Search engine optimization is always an important topic in our industry because it's something that tons of businesses rely on to generate sales opportunities, while at the same time being a quickly moving target.
Important to note is that Google and the other search engines treat their algorithms as a work in progress, meaning that it's important to stay up on the latest trends and ideas.
With that in mind, we'd like to share with you seven of our best pieces of SEO advice from the last six months or so, in case you missed them on our blog:
Good research is the starting point for any effective search strategy.
Until you know who your customers are, where your competition lies, and which keywords to target, anything you do to optimize your website is going to be inefficient at best (and a waste of time and money at worst). That's why it's important to audit your current site, research the market, and make detailed content marketing plans before you take action.
Keywords are important, but they change over time.
Far too many companies research keywords once, and then never bother to see what's happening with search trends after that point. But, just as industries and businesses change, so do keywords and search patterns. It's important to make sure that your campaign is up to date and accounts for new products and terminology.
It's important to value keywords within a sales cycle.
A searcher who looks for general information on a topic may be only beginning their search, while one who searches a specific brand name or product ID might be comparing prices and finalizing their purchase. It's important to know which type of visitor you want to bring to your website (not to mention specific landing pages) and target them accordingly.
Newer content is weighted more heavily than older content.
Although this is a somewhat recent change to Google and its competitors, more weight is being placed on new pages and articles than older ones. Use that information to develop consistent updates, and don't rely on articles and items that are several years old to help you improve or maintain your rankings. That said, the longevity of your domain is still a key ranking signal.
SEO should only be one part of your Internet marketing plan.
To read online marketing forums, you would think that the entire success of your company was riding on your SEO campaign. It's important for most businesses, but you should also have other tools you can rely on, and always be experimenting with new things. You shouldn't ever find your company completely dependent on any single source of traffic.
Gaining traffic and search engine positioning shouldn't be your goals.
Strange as it might sound, the goal of a search engine optimization plan shouldn't be to improve rankings, or even to bring in more visitors – it should be to increase leads or sales opportunities. By remembering that, you can keep your eye on the goals that really matter and use all the elements of your plan to improve your profit picture, not simply build a bigger website.
Fads and new algorithm changes aren't as important as most people think.
Although they tend to dominate online marketing news and websites, changes to search engines really aren't that important if you're building the right kind of website. That's because the best approach is to be consistent and balanced, without putting too much effort or attention into any one specific tactic or ingredient.
Because search is always shifting, and new factors are always being weighed more heavily, you can be sure we'll have evolving advice to share in the future. So, stop back often – or better yet, contact a member of the Kayak team to see how we can help your business get more from your website.
