Search Engine Optimization

How your SEO Budget should Look Like in 2014

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In the past couple of years, we have experienced various changes with search engines. The notorious of which are the Google Panda and the most recent Google Penguin. These algorithm changes by search engines have significantly affected websites across the world. However, this has not in anyways changed the significance of SEO. SEO is still significant and so questions usually emerge on what kind of SEO budget they should allocate the website.

Google loves SEO but not just any SEO. Google loves quality SEO that will ensure that googlers get the best information on what they are searching for online. Have you tried searching for something online and you just fall on websites with content that cannot even be understood? This can be very stressful especially if there is quality content somewhere but it just can’t be found.

Whitehat SEO techniques will help you rank your website but truthfully, it is not that cheap. While blackhat techniques provide shortcuts for businesses online, they can prove to be a very bad idea in the long run. You can lose years of work just by a single algorithm change and tracing your way back to page 1 can be an uphill task.

5 Reasons why a Cheap SEO Budget is not what you want

your seo budget 2014There is nothing like cheap SEO. In fact, the two words should never be in the same sentence if you want to be successful with SEO in 2014. The recent algorithm changes just raised the bar when it comes to SEO. So if you are on a tight budget, instead of thinking cheap SEO, you should change your thinking to affordable Search Engine Optimization.

Affordable also doesn’t really mean expensive. Just like any other product, quality always comes with a price and so while making a budget for internet marketing, it is important that you consider improving the quality of your online campaigns. This is an investment that you will not regret.

You do not want to be Caught Off Guard with Cheap Backlinks

Over the past couple of algorithm changes by Google, it is clear that they are out to cut out all low quality content from the system. The Google Panda and the Google Penguin affected very many websites with low quality content and links.

We all know the important role backlinks play to improve the rankings of websites. However, rogue SEO experts exploited this avenue to feed users with low quality content usually blocking them from the relevant content that they might have wanted to find on Google.

One popular method of getting links was through article spinning. Article spinning helped generate numerous articles and post on various places online to give your site backlinks. These articles are usually of poor quality and in most times never made sense as they were machine generated. In my humble opinion, there is no such thing as a 100% unique and error free spun article.

Plagiarism is also a factor that was targeted by the algorithm changes by Google and victims of duplicate content were affected by the changes. Another black hat technique that used to work but is no longer applicable is keyword stuffing.

You do not want your website to be caught in any of these practices and so it is very important that you up your SEO game. Ensure that any content that you put online is of great quality and is by any means not spammy.

You do not want to Budget for Algorithm Change Recovery

Why do you want to expose yourself to the Google Panda, Penguin or Hummingbird? The strategies that you may be using at the moment might be cheap but once you get caught by the Penguin, recovery of your previous status may not be that cheap and at times almost impossible.

You will need to do a full SEO audit on links to your website that were affected and do everything in your power to get rid of them. You also have to replace these low quality links and content with content of better quality. All this takes money and a lot of time therefore it is always best to get it right from the word go.

It is important that you diversify your backlinks anchor texts and domain names. This was a real target of the Google Penguin to track down low quality content. Make sure the content that you put in any web property linking back to your website is as unique as it can ever be. Dropping from SERPS is not what you want for your website because with the fast paced competition online, you do not have that time and luxury for recovery. Make a good SEO budget in 2014 to avoid disappointments mid-year.

‘Cheap’ and ‘Right Content Marketing’ don’t Rhyme

In the recent past, SEO experts just used to put up a couple of 500 word articles on various blogs and within a short time gain a considerable amount of authority online. However, the game is now changing. As much as the short articles are still relevant especially with Mobile Search Engine Optimization, the current trends are suggesting that Google is falling in love with longer content.

This just increases your budget on articles by 2 or more. This will ensure that you are safe and the quality of content that links to your website is not questionable by the residents of the ‘Google Zoo’. Prepare yourself for the future by doing search engine optimization the right way today.

Google recently introduced the in-depth article section that provides articles with more information for users who need more. A study revealed that more than 10% of the users usually required a little more than just quick solutions to queries that they put on Google. Quick answers are great but more often you would want to learn more on a topic therefore you require in-depth information on the same. This section is great especially for researchers.

Content Marketing Strategy is more Significant

You really need to think out your content marketing strategy all over again before laying out your SEO budget this year. Your content marketing strategy is the one thing that will make a huge difference in your SEO campaign in 2014.

Having awesome content will not make any sense if you fail to put it out to the online community. It is absolutely important that you market your content well so that more people see it and if the content is great, you will increase your social signals organically with less effort. If you are outsourcing your work to an Search Engine Optimization company, it is important to ensure that they also offer content marketing services and therefore you are able to choose an SEO package that includes content marketing as well.

Content Marketing will help you build your brand online. It will also bring good traffic to your website as well as create leads and consequently help you with sales on your product online. Content marketing is very significant and while you setting your SEO budget, it is important that you are able to choose the best SEO firm to deal with. Not only should you insist on quality content but also quality marketing of the content as well.

Social Media’s new Role on SEO

Social Media has always been important for SEO, but it has even become important this year. If your brand is not so much into social media, then you have your whole internet marketing strategy wrong.  You might want to rethink your strategy and start thinking about how you can make your brand ‘social’ online.

You may want to consider outsourcing your social media work to a company that will give your brand full attention and engage the online community. Not only will social media bring traffic of great quality to your website, it also help in building your brand online.

Social signals have increasingly become important as far as SEO is concerned. Therefore a good company offering the social media services will ensure that they market the content on various social media platforms to generate signals that will improve the rankings of your website on search engines.

One important social media network that is increasingly gaining popularity is Google+. As much as Facebook and Twitter are famous and popular, when it comes to marketing you need to create and audience on G+. It is as easy as any other social media platform and engaging your audience on G+ can have a great impact on your SEO campaign in 2014.

As much as you outsource your social media to another firm, it is also important as the owner to follow up on one or two social media accounts of your brand. Find time to answer questions that are raised by your followers every now and then. Put in a few jokes because no one understands your brand better than you do. A few minutes of your time off your busy schedule will work wonders for your brand.

How to Choose the Best SEO Company

Well, what are they offering? Is this good for your brand? What is their long term goal and what strategies do they have to achieve this? These are the type of questions that you need to ask yourself before choosing the best SEO company to handle your internet marketing needs and SEO in particular.

SEO is the most sensitive aspect of internet marketing as consequences will be directed to your website and brand. It is therefore important that you take your time when it comes to choosing which SEO firm is best suited to take care of the image of your brand on various platforms online. SEO can make or break your reputation online.

It is important that the SEO firm has a good strategy that ensures great future for your online property. As your lay down your SEO budget, you will realize that good SEO is never cheap. And therefore, just like any investment, your SEO investment must have good returns. Ensure that you talk this out with your SEO firm to know exactly how the strategies they put will help you in getting your ROI.

Link building is another very critical aspect of search engine optimization. However, the game is not anymore about just any other link. Ensure that you get good quality links. In fact, we should be talking of GREAT quality links because you want everything associated with your brand to be as awesome as it is.

When it comes to setting your budget for SEO in 2014 always remember, cheap can be very expensive. Make a good SEO budget in 2014 and you will sure reap the fruits of your hard work in the near future.


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    2 Comments. Leave new

    • Hello,

      Great article about SEO and how to hire a good company to do the job. I am the Social Media Specialist here and I speak with many business es that still don’t understand that social media and SEO are a team. They both work together to bring people in for engagement and help increase traffic on a website and blog. I guess we will see how this all plays out for 2014.

      Madeline

      Reply
      • iMarket Nerd
        March 5, 2014 11:19 am

        We cannot stop but try to educate on the increasing impact that social media is playing on SEO. We have the same challenges as well but we are hopeful that 2014 will be better. Thanks Madeline for reading our articles 🙂

        Reply

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