Many SEO firms during the Jurassic era of search engine marketing survived using shoved-down-your-throat tactics. Everything was in your face. Mankind saw a single term used hundreds of times in a single article (this is of course an exaggeration, but we need to drive the point here!). Forums were plagued with “trespassers” who are not there to converse, but to put unsolicited links which ruins the experience for everyone. Content were spunfaster than the speed of light (again, an exaggeration and again, we need to drive a point!).
Then finally, search engine God Google finally answered the cyber citizens call for a much more pleasing internet browsing experience and the leviathan put its foot down and decided to send not horsemen – but Penguin and Panda. Cries of every unscrupulous and unethical SEO company were heard all over in stark contrast to the jubilation of “netizens” that finally, when they enter something on Google, there is now a greater chance that the results they will get are things that can actually add value to their life one way or another.
Enough of the past and on to the now – search engine marketing is now about the value and quality as opposed to keywords and quantity. SEO firms should now see search engine optimization, not an end, but a mean to deliver great information and content to audiences.
Relevance Rather than PR
Link building practices are now longer revolving around PR. Before, businesses with an online presence were racing to build their links on sites with high PR. If you or your partner SEO company still subscribe to such antiquated technique, then you’re doing it wrong.
Today, what Google looks for is the degree of relevance of a site’s theme to your own. You can no longer push the issue.For example, you are selling insurance and you will build your link in a fashion-centric site with the thinking that every fashionista needs insurance because being financially prepared is fashionable. Nope, Google won’t buy such fluff for any business or Internet marketing agency.
Fixing Your Link Profile
The world is now clamoring for things, services and practices that are organic. This drive for “natural-ness” is now also used by Google. A lot of sites were built in the past just to host links and not really enhance the browsing experience of the public. Google has become smarter and now, it can detect whether your link profile is natural or spammy.
SEO firms are now saying that diversity and not over optimizing anchor texts are key ingredients in creating a more natural link profile for your site. It’s really the quintessential case of veering away from quantity and moving more towards quality.
SEO as a Sublime Art and Science
Subtlety and search engine optimization - two terms that no SEO company imagined will go together in the past. Now, to be successful in SEO, one should be able to master this subtlety. At the end of the day, it’s really about achieving high rankings by providing value and not the other way around.
