SEO Techniques And Best Practices In 2014

Reference: searchenginepeople

In the current landscape, achieving a strong online presence requires implementing a multifaceted, cohesive and integrated SEO strategy. The following are the areas we recommend you focus on in order to ramp up your SEO efforts and ensure your brand has a killer online presence.

Content Creation

When it comes down to the wire, Google ranks content, not companies. Essentially, when users conduct a search on the search engine, they are looking for an answer to a specific question, and Google wants to provide them with the best, most relevant answer possible. The more detailed that answer is, and the more superior it is in relation to other similar answers, the more useful it will be to Google's users. If you produce content that Google perceives as useful and relevant, then it will rank better in search results, plain and simple.

Content Promotion

The content you create can't exist on an island; in order for it to gain more exposure and make more impact, it must be promoted. In the current landscape, the following are the best methods you can use in order to promote your content:

1. Social Media – Use your social reach on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others to expand the reach of your content. Encourage social sharing, commenting and other forms of engagement in order to amplify its impact.
2. Outreach – Reach out to prominent bloggers and other influencers in your industry with your content offerings. If you have yet to identify who these people/sites may be, reference blog directories or try services like Buzzstream or BlogDash that help you find relevant influencers.
3. Public relations – While outreach can be a highly effective endeavor, good ol' conventional PR placements in trade and general interest publications are a great way to promote your content (and by association your brand).
4. Paid advertising – There are a variety of paid advertising options that can be used to create exposure for your content: Paid search, promoted tweets, Outbrain, Facebook ads, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon Paid Discovery, and more. Best of all, putting money into paid advertising can elicit strong results, usually at an affordable price.
5. Conversion Optimization

Conversion optimization is important because it can increase the return on your current SEO investment, and converting a higher percentage of your traffic is much more cost effective than attracting more visitors. It focuses not on attracting more visitors to your website, but on capitalizing on already existing traffic by getting visitors to take a desired action once they have arrived.

• Among other aspects, conversion optimization involves:
• Clear messaging so customers understand the value you are offering
• Eliminating problematic features (poor navigation, ineffective CTAs, etc)
• Creating an easy path through your sales funnel
• Offering the right content at the right time

Measuring the right aspects to gain insight into further improvements that can be madeIt can help you secure the right kind of customers, maximize your profits, and significantly lower you cost-per-acquisition. Furthermore, because conversion optimization doesn't require paying more to acquire conversions, you can allocate more marketing dollars in order to acquire more traffic to your website.