If you stop and think back about it, there was a time in recent years where SEO was viewed as a way to manipulate the Google SERP’s. Many considered this a specialized type of knowledge that involved the utilization of clever yet very secret tactics. Although this may have been an accurate evaluation, the SEO industry has definitely evolved and matured beyond that. For all intents and purposes, Search Engine Optimization is an ever-changing, multifaceted discipline for internet marketing. In addition to the above, it has become every internet marketer’s essential expertise requirement.
Users are able to find information faster because of the way in which Google has accelerated and facilitated these changes. Basically, they have changed the face of SEO in order to promote their own long-term goals. So how has the Google search engine changed SEO? Let’s look at the reality of the entire situation:
First and foremost, Google is not just a search engine anymore – granted, that was its original function and we still use for that purpose. However, Google has become a leader in a number of other key areas including such as data-oriented projects for the consumer. Additionally, many searches are now geo-specific or location-based. Add those top-dominating paid ads and many organic search results have dropped off the first page.
Internet marketing must be approached with a “product” perspective – a good marketing strategy will enable anyone to sell a terrible product. However, that type of strategy will eventually fail. Even worse, word-of-mouth advertising will destroy your brand in the process. Consequently, every inbound marketing campaign’s aspect or element must be seen and treated as though it were a type of product.
Links are still important, but the reason for this has changed – the primary factors involved in Google’s ranking algorithms used to be the quality and quantity of inbound links, but this is not the case anymore. Not since Google started tweaking them to overcome the popularity of purchasing and selling links (by the way, Google absolutely despises this). Now those links have a lower algorithmic weight and don’t rank as high in the SERP’s.
SEO is now all about creating and developing a brand rather than manipulating or tricking the search engines – our perception of SEO has shifted dramatically over the past couple of years. People don’t talk about keywords, link building, and search engine page results. What you do hear is a lot of discussion centered on branding and content marketing strategies.
