Modern search engine optimization (SEO) has become more dynamic in approach yet remained foundational with the elements needed to manipulate. Its methods and strategies are the result of the merging of the old and the new, which gave birth to a more sophisticated and enriching user experience. The constant search engine algorithm updates are forcing business to continue improving and enhancing their strategies in order to sustain the pace with IT advancements.
The Evolution of SEO
Nowadays, the online marketplace is steadily growing, especially with the proliferation of mobile devices that contribute to the increasing number of internet searches. The opportunities for businesses are growing as more users are gaining access to the internet. Google is dealing with about 3.6 billion searches, and counting to date. As the competition for online visibility stiffens, the stronger is the need for SEO.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a process that aims for better visibility for websites in the search engine results. Better visibility is directly related to its ranking in the SERPs. In order to achieve this, there are strategies and techniques that needed to be applied to the websites. There are 2 methods that can be used, and these are the following: SEO and Paid Search.
The methods in the traditional SEO are actually more complicated than what modern SEO is implemented to and advocating for. Consider these classic factors used in traditional SEO:
- Keyword research and targeting
- Strategic keyword placing (in titles, headlines, content, anchor texts, attribute, URL, images, etc.)
- The use of Meta Description and Page Titles
- Error-free website (no spelling and grammar mistakes)
- Optimized coding or programming
- Link building
So What Has Changed?
There are ongoing arguments about how SEO has evolved and what techniques really do work. The factors affecting modern day SEO are varied and ever changing, and each type of industry or organization that uses it may have different needs to fulfill. To be safer, let us take a look at how the biggest search engine to date, Google, have changed the game for SEO.
Google Algorithm Changes in the Last three years
2014: News articles are now showing up in the SERPs.
2015: There are two major updates: the Mobilegeddon (Google will give a different mobile rankings for mobile optimized sites) and the Rankbrain (Google revealed that they have been incorporating machine learning and artificial intelligence that optimizes the search results for quite sometime now).
2016: The long awaited Penguin update that enabled the optimization and changes made by website developers to their sites feel real-time results.
To Sum Up the Recent Algorithm Updates, Google Wants the Following:
- A satisfying and great user experience
- No more spammy content
- Unique and fresh content that is of high value to users
- Natural way of link building
What Google Is Really Looking for in a Website (To Satisfy a Question or a Query):
- Relevant, fresh, and timely content
- Website performance (is it able to load fast and properly in a desktop, laptop, tablet, or a smart phone?)
- Consistent, complete, informative content that will make it pass as an authority website in the industry it is operating in
- A complete and enriching user experience (are the menus easily navigable? Is it visually appealing? Is it easy to locate the buttons and the contact information?)
What Google Doesn’t Want To See Now:
- Content that is overstuffed with keywords
- Optimized websites using black hat techniques like spamming
- Plagiarism
- Poor user experience (error pages, slow loading, misaligned menus and buttons, and missing links)
What Works in Modern SEO
Modern SEO is not just about the clicks, views, and traffic anymore, but it is about the user’s experience itself – much like how people learn and how people establish relationships. Now that we learned how heavily Google has invested in artificial intelligence studies and research, we see that the path for it is to incorporate the technology into its own. Modern SEO is now revolving around user intent, which is more meaningful than being just an information source or an online marketplace.
So in knowing what practices will return big benefits (instead of being penalized) out of SEO, here is a series of techniques to deploy in a modern setting.
- Bridging the Gap Between User Intent and Landing Pages
Users and search engines alike wanted an unwarranted flow of information to take place all the time. That is, there is a seamless feel for making a query, seeing results, and landing on a site. Users wanted the whole process to be intuitive and one that satisfies their needs. Websites (or businesses) wanted to gain traffic that is highly valuable and one that return conversions.
Google is enabling internet users (with an intent to make profit or use to their benefit; not the searchers) to be responsible with what they offer online. The usability and functionality of search inquiries must revolve around user intent and should satisfy it with a rich user experience all the time. It should be the businesses’ aim to widen the overlap of satisfaction between what the user is looking for and what their websites can deliver.
- Applying Functional Visual Enhancements for a Better User Experience
Websites that are applied with modern SEO is not just about functions but is also better off with a form. Especiall nowy that Google is utilizing the mobile devices and is implementing a different ranking method for it, it is becoming more important to make a website that satisfies a user according to what platform device he or she is using. Different yet great user experience across all platforms will encourage more users to explore both and do different activities that results positively for businesses.
- Implementing “Real” Marketing
In the past, SEO was all about keywords. It is used as an element of marketing, yet it defeats the purpose of making creative campaigns that attract purchases. The advertisements are forceful, aggressive, and irritating when staged this way.
The modern SEO majority deals with compelling content that is worthy to be shared with our friends and family through online methods. It is a way of instilling a brand image where consumers are associating brands with their domain names because of what they consistently deliver. One liner, catchy phrases is starting to become effective in the online marketing as well, which complements the content very well. For search engines, they began to show up key information like reviews, ratings, meta description, and snippets in the SERP results enhancing click-through rates (CTR).
- Responsive Web Design
A complete and great user experience isn’t just about compelling content but a responsive web design that enhances the user’s experience during the span of time he or she gets to spend on a website. It is like a cake that should be decorated with colorful icing and decorative elements in order to be rightfully called a “delicious cake.” Some of the elements of a responsive web design include, but is not limited to, the way the page loads, how easy it is to navigate, and how well the pages adjust to the screen of the device being used.
- Using Social Media as a “Boost Driver”
The social media is gaining the authority when it comes to “popularizing” things and stuff in the internet. With this, search engines recognize it as a positive signal that can drive the boost needed for a more effective modern SEO techniques.
Ensure that content is easy and compelling enough to be shared in the social media to maximize the opportunities in it.
- It Remains To Be About the Rankings, After All
It was established early on that modern SEO is a combination of the old and new tactics, but with more emphasis on the user experience. Online marketers are still after the rankings and the visibility, and therefore, they should align their practices with the recent algorithm updates to become successful.
Tools for Modern SEO
When its majority is about compelling content, are SEO tools worth it?
All the more, yes. The success of a strategy lies in its performance and its results. In dealing with SEO, the reality is that it is difficult to measure the performance of its strategies, more so to quantify its results, which is the ROI. That is why it is strongly recommended that one should use a complementing SEO tool as a support for a specific objective.
There are SEO tools that find keywords that still remain relevant (just don’t go with overstuffing your content) with modern SEO. It helps search engines recognize the theme of your website in order to effectively categorize you as a solution or answer to search queries or questions.
There are SEO tools for website analysis that returns results about how responsive your web design is. It effectively measures the speed of loading and the total page size for one to optimize it further. There are also online website analyzers that check for plagiarism and similar content, which helps content writers to be more unique with their works.
What Are the Best SEO Tools To Use?
It depends on the nature of your needs, target audience, industry, and a host of personalized factors that can determine what SEO tools will deem fit. It is best to talk to SEO agencies to better explain the solutions they can offer.
To jumpstart your SEO tool hunt, see CrowdReviews.com’s reviews of SEO tools for a comprehensive list of tools and SEO tool providers. It also comes with client feedbacks and ratings to help you gauge the top SEO tools or software that can address your needs.
Keith Moore
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