SEO Is Not Dead, It Is Evolving
There is a lot of talk at the moment about the ‘death’ of SEO due to the Penguin, Panda and Hummingbird Google algorithm updates making traditional SEO tactics redundant or even have a negative effect. However, it is unfair to say that SEO is completely dead; it is simply changing in nature, forcing SEO companies to change their approaches.
SEO From The Past
There are a number of old SEO tactics which will no longer have a positive effect upon website rankings in 2013; in fact they could result in a Google penalty which is definitely a negative.
Keyword Stuffing – This was a very popular SEO tactic a few years ago, but one which is to be avoided at all costs now. Concentrating on keywords only and filling pages with them is a clear sign that you are concentrating on Google rankings, rather than user experience, which is what Google is trying to prevent. Therefore, keyword stuffing will actually prevent you from ranking highly in SERP’s.
Low-Quality Content – Do not create content for the sake of it or because you think that you should; ensure that all of your content is good quality. All killer, no filler!
Article Submissions – Links from low-quality articles will no longer benefit your rankings. Google have cottoned on to the process of low-quality article submissions giving power to websites; even well-known sites such as EzineArticles.com have been penalised for low quality content and facilitating content farms.
Link Swapping – Since the Penguin update, any sort of link swapping schemes have become a no-no. This practice violates Google guidelines and should be avoided; instead concentrate on real relevant inbound links to your site.
Directory Mass-Submission – Many poor directories have been de-indexed by Google already, so there is no point wasting time and effort submitting to directories that nobody will read or use.
What Should You Do Instead?
Ultimately, you do not need to stop your SEO campaign completely, simply modify it to meet Google’s latest requirements. Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s Webspam team has announced that ‘What Google wants is what users want’. This statement is a clear indication that the newest way to optimise a website is to make it user friendly, rather than cater for what you think Google wants.
SEO For The Future
Content Marketing – This is the latest buzz in the SEO world and said to be the new SEO. This is a process whereby you create regularly updated quality content which attracts an audience and returning visitors naturally. The authority of your writing will attract relevant links naturally too.
Social Signals – These have become massively important in terms of SEO – the higher your influence and activity on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Google+ is, the higher your website will rank as a result.
Mobile Sites – The massive success and availability of smart phones means that your website needs to be mobile friendly or you will displease/lose a large proportion of your audience.
Local SEO – The increase of Google Places and Google Business Photos appearing in SERP’s shows that Google is clearly placing more emphasis on local SEO; therefore you should do the same.
Panda and Penguin – These are the latest big changes to the Google algorithm and will not be changing any time soon. Panda focuses on preventing low-quality websites rank whilst Penguin ensures that websites cannot falsify their authority through building bad links.
It is clear then that the face of SEO is simply changing rather than the concept as a whole coming to an end. Gone are the days of quickly optimising one web page to get it to rank in Google; SEO is now more than ever a long term process which should focus on the needs of your consumers rather than the perceived requirements of the Google robots.
Chameleon has been keeping up with developments in the world of SEO since 2007 and has remained one of the leading UK SEO companies through all of the Google updates.
Let us take care of your SEO campaign, call us today on 0121 633 0456 for more information.
