When Google implemented semantic search, many marketers speculated that SEO was dead. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like search itself, SEO has evolved to better serve web users.
In the not-too-distant past, many people calling themselves SEO experts used shady tactics designed to game the system. While Google fought to deliver the best possible results, unethical SEOs promoted low-quality websites, and it worked. Search was functionally useless.
As search got smarter and more difficult to game, users started seeing high-quality returns to queries. Naysayers are right about one thing, shady SEO is absolutely dead.
The perils of ignoring SEO
Wondering why SEO is important? The argument today is that quality content is what drives traffic. And that’s true. It’s also true that users will never see your quality content without SEO optimization.
SEO is an ongoing process of tweaks and monitoring. Unless you’re on top of it, you run the risk of dropping rank in search results. Your competitors can outrank you, and you may even lose your spot on the page and wind up buried on some page no searcher will ever click.
No matter how great your content or how well designed your website, you won’t attract new visitors if you don’t rank in the search engines. And that’s why SEO will continue to evolve, and never die.
SEO mistakes everybody is still making
Today’s SEOs work to make websites faster and more easily found. And it’s still clearly needed. Although studies show that users will leave a site if it doesn’t load within two seconds, most websites take much longer, especially on mobile.
Slow loading times are the most common issue found on most sites, and speeding up your site usually takes a long list of tweaks:
● Reducing image size
● Reordering coding to reduce conflict
● Simplifying pages
● Eliminating redirects
Do you know how fast your site loads? You can check by pasting your URL into a free tool like Pingdom, Web Page Test or TestMySite.
Let’s be clear. Speeding up your website is the most basic function of SEO today. If your website is slow, your SEO company is not doing its job. If your site has big issues, and most do, you may want to look for a new SEO company. You’re losing money.
Other common pitfalls that can be corrected by a reputable SEO company include fixing Schema markup, doing competitive market research, and conversion optimization.
Picking an SEO firm
A good place to start would be to find a Google Premier Partner. Only two percent of SEO companies are Google Premier Partners. If Google awards a company, you can be sure it’s thoroughly vetted and approved. Reputable firms will have plenty of recommendations and case studies to draw from, and will not make wild promises.
There are search engine groups and online forums that help beginners and professionals alike in improving their SEO.
Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization is a global non-profit organization serving the search engine marketing industry and marketing professionals engaged in it. Their purpose is to educate and create a better understanding of search and its role in marketing.
Search Engine Land is a leading daily publication that covers all aspects of the SEO industry and Search Engine Journal is dedicated to producing the latest search news, the best guides, and how-tos for the SEO and marketer community.
Josh Volk, VP of SEO at Google Premier Partner Rocket55, advises, “A good SEO company should understand and care about the end result that the client wants, not simply focus on making a quick buck. Working to get the client traffic and conversions should be the end goal every time.”
How does SEO influence content?
Keywords are still important, because users still search for words and phrases. Over time, the use of keywords has changed considerably. Google’s goal is to deliver the best possible answer to user queries.
Good SEO helps you verify your keyword use and content to make sure it is relevant and valuable.
“You want to make sure that, when choosing keywords, they are a match for the users you want to attract. If they aren’t you’ll get a lot of people coming to the site, but bounce rates will increase, and time on site will go way down, as they aren’t right for the content, product or service,” says Volk.
The constantly changing SEO landscape can be frustrating if your website drops in the rankings with every change, and if it does, you have an SEO company that simply doesn’t get it. In business, we have to play the long game, and align our goals with Google SERP goals.
Think of it this way: If you succeed in delivering what Google is looking for, you’ll get not only more traffic, but more targeted traffic. Isn’t that your goal?