Essential SEO

PTC-Computer-Solutions-blog-October-2018-seo-tips-infographic

5 Strategies to Success

The term, SEO, is widely used in the business and online universe, but we here at PTC Computer Solutions always get questions about what it is.  SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.  But, again, what is that.  In general, it is just a phrase for improving the words and structure of your website so that the search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, among others, can properly index your website.  Improving your presentation online will help improve your ability to be found online through the search engines.  So, what are the best strategies to use?  Here are a few we like:

1. Mobile
2. Technical
3. SERP’s
4. Content
5. Voice Search

MOBILE SEO

The mobile world

Mobile First Index

Google rules the search engine world.  It’s just a fact.  So, when Google makes changes, everyone listens.

• Google is prioritizing mobile content first
• This can potentially change linking between sites

There are a number of things to think of when going Mobile First.

Mobile Essentials

Focus on Page Speed

• Use the Google Page Speed Insights Tool or Pingdom for speed insights and suggestions
  • Note: These only measure one page at a time
• Use Google Analytics Page timings to get insights on how speed is performing over time by page
  • Behavior -> Page Timings
• Consider implementing AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)

PTC-Computer-Solutions-blog-October-2018-7-essential-SEO-Tips

TECHNICAL SEO

It’s about…

• Mobile-First
• Structured Data (“Schema”)
• The Crawlability of the Site
• Site Speed on mobile & desktop

Technical Essentials

• Structured Data: Reviews
• Structured Data: Product Info
  • Examples:
• Name
• SKU
• Brand
• Category
• Colors
• Price
• Description
• Offers
• Reviews
• Structured Data: Product Info & Single Family Residence
  • Single Family Residence Schema Variables:
    • Geo Coordinates
    • Address
    • Phone Number
    • Number of Rooms
    • Floor Size (Square Footage)

SEARCH ENGINE RESULT PAGES (SERPs)

SEO is not just about keywords anymore, but how you can maximize your presence on the page.  The following are all important in the SEO for your page:

• Knowledge Panels
• Reviews
• Related Questions
• Local Listings
• Site Links
• Images
• Videos
• Knowledge Cards

According to Vont a knowledge graph can decrease clicks to a branded search by 50%-70%

• Clicks on a knowledge card are “Google Owned” properties and the click counts as a referral
• In late October Moz and others reported a 30% increase in the display of knowledge graphs

SERP Essentials

• Image Search
  • Optimizing for image search is an important part of your SEO strategy with over 27% of total searches
    • Name your image URL’s with relevant keywords
    • Use captions to describe your image
    • Fill in your Alt/Title text content with a short relevant phrase
    • Use structured data to describe your image
    • Submit an image xml sitemap to the search engines
  • Knowledge Graphs
  • Work on generating knowledge graphs for your business according to Propecta

1. Become an official representative of your brand

• Make sure you are a site owner of your brand
• Sign into the Google account with owner permissions
• Turn on Web and Activity Controls turned on

2. Create or update your brand’s Wikipedia page
3. Manage your Google+ Page
4. Add or update Brand Data on Wikidata.org

• Grow Traffic & Build Engagement
  • Grow the traffic on your site & get the customers to engage to build authority
    • Improve your user experience and site engagement
      • 50 A/B Testing ideas from Sujan Patel
    • Work to obtain naturally earned credible backlinks from authoritative sites
      • Here are 61 Link Building Ideas from Neil Patel

CONTENT

According to Rand Fishkin here are 10 Content Types you can use to bolster your SEO campaigns…

• We already talked about images
• But what about video?
• Or long-form content?
• Or Infographics?

There is a strong correlation between long-form content and search engine page rank according to Neil Patel, but this may not work in a mobile-first environment.

Here’s a visualization of Rand Fishkin’s optimization and keyword priorities from 2013

Notice how much of this is about content?

• Long Form Content
  • Opportunity to focus on a specific topic with relevant keywords
  • Creates a chance to sell
• Video Content
  • Use meta data to describe the content
  • Use video structured data to provide more context for the video

VOICE SEARCH

• Voice Search is on the rise particularly amongst Millennials.
• The number of US Households using smart speakers is expected to grow dramatically over the next 4-5 years
• Amazon owns the smart speaker market
• Whoever owns the speaker can influence the search result

Voice Search Essentials

According to this article by Search Engine Land, voice assistants are using featured snippets to feed voice-based responses.

• Use structured data to provide context for products and services
• Visit schema.org to learn more about the types of structured data you can use

There is some evidence that structured data may not provide a boost in voice search results.

But there are things to pay attention to:

• #1: Page Speed
• #2: Secure Sites (HTTPS)
• #6: Social Engagement
• #7: Easy to Read Content
• #9: Long form content

PTC-Computer-Solutions-blog-October-2018-seven-essential-steps-to-Optimization

Keep in mind…this is new and will evolve rapidly over the next couple of years so what may be true now, will probably be different in 12 months.

The Future of SEO…parting thoughts:

• Voice Search and mobile search will continue to converge
  • “Show me new single family homes {near me} under $500,000”
• Voice Search will be linked with visual results in interesting ways
  • Envision a smartTV connected to Alexa and displaying results on screen for a query like “Alexa, please show me men’s trail running shoes in size 7”?

PTC Computer Solutions works extensively on understanding the Needs of Our Clients and what they are looking for so that understanding of the Internet and business technologies for their needs and objectives is fully explained.  Don’t fail to meet your objectives with your customer experience and other technologies.  Stay on top of things.  Train your employees or hire an agency that can handle it for you such as PTC Computer Solutions.

David WB Parker is a principal of Parker Associates of Jacksonville, Florida, marketing consultants to the real estate industry; President of PTC Computer Solutions, IT Specialist, and an active real estate sales professional with PARFAM REALTY based in Jacksonville, FL.  He can be reached at 904-607-8763 or via email davidp@ptccomputersolutions.com.