The following post is from MICROS eCommerce’s Search and Social Team.
Just 2 weeks ago, Google confirmed a drastic shift in strategy that will change how website owners and advertisers are able to access organic keyword data.
Google is moving towards a policy of encrypting all organic user searches, and it will no longer be delivering organic keyword data from any of its users.
Although this change is significant, enhancing user privacy is not a new priority for Google. In October 2011, Google began limiting the organic data they provided from users who were logged in to a Google account while performing searches. While this was an initial concern to website owners and advertisers, the change only impacted a small percentage of organic keyword data.
Since Google’s first announcement in 2011, MICROS eCommerce has been monitoring the growth in “Not Provided” keyword data in our analytics platforms — although the growth has been steady, the percentage of “Not Provided” organic keyword data has remained relatively low.
However, within just the last few weeks this percentage has quickly risen and is expected to hit 100% over the next several months.
This sudden shift in Google’s access to data emphasizes the need for a more holistic, content focused SEO strategy. Google’s Panda update, announced in February 2011, represented the first shift away from the traditionally keyword-centric focus of SEO, punishing sites with low-quality content and poor user experience by lowering their rank in organic search results.
While quality content has always been an important factor in a successful SEO strategy, the changes announced last week make it more essential than ever. More emphasis on good website content is Google’s way of ensuring that they provide users with the most accurate, relevant, and current information.
A solid content strategy has always been a key part of our overall approach to SEO. Google’s recent change simply means that our best practices need to adapt accordingly.
Overall, this new policy means that hoteliers and the like should be focusing on high quality, unique, and appealing page content rather than exclusively relying on a handful of keyword terms to achieve organic search success.
As with all of MICROS eCommerce’s strategies (digital marketing, SEO, design philosophy, etc.), our content strategy has always been data driven. With the loss of access to Google’s organic keyword data, being able to understand the data from your on-site, page-level analytics is paramount.
Your SEO strategy is now tied inextricably to content creation, which should be driven by the data gathered from your website’s users and your website’s historical keyword data.
Below we offer three tips to help you improve and adapt your SEO strategy to conform to Google’s most recent changes:
1. Web Content Optimization:
Rather than focusing heavily on keyword optimization, businesses need to shift their priority toward optimizing the quality of their page content.
This means, in addition to describing your basic services and offerings in a clear and easy-to-read format on your website, you also need to provide visitors with additional information that adds value. For example, DoubleTree Palm Beach Gardens posted the infographic below to their site highlighting things to do.
While most people who visit a hotel’s website are looking to book a reservation, there is an opportunity to utilize website content to attract visitors earlier in the travel planning process. People planning a trip tend to visit many websites before ultimately making a reservation, starting their research by acquiring more general information about the destination and local attractions.
If your website, in addition to current and accurate information about your property, also provides fun, topical, and unique information about your destination, a user will find your website relevant much sooner during their research process.
You should strive to make your website a hub for information on all things your destination and property have to offer. Continually adding new content enhances user experience, builds your website’s authority, and will ultimately improve your website’s rankings.
A blog is the best platform for hosting fresh content that will drive organic traffic to your website. Talk to your Client Services Manager about adding a blog to your website.
2. Content Creation Plan:
The first step in developing a content strategy for your website is creating an editorial calendar that identifies demand drivers and need periods throughout the year. This content plan creates a roadmap for updating your website’s content and planning new blog posts.
In addition to driving more organic search traffic to your website, fresh content is an excellent thing to share via your social media channels. The goal is two–fold: to engage your current customers on social media, and create shareable content that increases your visibility beyond your existing consumer base. In both cases, it is important to use whatever content you create as a way to drive visitors directly to your website.
That’s not to say, however, that you need to map out what your content plan will be to the letter a year or so in advance. When it comes to content creation, flexibility is key. Use your on-site analytics data to really get an understanding of where your users are going and why – this will give you tremendous insight into their behavior, and help you to adapt your ongoing strategy and maximize your relevance to your user base.
3. SEO Monitoring Tools:
Hoteliers should also consider using SEO-specific monitoring tools to gain a deeper understanding of the competitive landscape and the impact of SEO strategies at a granular level. These tools provide comprehensive page-level analytics that allow businesses to monitor what specific content is helping to drive organic traffic to their website.
MICROS eCommerce has a partnership with Conductor Searchlight and uses their technology as part of our strategic SEO solution for clients. SEO best practices are always evolving, and we will continue to work closely with Conductor’s team to ensure our strategy is adapting to inevitable changes in the digital space.
While organic keyword data will be officially inaccessible in the future, the trend towards quality content is not new.
MICROS eCommerce’s SEO strategy remains focused on making your website technically accessible by using page-level analysis, historical keyword data, and SEO monitoring tools to develop successful strategies. In addition, we will continue to ensure that your website has fresh and unique content that will make users want to visit your website and share what they see. Contact your Client Service team about a plan to optimize the content on your site.
Interested in ramping up your online strategy? Check out the full suite of MICROS eCommerce interactive marketing tools, send us an email, or give us a call +1 301.841.4700(US) | +44 (0)20 3004 9468(UK).
