Websites do not optimize themselves; they need SEO, a game plan and tactful execution to overcome savvy competitor’s intent on ranking in the top 3 results for any respective profit-bearing keyword.
SEO Tips to Develop a Tactical Game Plan
As a result, it boils down to which site has (a) the most authority (b) the most relevant content (c) the most relevant on page SEO signals and (d) the most popular off page inbound links.
The underlying multifaceted metrics of information retrieval remain the same for websites regardless of industry or topic; however, the only distinguishing metrics that shift are the degrees of optimization within each of the respective thresholds.
These distinguishing metrics are based on granular consistencies that reinforce relevance at every opportunity.
Metrics such as:
- alt image continuity (using the Alt attribute for SEO)
- relevant naming conventions (naming pages properly)
- relevant site architecture (a well structured website)
- relevant internal links (the way you link to your own content)
- sufficient deep links to specific pages (linking to pages other than the homepage)
- a sufficient volume of content on a topic (dedicating pages of content per keyword)
By streamlining these on page and off page metrics, a site can improve their overall relevance score and glide past clunky competitors using less refined optimization methods.
Some industries have a lower barrier to entry due to lower search volume, which is all based on supply and demand. This supply and demand are responsible for determining how steep and challenging acquiring a ranking can be based on the keyword. However, the market itself dictates which keywords are worthy targets.
Most consumers when they are hunting for something to purchase are impulsive and impatient. Understanding this, getting as many keywords above the fold (above the scroll line on a page) is the ultimate objective of SEO.
This means you must map out which keywords are the most lucrative to hang your hat on when banking on conversion and return on investment. Some keywords you can acquire with very little effort, others take month or sometimes years to rise to the top.
The key is to target a market holistically and encompass the various nodes of relevance to educate, entice and convert users based on their needs and intent. Someone looking to make an impulse purchase may not need to read 1000 words on why you product is better than your competitors; a picture with a price tag and 20 word description is more fitting for their needs.
Similarly, someone who needs more information about a product, is not ready to check out either and may look on another site or skim social media to look for feedback or reviews. By understanding search behavior and coupling that information with what people need to make informed purchasing decisions, you can position your website across a myriad of keywords and modifiers to encourage conversion by intelligently appeasing their impulse, need for information and emotion triggers that compel them to “buy now”.
On the contrary, if you cue the wrong message at the wrong time to the wrong consumer, you will repel them based upon the fact that they are not far enough in the sales cycle to engage your proposition. SEO is more about mapping the ideal page for the ideal user than it is about the actual processes or techniques that are used to execute it.
A keyword dud or lackluster page produces the same effect “absolutely nothing” so, mapping the right conversion paths to the right keywords and respective landing pages and then having something worth sharing from “marketing your product” is half the battle of conversion – which is the ultimate objective of SEO.
SEO is all about results, and optimizing a keyword dud that gets one search a week is futile, you should target keywords within reach until they are ranking in the top 5 results, then when you site matures use that momentum to target even more competitive keywords or market segments.
The takeaway here is, 75% of your time, energy and effort should be digging deep into competitive analysis and keyword research to extract the best commerce laden keywords that convert, the other 25% should be spent developing topical content, consolidating internal links and building deep links to your preferred landing pages.
Type in traffic from people using keywords is only one facet of traffic, but when a website ranks for thousands of keywords, the notion is, it is hard to conduct a search on a topic without running into it, because that site IS an authority on the topic.
The days of mini sites dominating the search engine result pages are winding down, now, search engines have needs, those needs are to serve up the most relevant, informative or entertaining content to its users.
So, invest in making your site a destination worthy or regard by mapping out which segments are more important to end users, creating conversion paths that facilitate ease of use as well as tactfully market your product and service once they arrive.
With different needs for different users, you can’t please all of the people all of the time, but the ones that you do impress should be the ones with the strongest need and / or demand for a solution from the product or server you are selling. This goes back to market research which is the precursor to SEO.
Great reading these details on SEO….thank you very much.
About 80% of the SEO tips I receive and get to read on blogs, sites, mails, twitter posts are already known to me or I have read them many times.
The best seo tips ever come from your competitors that not only rank well but get a decent traffic. of course we talk about white hat solutions that are not against google quality guidelines.