SEO is not a quick fix or a single type of activity, but rather an exercise in improving many small things that collectively and cumulatively improve the value of the site in the eyes of both search engines and users.
The details of Google’s (& Bing’s) search algorithms are closely-guarded industry secrets, but they do release general information advising the public of changing priorities each time they update. For quite some time now, all their updates have focused on ensuring website content is genuinely helpful for users – well-written content that people actually want to read. There are no more “tricks” to beat the system, and no shortcuts to better results. If you want to rank, you need to invest the time and energy to create content that searchers genuinely want to see.
Just like old-fashioned marketing through print ads, yellow-pages, radio/tv, etc., online marketing is an ongoing exercise. Unlike those older techniques (often referred to as “interruption marketing”) today people only want to see your content if they’re actively looking for it…nobody has time to read something they’re not interested in.
Taken together, this means that the best way to succeed in online marketing is to ensure that people who are searching for information about your industry can find you, and that when they do, they are presented with content they want to read and look at, and that is compelling enough to get them to email, call or visit. It’s a tall order, but remember that all your competitors are facing the same challenge, and with time and patience, it can pay off.
Despite what some unsolicited emails might try to have you believe, there is no guaranteed formula for getting to the top of the list. SEO Strategy is not an exact science and it’s a combination of different tactics and techniques. There are some general rules.
A quick search will reveal dozens if not hundreds of differing expert opinions on how to best approach SEO. Most boil down to the same fundamentals, even if they name them and organize them differently.
In particular, beyond fixing technical issues and a strong presence off-site, the experts always focus on generating genuinely valuable content.
