Ever asked yourself
the question, “What does Search Engine Optimization really mean? Does it mean the
same thing it meant 5 or 10 years ago?” These
are questions we are asked regularly. The answers to these questions is anything but straightforward.
SEO has changed so much that it’s hardly recognizable. Understanding their depth and implications is a whole other matter. In fact, creating a
marketing plan based on most of the definitions you hear for SEO will almost certainly
guarantee failure. In this issue of Working the Web, we are going to explain what
the word SEO has come to really mean. We will explain it in depth and in layman’s
terms so that business people can understand and use this knowledge to their benefit.
So read on and get ready to receive the secrets
of SEO marketing in the 21st Century.
A Legacy from the Past.
Back 20 years ago
we had hundreds of search engines and zero social media sites. There
was lots of competition. Like any market, it matured,
the competitive field dwindles to fewer and fewer players. Today the search engine
market is dominated by one player: Google. Google, (AKA Alphabet) controls more
than 70% of search and as such it is a functional monopoly on the search market. This includes both paid and organic
search products. They can dictate how their product works, who gets on page one
and they can change the rules any time they see fit. If we want to get in front
of the largest number of people who are searching for products, we have to choose
between Google search (with 70%+ of users) and the rest of the players (30% or less).
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During its infancy,
the early search engines were a good thing for business owners and consumers alike.
Banner advertising had a much lower cost and the average business person could understand
how organic web page ranking was determined. Competition is a good thing. Once a single player came to dominate search,
the effects on search engine marketing were anything but healthy for the average
business.
The Ever Changing SEO Landscape
Today, Google sets
the entry level of cost for paid search and their algorithms determine
how sites
rank in organic search. How organic search is determined today is very complex.
It is said by many that only 25% of organic search
ranking is determined based on your website. The other 75% is based on your
off-site elements, such as blogs, social sites and videos. However, traffic is also determined by a multitude
of other intangibles (including reviews, content quality, social posts, social sharing,
page structure and many other factors). Any expert, even Googles own personnel,
would be hard pressed to explain every warp and weave of how search ranking really
works. If you do a little research you will see that most pundits state that Google
has over 400 ranking factors.
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Google has always
promised that its search engine is designed to provide the user the best results
for any search. They have stated that relevance, quality, timeliness, usefulness,
authoritativeness, safety, links to a page and popularity (based on traffic to a
page) are what determines ranking. Google, for the majority of its dominance, has done an OK job of fulfilling this
promise to users. Having said that, their algorithms have provided a roller-coaster
of changes as Google has worked hard to stop black hatters from trying to trick
their way to page one. They have been experimenting extensively over the last 7
years to make Google Search based on their
objectives and not those of SEO tricksters trying to cheat the system. Check out
these articles for starters; It’s a New Year and the Rules Have Changed,
Are You Prepared for Mobilgeddon?
And Is Your Website a Serial Killer? for
detail on these changes. Later on, in this
article, I provide a comprehensive list of
articles for you to research.
Where we are Today
Google has stated
that it wants to provide not only the best content (best meaning high
quality, timely,
relevant and authoritatively safe content) but it also strives to provide the results
that participants are “actually” looking for. Google thinks it knows what you want!
However, recent changes implemented by Google don’t necessarily meet this criterion
in my opinion. For example, recent political searches were being skewed
in favor of Hillary Clinton by not listing negative results when people were looking
for an article about Hillary’s possible indictment. At the same time Google Search
was offering up lots of negative results for searches on Bernie Sanders and Donald
Trump. Some say that this is tantamount to influence peddling. It’s one thing to
influence search with overt paid advertising,
it's a whole other matter to sell influence covertly by skewing what people believe
to be unbiased organic search results. Check out: “Can Internet Giants Google & Facebook, Steal
the Election?”.
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They also made changes
that increased the cost of search marketing. They decreased the number of paid search
listings from approximately 12 to 7 for highly competitive keyword searches. They
also reduced the number of organic listings to approximately the same number, when
there were about a dozen organic listing before. The implications here are clear.
Google can serve up the results it wants you to see. Any algorithm can be manipulated,
both by its creator and by outside influences. They control the horizontal and the
vertical of your search results and they can change their mind anytime.
Recently I have
noticed that Google has rolled back some of these changes, including the number
of listing for highly competitive keywords. Apparently, the number of organic and
paid listing is becoming fluid. Needless to say, these changes have had an effect
on the confidence that was once placed on the search results Google provides. If
Google does not address this issue, it could cost them market share.
Understanding the Important Algorithm Updates
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Here is a partial
explanation of what some of these updates affected, along with suggestions on how to take advantage of them.
Pigeon - affected local business rankings. It rewarded those in directories
and penalizing those who were not! Make sure your website is listed in as many authoritative
directories as you can afford to be listed in.
Mobilegeddon - rewards those websites that are mobile
friendly by serving them up for mobile search and penalizing the ones that were
designed for desktop usage. Today 60 percent
of all searches are mobile! Make sure your site is dynamic and will scale to all
platforms.
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Structured Data update further rewards websites with in-depth content along with
ones that also have the content laid out to make it easier for the search spiders
to understand. Format your metadata and your
featured content so that search engines will understand it better. This will increase
its ranking and raise the chance that yours becomes the featured snipped.
The Secure Website update favors websites that employ Https/SSL
security because it is safer than those without it. Add an SSL certificate to your
website so that people can access it securely. Add the SSL logo as well to further
add confidence.
Penguin - The original and recent Penguin update affected site with bad or irrelevant
links, solely determine by Google. Remove
any broken or irrelevant links from the past to boost your ranking.
In-Depth Article and Authorship Shake-up changed the way content was scored. It now
favors content that is authoritative and more in-depth. This means that if most
of your content (especially blog content) is of poor quality, short length and not
authored by a real person (like an auto-blog), your site will be penalized. Make
sure your blogs posts are of high quality, in-depth in length (at least 800 words),
provide useful information and the author is listed and their profile is attached
to the blog.
Google My Business - Google had favored sites listed in Google
Local, and now they have shifted that to the latest version of this ranking factor,
Google My Business. This means if you haven’t gone in and set up r “Google My Business”
you get penalized! This is also the place where customers can rate your business.
Make sure you take advantage of Google My Business by asking clients to provide
positive ratings for your business.
Rank Brain –Rank Brain is an artificial intelligence
program Google uses to determine from 30 to 50% of a page’s ranking. Its primary criteria are based on user search trends. In other words, it changes ranking
on the fly based on the current local, regional and worldwide search trends. This
means that two similar terms (like Al’s Pizza and Al’s Pizza Pallor the movie) could
change position based on how Rank Brain interprets the search trends. Make sure
you are generating traffic (which help with trending) via your social nets, blogging,
video post and even pay per click.
A New Strategy for the 21st Century
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We begin our process
by evaluating the client’s current circumstances and web position by asking them
to answer 15 questions which look at the most important factors for online success.
We also ask relevant questions like what was your most successful advertisement
and venue, what’s your budget, what are your goals and who matches your ideal customer
profile.
Here what Google has to Say about Hiring & SEO Vendors
During this discovery
process, we look at their, traffic, the number of authoritative strategic backlinks
they have, the number of social sites, the number of followers and if their webpages
are designed to convert or brand. We also look to see if they are blogging, producing
videos, engaging in touch marketing and if they are the generating positive reviews.
We also check to see if their on-page optimization for metadata is correct. By providing
a comprehensive starting point, we increase the chances
of producing an effective marketing plan.
We tell our clients,
that generating lots of traffic is important. Especially organic traffic. This can’t
be achieved overnight. Often it takes anywhere from four to six months, depending
on their budget, current efforts, position,
and their competition.
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Whatever the case
may be, we can provide them a free analysis that identifies; what they have been
doing well, what their challenges are today, and we can evaluate their competitors
to see what it will take to leapfrog them. The report we create includes useful
action steps, (usually, the top 5 things to
do) and a list of marketing behaviors that will make the biggest difference when
it comes to reaching their primary goal.
For some clients,
being on page one of Google search is not the be all to end all. Maybe they are
looking for a way to increase their close rate by four more deals a month. They
may want to improve their credibility or counteract
some negative social reviews. Each of these goals is very different. Our goal is
to always achieve the client’s goal 100% of the time. Our strategy always builds traffic by providing
high quality, relevant, timely and useful content. This provides staying power that
will over time lower the cost of their online marketing. This is particularly true
when creating and distributing blogs and videos. These items are authoritative which
casts the author in a very positive light. It also gives them fodder for their social
nets. This is one great way to create and engage an audience.
Where Do We Go From Here?
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Shy away from shortcuts,
tricks and black hat techniques. The results you get from using these techniques
is always short lived. Worst of all, if you get caught, you will be sandboxed or
worse, de-listed. Here is a list of blogposts we
have written on this subject. Read them. Learn everything you can. If you don’t
have time to do the marketing correctly, outsource it.
- Google is Playing Musical Chairs with Ranking and it will Cost Us Billions
- Why do Giant Companies Step on Consumers Toes? Part 2: Real Examples of Giant Corporate Mistakes
- Hector the Connector Predictions for 2016 and Beyond!
Courtesy of http://www.workingthewebtowin.com - Is Your Website a Serial Killer?
- Is Google Trying to Make Alphabet Soup Out of its Company?
- Are You Prepared for Mobilegeddon?
- It’s a New Year and the Rules Have Changed
- How to Avoid Being Caught in an SEO Phishing Net
- Internet Marketing: Lessons Learned and Best Practices, Part 2 – Website and SEO Principles
- Has Google Given Everyone the Bird with its Pigeon Update?
- Who Wears a Black Hat on the Wild, Wild Web?
- Leveraging the Internet in the 21st Century
- Does Internet Ranking Really Matter?
- What's Up With SEO?
- Hummingbird is Nothing to Hum About!
- Your Website - Lost in Cyberspace
- How to Make Google Your Best Friend
- The Evolution of Internet Advertising
- Is SEO Still Important Today or in the Future?
- Google’s Secret Ranking System - Harder for You, More Profits for Them
- Holy Algorithm, Batman, the Penguin Strikes Back!
- The Tao of SEO
If
you haven’t updated your website in over a year, you have fallen behind the SEO
curve. If you haven’t updated your website in 3 years, you’re most likely not
generating much traffic and if you haven’t updated, your website in 5 years or
more, you’re not even in the game. If you’re going to compete in the Internet
arena you have to do things the way that big players (like Google) want things
done. Follow the suggestions in this article to bring your web presence up to
date. If you don’t have the time or knowhow,
contact Working the Web to Win. Getting websites found and converting traffic is what we do. We will make it happen
guaranteed.
That’s
my opinion, I look forward to reading yours.
In
this article, I have provided an overview
of the current state of SEO marketing in the world today. This article explains
and explores the biggest algorithm changes in the last 5 years and provides
suggestion on how to take advantage of these changes to improve your organic
search ranking. It also provides a list of other articles that the reader will
find useful for understanding the complete picture of what SEO means today.
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| Get your FREE copy today. |
If you feel your
business could use some help with its marketing, contact us at 904-410-2091. We
will provide a free marketing analysis to help you get better results. If you
found this article useful, please share it with friends, family, and co-workers.
You can find articles on this and other subjects by typing in “SEO or Internet Marketing”
or your desired search term in the search box at the top of this blog. I recommend
reading “It’s a New Year and the Rules Have Changed”, “How to Avoid Being Caught in an SEO
Phishing Net”, and “Google is Playing Musical Chairs with
Ranking and it will Cost Us Billions” for starters. Also, don’t
forget to plus us, on Google+.
If you'd like
a free copy of our eBook, "Internet Marketing Tips for
the 21st Century," please fill in the form below and we will give you
immediate access to it. Your information is always kept private and is never
sold.
Hector Cisneros is COO and
director of Social Media Marketing at Working the Web
to Win, an award-winning Internet marketing company based in
Jacksonville, Florida. He is also co-host of the weekly Internet
radio show, "Working the Web to Win" on
BlogTalkRadio.com, which airs every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern. Hector is a
syndicated writer and published author of “60 Seconds to
Success.”
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