Ah, Millennials. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em, right? Now while you non-Millennials (also known as “Generation do the work and give us the money”) are out there putting down the power of Millennials, we know you’re just doing that because you’re totes jelly.
According to the US Census Bureau, the Millennial demographic includes over 83 million people, which is more than one-quarter of the population, which is obvs enough for 10,375,000 awesome sauce, Brooklyn based, hipster poetry slams. So, SEOs, roll your eyes if you must, but — unlike immigrants, universal healthcare, and One Direction (ed: I have some bad news for you there) — they’re likely here to stay.
And like any good SEO, we, too, want to create content of value and that’s why we’ve curated 14 tips from an actual real-life Millennial, unlike last time we covered Millennials here by pretending that we’d actually met one that would talk to us… And — hey — out of the mouths of babes, oft times come gems, right?
tl;dr
Click the ads on this page, it’s what Millennials would do (ed: good job, those lazy millennials will never read the rest of this post, and we need to have someone click on them, or we’re going to have to go back to the “You’ll never believe how this bored housewife got younger and thinner by eating a magic berry” ads, which pay virtually nothing).
To wit:
Experiences, FTW.
The advent of RankBrain means pages rank not just for keywords, but for content that fulfills users’ needs – and provides a better experience. Take it from me – experiences matter more than anything. Srsly. Like, when you’re on your deathbed, are you going to think, “I wish I’d ranked for more keywords”? No. You’re going to wish you had sent more snaps from Coachella. I.e., you should always have serious UX FOMO.
#THIS
“I love it when pages take three seconds to load,” said no one ever. We’re so past this Year of Mobile thing, right? Ergo: I can’t believe I even have to say this, but optimize the mobile experience and ensure mobile pages load within two seconds. Bonus: Deep links to apps are totes important now.
Support Local.
Ranking for local results is all about positive reviews and relevance. I’m frankly obsessed with local. I eat local. I buy local. I think it provides the most authentic experience, like staying at an Airbnb. And, like, my primary goal in life is to curate authentic experiences rather than possessions. So, yeah, optimize for local, too.
Social + Activism = Goals
We all know SEOs need to use social to promote content to earn links, right? Yawn. But the brands I really LOVE and that, like, speak to me, are the ones that also do social good and weave activism into their brand DNA. That’s why I buy shoes from Toms and glasses from Warby Parker. And fedoras from Walmart. J/K. Ok not really. Keeping my wardrobe on fleek is expensive and since nobody is paying my tuition for me like I deserve, I have to sometimes buy cheap product whose leadership doesn’t care about my causes.
Artisanal, Bespoke, Handcrafted…
Link building used to be all about quantity. I can’t even. Literally dying. Now, thankfully, it’s about quality, including links from authoritative sites — and those relevant to your own — as well as high quality content. It’s like why I only drink small batch whiskey and craft beer from local distilleries and breweries. I not only want to support local businesses, I feel like big corporations are just after the almighty dollar. Sorry not sorry.
Personalization is Bae.
Google wants to provide the best user experience possible — and so should you. That means truly understanding your audience and its post-purchase-funnel-era journey so you can be visible at critical moments. And, for me, the brands that really resonate in micro-moments are the ones that take time to personalize their messaging and make me feel valued AF.
Sharing is Caring.
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. I.e., no more silos, right? It’s sort like why I Uber and Rent the Runway. We live in a sharing economy now, guys. It’s all about breaking down the walls of ownership and distributing access. And that means SEO should be a total squad effort.
Also, all of you bigger sites with all that link juice and pagerank – you can afford a few links to us smaller guys, so you should have to link to us.
Homogeneity is Bootleg.
I grew up in a globalized economy and am part of the most diverse generation in US history. So if you want me to pay attention to anything your brand has to say, you have to reflect the world in an authentic way and represent a diverse range of cultures. Marketers that do this kill it.
Omnichannel is Basic.
You want to reach my generation IRL? Simple: Be everywhere.
Two Words: Man Bun.
This flawless look will keep your hair out of your face so you can properly focus on SEO. The struggle is real.
Speaking of Which: The More Facial Hair, The Better.
That’s because the bigger the beard, the more SEO conference attendees will want to take selfies with you. And, by association, the more you’ll look like an expert SEO without even trying. Yaaasss.
Go Vegan.
Organic search is like organic food. We all want to eat healthy, but sometimes Taco Bell hits the spot. Resist the urge though. Going vegan will improve your overall health and make you better at SEO. Google it.
Stop Climate Change.
Why are we even doing SEO if our world is dying, TBH? In my experience, the best way to stop climate change is to share an image on your Facebook wall. Changing the world is so easy I can’t believe everybody isn’t doing it already.
Feel the Bern.
Vote for Bernie because Trump will basically censor the Internet for everything but pro-Trump content, leading to Trumptimization as a new field, which will replace SEO altogether. Plus, like I said – My student loans are hella expensive and I think somebody else should pay them.
