While a lot of folks are talking about which SEO trends to look for in 2011, I thought it would be helpful to share my top SEO goals for 2011 instead.
I think most of us already know we should continue to focus on mobile, social media marketing and local search engine optimization in 2011.
Beyond those top 3 SEO trends, here’s my personal list of SEO goals for this website and blog this year.
1. Get Off My Ass and Do Some Offline Networking
At first you might be thinking “what does this have to do with SEO”? And sure, it doesn’t seem directly related. However, if you’re serious about building a long-term, sustainable online business; you’ll likely need to step up your offline efforts at some point. Take a look at any industry, they all have conferences where you’ll find representatives from all of the top brands. Search engine marketing isn’t any different. Become a speaker or a sponsor, and you’re sure to earn an authoritative link in your niche. Talk to some like minded individuals, cultivate those relationships, and you’ll probably earn a few editorial links too. You can check out SMX and SES for search marketing conferences, or get your feet wet with a local Meetup or Biznik event.
2. Differentiate Myself from the Pack
Again, this might not seem directly related. However, there are literally thousands of SEO blogs, most of which talk about the same stuff, often times just repeated. That’s great, a lot of that information is important to know and thus it should be written about on each resource. But, I also want to be different. I want to earn your subscription and links. Offer you something the other guys don’t. So, one of my goals is figuring out what SEO information is lacking and filling in those gaps. If you’re struggling to stand out in your niche, you might want to take a step back and ask yourself how you can be different too.
[size=33. Take Social Media Seriously[/size]
I’m just as terrible networking online as I am in person. I get into these wicked zones and all I focus on is creating content, and reading and testing out new tools. I forget to interact with others. It’s not healthy for me or my business. I can’t tell you which social media tool is best for your business, but I can say the little bit of real social networking I have done has earned me a few editorial links and number of great contacts within in my niche. I don’t recommend approaching social media as way to promote your products, but more about cultivating relationships. When done right, those relationships should turn into more sales in the long-run than any short-term pitch. And, with Google and Bing admitting they use social signals to help rank websites, I’ve been given another great reason to start taking social media more seriously.
The common theme here is that I want to “earn” more links this year. Without networking, it’s really tough to get even the best content linked too. Some people get lucky, while others go broke creating great content that never gets found or linked to. Most of the time it’s hard to have one without the other, and eventually manual link submissions will run their course. Figuring out how to entice others to continuously link to you is the best way to increase and maintain your rankings long-term.
Well, I could go on forever with my extensive list of SEO goals, but I want to know what your goals are? Please take a moment to share your top three with the rest of us in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you. And, I know the rest of the folks reading this would too. To your success in 2011 and beyond!!
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