For some, the past year was something of a disaster zone. Constant Google algorithm updates hit many sites and there was the sudden understanding that past link building practices were no longer viewed in a positive light by the search engine giant. In short, it was made clear that it was time to change.
For those who escaped the penalties, there may have been the feeling that this had been something of a close shave. What became clear was that SEO should be all about sustainability. After years of attention being given to shortcuts and schemes that would produce quick result, it’s certainly now time to think about the long haul.
Some SEO providers see this as being a bad thing, but I can’t say that I agree. Getting back to basics has many advantages and will allow the best providers to thrive.
The future of SEO is, in many ways, the same as the past. The key to being successful is to provide the sort of experience that customers require. This means that there will have to be a concentration of effort on producing quality.
How should you be looking to achieve this, in a practical sense? To begin with, you’ll need to think extremely carefully about the content of your site. It seems to have become popular to write for the attention of the search engines, but this is a real mistake.
Identify your audience
Your target audience clearly consists of customers and potential customers of the future. You should be writing with them in mind.
In most cases, such individuals will want to see that you are an authoritative voice. Your aim should be to provide content that is correct, accessible and updated regularly. Any errors are likely to reflect poorly on your business.
How should you approach the task of building links to your site? This is something that many people are considering at the present time and some are afraid to take any action at all. If you’re looking to gain links, then there can be no doubt that having excellent quality content will help. But it will also only take you part of the way along the road.
By building up a network of business owners and website editors, you can seek to build links that are relevant and from other authority sites. In essence, this is no different to the way in which you would look to build a network of links in normal business life.
Summary
What we’re seeing is a return to the basic concepts of SEO. An increasing amount of attention will need to be given to website visitors and it can be expected that the search engines will reward such activity over time.
You should be concentrating on building a sustainable business that will last for many years to come.
Working for Search-South.com, Keith Barrett provides SEO services to businesses of all sizes. He has more than a decade of experience within the industry.
Image is licensed under CC Attribution
Rizwan Ahmad This article is contributed by Keith Barrett and posted by Rizwan Ahmad Author and founder of www.cyberockk.com, He is a tech blogger from India and he loves to share his thoughts by writing articles on this site to the different topics related to technology world,
