SEO: The 3 Most Important Techniques for 2017

SEO only seems like a minefield from the outside. It's also a lot less dynamic than it is often suggested. Basically, it's wheels are only set into motion when Google makes changes to its algorithm. You don't need to worry about these changes if you keep a few things in mind. This year, they are the following:

SEO-Technique #1: More Backlinks Via Great Content

Backlinks

Just recently, we've talked about backlinks here at Noupe. Backlinks are, and always will be, the essential part of your SEO strategy. Nothing improves your ranking more than a great backlink profile. As already mentioned in said article, the focus is on the word "great." A backlink profile is great, when the links don't originate from the red light districts of the web, but rather come from proven and respected experts, and influencers on the topic. You can contribute to that yourself by a), asking this group of people for the favor of placing a link, or b), offering them a guest article on the topic, which lets you put a backlink yourself.

Great Content

Of course, the chances of a) or b) are directly connected to the content you provide. Here's where the second counting of the word "great" comes into play. I've found a superb infographic on the topic that I want to share with you.

The 10 Steps to Great Content:

[caption id="attachment_79881" align="alignnone" width="1000"] The Epic Content Cycle: 10 Steps to 10X Content (Source: Smartblogger.com)[/caption] By the way, with this infographic, its makers have already created "great content" that will get them backlinks, from us, for example. That's how it works! These days, great content is not great by simply covering a topic in detail. You should certainly do that, to begin with, and you'll notice that this simple rule is already widely ignored by most competitors. So, you're already on the right track by covering your topic more in-depth than others. There's a lot of discussion about the question if your content has to have at least 1,000, or 2,000, or even more words to be recognized as relevant by our beloved Mountain View search engine operator. I recommend not forcing yourself to hit a word goal. The length of your text depends on the topic. Once you've exhausted it, the text is finished. There's no point in finding filler content, just to hit certain lengths. The opposite is the case, as this only lowers the relevance of your content, and your text won't be considered great anymore either. This moves you further away from your goal of backlink generation than it moves you towards it. As the bar for great content rises year after year, you shouldn't stick to greatness concerning content, but also step up your game regarding design. As an example for a rather simple upgrade via design, I can recommend the "Epic Guide to Employee Management." Aside from that, the entire portfolio of possible interactions is available to you. The more meaningful user action you can implement, the better. But keep the word "meaningful" in mind here. [caption id="attachment_79883" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A Good Example For Design-Assisted Storytelling. (Screenshot: Noupe)[/caption] I recommend you include multi-media content into your articles. Aside from videos, this can also be VR content, such as 360-degree videos. In general, interactive elements get you a lot of attention.

SEO-Technique #2: Get Your Website Technology to the Level of Development

Full Compatibility With Mobile Devices

"Mobile-friendly" is the name of Google's newest ranking factor. This simply means that sites that are fully usable on mobile devices make them appear as more relevant in the search results. Usually, this results in a higher ranking. Read our article on the topic.

HTTPS: Encrypted Transfer Via SSL

The future update of the Chrome browser will notify users when an accessed page does not encrypt the transferred content. This will jar the trust of some visitors. Pages with encrypted transfer will also rank higher. It's about time to deal with the topic. For that reason, we wrote this article, which also presents a practical, free solution. WordPress users will be especially interested in this article. [caption id="attachment_79885" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Data Security is Important. (Photo: Pixabay)[/caption]

Loading Time Optimization

The loading time of a website is a ranking factor as well. The faster your page loads, the better you look under Google's strict judgment. The performance optimization is an exceptionally wide topic. We wrote an entire series of articles for WordPress users, and the first part can be found here. If you're looking for a tool that can help you with the optimization, this one is the post for you.

SEO-Technique #3: Good Care, Doc!

Evergreen Content

Every page site operator knows this phenomenon. Rather few, mostly older posts consistently get the most traffic. You could call them your crown jewels. Take care of them accordingly. Evergreen content also ages with time. Update your critical posts on a regular basis. Don't change the URL in the process, but place an update note at the bottom of the post. This tells the search engine that it's still the good old post, and the reader knows how old the content really is. Of course, we've got an article on that topic as well.

Internal Link Structure

The topic "internal links" is related to the topic "evergreen content." You should place links towards the evergreen content, and link related articles away from them, allowing your page ranking to stabilize. High-relevance values of individual pages are basically transmitted to other pages. This is called link juice. This article on Noupe takes an in-depth look at the topic of internal link placement.

Merge Multiple Smaller Ones to One Large Post

If you focus on supplying your niche, you'll certainly have published smaller pieces of content from time to time. For some time, it was recommended to put out more, but shorter articles than one long article. For a while, even a length of 350 words was circulating as optimal. [caption id="attachment_79884" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Multiple Small Parts Can Be Connected to Become One. (Photo: Pixabay)[/caption] Take another look at the topic "great content" further up. You'll see that short posts are not always the way to go. Instead, write long, exhausting articles. Of course, you can also apply this principle when taking care of your content. Pick out your shorter, less successful posts that deal with one topic, and turn them into one giant post. Whether you should keep the original URL of the most successful post, or if a new URL makes more sense, depends on the actual statistics.

Conclusion: There's a lot to do, so get started. Remember that you can't avoid technological changes if you want to be successful. You depend on the technological side to work, as otherwise, the content side can't be relevant. Google has placed visibility before being seen. Once you've got the technology covered, focus on the creation of great content. Create from scratch, or from existing content. That doesn't matter as long as you create.