When it comes to online business, traffic is still the most important factor. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has changed enormously in the past several years, especially after major updates like Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, and Pigeon.
These changes have even led some to claim that SEO is dead. This isn’t just an exaggeration, it’s an outright falsehood. Easy cheating or gaming of Google’s rankings might be dead and buried, but the truth is that there are over 200 different factors that go into ranking websites and by working to meet that checklist, any website can rank higher.
The key is to understand what common SEO services are available and actually worth the time to invest in.
Top Notch Content
Ever since the big shakeup with Google Panda, Google made it abundantly clear to anyone who would listen that the quality of website content mattered as much (or more) than any other single factor.
Quality content can be a bit nebulous but a few adjectives that have been thrown around include:
– Original
– Exceptional language mastery
– Full of helpful information
– Showing an authority-level knowledge
Gathering Backlinks
Backlinks still matter. Spamming keyword heavy backlinks gets a website slapped down the rankings, whilst acquiring branded backlinks from authority websites in your niche or a related one can help a website shoot up the rankings.
Backlinks aren’t dead, but they do have to be done very carefully to have a big positive effect. The same is true with Private Blog Networks (PBN) which still can provide value, if handled correctly.
The right backlinks will be a website name, website URL, or brand name. They will come either from social media or from a website in a related field and that’s it. No article directories, no completely unrelated websites, none of the old keyword links.
Business Claiming
Business claiming is a related SEO service that is more focused on local and small businesses. This includes getting claiming done with Google, Bing, and Yahoo to show up in local search rankings in addition to looking at hundreds of different directories that specialize in listing businesses. Each of these works as a legitimate backlink and a bit of a boost for local business SEO.
Social Media Footprint
There’s no question that social media is a huge part of SEO efforts now. Some people like handling their own social media efforts but if that is something that just does not interest you, then it’s a service that is offered by many SEO West Midlands companies.
The best packages go beyond just setting up an account but also look at frequent postings to Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ among others. These postings can link to each other and all give a steady and fresh flow of links to your main website (or websites).
In Conclusion
SEO services are still extremely important in getting websites ranked, and there’s no question that a quality provider will make a huge difference in today’s online world. When one single mistake can sink a website, or one adjustment can vault a website into the top three, you can use all the professional help you can get!
