Is There An SEO Magic Formula?

It’s probably no surprise that one of the most frequently discussed topics around here revolves around SEO. Clients regularly ask us how to quickly (it's always quickly!) improve their rankings. Every organization wants to rank higher than their competitors in keyword searches. So what’s the magic formula to get on Google Page One? And how much does that magic formula cost?

Ahh, if only it were that simple.

Even if they are willing to write a giant check to Google, there is no easy SEO magic formula or quick fix. Which can actually be a good thing. The goal is to increase your understanding of SEO, so that you can use the system to work in your favor. Because with some basic knowledge, a few key tricks and some major dedication and time, companies can positively impact their SEO rankings.

I loved this article on JeffBullas.com, 8 Things to Know When Diving Into SEO, written by Luke Guy. It’s a great read full of insightful information. I won’t recap the whole thing because you'll want to read it for yourself, but would like to share some of my top takeaways: 

On the magic length: “Write until you’re done. “

Turns out, longer articles are actually better for SEO, so long as they are full of good, actionable content. But the best advice is to simply write until you’re done. Don’t fluff a short article with extra words just to make it longer. On the flip side, if you’re covering a detailed topic don't stop yourself at a certain word count if you haven't fully covered the subject. As Guy says, “ the best blog posts are written with passion and burning knowledge.” Worry less about the length and more about what you have to say.

On the targeted audience: Write for people.

Oh how I love this one. It gives writers permission to actually have a personality. When you write content for your business, think about your targeted reader first – and how it will rank second. You want to show your personality and build relationships with current and potential customers. Keywords are definitely still important - but so is sounding like a human.

Make pictures and images work for you.

Not only does including pictures or infographics in your content help the click rate and ‘shareability’ but it can help decrease your bounce rate. Users respond well to images, so use them strategically, not as an afterthought. 

I may or may not have originally clicked on his blog post because the picture of the diver at the pool caught my attention. And once in, I became hooked on the article’s content.

Promote!

Simple but brilliant: “It’s better to write 1 article and tell 100 people about it than to write a 100 articles and tell 1 person about it.” After all, you put a lot of time and effort into writing a great post, now you need to promote it to your targeted auidience. Tweeting it once doesn’t cut it. Get creative.

Email lists

Email lists are important for SEO, because they help you reach a large number of people - people that can read and share your content. Even if you haven’t been utilizing an email list up to this point it’s not too late to start. Capture new addresses and begin communications. A marketing automation software (such as HubSpot) can help you improve and manage the process. You can analyze your delivery rate, open rate, click rate, etc. Better still, you can see who is taking action on your emails (did they visit a landing page, download a form, etc?).

The article is full of other great information, including the importance of having a good web design and backlinks. No matter your current stage of SEO rankings, there is always room for improvement. 

If you have questions about SEO or are interested in discussing your how you can incorporate some of these tips into your overall strategy, adWhite offers free marketing assessment. Contact us today.