{"id":12320,"date":"2016-03-07T22:47:15","date_gmt":"2016-03-07T22:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdcontent.com\/blog\/?p=12320"},"modified":"2024-04-25T10:35:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T10:35:19","slug":"5-things-that-really-matter-for-seo-in-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/seo\/5-things-that-really-matter-for-seo-in-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Things That Really Matter for SEO in 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anyone who has ever typed \u201cSEO\u201d or \u201csearch engine optimization\u201d into a search engine can easily tell you about the overwhelming amount of information, tips, recommendations and how-to\u2019s that you\u2019ll find.<\/p>\n

That is not to mention the fact that search engine algorithms are constantly being updated, and what was true just weeks ago may now be outdated.<\/p>\n

As 2016 is now well under way, there are a few things all SEO content writers and strategists<\/a> should definitely be focusing on for this year\u2019s SEO strategy.<\/p>\n

1. Site Speed<\/h2>\n

Did you know that 40% of consumers will bounce<\/a> off of a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load? Site speed has been an official ranking signal for Google<\/a> since 2010, and it shows.<\/p>\n

\"seo
Image source: Reliablesoft<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most websites that enjoy top Google SERP rankings have a page load speed of less than 2 seconds.<\/p>\n

If your concerned about your site\u2019s loading speed, you can check your site and get helpful suggestions for improvement by using Google\u2019s PageSpeed Insights<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. In-Depth, Comprehensive Topical Content<\/h2>\n

Google\u2019s Hummingbird Algorithm<\/a> update entirely changed the way Google search engines look at content. Where it used to determine the topic of content by keywords alone, it can now understand the topic<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Now, when we type in a question such as, \u201cWho played in Spiderman 3\u201d, Google understands that we are looking for actors in the movie Spiderman 3 and provides us with an answer.<\/p>\n

Need more convincing? Check out what the SEO experts at Moz have to say on the topic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Long-Form Content<\/h2>\n

Gone are the days when 200-300 words of content constituted a good length. Now, the average Google first page result has approximately<\/a> 1,890 words.<\/p>\n

Numerous studies now show that pages with long-form content tend to rank significantly better than others.<\/p>\n

There could be many reasons behind this: it generates more social media shares, it\u2019s a preference of Google\u2019s, it boosts topical relevancy or it just shows that site owners prefer to publish excellent content.<\/p>\n

\"5
Image source: serpIQ<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whatever the reason, Google search results rank long-form content higher<\/a> than short-form content.<\/p>\n

Crowd Content writers are often utilized for their ability to write in-depth, search engine optimized<\/a>, comprehensive articles that Google loves.<\/p>\n

4. Bounce Rates<\/h2>\n

While you may not have thought about it before, other than to sigh over the amount of lost traffic, bounce rates may be having a major impact on your website ranking.<\/p>\n

When your visitors are bouncing off of your website like kids on a pogo stick, Google seems to take this as a clear message that people do not like your content or it is not relevant for the keyword searched for.<\/p>\n

While Google has denied that bounce rate is a determining factor<\/a> in website rankings in the past, recent studies show a strong correlation.<\/p>\n

\"seo
Image source: Quicksprout<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5. Backlinks<\/h2>\n

While you may have heard that backlinks are no longer important, this is simply not true. The truth is that they are still VERY important, however, they are being measured a bit differently than they have been in the past.<\/p>\n

In a recent study<\/a> performed by Backlinko, they found that not only was there a strong correlation between backlinks and page rank, but also between unique referring domains.<\/p>\n

In other words, it\u2019s better to have backlinks from a wide variety of domains, instead of just a few.<\/p>\n

\"5
Image source: Backlinko<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\u201cIn fact, the number of unique referring domains was the strongest correlation in our entire study.\u201d<\/p>\n

– Brian Dean, Backlinko<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In addition, the same study also found that a site\u2019s link authority is strongly correlated to higher rankings. You can improve your site\u2019s link authority using the Moz Open Site Explorer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Regardless of your 2016 SEO strategy, these 5 things could ultimately be the difference between success and failure for your website.<\/p>\n

The ultimate takeaway from the constantly updated algorithms of Google and other search engines is that quality<\/strong> is the ultimate driving factor.<\/p>\n

Please use the comments section below to let me know if you have any other tips and tricks or general remarks on the topic.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone who has ever typed \u201cSEO\u201d or \u201csearch engine optimization\u201d into a search engine can easily tell you about the overwhelming amount of information, tips, recommendations and how-to\u2019s that you\u2019ll find. That is not to mention the fact that search engine algorithms are constantly being updated, and what was true just weeks ago may now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":12348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n5 Things That Really Matter for SEO in 2016 - Crowd Content - Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Optimizing for SEO is not what it used to be. 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