Looking for a guide to SEO? You’ve landed on the ultimate guide to optimisation with *updated* information for success in 2018.

This is the ultimate guide to dominating the search results in 2018. This is absolutely everything we know to be true about the future of online marketing.

This is NOT another “guide to SEO” post. These are not predictions of what might happen. Instead, we have personally tested everything on this list and are sharing the results.

These are things that are working right now and continue to bring us great success. We did not become the number one ranking SEO London agency for nothing. (Yes, we are based in Barnsley. Yes, we rank for SEO in London. We’re just that good. )

So, if you are looking to up your SEO game in the New Year, then look no further.

Let’s dive right in…

Chapter One: Craft Long Form Content That Converts

Here’s a fact for you: The average first-page result on Google contains 1,890 words. We like to lead by example, so basically, this post is going to be extensive. You’ll learn a lot and have a lot to work on, but you may want to make yourself a brew. This will take some time.

Content has been crowned the king of SEO. This is still the case today. But, instead of typing up a blog post of 500 words, hitting publish and sharing on social, think bigger. The good old days when Google would scan a page and rank your content based on how many times you mention a specific keyword are long gone. Today’s most important on-page ranking factors are as follows, in this order:

Meta Title
Content
H1
URL
H2,H3,H4
Anchor Text
Image ALT Text
Strong/Bold Text

Google is MUCH smarter than it used to be. While, these are essential to ensure your website ranks, don’t stop there. Remember: the purpose of Google is to show the most relevant results. That does not include keyword stuffing to force a Google bot to stop by your website. Instead, cover an entire topic at length to ensure you provide all the information in one place (one-stop shopping.) This will also ensure your keywords appear naturally in the content.

How do you write comprehensive, SEO content?

So, how to write good SEO content? Firstly, don’t limit your word count. Set 1,000 as your absolute minimum. This will ensure you cover everything a Google searcher will want to know about the topic.

The same rules apply here. Grab the attention of your reader with the most important information first. Your entire post should be summerised in the H1 tag with strong keywords prioritised.

Once you’ve added the finishing touches to your 1,000 word masterpiece, include LSI keywords. “What are LSI keywords?” They are words that directly relate to the page topic. Avoid keyword stuffing by using a variation of LSI keywords, such as:

SEO
Online Search
Optimising your website
How to do SEO
SEO for WordPress

When Google sees LSI keywords in your content it will think “Well done, you obviously know what you’re talking about.” This is the impression you should give all the time. Use the LSI tool to identify the best LSI keywords for your business.

Chapter Two: Start Video Marketing (Or Get Left Behind)

Did you get the memo? Video marketing is going to be HUGE in 2018. According to Cisco, Video Marketing will make up 80% of all traffic by 2020. That’s 80%! People want to see creative content that really stands out online. You don’t get anywhere by blending into the crowd. In short, if you are not yet using video marketing to get sales online, you need to start doing so.

Don’t neglect Video Marketing for YouTube

YouTube is the world’s 2nd largest search engine. Some people are skipping Google and heading to YouTube to find content. That alone demonstrates the power of video marketing. So, if you plan on getting more traffic in 2018, then we recommend creating videos optimised specifically for YouTube.

The best part? Most marketers are too lazy to even create videos. That means you’re already one step ahead of the game. Video platforms allow you to design beautiful marketing videos to share online in seconds.

See one we made earlier:

For those who scrolled down to this video, point proven. Video works wonders!

It gets better. When you publish SEO-optimised YouTube videos, you’ll get even more traffic from Google. That’s because at least 55% of all Google searches contain a video.

Share your YouTube videos everywhere!

Let’s not forget the power of promoting content. Think social media, website content and third party pages. If people want to see more video, why not give it to them? This can be a great way to showcase company products or services. Publish this video alongside long-form content (read chapter one) to give your readers the option to read on, or click to view.

Chapter Three: On Your Marks, Get Set For Google’s Mobile-First Indexing

Last year Google made the announcement it would be launching a mobile-first update. This will basically place the mobile version of your site as the original copy. This is the case no matter what device you are searching on, which makes sense as 60% of all searches are now on mobile.

The change will happen any day now, so it pays to be prepared. Don’t let your website suffer from poor planning.

How to prepare for Google’s Mobile First Index

You know how people often hide content on a mobile version of a site? Mainly to avoid endless scrolling. Well, that’s going to be ignored following the mobile-first update. Remember, the mobile version of your website is the true one in the eye of Big G!

That’s why you should display 100% of the content you want to rank on all versions of your website. For example, when you visit this amazing page on the Bigfoot Digital mobile site, you get exactly the same experience.

As you can see, there are no hidden paragraphs, sections or images in this preview.

Finally, consider your conversion rate on mobile. Optimisation is killer, but if your website is impossible to navigate, then people will bounce right off. We recommend checking how responsive your website is using our website audit tool for instant feedback.  

Chapter Four: Optimise for Voice Search

The introduction of voice search has turned the heads of some SEOers. Bigfoot Digital included. Do we think voice search will take over traditional search? Probably not, but there’s no hiding from the facts:

Google’s voice searches are up by +35% since 2008 (source)
20% of all searches on mobile are voice searches (source)

Knowing that, you should prioritise voice search in the New Year. Think about how people search. Voice search tends to result in longer tail keywords. It also generates a lot of questions. Think about this when you optimise your site.

This page includes a question and a short answer (a client site we have optimised.) This is exactly what Google’s voice search algorithm wants to see.

Chapter Five: Backlinks Will Still Get You Better Search Rankings

One final consideration: links and content still come out on top. In fact, Google has confirmed they are the number 1 and 2 ranking factors (that’s out of 200!)

Don’t forget to collect those backlinks from authoritative websites. For an in-depth guide on link building for your business, head over to our blog.

We’re soon to launch a downloadable SEO guide with top secret information (things not all SEOers know about) that will see you win the race to first page rankings. Tested tactics with exceptional results… all will be revealed on our social media.

Make sure you follow @bigfootdigital for the latest search engine optimisation updates.