Fourth in a four part series on SEO Essentials.
As opposed to the bygone era when mass media was dominant, current-day marketing initiatives are not based on the creation of a relatively finite set of main marketing pieces. Today’s digital initiatives are more fluid and far-reaching. They require the ability to tell a cohesive brand/product story — in a more episodic manner — using brief messages and conversations across multiple channels.
As a result, it’s important for your company to craft a consistent online identity across the various channels in your digital marketing mix. Here are a few steps you should take to make sure you’re getting the most SEO impact from your overall program.
Make sure Google knows who you are.
The importance of setting up a Google My Business listing is now widely known. You’ll want to create a profile that is both complete and accurate — including the categorization details that help Google’s algorithms to find you quickly and consistently.
Monitor your NAP for SEO synergy.
Maintaining the accuracy of your name, address and phone number (NAP) — across all channels in your digital marketing mix — is more crucial than ever. To get the most SEO impact and link juice from your efforts, all references to your company need to link back to a consistent set of location and contact information. Otherwise, you’ll wind up with a set of fragmented social profiles with diminished SEO value.
Build a strong social profile with strategic focus.
In the early days of social media, the prevailing wisdom was that you needed to be everywhere. This is no longer feasible due to the sheer number of platforms and opportunities. Look closely at the demographics and interests for your key prospects and customers — along with which social networks they’re using already. Then craft a content strategy maximize the effect of each network, based on how its users interact with that channel.
Leverage influencers to help build links.
Links that arise from organic social media activity are valuable building a credible SEO profile. Develop a strategic plan to reach out to influencers in your markets/niches for interview and content submission opportunities. This can lead to mutually beneficial relationships with influencers that position your company as a go-to resource for industry information and viewpoints.
Content that proves itself to be shareworthy will add further credibility and link juice to your SEO profile. By offering consistent, high-quality content, your status as an expert and thought leader will slowly grow — with search engines, influencers, prospects and customers alike.
Article One: Simple ways to boost your indexability.
Article Two: Varied content for different purposes.
Article Three: Maximizing link weight to improve rankings.