With so much competition being created online every day, modern websites need to work even harder to promote their content, and SEO is arguably still the most productive way of doing this.
While the methods and tactics employed with Search Engine Optimisation may have changed in recent times – and usually in response to shifts in how the major search engines operate – it is still very relevant today, as are the skills associated with it. Search engines remain a central element of any online marketing campaign, irrespective of other trends such as social media and mobile marketing.
If your business is still employing the same SEO tactics that it was using a few years ago, then it might be time to step up your game and get with the program! The rules have changed, and some say for the better.
Good content marketing still needs to be found and viewed
Some say that quality web content and how its marketed, is more important to the success of a business, but what is the use of great content if nobody is finding it? SEO becomes massively important in this respect, and if all your efforts have been centred around your content but it still isn’t being ranked highly by the major search engines such as Google and Yahoo, then your time, effort and resources, may well have been wasted. Creating smart content just isn’t enough, it’s all about amplification and findability.
SEO can give the best return on your investment
Traditional forms of offline advertising, and even forms of internet advertising, do not usually reward businesses at as high a rate as SEO does, and mainly because good SEO means marketing to people when they are already looking for the product or service that you are providing. You’re not annoying customers by flashing ad campaigns in the middle of their favorite TV shows, or filling the pages of a newspaper;your advert pops up during their search, and they can then choose whether your product or service is right for them. The process is much less aggressive, yet with the right SEO, you can still make sure that the customer is convinced about what you can offer them, at least enough to get them to look at your site.
SEO can give you invaluable customer insight
Quality SEO can help to generate lots of traffic to your site, and it’s no secret that Google Analytics keeps track of this traffic. The data and metrics that are gathered can prove invaluable in giving you a real insight into your customers; who they are, where they live, how they search for a product or service and when they are most active online to name but a few.
You can then go on to make informed and calculated decisions about your business and what strategies you should be using, both online and offline.
Are keywords still necessary and relevant in SEO?
They are, but again, the rules have changed a little over the years. No longer is it acceptable to simply cram keywords into your content, instead the keywords need to fit appropriately into whatever is being written, and provide the user with readable content that is memorable, knowledgeable and inspiring. The content also needs to be updated regularly and kept as fresh and relevant as possible.
So, yes, SEO is very much relevant today, and if your business doesn’t have a quality SEO program as part of its marketing strategy, then you could be missing out in more ways than one.