Is Your SEO Strategy In Need of a Strip-Down?

If your company’s SEO strategy is giving you a headache, there may be a simple solution: Stop trying so hard.

Marketers who address the hundreds of variables accounted for in search algorithms may find themselves overloaded with search engine optimization tasks. According to Forbes, the argument for such a workload is weak: Focusing on every small variable distracts from the larger objectives those variables are trying to account for.

How Many SEO Considerations Should You Address?

 Addressing so many different SEO considerations is one reason marketers tend to be so stressed: 80 percent recently admitted to being overly stressed or “stressed to the max,” according to Workfront, meaning staff workloads aren’t manageable in their current form.
 
Assuming management isn’t willing or able to increase manpower in marketing departments, the alternative is reducing workload. Forbes argues that the SEO minutiae currently handled by some brand marketers may be the most expendable, and could even be eliminated with little or no impact on a brand’s search ranking or online performance.

Instead of keeping the 200+ ranking factors within view at all times, marketers should instead consolidate their efforts into four general practices that, when fulfilled, organically address the majority of those factors.
For example, Moz points out that 94 percent of marketing agencies offer SEO as a service, but only 75 percent offer content. Here’s the problem: Search algorithms are increasingly accounting for content, and a whole batch of variables aims to quantify the quality of that content. By not offering content as a service, agencies are essentially conceding that their SEO services aren’t comprehensive—and they may not even be aware that is the case.

Approaching SEO from a Social Media Marketing Standpoint

A similar problem is seen with social media marketing, which only 79 percent of agencies offer. While some social activity does not directly respond to search algorithm factors, there are indirect benefits, and the social syndication of content can improve its performance and build relationships that will ultimately impact your search engine ranking.

Forbes advocates for quality content creation and a strong social media strategy as two pillars of a minimalist SEO strategy. Other critical activities including building relationships with authorities beyond your own website, which extends the online reach of your brand and performs the work for which link-building is heavily relied upon. Meanwhile, brands can address a number of SEO factors by keeping continual focus on the user experience, which includes mobile optimization, site speed improvements, and other small upgrades that will bolster SEO while making your website more satisfying for users.
By focusing on a more minimalist SEO strategy, brands can prioritize their marketers’ time, thereby streamlining operations and cutting down on the risk of overworked staff. Marketers won’t be skipping important SEO work—instead, they’ll just have a better structure for prioritizing their time and maximizing their SEO returns.
Source : skyword