Have You Stopped Doing SEO On Your Website?
During 2014 there were a handful of people in our search marketing industry, some of who are very well known here in the UK that go out of their way to poo poo SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
On a number of occasions, certainly during the last year, as I trawl through article after article I will stumble upon a few from those labelling themselves as ‘UK leading web marketers’ that say SEO is dead.
Thing is, what you find is these comments usually come from someone who is telling you they spend millions with Google on AdWords and that this is the only way to get traffic to your site. Don’t get me wrong, I agree you need AdWords.
But, for a moment consider those who are running an Ecommerce website, and making use of Google Shopping Ads (formerly known as PLAs – Product Listing Ads) that now involves the use of AdWords and your Google Merchant account.
An important component in the mix to achieve this advertising success using Google Shopping is that your actual website ‘landing page’ should have good quality content that should include your keywords against what you are promoting on the page. So, if this is not doing SEO for a page what is? And, if you get the content balance right for the page, won’t it do a bit better over time in organic listings once the page has built up its popularity from you promoting it?
Of course it will. So, during 2014 SEO is very much alive and continues to evolve.
The topic of SEO continues to spark some healthy debates and I came across one just recently online in an article about what happened in the SEO world during 2014, during which I clocked a great comment from a woman I have long admired on the SES circuit Shari Thurow who said:
“Is it me or am I the only person to notice that Google is trying to change the way that we (humans) interpret user interfaces?
Something as simple as changing a link color or feature might seem like a small change, but it is a significant one. Clickability and tappability are very important for usability and UX.”
Sheri went onto say:
“Also, I find Google’s interpretation of mobile UX to be very lacking. So the label as “mobile-friendly” means Google’s interpretation of a positive mobile experience, not what my usability and information architecture research, studies, and tests have indicated.”
Shari believes, sincerely, that websites and other computer interfaces should be more user centric than technocentric and says that from her observations Google tends to be more technocentric.”.
I have read a lot of Sheri’s articles and of course her book When Search Meets Usability.
Sheri also says that “No website needs to accommodate the latest trends. That is often a tremendous waste of time, staff, and money. Smart search marketers should know when to implement a tactic or strategy, and know when to dismiss flavor-of-the-month tactics. Don’t be an algoholic”.
Sheri’s Books deliver a lot of common sense and her knowledge on site architecture and usability should not be ignored. It would be wise for many a budding web developer to sit down for a moment and read this book before building your next website. Another comment from Sheri that endorses something I talk about at my workshops is on the subject of PageRank.
Sheri says PageRank (PR) – it’s still there. (and I agree) – and she goes a step further by saying “It’s more important to understand the principles behind PR than the gory details. PageRank is about validation…quality validation (And this I absolutely agree with her upon).
There are some great article links she provides here:
http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/papers/google.pdf
A Wikipedia entry (the HITS algorithm is a good read, too):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageRank
And not forgetting someone I often follow on Twitter Danny Sullivan and here is his article:
http://searchengineland.com/what-is-google-pagerank-a-guide-for-searchers-webmasters-11068
There are a few people in this world at the heart of our industry who are the leading lights for me, and during 2015 I have decided that I will spend a bit more time sharing with my community important stuff from the likes of Sheri Thurow who for me continues to write and endorse things I truly believe in when it comes to SEO, Search Marketing and Site Architecture issues and that is why also I continue to promote to the small business website owners how they can achieve OnlineXcellence.
Author – Brian Mathers
Internet Marketing Practitioner in Scotland Building and Marketing Websites for Small Business Owners