by Kyla Camille, Negosentro.com |
SEO (otherwise known as search engine optimisation) has been rumoured to be dead for quite some time now. But as those who work in the internet marketing industry and regularly formulate inbound marketing strategies know SEO is alive and well. Where the misconception may be coming from is that SEO is constantly evolving, and so some areas which used to make up SEO are no longer effective.
What Does “SEO” Mean?
SEO is a fairly broad term which is used to explain a variety of techniques, strategies and tactics which can be used to increase web traffic and boost your ranking in the search engine results pages (or “SERPs”). There are a number of effective SEO strategies which companies can still take advantage of in the 21st century, including:
- Intuitive keyword research
- On-page keyword optimisation
- Providing fresh educational content
- Link building techniques
- Capitalising on meta descriptions
The goal behind every SEO strategy is to ensure that your website shows up as close to the very top of the search engine results pages as possible. Every company should strive for this, since the closer you are to the top of Google’s search page results, the more organic search traffic you will receive. This essentially allows you to receive visitors for free.
The other benefit to SEO is that these organic visitors are not just “anybody.” They have specifically used a search term to find a business like yours. This significantly increases the chances that these organic visitors are actually hot leads who are ready to make a purchase, or at least visit your website and learn more about what you are offering them.
What Parts of SEO Are No Longer Working?
Over the past five years or so, search engines have been able to weed out websites which are using poor SEO strategies which deliver inferior and frustrating content to their users. Some of the most common (and dead) strategies include:
- Keyword stuffing
- Link buying
- Duplicate content sitting on a different domain
- Cloaking
- Content spinning
Some individuals and disreputable companies which provide SEO in Dubai continue to use these tactics because, in the short term, they can be effective. But keep in mind that even though you may hit page 1 of Google today, your website will be taken down and likely banned come tomorrow.
SEO and Content: The Pairing Is Here to Stay
As mentioned earlier, search engine companies have done remarkably well in reducing the amount of “garbage” websites which do nothing but trick users by penalising or banning any which use shady “black hat” SEO tactics. Instead, they have changed their search engine algorithms to reward web pages which continuously provide fresh and informative content which those who are using their search engine will want to read.
People are always hungry for more and more content, which is why it is important for website owners to constantly provide more of it. The problem is that there is already a lot of information on the Internet, so much so that without SEO your web page and your content will become virtually buried beneath the rest. Through an expertly applied SEO strategy, you can be sure that your content will not become lost on the World Wide Web and instead will reach the audience it was intended to get to.
Social Media Is Relying More and More on SEO
Apart from content, another important consideration is just how much social media websites are coming to depend on SEO to deliver the right content to their users. For example, in late 2014, the social media site Twitter launched a brand-new advanced search engine. Through this search engine, users are able to search through all the tweets that have been sent from 2006 to the present day.
How does this impact your SEO strategy? Consider the fact that millions of tweets are being posted each and every day on this website. If you are able to optimise your tweets (such as through the use of relevant hashtags and keywords or phrases), your tweets will then show up in a user’s search query. It is a great way to take advantage of free advertising while also expanding your global reach.
Another important consideration when it comes to SEO is YouTube. YouTube is the second most used search engine across the globe. If you are using YouTube as an advertising outlet (which every business should – your visitors love videos!) you can use a number of simple SEO techniques to increase your position in the search results. Some of these techniques include:
- Keyword research
- Proper keyword placement (such as in the title, description and in video tags)
- Video promotion
Finally, for those who are already using Google Analytics or another inbound marketing analytics program, check and see what marketing channels are delivering the most visitors. Recent studies have revealed that organic search and SEO is still delivering far more visitors to websites than social media, email marketing, and PPC (pay per click).
SEO and Mobile Marketing: It Matters
ComScore recently released statistics showing that more people have used their mobile devices than their desktop ones over this past year, something which has never been seen before. This means that business owners and marketers must make sure that their website is not only mobile-optimised but that their websites are also searchable through a mobile device. This includes searching and browsing for apps in app stores.
A growing number of consumers are using search engines to help them determine what to buy and whom to buy it from. A study by Econsultancy showed that 61% of today’s consumers are using search engines to make a purchasing decision, and this number is only expected to rise. Through SEO, you can make sure that your website remains competitive in this already incredibly challenging landscape,while also enjoying an increase in targeted visitors, leads and customers.
