With algorithm updates being rolled out on a more regular basis, staying at the top of Google\u2019s search engine results pages (SERPs) has never been harder.<\/p>\n
Gone are the days of signing up to directories, exact match domains, and keyword stuffing; SEO practitioners must do whatever they can to outrank their competitors.<\/p>\n
Sure, you can put out more grind work through aggressive link-building outreach, hire a PR agency or a bunch of content writers, but could these simple alternative strategies below give you the edge?<\/p>\n
The notion that \u2018content is king\u2019 is certainly true – you need good quality content and regular content uploaded to show you are proactive and not a dormant site.<\/p>\n
Content cannot be thin, with thousands and thousands of words, because it needs to be relevant and answer questions in your industry, presented by # tags, useful links, images, and videos where possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cA competitive edge over your rivals is posting content when no one else is,\u201d explains Rosie Marie, CEO of Rosca Technologies<\/a>, a data optimisation solution.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to understand that Google is an algorithm and a machine and not just a bunch of suits who look at websites one-by-one.\u201d<\/p>\n Google recrawls every day or at least every few days, Marie explains, stressing it is hard to know precisely when this is. \u201cIf you can post content at alternative times of the day or year and Google decides to index your site, who knows, this could give you a competitive advantage,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Marie notes her business has tried posting content on weekends \u2013 easy to do if using a content management system \u2013 because others are unlikely to do so.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition, we take advantage of things like UK bank holidays and that lazy week between Christmas and New Year\u2019s because Google could very well pick up that we are being more proactive than our competitors. If this is the case, don’t we deserve to rank higher?\u201d<\/p>\n We regularly hear that time on site is a good SEO indicator, after all, if people hang on your site for a long time and click through to various pages, this shows that your information is useful, compared to a user who comes and leaves after 5 seconds, resulting in a low bounce rate.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could ask your partners and people in your industry to look through your site and offer their feedback,\u201d says Gavin Cooper, founder of Claims Bible<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cStart by posting on LinkedIn and Facebook and say to your friends that you have just redesigned your site or have launched a new business and would truly welcome some feedback,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the feedback may not be nice to hear! But you will get a lot of dedicated users really looking through pages and scrolling through and this is great for SEO, certainly in the early days of a website launch.\u201d<\/p>\n Cooper notes businesses must be careful to not forget that a higher click-through rate on Google’s search results also helps during the early buzz of a site launch.<\/p>\n \u201cFor instance, if you are ranked position 9 and more people click on you than position 3 or 4, this should also help your ranking,\u201d he says.\u00a0 \u201cSimilar ideas include sending out blast emails and SMS messages or making a big announcement on LinkedIn, but linking to your website. Don\u2019t give LinkedIn the traffic, keep it for yourself!\u201d<\/p>\n One of the most traditional link-building techniques is to create quality data-driven pieces and then email around and get links back to it as a resource e.g calculators, money that can be saved etc.<\/p>\n But not only is this very time-consuming but you have no guarantee over which links point back to you, and what anchor text is used.<\/p>\n \u201cOur alternative technique involves finding websites that have already written articles or blog posts on your subject, whether you talk about health, finance, travel or anything that has expert opinion,\u201d explains Nick Brogden, founder of Earned Media at Earned Media<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOur approach involves reaching out to all those guides on page two to ten, contacting them and offering to give additional data to help ‘bulk up’ and refine their articles,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cUnderstandably, several publishers were thrilled to have more information in their articles and were pleased to give a follow link back as a reference. Link building achieved!\u201d<\/p>\n Content is king, but we know that links make the world go round. There are some things that work as excellent link bait for a brand, such as being nominated or winning awards, and being featured in press sections.<\/p>\nTip #2<\/strong> – Get impartial users to critique your website<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Tip <\/strong>#3 – Acquire links from simple sources<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Tip #4 – Using link bait that has already been successful<\/strong><\/h2>\n