Are You Tanking Your SEO By Ignoring These Factors?

Is it time to boost your SEO performance? Here are four areas to pay attention to for better results.

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Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of those challenging aspects of the connected world that many marketers would rather overlook. Yet, making the most of your content marketing strategy and creating discoverable content makes SEO critical. SEO remains as important in digital marketing as ever, and your business can't compete effectively without addressing it. You don't have to be an SEO expert to leverage the marketing tool, as long as you avoid some pitfalls many people don't even know about.

High-quality content, links, and site structure are obviously important, but here are four little-considered aspects of SEO to think about this year:

Google Loves New Content, Even If It's Recycled

It's been ages since Google revealed that fresh content earns sites an SEO boost. Following suit, many businesses make a habit of recycling older articles by changing a line or two and republishing them. That strategy can work, but you may be leaving cards on the table. Google search engine rankings prioritize big site updates over changes of the minute variety, so your SEO gains are better realized through in-depth rewrites rather than tiny tweaks. Keep this in mind as you update aging site content.

How Long Have You Had Your Domain Name?

While you can't do anything to backdate your domain registration, you can commit to a long-term strategy to cultivate content on individual domains, knowing that the age of the domain will increase its SEO over time. Google admitted years ago that the age of a domain factors into a site's rankings, but it's an often overlooked factor. Remembering that domain age plays a role, marketers should think twice before registering a brand new domain for a specific campaign, especially if it's one that isn't planned to last very long.

Repeat Visitors Will Increase Your SEO Performance

If your site offers high-quality content with fresh updates on a regular basis, visitors to your site will be more likely to come back again and again. That's great news for your site traffic, but that kind of loyalty also weighs in to Google's search engine rankings. Sites with higher numbers of repeat visitors will, over time, eventually be rewarded with higher rankings (and, hopefully, even more loyal visitors).

Socialize Your Way to Better SEO

Although there is a lot of confusion (and debate) about this relationship, there is a link between social activity and SEO. Some research backs up the argument that social posts and content sharing can influence search engine ranking. Even without understanding the nuts and bolts of its impact, this is a good reminder that every business can benefit from some kind of social media presence, even if the advantage is not immediately obvious.

SEO is a complex and often confusing discipline, but having a solid understanding of the factors that influence your site's search engine rankings can be all you need to get a handle on it. Combined with your content and social media strategies, search engine optimization can mean the difference between being the first click and being buried on page six.