Search engine optimization has changed. Sure, getting links is still as important as ever however it’s how you get those links that’s changed. Creating content is now more important than ever. So what’s more important, quality or quantity or both?
It's SEO, but not as we know it
Search engine optimization or SEO as it's referred to is generally considered a technical and difficult back room activity. I know of a lot of businesses that consider SEO to be somewhat of a "Dark Art". It's easy to see why. With things like title tags, H1 tags, on page, off page, black hat, white hat and old hat no wonder businesses get confused.
However, in this content driven world, SEO is actually emerging out of the backroom and into the boardroom.
Companies are beginning to realise that SEO is as simple as creating good content that customers spread for them. This content might be a video about a product, a clever advertisement on YouTube, a quality article, or even a blog post. All this adds value, requires little technical expertise and can be done in the office, not a secret bunker.
The other good news here is that this is just the way Google likes it. Google has released many changes to the way they organise the Internet. The latest round of algorithm changes focuses on high quality content. Google is not going to penalise anyone for high quality content.
SEO = Content
The challenge for small business is to get into the routine of creating fresh quality content and regularly pushing that content out ensuring that those who are interested can find it. How then do you keep a constant stream of high quality content flowing out the door? Larger companies meet this demand by hiring SEO companies or writers, but what does a smaller local business do? Enter the world of content leverage.
If I had a lever big enough
Small businesses can actually "do SEO" by creating fresh high quality content easier than they think. For example, a blog post can be linked to Facebook, twitter, and numerous other sites. This means 1 hour of effort could translate into extra business. How about video? Once upon a time you needed a $4,000 video camera, now you can simply film a recent project or interview a customer on your smart phone for free. This video can go onto YouTube which gets pushed out to Facebook, twitter and your business website. Bang, content created!
But what about keywords?
This all sounds good, but what about keywords. Keywords are important, but what's more important is to understand why. In the case of a local plumber they might want to perform well in the search engines as a local plumber. If a Plumber creates high quality content talking about the plumbing jobs done in the local area, or creates a post on the company blog about the services they can do in the local area, guess what, keyword targeting done.
The art of SEO is constantly changing, it’s often trial and error to see what works. However, one thing will always work, a steady stream of quality content.
Getting Started With Search Engine Optimization
The basics of SEO are not difficult to understand, you just need to know where to start. In this article I’ll point you in the right direction with solid advice on where to start and what basic terminology you should know.
An Important Reason To Revisit Your SEO Basics
A document recently leaked by Google verifies that human reviewers check websites for quality alongside the much-famed algorithm. Based on the information in that report, it’s a good time to check your SEO tactics to see if they are still relevant.
