The end of 2016 is here and the year has been so far generous for the marketers who have taken a keen interest in the hashtag trend. But, what about the coming year?How will the tables turn? And what new changes will the year bring in the SEO game to throw the old marketing strategies off balance?
Looks like, you are not the only worried webmaster and marketing expert out there, wondering what 2017 has in store for their business website. As people started asking this question more frequently, we thought of going out and doing a little research. And we must say the news is in favor of the new-age marketers who bank on fair keyword play and SEO strategies to climb the SRL ladder.
So we have compiled a list of effective SEO tips and strategies that will actually aid you in your journey through 2017.
Using Wikipedia? Have We Lost Our Marbles Here?
Yes, we recommend the use of Wikipedia for SEO building purposes, and no, we have not lost out marbles (thankfully). You can get your broken links fixed from the wiki for free. The question here is how do you go about it? First, download a free tool (the likes of WikiGrabber) to find all broken and dead links in your websites. Second, create a Wikipedia account and log in. Third, find the link and update it using a link to your site.
Word of caution: do not forget to link something genuine and relevant to the source.
Put Some Spark Into The Old
This is where we tell you to go back to your old blog posts or image posts that did well with the audience. Now all you have to do with these posts is update and republish. You may need to add a few trending hashtags. For example – you can refurbish an old post with new filters, new content and add new hashtags suggested by tools/websites like hashtag.me. When you republish your old posts, you automatically extend the longevity of your content on the web and it adds value to the same. You can reach out to the fresh audience without even investing in new content.
Use Reddit For Keywords
Get a hold of the official Reddit app and discover a huge list of keywords that are just sitting there to be used by bright minds. These are some of the best traffic generating keywords that can double the website traffic overnight. Conduct a small and precise search for the most upvoted content on Reddit for the best keyword options.
Shift Focus To The Content, Packaging Will Take Care Of Itself
Fluff is out, serious and dense content is in. the days of repetitive content in flamboyant language is long gone. 2017 will again be the year of serious long-form content with verified backlinks. On top of that, get ready to encounter the year of long-form content. Thousand word contents will become the standard norm on the web, two to three thousand word blogs and articles won’t be uncommon either. The new Google updates make sure that with long-form content even 6 percent keyword density will work in favor of SEO. The long-form content of minimum thousand words will leave a lot of room for keyword variations that Hummingbird can trace and read. This works in your favor as you will have better chances of ranking high in organic searches.
Secure Links To Authority Websites
This is no easy feat, but if you can accomplish it the search engines might just end up worshipping you. Keep looking for domains with a .gov or .edu. These are indeed some of the best extensions for all webmasters who want to stay at the top of the digital marketing game. These domains add more importance to your content and make sure that you stay visible on top of every relevant search list.
Stress On Local Listing
If you run a local business, update your website with your address, USP and small blogs detailing the location based services you may provide. Google business listings have given a greater chance to local businesses to get noticed with the 20-business listing options. Local SEO is on a roll already and this trend will continue well into 2017!
Root For HTTPS
HTTP is a thing of the past. The new trend is HTTPS. Although Google is not doing it yet, but soon all websites bearing an SSL certificate will be boosted up the SRL. Google has already started publicly shaming sites that do not have a nice SSL armor by labeling them “unsafe” thus rerouting a major chunk of their traffic to their HTTPS counterparts. Get your SSL certificate today to help your customers and followers feel safe on your website.
What Is The “Best Of” Technique?
This is a new technique on the block that makes sure that you provide the “best of” everything to your followers. For example – when looking for keywords for your website blog search for “top keywords for 2017” or “best SEO blogs” and you will be presented with the perfect list. You can approach the leading blogs and websites to republish and promote your content. SEO is all about building a good relationship with the bigger fish who may be able to help you out with more than just backlinks.
There is no perfect SEO plan. SEO is not a one-time thing either. Hence with the advent of 2017, every website administrator should take a look at their existing SEO strategies and update the plans according to what their fans are looking for.
Hazel Rothschild is the founder of an US based SEO Company that caters to the needs of several SMBs in and out of the country. She is a leading author of some of the best SEO blogs on the web. She writes on the changing trends, the most efficient SEO techniques and why SMBs should revise their SEO goals every month for better traffic and sales.