Search engine optimisation is an ever-changing and at times confusing creature to contend with. Just when you think that you have got the hang of the current state of play and know how to make it work for your business, it changes and it can be time to start again from almost square one. Well guess what, it’s changing again – and you need to adapt with it.
The SEO of today is very different from just say 5 years ago; in that time Google has altered its search algorithms affecting how visible businesses are in the search engine results, and the explosion of mobile usage has also served to change the SEO environment significantly. Here’s how to keep up.
Content is key
Keyword stuffing has, thankfully, finally been administered the last rites. Any last lingering trace of benefit from a technique that was key a few years ago has been well and truly blasted out of existence by Google. In its place as a key ranking element is content. Regularly updated, relevant content on your site and information on static pages that is specifically targeted to your audience are a huge part of where you will rank.
This finds particular benefit these days given the rise of ‘long-tail’ keyword searches, where users type phrases into Google to find what they want. It means that proper conversational English is now of great value.
Be sociable
As we know SEO is now longer purely keyword driven, Google seems to set store in engaging content, images and so forth, which is where social media comes in. Insightful, engaging posts linked to your website make you much more visible in search engines and are showing ranking benefits. So make sure you keep talking.
Bow down to mobile
Mobile has been a consideration for a decent period of time but now it should become central to your thinking. In some markets mobile searches now outnumber their desktop counterparts, so if you don’t take them into account you are throwing a large part of your potential audience.
Given this rise, mobile is becoming more of a ranking factor too so if you haven’t already, making your site mobile friendly is something that you need to address. The longer you put it off, the more your ranking may suffer so act fast!
