themes and semantically related words, you’re also missing the mark.

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How to make your keyword strategy work in 2017?• Use SEO tools or manual searches to ensure you’re targeting

keywords with traffic potential (not just volume).

• Incorporate semantically related words and similar keywords into your content.




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#5: Develop internal linking standards

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Why bother?Internal links distribute link juice across your site.

SearchMetrics says internal links are “one of the most important ranking factors.”

Plus, internal links can help improve your on-site user engagement metric (you know, what we talked about in hack #1).

http://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/ranking-factors/

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PageRank.

Strategic internal linking is a way to sculpt your PageRank (i.e. funnel link juice to your high-value pages).

What’s at stake?

https://webmarketingschool.com/pagerank-sculpting-yes-it-does-work/

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How to improve page speed?• Place relevant (strategic) text links from blog posts to your high-

value pages, preferably with optimized and varied anchor text.

• Find and fix any broken internal links.

Read the full “7 SEO Hacks for 2017” post for more ideas.



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#6: Content distribution is king

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Why bother?Return on your content investment.

You put a lot of time and effort into creating your content. Give it a chance to produce a return on your investment by amplifying it.

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What’s at stake?Social signals and traffic.

Year after year, when surveyed by Moz, SEO experts cite page-level social metrics and site traffic in the top 10 ranking factors.

https://moz.com/search-ranking-factors/correlations#8

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Site traffic

Social signals

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How to improve your content distribution?

• Promote your content on different channels and in different formats.

• Use public relations and influencer outreach.




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Add paid content promotion to your marketing budget

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Why bother?Better rankings and increased traffic.

There are several other paid content promotion channels available. Social media isn’t the only name of the game.

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Source: Outbrain lets you promote your content on major publisher sites like Time, Fast Company and others.

Source: StumbleUpon’s paid discovery turns your content into full-page native advertising.

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What’s at stake?Exposure.

Which comes first: traffic or rankings? Without paid content promotion, your content won’t reach as many people.

And, it won’t get much organic traffic until it has some decent user engagement metrics and social signals.

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How to use paid content promotion?• Test, test, test. Approach paid content promotion as an ongoing

experiment. Always be trying new things and building on what works.

• Let your audience help you decide (through engagement) where to spend your budget.



Read more on our blog.

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