3 SEO Resolutions for Marketers in 2013

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As the festive period is ending and most of us are slowly adjusting back into our work mode, the weeks ahead are busy as ever for those of us working in agencies. This is the time of the year where we commence our annual planning and goal setting.

In 2012, we witnessed a handful of tactics brands and advertisers started to dabble in. But this year is where we make a break into the digital gateway.

Let me share with you some of the essential goals to set aside this year, from a search engine optimization (SEO) lens.

Resolve to ensure your site is SEO friendly

Understand the importance of having an SEO friendly site. It's easy for anyone to create a website these days, but make sure your site is SEO optimized and not just SEO compliant. Start to employ your SEO best practices for a few immediate reasons.

• More traffic in the natural search engine listing translates to more traffic to your site.
• Showing in the top results ensures your brand gets the awareness it deserves.
• Competitive advantages allow you to capture the market share on the must-win keywords.

Resolve to go mobile

With the rise in mobile ad spends in APAC, it's more important than ever to ensure every advertiser is playing in the arena in 2013. APAC mobile spends are up at 40 percent, but major markets such as China, India, and Indonesia will see larger growth in the coming years.

High impression volumes, a variety of ad formats, and targeting options make Google a better test bed for understanding the potential of mobile search. Testing additional mobile platforms such as InMobi and Vserv.mobi is also essential to the APAC region.

Many of us marketers are challenged with the same obstacles and it's the argument for a mobile site and the time it takes to develop a positive experience for consumers. Make sure your mobile site is optimized by following the few steps below.

• Limited page load times - Reduce page load time by combing external JavaScript and optimizing all your images.
• Use mobile-specific keywords - Consumers search differently on mobile devices than on a desktop. They tend to use shorter and fewer search terms.
• Optimize your content - Mobile content should be quickly and easily accessible.
• Optimize your images - Ensure image ads and alts tags are keyword rich.

Resolve to optimize your online videos

Now that search engines are embedding videos in the search engine results, optimizing videos is something that is fast becoming essential. If you want to make sure your videos are showing up in the organic listings you need to start optimizing your videos now.

While YouTube is the second largest engine in the world, it is the most popular video platform for video engagement globally. Brands are missing out on additional traffic and video views without proper SEO tactics in place. Begin with the basics and optimize your videos to increase your views and traffic in the natural search engine listings.

As we kick off 2013, let's all work together to test and pilot and drive success over the next 365 days.

Snake image on home page via Shutterstock.