7 Ways to Win Big With SEO Tactics

As a time-strapped business owner, using SEO tactics often seems like playing the lotto. Between confusing metrics and unclear algorithm changes, knowing where to invest your time is tricky. While there are obsolete tips that are a waste of time, the best thing you can do is narrow down your list of SEO tasks into a repeatable strategy that gets results. Make sure people can find your content by continually reviewing your metrics and updating your website.

1. Review your CTR.

If you’re already ranking for specific keywords, then take the next step and optimize each post or page for an optimal click-through-rate. Use data to determine which ranking keywords aren’t resulting in a high CTR, then take action.

• Review your titles and meta descriptions for clarity and to ensure it meets your audience’s search intent.
• Consider doing A/B testing to see if how a title update or metadata change affects your Google ranking.
• Prioritize keywords with higher search volume.

2. Find contextual opportunities for internal links.

Linking from your most authoritative pages increases your visibility across the web. Start by determining which pages will provide a boost for newer or lower ranking pages. By linking to these pages, you’ll share some of the benefits of their link juice back to your original page. Go through older blog posts and look for opportunities to connect that copy to other relevant content.

3. Clean up broken links.

This essential SEO tactic often gets pushed to the wayside. Perhaps you see a drop in landing page traffic or notice the broken links in Google Analytics. Set up automated reminders to check your broken links periodically. Several free and paid tools exist to help you locate broken links. It’s also important to remember to use both redirects and sitemap files to your advantage.

4. Focus on featured snippets.

Featured snippets are a desired spot on the search engine results page. To get this coveted spot, you’ll need to forget ancient SEO techniques and instead format your content to fit the search term intent. That means if it’s a question of how-to, then format your content to best answer that question right off the bat. This SEO tactic is why you’ll notice several popular sites including a numbered list right under their page title instead of going into a block of copy.

5. Refresh older content.

For various reasons, your content might drop in rank over time. We know that Google cares about freshness, such as publication dates and titles that include the current year. In Google Analytics, you’ll find your landing page metrics. Examine content that’s experienced a drop in traffic and ask yourself if it’s a keyword issue, content issue, freshness issue, or all three. Then prioritize optimization and update your copy with relevant information.

6. Boost your backlink game.

A study by Ascend2 and Conductor found that “41% of large companies consider link building as the most difficult SEO tactic.” However, experts recommend that a backlink strategy play an essential role in your overall SEO strategy. This SEO tactic includes:

• Employing online listening tools to uncover places where your blog, brand, or images are referenced but not linked to.
• Using tools to identify broken links on potential influencer sites where you could provide content their audience values.
• Reaching out and personalizing your emails for higher success rates.

7. Assess your competition’s SEO tactics.

Not only should you know what keywords your competition ranks for, but you also should know where your site is lacking. Perhaps you’re missing a valuable piece of content or content format that your competitor is using with success. An experienced SEO web developer uses competitive analysis to determine which SEO tactics to prioritize.

SEO isn’t a short term priority. It’s something that you need to be in for the long haul. Avoid massive fluctuations due to algorithm changes by using repeatable SEO tactics as part of an overall SEO strategy.