The New Age of SEO — The Newest Perspective
SEO, which is short for Search Engine Optimization, refers to the process of affecting the online visibility of a webpage or a website in the unpaid search results of a web search engine. The results thus obtained are also known as organic, earned, or natural search results. Search engines, on the basis of certain search algorithms rank the websites as search results.
Since increased visibility of a website, which is a result of a good ranking in the search engine results, increases the amount of traffic that the website is getting, therefore, search engine optimization naturally gains immense importance in this digital age.
The Story So Far
So far, the focus of Search Engine Optimization has been on the use of keywords in the content which would improve the rankings of the website on the search engine result pages. Some also thought that how one got to the first page of results was not as important as keeping that spot. However, in the present, this focus has shifted and there have emerged new trends and thoughts regarding SEO processes. Over the years, search engine optimization has grown to mean so much more than just improving search engine rankings of websites through traditional methods.
The New Age
In the new age of SEO, the intent of the user who is typing in the search terms on the search engine has also become important. Some of the important areas of focus in search engine optimization in recent times have been outlined as follows.
● Social Media
Focusing on social media has now become a key aspect of new age search engine optimization. For example, news that is breaking on Twitter is often pushed to the top of search engine result pages.
Moreover, a person who is signed in to their Gmail account will see personalized search results that are based on who they are connected with various social media. Jeff Bullas, in his article says that 47 % of Americans say that Facebook is their number one influencer of purchases.
Therefore, the realm of social media cannot be ignored when it comes to improving the visibility of a website or a webpage.
● Links
It has also been seen that building links from relevant and authoritative sources has become important in new age search engine optimization practices. Therefore, marketers nowadays require to be much more selective as the links should be earned.
● Semantic SEO
The concept of semantic search engine optimization refers to searches that are not based entirely on the search terms or keywords entered by the individual but also on the intent of the individual.
In semantic search, the search engine will dive into the relationship between those words, how those words work together and also attempt to understand what those words mean. Therefore, the search results may not contain the exact search term that has been entered by the person. This means that unlike conventional SEO, new age SEO need not be entirely focused on the keyword itself but rather on keyword intent and long tail searches.
● Content
While in the past, marketers would often write the content with the focus of obtaining good search engine result page rankings, modern SEO best practices also focus on writing the content for the readers first, and making the content engaging and relevant.
● Mobile Friendly
Last, but not the least, mobile SEO has gained much importance in recent times. Websites that are responsive, have a mobile URL and load faster on mobiles tend to rank better on search engine results pages. The idea of mobile content marketing forms an integral part of the content marketing and Search Engine Optimization strategies of businesses in today’s world.
Conclusion
As you can probably observe, the general trend in search engine optimization strategies has been towards making the content more relevant for users and recognizing the intent behind the search terms entered. As trends keep changing, it is important for marketers and businesses to keep track of these changes and to remain updated with the best SEO practices in order to not get left behind in this fast changing new age of SEO.
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