Three achievable SEO goals you need to set for 2020
At the start of every year we often make New Year resolutions – plans to be or do better over the next 12 months. This year, why not make improving your SEO your goal?
The New Year has officially arrived. Self-help books are selling like hotcakes, people who will give up after a few workouts are starting to hit the gym, and people everywhere are telling themselves that this time will be different. This time, they will see their New Year’s Resolutions through.
The first step in actually keeping to your new resolutions is to set goals that are practical and achievable. To come up with clearly-defined goals to help you improve your personal and professional life.
I’m going to offer you a bit of help with the latter – particularly around SE, with some advice that. will help you better optimize your site, your content, and your business.
Here are three simple, effective, ways you can turn the New Year into a chance to improve your website’s SEO.
1) Put more effort into your content
I won’t mince words here. The Internet is choked with low-quality, low-effort content. Articles that were chugged out in ten minutes just to catch a particular keyword, clickbait junk designed to offer little aside from a brief diversion.
This year, why not put in the time to raise your website’s content above all that chaff?
Start by scheduling your blog posts (or setting up a blog, if you don’t already have one). Figure out how frequently you’ll create new content, and do a bit of research into the sort of stuff your audience might be interested in reading. A good starting point is to look at your competitors – at least one of them must have a blog.
How do they handle content creation? Figure out how you can do what they do, but better. After that, the most important thing is consistency.
If you decide to publish only on the first Monday of each month, create an editorial calendar that allows you to do so. Brainstorm a short list of ideas, and write up a few evergreen articles in advance that you can publish in case you’re unable to make one of your calendar deadlines.
If you’re stuck for inspiration, read how to come up with as many content ideas as you need here. And follow this easy four-step formula for creating a content marketing plan here.
Lastly, long-form content is king. Don’t be afraid to explore a subject in as much depth as necessary. If a piece starts to get too long, break it up into more easily-digestible chunks with headings, images, and subheads.
Avoid pagination unless absolutely necessary – you’re looking to offer value to your audience, and breaking an article into multiple pages does the opposite.
2) Give your website a new look (and focus on mobile)
When’s the last time you updated the layout of your website? When did you last take a close look at the navigation menus, clean up old, dead links, or re-optimize old pages?
If you’re like most people, your answer is probably either “it’s been a while” or “never.”
This year, you need to change that. Revisit every aspect of your website’s design in regards to how it promotes ease of use. Think like a visitor, not like a webmaster.
If a feature of your site impedes visibility, it doesn’t matter how much traffic it brings in or how well it helps your site rank, you need to get rid of it. User experience, especially on mobile devices, has been a ranking factor for several years ago, and I expect Google will double down even harder on mobile in 2020. Call it a hunch.
Aim for simplicity, and use a stylesheet or content management system made for responsive web design. Build your site to be easily accessible and navigable on smaller screens first.
3) Get social
What sort of presence does your brand have on social media – do you even have one?
We’ve known for a long time that social media and search engine optimization are closely-related to one another. A brand that gets a lot of engagement on Facebook or Twitter can and will rank higher in the SERP.
Plus, a social media profile offers yet one more avenue through which your customers can connect with you and find your products and services. But what can you do to improve your social media?
First, figure out your brand persona. What kind of language, attitude, and tone will resonate most with your target audience? Take a look at what other successful brands in your industry have done, and use that as a starting point.
Next, start sharing – both your own content and anything your audience might find interesting. The trick here is to establish a frequency where you’re giving your users a regular stream of valuable stuff without outright spamming them. This infographic can provide a bit of guidance in that regard.
A New Year, a new shot at SEO
New Year’s resolutions are famously hard to keep – but that’s often because they’re not realistic or practical. These three SEO resolutions are achievable, measurable, and completely within your ability as a business owner.
Follow through on them, and you should soon find your business gaining higher traffic, better conversions, and more overall success.
Need more hands-on help with your SEO? Get the Talented Ladies Club SEO Kit.
Terry Cane is the COO at SEOHost.net, a reliable and supportive SEO hosting partner.
Photo by Christina
