Tag: SEO

SEO Versus Social Media

SEO Versus Social Media

SEO and social media are two of the most popular elements of digital marketing. A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong notes that both elements should be a significant part of a digital marketing strategy. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. That is why today, we will give some insights into SEO versus social media.

WHAT IS SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is a strategy of improving the visibility of a site to people searching for brands, products, and services. It focuses on getting discovered through searches to attract customers and sustain the business. Even a video marketing agency Hong Kong aims to rank on SEO. Any format or type of content today can rank on search engines.

Google is the largest global search engine. Other popular search engines are AOL, Ask.com, Baidu, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Excite, and Yahoo. These search engines use bots to crawl on web pages. As they crawl, they collect information about each webpage and index them from site to site. Through hundreds of ranking factors and signals for each search engine, the web pages are ranked according to keyword searches. The most essential element of organic ranking is relevancy and user experience.

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

A social media agency Hong Kong defines social media as Internet networks that facilitate the sharing f ideas, information, and thoughts. The most popular social media sites are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Like SEO, social media visibility is very important in digital marketing. With more than half of the global population having a social media account, they can help brands and businesses boost discovery and sales.

Social media visibility can be achieved through 7 building blocks. These are brand identity, content sharing, conversations, presence, relationships, reputation, and social media groups. The first functional block is building brand identity. The brand or business should complete and update the information on their social media pages including the company name, address, category, and contact details. They should consistently post and share relevant content. Consistent communication with their followers can also build an online presence. To build relationships and reputation, they should continuously nurture posting on social media groups. Just like SEO algorithms, social media uses artificial intelligence (AI) to rank posts based on these 7 building blocks.

SEO VERSUS SOCIAL MEDIA

Audience Targeting

SEO targets audiences based on what they are thinking. Social media target people on who they are. Their insights were mostly based on a user’s online behaviors.

Conversion Likelihood

Most Google searchers are ready to make a purchase. They search to get solutions to their pain points. These searches will yield possible solutions, largely influencing the buying decision. On the other side, social media users are not so keen on buying products and services. But they are more likely to share or spread the content.

Effort and Durability

SEO high ranking endures months and weeks. Once a brand or business ranks on top, it can be a passive source of visitors for several days. Social media ranking lasts within minutes. To have a better ranking, social media needs continuous posting.

Formats

The average content format that ranks on Google is long-form content. These are content containing 1500+++ words.  Visuals perform best on social media. They generate 53% more engagement than non-visual content.

Interdependence

List building, outreach, and pitching are interdependent SEO factors. While Comments, followers, profiles, and shares are interdependent social media factors.

Measurement

In SEO, traffic and visibility are the easiest to report while engagement is hard to measure. Social media engagements are highly visible but traffic is difficult to report.

Speed

The speed of SEO ranking is slow and uncertain. It may take days for relevant pages to be indexed and ranked. Social media content can be posted instantly and can go viral within minutes.

Topics

SEO features researched-based content for different topics. Answers to common questions and detailed how-to articles often rank best. Social Media content stirs emotional responses. They tend to appeal more to user emotions rather than intelligence.

Upper limits

Traffic on SEO searches is limited to the number of searchers for the day. The social media traffic is virtually unlimited. They can drive a huge amount of attention one can never expect.

Reference: https://blog.red-website-design.co.uk/2022/03/18/seo-vs-social-media/

Best Practices on SEO for Mobile

SEO for Mobile

Out of 7.9 billion people in the world, 7.1 billion use a mobile device. That is why a social media agency Hong Kong needs to know the best practices on SEO for mobile. It can greatly improve how potential customers view your ads and campaigns whenever and wherever they are. With almost everyone using a smartphone, a mobile-optimized diet will surely give them a great first impression!

IS “SEO” NOW ABOUT OPTIMIZING FOR “MOBILE SEO”?

In the past, SEO was about optimizing for desktop searches. However, with the rise of mobile devices and everything that goes into making a website “mobile-friendly”, it has become much more than that. In 2015 alone, there were almost 200 million users who accessed websites through their mobile devices. Compare this to just over 100 million users in 2014! This is why social media agencies such as Digital Marketing Speaker Hong Kong tell you how important it is to ensure your site is not only mobile-optimized but also search engine-friendly when it comes to mobile traffic.

While most people use a mobile device for browsing, there are still some that still prefer a larger screen with a bigger keyboard. Digital Marketing Speaker Hong Kong’s advice is to start optimizing your site for mobile search today! This will increase the chance of being found by customers who have been searching through their mobile devices.

In addition, a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong said that it takes more than just installing an SEO plugin in WordPress to make your website mobile-friendly. There are very specific things you need to do so your website’s appearance on mobile searches coincides with its desktop version – and these apply specifically if you want higher rankings in Google for certain keywords or phrases that include “mobile” or “cell phone.”

BEST PRACTICES ON SEO FOR MOBILE

  1. Prepare your website configuration. The first step involves redirecting mobile users to your mobile version. While there are many plugins available, the “301 Mobile Redirect” plugin is one of the best. It automatically detects if someone is using a desktop computer or mobile device and re-directs them accordingly. 
  2. Test all your web pages. Once you have installed the plugin, open your website and check if it really does redirect mobile users to its mobile version. There are also other ways to test this feature. There are several third-party validation tools available that can provide you with a list of all elements on your web pages that need optimizing. Make sure user experience is not being affected by this redirect. Sometimes, what seems like a smart move can actually harm your search engine rankings due to changes in URL formats or weighting factors caused by excessive redirection of links. 
  3. Optimize URLs for SEO. During this process, URLs will most likely change or even be removed entirely if there were too many redirections in the past. Be sure to follow best practices on SEO for mobile like using keywords in your URL whenever possible without compromising user experience. It is also very important not to include gibberish words or spammy links because this could hurt your rankings instead of helping them! 
  4. Your website should load quickly. Research has shown that people are more likely to wait longer for a page to load on their mobile devices if it’s not optimized. Most people will give up after 4 seconds! Optimizing your site for mobile search is one thing, but you also want to make sure the user experience is positive because this could make or break whether or not they come back next time.
  5. Responsive Design. Mobile users generally expect your website to resize and re-arrange according to the screen it is being viewed on. Some points that need to be taken into consideration include: making sure all images and videos are high quality, the text is readable and buttons do not take up too much space. With more than 60% of web traffic coming from mobile devices these days, having a responsive design is no longer enough. You must make sure your site fully adapts to different screen sizes as well as orientations (landscape or portrait) so it does not appear cramped or distorted. Ensure Compatibility with Android Apps. The latest version of Android includes several new technologies for app development using HTML 5 which can help your websites that look like native apps
  6. It must also load correctly. Regardless of who is using your site – mobile or desktop users – it must load correctly in both environments. Make the most of Facebook, Twitter & Google+. Although not directly related to SEO for Mobile, you should also make the most of social media because this can spread links to your website faster than ever before. With more traffic coming from mobile devices each year, it’s important to keep up with what people are sharing on their favorite platforms like Facebook and Twitter as well as through apps like Google+ and Pinterest.
  7. The website should look great. Make sure your website looks great on mobile devices. Get rid of all those fancy buttons, sidebars, and other elements that may look good on a desktop computer but not a mobile device. A mobile user wants to be able to read the content first and foremost – a crowded layout will only make it more difficult for them!
  8. Check how your website is doing. Checking your website’s search engine rankings is very important for making sure your SEO efforts are working. If they are not, make changes accordingly and wait until the bots find your updated site. It could take several months for this to happen, so you have to be patient. If your website is not performing as well as you would like, it may be due to these issues which are common among mobile SEO strategies: 
  • structuring URLs in the wrong way that includes redirects or excessive numbers of server hops 
  • including gibberish words or spammy links 
  • having a slow load time 
  • using social media platforms incorrectly 
  • neglecting Android apps and/or user experience on responsive designs

9. Let the bots check your website. Google launched its mobile-first index in 2018. What this means is that Google now uses the mobile version of a website as the primary index for its search engine bots. This will not be shocking to most people, because many SEOs were touting this as the future years ago. Once you have a website that is redirecting mobile users automatically to its mobile version, it’s time for the bots from Google and other search engine companies to crawl your site. If everything works well, they will “discover” your new URL structure and index both versions appropriately. 

Now that you know what you need to do, go ahead and implement these best practices on SEO for mobile!!

Reference: https://usa.inquirer.net/81845/seo-best-practices-for-mobile

How to Create Evergreen Content

Evergreen Content

Unlike other trees, “Evergreen” trees don’t lose their leaves as the season changes and time passes by. They have become a symbol of perpetual life. A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong compares the term “evergreen” with content that has long-term relevance. This type of content provides imminent benefits to brands and businesses. But what is evergreen content, and how do we create one? Here are the answers!

WHAT IS EVERGREEN CONTENT?

A social media agency Hong Kong defines evergreen content as search-optimized posts that stay fresh and relevant for readers. From its publication date, it continues to attract traffic over time. Current trends, holiday posts, news, pop culture, and statistics are not considered evergreen content. This is because they tend to become obsolete after 6 months. Evergreen content is commonly relevant to the readers for several years. There are even great evergreen posts that people can relate to for decades. Some popular types of evergreen content are:

  • Encyclopedia Entries
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  • How To
  • Industry Definitions
  • Interviews
  • Lists
  • Testimonials
  • Tips
  • Tutorials
  • Videos

Some topics never grow old. When you write about them, you will surely create evergreen content. These are 

  • Finance
  • Food
  • Health
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Love and Romance
  • Parenting
  • Pet Care
  • Weight Loss

What is important is that the topic should be relevant to a brand to drive traffic throughout the years. 

BENEFITS OF EVERGREEN CONTENT

Why should marketers care about creating evergreen content? It is because they offer immense benefits to brands and businesses.

  • They allow brands and businesses to connect with their social media audience. Evergreen content can be great posts to share on social media platforms. By being educational or informational, brands and businesses can develop deeper connections with their social media audiences. 
  • They can drive prospects to your sales funnel for a long period of time. Evergreen content has a long shelf life. They are topics that change very little over time. Such, they continue to drive traffic to your website throughout the years. 
  • They can improve a website’s search engine ranking. Because of the long shelf life of evergreen content, most searchers and writers can use the links of this content as a long-term reference. Such a backlinking process improves the website’s search engine ranking. 
  • They position a brand or business as an industry leader. Evergreen content typically discussed basic topics that beginners commonly search for. As they learn something from these posts, they will look upon the website as helpful and reputable. This positions the brand or business as an industry leader. 

HOW TO CREATE EVERGREEN CONTENT

The next question is how to create evergreen content. Here are some best practices

Create Powerful Headlines

Content creation starts with formulating a powerful headline. This method also applies to the creation of evergreen content. Headlines with the words best, data, guide, how to, reason, and top are the most searched topics among audiences. Headlines beginning with question words like what, when, where, who, why, etc. also appeal to potential readers. To create powerful headlines, brands and businesses can pair these words with the relevant topic they want to discuss in a post.

Do Your Research

Evergreen content typically answers frequently asked questions from the target audience of a brand or business. They provide best practices, explanations, and tips about different concepts involving industry or niche. Therefore, it is important to do your research in order to create evergreen content. A video marketing agency Hong Kong recommends researching a topic before formulating ideas for video creation. This is to be able to provide accurate and truthful information. By doing so, a brand or business can position itself as a go-to site for its target persona. It makes them a reputable leader in their industry or niche.

Make It Simple

Beginners are the common target of evergreen content. They are people searching for new concepts or skills. As such, a major key element in creating evergreen content is by making it simple. Use common language and terms. This allows your readers to easily understand the concept or step. Be straightforward. Go directly to the point to avoid confusing your audiences. At the same time, you will need to provide complete information to make your readers know the important things they need to remember. Back up your thoughts with reference links from reputable sources. This can help readers validate that the information you are giving is accurate and true.

Use Internal Linking

The best way to create evergreen content is to use internal linking. Link related evergreen posts on your website together. This is an SEO technique to allow your pages to get discovered. It improves the brand or business website’s SEO ranking and at the same time, expands your post’s reach. Internal linking may somewhat be challenging. But the key is to keep a record of everything you have published on your website. By connecting your evergreen content, you also increase the chance to get discovered long term. 

Reference: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/buzzsumo-shares-new-insights-on-how-to-create-evergreen-content-infographi/602834/