8 SEO Tricks for 2017 – Our Digital Version of Yellow Pages

Back in the days when Yellow Pages were the sales Rockstar of their time, businesses had to choose names that would place them on top of the list alphabetically in order to get called first when their customers went through the catalogs.

Fast forward to 2017 where Yellow Pages are almost nonexistent, and online searches have taken over, placement of businesses in our world of online directories is quite challenging and not as simple as being ranked in Alphabetical order like the former Yellow Pages catalog. Nowadays, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is what is ruling the world. This has made the market highly competitive and optimizing your site for search engines is not just the in thing but also very critical if your business will thrive in the teeming competition.

Having a search engine optimized website has the potential to put you on top of your game and attract more customers than your competitors if done well. Apart from pulling relevant traffic to your site, it will also expand your visibility, boost your brand and provide it the credibility it needs to be successful.

Here are eight easy tricks you can apply to your SEO strategy this year to achieve better results, much better than what optimized Yellow Pages could do!

1. Add more Video Content

Video marketing is becoming increasingly popular in overall digital campaigns. It makes up about 62% of all Google searches. In recent times Google has started to recognize blended searches that include videos and texts. Adding engaging videos to your content, improves your chances of ranking on Google’s first pages by half while also adding more clicks than plain texts.

2. Ensure your site is mobile responsive.

In 2016, mobile devices emerged the most popular technology for browsing the Internet which suggests that for businesses of all sizes especially SMEs to record digital successes, having a web presence will no longer be sufficient.

More of your users are visiting your website via mobile gadgets hence having a desktop only site won’t help in 2017. They’re using big-screen phones, Smartphones, tablets and all sorts of handheld devices that can be used like computers. In all, you want to make sure your site optimized for mobile use.

3. Mobile Application is a must-have in 2017

It all boils down to the same reasons; mobile has taken over! People are now crazy for mobile apps. Using mobile devices for surfing the Internet is at an all-time high and  apps make web browsing quite easier.

More than half of the time user spend on digital media are spent on mobile applications and research has it that the number will only increase. If you aren’t on apps-stores then you’re losing business to competitors that are well placed on apps-stores.

4. Local SEO is now a necessity

Smart businesses are now paying close attention to local SEO. Here, you can highlight your presence for targeted audiences and drive quality traffic to your site. Also, it will help Google determine your presence and highlight your presence on its local search results. And all you need doing to improve your local presence is to incorporate location specific keywords in the website and customize content to suit local searches.

5. Social Media Content Should Gain More Prominence

Social media content is already on the top list of critical aspects of online marketing strategies and in 2017 it will become more important for SEO rankings. Last year, several businesses started optimizing social media content for SEO and the trend is fast becoming more popular.

6. Improve User Engagement

Come up with content that grabs your readers attention at the first glance and keeps them glued to your site. In such a time as this where people are bombarded with thousands of information, majority of which are ignored , if your site isn’t engaging them enough in content, visual appeal and mobile responsiveness, they’ll just click you off.

7. Find the best suitable keywords for your content

Keywords play are the heart of Search Engine Optimization. When someone makes a search on Google for instance, the results will be on the target keywords. So, it is important to have the most suitable keywords for your website’s pages. Depending on your website’s content, you should choose the most effective keywords to draw as much traffic as possible. That can only be effective with a keyword research. Herr you might need to find out the keywords your competitors are using and actually incorporate them into your SEO.

8. Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)

Google AMP – Accelerated Mobile Pages is there to help you improve your website’s loading speed. It also helps to improve the ranking of your site. Then, it ultimately decrease your website’s bounce rate. You want to look into that to optimize the responsiveness of your site.