By now, we have all heard the phrase “Content is king.” If that is so, then 2014 is the year that the Web kingdom has many, many kings, and the only kings that survive in this world are those with strong and consistent voices.
But all that aside, search engines have really shaped the way people find and also generate content. Quality above all wins, and real human interaction is the way to form relationships.
While it seems like Google updates its algorithm almost daily, there are a few things that remain constant in the search engine optimization world.
— Invest in (more) quality content
Brands are becoming publishers. There are stories to tell, case studies to reveal, many things to say, but the real winners are those with amazing stories and content that’s hard to find anywhere else. And that takes some time and expertise. To really stand out from the crowd, you need to produce stuff that people have not seen before in a way that is engaging and fun.
— Stop back-linking and start brand-building
Google has made several announcements alluding to the idea that back-linking is dead, or rather the idea of gaining “unnatural” links needs to be squashed. Having websites link to your site is still good practice, but the way many SEO companies have been doing it has been too easy to gamify. Instead, you need to start doing things that get people talking, which ultimately will lead to people linking to your website. Writing amazing stories, providing great value, hosting events, sponsoring volunteer drives — all of that makes headlines which naturally creates links.
— Get more active on social media
Social media has been a good indicator of what humans are interacting with on the web, and the social war is about to get more serious. Having active accounts on multiple platforms is not only good practice in general, but showing search engines that your web identity has a lot of valuable things to say is going to become very important really soon. So, it’s time to start sharpening your online thought leadership now so that in the near future, Google looks at you like an influential identity.
Whether you are outsourcing your SEO activities or about to get started this year in making your website more discoverable, remember that having a solid brand that is constantly talking and updating with QUALITY and CREATIVE information on the web is what ultimately real people are looking for in this age of information-mediocrity.
