Changes That SEO Has Seen In The Last Few Years

Search engine optimization is not what it was several years ago. It has changed a lot. Yet, many business owners in New York are not aware of it. SEO is certainly a required practice for a brand that wants to make its online presence known to customers. But Google’s Penguin and Panda Updates has changed many regulations to improve the user experience.

However, you should know how this practice has changed over the years, so that you can design your SEO campaign accordingly. Here are the changes that SEO’s different aspects have seen over the years.

Keywords – Keywords hold a great importance in the search engine optimization. It has been used to gain better rankings in the search engine result pages (SERPs) for a long time. Business owners know the importance of keywords as these are the phrases that best describe their business to both customers and search engines.

However, previously there were fewer rules related to keywords. Stuffing of such phrases was practiced to get better rankings. But the rules have been changed now. And, it is very important that you know about them in order to avoid mistakes as well as penalties. All the best SEO companies in New York follow the latest regulations when working on projects.

Now only relevant keywords can be used in a website and in a limited number. In addition, now it is advised to focus more on the local area or region in order to gain more customers. For this purpose, one should use phrases with the names of city or nearby areas as most customers search for a product or services in their neighborhood.

Links – Back links have always been an essential practice in SEO as they connect a website to others. Lack of strict regulations in the past led to various results in which a variety of methods were practiced to get more links for web pages regardless of their quality. Quantity mattered a lot when it came to this practice but it has changed in the recent years.

After the Google’s Penguin and Panda Updates, regulations have been made clear that the quality of links matter. It is vital that you obtain back links from a relevant and trusted website in order to get its benefits. Quality weighs over quantity now. Any black hat SEO techniques will only lead your website to penalization now.

So, if you are designing a back links generating campaign for your business website, it is advised to keep all rules and regulations in the mind. Using short cuts is not the way to do it anymore.

Content – Content is the new leading power in the SEO & digital marketing world. And, realizing this fact as soon as possible is the only way to take the first step towards success. Previously, it was common to see the same information on various web pages and sometimes different pages of the same website.

However, providing same information filled with keywords is not enough if not hazardous for your website. It is essential to provide relevant information to the visitors, that is also original and fresh. Readers want content that they can relate with your brand and something, that represents your business. This is why you need original content for your website.

In addition, content marketing has been now ruling the digital marketing in the past few years. Content has emerged as one of the biggest weapons of digital marketing as Google’s recent algorithm updates are more and more focusing on website with low or poor quality content, so that the user experience can be improved.

To avoid any penalty and reduction in the visitors’ numbers, it is advised to use only good quality, original and relevant content in your website. Make sure content is not duplicate or of poor quality as neither search engines nor users want that.

Social Media – Social media platforms have made a special place for themselves in the digital marketing. And, their importance is increasing with each day. In today’s age, it is vital for every business to have a presence on platforms like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. One can build a brand with the help of these platforms.

In search engine optimization, social media has gained a special place as it can play an important role in increasing online presence, improving SERP rankings, attracting visitors, making links etc. It is an effective method of engaging users and establishing your brand in the market.

Tactics have changed but the objective is still the same. Aspects like keywords, meta descriptions, internal links and back links have not lost their importance in SEO, they are just improved. Providing better user experience has included to the search engines’ objectives while websites have also changed their ways for the visitor engagement.

If you are still working with the old methods or black hat SEO techniques, it is time to forgo them as they will lead your business website only to the penalty, if they didn’t already. Bulk link submitting and spammy article marketing are the long forgotten methods. And websites using these methods have suffered a lot in the algorithm updates. Lost rankings & penalties are to name a few of the consequences.

Getting used to the changes and adapting them is the only way to survive in today’s SEO & digital marketing world. Just make sure that your site is up to date with the latest regulations and you will see the benefit that follows.