The relevance of using search engine optimization (SEO) to boost a website’s online rank has always been one of the hottest topics discussed by digital marketers every year. Since Google rolled out a total of 3,234 algorithm updates over the years, people always ask one particular question: Is SEO dead? However, getting a definite answer could be a futile feat.
But why do people believe that SEO is dead in the first place? SEO Services remain a top preference for business owners. It can still bring organic online traffic and draw leads. It also boosts brand recognition online. But the emergence of paid media and social media marketing over the recent years cast a cloud of doubt over the relevance of SEO.
However, SEO is still alive and kicking, and it will not go anywhere anytime soon. There may be several SEO practices that are already obsolete. These should be omitted from all strategies in the coming years. Some SEO techniques should update to make the online optimization work for the website’s advantage.
Excessive Link building
While link building remains an essential ranking factor for Google pages, going all in and focusing on this SEO technique will not help the website reach the top ranks. Nowadays, the relevance and quality of links are more important than the number of links built. It means that making spammy links will not give the desired result for any website.
To make link building work, reaching out to a high-ranking authority website for link building could be a good idea. For example, one can contact a quality website and ask if they can submit a guest post or agree with a link roundup. Some authority websites may also get syndicated by other relevant websites, which can also carry the link submitted. As a result, the efforts can get maximized with just one submission.
Obsessing Over the Number 1 Ranking
Plenty of websites concentrate all their efforts on reaching the top spot in Google’s search engine results page (SERP). However, SEO specialists must always keep in mind that the number one ranking does not mean that it will provide more website traffic.
The SERP is normally populated with paid ads, featured snippets, and a list of questions. It means that being the first in the ranks due to the efforts done may not be as important as before. Thus, today’s web users need to scroll to the lower portion of the page to find the organic ranking of websites. Instead of putting all efforts to rank in the first place, marketers must spend more time improving their click-through rate (CTR).
To give an example, an agency that offers SEO Services in Singapore can optimize the website’s CTR by creating a compelling localized meta description. They must also provide an eye-catching headline to attract more web users to click on the site. If a featured snippet box is ranked on top of the website, the specialist must enhance the content structure and directly answer the question typed by the users in the search box.
Too Much Keyword Optimization
Early SEO practices saw the importance of optimizing the page or post for a particular keyword that needs to be ranked. But due to the advancements of search engines, stuffing the keyword no longer works. Today, SEO specialists no longer need to place the keywords on the content extensively. What they need to do is to optimize the content for better readability and enhanced user experience.
Google also wants to understand the intention of the content instead. If it answers the user’s queries, it will have better chances of having higher ranks in the SERP. It means that making high-quality content instead of going after high-volume keywords has become more valuable nowadays.
Creating Low-Quality Content
In the past, SEO strategists post plenty of content on their websites to make it look bigger. However, the effort may go in vain since Google does not rank websites. Instead, the search engine ranks web pages individually based on the keyword and search query.
Thus, the strategists must focus on making high-quality content that can be useful for site visitors. If the content has a lot of value, it can even rank for different keywords.
Prioritizing Search Engine Bots Over User Experience
Today’s search engines give more importance to user experience (UX) more than ever. Google currently aims to provide its users with relevant and valuable results per query, which is why it is necessary to improve the kind of experience that the user will get on the website.
Aside from creating quality posts, companies must also improve the page layout of the site. They also need to ensure that the loading time of your site will not go beyond three seconds.
What Current SEO Practices Remain Effective?
After eliminating the irrelevant SEO practices in the website’s strategy, businesses must also work with the SEO team to practice the effective methods that they can use to improve their website standing in the SERP. It includes:
Implementing Long-term Strategies
Getting to the top-ranking does not happen overnight. According to a recent study, 95% of published pages do not make the first page of the ranking during the first year since its posting. Businesses must have a long-term focus to reap what they sow in the coming days and to ensure that the website has a successful SEO effort.
Create and Promote High-Quality Content
This technique should be emphasized often. Making relevant and high-quality content should always be on top of every business’s priorities if they want their website to have a better online presence.
But aside from posting the content, they must also focus on promoting these posts online. They may look for roundup link building deals, answer questions posted on relevant forum sites, or submit guest posts. They may also use social media for content promotion.
Conclusion
If the company uses effective SEO methods for improving the website ranks and boosting their brand’s online presence, they would also say the SEO is still relevant today. SEO will remain alive as long as businesses are willing to look for ways to keep up with the search engine updates. It simply means that SEO will still be one of the best digital marketing that every business needs to invest in today and the future.
