New methods to searching the internet demand new search engine optimization tactics. Google isn’t the only game in town. What other “search engines” are your customers using to find you? Do they discover you on Amazon, Apple or Google Play stores, or do they use their voice to search instead of typing in a phrase?
These emerging methods of finding content on the internet demand that we re-examine how to ensure our companies get found.
Follow our 7-step recipe for success in the new world of SEO for voice search, Amazon, and App Store:
1. Before you get started, understand your target customers’ searching behaviors. Do they prefer videos, audio, graphics, or old-fashioned text? Begin with our Developing Buyer Personas worksheet and learn how your audience is segmented to provide useful solutions to your target customer’s problems.
2. Go above and beyond matching keywords. Check that your website content answers questions that you anticipate from your customers. Start by understanding how your audience looks up new information on the ‘net. Think beyond the first questions they ask and consider forming keyword phrases based on follow-up questions that dig deeper into your brand. Download our free guide: “How to Research SEO Keyword Phrases Like A Pro!”
3. Employ on-page optimization, or measures that you control directly within your website, to improve your search ranking position. Re-examine your website and update it to put it on the map. Besides revisiting META descriptions and title tags, include:
• Content that digs deeply to answer common user questions
• Short pathways to conversions to make quick work of click-throughs to contacting, buying, downloading, and signing up
• Clear, visual forms that lead website visitors down your sales funnel easily
4. Optimize to land a coveted spot in Google’s featured snippets, where your website link is displayed along with answers you provide to search queries. These snippets appear just below Google’s paid ads but above of the remainder of Google’s organic search results. Follow the basic tenet of providing clear answers to a simple question to land you above your competitors without paying for advertising. The key is to include the question and answer on your website, then add more info beyond the direct answer, and make it easy for Google (and your website visitors), to find it on your page.
5. Display outstanding content on your website to rise above your competition in this world of newfangled search engines. “Good enough” is not enough. Dig deep into your topic to create relevancy. Google’s trend is towards rewarding sites that provide extraordinary depth of content. Motivate your website visitors to continue reading and remain on your site to follow the path down your sales funnel. Make internal links an integral part of your digital marketing plan.
6. Create content that establishes and grows your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. In other words, satisfy Google’s voracious E-A-T Guidelines. To rank in searches on Google, Amazon, and audio only devices, your content must deliver detailed quality that sets you apart as the only true expert in your field. Not a writer? These tips will get you started.
7. Ask: “What other ‘search engines’ do my customers use?” They might discover you through your app, so you’ll need to rank in app stores. They may be searching for your products on Amazon, so you’ll need to be found there. And then consider how audio-only devices, such as Amazon’s Alexa, rank you above your competition’s brand. SEO for voice search, app store search, and Amazon search are the hottest new methods for getting found on the internet.
When you know who your customer is, and you know how they are likely to find you, you are ready to tailor your SEO strategies to specifically target:
• SEO for Voice Search—Implement structured data, the organized data code that conforms to the syntax that search engines understand. Without it, search engines are less likely to find you, and this is particularly true with voice search SEO. Claim your Google Business Listing, spelling out your business information precisely to reinforce your local SEO prowess. And of course, because voice search occurs on mobile devices, check that your site is mobile friendly on a wide variety of devices.
• SEO for App Store Search—The name of your app is more than just branding—Claim a name that includes relevant keyword phrases in the title, and avoid truncation (which happens if your title is longer than 23 characters, including spaces). Beyond a compelling description, a unique visual icon breaks through the clutter and makes your app a standout. Add screenshots and videos to pique your customer’s interest. Localize SEO to increase downloading by your target audience. Drive traffic to your app by promoting it through social media and on your website, encouraging feedback through ratings, and updating your app frequently. Make consistent improvements that go beyond “bug fixes”.
• SEO for Amazon Search—Amazon’s search algorithm favors the use of relevant keyword phrases in your product’s title, your brand name, your brand field, your product description bullet points, and even “hidden” keywords that are only displayed in the backend section of your Amazon Seller Account. Pricing also enters into Amazon search factors and conversion rates: Reveal reasons to price your product above your competitors, or stick with competitive pricing.
We’ve only scratched the surface—Rely on the SEO experts from Moore Than SEO to guarantee all the many working pieces to new-generation SEO will keep you on the radar of search engines well into the future. Find out how your brand can continue to be a competitive force. Reach us at 559-978-4096.
