Search Engine Optimization is a long-term strategy and should be carried out on a continuous basis. Consistency plays a vital role in SEO. Today, we are talking about the strategies that help one to perform better for SEO in 2016.
Useful Strategies for SEO in 2016
1) Unique content
One of the best strategies is to have unique website content that explains what products or services you offer, how are you different from the competitors and everything else that make you special. The content should be written flawlessly including the mentions of your products or services. It is also essential to cater to the needs of your users and answer their questions.
2) Give importance to backlinks
A good content marketing strategy helps you to develop backlinks to your website. It is not the total number of internal links that matters, but the optimization of the internal structure and page information so that the user is optimally guided. The purpose should be ensuring that the user stays on the page and finds the internal links useful and related to the content he is reading.
3) Meta data is vital
Meta data is one of the basics for SEO and cannot be forgotten in SEO in 2016 as well. You should make sure that the Meta data includes the right keywords and should be consistent with the content of the page. Meta data is a part of Google’s ranking algorithm and also affects user CTRs (Click-Thru Rates). Along with Meta description, H1 tags are also important. They should be unique and accurately describe the main topic.
4) Mobile-friendly website is a must
Getting your website mobile-ready is no longer a choice. There are three options for a mobile site: responsive design, set up on a mobile subdomain, use dynamic serving. Google also gives importance to websites that apply SEO for their apps. When you have an app, ensure that you implement right SEO to make it rank higher on relevant search results. Without a mobile version of the website, a significant amount of your rankings are lost.
5) Add schema.org
Schema.org is a markup that one puts in the code of your website to tell Google which picture on the website is the logo, where the reviews are, where you are located and lots more. This markup also helps your website to rank better in Google search. So, take out time and make sure that you add schema.org markup to your website.
6) Keyword Research
Though the fundamentals of performing keyword search have not changed but Google has gotten better about interpreting meaning. It is no longer limited to stuffing keywords in the content or meta description. Now, you also need to think about other words that one expects in an article. For example, you are writing an article about Fitbit Smartwatch, it should have the words like ‘watch’, ‘Fitbit’, ‘wearable’, ‘time’ etc. to send signals to the search engines that it is an authoritative article on the topic.
7) Consider user behavior factors
Even if user signals are not influencing rankings but they will be ranking factors of tomorrow. Your content should fulfill the user’s needs. The website should deliver the best user experience on every browser. Experiments have shown that pages with lots of social activity perform better than ones with fewer shares. The shares, links and loyalty per visit are vital.
8) Don’t forget about images
Having unique images on your website is also valuable. Though the same image can show up in hundreds of places, but having unique content around those images is important. So, when we are talking about SEO in 2016, we cannot forget to include the importance of unique images.
Have more recommendations for SEO in 2016? Share them with us in the comments.