This week I want to discuss user experience value.
You may remember last week that I highlighted an article predicting the death of content-orientated marketing. Don’t panic: the end isn’t quite nigh, not yet – but there was certainly a compelling case for being prepared.
Following up this topic with something a little more positive and practical, Rand at Moz has been talking this week about “10x content”.
Standard, unique content isn’t going to cut it to generate significant authority accumulation any more, says Rand – instead you need to write content that’s even better. A daunting prospect and not one that contradicts last week’s theory – in the long term, this arms race is only going in one direction and, in terms of return of investment, it’s going to become tougher and tougher to make content marketing a sustainable avenue for success. Until then, we just have to keep doing things even better.
Semantic Authority
Another area we’ve talked about in recent weeks is the necessity to develop semantic authority through technical embedding of entities and their ilk. This week’s SMX London saw a great summary of this approach and the development of site credibility and relevance through these elements is achievable and increasingly important.
Whilst this is undoubtedly more complex that the technical considerations that most SEO is focused on currently, there’s no doubt that this represents the future in order to differentiate your website from your competitors in the rankings. User experience value is vital.
And having talked about rudimentary SEO best practices, we have a useful round-up of the prioritisation that Google gives to on-page factors in 2015. Nothing here should be new considerations but the shift in emphasis is telling.
The greater need for user experience value (evidenced in the impact of mobile responsiveness) is clear to all who see the inevitable transition of these factors from mobile to desktop algorithm and it’s pleasing to see that other elements of content are being valued more greatly (such as images) – perhaps there will be a way to cost-effectively achieve site authority in the future after all.
Everyone loves an infographic, correct?
And despite the fact that it’s been a regular topic for the last month or two pretty much everywhere in the world of SEO (including the DSM Digests), I’m sure no-one is getting tired of hearing about mobile marketing yet. Am I right?
Excellent. So, on the off-chance you’ve not got the message about the importance of embracing it, this infographic from Smart Metrics is a neat précis of why mobile marketing is absolutely critical to your digital future, whether your main route to market is your website, paid search, your social media or direct connections via email.
Who am I kidding? If you’ve reading our Weekly Digest, you already know this stuff – just keep a copy to remind yourself of why it’s so good that you’re up to speed with mobile.
