Adaptation and Evolution Of SEO
Adaptation and Evolution Of SEO
The Present SEO vs. The Past SEO
In the past, SEOs would map two to five keywords to URLs and optimize the elements of the page (title meta description and headings, body content, etc.) for these keywords.
However, times have changed dramatically. Thanks to advancements in semantic search and machine learning, pages can rank well for a wide range of relevant keywords – not just those for which you optimize your website.
As a result, this is a superior method of providing content that meets the requirements of what people want (rather than simply being the best match to the keyword). This also provides a better user experience.
Modern SEOs need knowledge of not only creating content, but also the process of promoting content.
While in the past, people used to optimize pages according to the volume of searches, SEO today is a mix of optimizing existing content and editing that content according to the user’s demand.
Enhancing content can meet the end-user's requirements to establish your brand's identity and to capture social media attention and links to be more prominent in SERPs.
Nowadays, mobile devices have rapidly become the preferred method of consumption for media. While desktops are still important, the volume of digital media consumed via mobile devices has increased dramatically over the last few years and is expected to expand.
According to ComScore, mobile is now the source of more than 65% the digital media usage. In addition, smartphones officially overtook desktops in the number of Google search results.
SEOs should focus on improving the experience for mobile users – specifically apps – and ensuring that mobile websites load within seconds.
Social Interaction in The Past
Before Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks, social sharing mostly took place via instant messaging and email – sites that were generally outside the reach of SEO.
Nowadays, social media is everywhere, and digital marketers are using SEO to increase the popularity of their businesses.
SEO and social media must be in sync to improve brand visibility, connect businesses to their target audience, and boost the engagement of consumers. Modern-day SEO must use social media to promote content, get shares and links, and maximize exposure.
Links
Link building has always been an important element in determining the ranking of search engines. However, building links as a field has evolved significantly over the years.
At the beginning of SEO, the focus was on the number of links. The more links you have to your website, the more effective. However, anchor text was also more heavily weighted, meaning anchors with keyword-rich text might help a site be more prominently ranked for these search terms.
In addition, obtaining hyperlinks from sites with doubtful reputations was simple. Thus, many SEOs secured links with keyword-rich anchor text from sites with a high page rank via link exchanges, direct requests, or buying links, which helped them to improve their Google page ranking.
Nowadays, it's no longer just about the number of links. Links from trusted sites and websites related to your content can improve your ranking.
To contrast, links from spammy websites are disregarded (at best) or may result in penalization for ranking (at worst). In addition, search engines prefer to look at the appearance of a ‘natural’ link profile with the right combination of links: following keyword-rich anchor text, branded anchor text, and so on.
SEOs of today should concentrate on producing high-quality content and seeking relevant websites that offer importance to the users. In addition, they need to check their backlinks to identify harmful hyperlinks and eliminate low-quality ones to ensure an appropriate link portfolio.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO hasn't changed much in the last couple of years, and the fundamentals of technical audits continue to be in effect. However, SEOs need to ensure that their client's websites are constructed to be mobile-friendly and load as fast as possible. Therefore, technical SEO is an essential requirement for web designers.
Final thoughts
SEO has drastically changed throughout the decades, and we must adapt with those changes. The role of SEO has evolved from traditional optimization to integrating the content of the client into the user's experience across various platforms and devices.
Contact EWM for the latest SEO solutions designed to increase conversions and boost your brand’s credibility.