Search engine optimization (SEO) is the aggregation of all the work essential for driving search engine traffic to your website with the ultimate goal of increasing your business’ return on investments (ROI) and improving your online image. More than simply an online reputation management tool, SEO involves the use and analysis of internal and external website components necessary to achieve the delicate balance between user experience and online strategy.
While SEO isn’t a “guaranteed science,” as this NY Times article clearly posits, it can bring long-term value to your campaign if you do it right. Below are some of the ways to help you supercharge your SEO in this post-Panda/Penguin world.
- Integrate your SEO, sales and social media teams – During this era of internet fragmentation, social conversations exist in all corners of the web. Your social media team can help expand your horizons beyond Facebook and Twitter to include other niche networks which have the power to push traffic to your website. This article posted on SearchEngineJournal.com asserts that your SEO and social media teams could use some help from your sales team when it comes to understanding your competition, as well as industry updates and trends – all of which are critical for the production of relevant content – and utilizing industry connections necessary for link-building purposes.
- Focus on usability – Now that you have your teams working together for your SEO goals, the next is to have them create a blueprint for engaging and compelling SEO tactics. Don’t let them overemphasize on Google’s algorithm; focus on the big picture: user experience. How will the users view and access the content? Are they having a hard time navigating my website? Do they enjoy reading my social profiles and blogs? These are some of the questions you need to ponder in order to succeed.
- Connect with your audience – This is the bedrock to getting links and having your brand propagated across the web. Add value to audience communities by visiting, reading, and sharing relevant comments with the principal aim of connecting with other readers. Avoid dropping self-promotional links. Readers will do this for you if you and your team have done your part. You may also engage your audience offline by speaking at events, investing in companies, or donating to non-profit organizations which can give you and your brand exposure on powerful pages, such as press releases and media articles.
- Avoid bad links and other free-for-all sites – Don’t bother posting at sites in which people can edit your postings and negate your work. Before using external links – regardless if they’re powerful like Wikipedia or Crunchbase – make sure to check on their control over content and profiles. It is risky to use bad links, but if ever you need to use them, point them to social profile pages only. Reserve higher quality links for self-managed domains.
One more thing to consider is whether to enlist the help of professionals who can provide you with the technical expertise on how to properly execute SEO tactics in your online branding campaigns.
SOURCES:
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/10-advanced-seo-tactics-that-will-increase-your-blogs-traffic/40114/
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/reputation-management-seo-6-advanced-tactics