Search Engine Optimization

Every major search engine values recently published content over old content. Google has prioritized “Query Deserved Freshness” since 2011. WordPress started out as a blogging platform. It has a built-in pinging function that notifies search engines whenever new content is published or updated, helping it get indexed much quicker than other sites.

When I first began corporate blogging for clients, our agency was unsure whether to use WordPress or Blogger. Since Google owns Blogger, we figured it may rank better in search engines, or at least in Google. It wasn’t the case. WordPress blogs rank better than any other blogging platform, which is why every site produced by Salty Key takes advantage of the incredible blogging functionality offered by WordPress. We’ll show you how to find and evaluate the keywords/keyword phrases you want to rank for and how to write keyword-rich (but not keyword-stuffed) content. We’ll also help you distribute your content via wire services to news sites and your social media channels, like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Structured, well written content has always been important for SEO. Keyword usage was one of the original pillars of on-page optimization, but when marketers began going overboard with keyword stuffing, Google introduced the Panda update to penalize “thin” or low-quality content from ranking well. While the first updates only targeted blatant keyword/link spam, Google’s PR team recently announced that Panda is now “part of Google’s core ranking algorithm.” The factors that Google deems “high-quality” — which are listed here — are imperative for ranking well.

Salty Key will assist you in every phase of the content creation process, from researching optimal keywords to writing quality, keyword-focused copy that will help your site rank better. We’ll also confirm your site avoids any duplicate content issues or link penalties.

Since user engagement data is now a ranking factor, sites with a poor user experience (UX) will suffer in the rankings. Examples of poor user metrics would be a high bounce rate or a small number of pages visited per user, while good user metrics would be a high rate of visitor frequency (users returning and revisiting your site).

If you’re curious whether or not your site is designed well, ask yourself these questions. Can users find the information they want quickly and easily? Can they navigate the site, or do they get lost when they dig too deep? Does it take too many clicks to find vital information, like your services page or an address or phone number?

Before we start designing a site, we always discuss goals with clients. What actions do you want the user to take? What content is most important for them to see? Then we build out the sitemap to see how we’re going to accomplish these goals. The end goal of SEO is to increase traffic to your site; the end goal of UX is to ensure the people who already come to your site convert into customers.

While simply acquiring backlinks to your site is no longer a sound SEO strategy, having links directed to your site from other sources does help accomplish the end goal of SEO. The purpose of SEO is not just to rank better in search engines. The purpose is to increase traffic to your site and, ultimately, increase sales.

People don’t just search for products and services via search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing. They use social networks like Facebook, or social review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. They use local directories and Google Maps. While having inbound links may not increase your rankings, it certainly increases the likelihood that someone searching for your website is able to find it in places other than Google.

If you already have an existing site, we can analyze your site for known SEO factors, including: mobile usability, broken links, H1/H2 usage on site, current search rankings, any outstanding penalties or warnings from Google and Bing, inbound links to site, user metrics affecting your site’s SEO, duplicate content issues, and more. We will also provide social analytics for your company, including brand mentions, engagement metrics, etc. This audit is conducted before Salty Key builds your new site.

*SEO Audit available as part of our “Premium” website package. See our Pricing page for details.

Salty Key can create a competitor profile of your top-ranking competitors to see where you stand in the rankings. Included in this report: what keywords your competitors are vying for and their rankings for those keywords, their domain authority, any inbound links to their site, any paid search campaigns (PPC) they’re running, and organic search traffic estimates.

*Competitor Analysis available as part of our “Premium” website package. See our Pricing page for details.