Search engine optimization, or SEO, is becoming more complex as search engines get smarter. Google, for instance, introduced a lot of changes to their search algorithm, and each iteration throws new challenges at a lot of SEO campaigns. These challenges make it difficult to stay on top of the SEO game.
However, challenges are there to be solved and there are several things you can do to push your SEO campaign above these challenges. Significant algorithm changes are not always bad for your website, and these next few tips and tricks will help you adapt alongside those changes seamlessly.
Focus on User Experience
One metric that SEO experts often neglect to address is user experience. In today’s SEO landscape, user experience is an important factor to take into account. To put it in simpler words, you can’t go wrong with delivering the best user experience at every turn.
User experience can be improved through a number of things, and most of them are on-site; this means you have complete control over the user experience you deliver to visitors. Adjusting the design and usability of the site and switching to a more readable font are the kind of simple changes you can make to stay ahead.
Other UX improvements are more complex, but they are still good investments to your site’s overall SEO prowess. Increasing the performance of your site is a great example of advanced UX improvements you can implement. A faster-loading site attracts more users and will have an easier time keeping them happy.
You Don’t Have to React to Everything
As mentioned before, not all algorithm changes are bad. Some of them improve your site’s search rankings, mainly because they are designed to eliminate the impact of Blackhat techniques and bad SEO practices. You just have to refine your strategy to stay relevant.
“Being reactive isn’t how you want to do SEO,” according to Emily Behnken, SEO strategist of Snap Agency. As an SEO strategist in the leading Minneapolis SEO agency, Emily has a lot of experience in adapting to algorithm changes.
“Consistency is key and small adjustments are often more valuable than a complete rethink.” As long as you have the right keywords, the best content (that delivers real value), and good investment in context and relevance, your site’s SEO performance will remain high.
Stay Relevant
That actually brings us to our last tip: relevance is gold. Gone are the days of trying to score thousands of backlinks just to get a boost in SEO performance. Today, everything is about context and relevance. A relevant backlink that goes to a relevant page is far more impactful than 100 backlinks on irrelevant sites.
The algorithms are smart when it comes to relevance too, so you need to be as meticulous about your SEO campaign. For example, targeting relevant but long keywords could lead to your site ranking higher in search results for other generic keywords.
Yes, changes in search engine algorithms are challenging, but they are the kind of challenges you will have fun conquering. See them as opportunities to, once again, get ahead of the market and stay on top.