Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which involves driving traffic to your website through search engine results, is highly competitive, and has many marketing professionals scrambling. Let’s take a look at some of the latest advice you can use to improve your SEO.

Think Outside the Google Box for Your 2020 SEO

In “SEO in 2020: Going Beyond Google,” the Search Engine Journal points out that most SEO goals and techniques focus primarily on Google. Yet Google’s market share as a search engine is gradually declining as other search options emerge. Plus, your target audience may be more engaged on a non-Google search engine. 

When it comes to non-Google search engines, SEO and marketing professionals should think beyond the obvious, like Bing and Yahoo. Not only are there newer search engines, like Ecosia, but other sites, like Amazon and YouTube, essentially act as search engines. Ignoring them could have you ranking poorly on them, and lose out on opportunities.

What Marketers Should Do About Zero-Click Search Results

Business 2 Community explains in “What are Zero-Click Search Results… and Why Should I Care?” that a zero-click search result occurs when a person enters a query into Google and never navigates away from Google’s products and services. This occurs with more than half of Google search results, such as when someone searches for a local business and only engages with their Google Maps or Google Reviews results. 

Some key takeaways from the article include:

• Good SEO will continue to be more competitive, and possibly less profitable
• Organizations should keep updating their website with fresh content to encourage traffic.
• Businesses should have Google-related accounts, such as YouTube content or Google Business information, to take advantage of Google’s traffic.
• Companies should never get complacent with SEO, but continue to stay informed and updated.
• Don’t rely on a single source of leads or web traffic.

How Content Marketers Should Approach 2019 SEO Changes

There were a lot of new SEO changes made in 2019, and their ramifications will last long into 2020. In Skyword’s new article, “What the Biggest SEO Changes in 2019 Mean for Content Marketers,” offers recommendations for marketing leaders still scrambling to keep up.

Here are some key points in this article: 

• Natural speech searches are gaining ground, so be sure you’re creating content that helps meet your target audience’s needs. Include long-tail keywords that imitate how real humans speak.
• Video marketing should become a focus for your marketing, if it isn’t already.
• Visual search updates will give an advantage to visual brands.
• Mobile-first indexing means that marketers should give preference to optimizing their website’s mobile version over the desktop design.
• These changes emphasize the need to focus on relevancy and user experience when it comes to your content and website design. Make sure you’re meeting your audience’s preferences and needs to drive traffic and conversions.

Keep Up With SEO By Creating Great Content

If you’re struggling to keep up with producing the quality content that SEO requires, let’s talk. I help healthcare organizations and related companies create effective, well-researched content to help them meet their marketing goals. Email me at emjwriterllc@gmail.com or visit emjwriter.com to learn more.

Not ready for a conversation yet? Check out my free ebook, “9 Essential Tips for a Powerful Content Marketing Strategy,” to get some ideas for creating the best content for your audience!