As a business owner, you take great interest in making the most of your marketing strategy. One of the easiest ways to understand the importance of SEO to your marketing mix is to pay close attention to what Google does (and changes). Google has long been a strong proponent of good SEO as it makes the Internet more attractive to end users who want everything now, and they want it easy to find. If the Internet is a more attractive place for users, Google can sell more ads, and it’s a win-win for everyone. And everyone includes you as well.
Here are four ways Google has helped marketers improve SEO that you may not be aware of, but can certainly share in its benefits.
- Google added an ‘SEO’ audit to its Lighthouse extension
In an attempt to give developers sound advice on how to improve the sites they are working on, Google has added an “SEO” audit to its Lighthouse extension. It is a component that analyzes any web page for basic SEO markers, and it checks its competency so it can suggest how to make it better. This SEO component leaves little room for guesswork, and it presents both well-known and little-known information — from checking for canonicals not broken to making sure your text is big enough. It provides an insight into how Google assesses a page.
- Google has revamped the Search Console
In simple terms, Search Console, formerly known as Webmaster Tools, helps you understand what is going on “under the hood” of your website. You can check its indexing status and optimize its visibility. You can immediately index blogs and browse through up to 16 months of data in the search analytics report.
- Google made significant improvements to its SEO guide
Google relaunched its SEO starter guide which is not only useful to the obvious group of SEO newbies, but to experienced professionals as well because it never hurts to brush up your basics. When it comes to content, for example, the guide gives a lot of good advice on organizing topics, optimizing copy, headlines, and images, etc.
- Google hired the first public search liaison
Google’s shifting philosophy towards being more open and consultative resulted in Google hiring its first public search liaison, Danny Sullivan, in October 2017 to serve as a link between the company and the SEO community.
The world of SEO can give a lot to your business, but if done poorly, it has the power to take a lot as well. If you wish to be in the group of businesses that only gain, consider hiring an SEO company. We, at 411 Locals, will gladly take over for you. Stay tuned for our next topic!