The world of search engine optimization is one of constant change and flux. It’s important to stay on top of the latest SEO techniques in order to get your SEO ranking where it should be. With that in mind, here are 6 SEO strategy do’s and don’ts for you to practice in 2017.

1. DO target longtail SEO keywords with long-form content

Longtail keywords continue to drive the best quality traffic with the lowest acquisition cost. Continue to publish long-form content to hit those essential longtail keywords to support your pay per click keyword bids to promote your business.

2. DO focus on developing inbound links with white hat SEO tactics

Site authority will continue to be a critical part of your search engine ranking. Continue to develop strong relationships with other blogs, websites, affiliates and reviewers to give your site the authority value it needs to be first for essential keywords. Guest blogging, resource guides, reviews and free tools/project guides are all great ways to improve your inbound link profile.

3. DO focus on mobile-friendliness and voice search

Throughout 2017, it’s likely that Google will start mobile-first indexing; meaning sites that are mobile friendly will get first dibs at the search engine result pages (SERPs). Second, with Google moving from a search engine that redirects to sites to a search engine that provides answers outright via Schema markup, it’s more important than ever that your internet marketing is structured from the ground up in order to provide those answers. So, companies need to focus on making their sites as mobile friendly as possible to match mobile-first consumers.

4. DO focus on local SEO

Local search marketing is set to explode even more with the expansion of Schema markup-enabled content, voice activated answers and other “quick answer” tools that are being pushed hard by Google. For franchise businesses, this means putting more resources into local digital marketing campaigns, at the cost of large-scale regional or national awareness campaigns.

5. DON’T focus exclusively on words

With video and other enriched media on a seemingly unstoppable rise, all online franchise owners are going to have to start to expand beyond keyWORDS into keyCONTENT. It’s either that or be left behind publishing 5,000-word epics no one reads. Video promotion, explanation videos, product review videos – whatever suits your particular franchise, you need to start generating video content (we can help you with that).

6. DON’T think of your search marketing as a silo

Previously, there’s been a lot of talk about multi-channel marketing. That’s still important, but for digital marketing, it’s going to be critical to think about cross-channel. That’s when you’re not only present on multiple digital channels, but you’re actually integrating different channels together. For example, if someone browses your promotion website but doesn’t purchase, they are then served a retargeting ad. This sort of cross-channel SEO marketing is the best way to lower your acquisition cost in the face of increasingly expensive pay per click marketing while also creating a more integrated customer experience.

Wrap up

There you have it – 6 Do’s and Don’ts for your search engine marketing for the next year. With more franchises going digital than ever before, we’re excited to see what SEO solutions everyone comes up with!

Want guaranteed search engine optimization but not sure where to start? Contact our search engine optimization specialists today and see if we can help you!