Search engine optimization is going to look waaaay different in 2018.
It’s true.
We’re forging into the future, and that means search has to change to keep up with technology and user habits/needs.
But what do “they” (the Big G) want? And, where is technology going – and how does that tie in to the search algorithm?
For starters, more people want to ask their virtual, voice-enabled home assistants questions – and get good answers. In addition, more people want to use the internet on their smartphone versus a desktop.
Google is working to accommodate this shift and will soon roll out their mobile-first index.
This means that the search engine will prioritize mobile content in its rankings.
“Soon” is a relative term, however. According to a Search Engine Land report, right now that means sometime in 2018, but it could get pushed back.
Google has also promised not to spring the roll-out of mobile-first on unsuspecting site owners. Instead, they have pledged to be “proactive” about talking to webmasters as it happens. Gary Illyes even told people not to “freak out” at the SMX Advanced conference in June 2017.
Bottom line: If you’re sitting pretty with a website that has a responsive design, you have no worries. If you still only have a desktop-friendly site, now is the time to make some upgrades.
Here’s what that looks like across devices, via W3Schools:
2. Context Will Matter More Than Ever for Content
If your content isn’t contextually relevant to the topic you’re writing about, forget it.
Forget about ranking, let alone ranking well in 2018.
As Google gets smarter, repeating keywords in your content matters less and less for SEO.
Google is no longer a toddler in terms of tech. It’s now a wise-ass teenager who knows way more than you think.
Hence, SEO for content going forward is all about context. It’s about relevance. It’s about diving deep into a topic and leading your readers far beneath the surface information.
According to experts who contributed to SEMrush’s #semrushchat, content may be THE most important ranking factor today.
Not just any content, though – “relevant, well-structured content”:
Of course, this is nothing new.
However, you can expect to see this continue to grow in importance in the months ahead.
The need for high-quality content for outstanding SEO is going nowhere.
3. Voice Search Optimization Will (Continue to Be) a Big Deal
Voice search technology is getting better all the time.
And, as it gets better and easier to use, more people are flocking to nab their own virtual assistants like Alexa on Amazon devices, Siri on Apple devices, or Cortana on Microsoft devices.
According to a recent study from eMarketer, the number of Americans using voice search jumped up by 128.9% from 2016 to 2017.
By 2019, 39.3 million millennials are expected to adopt this technology and use voice search, according to the same study.
It’s easy to see why voice search optimization will continue to grow in importance for SEO. It’s gotta keep up with the lightning-fast speed at which users are glomming onto voice-enabled technology.
4. Sites Will Be Jostling for Spots in Featured Snippets
These snippets appear at the top of search results and give searchers instant answers.
For instance, what if I need to know how far away the moon is from earth? Observe:
Before I can even scroll to the number one search result from NASA, Google hands me the answer in the featured snippet.
Needless to say, it’s prime real estate. Sites that manage to get featured don’t even have to rank #1 to be on top.
Instead, Google pulls text from your content to provide the answer and links to your page – above the number one search result.
Awesome, right?
Plus, voice search results are mainly pulled from featured snippets. If you can get your content featured here, you could really go places.
Because voice search is getting bigger, expect featured snippet spots to get pretty competitive, too.
5. Lazy Guest-Blogging = Not Cool with Google
If you’re guest-blogging with no other intention than link-building, you’re doing it wrong – and Google will punish you.
Google recently pointed out that this behavior is basically in violation of their guidelines. Specifically, it falls under the shady link schemes umbrella.
Search Engine Land has speculated that this announcement signals a warning for webmasters. They say it’s likely that an algorithm update may be coming that targets “manipulative guest posting.”
To avoid a hit on your rankings in 2018, review guest blogging mistakes to avoid and make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons: to provide value to users, and to help you grow your list with quality leads.
The Main 2018 SEO Trend? Search Engines Are Getting Smarter
I think you’ll see one overarching trend for 2018 and SEO: Search is getting smarter, better, and more intuitive.
Of course, we can never stay static for long. We can’t get too comfortable. If we don’t change along with the changing times, we’ll get left behind.
Look forward to these trends this year, and be prepared. Your rankings and site visibility will be better off, and, quite frankly, you’ll sleep better at night.
Have you ever conducted an SEO audit for your website? If not, you should! However, if you’ve never done one before, you might be wondering how to get started… If you’re in that boat, there’s no need to worry! That’s exactly what we talked about in this week’s #ContentWritingChat.
And as always, our participants had some amazing advice to share. If you’re ready to turn your website into one that Google loves, keep reading for the valuable tips!
#ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Conduct an SEO Audit for Your Website with Lexie Kimball of Netvantage Marketing
Our guest host this week was Lexie Kimball of Netvantage Marketing. Lexie is their account manager and she really knows her stuff when it comes to SEO! As a frequent #ContentWritingChat participant, it was great having her step into a guest hosting role.
Q1: Share the basic process you go through for an on-site SEO audit.
If you’ve never conducted an SEO audit before, you’ll need to know where to begin. To help you out, our chat participants shared some essential steps the process includes. Here’s what you need to know:
A1: The first step of an audit is keyword research. We use that keyword research for page titles, metas & body copy. #contentwritingchat
Lexie’s first step in conducting an SEO audit is keyword research. As she mentioned, the chosen keyword for a piece of content goes in page titles, meta descriptions, and body copy. The team at Netvantage also does a technical audit of the website to locate any red flags.
A1: In a nutshell: Discussion with client, keyword research, on-site recommendations, implementation of changes. #contentwritingchat
Michael, also from the Netvantage team, knows that chatting with your client first is a must. It’s important to understand their business and needs. He then suggestions moving on to keyword research, on-site recommendations, and implementation of changes.
It’s also important to have an understanding of your goals/your client’s goals and who the target audience is. From there, you can create an effective plan.
A1 FIRST step: Talk to your client and outline solid KPIs you’re judging content by when auditing. #ContentWritingChat
For Julia, she feels talking to the client is the first step. This allows you to outline solid KPIs you’re judging content by when auditing. From there, she also likes to use Screaming Frog to grab all site links.
Q2: Where do you start with keyword research?
When it comes time to conduct keyword research, where do you begin? Check out this great advice from Tuesday’s chat:
A2: We always ask clients first. They know their business the best & have the best suggestions for keywords. #ContentWritingChat
To get started with keyword research, Lexie knows it’s important to talk to the client before beginning. Because the client has plenty of knowledge on their business, they’re able to provide some great suggestions for keywords. She also suggests looking at competitors to see which keywords they’re using and ranking for.
A consultation with the client is a must for Sarah! Sarah and her teammates use that opportunity to question the client on their ideal audience, products, and services.
A2: Ask client to provide a list of what they consider high priority keywords. It helps our KW research stay relevant. #contentwritingchat
Michael knows it’s helpful to ask the client to provide a list of keywords that are high priority. After all, they likely have a good idea of which ones are best for their business.
Dennis knows it’s important to define which keywords you want your site to rank for. You can then record your current ranking for each one and watch it grow.
A2: May be a bit of a @google fangirl, but data from AdWords/Analytics about how people find you is my first step. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/k3S4ztJACv
Abbey, another Netvantage team member, also agrees that asking your clients for keyword suggestions is a great way to begin. From there, she likes to look at queries in Google Search Console.
A2: Also good to review popular forums and sites where customers hang out to look for topics & KWs. #contentwritingchat
Adam’s advice is to review popular forms and sites where customers are spending their time online. It’s a great way to see what they’re talking about and to determine the right keywords and topics to use.
A2. I really look to twitter chats because this is where I get a strong idea of what type of content readers want #contentwritingchat
Cheval recommends checking out Twitter chats for content topics. This can help a lot when it comes to your keyword research.
Q3: What tools do you use for keyword research?
Fortunately, there are a plethora of tools at our disposal that can help with keyword research. If you’re looking for some great ones to use, check out these suggestions:
A3: Google’s Keyword Planner is usually the first tool we use for keyword research. #ContentWritingChat
Sarah provided a list of amazing tools that are worth checking out! As she said, there’s no shortage of tools so you have plenty of options to find the ones that work best for you.
Sarah said the client conversation is an opportunity to lay out a sitemap of pages and sections. You can then get chosen keywords to fit into that structure.
A4 Focus on ONE long-tail, high-opportunity (low-competition) keyword per long-form post. Use synonymous keywords. #ContentWritingChat
As Abbey said, make sure keywords are placed on the most relevant pages. And of course, no keyword stuffing! Keywords should always be used in a natural way.
Q5: Do you create the content the keywords go in on the website?
Are you the one who creates the content that includes your chosen keywords? Or does someone else have this task? Check out what some of our chat participants said:
A5: It varies. If we can work off content that is already on the site, we usually do. #contentwritingchat
On the flip side, sometimes they add a paragraph or two to what’s already on the site. This helps increase content length. In some cases, they’ll recommend new pages for the website when doing the SEO audit. The Netvantage team will then create the content for those pages.
A5 I write a lot of the keyword-focused content at @ExpWriters, and our team of 40 amazing writers help me do even more. #ContentWritingChat
When doing an SEO audit, sometimes you’re lucky to create the content and other times you have to optimize what’s already been published. It just depends on the client!
Q6: What technical aspects do you look at for a website when doing an audit?
Don’t forget that it’s not just about the website’s content. There’s a technical side of things to check on as well. Here’s what else you need to look for:
A6: With Google putting an emphasis on site speed, we use Google’s PageSpeed Insights & @pingdom. #ContentWritingChat
Abbey seconds that by encouraged you to check for canonical errors on a website, as well as site speed. Make sure you’re also looking at whether or not it’s mobile-friendly and if there’s duplicate content.
A6: Sitemap and Robots.txt file errors. Crawling errors (4xx pages) both from internal pages and external websites. #contentwritingchat
The Netvantage tame uses Majestic to with a few key metrics during an SEO audit. They look at the number of linking domains to the root domain, as well as citation flow and trust flow of the homepage of the website.
A7.3: We’ll use @Moz Open Site Explorer to look at the domain authority & homepage authority. #ContentWritingChat
As online content creators, there’s no denying that SEO is essential. It’s not enough to just write amazing content for your blog, but you have to optimize it as well if you want search engines (and potential readers) to discover it. To help you step up your skills and create content for SEO, you’ll want to dive into the recap of our latest #ContentWritingChat where we talked all about it!
#ContentWritingChat Recap: Curating Consistent Content for SEO
Our guest host for this week’s chat was Danielle Tate of Elegant Entrepreneur. Danielle is a CEO, best-selling author, and a speaker.
Q1: When it comes to publishing content consistently, where do you find inspiration to write?
There’s no denying that sometimes it can be hard to come up with fresh ideas for your content. In order to keep those creative juices flowing, you need to seek a little inspiration. We asked our chat participants where they find inspiration for their writing and here’s what some of them had to say:
For Danielle, she likes to look for news hooks that correlate to the topics she wants to write about. She also turns to customer questions, as they can make great blog content. This is a good reason to pay close attention to feedback your audience gives you and make note of any commonly asked questions.
A1: Find inspiration from your audience! They can give you great ideas based on their questions. #contentwritingchat
It looks like Danielle isn’t the only one turning to customers to find content ideas. The team over at Netvantage Marketing uses this strategy as well.
Kristi does the same. She finds out what questions customers are asking and what they’re talking about. This will lead you in the right direction when it comes to potential topic ideas.
A1. I usually look at trends, listen for challenges and I have a pretty serious rainstorm board in my office. #ContentWritingChat
Brittany knows it’s a great idea to look at the trends in her industry. This gives you an idea of what’s hot at the moment and provides you with an opportunity to write about it. She suggests looking at trends and listening for challenges others are facing and then having a good brainstorming session.
For Tony, he enjoys reading different articles for inspiration. There’s always something new to read, whether it’s something within your industry or not. You can always draw inspiration from what others are saying.
@ExpWriters A1. I find inspiration to write content from twitter chats and also from successful people who are great with others #contentwritingchat
Cheval gets inspiration from Twitter chats. Chats are very informative and they provide you with the opportunity to connect with others and hear their questions. It can be a great place to find your next blog post idea.
@ExpWriters A1: Frequently inspired by something someone said, what I see in nature when I #run, and a great photo/video. #ContentWritingChat
Jeremy finds writing inspiration from a variety of sources. He gets ideas from things he hears others talking about, what he sees in nature while he’s out on a run, and from great photos and videos.
Q2: What advice do you have for writers maintaining a blog long-term?
One thing that many on the outside looking in don’t realize is that blogging is actually hard work. You take on many roles as a blogger and it can sometimes feel overwhelming. So, how do you manage all of those tasks for the long haul? Check out this advice:
A2: Don’t be afraid to widen your scope of topic so you have more to write about for the same audience #ContentWritingChat
Danielle says you shouldn’t be afraid to wide your scope of topic when it comes to the content you cover. If your audience would be interested and it’s still relevant overall, there’s no reason you can’t experiment with something new.
A2: Write about something you genuinely enjoy, don’t let it turn into a chore, and find a schedule for yourself #contentwritingchat
— Digital Natives Cast (@DgtlNativesCast) May 9, 2017
No matter what you choose to write about, it should be something that you genuinely enjoy. If you aren’t passionate about your chosen topic, writing will quickly become a chore.
Make sure you’re running tests to see what’s working for you and what’s not. This allows you to see what you should do more of and what needs to change.
To make sure you’re staying consistent, develop a content strategy and keep an editorial calendar. This will keep you on track when it comes to publishing.
Varun says there should be consistency in the quality of the content you produce, you should allow formats to evolve, and you need to keep an eye on trends in your niche. He also suggests focusing on community building. This will help you build a relationship with your audience.
Gabriela’s advice is to define your blog’s purpose and align it with your passions. Having that passion for what you’re doing will ensure you’re consistent and committed to your blog.
Q3: Do you have a specific formula for creating posts on your blog?
Writing a blog post requires quite a bit of work, as there are many stages of content creation. Developing a formula to follow will help make the process easier. Check out the formulas our chat participants follow:
Simple, but effective! For Sarah, she comes up with an idea, jots down notes or an outline, then performs any necessary research. Once that’s done, she begins to write, proofread, and ultimately publish her content.
A3. I use the Ann Handley method: write “The Ugly First Draft” draft, let it breathe, then rewrite and optimize. #ContentWritingChat
Don’t be afraid to write that ugly first draft! Brittany follows Ann Handley’s method by getting a first draft out, letting it rest for a while, then coming back to rewrite and optimize.
A3: Outlining posts, including calls-to-action before filling in information works great for us! #contentwritingchat
— Digital Natives Cast (@DgtlNativesCast) May 9, 2017
An outline can pave the way to a fantastic piece of content.
A3.
Gut
& analytics!
Balance
of:
what is proven to
be of interest
vs.
what I feel should
be addressed. #contentwritingchat
Tony likes to be ahead of schedule when it comes to content creation. He has an editorial calendar that allows him to plan and then create content in advance.
@ThinkSEM A3: I tend to keep seasonality in mind for posts. Timeliness. Tap into what people are searching for online. #ContentWritingChat
For Leah, she likes to keep seasonality in mind. This ensures you’re timely with the content you share and you can be sure it’ll appeal to your audience in that moment. Figure out what people are searching online and add those topics to your editorial calendar.
A3: Share valuable information. That’s the only formula we have. 🙂 #contentwritingchat
The number one formula we should all remember? Provide value to your readers.
Q4: What does SEO mean to you as a content writer?
To switch gears into the SEO focus of this week’s chat, we asked our participants to share what it means to them as content writers. Here’s what they had to say about SEO:
For Danielle, SEO mentions intentionally weaving keywords her audience is searching for into her content. She knows this is essential if she wants the right people to discover the content she creates.
Great way to look at it! SEO is something you have to deal with in order to let your content shine.
Q5: How do you determine the keywords you use within your posts?
When creating content for SEO, you need to determine the right keywords to use for the content you create. How do you go about that? Here are some helpful tips:
A5: I analyze which key words are performing best on Google Ads and purposely frame titles and topics to include them #ContentWritingChat
Create a list of potential keywords you can analyze, but make sure you go with something that your ideal audience will actually be searching for. Think about how they talk and how they would word their searches.
Choose a topic, then research keywords people are searching for that relate back to your topic. Once you have that ideal keyword, use it naturally throughout your copy.
A5: 1) Choose topic 2) keyword search 3) Apply in writing BUT write naturally for your reader? *pick keywords w/ volume #ContentWritingChat
Elizabeth starts by choosing a topic, conducting keyword research, and then writing while naturally sprinkling in her keyword. She says to pick keywords that have high volume so you know people are searching for what you’re writing about.
@ExpWriters A5: Google analytics, watch trending words/topics on all platforms, create some cross-platform appeal. #ContentWritingChat
Jeremy’s go-to strategy includes using Google Analytics, watching trending words and topics on platforms, and ultimately creating cross-platform appeal with his content.
A5: Remember your keywords are more than interest specific, they’re built for your audience. Build for potential reach #ContentWritingChat
Great answer from Jeff that we should all keep in mind when creating content for SEO.
Q6: What are your favorite lesser-known SEO tips you can share?
By now, we all know the basics of SEO. However, there’s always something else we can learn, so we asked everyone to share their favorite SEO tips that most people don’t seem to know about. Here’s what they had to say:
A6: Include links to previous posts you wrote on a topic to boost your key word relevance & ranking. It’s called siloing #ContentWritingChat
Danielle says to include links to previous posts you wrote on a topic. This will boost your keyword relevance and ranking. This technique is called siloing. If you aren’t already doing this, it’s time to get started. You can go through the blog posts in your archives and begin interlinking related posts right now.
Utilize the strategy of link building. You can guest post on other websites and include links back to posts you’ve written and published on your own blog. This helps to build quality backlinks to your blog and sends more traffic your way.
— Digital Natives Cast (@DgtlNativesCast) May 9, 2017
Don’t forget to add alt tags to the images in your blog posts. This tells search engines what your images are of and it’ll help them show up in search results.
Sarah says it requires her to focus on the larger picture. There’s no reason to post for the sake of posting. Everything should serve a purpose and be strategic.
A7. Used to believe in just writing good content for the sake of it. Content is pretty useless without a measurable goal #ContentWritingChat
Zala said it helps you understand the focus for your content. It also shows you how to make it valuable, relevant, serachable, and useful.
A7 Need to plan ahead, but also aware of trends and shifting patterns in SEO. Algorithim updates can make or break you #contentwritingchat
— Traffic Jam Media (@trafficjammedia) May 9, 2017
Plan ahead and be aware of trends and changes in SEO algorithms. You need to be on top of those changes to ensure you’re doing the right things when it comes to creating content for SEO.
Q8: What are your favorite tools and resources for SEO? Tag them!
The great thing is, there are plenty of tools and resources that will help you create content for SEO these days. Here are just some suggestions that will help you out:
Did you miss our #ContentWritingChat this week? If you did, you missed a great chat! However, there’s no need to feel left out because we have a round-up of some of the tweets from Tuesday’s chat. Get caught up on our session and learn more about SEO and great content!
#ContentWritingChat May 10 2016 Recap: How to Kill it in SEO Rankings with Great Content
Q1: What are the basics of SEO every online writer should know?
Many people are intimidated by SEO, but it doesn’t have to be hard. You just need to start with the basics! Here are some things every online writer needs to know when it comes to optimizing content:
A1b) Where are your competitors beating you, and how can you make a play for their rank? Can you? Should you? #ContentWritingChat
Great answers from Jenn! She says you need to know how to research, but you should also keep an eye on your competitors. In what areas are they beating you? How can you improve? Use that to your advantage!
A1: They need to know how to research keywords and how to include them properly in a title and article. #contentwritingchat
A1. How to search for keywords. Long-tail keywords are your friend. #ContentWritingChat
— Brittany Brander (@BrittanyBrander) May 10, 2016
One thing you absolutely need to know: How to research keywords. If you want to optimize your posts, you need to make sure you’re choosing the best keywords for your content. And yes, those long-tail keywords are your friend!
A1: The basics are keyword focus, heading tags, meta descriptions, and relevance. What’s trending? What value is added? #ContentWritingChat
Ryan said you need to know which keywords to focus on, how to use heading tags, and how to include meta descriptions. More importantly, you need to make sure your content and the chosen keywords are relevant. Are you adding value to your audience?
A1) Also – how to prioritise between topics/terms and determine potential value. Learn tools like @semrush & @moz#ContentWritingChat
Amel brings up a great point when it comes to placement of keywords. The days of keyword stuffing are long gone, my friends. (It was never cool anyway!) You should work your keywords into your content in a way that sounds natural, not spammy.
Q2: How can you gain better rankings in Google’s search results through good content?
Optimizing your posts for search engines is about more than just keywords, meta descriptions, etc. You always need to focus on providing good content first and foremost. Google loves good content and so do your readers!
— Eliza David, Author (@elizadwrites) May 10, 2016
Eliza knows how important it is to keep your audience in mind when creating. What do your readers want to see? How can you help them and add value? Your analytics are a great place to see which posts get the most traffic, which keywords your audience is searching, and more. Create more of what they want!
A2: Consistency in you messaging while strategically using words that target KW you want to increase rankings against. #ContentWritingChat
A friendly reminder from these three chatters: If you create good, valuable content, your audience will want to share it! Focus on providing quality content every single time.
Q3: What are some don’ts to avoid when it comes to SEO?
There are some things you should avoid when it comes to SEO, otherwise you risk being penalized by Google and turning off your readers.
Debi and Varun are spot-on with their answers! Write for humans, not search engines. Providing great content for your readers should always be your number one priority.
Sarah said to ditch the tactics that used to rank content 5+ years ago. Things change and you need to keep up with the latest SEO tips. She also said not to buy links or do any kind of keyword stuffing. These things are not okay!
Badal said to make sure it sounds natural. That’s key!
A3. Imagine reading “hiking gear essentials” 30 times in a post. No thanks. #ContentWritingChat
— Brittany Brander (@BrittanyBrander) May 10, 2016
We agree that would be pretty annoying, Brittany!
Q4: How do you choose the right keywords to use in your content?
Choosing the right keywords is essential if you want your content to rank higher in search results. Here are some tips to help you select the right ones:
Odds are, your audience is already using the exact keywords you should incorporate into your content. One great way to find out is by checking your analytics. Which keywords are people searching to find your website? Which keywords are they using when searching keywords while on your site?
A4) Use analytics to know where PPC traffic is coming from. Increase SEO there to shift dollars to other PPC needs. #ContentWritingChat
Sarah suggested figuring out what has already resonated with your audience. Which posts of yours are they sharing and linking to? Which posts are getting them to convert?
A5) Don’t reinvent the wheel. What types of content have you seen success with? Can you direct it toward your SEO goals? #ContentWritingChat
Jenn had the same idea as Sarah. Take a look at your previous content and see what you’ve had success with. A quick look into your analytics will reveal what your most popular posts are in terms of traffic.
A great tip from David: engage with your audience! When you take the time to talk to your audience and get to know them, you can better understand their needs. What are their problems and how can you help through your content?
Another great tip is to answer your audience’s questions with your content. Are you often getting asked the same questions? Address them in a blog post. Keep an eye on the questions they ask through your comments section, emails, and social media.
Amalia suggested using social media as a way to build natural connections with your audience. Make sure you’re taking the time to engage with others and have conversations with them.
A7: Social media plays a huge part. The more shares, eyes, traffic & backlinks, the better SEO results. #ContentWritingChat
And don’t forget those Twitter chats! They’re a great place to learn, right? 😉
We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM CDT for great chats centered around content writing and marketing.
On week three of the great content roundup, I wanted to specifically pull out links that talk about content and SEO in 2015. I’ve been seeing some great stuff on the Internet circulating around this hot topic and wanted to share my favorites from this week.
As you know from my past posts, I strongly believe that content IS SEO. Therefore, this will revolve around content marketing and everything SEO related. There are some great articles here, so enjoy, and feel free to share or leave a comment!
Best Content Marketing Tools in 2015 by Sujan Patel on SEJ. Great info shared. He says that 78% of CMOs believe custom content is the future of marketing. Wow!
The Technical Future of SEO by Scott Stouffer. A unique search engine engineers perspective on SEO. He mentioned that PPC is over-saturated and no longer profitable; and how organic search can be looked at.
