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Winning SEO Content Strategies for the Remainder of 2019

by Pythagoras Matko
written by Pythagoras Matko

2019 has been a banner year for search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns. In fact, many webmasters and brands adopted best-practices to produce measurable results this year. While SEO trends continue to evolve, the emphasis on streamlined content remains pivotal in achieving higher visibility across Google. Similarly, many companies are investing in digital campaigns geared towards positive user experiences. With six months left to go, there are still ways to attract and engage new clients to your products and services.

Here are the most important facets of SEO so far this year:

  • Great user experiences across multiple platforms and networks.
  • High-quality content that is centralized, thought-provoking, and gives folks something to take away with.
  • Mobile optimized websites, blogs, and online stores with faster page/download speeds.
  • Acquiring natural – organic links that accentuate any pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns.
  • Not rely on social media to build brand visibility and awareness. Instead, many brands are churning out content that is industry-specific, relevant, and insightful for their readers and users.

Google Marketing in 2019

While Google remains the most popular search engine in the world, it continues to update its algorithms to correlate with the current trends. With this in mind, Google has called on all brands to produce in-depth content that answers questions and serves the needs of your users. No longer is creating content for the sake of content acceptable across Google’s SEO services. Instead, your content must now meet the following in order to remain or become competitively viable:

  • Create pages for users and not search engines. Remember, reader engagements drive web traffic, lead generation, and potential revenue for your brands.
  • Don’t deceive your clients, customers, and new users. Always provide precise, concise, and truthful content that meets the needs of your bases across the web.
  • Always abide by Google’s White Hat criteria to secure higher page rankings and visibility on Google. Avoid tricks of Black Hat techniques (misleading titles and click-bait) to improve search engine rankings – this can get your site and pages permanently banned from Google and other search engines.
  • Use your own photos of products and brands within the content. Try to avoid common stock imagery which may be in use by competitors and other brands.
  • Develop content that is unique, enticing, and engaging across the board. Make your website stand out from others within your field, sector, or niche.

Set aside some funds to invest in a sound and effective SEO campaign. This can help your brand grow and flourish – especially if you are pressed for time. Your local advertising agency has the tools and expertise to help your company catch up in 2019. It’s as simple as reaching out to them to discuss your online marketing and brand expansion goals.

Best Practices for Content in 2019

If your brands are struggling this year, you may want to rethink your existing strategies. Again, the valuable context within the content is everything in 2019. No truer is this than when it comes to meeting Google’s quality standards. In order to build better user engagements and experiences, here are some content essentials that continue to soar in popularity:

Long-Form Content

Long-form content is once again the norm in the world of SEO marketing. You should aim to produce 1,500-2000 word posts that are engaging and full of substance. Add relevant social media links as well as strategic keywords to boost site traffic and increase conversion rates. Your content needs to establish your brands as helpful resources in the industries they serve. Similarly, it must evoke emotions while inspiring thoughts and questions. This can only lead to longer stays on your pages which help reduce bounce rates and increase visibility. Here are a few more things to keep in mind when developing brand content:

  • Provide solid recommendations for your readers. Give them helpful links, resources, and links back to your products and services.
  • Make sure your content is unique and different with each post. This will set you apart from competitors and help users cut through the clutter.
  • Stay abreast of all the current SEO trends and developments. This will give you and your brands the edge on promoting content to core, niche, geo-specific or mass audiences.
  • Scale your content plan if targeting smaller audiences. However, you can increase promotions via paid ads, e-mail automation, and especially social – mobile media platforms.
  • Make sure to match your content to user intent. This gives validity to keywords while ensuring your information is valuable to those that demand and need it to the most.

Snippet Content Optimization

Featured snippets are now what most SEO plans strive to achieve. This, of course, is rank #0 or enhanced results on top of organic results. In the past, most brands fought to reach the number one spot in the SERPs. This is no longer the case due to snippets providing detailed information like titles, descriptions, bullet lists, and content that differs or aligns with brand intent.

Snippets are essentially teasers that entice users to click through the content. This lets them access information without ever leaving Google. The best part is that snippets appear in voice search results as well. This gives users substantial information and timely answers to their queries and concerns. Therefore, it is important to optimize your content with snippets in mind to increase user engagements. Here are some ways to try and secure the coveted zero ranking spot on Google:

Be Direct in your Content

High bounce rates occur when your content is too lengthy or does not entail valuable information. While long-form content is important these days, you still have to get to the point. In fact, avoid writing long, wordy introductions before you address the topics in the titles of your posts. Give your readers precise information right away – this will keep them on your pages longer and may increase conversion rates and clicks.

Always perform keyword research to see which words your competitors are not using. With keyword optimization, you can stay ahead of the pack and get featured snippets. It’s also important to break down your content with bullet lists for better accuracy and flow. Google loves including lists within featured snippets; makes it easier for users to scan and digest content. You can even use FAQs to provide answers to stock or common questions. Featured snippets tend to pick up FAQs if they are in an easy form and able to capture within the boxes.

These are some of the ways to enhance your SEO content for the remainder of 2019. Again, let a professional agency take care of these content enhancements if you simply do not have the time.

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Blog PostsEngagement

5 Tips to Increase Blog Engagement

by Sarah Dupuy
written by Sarah Dupuy

There’s more to creating a successful blog than just putting words on the page. You can spend hours researching and writing, but if your post isn’t getting read, what’s the point? Thankfully, there are several steps you can take to boost blog engagement. Page hits are just one piece of the puzzle. By implementing these five tips to increase engagement, you can ensure not only that people are seeing your blog, but reading the full post, sharing it with their peers, and elevating your business beyond the blogosphere.

1.) Create Quality Content

Never underestimate the power of good writing. Bill Gates called it back in ’96 with his essay “Content is King,” and not much has changed. There are tons of little things you can do to get a post trending (which we will dive into later), but if the quality isn’t there, you’ll only get so far. Think about your go-to site where you consume content, be it for news, entertainment, or reference. What makes it a reliable source? Was there any stand-out article that made you go back for more? If the content is well-written, targeted to fit your audience’s needs, and consistently great across the board, you’re far more likely to achieve that elusive bookmark.

2.) Build Links, Build Connections

A little linking can go a long way in the world of blogging. There are two types of links you can use to boost page engagement: inbound and outbound. Inbound links are links that lead to another part of your site, be it another blog post or a product page. Let’s say a visitor comes across a blog post that almost, but not quite, matches their search. If you’ve added an inbound link to related content, you’ve doubled your chances of keeping that visitor engaged.  Outbound links lead visitors away from your page, but that’s not always a bad thing. In addition to giving your blog credibility, if a major site links to your blog in return, that’s a chance for a big spike in traffic.

3.) Visuals = Views

If people were completely satisfied reading through sites with blah visuals, we’d all just slap some text into HTML and call it a day. Having a clean, visually interesting layout is only the start to building a successful blog. By adding images to your posts, you can break up the wall of text and keep them reading. Don’t discount video either! According to Marketing Sherpa, videos generate 300% more traffic and nurture leads. Even if you keep the videos short and low budget, the return on investment makes video worth a shot.

4.) Mobile First and Foremost

More times than not, if someone is reading your blog, it’s going to be via their smartphone. The trend towards mobile is why Google started implementing mobile-first indexing last year, bringing the sites that followed their best practices to the top of search results. If you’re still unsure how to bring your blog up to standard, check out our post on optimizing your mobile site in five easy steps.

5.) Be a Socialite

When it comes to promoting your blog content, you are your own best advocate. To reach as many people as possible, utilize social media as much as you can. Share with your followers on Facebook, Instagram, et al when you’ve published a new post. Use hashtags when appropriate to be part of the bigger conversation. If you linked to another publication in your blog, don’t be shy about mentioning them. They may return the favor! And, most importantly, respond to feedback as much as you can. Good or bad, as long as they’re talking about you, you’re doing something right.

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