In a recent post coming to grips with Google’s 2024 algorithm updates, we dared to poke the search bear, asking, Is SEO dead?

The answer was a qualified no—so long as you heed new publishing maxims like “content quality obsession” and “website-centricity.”

Now, it’s time to get down to brass tacks to really win at search. What that means is adopting a holistic approach to organic search, integrating tools like Google Search Console with your analytics platforms, and prioritizing quality, clarity, and conciseness (QCC) in content creation to enhance SEO, establish credibility, and improve user engagement.

We distilled those takeaways from our recent webinar Maximizing Search Traffic: Strategies and Techniques for Getting More From Google, featuring experts from The Wall Street Journal and NielsenIQ.

Think about organic search from a holistic perspective

Organic search is often recognized as the strongest converting channel, primarily because it attracts users who are actively seeking specific information or solutions. These users are inherently more engaged and are more likely to convert into paying customers or subscribers. 

To fully capitalize on this potential, adopting a holistic approach is a must, one that encompasses the entire user journey, from initial awareness through to conversion. By understanding and mapping out the various stages of this journey, businesses can create content that’s precisely tailored to meet the evolving needs of their audience at each step. 

“Organic search is our strongest converting channel by far. But we think about search from top-of-funnel all the way to bottom-of-funnel.”

Lauren Proctor, Director, Digital Strategy and Operations, NielsenIQ

This strategic alignment enhances user engagement and optimizes conversion rates by ensuring that every piece of content serves a clear purpose and meets the specific demands of users at different stages of their decision-making process. 

Moreover, a holistic strategy allows for comprehensive performance tracking, enabling continuous improvement of content and SEO practices to boost engagement and conversions further. This method ensures that businesses aren’t just visible in search results but also provide value that resonates with and meets the needs of their target audience, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of their organic search efforts.

“Clicks are important, but consider how well a piece converted search readers into future subscribers.”

Emily Schwartzberg, Deputy Director of Newsroom SEO, The Wall Street Journal

Use data-driven strategies and constant testing to optimize search results

To effectively harness these strategies, consider integrating tools like Google Search Console with your analytics platform. 

Such an integration allows you to pull historical data and analyze trends in organic search, providing insights into what drives traffic to your site. By comparing metrics such as impressions and click-through rates before and after implementing changes, you can assess the impact of your strategies and refine them for better performance.

Democratizing this data across the org by making it accessible to all team members can also lead to better and more finely tuned SEO strategies.

“One thing that’s really special about the Parse.ly-GSC integration is it allows teams outside of just the SEO org to use search data to help shape our content strategies.”

Emily Schwartzberg, Deputy Director of Newsroom SEO, The Wall Street Journal

Moreover, continuously monitoring and adjusting your strategies based on real-time data and feedback loops ensures that your efforts remain effective and responsive to changing search patterns. 

By considering the intent behind search queries, you can optimize your content to meet those needs effectively, enhancing the user experience and increasing the likelihood of conversion. 

This comprehensive approach to using data-driven strategies and constant testing will help you maintain a competitive edge in search engine rankings and meet the evolving needs of your audience. Related, running SEO tests to understand the impact of changes in Google’s ranking signals is another best practice to keep up with Google’s ever-changing algorithms. 

“We’ll set up 10, 20 sites [with] 10 to 100 pages on each and try to do the same thing on every page except for that one ranking signal. Then we’ll watch the SERPs and see how it settles. Sometimes it’s exactly what Google said, sometimes it’s not.”

Lauren Proctor, Director, Digital Strategy and Operations, NielsenIQ

Remember QCC for SEO: quality, clarity, and conciseness

Quality, clarity, and conciseness aren’t just content creation buzzwords—they’re foundational elements that can significantly enhance SEO. 

Quality establishes credibility and authority, critical factors that search engines use to rank pages. 

Clarity ensures that both users and search engines can easily understand the purpose and subject matter of the content, leading to better user engagement and satisfaction. 

Conciseness helps deliver the message without unnecessary fluff, making it easier for search engines to pinpoint relevant information and for readers to digest the content.

“We give context to readers whose lives may be impacted by the news stories [we publish]… they’re looking for analysis and insights that are deeper and more trustworthy than what AI can provide.”

Emily Schwartzberg, Deputy Director of Newsroom SEO, The Wall Street Journal

That said, incorporating these elements into your SEO strategy involves more than just writing. It requires a thoughtful approach to information structure and presentation. 

Using plain language and straightforward sentence structures can significantly improve the accessibility of your content, making it more appealing to a broader audience and more digestible to search algorithms. 

“I do notice that we get different rankings depending on how we structure sentences. I think the best way to say [something] is to make it simple for Google.”

Lauren Proctor, Director, Digital Strategy and Operations, NielsenIQ

Watch the session that inspired this post

From transformations in search engine algorithms to how Parse.ly’s integration with Google Search Console equips your entire team to be SEO-proficient, dive deeper into ways to maximize your search results. Watch our webinar Maximizing Search Traffic: Strategies and Techniques for Getting More From Google on-demand now.