What's your New Year reSEOlution? Top pick reSEOlutions tips for 2015; 'Evergreen marketing insighter' ▲▲▲by Gloria Buono-Daly

“The success of a page should be measured by one criteria: Does the visitor do what you want them to do?”
~~Aaron Wall – SEObook.com


You’ve tried several years before but this time, come January 1, your New Year reSEOlution © is to be more SEOrganized © , pay more attention to the detail, save on SEM spending and track those milestones once and for all. (Although according to a recent report by Stronview, more than half business leaders surveyed stated their digital marketing budgets will increase for 2015.)

You’ve been ready since it became popular in 2007 but are so busy that you get off track and end up putting it back in the proverbial rainy-day pile for next quarter. Hundreds of rainy days later and you have no idea what your SEO program is let alone the basic concept of relevant keywording, linkbuilding and the latest, MOBILE tail end phrases.

There are probably hundreds to thousands of FREE SEO tips you can incorporate into your internet marketing program. Although previous years listed the top social as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and Instagram a recent report by Inc.com indicates the top four as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Yet, according to another reliable source eBiz MBA Guide | December 2014, the top 5 of their top 15 most popular social are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google -- which happen to be the 5 most popular social I use most ( Google it's mostly a combination of blogger, Youtube and Google+). Surprisingly Instagram came in at #7 behind Tumbler their 6th. More is at the eBiz MBA Guide site (see link below in the resources section.

A recent report by StronView titled "2015 Marketing Trends Survey" reveals that of the total 377 business leaders who participated in the survey 54% (204 out of 377) indicated that their digital marketing budgets particularly email and social media marketing will increase and their traditional marketing budgets will continue to decrease; While 40% indicated their budgets will remain the same. A wealth of information including detail is included on StronView's recent Press Release regarding findings from their Annual Market Trends Survey 2015.

I’ve listed below key tips to help jump-start your 2015 New Year reSEOlution. Along the way, I’ve included a few helpful URLs that will provide you with many more SEO tips to choose from.

1. As always (since my first reSEOlution blog December 31, 2009), review your SEO stats for the past 3 years; This is crucial in order to effectively analyze and incorporate SEO strategies and plans. Make sure your existing marketing program is enhanced with MOBILE and REAL-TIME campaigns and consider the mindset logic that mobile is much different than laptop/desktop, phablet, etc. Create a spreadsheet of your SEO program and include timelines, milestones, language, personas, and other relevant items unique to your product/brand. Make sure you update and review this spreadsheet on a daily to weekly basis and adjust your SEO strategy accordingly; Don’t forget to include ALL CAMPAIGNS and leave plenty of space to add on to as you move down this list

2. Real-time networking will also remain a key element for brands to grow, and Twitter will continue to be critical to the success of a marketing plan. Twitter helps marketers track their brand particularly in regards to product awareness, competitors and word of mouth. Also, according to Social Technology Review, since 2011, Twitter users are well educated ... "16%+ of their users hold advanced degrees and 30%+ hold 4-year degrees..." This means Twitterers live in higher income areas and have much higher purchasing power than the other social media.

In regards to branding stratgies, Social Technology Review also reported that Twitter users are +68% more likely to follow brands than the social media platform average (e.g.,Social Technology Review reported that 51% of Twitter users follow brands versus the 16% average from the social media spectrum). Also worth noting, Twitter users are more global than the other social networks, which optimizes international consumer potential at the lowest cost.

3. Optimize your web site for MOBILE webpages and get them ranked in SERP by cross linking to respective webpage – user agents for search and bots should go to the same webpage version. Create a map. Make sure web and mobile have consistent (vertically oriented) navigation especially since MOBILE devices have touchscreens. I’m amazed at how many web sites are not optimizing their site maps; Yes you’ve had a site map since the web site was first created but is it optimized to include relevant keyword descriptions, etc?

4. Incorporate keywords in your anchor text; this can take a very long time to determine and complete depending on how many links are on your web site. You may want to segment and delegate this to several on your team and schedule updates on a regular basis. Depending on your product or service, keywords may need to be revised regularly.

5. Create a schedule for frequency in updating meta tag descriptions regularly; Meta tag description is the snippet that is included with your organic search listing. The more creative and appealing your copy with relevant keywords that match your web site the better chances you have of being indexed more prominently. Review meta tag keywords and make sure a comma is after each keyword and that the max is no more than 250 characters (including spaces); This is a common error that is overlooked, however, this can make or break you organic positioning. Also, don't forget other platforms particular MOBILE. Make sure to incorporate end phrases in mobile campaigns.

6. MARKETING MEMES are integral to spreading word of mouth and increasing brand awareness. Make sure to incorporate hastags, at signs, etc. in every digital marketing platform particularly for Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, etc. Also for websites, review title tags and use 3 to 4 relevant keywords -- repeating them each at least 2X but no more than 3X; Characters should not exceed 150 (including spaces). For example, a jewelry site might have the following title: "AnnHarringtonJewelry.com, discount diamond rings, diamond jewelry, diamond engagement rings, antique jewelry, modern jewelry" – note the web site URL address is 1st, then followed by the use of keywords "diamond" used 3X, "rings" used 2X, and "jewelry" used 3X, all relevant to this web site; All following the SEO industry standard as mentioned in this section (see 1st sentence).

7. Maximize the social networks, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Equally important is to repeat your posts (e.g., Hoot Suite for repeating Tweets). For more ideas visit these resourceful sites that have plenty of suggestions - seobook.com, searchengineland.com and moz.org (formerly seomoz.org)

8. There is no room for "writer's block" when it comes to blogging. Good web content is more important now than ever before. Make sure to blog regularly and here is a great resource for helping new and experienced bloggers written by David Moth of econsultancy.com titled 14 places to look for blogging inspiration when writer's block strikes.

9. THE AGE OF VISUAL INFLUENCE: Forbes reports that 2015 will be the "age of visual influence." Video content is here to stay, and the importance of telling stories through videos continues to engage audiences. Of course, photos are still important when it comes to user experience so continue to post photos for everything. According to many social media periodicals and leading marketers in New York City, Pinterest and Instatram still remain top platforms for lead generation and visual integration. No surprise here that YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Vine will play more prominent roles in digital marketing strategies for brands and products especially as video production and posting videos become more mainstream.

10. THE AGE OF SOCIAL VIDEO AFICI0NADOS: Are you a "social video aficionado?" If you're on FB you definitely are more "videofied" than previous years. Facebook's already doing it for you and the rest of the world for free, with "LookBack" and the latest out just in time for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the New Year with "Your Year." Also worth mentioning, in October 2014 Forbes reported that although Facebook is winning with Social Videos -- "80 percent said they create videos to keep in touch with friends and family, 72 percent said they use videos as keepsakes ... " according to the Animoto research survey there is an even spread as to where video creators store their videos (who will the new dominant force be for personal video stoage?) -- i.e., 28% of consumers store their photos and videos on their PCs, 21% of consumers store their photos and videos on a USB or external hard drive, and 21% of consumers citing a cloud storage service as the primary place they store their photos and videos.

So be on the lookout for a video cloud at the speed of light in the near future (2015 - 2016).

11. Submit your site to reputable search engines such as Google, Yahoo, DMOZ, Aviva, Business.com, etc.

Remember your "New Year reSEOlution program" is a WIP (work in progress) and the more regularly you review, update and add to your existing SEO program, the more impact your SEO will have to your bottom line.

Wishing you and yours a healthy and prosperous New Year!


Resources (latest trends listed on top)

♦ Digital Marketing Trends for 2015
♦ The Importance of Twitter to your Social Media Marketing Strategy
♦ Survey Says Facebook Is Winning Social Video, But A Bigger Trend Looms
♦ eBiz|MBA Guide Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites | December 2014
♦ What Comes Next? 5 Social Media Trends for 2015
♦ Inc. How to Master the 4 Big Social-Media Platforms
♦ 10 Digital Marketing Trends for 2015
♦10 interesting digital marketing statistics we've seen this week http://econsultancy.com/blog/64047-10-interesting-digital-marketing-statistics-we-ve-seen-this-week-16
♦10 Simple tips for Effective Mobile SEO, Search Engine Land http://searchengineland.com/10-simple-tips-for-effective-mobile-seo-129100
♦The 3 Worst Ways to use Social Media, Social Media Today http://socialmediatoday.com/fixcourse/793301/3-worst-ways-use-social-media-grow-your-business-and-what-you-should-do-instead#comment-68121
♦5 SEO Tips To Get Mobile Apps Ranked In SERPs, Search Engine Land http://searchengineland.com/5-seo-tips-to-get-mobile-apps-ranked-in-serps-104595



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The terms reSEOlution © and SEOrganized © were coined by Gloria Buono-Daly in 2005.

What's your New Year reSEOlution? Top ten reSEOlutions for 2015 is part of the evergreen marketing insighter ▲▲▲ series by Gloria Buono-Daly

Photo above is snapshot of New Year 2015 decorations in New York City with "reSEOlutions" layered over. All photos courtesy of Wikimedia unless otherwise indicated.

This blog has been updated annually to include the latest trends and findings since the original publication on December 31, 2009 on the AllThingsDigitalMarketing "Evergreen Marketing Insighter" blog post.

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