Innovation & data-driven digital marketing.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most-used digital marketing buzzphrases. Every business owner, organizational leader, or stakeholder involved in a company’s digital marketing knows a little about SEO. But for even the most experienced marketer, SEO can be tricky to navigate. Some nuances and strategies float under the radar and are never reflected in our campaigns.

SEO Hacks to Elevate Your Content Marketing

Our team knows that SEO is critical to success, so we’ve compiled five SEO hacks you should keep in your back pocket. You’ll notice that many of these SEO hacks revolve around “off-page SEO.” For context, this term refers to activities performed away from your website. But before we give away any more spoilers, let’s get into our list of 5 SEO hacks you might not be aware of: 

1. Think Beyond Keywords

In the early years of search engine optimization, search engine ranking algorithms were seemingly fixated on identifying websites that contained relevant keywords. For instance, if users queried the phrase “AC repair Boston,” they would be bombarded with websites that filled their on-site content with this specific phrase.

And though keywords are still a cornerstone of SEO, search engines now require more than some “keyword stuffing” to connect with consumers. In fact, you may be penalized for phrase overuse or repetition. So, instead, focus on creating high-value content with a two to four percent keyword density to rank well against competitors.

2. Pay Attention to Your Meta Descriptions

Here’s a hack you can do something about right now: take advantage of meta descriptions. Short-string keywords are the perfect match for web page descriptions. If you’re not optimizing these small text blurbs, you’re missing an opportunity to boost your online visibility. 

And while it may be tempting to take the “if one is good, two is better” approach, we strongly advise against this strategy when writing your meta description. Do not pack multiple keywords into meta descriptions, as these short pieces of text must be less than 156 characters. Instead, only include the primary keyword you are attempting to rank for and use it as naturally as possible. 

3. Improve Your Website Speed

Website speed matters, and for more than one reason. First and foremost, website speed and responsiveness directly impact the quality of the user experience. Clunky, slow websites quickly frustrate site visitors and will cause them to leave your page altogether. 

Second, Google and other search engines will penalize your website if it’s slow and unresponsive. The search algorithms analyze site load speed, among other factors, to determine where to rank your website. Don’t forget to test your site’s performance on mobile and desktop—sometimes, bugs may only appear in one environment.

4. Search Out Backlinks

A backlink is formed when another website cites your company’s website in its content. When ranking your website, Google’s algorithm analyzes the number of outside websites linked to your content. This signifies your website produces high-quality content. If you hope to reach the top of the search engine results pages, you must acquire backlinks. There are several SEO hacks that you can use to gain backlinks. The most effective involve leveraging professional link-building services.

5. Build a Strong Digital Reputation

An excellent reputation will help you build trust between your company and your clients, increase the average lifetime value of customers, and improve your ability to attract new consumers to your brand.

However, your brand reputation also has a profound impact on SEO rankings. Google’s algorithm considers what others say about your company on their review platform, social media, and other digital channels to position you against competitors. For example, if your company has multiple positive reviews, it will be deemed “reputable” and rank higher.

Put Your SEO Hacks to Use

Hopefully, you’ve learned something new, and you’re ready to put a couple of our hacks to the test. If you want to know more about how you can connect with your target audience through the power of SEO, contact 10x Digital today. We offer a broad range of digital marketing services, from SEO to link building, reputation management, website optimization, and content creation.