So, you thought that search engines would fade out of existence in 2017? Well, you’re definitely wrong on that one. People are searching on search engines like Google and Bing more than ever before. Consumers are continuously wanting to know more and more about the products and services they are buying. So, they turn to search to understand more about what your product looks like and what people are saying about it. Keep reading down below to learn some more about the top SEO strategies that are still going to work like a charm in 2017.
1. Optimizing for Mobile Usage
If you haven’t noticed the trend in mobile browsing, then where have you been for the past few years? Browsing on mobile phones and tablets now accounts for over half of the web traffic, above browsing on a desktop. What does that have to do with SEO? Well, Google has noticed this trend and have started to index sites higher if they are optimized for mobile viewing and searching. That means that your website is in danger of not being indexed as highly if you haven’t started this process. Make sure to do this if you want to find success in 2017.
2. Engaging with International Link Building
It’s been confirmed by Google that link building is one of the top factors that their search engine bots consider when ranking websites. If your content is high-quality, adding credible links will still give you a boost in the rankings. Make sure to find links to authority websites on your next blog posts and add them throughout your site.
3. Optimizing with Voice Search
There’s actually been a huge increase in voice search searches over the past couple of years. With the rise of Siri and Amazon’s Echo, more and more consumers are searching without the use of their keyboards. Make sure that your site is optimized for voice search and you’ll see a lot more traffic in 2017 than otherwise.
4. Optimizing for Rich Answers
It’s been estimated that almost 20% of all search queries were rich answers. And this number is only going up from there. If you want your web content to index for common questions related to your industry, then you’ve got to specifically optimize for these types of searches. There are plenty of ways that you can get this done. They include directly including the questions in your content and creating a Q&A page.
5. Using Shorter URL’s
Some studies have been showing that using shorter URLs that include keywords and are relevant to your content can be a huge booster to your index levels. If you can, try to use your primary keywords in the first few words of the URL, as these are the words that Google will give the most credit for. Whether you work with a white label SEO provider or have your own team, this strategy is going to help you out.
6. Optimizing for Local Usage
2017 is going to be the year of local. With the rise of mobile search, more people are wanting to know what’s going on around them in their local sphere. That’s why local optimization is a must in 2017 if you want to see success for your site. You should start using more local keywords, so your results show up where your best customers are searching.
7. Focusing on Improving the User’s Experience
One of the best things that you can continue to do in 2017 for improved SEO rankings is to improve your user’s experience. Yes, this has always been an important aspect of indexing, but in 2017, this is going to be more important than ever. Make sure that your site is optimized the top levels so your customers don’t have to search around too much to find what they’re looking for.
Make sure that you continue to implement all of these strategies as part of your SEO plan if you want to find digital success in 2017. If you haven’t already been doing these points, then make sure to get together with your marketing team and start on them right away!