Tips

Tips

Google has made a lot of changes in an effort to put more information on the SERP, better organized results and understanding conversational search queries.?? Every change is an effort to bring a better search experience to users.

These changes have required online merchants to think about SEO strategies in ways they never had before.?? Content needs to be valuable to users, and technical steps need to be taken to show that value to search engines.?? With mobile shopping, it is more important than ever.

Google???s algorithms are designed to identify websites with low quality content and link schemes.?? This forced websites to improve content and focus on white hat content.?? Content and links have to have value to the user, not just exist to increase rankings.

Google has incorporated voice search, used by mobile and tablet shoppers.?? Now the search results match queries generated by voice search ??? with the Hummingbird algorithm.?? Merchants just need to continue focusing on high quality content.

Some new approaches you can incorporate:

Think about topics rather than keywords when creating content.?? What does the page say??? What is the message??? What synonyms can you use?

• Use high quality links.?? Make sure the links are within content that is applicable.
• Remove all low quality links.
• Hire a copy writer and SEO consultant.
• Use a variety of content ??? images, descriptions, questions and answers, social media.

The Knowledge Graph

The structured data displayed in search results answer the searcher???s questions in the results so they can filter the results further.?? The Knowledge Graph allows searchers to see the value of the website before clicking.?? The carousel results (images with information , reviews and a map at the top of the page) offer a richer experience for users, and Google reviews have an impact on placement in the carousel.

What you can do:

• Implement structured data and rich snippets. Structured data allows Google to organize the information on your website and deliver it in rich snippets that help you stand out from the competition
• Claim your Google+ and Google Places for Business pages. This gives you greater control over what the search engine reads and displays to users, such as images, hours, current menus, rates and promotions.

Social signals are having a greater impact in Google search results ??? particularly with the release of Hummingbird.?? Twitter, Google Authorship, Facebook and Google + have an impact on ranking.?? Google Authorship
Become Social

• Participate in Google Plus, Facebook, and Twitter, whether you???re a business or an individual.
• If you???re a business, don???t forget about LinkedIn.

Secure Search

Google Webmaster Tools is the only source of keyword data from Google. Integrating keyword impression and click data from Google Webmaster Tools with page-level performance helps to decide which pages to focus on improving ??? based not only on their performance, but their potential.

Below are some additional actions to take in the face of secure search that will serve to solidify SEO best practices as you move your analytics focus to the page level.

• Understand your audience. Research who they are, what they are looking for in relation to your company and how they go about getting information.
• Optimize for multiple keywords. I mentioned synonyms above. Users are smart enough to know there???s more than one way to say the same thing, so a little variety in the words on your copy won???t turn them away and could help you rank better.
• Analyze the competitive landscape. Looking at who else ranks for your keywords can give you clues into what users are really looking for.

Mobile

• Make content relevant. Mobile users want information quickly, at the top of a page. Consider how your pages can deliver information up front.
• Drive transactions. Because mobile users often want something in the moment, consider how you can drive a transaction immediately or facilitate an interaction later, such as emailing a link, sharing on Facebook, or saving to an account.

Voice queries, question-based queries, and a greater emphasis on the meanings of words rather than the keyword itself ??? combined with information from rich snippets and social signals ??? mean Google can do a better job of helping searchers decide which link will provide the information they seek.?? Optimizing your content will help Google provide users with your product information.