That You Need to Know About SEO
We should all be familiar with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but just in case here’s a quick refresher.
SEO is a compilation of strategies used to improve a website’s ranking position in search engines. Using SEO tactics also helps companies increase the organic traffic to their website and builds their community.
How did SEO Start?
When the internet was in its infancy, search engines would index websites based on the keywords found within the content.
This lead to several “black-hat” or aggressive forms of SEO that placed value on the search engine rather than quality content for a human audience.
In an effort to counter these bad SEO tactics, Google formulated several “rules” for SEO.
These rules were implemented to increase the relevance of rankings and focus more on site value for the user. This impacted SEO significantly and helped remove many outdated techniques, creating the modern SEO we are familiar with today.
Outdated SEO
When SEO was first used, marketers would apply sneaky tactics to bump up their company’s search results.
Some of these included:
- Keyword Stuffing:
Where highly searched keywords were overused and placed out of context
- Link Directories:
Paying a link directory to post your company site on hundred of links. These links were typically spam
- Excessive Tagging:
The disproportionate use of tags in an attempt to bring more views to the website
- Hyperlinks:
Also known as anchor text when creating a link between two websites. The overuse of keywords in hyperlinks was a way to increase ranking. This is now considered a spammy technique.
Fortunately for companies and users alike, these practices are outdated. If they’re used today to artificially boost rankings, search engines may treat your site as spam and restrict it from the results.
When you hire an SEO specialist, or if you are taking on the task yourself, make sure to avoid all of these bad techniques. To learn how we plan and handle SEO campaigns, read about our process by clicking here.
Future of SEO
SEO has already become a fundamental part of online marketing. In the future, we anticipate a greater focus on the factors influencing a search.
We’ll see more search engines generating results based on the context of the search and the person’s previous inquiries. The results will be personalized for the individual. For SEO, this means targeting more niches and using an increased amount of long tail keywords.
For more information about the future of SEO, follow us on Twitter visit our Facebook page. If you’d like to read real examples of how we’ve helped clients with their SEO needs, check out our featured projects page.