With any industry, career, practice, or process, as time goes on and improved methods of approach are developed, best practices change and advance for the better. The marketing industry is no exception, and its practices for top-rated search engine optimization (SEO) are no different.
Old School Mentality
At the beginning of its establishment, the internet housed websites that would use vast amounts of keywords for SEO to improve their search result rankings in order to show up in front of customers. These included all variations of anticipated search terms one might use to look up information on products, services, and the company as a whole.
Over time search engines, such as Google, have improved their algorithms so they don’t rely solely on these keywords, but rather focus on providing results that are best for the user and feature high-quality, valuable content that helps to inform, answer questions, or supply solutions to problems.
New School Thinking
These more up-to-date methods used to provide search results are one of the many indicators that the phrase “content is king” rings true. A recent article from Moz gives great examples of this by showing results that populate on Google when looking for a product, such as its outcome when searching for ‘best headphones.’ As you can see in the article, not one link on the first page of results is a product page; instead, the top-rated links all feature content that is more valuable to the consumer, including reviews, comparisons, information on pricing, and more.
Consumers today are more informed than ever before, and they have exponential amounts of information available to them at the click of a button. Search engines understand the importance of providing the people with what they want and have immense analytical data to figure out which pieces of content do just that.
From headphones and kitchen appliances to car maintenance and housecleaning services, consumers deserve to have the information best suited to their needs front and center so they have the ability to make an informed decision when purchasing or utilizing a product or service.
How to School the Competition
While older SEO methods are less vital than they have been in the past, they’re definitely not dead, and they still work to improve a site’s overall rankings. However, the heart of search results is shifting to put more weight on user-focused results that consumers crave. What is the best way to successfully accommodate this shift and stay in the forefront of consumers’ minds? Besides the option of paying for search results, creating valuable content that speaks to customers’ needs is key. Providing useful information that your audience is looking for will help get you ahead of the competition in the eyes of your customers.
Content got your tongue? Contact us to see how we can help you create content that is aligned with your brand and addresses the needs of your customers.