A lot has changed in SEO in 2018, but one thing remains the same: you need to publish high-quality content in order to rank on Google.
Traffic generated from organic search is some of the most targeted traffic you can get on the internet, which is why, despite the constant changes, content marketing remains a priority.
But the experiments and algorithm updates Google performs on a regular basis does make it hard to keep up to speed with on-site features that drive conversion as compared to features that actually hinder organic performance. Then, there is the imperative to understand the intentionality of a target audience, which must always be the bedrock of effective content generation. Getting these two things right—on-site optimization and content that matches search intent – has always been hard, but in 2019, there are more things to consider than ever.
Here is a high-level checklist of all the SEO-related things that all the top SEO services providers in Long Beach, CA offer their customers in 2019.
Technical
- Set up Google Search Console. This is a straightforward process that should be done before posting any content.
- Set up Google Analytics. Another free Google software that should be set up before you post anything because it offers the most in-depth performance analysis. It is the most important tool for conversion rate optimization tests.
- Robots.txt and Schema Markup. In some cases, you will need to specify to Google pages to follow, or not follow, on your site, as well as how to index the content. Robots.txt is a short line of code that informs the Google bot which pages NOT to crawl (which could be as many pages as you specify). Schema Markup, on the other hand, is a collection of microdata tags that can be embedded into the code of a page to help Google index and surface more engaging content in the SERP. It is designed for e-commerce and service industry sites that have recipes and product descriptions to show. Both are potentially valuable additions to your site, so do not sleep on them when putting out new content!
Content
- Optimize All On-Site Features. On-site features are elements of a page that you can optimize based on analyzing user signals – but you need them all to be there if you want to make a streamlined UX and outrank your competition. Moz has put together a thorough discussion of on-site features and on-site ranking factors, including title tags, meta descriptions, h1s, image alt-tags, and more.
- Integrate Primary and Secondary Keyword Targets Effectively. Keywords are the bread and butter of a content campaign. There are a number of research methods to collect potential primary and secondary keywords for a page. This post assumes you have done the research and now want to implement the keywords through the content. Primary keywords should be included in the title, h1, throughout the contents of the page, and in the image alt tags. Secondary keywords – often clusters of long-tail keywords that people find through Google suggest – should be sprinkled throughout the content where it makes sense. Remember that keyword use is all about relevance and understanding user intent.
- Optimize for Search Intent. You should always ask the question: does this content appeal to my persona’s search intent? Don’t publish anything until you can say with confidence that your content offers a unique and valuable perspective on a specific topic that your target persona searches for. If you get this right from the beginning, you will have less to change in the conversion rate optimization stage, the testing and iterating of a page’s content that occurs after publishing. Also be sure to avoid thin content and/or duplicate page issues.
Technical + Content = Conversion Friendly
Publishing content that converts is getting harder as search real-estate is increasingly being taken up by Google’s experiments. By checking off all these tasks in your content generation plans, SEO services companies are putting their customers in the best position to outrank competitors and drive targeted traffic in 2019.
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