Over the years the way search engine optimisation (SEO) algorithms work has changed and developed, and will continue to do so in the future. The most recent notable examples would be the introduction of the Google Mayday algorithm and Caffeine indexing system, which added more value to long tail search terms and aimed to produce more targeted results.  In the past, SEO was much less technical, and just a few key factors added to a site would allow it to rank high within the search engines. Past results relied on implementing keyword rich content, link structure and on-page optimisation to achieve enough ranking to start extra traffic flowing to a website directly from the search engine.

As times have changed so has SEO; techniques and methods have become far more diverse and results can be, in some cases, harder to attain. However, it is a valuable skill, since search engine optimisation has come to play a massively important role in marketing and online business success. By achieving high rankings within a search engine you can assure that well targeted traffic is not too far behind it, being driven to your website.

In the SEO world it is commonly said that “content is king”. By having unique, relevant, quality content on your website, crawling search engine spiders will find the information they need to rank the site appropriately. All key search engines today also have a high respect for quality older content, which asserts authority on the subject you are writing about. Using keyword stuffing is now defiantly a no go area and should now be avoided, as once a page like this has been crawled by a search engine, it will most likely be penalized, lose ranking and waste all your hard optimization work.

Another key area to search ranking is the use of social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Social media is a fantastic way of not only building brand awareness but also building a respected linking structure to your website. Social networking websites are populated by millions of users per day which gives companies a great opportunity to aim key information at a targeted audience. Social media also allows you to connect with current and potential customers, giving you a chance to provide information, answer questions, solve problems and avert crises, as well as delivering a professional customer service in realtime. As with any marketing strategy, you must take the time to plan your social media approach; observe and listen to the conversations relevant to your services, research the best place to set up a social media presence and put tracking and monitoring plans in place before you start.

 Video optimisation is another area that can help ranking position if used in the right way. In the past, creating videos was very expensive, and generally only media-based companies had the means to use them. This is no longer the case, as YouTube gave rise to a more ‘realistic’ and less polished style of videos, which can be achieved with affordable digital video cameras. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, and people are using it to find visual answers to their questions. Videos can add an additional facet to your company’s marketing approach and present information in an easily accessible way for your customers.

With the availability of multimedia and the enormous reach of social media, there is no excuse not to optimise all your content, for example: add links, optimized videos and images to press releases to increase their effectiveness. SEO has moved on from just keywords – it is dependable on your brand, your authority and your audience reach.

Tags: image optimisation, search engine marketing, search engine optimisation, search engine optimization, SEO, SEO UK, Social media, Social Media Marketing, social media monitoring, video optimisation, web analytics
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