The more content producers dominate the SEO techniques, the more sites require to refine their algorithms to find the best page that corresponds to each keyword.
So much so, that the basic techniques of SEO on page and stopped being a differential and became almost an obligation.
The reason is very simple: in the first place on the results page, there is only space for one site!
And all Google wants is to deliver the best possible content for its users, so that they continue to use searches to answer their questions. And the competition is increasing. In US, 75% of companies have already adopted Content Marketing.
The importance of advanced SEO techniques
When a user does a search, how does Google distinguish between so many pages that appear to answer the question? Which is the most indicated?
In addition to good content, Google’s robots observe those contents that adapt to best practices to optimize the user experience and address what the search engine considers important.
Therefore, it is so important to adapt to the most advanced techniques, because the basic ones have already become an obligation to achieve results. We must find a way to differentiate ourselves from the competition.
To update themselves in relation to the constant changes, SEO specialists accompany interviews, conferences and publications of Google engineers, Bing, among others.
They read the patents registered by the companies and of course, they put them into practice, they test them, they do experiment etc.
It seems exhaustive, right?
For this reason, for those who do not have the time to devote the necessary time to these investigations, we separate in this publication, some Advanced guide to SEO that will optimize your traffic.
Look below:
1. Conquer quality links by investing in relevant content
The two main factors that help optimize a page for search engines are, in order:
- The quantity and quality of links that the page receives
- The quality and relevance of the content
Regarding the first factor, Google works with two important indexes:
- Domain Authority (Authority domain)
- Page Authority (Authority of the page).
When your page receives links from sites with greater authority, those links have more quality and in addition, that authority is partially transferred to your page.
But how to get links from pages with authority?
If a page has authority, it is likely to have quality traffic. That is, many visitors, people investing a lot of time on the site, low rejection rate. Which brings us to the second factor: the quality of the content?
The better your content is, the greater the opportunities to generate quality links, in places with a lot of authority.
A good SEO strategy starts with a well-crafted content guideline
Relevant content generates more links, more possibilities to be shared, more clicks, and all that actively contributes for Google to understand that your site or blog deserves to be well positioned in the search results.
Prepare your content guidelines based on the questions your audience is asking. We will show you the best tools for you to look for the main doubts and ailments of your person.
2. Flee from superficiality: an image is worth a thousand words!
Before Inbound marketing, the phrase that says:
“A picture is worth a thousand words” was very strong in advertising.
The time was too short to capture the attention of the public:
- 30 seconds of TV,
- Little space in print media
- or in animated banners introduced by the digital age
They were ways to try to attract as many people as possible in the minimum time. Luckily, the new marketing made it possible to attract really interested people and relate to them, making them advance in advertising and marketing aspects.
And that is done with a good planning of Content Marketing, which is focused on teaching what is necessary for the public to advance in the day of purchase.
Google is a great ally, since its objective is also to answer the questions of its users.
In recent years, more and more content began to gain space in the pages of search results, penalizing pages whose content was superficial and quick to read.
Number of words
In an investigation with more than 20,000 keywords identified that on average, all the contents that appear on the first page of Google, exceed 2000 words.
It is not known if there is a clear criterion in the search result algorithms, to penalize pages with few words.
The most likely is that it does not exist, mainly because there are exceptions of short articles with good positioning.
But, in practice, the more extensive contents make the user stay longer on the page and end up being the most shared, that is worth gold for the algorithms!
For those who are starting, producing a content of 500 to 1000 words is better than not producing, and there are good opportunities to get to the first page of Google if the keyword does not have much competition.
But it is always better to focus on content that reaches close to 2000 words, mainly if it is a valuable content for users, which tends to be shared more.
3. Update your content: the more current, more relevant
If you are producing content a few months ago, it is possible that some older publications are receiving a good number of visits and standing out in relation to the others.
The big question is: for how long?
Just like you, several sites are competing for that keyword, and if it is important for your strategy, it may be a good idea to update your content.
Remember: relevance is the main secret to make users spend more time on your page, share the content and link to their pages.
Outdated content tends to disappear from search results in a few weeks!
The practice of updating content is a great opportunity to expand and deepen your article. Again: it is not only increase the size, because that is to deceive the user and increase the rejection of your page penalizing the result.
Your focus should be to increase the depth of the answers, with examples, tips and updated suggestions, that is, everything that could make your visitor more committed to your content.
Many companies start with short publications of 500 to 1000 words, to generate movement in their sites and start gaining authority in Google. Then, expand the articles with a better performance, transforming them into epic publications of up to 4000 words!
It is an excellent way to promote the continuous improvement of your content marketing strategy!
4. Explore latent semantic indexing and see beyond keywords
Latent semantic indexing (LSI) is one of the factors that Google applies in its algorithm to find the best pages for each keyword search.
The technique consists of a formula to identify patterns between words, based on variations of the same term and the relationship of a term with other nearby words.
Keyword variations
When the first efforts of SEO began, one of the most common techniques was to bet on the repetition of keywords, to force search engines to believe that content was relevant in relation to the term sought.
In a short time, the prospectors considered this practice a mallard attitude, or black hat, and went on to penalize sites that exaggerated in the repetition of the word.
For example: if you were writing an article about Seo, it is very likely that you use terms like “increase traffic”, “increase traffic” and “increase site traffic”.
The LSI identifies that those terms are variations of the same keyword and considers the practice to increase the positioning of your page in relation to those terms. Although each one only appears once in the entire article.
With that, Google allows the text to be more fluid and human, instead of articles that seem written by robots of repetition of words.
Related terms
Another difficulty with the first versions of the search algorithms was finding the right content when the search term contained a word that could have more than one meaning.
How to know if when searching for “Natal” was referring to a commemorative date or to the capital of Rio Grande do Norte?
To solve this problem, the LSI also considers the existence of related terms when assigning points to a page in relation to a certain keyword.
In the same example An article on traffic that does not contain the term “SEO”, but keywords such as “transit” and “avenue !,” will be semantically associated with searches related to traffic.
When writing your article, consider the terms related to the keywords that are the focus of the article. Also, be sure to mention them at least once, near the main keyword.
With that, you will avoid appearing in searches unrelated to your article. That usually is what causes less time of permanence of users on the page (they will not find what they were looking for) and consequently, a penalty on the authority of the page.
It is important to remember: a relevant content, which answers the reader’s questions, is the key to improving positioning!
5. Be a good host: invest in your visitor’s experience
The time your visitor spends on the page, together with the rejection rate, are two highly relevant factors.
In the end, all Google wants is to deliver the best possible pages for its users, so that they continue to return and perform new searches.
Knowing that, it is essential to invest in some quick tips that will ensure a positive experience for visitors, improving the authority of your page and your domain.
Page speed
You’ve probably already given up on a page because it was taking a long time to load, is not it?
What if the same thing happened with your page? Certainly, it will begin to be penalized by the search engines.
To help pages load faster, Google has the PageSpeed tool . Use it with your site and see how to optimize it!
Mobile access
It is increasingly common for users to perform a quick search on their cell phones, to answer an immediate question. Certainly, Google accompanied that trend.
Again, with the interest of giving better and better content, they have another tool to help the sites be: mobile-friendly. Do the test!
Content scan ability
Regardless of the keyword, your text should be easy to read and scan with your eyes. No matter how complete your content, some visitors come to him to answer a simple and fast question. Use main ideas in bold, italic terms and some lists to facilitate reading and improve the user experience.
Images
The deeper your content, the tendency is to need more text, more words. To avoid monotony and deliver a positive experience, invest in good images throughout the text. They can be illustrative or also part of the content such as graphics and illustrations. Never forget to optimize the file name and alternative text!
It’s important to remember…
Both basic practices and advanced SEO techniques are changing and are updated over time. However, they will always have a great goal:
Deliver relevant, quality content that answers the user’s questions. That is the basis of Content Marketing and that is the direction we follow in all the SEO tips that we gave in this publication and in our blog.
