Are You Optimistic About SEO?
Searchmetrics' recent report about Google's ranking factors falls in with this columnist's "5 R's" SEO summary, and demonstrates the growing focus on content over keywords.
Searchmetrics' recent report about Google's ranking factors falls in with this columnist's "5 R's" SEO summary, and demonstrates the growing focus on content over keywords.
Since 2012, Searchmetrics has developed a report that looks at the ranking factors that Google uses which can help content marketers, webmasters, and SEO specialists to focus on those important criteria when developing content for websites, social media platforms, articles and blogs.
I’ve been keeping a close eye on this space for nearly two decades and in 2011, I summarized all of SEO into the 5 R’s of search marketing that were evergreen and constant. Focus on how content on your site must be (1) Relevant and build your (2) Reputation. It must also be (3) Remarkable, (4) Readable, and of sufficient (5) Reach.
As you go through the ranking factors, see how neatly they all fit within the 5 R’s. The report focuses on user experience, content, social signals, backlinks and technical aspects. It includes information on which ranking factors are important this year, how these have changed and developed from previous years, and the benchmarks for the top 10 search results.
In terms of the on-page factors not directly linked with a page’s content:
This is a new section this year, reflecting the emphasis on the user experience as it relates to design and usability as well as on-page optimization. The findings are:
User signals – CTR, time on site, bounce rate – are becoming increasingly important for search engines because these are a way to find out if the user was satisfied with their search experience. The availability of big data is assisting search engines in enhancing the experience provided.
Relevant content is king and has usurped keywords as the most vital factor for rankings. Here’s what the findings say:
The correlation between more social signals and higher ranking URLs continues to be of great importance and shows the importance of reach. Other findings include:
The overall belief is that backlinks are losing their power to influence the rankings because other factors will play a greater role in the future. Here are the other conclusions:
With these findings, Searchmetrics has recommended focusing on creating relevant content that reflects people’s needs, search focus and devices used; moving beyond keywords because search intentions are often much more complex and diversified; leveraging mind maps and topic clouds, rather than using lists of keywords and subjects; and creating readable content that’s structured in an attractive, digestible way.
I am hoping this will get people seeing that success in SEO is a long-term investment, not some short-term project or gimmick. The process of planning and developing with search in mind is a dynamic process that requires regular review and adjustment to ensure that strategies and tactics still reflect the needs, wants, and behaviors of the target audience.
In the next year or two, as the growth in mobile usage continues to rise at a meteoric pace, I highly suggest you invest the resources into improving how users are finding and interacting with your content through mobile devices. Even though conversion rates are lower on mobile devices, a lot of the research in search begins there. Those who understand this mobile-only design philosophy will have opportunities to see significant gains on all sides of their digital presence. Keep in mind that if you delight your visitors while they are researching on mobile, it will be much easier to have them come back to convert on a desktop or an in-store experience.