By now, you should have a basic understanding of the main components involved in successful search engine optimization (SEO) if you have read the previous two articles we covered. The long and short of effective SEO is proper on-site protocols so search engine crawlers can index your site, optimized content with natural keyword placement, and engaging content that captures your target audience and increases sharing and reputable link-building.
The lengthiest portion of effective SEO is the keyword research and keeping abreast of current algorithms being used by the major search engines. With Google taking 80% of the search engine market, it is critical to stay on top of their ever-changing SEO requirements to make sure your site stays on the first page of searches returned on your keywords. As a business owner, this can take critical time away from running your business which is where the team at Hub & Spoke can help. As professionals in effective SEO, we will study your business and research the most beneficial keywords and search terms to develop an SEO strategy that will rank your site where it belongs; on the first page.
Why has SEO Changed so Much Recently?
After learning about the new techniques being brought about by the algorithms being used for search engine placement, you may be wondering why SEO has changed so much recently. These changes have been brought about in an attempt to make search returns higher quality, and more relevant to the terms being searched for by Internet users. Rather than returning sites that contain countless mentions of a key term being looked up, sites that rank highest use the key term appropriately, and associated keywords and phrases are used to determine relativity. In the past, an article with one keyword used ten times in a span of five hundred words was enough to be recognized by the search engine crawlers. In today’s SEO, that same practice is likely to have your site blacklisted or at the very least, buried in search returns.
The Truth About Bad Links
Back-linking was another common practice that helped sites rank highly in search engine placement. With today’s SEO, only high-quality links will help and sites with purchased links, or links that are deemed “bad” by Google’s algorithms can have your site removed from the search engines completely. In April of last year, thousands of Webmasters and site owners received notification from the search engine giant that their site was being penalized for bad links and had to rectify the situation in order to be included in the search engine’s web crawling. Even if you did not receive a notice, bad links can be harming your ranking. Regardless of how careful you are with the rest of the SEO techniques, if you have back-links to poor directories, broken links or links to sites with high visitation but poor quality, you will not be successful in achieving a high ranking in search engine returns.
How We Can Help
Hub & Spoke specializes in design, branding and strategy for businesses. We can look at your existing site and develop an SEO strategy that will earn you the top spot you deserve in your niche. If you have a business yet do not have a site yet, we can design and build your site with effective SEO methods to launch your online presence properly. Contact us today to see how we can help.
