SEO That Lasts

SEO is going to change. It is a changing world, and Google makes certain SEO “rules” change multiple times in any given year. The question is how are you going to keep up? I mean, you can’t revamp your website every time a new algorithm comes out, right?

You could, but then the whole point of SEO, the bottom line, would suffer. The key is to build SEO that lasts through multiple algorithm changes with few or even no tweaks necessary to maintain rankings. How do you do this? Content, content, and more content. Did I say content?

SEO That Lasts Includes Content That is Consistent

Your content has to be consistent. If consistently new content is not available the search engines will know it. Post once a month, once a week, 3 times a week, or every day, but however you do it do it the same every time. It takes a while and some planning to get to this point, but it is worth it. Get as far ahead as you can and then just set the auto-pilot. Once you get going it all takes care of itself.

Fresh is, Well…Fresh!

If you want SEO that lasts, content must be fresh.  You cannot just rotate the same content, and you cannot rehash what everyone else has.  It is more than being unique.  Of course you cannot plagiarize.  Fresh content is new, or it tells you something new, some new information about something that people are interested in.  It has to be fresh and crisp like the lettuce on the best burger in the world.  No one wants old wilted lettuce that was used during yesterday’s lunch rush, and they don’t want a bunch of the same content they are reading on every other site.  Make it your own.

Balance Keyword Use

Keywords are not as important as they used to be, and they certainly are not worth sacrificing good content for, but they are still useful when it comes to drawing traffic. There is a major difference in great content that naturally uses strategic keywords and keyword stuffing. There is no need to try and force awkward keywords or phrases into content to the point that the quality of the content suffers. In fact, most of the time simply writing good, on topic content will do that trick. The keywords will appear. However, there is nothing wrong with using specific phrasing, for example, throwing in a keyword with the local area to make the content local, here and there. Just be smart about it.

Make it Local

SEO that lasts is local. Google knows where you are now, and they are going to offer search results in your area. Therefore, if you serve nationwide, you need content that is “local” to the nation. This can get tricky. It may mean a page of content for a major city in each location you serve. It will be a struggle to remain unique and use a new city name with the topic keyword each time, but it could make a difference.

Though the algorithms change, their point remains the same.  Google intends to offer customers the results they are looking for, and no one is searching for content that is nothing but awkward keyword phrases.  They want real, useable, unique information that is accessible to them.  Give your customers that in your content and the engines will find you.  Anything you do to please the algorithms after that will just be the icing on the cake.