So much has happened in recent years with SEO. With Google’s release of Panda in 2011 and Penguin in 2012, both of which changed Google’s search results ranking algorithm, SEO evolved.
Many think SEO is dead. That’s right, I said dead. Go ahead, type it into Google. You will find a vast array of articles talking about the death of SEO. We’re here to tell you that SEO is not dead, it’s just different, and here is why.
SEO Has Much More Depth
In the past, SEO was viewed as just links, keywords and page ranking. While those are still vital to SEO, it goes well beyond that. SEO is not just page ranking, its branding and content strategy. I know you’ve heard the phrase ‘content is king,’ but it really is, and Google is making sure of it with their latest algorithm change to Panda this past August. It’s about weeding out the weak, thin sites that aren’t relevant and bringing the sites that have good, strong content to center stage. If you can create strong, relevant content and mix it with strong keywords, chances are you will shine on Google.
Links Have Changed
The rule of thumb used to be the more backlinks, or inbound links, the better. But that spawned a group of marketers who would buy and sell links, which, of course, Google frowned upon. Now, Google is rewarding quality over quantity, meaning you have to create quality inbound links. Although there isn’t necessarily a concrete definition of what quality links are, there are certain aspects that Google looks for, including that the links come from a relevant, trusted source, it sends traffic and it’s not misleading. Stick to these simple rules and this should help with your page ranking.
More Metrics to Filter Through
SEO used to rely heavily on keywords, and the same went for measuring your SEO success. Keyword rank used to be all a company would need to get a clear picture of how their SEO strategy is working, but not anymore. Marketers have a long list of metrics they look at now, including click-through rates, inbound links, bounce rate, duration on page and more. But that’s not a bad thing, because with these new metrics, marketers and businesses are getting a much clearer picture of what is working and what is not.
In a Nutshell
With Google constantly making changes to its algorithm, it’s nearly impossible to keep up with everything. The are only 2 things that is certain when it comes to SEO: 1.) SEO will continue to remold over time and, 2.) Google is going to continuously look for ways to provide its users with the most useful, relevant search results. If you can accept this and keep that in mind, then you should do just fine with your SEO.
