Remaining relevant and visible is a top objective for any search marketer, which means maintaining prime positioning where online search factors into the customer journey.

However, the role of search has changed over time. In the past, search was seen as a bottom-of-the-funnel activity, rather than something that permeates every stage of the journey. Today, we know that isn't the case. Customers depend on search at every stage leading up to the transaction, which means search strategies must be built to account for these varied stages, too. A diversified approach is required for brands to generate positive results from across the spectrum of customer search activity.

Spring is the season associated with deep cleaning and home renewal. If we credit the warmer weather and the longer days for this motivation, then perhaps it's wise to leverage these spring cleaning habits and tend to much-needed business management tasks. Online presence management requires some year-round attention, but certain tasks only need to be done once or twice a year.

If you've neglected your digital presence and it's affecting your bottom line, now is the time to audit this profile and make changes where necessary. By regularly keeping up on this maintenance, you can make your online reputation work for you, instead of against you.

Getting past gatekeepers on search engines isn't easy — Google doesn't even release its algorithm for public analysis, so there's no blueprint for winning this endless optimization game.

There are dozens of metrics incorporated into these algorithms, and the ingredients are changing. Over time, the role of location expanded in these search results. Mobile search users often write queries with an implicit desire for local results, even if they don't type out that location. Google and other search engines employ metrics and strategies to quantify and qualify this location information as it relates to local businesses, according to MarTech Today.

Not every business has consistent customer activity throughout the calendar year. Just as a public swimming pool doesn't do much business in the winter, certain businesses know their biggest earnings opportunities only come around during certain months of the year.

For home services companies, that peak season is the summer. Consequently, successful SEO for home services requires that these companies plan their marketing schedules with this cycle in mind. Data shows that online search volume for most home services businesses begins to rise between April and May, peaks between June and July and drops sharply in September. How do small to midsize businesses plan a marketing and SEO strategy that takes this cycle into account? It all starts well before the summer business heats up.

This past year wasn't a huge one for Google algorithm updates, as there were only two major, verified changes that occurred. However, even though the changes weren't significant, they have some big implications for the future of search engine optimization (SEO), and are definitely worth acknowledging.

Google Bets Big on Mobile

The first big algorithm update of 2016 happened in May, when Google put even more emphasis on the ever-expanding mobile market. According to Search Engine Land, Google's aim was to build on 2015's mobilegeddon update and boost up pages that either had responsive or mobile-friendly designs. Though this update doesn't punish websites without mobile versions, it does lay the groundwork for a more substantial mobile update in the future, which could arrive later this year. This why you should optimize your website for mobile now. In fact, Google even has a mobile-friendly test you can use to see where your page stands and learn about any improvements that should be made.

Wondering how to rank on Google but unsure where to start? Though there are plenty of easy ways marketers can increase their rankings over time in Google's search engine results page (SERP), you could be making one big mistake that could cause your ranking to plummet: not offering a mobile or responsively designed site. In the past, having a website that was optimized for mobile was a definite plus but didn't have much of an impact on search results and ranking. However, now that we truly live in a mobile-first world, the search landscape has changed, and having a website optimized for mobile is more critical than ever. And here's why.

While the mobile revolution of the 21st century has changed the face of modern business in nearly every industry, the medical industry has been particularly affected by the rise of smartphones in the U.S. More than half of all smartphone owners have used their phones to look up a medical condition in the past year, and two out of three seeking immediate treatment (at an urgent care facility, emergency room, etc.) check their devices to find the locations closest to them. With mobile healthcare searches on the rise, providers may be wondering how they can connect with new patients and take advantage of this growing trend. Fortunately, the solution starts with two little words:

If you're searching for an SEO vendor, it can be hard to tell the good ones from the bad. Your best line of defense is to recognize the signs of a bad vendor. Certain SEO practices can be identified during the interview process and can expose a prospective partner as a fraud. Here are five such practices to look out for.

1. A Vague, Undefined Strategy

This is where the conversation starts; a weak SEO partner will be obvious right away. Effective SEO work requires a blueprint for success — you must understand what aspects of SEO will be prioritized, what keywords will be targeted and how limited resources will be allocated. If an SEO provider can't explain this to you or insists that they don't want to give away their methods, it's time to look elsewhere. As Forbes points out, SEO isn't the work of magic — every firm is playing with the same rules.

Reaching an online audience is hard. And while marketers may use a number of innovative strategies to seek out that consumer base, it's all too easy to sabotage yourself through simple marketing mistakes.

These mistakes can run the gamut from small oversights to huge blunders, but they all have one thing in common: They can torpedo your marketing campaigns, slashing your ROI and hurting your ability to find relevant consumers who are interested in what your company has to offer.

The list of potential mistakes can run into the dozens, if not the hundreds. But here are three simple mistakes you can correct right away.

For digital marketers, there's no moving target more perplexing than search engine optimization (SEO). Not only are the rules almost always changing, Google and other search engines don't publicize the algorithms used to organize and rank search results. With each tweak of the algorithm, marketers have to adjust their strategy to stay at the front of the pack. If you're in search of SEO tips to improve your current approach, consider these steps to shore up your SEO.