In recent months, since the Google Panda and Penguin updates, it’s been hard for many people who have an online business to know what’s effective as far as SEO goes, and what isn’t. Many were caught completely unaware; all of a sudden, their highly ranked website seemed to drop off the face of the earth. When it comes to SEO, you can never be 100% certain of what Google is doing – but there are a few things you can be sure of when it comes to the best SEO practices for 2012. We feel fairly certain that while some SEO tactics come and go, these will be around for as long as search engines rule the web!
Quality is what it’s all about.
Plain and simple, Google wants to give the user the best possible experience. This means quality in every aspect of SEO, from quality, unique content to quality inbound and outbound links. It’s also important that your website loads fast, as most people searching for information won’t wait longer than a few seconds for a page to load before becoming exasperated. Keep the bells and whistles that can cause slow loading pages to a minimum.
Over-optimization
Until the recent updates, many companies focused on on- and off-page optimization more than focusing on the needs of their visitors. Keyword stuffing, title and alt tags that are over-optimized, automated link building, black-hat SEO; it was all about taking optimization to the max. We all know now that it doesn’t work, and in fact does more harm than good.
Social media takes front and center
Google has recently started using social media in ranking websites. Why? Sites like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter are where people engage and communicate with others about their interests. Readers of your blog can “like” what you have to say on Facebook, or “tweet” your post to their followers. What better way for search engines to determine what those on the web like and what they don’t like than through the use of social media?
The bottom line is that you should get involved in social media, think quality in every aspect of optimization from content and simple navigation to link building, and focus on your visitor’s experience and providing them with the best possible service/product/solution. Thin content websites that are heavy with ads and light on valuable information are so yesterday!
Overwhelmed by SEO? Don’t worry, it’s a common feeling. We can simplify things for you! Call 877-323-0661 to get a free SEO education. We love to educate!
Not feeling up to a call? We’ve got you covered! Sign up for our newsletter to find out about upcoming training webinars!
