Regardless, if you have been working with SEO for the past ten months or the past two years, you probably know that things are changing on a daily basis. In fact, over the past two years or so a lot of changes have taken place in the SEO world. Not only are search engines constantly switching up their algorithms to rank websites, but also they are now penalizing individuals for using the wrong and incorrect tactics.
With all these new techniques and changes it really is almost becoming impossible to determine which tactics are the best and most useful when trying to rise to the top of the ranks. Whatever the situation is, it is no mistake that SEO is crucial for online marketing success, but what do you really need to know about this new SEO world in order the be successful?
Bump Up Your Loading Times
If you don’t want fake traffic and want to turn those real customers into potential buyers, you are going to have to speed up the loading times of your website. It is true that in the past you could get away with a slower loading website, but that really isn’t the case anymore. In fact, if you are like some individuals you can remember the age of dialup and how long it took to load some of those highly graphical animated websites. Well, with cable and high-speed Internet consumers want results and they want them right away. Anything that takes over three seconds to load needs to either be changed or completely removed from your website.
In fact, the latest research and studies are showing that just a one-second delay could cost you a 7 percent loss in conversions. Most buyers associate longer load times with untrustworthy sites.
Linking Out With Relevant Content
It should already not come as a big surprise that if you want to be successful in the SEO game you are going to have to link out to blogs and other websites. While most people view linking out with relevant content as a means of taking traffic from their website, it really remains an optimal strategy that will potentially put you ahead of the game. It not only makes your site more valued, but it will increase your referral traffic, as you will now be viewed as an expert in your chosen field of study. Just make sure that you are providing useful and informative content that will actually be relevant and useful to your specific niche.
Keywords Are Important, But You Need Coherency
Keywords and keyword placement have also greatly changed throughout the years. In fact, keyword placement and density have become a major go-to for many SEO experts. Unfortunately, some individuals have taken the keyword game just a little too far, which is making their content incoherent and unreadable. Keywords are meant to drive traffic to your website, but if all of your articles are just stuffed with keywords here and there your content isn’t going to make any sense. After reading two or three incoherent sentence consumers are going to flow away from your site.
This is why it is imperative to never prioritize search engine algorithms over your actual consumers. Sure, you want to be ranked at number one, but you do not want to accomplish this by dumbing down your content or hurting your conversion rates. This pretty much defeats the purpose of being ranked at number one.
Take Advantage Of Analytics Right From The Start
How are you supposed to know what is and isn’t working on your website if you aren’t keeping track of it? Sure, you might be driving traffic to your site, but do you know where it is coming from? These are two very important questions that you need to sit down and ask yourself. The only way to know the answer to both of these questions is by taking advantage of the analytic software. Google and a variety of different other search engines offer consumers and website builder private analytic software that allows them to track and monitor the success of their website. This will not only show where your consumers are coming from, but it will show what they are actually viewing and clicking on your website.
This is extremely important, as it will tell you what areas of the site that you need to improve on and which areas you need to start utilizing conversion tactics. Make sure you are taking advantage of this type of software as soon as your site is launched.
Relevant Backlinks
While backlinks are valuable for all websites, the relevancy of the backlinks will determine their level of value. For example, if you own a website geared to help people work on a specific make and model of a car, you really need backlinks from auto websites. These websites can include information related to auto sales, repair, upgrading and prices.
Relevant backlinks will help push your website ranking higher faster than irrelevant backlinks. Instead of reaching out to websites that do not fit your niche, focus only on those that have something to add to your website.
