If you have been writing content for a very long time then you need to ask yourself – whether there is change in SEO strategies this year? Are you still following the old rules without looking at the latest SEO trends? Then wake up and smell the change for SEO in 2016.
You have to adapt to new generation as even the search engines are becoming smarter as the years are passing. Let us now look at the various SEO tips for the year
Don’t Research Keywords based on “Most Commonly Used”
Google has evolved itself and it is not just about keywords that are most commonly used. They analyze the content in which they are used. Hence, when you are doing keyword research you need to find relevant topics that address what you want to publish about. You need to know what your audience is seeking to read from you. Don’t just see what are the common keywords and insert them in your content even when they are not applicable, search engines and viewers are smarter now and hence, you need to change the way of your keyword research.
Don’t be computer specific
With the arrival and usage of Smartphone, anything and everything is being read on the mobile. Hence it is important to understand that your page should be compatible with the mobile for the users to read your post in an effective manner. You can’t turn a blind eye to the new technology and hence you need to work on your content and website to ensure that they are compatible with the new ever evolving technology.
Don’t Copy Images
Try and create your own images that are unique and exclusively for your website. It is quite common and easy to pick images that are relevant to your content from the Google images section but an image that is purely yours creates a lot interest in the users. Ensure that the images and content complement each other.
Bonus: You can get Free Stock images from Freepik, Pixabay, Flaticon.
Don’t Underestimate the power of social Media
If you search any topic then you would see that the links from the social media like Facebook, Twitter are ranked well than the direct link. It is now a common practice to ensure that your new content is also advertised on social media through your personal profile or company profile. It is a place where maximum time is spent by the internet crazies and hence, a higher chance of landing on your page.
Bonus Tip: Amplify your Social Media Marketing
Don’t ignore Visuals
Your mind registers the instructions or content better when you see a visual rather than when you read it. Many bloggers for food, mobile reviews, game reviews and much other related content are now creating videos for the same. So, you can now listen to their content or read it is entirely up to the user. There are many video bloggers to have their own personal channel on YouTube. 2016 is going to be a visual year with written content.
Don’t suppress your voice, it is an era of voice search
Smartphone’s are becoming smarter and so are the search engines. You are on the go and unable to type what you want. Don’t worry just use the voice search option to retrieve the list on any search engine. What you need to do for your content to be visible in this case? Ensure that you use Long tail keywords that are easily and mostly searched for the content.
SEO Tips : On-page SEO for Higher Ranking in Search
How can we now implement strategy based on SEO? We need to now structure our content in order to rank higher. Let us now look at the ways in which we can implement on-page SEO strategy
1). Word Count
When you select your topic, ensure that you have enough research material that will help you to write minimum of 1000 words. Google recognises content that is long and comprehensive and hence it is advisable to write in detail about the subject that you have taken rather than writing short paragraphs that don’t match the 1000 word count limit.
2). Use keyword throughout your content
Ensure that your keywords are used extensively throughout the content you have written. You can insert them in header, title, introduction, middle body of your content and conclusion. It has to be relevant to the topic that you have written and should not sound out of place. You can see that there is an increase in the number of keywords used since many years and hence, a good practice to have at least three keywords.
3). Increase in the number of internal links.
There is a considerable increase in the usage of internal links since 2014. You can have as many internal links you want in your content but it is equally important to optimize your link structure. You want the search engine as well as the users to stay on your website as much as possible and hence it should be easily accessible to all.
4). Header and meta-tags
You can see that the top ranking pages do have header and metatags attached to their content. You have to ensure that the description is unique and accurate that describes your main topic. It does not have to be lengthy but to the point that helps the search engine to display when your link comes in their search list display.
Final Words
It is the world of Smartphone and voice search. A plain simple keyword that is relevant to your content will not work anymore. You need to ensure that the search engines can find your content on mobile, tablet or laptop. It is essential that your website is compatible with all these three devices for the readers to have a good read. It is 2016 and there is a change in Google algorithms and the way search engines work.
They have become more local which ensures that the results that you see are relevant to you in terms of location. You need to work on the quality of the content and ensure that it is fresh and crisp for the search engines to rank it higher.
Make sure that your content is active socially hence, boosting your numbers towards the higher end. The more social you are, the more popular your post is going to be.SEO trends will keep on changing with times, but the above SEO Tips should more or less dominate the year.
Vineet Gupta
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Thanks for the tips.
Free stock images can also be obtained from Unsplash, one of the largest FHD Creative Commons Image directory. Use Jetpack’s built-in Social sharing features to share posts to Facebook,Twitter & Google+ at the same time( No need to type or configure anything just connect your Social accounts & its done). Using Yoast can be a big plus point. But as you said, keyword for SEO doesn’t matter much. Also there’s another method to check if your posts have good SEO. If any post of yours get more spam comments :) than others, then it has more SEO score.
A trick found by me!
very exhaustive list. good work.
Thanks for putting together this list of SEO tips. It seems to me that the world of SEO keeps getting simpler if you keep in mind what the search engines want most to do – give their users exactly what they are looking for. You used to be able to write specifically for the search spiders and stuff your content with keywords and do other tricks. That got you at the top of the search pages, but then your readers left immediately after reaching your page because it wasn’t what they wanted. Now, if you want to rank well in the search engines, you have to write for your readers and give them what they are looking for. The search engines are getting smarter and smarter at filtering out the old tricks and only rewarding good content, which is what you should be offering from the start.
Write good content for your readers, then make some small adjustments so that the search engines can properly index your content for the search results.
@Arjun: Thanks for your inputs.
@Nitin: Thanks for the appreciation :)
@Ben: Totally agree with you buddy. Search engines, specifically Google is valuing the INTENT of the searcher, and if we are able to provide the quality content on the topic we are writing then there are quite high chances of getting ranked, provided we have other factors covered like decent DA, PA, some genuine websites linking to your website/blog.