Through the years we periodically hear murmurings that “SEO is dead.” In the end, nothing will kill SEO, yet many people have a deep dislike of the term largely because they misunderstand what SEO is all about. While it is true that website owners should ensure their content is friendly both to search engines and to regular human beings search engines remain the primary way people look for websites albeit not the only way. Websites are found in some cases through word-of-mouth, traditional advertising, web directories or links from other sites.
In some instances these less traditional methods of site location can be at least as effective as search engines. While websites will always have to concentrate on search engine optimization—ensuring the site is as relevant as possible—remember that search engines are fickle creatures that you should never totally build your business around. Think about what happens nearly every time Google makes major changes to its algorithms—many sites which were doing great suddenly lose high quantities of traffic.
Coming Through Google’s Changes Unscathed
Despite the frustration felt every time Google releases Pandas or Penguins there remain lots of sites, both large and small, start-ups and the well-established which have done quite well with search engine optimization. While some experts believe that SEO is not a viable marketing strategy for start-ups due to their small budgets and unwillingness to engage in any black-hat SEO tactics, there are plenty of start-ups and small sites which get large chunks of their visitors through SEO and that have come through Google’s changes relatively unscathed. The trick is to remember that SEO is a piece of the puzzle in the marketing mix, not the only piece. SEO is not about tricking search engines or ruining great web design, rather it is about building great content, understanding all the ways your visitors might attempt to find your site, and making sure your content is both search-engine friendly as well as human being friendly.
Tips for Increasing Your SEO
So long as you remember a few key SEO factors it will continue to serve you well, remaining a very viable marketing strategy. You must first realize that SEO is not a one-time event, rather something you must commit yourself to. Keeping up with the changes in search engine algorithms is important because what worked last year might not work so well this year. You must be in it for the long haul, and put in the time it takes to keep up with changing SEO tactics and search engine algorithms.
It takes considerable patience to be successful with SEO since results can sometimes take months to become obvious, particularly for those with a brand-new online presence. Using Google Analytics or a comparable analytics software will help you track what is working and what is not, so get on board early on. Always include a site map page for your legal website since search engine spiders can’t index pages they can’t crawl. A comprehensive site map allows the most important pages on your site to be found
Ensure you have a unique yet relevant title and meta description on every single page of your website. Many experts feel that the page title may well be the most important on-page SEO factor in your entire site. While the metal tag doesn’t necessarily improve your rank, it often appears below your listing so should be comprised of relevant keywords. While you need the blessing of the search engines in order to have a successful site you should nonetheless write for your users first and the search engines second. Sites that are built only around what the search engines want may not be particularly user-friendly for your humans—the ones who actually buy your product or use your services. Search engines love blogs, so make sure your law firm has jumped onto the legal blog bandwagon to increase your exposure and help you garner new links. In the end, SEO will likely never die and will remain a very viable marketing strategy for a long time to come so long as you remember to remember your living, breathing users as well.
