The SEO (search engine optimization) landscape is an ever-evolving challenge for web marketers which is why taking the assistance of companies like Search Engine Optimization Root is the optimum solution to get promising results in today’s competitive world. Like most things, it was a lot simpler in the old days (1999) when all you needed to do was pack your website full of keywords and useless content. Soon after came the era of the mighty link, when the only thing search marketers were discussing was how to get more inbound links to their sites. Google’s rank algorithms have evolved significantly and have become so much more sophisticated, so now quality is the new king. Recent changes to Google’s ranking algorithm pose less of a new challenge for markets and more of a positive step forward for, marketers and consumers.
Minimize your advertisements: Google recently announced that they will begin to penalize sites that have too many advertisements “above the fold.” This is that key real estate on your website that makes up the top 500 or so pixels. Google is going after the blogs and websites that do nothing but post poor quality articles and surround them by tons of ads. Undoubtedly, it will hurt the millions of websites that regurgitate useless content in an effort to steal traffic from quality resources online.
Develop a content strategy: As I mentioned above, quality content is king. Gone are the days when auto-blog scripts that fill your website with regularly updated and recycled content will be effective content strategies. Google is looking to see that you are consistently updating your website with fresh information and useful content. The exact method Google is using to make this determination is a closely guarded secret, but that doesn’t really matter. Put together a plan for adding new and relevant content on nearly a daily basis. If you’re an insurance professional and want to rank well for highly-competitive insurance search terms, than content is the key. Perhaps you can post a daily blog with financial planning tips. Create unique content like insurance guides or calculators. Stuff that will keep people (and search bots) coming back for more.
Plan a social strategy: When you think of social networking you may have visions of useless status updates and countless “likes” or retweets. While the terminology may be a bit ridiculous, the strategy is important for search optimization. You may have noticed that when you conduct a search with Google (or other major search engines) you get a lot more than a page of links. You now see results that include videos, tweets, live news feeds, images and more. This is a trend that began when Google started offering up YouTube videos in their search results and it has only become more prominent. As you develop your content strategies, be sure to include a Facebook business page, Twitter and now, Google+.
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