Matt Cutts published a video with a very interesting topic lately.
He discussed the question, if a legal and customer appreciated business can
compete in gaining high rankings in the search engines with companies that concentrate
in traffic acquisition. Can they?
As stated in the video, the Internet leveled the chances of
big and small companies in the marketing field. It’s a playing field where anyone
can compete, but the game is not leveled at all.
A role model company in search engine realism
Let’s imagine a young company and entrepreneur who try to
gain the traffic they mainly deserve. They could say that they are the right in
their industry. They are also well known by their customers, but in order to
grow big, they are aware of the need to attract new customers. There are a
variety of ways to attract clients online and search engines are measured as
one of the first places they want to look for them. Gaining organic inbound
traffic is treated as a necessary component of the online marketing mix.
The SEO landscape
The SEO landscape has shifted over time. Google’s Panda
& Penguin updates made SEO professionals change their tactics and are going
towards excellence. Buying links, participating in link exchange programs and
generating backlinks from spammy content farms are not an approach anymore.
SEO still is a process where not only marketing, but also
technical knowledge is required. For example:
organizing website’s structure and navigation
preparing a sitemap
preparing SEO friendly url’s
optimizing web pages’ titles and describing images
regulating instructions for web robots in robots.txt
backlinks management
These elements might sound obvious, but also could be a
difficult part of optimization. As SEO has changed and it has become more content
centric, still the technical aspects are significant as a necessary foundation.
Content marketing, commonly called as the new SEO is aimed
to offer valuable information to users. People all over the world are actively
seeking answers. The content, if properly crafted, could control the user and
be the spark that would turn a user into a customer. The young company is aware
that in the new algorithm changed search reality, producing quality content is
a must. They put in their time and resources to produce content that’s
original, engaging and creates value. They care about distribution; they offer
coverage with social media and wait for the results.
Content and its impact on rankings
Creating superb and timeless content that lasts is a very difficult
task. Most of the content produced, despite the fact that it’s important, is
temporary. The results of this kind of content could be temporary, as well as
the interest of user, since the provided information becomes outdated. Do you
care what SEO looked like 2 years ago? What counts is here and now. Still, the impact
of these kinds of activities is hardly noticeable when talking about rankings.
In the top of SERPs, sometimes the spammy feel or unrelated, but topnotch
optimized sites are visible in higher positions. Why is it so?
The gray SEO reality
SEO is a hard and constantly changing process. It’s becoming
more diversified and demanding. There is a vast number of do’s and don’ts that
companies should stick with, in order to get results. Although it’s going
towards a more human approach, the SEO specialists still have a important
advantage over business do-it-yourself competition.
Organic traffic isn’t free
Search engines are programs that crawl the web looking for
information. They are using difficult algorithms to index and deliver us
relevant results. Although their features and provided results are getting
better and better, they are still programs. Thanks to this, they can be
predictable.
There are a lot of indicators that tell the search engines
that your content is the right one to show to the user, besides the relevancy.
Even if the content is superb, that’s not enough. SEO professionals have
experience, knowledge about factors and techniques to convince the search
engine about the content’s importance. Therefore they are able to gain high
rankings. That’s the cause why good content, confronted with professionalized
SEO, often stays out of the SERPs.
You can guess that the high rankings in search engines
aren’t free. If there is money, the SEO process that leads to making more income
is becoming more professional too.
Why is it so hard for companies to breach into SERPs and get
organic traffic?
When companies struggle to get the high position and get
organic traffic, they compete in an uneven fight. Although the organic results
aren’t paid, they have a cost. If it’s not money, it’s the time necessary to
gain the knowledge and to develop valuable content. It also requires a strategy
and lots of analytical preparation, aimed to distribute it and engage the
audience. The technical requirements make it even more difficult. Building a
brand online and competing with professionals who concentrate in driving
traffic from search engines costs a lot of time and effort. It’s like taking
part in a sports competition, where most of the contestants are pro’s and
you’re just a rookie.
Final thoughts
SEO is demanding. For entrepreneurs who are trying to get
new customers and build a brand online little can be done. Since Google is the
global number one, we are thankful to play by its rules (and as a matter of
fact, we let them set the standards). Bare in mind that SEO is a long term
process, where rankings aren’t the ultimate goal. You have to do the research,
create a plan, publish valuable content and distribute it via social media.
Finally, you have to converse with the public.
If you’re going to be organized, you’re going to get inbound
traffic and ultimately your efforts will earn you a place in the SERPs beyond
your competition. It’s a steep and long road. If you feel discouraged about
SEO, and I admit, that you could be, Google prepared a place on the side and on
the top of the results page, for clients who want to get instant effects. For
the rest of us, it’s either one way or the other you’ll have to pay for SEO, or
get to know SEO and work your way up.
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