Editor’s Note: Social page has been filled with more valuable information on the topic.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and content marketing have been given a makeover this year. A popular Google App has led to exciting new applications for monetization, managing content sites, and much more. Because of this, all industries have been trying their hand at fresh content strategies and using SEO tactics to surface their sites in search results. Every day, tens of thousands of websites have been found in Google’s search results and what’s most important to ensure continued success is good strategy and execution.

A little knowledge can make a big difference in search engine displays.

Start with SEO basics

As stated earlier, it’s difficult to get noticed in a crowded web. That’s where good SEO tactics come in. Along with search engine optimization, content marketing techniques and social media can all be used to gain visibility on the web. The first step is to understand the basics of the different types of strategies.

SEO: Typically one of the oldest, easiest and most efficient SEO tactics available. It mainly involves using a metadata tag on your website to highlight certain information, such as company name, domain, contact information, social media, type of business and more. The tag isn’t always needed; some search engines, such as Google, tend to crawl pages unindexed by those tags. However, sites that have a small footprint in the network are more likely to be found in Google’s search results because their content and services are often associated with trusted brands. Google also provides easy-to-use tools such as Webmaster Tools and Google Translate to do manual keyword reviews, analyze organic rankings and suggest changes.

Content marketing: More commonly referred to as social media marketing, this strategy utilizes content marketing as a separate way to promote brands, companies and products. Content marketing is great for businesses, nonprofits and professional associations because it enables them to collect and curate relevant, engaging, and valuable content. Some might say it’s just copywriting, but it’s also much more than that: it’s using online media to build and maintain an audience, reinforce customer relationships, build brand awareness, and also engage visitors and visitors’ guests. Google will frequently rank content as part of its organic results and will often surface it directly in search engines.

Social media: Google loves it or hates it but most brands tend to adopt this strategy. Popularized by Facebook, the likes and dislikes of your followers and content are noted in your Google Search rankings. YouTube, for instance, allows your video to be viewed in a corresponding grid format without download limitations. This is well suited for targeted SEO since keywords can be listed in it and your viewers can give their own feedback. Even working with existing YouTube channels can significantly increase your audience’s discoverability. You can enhance your exposure on the search engine by using official, authoritative YouTube channels like professional brand channels to share your content.

When it comes to strategy and execution, there are two common challenges for all webmasters and content marketers. The first is how to draw a high quality audience to your content. The second is how to develop audience retention. Understanding that there’s a set of creative influences that have a positive impact on your online audience will help you develop effective content strategies that are truly in your audience’s interest.

Ben Everitt is the Content Manager at Flick.com. He leads the Content & Marketing team and curates Webinars, YouTube programs, newsletters, Facebook and social media posts, and more to help promote the innovative designs and content of your favorite brands.