Search Engine Optimization is a fast-changing cranny, where it not easy for someone to set any easy or goals now. For the last several years, Google had constantly streamlined their algorithms and enhanced the search accuracy multifold, which in turn belittled all the black-hat SEO techniques which the digital marketers once used to score.
An overview of some of the major signals (changed) over time is; 2014 witnessed the leading ranking signal as HTTPS, in 2015 it was Content quality, 2016 responsiveness, and mobile-friendliness, and in 2018 again the focus was on security.
Last year, in 2020, we had seen that speed and responsiveness remained two major factors for better SERP performance. Now, there are millions of portals online, and it is always a confusion to website builders as to what makes a website perform well in terms of ranking. Here, we will have a quick overview.
Top SEO signals for 2022
Google bots are now crawling each page on your website for its relevance of the content against millions of other pages in light of the ranking factor to assign the ranking. The reassuring news is that the SEO ranking signals are getting more and more streamlined from the user point of view and to score better ranking, you also need to look at it from the actual user point of view. There are endless elements to consider for improved ranking apart from the few mentioned here, but it would be a good start.
1. Content quality first
Content is always the king. In 2019 also, you will get penalized for any flaws in content. However, the definition of content quality changes from time to time. The focus now is to offer the most relevant content in a precise manner, which should offer real value to the users. Content quality is all about the creation of web pages which ensures maximum on-page time and decreased bounce rates.
2. Social media to support
Social media engagements are inevitable for modern-day marketers. Online reputation management is done mostly through social platforms than business websites now. Getting in touch with social media platforms is the preferred mode of the consumers too. So for indirect ranking benefits, it is important to be present on social networking sites as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, etc.
3. Mobile-friendliness
It is noted that many of the marketers tend to downplay the relevance of mobile site optimization. However, Google already started penalizing websites that are not mobile-friendly. Along with this, every second delay in getting your page loaded can also end up in a significant fall in SERP rankings. A good branding company will insist on these requirements too along with the marketing initiatives.
4. Blogging
Along with maintaining a featured website, it is also important to do consistent blogging if you want to increase your traffic. All successful businesses maintain a blog as a part of their internet profile to discuss the trending topics in their niche.
5. Submissions
Even though it is not mandatory for the site builder to submit the web pages to search engines. The bots can now automatically crawl the web pages to find info as soon as they appear on the internet space. But, the expert advice is to do search engine submission of your web pages on Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. where you can get a chance to tag the pages and help to categorize it better properly.
6. Forum marketing
As discussed above in the case of blogging, you can try to be active on forums too, which will help build repute online. Through niche forums, you can interact with the prospects and answer their queries. You can build threads and provide expert advice to bring maximum on to your platform. This exercise will also attract the search engine bots to crawl your content and land on your portal pages.
7. Link Baiting
This is the concept of leaving the link of the source website from where you have taken a content or published it. This will let the readers and the crawlers to reach the relevant source page to gather more information.
8. Search intent marketing
If you want to bring in more traffic to your website and enhance ranking value. Proper analytics is essential in order to understand the actual search intentions of your target audience. You can use tools like Google Analytics to conduct this research and get a fair insight into customer intents to plan your SEO strategies.
Do’s and Don’ts of 2021 SEO
Next, let’s have an overview of some top do’s and don’ts SEO experts need to follow in 2021 for the best ranking results.
Do’s
1. Target on long-tail keywords
As of late, almost 70% of Google search queries are long-tail. About 90% of the key phrases are a combination of three words or more. As the users are more specific, long-tail phrases are more elaborate, interrogative, and specific to the need. It may also be more imaginative for better search results.
2. Evaluate keywords metrics
It is essential to measure the catchphrases you plan for relevance. Some fundamental measures are search volume, keyword difficulty, rate of returns, rate of click-through, etc.
3. Smart links
You may fall failed in your linking pattern if not giving it a keen consideration. The most legitimate web assets only will have a high value. Like old times, the random link building efforts will not give you any better score.
4. Optimize images
Careful consideration to be given to images in 2019 and further. As loading speed is a key ranking factor, consider the size of the images along with clarity.
Don’ts
1. Do paid link building
If you try to purchase links in bulk, Google may surely penalize you for that practice. Stay away from any link sellers, don’t use the interface cultivates, and avoid anything other than the hard ways to win quality links.
2. Using same keyword phrase anchor texts
It was once considered to be the SEO best practice; however, catchphrase stuffing is not a black-hat SEO technique, for which you may get penalized.
3. Focusing only on content
As we had seen above, content is the king, but not the only key element in a web page to care for. You need to take care of other aspects of a website too ranging from UI to the loading speed in order to make a web page optimally user-friendly and thereby reducing the bounce rates.
These SEO best practices and do’s and don’ts may also change over time. The key rule of an SEO expert is always to be alerted about the changes in the industry and constantly update the strategies in order to stay on top.
Read How to Create a WordPress Order Form in 4 Simple Steps
