SEO marketing has evolved significantly over the past couple of years. While the fundamentals are the same, it now includes socialization and organic inbound content marketing that promotes discoverability.
Search Engine Watch describes the new SEO as “web presence optimization.” The site goes on to note that it’s “an all-encompassing approach to optimizing an entire web presence for organic search including the website, social channels, blogs, articles and press releases.” (1)
Of the many elements of SEO, there are three strategies that are at the top of the content discoverability popularity list and the ones you should be most concerned with.
The 3 most popular SEO marketing strategies:
1. Blogging with Effective Keywords, Content, and Socialization
One of the basics of the ‘evolved’ search engine optimization strategy is organic inbound content marketing. It’s the process of bringing traffic to your website through discoverable content, such as blog posts.
A major element of your content should be the ‘tried and true’ use of keywords. Keywords will drive search traffic to your website and ultimately drive conversion.
Conversion is the process of getting visitors to become subscribers, customers, clients or say YES to some other call-to-action you have in place.
It’s the combination of effective and targeted keywords and quality content that will produce the results you want. It delivers visitors to your site and motivates them to share your content with their networks.
Part of this optimization process that brings traffic to your site is sharing your content with your own social networks as soon as it’s published.
2. Guest Blogging
Spread your wings. Research sites that are relevant to your niche and that have high authority and query the owner or follow the site’s guidelines if available.
Guest blogging helps you take-it-up-a-notch. This content marketing strategy brings you to the attention of the high-ranking website you’re guesting on and to the attention of that site’s readers.
Guest blogging has a two-fold benefit. It helps you develop a connection with the site owner, possibly leading to other things, and it broadens your visibility.
To make your guest blogging gigs worth the time and effort, you need to create an effective ‘About the Author’ for the end of your articles. It’s important to make the author tag focused on the reader, not about you. Let the reader know what she’ll get if she clicks on your link.
3. Article Directories
While article marketing via article directories has been around a while, it’s still a top SEO marketing strategy.
As with guest blogging, it’s about using relevant keywords that will allow readers to find your article and it’s about writing quality content that other blog owners will find of value and ‘shareable.’ Other blog and website owners will read your quality content and want to share it with their own audience. This will prompt them to post it to their own sites, especially since it’s free content.
And, as with guest blogging, you need to have an effective ‘About the Author’ with a call-to-action, usually leading to your email list opt-in. Make your Bio count. An effective Bio will let the reader know that if he clicks on your link, he’ll get even more helpful information.
Summing it Up
The evolved SEO marketing strategy is all about discoverability and shareability. The means to this end is optimized content that is driven by organic inbound marketing strategies.
In other words, if you write it using optimization strategies (keywords and valuable content) they will come. And, they will share what you’ve written. This will please the ‘search engine powers that be,’ which in turn will give you higher ranking and authority.
Higher ranking and authority = more perceived value and more traffic, resulting in more conversion.
How About You?
What SEO marketing strategies do you use?
Reference
(1) http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2288392/Time-for-a-New-Definition-of-SEO
Like this article? Please share it!
~~~~~
MORE ON ONLINE MARKETING
Marketing with Newsletters and Blogs – Your own and Others
Book Marketing and Beyond Book Sales: Marketing and Diversification
Email Marketing – Your Opt-in Landing Page
