Many business owners will hire hear Do Enjoy Live the phrase ‘search engine optimization’ (or SEO) from friends in the business community or even competitors. They may consider it a route to increasing sales. What is SEO? Alternatively, a business owner may have tried ‘SEO services’ in the past and found it either didn’t work as well as expected or was working but no longer as effective. This article explains what SEO is and why ‘new’ SEO works better than ever.
I worked on search engine optimization and ranked the website market before it was called SEO. Here are the changes in SEO since the start of the new Millennium and what you should be looking for in the SEO services your SEO Agency offers or provides. We look back at SEO through the years and explain what SEO is today and how best to utilize it for our website.
SEO in 2000
Back at the Millennium, the ‘big’ search engines most people used were Lycos and Excite. Of course, since then, a tiny percentage of the UK population had access to the Internet, and those that did have a slow ‘dial-up’ system. Websites were one or two pages with the necessary information to load quickly (within 20 seconds). Back then, SEO practices were to ‘hide’ as many keywords on a page as possible so the website was found for those searches without making the page look too spammy for visitors.
In 2002 Google launched something called ‘AdWords,’ it was predicted to be the death of SEO, as people could pay for prominence, now the number 1 website for starting internet searches. In 2003, Yahoo purchased Inktomi, AltaVista, and FAST, the end of all ‘smaller’ search engines. Google started to stamp down on ‘spam’ practices and websites. At the same time, Google realized that ‘AdWords’ would not kill off SEO and that, in fact, the ‘natural listings’ encouraged visitors back to their search engine platform. Google started to recognize ‘professional SEO’ experts and promoted good SEO rather than spamming SEO.
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2004 saw the first website ‘banned’ from the Internet as Google took action against spamming sites. They also took legal action against the “SEO Company” responsible. To rank a website in 2006, you just needed links back to your website, so buying links/link exchange was all the rage. Most websites had a page listing companies and associations (I am still amazed how many websites continue this practice).
Between 2004 and 2008, Google, now the only real “player” in the search engine world, started taking action against poor linking practices and companies and tightening up on spam and buying links. The ‘Noughties” ended with all “naughty” SEO practices being practically stamped out. Google concentrated on ranking websites based on their content and their relevance to the search being carried out.
SEO in 2010
Between 2010 and 2015, we started to see search engines take notice of ‘Social Media sites, and soon, the results were filled with Twitter’s tweets’ in the results. (I can still see the face of one of my customers when searching Google for his business, and the whole first page of the search results was compiled of tweets of a Twitter conversation that two staff members had about how terrible the company was!) Videos and images were also brought into the search results with the Google ‘Caffeine’ update.
Google introduced “personal search results” with the websites shown in the search results based on your previous searches and websites you had visited before. This caused a ‘bit of a stir’ in the SEO world as customers claimed their websites were “top of Google” for any search they did relate to their industry, just because they had visited their website many times before. Hence, Google, of course, fed them back the website for all relevant searches. This can still be an issue until you show them the new ‘Google Incognito search.’
The focus on ranking websites was being found for BIG keywords. A ‘Plumber’ in Bristol would want to rank for that search, so that was the focus. Google ‘Panda’ and ‘Penguin’ updates figuratively killed off ‘link exchanges with huge penalties for websites with irrelevant links pointing towards them. Simultaneously, Google introduced “no follow links” to allow websites to provide relevant links to other websites and information without penalizing either party. It was the start of “safe linking.” Quality and relevant content were now the keys to ranking in the search engines.
A report by the ‘Office For National Statistics’ in 2014 stated:
- Thirty-eight million adults (76%) in Great Britain accessed the Internet daily, 21 million more than in 2006 when directly comparable records began.
- Access to the Internet using a mobile phone more than doubled between 2010 and 2014, from 24% to 58%.
- 74% of all adults bought goods or services online, up from 53% in 2008. Clothes (49%) were the most popular online purchase in 2014.
- Of all adults in Great Britain, 67% are aware of Internet storage space services, but these services take up to store data much lower at 35%.
- In Great Britain, 22 million households (84%) had Internet access in 2014, up from 57% in 2006.
- Fixed broadband Internet connections were used by 91% of households.
The UK was now (almost) Internet savvy, and mobile phones’ usage to visit websites was huge.
SEO 2015 and Onwards
The most significant change to the search engines in 2015 was the ‘penalization’ of websites that were not “mobile-friendly” – a mobile-friendly website has different information for the smaller screen to make it easier for the user to read and understand. To ensure users got the best experience, Google started ranking mobile-friendly or responsive websites (where the website automatically changes its size and format to fit the screen) higher in the rankings. The UK population used their mobile phones for local searches, and local companies could finally gain an advantage over the large corporates or ‘national’ companies on the Internet.
The introduction of ‘semantic search,’ where Google brings back websites in the results not based on the keywords, but the content on a page, again changed the way SEO agencies looked at working on websites. Ranking for the ‘Big’ keywords, such as ‘Plumber Bristol,’ became less important as internet users became savvier with their searches. ‘Long tail keywords,’ and as many as possible, started to grow website visitors and, more importantly, conversions.
What is The SEO Process Today?
It is probably correct to say that the processes or practices associated with search engine optimization have now outgrown the term ‘SEO.’ In years gone by, working on the content and structure was enough. There is so much more to do to rank a website in search engines and get customer engagement. A better description of the service would be ‘digital marketing’. As mentioned earlier, old practices meant ‘big’ keywords were key to ranking. Focusing on a single keyword per page or a whole website would rank the business; back then, it was all about ‘rankings.’
The old way of doing SEO
Today there are several factors to consider regarding SEO. ‘Semantic search’ is the primary driver, and conversion is the primary goal, not rankings. In semantic search, Google returns information on the page, not the description the website creator input, back to the searcher. An example of this would be to take the ‘Plumber Bristol’ example. A few years ago, you would have concentrated on ranking the business for “Plumber Bristol,” “Plumber in Bristol,” and perhaps “Emergency Plumber Bristol”. Although this still holds for businesses that offer a solution for ‘distress purchases’ (where time and a solution outweigh the need for information and advice), better practice throughout a website is to add content that offers advice and guidance and includes ‘long tail keywords’ (3 or 4-word searches) such as “Emergency plumber with free callout in Bristol” or “Reviews for an Emergency Plumber near me”.
Google wants the user to have the best experience and find relevant information quickly, and semantic search achieves this. This is also sensible for a business owner. Would you instead, your website was found by a searcher looking for “Plumber Bristol” where they could be after information, looking to get a job, looking for a plumbing service that you may not offer, or for a specific and targeted search such as “best emergency Plumber near BS7″? “Plumber Bristol” will get you a website visitor. Being found as the “best emergency Plumber near BS7″ will get you a customer. This is the most considerable change Google has made regarding keywords, and it is here to stay. SEO or digital marketing is no longer about where you rank but how many different search terms you can find and their conversion into paying customers.
Website Content
A few years ago (and only 2 or 3 years ago), Google suggested to professional SEO Agencies 300 words on a page were sufficient content. Last year they started the MINIMUM should be at least 500 words. Every day I am asked to review a website by a potential customer – most of them have 150 to 250 words on a page. This is standard practice. There are two ways to look at this. Either Google has to change its expectations as most websites do not meet their grade, or another way to look at this is an easy way to jump the competition by simply adding content to your website. Do you think Google will lower its expectations or expect websites to improve to their standard? Google released the ‘mobile-friendly’ update knowing that around 80% of websites would need to be upgraded – and they did it anyway, as it benefitted over 50% of their users. Quality content affects 100% of their users. I recommend to our customer about 800 words per page. This is enough content to be ‘semantic search’ friendly, provide relevant content and not be too word heavy.
A good practice is to have the following:
- Page Title – say what the page is about (‘Big’ Keyword if you must)
- Headline – asking a question
- The first paragraph explains briefly explains the content/solution.
- Image / or video
- A longer description of the solution
Take our Emergency Plumber in Bristol, for example, 24 Courage Title: Emergency Plumber BristolHeadline: Are you looking for the best emergency plumber near you in Bristol? First Paragraph: Smith Plumbing offers 24-hour emergency plumbing service in Bristol. We do not charge a callout fee and can be with you in 20 minutes. That is why our customer reviews and feedback say we are your area’s best emergency plumbing service. Call now on…Image of the van or the Plumber looking professional longer description: What they can fix, common problems they resolve, some of the quotes from their customers, etc.
This has several benefits.
Firstly, those who want a Plumber will read the first paragraph, see the van’s image (build authority and professionalism) and call the Plumber. Other people will want more information, which they can find further down the page. Is this cheating at SEO? NOT. You are providing relevant information to the user, and Google will love you for it. How content is structured and written on a page is the “new” SEO.
The second benefit is that your website will start to be found for a combination of the words on the page – semantic search – in the example above, the Plumber could be seen by customers and potential customers looking for “Smith Plumbing,” “emergency plumber near me,” “Emergency Plumber in Bristol,” “Best24 hour emergency plumbing service in Bristol”, “emergency plumber Bristol reviews” and dozens of more search terms. If you were a Plumber, would you be found for one big keyword or multiple relevant customers converting keywords instead? I thought so, and so does Google.
Old practices were to create website content for search engines. Now you must create content to provide value for customers. This is a more straightforward process than you might think. What were the last five customer inquiries to your business? What was the problem they were trying to resolve? Write about the issue and your solution.
Link Building
The historic way of ‘link building’ was to get as many links from as many places as possible. This year we had a huge company contact us about their SEO, and they were horrified when we suggested that they remove their 1.4 MILLION links back to their website as they had spent a fortune over the years buying the links. Irrelevant links, and the more you have, the more detrimental it is; highlight to Google the irrelevance of your website – regardless of how relevant it might be.
Today, a few relevant links are far better than a Million links back to your website. Today, links have to be built through engaging relationships. Taking our Plumber once more, a link back from the ‘Gas Safe register,’ a local plumbing center or bathroom showroom, and a few local websites like his information would be enough.
Social Media
Even though we still get some companies like this now, a few years ago, when we suggested businesses should be on Facebook, I was normally told, “Facebook – that is for teenagers, isn’t it? That is not our market”. If done well, Facebook can drive more traffic and paying customers to your door than your website. Facebook’s largest user group is 25 to 34-year-olds, the second largest in the 35 to 44 age group. 45 to 54-year-olds use Facebook more than teenagers, and as much as 18 to 24.
Facebook Users UK age – courtesy of Statista
Facebook allows a business to build a brand, engage customers, get customer reviews, and instant customer feedback. Unlike reviews on your website, which potential customers may see if they visit your website, a study on Facebook is seen immediately by all of the user’s friends, and if their friend ‘likes’ the comment – all of their friends, friends. More and more of our customers are getting leads from Facebook. People ask their friends for suggestions on businesses to use and get dozens of requests back – if you are on Facebook, you are more likely to get a direct link to your contact information.
What is next for ‘Social Media’? Live streaming! Twitter has purchased ‘Periscope,’ which lets you live-stream video from your phone. “So what?” I hear our ’emergency plumber’ asking. If I were a Plumber, I would be life-streaming my work as I fix a problem, with the video going live to all of my followers and friends – my free-to-air television channel worldwide. Next time your business conducts a ‘brainstorming session’ – periscope it – your customer will tell you the solutions.
Video Marketing
There are no ‘old’ SEO practices for video as it just didn’t exist, and when YouTube started, it was for showing funny videos of cats and the like. Today that has all changed. YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world and is owned by Google. YouTube has over 1 BILLION users worldwide, and 300 hours of videos are uploaded every minute. Watching all the videos uploaded in the next hour would take about two years. Watching all the videos uploaded today would bring you the rest of your life. Google’s statistics say that by 2018 73% of searches put into a search engine will result in the person watching a video. Think of it another way: in a couple of years, ten people will search the Internet for your product or service – 7 will watch a video, and two will visit a website. That is why I create videos for our customers as part of our ‘digital marketing service.’