Most of us have established fresh company goals for the new year and created a series of specific objectives to reach them. Successful businesses are based on both goals and objectives, which outlines the purpose of the company and help identify the necessary actions to achieve the desired results. Goals and objectives should be specific and measurable which can involve areas of profitability, growth and customer service.
Within the enterprise, there may be an opportunity to segment the goals in the above three areas from an online perspective. Setting goals for the company’s website are equally important, whether promoting a professional service, selling goods, blogging or some combination of these activities. Ensuring the foundations of the company’s website search results presence are still solid enabling prospective clients, customers, and readers to find the business online. To get the most from an online effort throughout the year, here is what is needed to know about SEO in 2018.
What exactly is SEO?
SEO stands for “search engine optimization” or simply involves doing actives to make search engines like your site more. Why would one want search engines to like their site more? Great questions, which ties back to achieving the goal of profitability, growth and customer service. Having an appealing and functional website is a great first step, but if potential customers and clients are unable to find the services and goods offered, then it is not likely to achieve the desired results.
SEO is an umbrella term, including relevant keywords, and linking to high-quality sites stills has an impact on where a site ranks in search results compiled by Google, Bing, and other search engines. How and where a person searches for keywords are factors that cannot be controlled. However, there a few new SEO factors that are more controllable and have a high degree of an impact than link-building and keywords. It is contributed to the behaviors of how people use the internet in conjunction with the change in technology.
Why does “mobile first” matter for SEO?
The term “mobile first” is relatively new but will become an important factor in SEO in the near future. Google is in the process of slowly implementing a mobile-first index. The change has been in the works since 2016 and may take some time to fully mature. Upon completion, Google will prioritize mobile-friendly sites in search results.
As business owners, why should there be a concern for “mobile first.” Another great question, more than half the world’s online searches are done on mobile devices, which means most users need mobile-optimized sites to find what they are looking for online.
How do you know if a site meets Google’s mobile-friendly standard? Just ask Google. Enter your URL on Google’s mobile-friendly test page. If the site is mobile friendly; there will be an option to submit it to Google for inclusion in the new mobile-first index.
Does page speed affect SEO?
More than ever, page load times have been a factor for several years when it comes to search rankings. There was a lot of discussion in 2017 about the importance of how quickly a site can load. Mainly, Google is pushing page speed as a higher priority because of their “mobile first” initiative. Mobile users do not like to wait; therefore, search rankings are impacted by page load speed.
Why optimize your site for voice search?
Let’s consider all of those people searching in mobile devices, they would rather ask Siri, Alexa or use “Ok Google” instead of typing out their searches. Quite often, these users are not even close to their keyboards, and researchers expect 30% of online search to be screen less within the next two years.
How can a website deliver what voice searchers are looking for online? Another great question, review the site traffic from searches along with the customer service inquiries to see which questions lead people to your site. Then develop those questions into an FAQ section or migrate them into your site headline, subhead or copy. Remember, short snippets work best for voice-search results. To obtain local customers, be sure to set up “My Business listing with Google” and keep the data up to date. As a result, when people ask Siri or Alexa for the products and services offered “near me” the site will rank higher in their results.