Humans desire progression. Machines aid with evolution. In the space of search engine optimization, the dynamic between machines and humans is ironic. When the Web first began gaining momentum, people started using it to find information. The variety of information soon moved into the commercial sector. Businesses wanted to profit from the web, finding ways to connect with consumers.
Search engines wanted to deliver the best information to answer a user’s query. Machines were leveraged to aid human needs. However, it got complicated. Business tactics became prevalent, making elicited results questionable regarding the integrity of truly addressing a need.
Engines began ‘cleaning,’ penalizing and eliminating harmful or potentially-harmful results and URLs. That was then. This is now in SEO.
Content
Content is not king. Well-received content is king. Content also may take the shape of text, pictures, video, sound bytes, and so on. The most important aspect about content is the consumer’s reception. Craft content for the consumer. In modern times, if a brand knows consumers well, it should be easier of a task to craft valuable content.
Content then was about inserting keywords and phrases. Now it’s about providing content users consider valuable and sharable.
Links
Stop think quantity. Think about the quality of incoming links. Think of building links as building relations. If you wanted to begin a relationship with an individual you may start thinking about what you both have in common or something you have to offer them to start on a positive note. If you can’t think of any way, then perhaps it is the wrong time; or, it is not a perfect fit.
Links then were about quantity and particular anchor text. Now it’s about quality links and building smart inter-web relations.
Social
It’s not about hosting social accounts. It’s about using them. Social media can benefit or curtail engagement with customers. Customers are fickle. They have options. Something as simple as a social exchange can make them champions to your brand or opposed to it.
Social then was about being everywhere, getting people to like and follow you. Now it’s about actually engaging customers and minding questions and concerns.
Branding
Branding, how a company is looked upon by consumers, not machines, is incredibly important in modern-day SEO. There are less ways to ‘trick’ machines into giving one’s URLs as results over others. Consumers are savvy, understanding the differences between paid and earned rankings, even realizing ‘earned’ rankings must be given further filtration. Building trust and branding initiatives is a proven method of attracting commerce.
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James Brown works with a team of copywriters at WebiMax, addressing online marketing needs for clients of all verticals.