Has SEO Changed Dramatically Over the Years?

How much have you changed your SEO strategy over the last couple of years? A lot of businesses are struggling with search engine optimization and achieving the results they want due to not evolving their strategy or accepting that times are changing on the internet.

Indeed, SEO has changed a lot over the years and it is important to keep up with trends. After all, if you do not adapt, this is going to affect your business.

Let’s take a closer look at how search engine optimization has developed and the changes you need to be aware of.

Google’s Algorithm Is Always Changing

If you have used the same SEO strategy for years, you will now be feeling the effects of this. Google is always adapting and changing its algorithm.

The focus is to deliver a better experience for their users. Here are some trends you need to be aware of so that you can update your SEO strategy.

Quality Content Is Prioritised

There used to be a time when Google would rank you based on how much content you had. It did not matter how poorly pages were written, how many keywords you used, or even if the content was unique.

Well, a lot has changed over the years and this is something that your business simply cannot do anymore. Instead, there is a focus on quality content. In other words, any business has to craft engaging, unique, and insightful content if they want to rank well on Google.

This is not something that is easy, which is why it can be helpful to work with an experienced team like ClickSlice. SEO agencies keep up to date with changes to the algorithm, as well as have the experience to write quality content.

They are able to achieve results for businesses and this might be an option you want to take if you are not a writer or know enough about SEO.

Keyword Stuffing Is Punished

Did you use to stuff your content with a lot of keywords thinking that it would help you rank better on Google? Indeed, this was a tactic that a lot of businesses used to do. However, this is no longer accepted and Google does not reward this type of black-hat SEO strategy.

While keywords are still important, the emphasis is now on using them in a way that adds value to the content. They should be placed naturally and not overused in text. Otherwise, you can be punished by Google and it can push your website down in the rankings. This is the last thing you want.

Local SEO Is Essential

Something that you definitely want to be aware of is that local SEO is now very important. In particular, more people are wanting quick and relevant information about the environment they are in at the time.

For instance, users are going to their mobile to Google places in their city or town. This means that your business has to optimize content to suit local SEO. This can mean using local SEO keywords, as well as optimizing and updating your Google My Business profile.

Zero Click Searches Are Popular

Have you heard of zero-click searches before? This means that people are looking for answers on search engines like Google and Bing. But, they are not visiting a third-party website.

Simply, they are getting the information they need from the results page. Zero click searches are now so popular that you have to make sure that your SEO strategy takes them into account.

Overall, you are going to want to optimize your whole website in order to work with zero-click searches. Again, this can be complicated and something that an SEO agency is able to help with.

Quality Backlinks Are Important

If you know the basics of SEO then you realize the importance of backlinks. In other words, you are linking to another website. Well, it is no secret that search engines like Google are focused on delivering quality to their users.

They want to provide the best results that suit their needs. Namely, not any backlink is going to do. You have to ensure that your website is using high-quality backlinks.

A lot of websites are guilty of using a lot of links in the hope that they are going to rank higher and improve their position on Google. But, this is no longer the case.

You are actually better having just one high-quality backlink than several low-quality links. This is something that you need to remember when you are creating content.

Mobile Optimisation Is Key

More people than ever before are using their smartphones to make searches. They want information quickly and easily and this means mobile optimization should be a big part of any SEO strategy. For example, you want to make sure that your website can adapt to mobile screens and has sufficient page speeds.