SEO: Then vs. Now

Marketing techniques have come a long way since the start of SEO. With that being said, it is important to be mindful of the evolution of SEO and past best-practices that have now become antiquated. There should be no blurred lines when effectively implementing current tactics for SEO in 2018.

SEO Techniques of the Past

SEO has changed a lot, that’s no surprise. However, it is easy to fall back into old habits if you aren’t aware of the new and proper ways to make use of SEO today. Let’s start by briefly going over SEO strategies that used to be the most efficient approaches to gaining organic traffic back in 2001.

• Keyword Stuffing – Filling your content with loads of keywords so you can rank higher with search engines based on those terms.
• Reusing Similar Keyword Variations – Using terms in your content that closely resemble that of your keywords. If your keyword was “tissue box,” then you would probably see repeated variations like “tissues box,” “tissue boxes,” “tissues boxes,” if you catch my drift.
• Keyword-filled Tags – Any and every tag stuffed with keywords.
• Writing for Search Engines – Content was crafted specifically to please search engines and their criteria for ranking, not for the benefit of actual people.
• Overuse of Keywords in Domains/Subdomains – If you can believe it, keyword packed URLs like tissues-boxes.tissuesboxes.com would actually rank higher than something like softtissues.com.

Important SEO Techniques in 2018

Now that we’ve brushed up on older search engine optimization processes we can move forward to techniques of today. The most important strategies that comprise SEO of 2018 have greatly evolved from caring most about the search engine, to caring most about helping your audience. Let’s review how the writing process has changed.

• Audience > Search Engines – As we just mentioned, SEO writing in 2018 has shifted to being predominantly audience-focused. What matters the most is being able to answer the questions that your target audience is searching for (while assumingly providing the highest quality of content, thus, beating your competitors)
• Intent > Keyword Matching – This point goes hand-in-hand with the previous one. Rather than using exact matches to keywords in your content, writing based on the intent of the searcher is much more valuable. It always comes down to helping your audience, not just trying to boost your ranking with key terms for the sake of the search engine.
• Including Query Related Terms – Rather than stuffing your content with keywords, including phrases, concepts, and terms relating to search queries can help your web pages perform much higher. Why? By doing this, you’re directly tackling questions and including thoughts that your target audience is searching for, and by helping them with relevant content and ultimately helping yourself.
• Title and Body – Both the title tag and body content currently have the highest value in 2018. A carefully crafted title with just the right number of keywords that caters to your searchers queries can lure more viewers to your web pages. And of course, as we’ve mentioned, having quality content that is relative to your searchers will keep people on your page, boost your rank, and create a sense of trust with your brand.
• Additional Helpful Tags – It is also beneficial to have headline tags (H1/H2), meta-descriptions, image alt text, and URLs constructed in such a way that they accurately relate to your content and express to the viewer how your material is better than that of your competitors.

Creating an SEO Marketing Strategy

Now that we have cleared up the divide between past and present practices, why not start incorporating search engine optimization into your marketing strategy? We realize that it can be a little intimidating diving into SEO for the first time, but our marketing specialists are here to help reduce any fears.

Let us help you…

• Improve Organic Traffic
• Attract your Target Audience
• Expand the Visibility of your Brand
• Decrease Costs of Advertising
• Increase Revenue

Just give us a call at 401-828-6611 or fill out the on-page form to get started. We want to help your business succeed in the digital age.