Here’s a process to start ranking higher in organic search?
It takes time to increase your organic search ranking but the investment will pay for itself as your site traffic improves so will your wallet. It’s 2018, and your sticking to your content marketing schedule, but SEO (Search Engine Optimization) still seems like a foreign concept to you. You’ve perhaps read 1000’s of posts that confused you more than they’ve helped. Or maybe you didn’t read any at all. I get it. As the Merovingian says to Neo, “Who has time?”
I used to be that way too, but I found the time to read. There’s no doubt about it. If you want to become a master at something you have to invest the time into gaining the knowledge to succeed.
What you’ll find in this post are three quick tips to help you on your way to optimizing your content marketing to be seen in organic searches.
What SEO means in 2018
Neil Patel defines SEO in a google definitions clip.
Simply put; SEO refers to the steps you take to ensure that your content will show up at the top of the list when a user searches a key phrase or word.
Organic search is the majority of searches online, and the top 5 results most likely provide the valuable content a user needs to satisfy the research necessary.
Why you need to follow an SEO system in your content marketing to rank higher in organic search
With 2 million blog posts being published each day if you want your content to be found and read you have to ritualize SEO consistently in your content marketing strategy.
In the image below, you’ll notice that when searching for a substance abuse content writer, I appear in the 4th slot on Google’s first page. It would be amazing if I were the only content writer in the substance abuse niche.
But that’s not true. I’m in the position because of I optimized keyword phrase- substance abuse content marketing.
The more often your site is visited, the more authority you gain. You know what this means? People feel safe with you because your brand’s an authority in its niche.
Competing with 2 million blog posts a day can be daunting. It’s important to understand that your ranking will not change overnight, allow yourself time to develop a strategy; one you can follow to rank higher in organic search:
Consistently optimizing your site
- Publish unique user-centered quality content
- Optimize content, images, headers, and subheads
- Build authority through links to other influencers on the web
In 2018 your content must provide value to the reader. Every piece of content you publish should fall into place within your strategy. The more relevant and useful the reader finds your information the sooner you’ll begin to create a relationship you start to build a relationship.
Remember always to provide valuable content with high-impact keyword phrases to rank in organic searches
In 2018 the importance of providing your reader with value and purposeful content marketing.
In 2018, you are providing your reader with value and purposeful content, correct?
3 SEO Tips to help your site rank higher in organic search
1. Keyword research and analysis
Optimize your content with keywords and phrases that are relevant to your readers you’re building a bond through language.
When your content resonates with the way your readers uses language it becomes more powerful and relevant.
Set aside time each week to continue your keyword research and analysis. It’s important to stay ahead of your content calendar, so you’re able to publish relevant content with keywords and keyword phrases that’ll consistently allow google to understand the value your content provides for these keywords.
Keyword research and analysis come at a cost. Sometimes the price regards both time and money. If you don’t have the money to hire a content writer you have to make the time. Invest in your website with quality keyword optimized content.
When you want to rank your site or break into new markets, provide persons seeking your service, and use those “long-tail” phrases users are using to search.
There are several keyword research tools you to use for analysis:
David Harsthorne does a great job analyzing several keyword research tools in his post for Adam a Blogging Wizard mentions several other tools to use besides those above
Keyword research is vital to optimizing your website for organic search. In 2018 it is estimated that voice search will become the new norm. Researching keyword phrases helps you to create content that correlates to how your specific user speaks.
Authority Hacker recently published a post on SEO tools for any budget. “We Made Kits of SEO Tools for Every Budget” a guide to assist you in developing a process for ranking higher in search engines. The guide is detailed oriented and explains the tools listed in this article and plenty more.
Wait before you say, “So what Johnny, everyone has put together a how-to-use SEO tools guide. Why is this guide so special?”
I could say because it ranks highest in Google, so I used it, but that’d be a lie.
The reason I dig Authority Hacker’s guide written by Perrin Carrell. He organized it with cost-to-you, in mind. In other words, he created systems for every budget- free to sky’s the limit. The headline is what grabbed me.
Carrell writes, “Because we’re working in the context of the budget, this guide will also include plenty of free tools and free tool demos — rather than just a list of expensive sh*t to buy.”
One last reason you should check this post out is that it doesn’t Carrell respects your time. He gives you the value without wasting time. He writes,” I wanted to avoid detailed tutorials for each tool. Ain’t nobody got time for that. This guide is more about putting together a toolbox; it just so happens that sometimes the best tool is a simple process.”
Write in the language your reader understands and uses
Optimizing your SEO strategy with the keyword phrases and language of prospects builds more meaningful connections. When a user searches in Google and reads the exact phrase on your site, you create a bond. The user feels understood.
Study your competitor’s homepage and content
Another way in which you can be using keyword research is to take a peek at your competitor’s sites. Study the headlines, subheads, and links used. The purpose of researching the keywords and content your competitor published is to understand the language used, learn about marketing strategy, and understand what you feel is or isn’t working.
The information you’ve gathered can prove helpful when you start drafting your copy and content. Please don’t copy the work, that will only alienate readers who catch the plagiarism. Instead, make it work better.
Read website content created by consumers, in the form of reviews, complaints, praise, or anger as a result of using a similar product or your product. Take notice of the feeling and emotions the vernacular suggests.
A considerable part of researching keywords and keyword phrases is to understand the language your reader uses to interact. Not only does this help you to understand the reasons why a person uses a product, but it aides you in understanding how and where you can join in the conversations already taking place within your target audience.
Web Copywriter Nick Usborne who recently coined his approach to writing copy-conversational copywriting. Nick suggests spending some time on major shopping sites and becoming a “collector and curator of the language” and passions of your audience.
- Consumer Reports
- Shopping.com
- Bizrate.com
- Amazon
- Trip Advisor
- Yelp (My personal favorite.)
Analyzing how consumers write reviews opens the door to how users perform searches. When a consumer is leaving a product review or experience the writing tends to be saturated with emotion and feeling. I’ve taken Nick’s suggestion a step further, and now search sites like
- Craigslist
- Etsy
- eBay
Another great habit of making is reading thru comments on blog posts, infographics, and slide shares of your competitor’s, similar products, and well, of course, your own (but I suspect your already doing this).
All of these sites allow users to leave comments or reviews about products purchased. If Once I’ve completed my product or service research, I feel it’s critical to find out how the user writes about this service or product. Doing this I’m able to learn the words used, sentence length, and average reading level I should use in my written content.
There are many places to learn how your reader might phrase an organic search in Google. Spend some time learning all you can about your prospect and the language he uses and what the user feels is relevant in his relationship with a product or service.
Don’t be surprised when you find out what you think’s important is not even close to your reader.
Stop guessing and start researching. Produce the content your reader needs to find the solutions and answers. Use the language, keywords, and phrases that’ll connect your reader with your content. In doing this, you’ll be optimizing your chances of ranking higher in organic search listings and joining in conversations with your prospect naturally.
2. Mobile responsive design
In 2018, you’ll need to get your website optimized for smartphones. Mobile responsiveness refers how your webpage interacts with the device (desktop, tablet, or smartphone) the reader is using to browse your website.
In short-How well your website responds to the rules of display on different devices.
It’s become easier for people to purchase smartphones and no-contract plans. This ease has increased the number of users searching the Web by connecting via their smartphones.
Search Engine Journal’s statistic instructs us that 93% of searches begin on a search engine. Even if the user knows your webpage, it has become customary to open google type in relevant information about the site the user is seeking and hitting the Search Button.
In a clip from an infographic on socPub, you’ll see the importance of your mobile website design to the user
What does this mean for your organic search ranking?
An announcement from Google’s Adsense in April of 2015 stated that search engine giant was ranking websites by mobile responsiveness.
Google suggests that to get started with mobile responsiveness, one should:
- Make your customer’s journey relevant to all devices
- Try to reduce the numbers of clicks on the mobile device without jeopardizing the user’s value
- Activate or have designed a WordPress theme that’s responsive to all devicesGoogle is working to add its Mobile First Index to its algorithm sometime soon in 2018.
According to Google’s Webmaster Central Blog, this will assure a user is getting the same value on all devices.
This index will stop websites from displaying barebones sites on mobile devices. So, if you build your website with responsive design, it will show the same on any device. If you’re not using a responsive design, your display will be impacted negatively by mobile devices.
Google will be forced to negatively rank this inability to allow the mobile user the same experience and value.
The change hasn’t taken place yet, but it’s time for due diligence considering making yourself mobile responsive. The relationship the user has with a mobile device is relevant. Equipped with voice recognition, activation, and search capabilities create ease of use for its owner.
It’s easier to speak to your device when relevant information is needed. The language your readers use will become crucial for organic search rankings.
3. Voice-activated organic search optimization
Learn to write in a style that starts conversations. The more popular voice searching becomes, the more vital it’ll be to mimic the language of your reader.
Google’s official blog;“People of all ages are starting to talk to their devices more regularly.” Statistics show that 50% of teens use voice search and 41% of adults are starting to use voice-activated searches. These numbers prove that your content needs to start ranking keyword phrases that mimic how your reader speaks.
Use keyword phrases like“rank higher in organic search.
- ”show up on Google’s first page.”
- “optimize my website to rank higher.”
- “rank higher in organic search.”
If you’re talking to Siri or Alexa and need to fill up your gas tank, your voice search might sound similar to: “Where’s the closest gas station?”
The number of users using voice searches is only going to increase. Start writing content that flows like a conversation. Building the connections you need to gain the trust and rapport with your reader starts by using the language of your prospect.
The days of writing using hype and sales tactics on your website are long gone. Spruce up your site by using focus keyword phrases to rank higher in search rankings. Company’s future could get lost in this change in SEO practices in 2018. It’s vital to learn how to communicate with your readers naturally. Build connections using your reader’s language. Publishing quality content that speaks to your readers where they’re at on all available devices.
What steps are you taking to optimize your site for Google’s Mobile First Index?