7 SEO Hacks for 2017 | Digital Marketing Strategy

Search engine  
optimization is a collection  
of small adjustments.
7 SEO Hacks for 2017
2

(Be sure to develop
your strategy to support
your unique goals.)
3

4
SEO is constantly
changing. Build your
strategy for 2017.

#1:
5
Optimize for
on-site
engagement

6
Why bother?
Google is paying attention to user behavior.
They have access to a bunch of user engagement metrics
through Google Analytics, Android and Chrome.

7
Source: Presentation by Google search engineer Paul Haahr at SMX 2016. View on SlideShare
That data
influences
algorithmic
choices.

8
What’s at stake?
Engagement.
Better user engagement has the potential to improve rankings,
but before that happens, users are spending more time on
your site. That means you’re providing them with value and
becoming a trusted resource.
Isn’t that what all brands want?

9
How to optimize for engagement?
• Add a table of contents with anchor links to long-form blog posts.
• Add video and interactive elements to your content. If users have
something to do on your site, they stay longer.
For more tips, read the full “7 SEO Hacks for 2017” post.

10
#2: Pay attention to
page speed

11
Why bother?
We live in a mobile-first (and mobile index) world.
In mobile, page speed can make or break you.
“40% of consumers will leave a page that takes longer than three
seconds to load.” - Think with Google

12
Bounces vs. conversions.
If consumers “bounce” because of slow page speed and don’t return
if they’re dissatisﬁed with site performance, your bottom line is at
stake if you continue to ignore page speed.
What’s at stake?

14
How to improve page speed?
• Look for images that aren’t optimized for web.
• Reduce the number of elements on the page.
• Minify your HTML, CSS and JavaScript where possible.
For more recommendations, read “7 SEO Hacks for 2017.”

15
#3: Use schema
markup

16
Why bother?
Only 3% of searches result in 10 blue links.
Google currently has 18 different types of SERPs. Using schema
markup can help you appear in different SERP types.

17
Source: Moz
Google SERP Types

18
What’s at stake?
Real estate in the search results.
Many of the SERP features that result from schema markup
increase CTR (which means more organic trafﬁc to your site).

19
How to use schema in your SEO strategy?
• Analyze which SERP types appear most for the keywords that
you want to target.
• Select and implement relevant schema (you’ll need a developer).
For more ideas, read the full “7 SEO Hacks for 2017” post.

#4:
20
Adjust your
keyword strategy
for 2017 realities

21
Why bother?
Many search queries no longer result in a click
(because the answer is given on the search results page).
Focus your SEO strategy on keywords that have trafﬁc potential.

22
Thanks, Google.
I have my answer.
(no need to click)

23
What’s at stake?
Organic traffic.
If you’re targeting keywords with SERP features that eliminate
the need to click, you are missing the mark.
If you’re only focused on single keywords and not themes and
semantically related words, you’re also missing the mark.

24
How to make your keyword strategy
work in 2017?
• Use SEO tools or manual searches to ensure you’re targeting
keywords with trafﬁc potential (not just volume).
• Incorporate semantically related words and similar keywords into
your content.

25
#5: Develop internal
linking standards

26
Why bother?
Internal links distribute link juice across your site.
SearchMetrics says internal links are “one of the most important
ranking factors.”
Plus, internal links can help improve your on-site user engagement
metric (you know, what we talked about in hack #1).

27
PageRank.
Strategic internal linking is a way to sculpt your PageRank
(i.e. funnel link juice to your high-value pages).
What’s at stake?

28
How to improve page speed?
• Place relevant (strategic) text links from blog posts to your high-
value pages, preferably with optimized and varied anchor text.
• Find and ﬁx any broken internal links.
Read the full “7 SEO Hacks for 2017” post for more ideas.

29
#6:
Content
distribution  
is king

30
Why bother?
Return on your content investment.
You put a lot of time and effort into creating your content. Give it
a chance to produce a return on your investment by amplifying it.

31
What’s at stake?
Social signals and traffic.
Year after year, when surveyed by Moz, SEO experts cite page-
level social metrics and site trafﬁc in the top 10 ranking factors.

32
Site traffic
Social signals

33
How to improve your content distribution?
• Promote your content on different channels and in different formats.
• Use public relations and inﬂuencer outreach.

#7:
34
Add paid content
promotion to your
marketing budget

35
Why bother?
Better rankings and increased traffic.
There are several other paid content promotion channels available.
Social media isn’t the only name of the game.

36
Source: Outbrain lets you promote your content on major publisher
sites like Time, Fast Company and others.
Source: StumbleUpon’s paid discovery turns your
content into full-page native advertising.

37
What’s at stake?
Exposure.
Which comes first: traffic or rankings? Without paid content
promotion, your content won’t reach as many people.
And, it won’t get much organic traffic until it has some decent
user engagement metrics and social signals.

38
How to use paid content promotion?
• Test, test, test. Approach paid content promotion as an ongoing
experiment. Always be trying new things and building on what works.
• Let your audience help you decide (through engagement) where to
spend your budget.

7 SEO Hacks for 2017 | Digital Marketing Strategy

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