Any marketers that have been around a while have seen the SEO landscape change significantly over the years. Most changes have been good, and a few have been frustrating. Like it or not, if you want to see legitimate results, you need to know which SEO tactics work and which ones need to be left behind.
Marketers used to write copious amounts of blog posts to add “fresh” content to their websites. Great idea, except some of these posts were measly and thin, adding no real value to the reader. In response, search engines started looking for more substantial content. However, there’s no real definition for “substantial,” so of course, marketers created their own guidelines. Google “ideal word count,” and you’ll find must-follow recommendations saying posts should be at least 300 words, 600 words, or 2000 words. So, which is correct? The answer is all and none. Again, it’s about quality, not quantity, and that goes for words in a blog post or article. What we suggest to clients is to write for readers, not for robots. Have a meaty topic you want to write about? Go ahead and write that 2000-word article! Want to share a fun update about your company but don’t have much to say? 300 words are just fine. Bottom line is, don’t be chintzy with your writing, and don’t be verbose. Write naturally the way your readers want it and let go of the “ideal” word count.
Link building is hard, and getting good, valuable links back to your site is really difficult. It used to be that the more links back to your site, the better. The rule of thumb is that the better the links are to your site, the better. Why would you want a dog food company to link to you if you sell snow tires? It’s no value to you or readers following the link from one site to the next. Want to give or get links to your site? Make sure you’re in the same industry or the same niche. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time. A better way to get valuable backlinks? Try guest blogging. Provide useful information that can be posted on other sites with a link back to your site. A small business marketer familiar with content marketing can help with that.
Looking at the SEO tactics above, it was all about gaming the system against search engines. While it worked for a while, it simply doesn’t anymore and is outdated. Market for your audience. Provide useful information your target audience wants and use language and a writing style that makes it engaging for readers. That’s how you’ll win the long game in SEO and help your small business market smarter and more effectively!
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