We are entering a new era in the world of website design and online marketing. Todays consumers are engaging with brands differently and are more aspirational and demanding than ever before. If you want to reach consumers in the most efficient way and keep your website traffic up, you need to understand how the rules of SEO have changed.
Intention Trumps Keywords
While the principles of SEO havent changed all that much in the last few years, there have been some important shifts in how SEO works. You no longer need to include exactly the right keywords; todays search engines look more at how people interact with your website. Just getting the click isnt enough. In fact, clickbait could harm your rankings. The important thing now is what happens after the click. Are users sticking around? Are they coming back?
Give People Information They Can Use
Another important factor is the length of the articles you write. Articles that are too long will drive people away, but the search engines are also becoming very sensitive to thin content. Its important to find the right balance. Around 1,000 to 1,250 words is an ideal length for conveying valuable information without overloading people.
If you want to write longer articles, divide them up into parts or use multiple pages. However, youll need to make sure that each page is content-rich. The slideshows favoured by clickbait sites will start to suffer in the rankings soon.
Technical SEO is Essential
Website designers such as Vizion Online can help you to put together a site design that is easy to use and helps your sites visitors find the information they need. Remember that not all of your users will be visiting on a desktop device. Some will be coming on tablet PCs or mobile devices, and they will get frustrated if your website is hard to use.
Google is already penalising websites that are not mobile-friendly, and the penalties are only going to get more severe as time goes on and local search becomes more important. Take this chance to update your website before it starts to suffer in the rankings. You will be glad you did when you see your competitors fading into obscurity as mobile traffic continues to soar.
