Amongst business owners and marketing executives, search engine optimization (or SEO) is like a professional sport. Although most decision-makers haven’t done much content writing or technical HTML work, they stay up-to-date on the latest trends and ranking on Google algorithm shifts. They become armchair quarterbacks of search marketing.
That’s generally a good thing. Anyone who has a vested interest in helping their business grow should know what SEO and ranking on Google are all about. However, there is a downside to the intense interest they have and search. Namely that new clients come to companies like ours looking for complicated answers to simple problems.
The details of the search engine optimization campaign are important. However, they only come into play once you cover the basics. To help illustrate what we mean, let’s look at a few Google ranking factors…
1. You Haven’t Maintained Your Website
Over time, a website will break down just as surely as a car will. The only difference is that with an automobile the decline is obvious, while a website can hide many flaws behind the right layout and content management system.
We regularly come across websites with broken links, slow web hosting, outdated plugins, and layouts that aren’t compatible with mobile devices (to name just a few common issues). Any of these can serve as a red flag to Google’s search spiders and prevent visitors from finding you online.
2. Your Content Isn’t Fresh or Focused Enough
Content is the fuel that drives your search engine optimization plan forward. If you don’t have enough of it, or using the wrong kind, then things aren’t going to move in the right direction.
Every time you add a new page or post to your website Google catalogs it and notes that you are producing new content. Likewise, when you go weeks or months between post updates, it serves as an indication that your website isn’t providing as much value as it used to. That’s why amazing content adds exponential value to your website over time. It’s the combination of volume, recency, and contextual authority that work in your favor.
When you have no new content on your site, are posting ideas that don’t engage with visitors, or (even worse) have copied content in your pages, maintaining search visibility is all but impossible.
3. You Aren’t Working an SEO Plan
SEO is part research and strategy, part relentless execution. If you aren’t working a written plan consistently then you’re always going to fall behind your better-organized competitors.
A good search engine optimization strategy begins with an audit of your existing website to find its weaknesses and opportunities. Next, its time to work on detailed keyword research, and continues with regular analytics reviews. None of these is optional if you want to attract thousands of visitors to your company every week, so why plunge forward without a proven plan of action in place?
Monitoring Your SEO Plan
If you recognize your own shortcomings in any of the points above, then it isn’t a new algorithm twist that’s keeping you buried deep in Google’s rankings – it’s a lack of focus or execution. There is a good reason for that: most business owners and executives simply don’t have the time to plan and work a comprehensive search engine optimization plan. That’s where an expert creative team comes in. Read our other articles on SEO if you want to find out what other factors determine where you rank on google’s search engines.
At The Marcom Group, we know what it takes to put together a cost-effective web presence that attracts real sales and leads. If you want to start getting bigger results from your SEO campaigns let us step in and help. Contact us today to schedule a website audit so we can show you the fastest way to grow your sales by attracting more search visits.