Hello and Happy Tuesday!
This week in Internet marketing, we’ve gathered some of the best and most helpful articles from across the web. We’re looking at how to rank for semantic search queries, as well as tips for driving local website traffic, and strategies to avoid in your social media marketing campaign. We’re also looking at how to write comprehensive content, as well as website design tips for lead generation.
What Is Semantic Search and What Should You Do About it?
Google search results are becoming more conversational, and ranking for semantic search terms will require you to revise your SEO strategy. Semantic search creates a more positive user experience by providing personalized search results and higher quality content that take searcher intent into account. Become a valuable, authoritative source of information and create highly-targeted content that focuses on answering user questions. Structure sentences by Subject Predicate Object (SPO) to make content easier for Google to understand – but make sure to sound natural and purposeful. Lastly, structure your data markup and improve your internal link building strategy.
How to Get More Local Website Traffic
Optimizing for local search, particularly on mobile, is a top priority for many businesses. Users are increasingly including “near me” in their search queries, and Google has placed higher importance on local search. Thankfully, there are some tactics you can use to drive local website traffic. Create unique location pages, and optimize each page’s metadata. Obtain links from local business listings websites, and make sure your GMB profile is updated, complete and consistent with all other business information online. Lastly, create a strong internal link building strategy.
The Real Reasons Your Social Media Marketing Has Bombed
This article outlines some common reasons your social media marketing strategy isn’t producing results. Make sure you’ve thoroughly researched your target audience in order to create relevant posts that your audience is interested in, and avoid overly-promotional posts that drive away users. This author recommends making just 10 per cent of your content promotional. Remain consistent in your posting, and make sure you post during peak times of engagement for each platform. Interact with your users and create a profile on more than one or two social networks. Instead, shoot for three or four – and focus less on vanity metrics like friends, followers and likes and instead measure traffic and conversions, for example.
How to Beat Your Competitor's Rankings with More Comprehensive Content
Google values comprehensive, unique and quality content. In order to create more comprehensive content that gives you an edge over competitors, you’ll need to take a few key steps. Identify all questions in a search query, implicit or explicit. This will require you to understand who the searcher is and the purpose of their search. For example, the search query “interview tips” could be from both an employer and a job seeker. Gather information for these questions through industry and community opinions, competitive landscape information and aggregated data, for example. Lastly, use content formats that competitors won’t, such as complete guides, interactive content and free reports and data.
The Anatomy of a Lead-Generating Website
Neglecting to optimize your website for lead generation can make your other digital marketing tactics fall flat. Ensure you’ve included lead generation forms on your website, and track submissions through lead-nurturing emails, online behaviour tracking and so on. Create both primary and secondary call-to-actions to guide users through the sales funnel, and use landing pages as an opportunity to offer gated content. Create valuable and relevant pop-ups that feel natural to the user and doesn’t interrupt their experience on mobile or desktop. It’s also important to create an intuitive and clean design that attracts the user and creates a positive user experience. Lastly, use blogging and social proof, such as customer testimonials and case studies, to generate leads.
Check out these additional articles for more Internet marketing news!
11 Last-Minute SEO Tips to Get Ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday
How Google Symptom Search Will Affect the Healthcare Industry
