If we have said it once, we’ve said it a million times: SEO is constantly changing. It was just last year that you could get to the front page of Google by using tricks like exact match domains and footer links. Now, in 2013, those same techniques will not only fail, they will actually get you penalized. If you want your SEO company to continue to thrive, you need to stay ahead of the game, so lets look at the stats and make sure we’re on the bleeding edge.
To start with, lets look at the current winners from Search Metrics. This study is the result of a lot of analysis on what’s working in 2013, and its based on what distinguishes lower ranking pages from higher ranking pages. Check out the graph below:
As you can see, there is a clear winner among the top 10 ranking factors of successful sites: social cues.
In 2012, signals from social media sites were believed to be more important, but more traditional SEO techniques still ruled the day. So far in 2013, social signals are the single most important ranking factor. This means that you better have social sharing buttons on every page, you better be syndicating all your material to your networks, and you better be fostering those networks with the best possible content.
For an example of a great Facebook page, check out Wikimotive’s recently revamped page. It’s not very humble of us, but we swear it’s the best digital marketing page on Facebook!