Adapting your Search Engine Optimization Techniques
A few years ago it was relatively easy to position a website at the top of Google's search results.
Initially there were only few websites online and because Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was just starting, the few websites who applied the basics principles of SEO were able to achieve rapid success.
Nowadays almost everybody is familiarized with the concept of SEO and most businesses are trying to optimize their websites because the importance of being at the top of the search results would mean that they will be able to be more visible and therefore reach more prospects.
Search engines, in their quest to show the most relevant results to a search request, weight hundreds of factors among which the most relevant are:
- Quality content: relevant, fresh and original content
- Popularity of the content: Quality and quantity of back links from websites, blogs or social media
In a perfect world, where everybody plays by the rules this would be enough and the work of the search engines should be pretty easy.
The problem is that many self-called "SEO Experts" are looking for short term results and/or just to increase website traffic without having in consideration the long term results or the consequences that their actions may bring to the end customer.
Some of those "SEO Experts" use what is called "black hat" tricks to try to trick search engines like Google and get positioning. So these "SEO Experts" try to use techniques like: keyword stuffing; getting links from link farms; buying likes in Facebook or followers in Twitter.
However, in response to the ever changing environment Search Engines (which have big pockets and are interested in providing only quality results) keep changing their algorithm and weights not only the content of the website but also external factors like links pointing to the website and the citations that the content of this website is generating in blogs and social media sites.
The following list shows some type of dishonest ways to try to increase rank in Google:
- Content
- Plagiarism: To copy content from other websites
- Scraping: To copy content from other websites and modifying it slightly by using synonyms or so.
- Posting too much content from third party sites by using automated tools like feeds.
- Back Links
- Abusing of Guest Blogs
- Using tricks like exchanging many links with other websites (I point to you and you point to me)
- Paying to have links pointing to you (Link farms)
- Posting comments on Blogs just to get a back link
- Social Media Citations.
- Posting false reviews
- Buying false Likes
- Buying false Friends or Connections.
While those tricks may work for a while and someone may get at the top of the rankings for a short period of time once the search engine detects those tricks the culprit is like it never existed. I have heard some horror stories of companies who spend some thousands of dollars with an obscure SEO company only to have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars with serious companies trying to undo whatever the obscure SEO company did.
So how should I Adapt my Search Engine Optimization?
Well, the ONLY CONSTANT that has never changed is that Google as the other search engines want to provide the end user with meaningful results. So the simple formula for getting the attention of your target market is:
1. Write Quality Content:
- This is content that really appeals to your target audience. You should write original content that:
- Answer their Frequent Asked Questions,
- Give them tips on how to solve a problem by themselves (if possible) **
- Give them advice on how to save money by using the type of services or technologies you specialize on (do not try to sell them)
- Teach them something valuable
- Point them some problems they may be having
- Write about success stories or case studies including testimonials
- Write an e-book about any of the above themes
- Industry news
2. Define the proper publishing medium:
Where should you publish your content? Where is the most appropriate place to post your content, here some examples:
- Your website or email: If it a new service or a product
- A Blog Post or email: If it is educational, i.e. Six Tips to reduce weight even during Holiday Season.
- A Google +, Facebook or Twitter post if it is a short story that you can condense in a picture. (i.e.an award your company won)
- Youtube, Vimeo or similar if it is a video.
3. Make it interesting.
Learn how to tell a story. Set the tone according to your audience. If the content is valuable and is written or delivered in a way that it is easy to understand, guess what is going to happen: People will read it and most some of them would like to share it. Which leads to the next piece of advice:
4. Make it easy for people to share your content: Include sharing buttons
5. Before you start writing you must define a goal everything should have a purpose. So once you have defined the goal for this piece of content then you need to include the proper calls to action.
6. Plan your keywords - Each piece of content should target only one keyword and don’t stuff your content with the keyword. Remember you are writing for your end customers not for Google.
7. Measure results - The difference between traditional media and the internet marketing is that now you don’t have to guess anymore. When you measure your results you will learn lessons that you will apply in your next content and therefore you should be able to improve your customers experience while at the same time improve your own results.
In conclusion, you need to adapt to the ever changing search engine optimization landscape, you need to be vigilant of new technologies and trends and be willing to actively participate in these techniques, some of them will generate great results some will generate disappointing results, but if you measure your results you will always learn what is working and what is not working, keep doing what is working and tweak what is not. But use common sense, if you see that something that so called "SEO Experts" advice you to do that doesn't make sense then get more education about the topic so you can make the right call, especially if you don't see the value this would bring to your end customers or to your internet property. Under any circumstance, don't try to trick the search engines, their algorithms are always changing and sooner or later they catch the bad guys and then is as if you never existed.
If you have any question or suggestion regarding this post, please write me an email to Victor@WSILeadGenerator.com
Thanks
* It looks like Google has stopped naming their updates after animals as the latest update was code name Venice.