Google Archives

If you haven’t been able to rank on SER’s (search engine results) then that should be your top goal for your business in 2016. Just because you build your website and pull the chain to click on your little open sign, doesn’t mean people are going to find you on Google.

I get asked all the time how businesses can get to the holy grail of ranking on Google – which is the top position on page 1 in the search results. Let’s start by saying that there aren’t any short cuts to ranking. It’s a long process and in most cases requires a bit of patience a well thought out plan that is implemented over time.

For most, it takes a solid year (and in highly competitive landscape – even more time) to move up in search engine rankings. Our clients hire us for our SEO prowess and to help them be found and rank on Google and frankly, if done right is a time investment worthy of the work we do.

Your #1 Tip to Rank on Google in 2016:

Create a Content Plan and add quality, relevant and meaningful content to your website on a regular basis.

Yes, you read that right and it may feel redundant – however we may all need to hear it again and again. The number one thing each of our clients (and you!) can do for your own website is all about content. The main problem being that many people haven’t created a content plan to use.

Below are 5 things that we’ve found that will drive your site up in ranking–in addition to what your SEO specialist does for you.

5 Things to Include When Creating a Content Plan

Commit to a Content Calendar

Create your content calendar and commit to sticking to it. No matter what happens, create a “no excuses” policy regarding your content calendar. For 2016 I have asked our marketing manager, Katelyn, to create a content calendar and assign blog topics to all of our staff each month. We’re sharing the love and responsibility of coming up with solid content.

In addition, I’m leading by example and have committed to writing 2 blogs a month. (self talk inserted here: gulp..I can do this, I CAN do this!)

Stay Consistent

We all get excited about a new goal or idea we commit to doing. Here I’m going to give you a word of caution and tell you it’s better to be more conservative than normal. When you commit to a regular content calendar – please do yourself a favor and be consistent.

Consider your time and how much you can REALLY commit to your blog articles before you decide on the frequency your blog will hit the internet air waves.

It’s better to commit to two blogs a month over a 6-month period than start out really strong producing 6 blogs a month only to crash on the second month due to time or coming up with topics to write about. You’ll lose momentum and all that great Google juju you’ve built will fall off a cliff and you’ll be starting over. Choose a day of the week and your monthly frequency and stay consistent.

Most importantly, don’t forget about your new “no excuses” policy and just get ‘er done!

Commit to 20 New Blog Articles for 2016 at 800 Words Each

Let me rephrase that. Make that a minimum of 20 new long form blog articles released over a period of at least 10 weeks or out as much as up to 40 weeks. There’s a magical number of posts for Google to recognize the value and worth behind a website. We believe from everything we’ve researched and experienced that the momentum starts around 20 long form blog articles. Once you hit this benchmark, the uptick begins!

Now with that being said, that doesn’t mean you can’t also write some 400-500 word posts. Just be sure you have your 20 scheduled in there and you can pepper in a few lighter posts, especially if you’re running low on time here and there. The more quality content, the better.

Now I can hear the rumblings all the way to my desk. You don’t know what to write about – well, tip #4 will help with that!

Give Your Followers What They Want

What exactly does it mean to write relevant content? The landscape of branding has changed. People aren’t following brands any longer – they’re joining them. Now more than ever when a follower aligns with a brand, they do more than simply pay attention – they’re jumping on the bandwagon with them. Why? Because they are getting something they want or need… or aspire to be. I love that phrase – aspire to be. Why? Because it really focuses what we do and what content we give our followers. Give them content that helps them get to that place of aspiration. That’s powerful stuff!

In addition; if you’re writing about your business, what you are passionate about and know – then you can give your followers exactly what they want by sharing the content that will keep them coming back for more. Case in point; by giving you the tips in this article we are giving away our number one nugget this year because followers like you are reading our blog. This is part of our secret sauce and how we are so successful to our clients. If we can help you aspire to be a better internet marketer, then we’ve done our job helping you do yours better. See how that works?

We’ve written a lot of content around this very subject – if you need more ideas on what to write about check out this article on How to Write Quality Content Now.

Use Keywords, but Focus on Meaning for User Experience

I read an article recently that keywords aren’t that important any longer. Keywords are still very important – they’re the foundation on which your site is built. However, the reasoning behind this statement is regarding blog content and that Google doesn’t simply match keywords in a search query with keywords on a webpage any longer.

It uses the keywords but also looks for meaning of the site and what’s actually behind all those keywords. As Google works to get closer to artificial intelligence (AI), they have written algorithms around finding out the meaning of a site to match user experience.

Let’s face it. In our crazy, hectic lives users don’t go look at content unless they’ll get a payoff for their time. The content they’re searching for will either teach them something new, be useful in some way or be fun and entertaining. Users also don’t share content they don’t deem worth the time of other’s they want to share it with. So, increase your share rate (and Google juice) through giving the content they want by also increasing their user experience at the same time.

A Word About Google

Google is a business too. Their goal is to provide the best search experience possible to their users. With that comes the desire to give their users exactly what it is that they’re searching for.

In an article by Roger Montii for Search Engine Journal, Montii easily explains that “because words have multiple meanings, Google uses geographic signals, previous search signals and statistical signals in order to identify the most popular reasons users search for a phrase”. Google is looking at the “why” behind the search to populate the search queries and provide an answer.

So while it’s not just about keywords, it’s also about the search itself and the answers the user expects to receive when they type enter their query in the search bar.

In this competitive digital landscape, we have to up our game and provide the best possible content so that Google sees our sites as worthy of answering that search. By understanding what it is that Google is looking for and how to couple that with the right amount of content, type and frequency; you’ll be poised to help your ranking grow in 2016! Get busy creating your content plan and please don’t hesitate to ask questions or leave comments.

What else can be added to this plan to help make others more successful? We look forward to hearing from you!

Here’s what I love about search and social media. First of all, it’s our business. Plain and simple. Second, it makes the intangible—well, nearly tangible. More than ever before companies are approachable, available and are listening to what their fans and community are thinking, feeling and saying.

The “old-school” days of cutting off a label from your favorite cereal box and dropping it in the mail are from a different time in history. What used to feel like months in receiving any notification back from a company will happen now in a matter of just hours (maybe minutes) with social media and I believe we all cheer as things are much easier now.

Communication is so much faster and really getting to know a company by way of what they publish coupled with their response time is amazing! Yay, technology!! Right? Right.

Search Just Became More Interesting!

Aside from Google+, Google Search is going deeper in the social game. Their last agreement with Twitter expired in 2011 and a lot has changed in the world of technology since then. It’s been a few weeks and now that Google and Twitter have recently signed their (new) deal, Google will have access to Twitters data feed. Yes, things are about to really get interesting.

While Google hasn’t given us much to go on other than the announcement, great news is that this is going to take some time to implement. Our friends over at Stone Temple Consulting reports that out of 138,635 tweets tested, as of right now less than 8% of tweets are being indexed in search results. Unlike other Google algorithm changes, we have some time to adjust to this one!

Tweets that become visible in online search results will give their potential consumers and extra tidbit of info–the will experience the “flavor” of your company right on page 1. And, according to an article on Hubspot; Google is going to index tweets in REAL time search results. The impact of this deal on SEO and website traffic is huge as these two industry giants bring the two worlds of marketers and consumers together—front and center.

With the billions of websites that are published, Google has no idea whether your company is real or even one that is sharing quality content. Their end goal is an optimal user experience delivering quality content and what people are looking for.

Link building in social platforms does just that, it reinforces your quality information. Google loves links but it also loves reinforcement that your web content is relevant to what the end user is searching for and as those links are shared they receive a little extra juice from search engines regarding which websites are credible and should be ranked for what keyword phrases.

Here’s 3 Reasons Why This Is Great News!

Seriously Impacts SEO

Let’s apply how links get Google juice to how we think Tweets will be indexed. Most tweets will be treated the same way. Knowing how Google works they will implement search algorithms that will populate tweets that offer the greatest value to those searching.

Further, a link that gets several retweets or the number of times a tweet gets favorited could very well contribute to SEO and the probability of a bump in ranking as they reflect the activity that specific link produced among social sharers. It obviously contained valuable information and therefore reinforces everything from brand identity to the outbound company voice and philosophies.

Remember—you are the company you keep. If those that retweet and favorite your tweets have a lot of followers or are considered influencers—this will help greatly! The more followers the better–now is a fantastic time to start growing your audience as Google will most likely index tweets from those that have a lot of followers.

Impacts the Marketer

First and foremost—Twitter just became more valuable than ever to your online social interactions.

Companies will have to rethink their social strategies for marketing as this will make their social media interactions more visible to consumers. This is actually a great thing! Perception is everything and now companies will need to be more cognizant of their message while they sit a little taller and be a little more polished in front of their consumers.

Community managers will be more nimble and work harder at understanding the impacts of their interactions while quick to respond to areas of concern. If there is bad PR coverage it very well could reach Google and blow into a huge PR issue that will need to be addressed and contained.

Fresh Content = Building a Stronger Online Community

This deal will lead to more original content. We can’t stress the importance of how updating your websites with fresh, relevant content on a regular basis is to your business. Google appreciates when a website is updated with fresh and relevant content often, which is also true when it comes to your social media accounts.

Create and curate original content on Twitter, especially. Having social profiles that are not updated on a regular basis is like having a dirty front poor to your business. It only takes once for a prospective customer to stop in to a Facebook page or Twitter feed that’s not being utilized and just as a car runs out of gas on the side of the road, so does that potential customer.

Since your feeds can potentially be seen straight away on the front page of Google, remember to put your best foot forward and gain followers by giving them great, fresh but useful content. This will overflow into those you follow, other influencers, lists and more. Use images, hashtags and links to get more followers to retweet and interact with you. Thank others for sharing–all in all, be a good twitter citizen.

Make it easy—just always be posting! If the social media profiles associated with your website are active with frequent, quality updates then the search engines take into consideration that your business is authentic, engaged, and valuable to readers..AND your prospective clients love you for it.

If you don’t have time, hire a community manager. Or better yet, hire us! It’s what we do and we take your entire internet strategy into consideration when planning your posts. We call it the Power of the Triangle. Click here to understand more or fill out this contact form for a complimentary 30 minute consultation! We’re happy to invest our time to help you figure out a solid strategy!

Again, for most, tweets aren’t going to appear in search results overnight. It’s going to take some time for Google to get on top of their tweet indexing game. That means you have some time to make internal adjustments on how you can leverage this new change for the better. It’s great news, really and certainly news that we’re excited about. Yes, search HAS gone social!