There is a new tool you can use to help build a stronger SEO campaign: gamification.
Gamificationis defined as the practice of applying elements of gaming, such as competition and scoring, to non-game activities. Though the term may be new, the concept is not: sales contests, for instance, have long applied game elements like competition, leaderboards and awards to the essential business process of selling. The reason for the new interest and the new moniker is because business leaders are realizing that some of the same strategies can be used to improve the effectiveness of online marketing and rank higher in search engine results.
Gamification and SEO
How can you use gamification in the SEO game?
For starters, it is not really about "gaming" the system or the search engines themselves. Gamification works because people have intrinsic motivations to compete and win; search engine algorithms have no motivation.
However, search engines do rely heavily on the actions of people to determine a site's merit. They look at the number of people who link to or share a piece of content; how long people stay on a page, and whether they choose to return to a site repeatedly; and whether they interact with it by commenting or clicking on links to read more. These are purely human actions which can be motivated by gamification, and which will then result in higher search rankings.
Gamification Strategies
Here are some tips on how to use gamification for SEO:
- Have worthwhile content. It is important to point out that gamification can give a boost to content that people are already willing to share, but it is not a tool for overcoming bad content. People don't play with uninteresting games.
- Provide incentives. This is a key aspect of gamification. There has to be some benefit to taking part and "winning." These incentives can be material, such as real-world prizes or discounts, but often they amount to online pats on the back which don't cost you a dime.
- Reward for links or shares. Links and social media shares are among the most important drivers of search engine rankings, so at least some of your gamification efforts should focus on providing incentives for such actions.
- Encourage participation. You can get more people to comment or otherwise engage with your content by giving active users a status boost. For example, top commenters could earn a badge or title next to their name to reward their contributions.
- Have users create content. Self-expression is one of the motivations for playing games. So, if you are short on content ideas or short on time, you can get users to create content for you and reward them for doing so.
- Make it a contest. Have people compete over which of them can provide you with the biggest SEO boost (though without phrasing it that way). You can have a leaderboard to show who is participating the most, or hold a raffle-type contest where each link or comment counts as one entry.
Besides the benefits to your SEO efforts, gamification benefits your customers by adding an element of fun to what otherwise may be uninspiring tasks. It is a game in which both sides win.
*Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
