It happens to the best of us — one minute you’re riding high in the search rankings, bringing in more views and webpage clicks, and in the next moment everything seems to be tapering off.
Search engine optimization, known colloquially as SEO, by nature is more a long siege than a quick battle, but that doesn’t make SEO practices immune to stagnation. On the contrary — Google is always subtly changing its algorithm. So why shouldn’t search engine gurus also update their strategies once in a while?
For businesses from the East Coast to Utah, stagnant or slowly slipping rankings are bad news. If your SEO efforts aren’t delivering at the same rate as before, it may be time to broaden your perspective. If your usual niche market is approaching the saturation point, it may be time to expand your strategy to incorporate other keywords — even bigger and better ones.
Work to broaden your catalog of backlinks by giving links away. While this may initially seem like an unwise decision, promoting other industry influencers around your level will both boost your industry cred and encourage other authority figures to link back to you. Just don’t overdo it — you want your references to feel authentic.
If your SEO campaign is tied to content marketing, try mixing up the kinds of content you produce. If your website deals with current events in Utah, move beyond short blog posts and incorporate more long-form pieces. Integrate photos, graphics, videos, lists — you name it. Look to competitors or industry role models for inspiration, and give their techniques a try.
Give pay-per-click a try. SEO professionals like to look down on PPC, but PPC can be a good way to bring in instant traffic and get more potential customers interested in your brand. When your search rankings need a little pick-me-up, PPC can be the shot in the dark.
For companies in Utah and across the U.S., SEO is a long-term process. SEO stagnation can be frustrating, but don’t throw in the towel yet — with a little hard work and innovation, you too can stave off that SEO slump.
