A NEW YEAR, THE SAME OLD PROBLEMS WITH THE POSITION

        A NEW YEAR, THE SAME OLD PROBLEMS WITH THE POSITION

Search Engine Optimization is one of the most debated topics in the digital sphere. As in any other field, there are very few who understand how it actually works.

There have been times when keyword stuffing and backlinks offered through so-called "link farms" functioned as SEO strategies.

Nowadays it can be said that figuring out how to grow in positioning is both an art and a science. However, we will not address this debate in this article, but we will give you some tips to lead SEO efforts in 2019.

 Here are a top 5 of our recommendations:

1. Understand the main purpose of the site

Let's start by answering a simple question: what is the main purpose of the site?

•     Do you have to promote the services / products you offer?
•     Do you have to generate leads?
•     Should the company's sales increase?

If the answer is AFFIRMATIVE for any of these questions, you are wrong!

When it comes to SEO, the main purpose of the site is to provide a solution to the problems and needs of online users (who are, in fact, potential customers).

By thinking logically, you reach the following conclusion:

Google doesn't care; it doesn't want to solve the problems of your business. Because of this, there is also the quality score for Google Ad Words. Even if you pay for clicks, Google is trying to find out if through your content you are responding to the needs and problems of its core customers: users!

Therefore, devise an SEO strategy based on the users' intention, understand the problems they are looking for answers and create content for them.

 2. Keyword research should be done taking into account relevance

Once you know that there are potential customer issues that you have a solution for, how will you create the content that they consider relevant? If in the past SEO experts talked a lot about keyword research, now the focus is on keyword relevance.

In SEO On-site it is less and less important to repeat keywords and place them in a certain section of the web page. You will need to discover those keywords and phrases that Google searchers use to find answers to the problems they have, and then create quality content that will bring them the answers they need.

What you should first look for is a topic of interest, a phrase and a set of secondary keywords, derivatives or synonyms in direct connection with that topic of primary interest. For example, if the topic of interest is "wedding planning", the secondary words can be "wedding floral arrangements", "wedding invitations", "wedding decorations", etc.

Here are some tools that can help you get started with the right keyword research, focusing on relevance:

•      Google Keyword Planner
•      Moz Keyword Explorer
•      Answer The Public (great for long tail keyword ideas)
•      Google Trends (great for finding topics of interest by season)
•   Google Search Console (great if you want to see how users are currently in the online environment)

3. Investigate the SERP

Once you have established your topics of interest and keywords, it is time to do some SERP investigations. Yes, this is about it: you will need to actually search for the keywords you target on Google and see what results are displayed.

If you are focused only on the user's intention, you have solved only half the problem. How so? You also need to understand how search engines understand user intent. Sounds complicated? Not so, if we think logically.

If Google believes that a keyword you target doesn't align with the purpose, content intent you created, you're unlikely to get better rankings on that keyword. This means that you will need to change your strategy and find those words that perfectly align with Google's interpretation of your content.

On the other hand, by investigating in the SERP you will be able to find gaps that you can use, missing information and that you could provide, to take over the best positions.

 4. Start optimization

With a ready-made content strategy that aligns with users 'search intentions and how they understand search engines' intentions of searchers, it's time to start writing content and optimizing it. There are many variables you need to consider: user experience, content relevance, technical issues and even how distributed it will be to users - it's complicated, but not impossible!

Before you start making content, it is a good idea to review all the factors that influence on-page optimization.

5. "Expansion" continues

Unique, quality, relevant and valuable content is just the first step to success in SEO. Follow the links to it, social media distributions and other such "expansion" items, which help Google determine the positioning of the content you provide and the website you have. In order to gain positioning, you need this "expansion".

Put simply, two pieces of content that meet the same need and for which the optimization is performed relatively similar can get different positions, depending on the following factors

•      The number of sites that provide links to the domain where the content is found.
•      Quality of sites that provide links to the domain where the content is found
•      Who distributes the content in social media
•       How many people distribute content on social media

You can't expect spectacular results just by creating that content, so what can you do?

First, start with your own site. Things like distributing that content through internal links or distributing it to potential customers through social media channels and email really make a noticeable difference in this regard.

Then, consider your partners, as well as influencers who might consider your content relevant, to distribute it to their own audiences. You can even collaborate with bloggers to create content that is relevant to their audience - of course, content that will enhance your business, products or services.

For more details, you can visit Mavenup Creatives.