Kick-start Your SEO in 2018 With These 3 Simple Tips

Every time a new year starts we make these big new years resolutions like I want to be healthier this year, I want to be more productive and a better person and so forth.  Most of the time these are all personal resolutions, of course as business we have generic resolutions such as an increase in revenue or cut down on costs.
But how many of you think to revisit and revamp your SEO strategies?
Four months into the new year and the answer is probably not many.  Most companies will have Search engine optimisation strategies in place that they have been doing for years and it appears to be working – as the saying goes ‘Don’t fix what’s not broken!’.
However SEO is an ever changing battle and as much as a lot of us may think we have the code cracked the reality is most of us are probably 5 steps behind.  As soon as we get used to a new update and adapt our strategies a new update comes out and we’re back to square one.
So what simple measures can you take to to ensure your SEO strategies are up-to-date and fresh for the year 2018? Well our SEO experts in London have put together a guide on what three simple steps you can take to ensure you have SEO success in 2018.

1. Audit your Website

   This is probably the most important and relevant step you should be doing, after all you can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been.
   When was the last time you did a thorough hand crafted SEO audit of your website?
   The answer is likely to be when you first introduced SEO into your marketing strategy, now the next thought that has probably entered your mind is, when am I going to have time to do a full audit on top of the million and one other things I need to focus on.  We understand that daily tasks get in the way and between the pressure of trying to stay afloat and the ever changing updates to search engines it can be quite a difficult and lengthy task.
   However, doing a full thorough audit of your website has a high possibility of reducing those daily tasks as well as giving you insight into how well your site is performing giving you the opportunity to resolve any issues and work out what is now redundant in terms of your needs.
   A full audit requires going through every page and doing a technical, content and keyword audit.  Your SEO strategies may well be working for you, but we strongly advise a full audit so that you can see exactly how your site is performing.  Don’t let an out of date audit keep you from excelling or more so achieving more.

2. Revisit Keywords and Phrases
   

   There are thousands and thousands of keywords that we can relate to our own business models but which ones are the most useful and effective? We all know that keywords play a big role in SEO and can either be the fall or rise of your business.  The biggest issue with keywords is working out which keywords your target demographic is going to use, thinking like them and working out they describe things is the be all and end all.  
   Right now you are probably thinking, ‘Yeah we already know that and we’ve worked out exactly what keywords to use – So why do we need to revisit them?’ well the short answer is you should constantly be updating your keywords and if you’re not then that is a serious error on your behalf and now is the time to start.  As the world evolves around us so do people and your target demographic, with new trends occurring on a daily basis and new ‘slang’ words being added to the English Dictionary it means that keywords and phrases will change.  What may be defined as one thing today can easily be defined by another word or phrase tomorrow.
   Keywords and phrases are an on-going trial and error, revisiting them does no harm and only benefits you.  Not only will see whats working for you, you will also see what new additional words and phrases are going to benefit you.

3. Update Old Content

   Having tons of content is great, it helps with your ranking and instils a trust in your customer which is what you want ultimately.  What you do not want is out of date content or slightly misleading content.  As you are aware SEO is constantly updating and new updates are regularly being released, with that in mind it’s time to go through your content an ensure that any updates have been corrected, otherwise you risk providing dated content and ultimately affecting your ranking.
   ♦ Freshen Timely Pieces
   We’re sure that you have great pieces of content which are your absolute stand out achievements.  Now when was that content written? 1 year ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago? whichever we’re sure that it could do with a good old update.  Freshen it up so that images and sentences stand out and are in line with the current year., a simple rephrase or updated image could be the only change it needs to re-boost it’s activity.
   ♦ Double ‘R’
   Double R = Reduce & Reuse!
   Think about the different types of content you have, whether it be Videos, eBooks or Webinars – now think about how much space it is taking up, now think about whether it is worth it?  Most content is looked at as the best thing sliced bread when first published, but then easily gets forgotten and pushed to the side when the next best thing comes about.  Go through your content  and work out what is redundant and what is worth reinvesting time in.  Simple ideas like turning an eBook into a Blog post can really freshen things up and help you clear out what is no longer necessary.
   ♦ Recycling Content
   Now by no means are we saying republish old content (without making changes to it), what we are saying here is go through your content and see what works well for you, once you have worked that out, figure out a way use it to your benefit.  Embrace what performs well and amplify it to attract more attention.

There you have it, three simple steps to keep your SEO up-to-date and fresh for 2018! Although some of these tasks may be lengthy the overall objective and outcome outweighs the negatives of doing this.  SEO is forever changing and just like we like to maintain our own personal resolutions in being better people we should also maintain and nourish SEO to have a longer lasting life cycle.  If you are struggling or need help maintaining a good SEO strategy get in contact with one of our friendly experts based in our London office.