Y ou may not be aware of it but, SEO is an ‘evolving’ concept. This is why many small business owners look to an SEO company for assistance. The rules are constantly changing, so a specialist is required to properly incorporate it into your website. Even though it may seem daunting, there are a few measures that you can take to help your SEO.

1. Voice search

While voice search on mobile devices has been growing in popularity over the past few years, however with the mass-market introduction of voice-controlled wireless speakers (such as Google’s Home, Amazon’s Echo and Apple’s HomePod) it’s become the new normal. With no indication of the trend slowing, it has become standard practice to incorporate optimization for personal assistants into a website’s design. So in practice, we’d like to think that someone yelled “SEO Company Southern Oregon” that this article would appear in the results!

2. Content marketing

Start using Google’s Keyword Planner to find the best SEO terms for your small business to make a publication plan for new content. A constant stream of tactically optimized, original content is a sure way to raise your rank and then keep your site at the top of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)

3. Mobile first optimization

With more than half of all visitors accessing the web on mobile devices, they continue to dominate how we access the internet. A professional SEO company will fine-tune your site to be responsive (all of the content is real-time scalable) to mobile devices and tablets for stronger SEO, higher conversion rates and better user experiences.

4. UX optimization

User experience or ‘UX’, has become an increasingly critical part of Google’s SEO algorithms. Factors such as ease of navigation, usability, and speed can all make or break your website’s prominence. Regular updates to your website in line with visitor’s browsing patterns and accessibility requirements will help your SEO dramatically.

5. Long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords (or key-phrases) can contain up to three words. The more specific they are the better they work. As an example, a search for ‘SEO’ is going to return a wide array of results from news articles to blog posts, however a query for ‘SEO Company Grants Pass’ is much more likely to return a list of SEO companies in Southern Oregon – which was most likely the searchers intent with the given keywords! Top ranking websites from a given search will almost always have precisely worded long-tail keywords. So give some thought to what long-tail keywords could help your small business and start using them now!

6. Local SEO

It’s time to start making better use of Google’s advancements. Drudging through the Yellow Pages has been replaced by your customers searching for Website design Grants Pass or ‘Auto shops near me.’ So how do you make sure that your company isn’t falling off the map? Sign up for Google’s ‘My Business’ to assure that you appear on Google Maps when users in your area search for businesses like yours. Along with giving you the ability to add images of your business, this will also give your entry relevant business details such as your website URL, opening hours and customer reviews.

7. Artificial intelligence (AI)

While you were sleeping the future arrived. Artificial intelligence (AI) doesn’t just mean Skynet enslaving mankind! You’re probably already using AI without even realizing it! Everytimg you ask Alexa ‘Where’s the nearest website design company?’ or Siri to ‘add milk to your shipping list’ you’re using AI. You can help your companies website be the answer to more of your customer’s questions by becoming more understandable to AI. Use microdata to properly format and incorporate your location settings, use clean, clear and concise content and have an easily navigatable sitemap.

8. Merge pages with little content

Several pages with minimal content make your website harder to index and therefore makes it less attractive to search engines (and your visitors!) Removing or combining your smaller pages ensures that your site ranks as highly as it deserves!

9. Delete duplicate content

Duplicate content on your site only slows it down and undoubtedly makes searching a slower and more tedious process. Your users will stop returning and search engines will not be able to understand or recognize your site leading you to fall into the black-hole that is the last few pages of the SERPs.

10. Low-quality content = high risk results

Google penalizes websites for containing poor-quality backlinks or content, and this causes your website will fall down the SERPs. You can limit the risk of slipping down the SERPs by keeping to a high standard of website practices and quality content.

We hope you’ve found something you can use on this list. As always if you have any questions regarding SEO or any website questions in general then feel free to contact us! We’re an expert SEO company and we’ll work hard for you!