Like it or not, SEO in 2014 is going to look a lot different than it did in 2013 but that shouldn’t come as a big shock to anyone who follows the ever-shifting SEO landscape.
Now that common practices such as link-building, and even guest blogging, are potential minefields, it’s time for SEOs to focus on something more practical.
A recent posting on SEOBook titled, SEO 2014, suggest that differentiation and engagement are the keys to dominating the new SEO landscape.
Here are a few of their tips for staying in the SEO hunt.
Be a Brand
Though easier said than done, building a recognizable brand is a sure-fire pathway to SEO success. The more you can get end-users to search for you by name, the better off you’ll be.
Building a brand is not an overnight process, but take a look at few popular igaming sites like PokerStrategy and LastestCasinoBonuses and you’ll see that it’s not impossible, either.
More Than a Website
A great website just isn’t enough to guarantee SEO success these days. Social shares will be driving traffic even more in 2014 than they did in 2013 and that social momentum isn’t going anywhere.
That means now is the time to start really focusing on shareable content and building out your presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Great Content
Here’s another tip that qualifies as, easy for you to say, but isn’t something any casino affiliate can ignore. Google, and the people who actually visit your site, all want quality content that doesn’t waste their time.
Solve a Problem
Be that site offers answers and solves problems. Casinomeister is an advocate and Pokerstrategy is a teacher. What value-add are you serving up?
Engage! Engage! Engage!
Interaction adds value for end-users and affiliates alike. If your content can keep the reader on the page and, even better, convert them with a great call-to-action, and reap a twin reward of a new player/subscriber/customer and some enhanced SEO stature.
Links
Links have been a thorn in the side of web publishers since the Penguin update turned conventional link-building practices upside down. That doesn’t mean they’re not still important.
SEOBook says, “There’s a reason Google hammers links. It’s because they work. Else, surely Google wouldn’t make a big deal about them.”
Link-building is a time-consuming headache, but it’s a necessary, time-consuming headache.
Act Like it Cost You Something
What would you do differently if you lived in a PPC world and had to pay for every customer who came your way? You’d make certain that every clicked mattered is what you’d do.
But every click does matter, whether you’ve paid for it or not. So make the most of them, test the heck out of every page and obsess over metrics.
And that’s what SEO in 2014 boils down to, treating everything like it really matters, because it does. If you’re exploiting every opportunity to its fullest, you’ll be in good shape as the year rolls on.