Voices of Search Podcast Summary Episode: SEO Tactics That I See Driving Growth & Results Release Date: March 27, 2025 Host: Tyson Stockton Guest: Kristen Bauer, Independent SEO Consultant at Bauer Growth Consulting
Introduction
In this episode of the Voices of Search podcast, host Tyson Stockton engages in an insightful conversation with Kristen Bauer, an independent SEO consultant at Bauer Growth Consulting. Building upon their previous discussion on Marketplace SEO, the duo delves into broader SEO tactics that drive growth and yield substantial results. The focus is on actionable strategies and future-proof methods that can sustain and enhance organic growth in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
Key SEO Tactics for Growth and Future-Proofing
Kristen Bauer outlines several pivotal SEO tactics that not only drive current growth but also offer future-proofing benefits. These tactics extend beyond traditional SEO practices, emphasizing user experience and data-driven strategies.
1. User Experience (UX) Improvement
Kristen emphasizes the critical role of user experience in SEO:
"It's all about providing that great product and user experience to safeguard and future proof your brand." [02:31]
Improving UX involves ensuring that websites are intuitive, responsive, and user-friendly. This approach not only enhances user satisfaction but also aligns with Google's focus on delivering superior user experiences, as confirmed during the DOJ hearings.
2. Smart Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Leveraging AI effectively can enhance SEO efficiency and optimize content presentation:
"Using AI in a smart way that helps with SEO efficiency as well as how SEO and content are displayed on the site, has been really successful with brands that I've worked with as well." [02:31]
AI tools can assist in keyword research, content optimization, and analyzing user behavior, thereby streamlining SEO processes and improving overall performance.
3. SEO Testing
SEO testing is highlighted as a fundamental practice for validating strategies before broad implementation:
"SEO testing is something that can really help refine what you push out live from the site without any kind of large scale negative impacts." [05:03]
Testing involves experimenting with elements like title tags, meta descriptions, and content layouts on a subset of pages to determine their effectiveness. This method minimizes risks and ensures that only successful changes are rolled out site-wide.
4. Technical Cleanup
Maintaining the technical health of a website is essential for sustained SEO success:
"Technical cleanup is always something that should be focused on for brands, whether you have a small site or a large site, even more important for large sites." [02:31]
This includes optimizing site speed, fixing broken links, ensuring mobile-friendliness, and improving site architecture. Technical SEO ensures that search engines can crawl and index the site efficiently, which is crucial for maintaining high rankings.
5. Content Refinement
Continually refining and optimizing existing content to align with searcher intent is a powerful strategy:
"Continuing to improve, optimize and refine what you have on your website already... can provide a lot of growth versus just net new content creation without focusing on continuing to enhance what you already have." [15:06]
Content refinement involves updating content to match current search trends, enhancing readability, and ensuring that it effectively answers users' queries. Tools like Surfer SEO and Phrase are recommended for optimizing content based on top-ranking results.
Deep Dive into SEO Testing
Tyson Stockton probes deeper into the concept of SEO testing, exploring how organizations can adopt a testing mindset to drive growth.
"SEO testing is something that can really help refine what you push out live from the site without any kind of large scale negative impacts." [05:03]
Kristen elaborates on the practical aspects of SEO testing:
- Scalability: Testing can be conducted on individual pages or page groups to validate changes before full-scale implementation.
- Examples of Tests: She shares instances such as optimizing title tags for click-through rates and adjusting the number of products displayed on category pages.
- Outcome Analysis: Not all tests yield positive results. For example, a title tag test focusing on inventory counts did not outperform the control group, demonstrating the importance of iterative testing.
SEO testing differs from traditional A/B testing as it requires changes to be live rather than client-side or cookie-based, necessitating a more hands-on approach to measure true effectiveness.
The Rising Importance of UX in SEO
The conversation shifts to the integration of UX as a core pillar within SEO strategies, a trend gaining momentum in recent years.
"With the confirmations from the DOJ hearings, I think that gives concrete proof for SEOs to have more of a say in stakeholder... the user experience component of any website..." [09:55]
Kristen highlights how UX improvements, such as enhancing above-the-fold content and optimizing page layouts, have led to tangible SEO benefits:
- Above-the-Fold Optimization: Improving the initial content that users see can increase engagement and reduce bounce rates.
- Interactive Elements: Implementing features like interactive maps can enhance user engagement and signal relevance to search engines.
The collaboration between UX and SEO teams is becoming more integral, as improved user experience directly influences key SEO metrics like user behavior and conversion rates.
"It's just a growing trend that those two kind of functions are working a bit closer... UX is really like becoming part of that fold quite a bit more in the industry." [13:26]
Strengthening Content with Searcher Intent
Content refinement is further explored, emphasizing the alignment of content with user intent and the utilization of advanced tools for optimization.
"Matching that content with searcher intent has, is obviously even more important these days in 2024..." [15:06]
Key strategies include:
- Understanding User Behavior: Conducting thorough research to grasp what users are searching for and how they interact with content.
- Keyword Strategy Diversification: Targeting various intent groups—transactional, commercial, informational—to cover a broader spectrum of user needs.
- Content Clusters: Building topical authority by creating content clusters that interlink related topics, enhancing overall site relevance.
- Tool Utilization: Employing tools like Surfer SEO and Phrase to reverse engineer top-ranking content and apply those insights to optimize existing pages.
Kristen underscores the importance of continuously enhancing existing content to ensure it remains relevant and effective in meeting user needs.
Final Insights and Recommendations
Kristen Bauer concludes with actionable recommendations for listeners aiming to implement these SEO tactics:
- Adopt a Testing Mindset: Regularly experiment with different SEO strategies on a small scale before committing to widespread changes.
- Enhance User Experience: Prioritize UX improvements as they have a direct impact on SEO performance and user satisfaction.
- Refine Existing Content: Focus on optimizing and updating current content to better align with searcher intent and maintain relevance.
- Leverage AI and SEO Tools: Utilize advanced tools to streamline SEO processes and gain deeper insights into content optimization.
- Collaborate Across Teams: Foster close collaboration between SEO, UX, and content teams to create a cohesive and effective digital strategy.
"SEO is a practice. Not every brand will actually react the same way to a change that gets rolled out live." [05:03]
Kristen emphasizes the importance of tailoring SEO strategies to individual brand needs and continuously adapting to the evolving digital environment.
Conclusion
This episode of Voices of Search offers a comprehensive exploration of SEO tactics that are instrumental in driving growth and ensuring long-term success. Kristen Bauer provides valuable insights into integrating user experience, leveraging AI, conducting SEO testing, maintaining technical health, and refining content to align with user intent. By adopting these strategies, marketers and businesses can enhance their organic growth efforts and stay ahead in the competitive SEO landscape.
Notable Quotes:
- "It's all about providing that great product and user experience to safeguard and future proof your brand." — Kristen Bauer [02:31]
- "SEO testing is something that can really help refine what you push out live from the site without any kind of large scale negative impacts." — Kristen Bauer [05:03]
- "With the confirmations from the DOJ hearings, I think that gives concrete proof for SEOs to have more of a say in stakeholder... the user experience component of any website..." — Kristen Bauer [09:55]
- "It's just a growing trend that those two kind of functions are working a bit closer... UX is really like becoming part of that fold quite a bit more in the industry." — Kristen Bauer [13:26]
- "Matching that content with searcher intent has, is obviously even more important these days in 2024..." — Kristen Bauer [15:06]
Resources Mentioned:
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Kristen Bauer's Contact Information:
- LinkedIn: Kristen Bauer
- Twitter: @Kristenbauer
- Website: kristenbauer.com
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Tyson Stockton's Contact Information:
- LinkedIn: Tyson Stockton
- Twitter: @TysonStockton
- Company Website: Previsible.io
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Podcast Resources:
- Episode Summaries and Contact Information: voicesofsearch.com
- Social Media: @voicesofsearch on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
- Host Contact: Ben Jschapp (@BenJSchapp)
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