When considering SEO, what comes to your mind? If tasked with "practicing" SEO, what activities would you focus on? Writing content? Analyzing performance metrics? Engaging with your audience on social media?
Modern SEO is a complex and multifaceted discipline, composed of various sub-strategies. Each of these sub-strategies can independently enhance brand visibility and foster customer relationships. For instance, content marketing is crucial for SEO, but even without a targeted SEO approach, it has intrinsic value in boosting customer engagement and building brand trust.
Is modern SEO more than just the sum of its interconnected components? Is there a singular strategic initiative that solely aims to elevate a brand’s search rankings?
The Elements of SEO
I won’t attempt to enumerate every nuanced factor or tactic that might influence a company’s organic search rankings; rather, this will provide a general list of strategies that collectively impact search engine performance:
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On-site Optimization: This broad term encompasses various technical and creative enhancements, such as mobile optimization, site speed, site security, meta titles and descriptions, rich snippets, structured data, site architecture, site mapping, navigation, and content availability. These strategies not only improve customer experience but also make websites more favorable to search engines due to better structure and speed.
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On-site Content: While closely related to "content marketing," on-site content includes all pages of a website. The quality, accuracy, conciseness, detail, and uniqueness of content can boost search rankings. Regular and consistent posting further reinforces this, primarily as a means of building customer loyalty.
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Link Building: This can take several forms. Traditional link building is often seen as SEO-exclusive, primarily aimed at enhancing search rankings. However, modern techniques like guest posting and content syndication offer broader brand visibility benefits beyond SEO.
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Social Media: Although not directly influencing SEO, social media acts as an SEO conduit. Engaging a wider audience on these platforms can lead to more content sharing and inbound links, indirectly boosting organic search rankings.
- Local SEO: Focuses on listing businesses accurately on third-party directories and review sites and managing online reviews. This increases the chances of appearing in Google’s local results and enhances reputation with customers.
Notice a pattern? All these approaches fall under "SEO strategies" and contribute to search visibility. Yet, they can operate independently to improve customer relationships and experiences.
Keyword-Based SEO is Obsolete
The traditional notion of SEO — optimizing to rank for specific keywords — is outdated. Google’s semantic search, increased competition, and advanced features like the Knowledge Graph make it tougher to rank for individual terms. Therefore, modern SEO revolves around integrating various customer experience strategies to enhance a brand’s overall online presence.
Arguing Over Semantics?
One might argue this is purely semantics, but understanding that modern SEO is a collection of various independent strategies is crucial for both SEO agencies and individual practitioners. SEO agencies must communicate the breadth of activities involved in SEO to clients; selling “SEO services” without offering related services like content marketing is akin to selling a car without wheels.
Conclusion
While some tactics, such as rich snippets and meta descriptions, aim to alter search result appearances, it’s essential to recognize that modern SEO does not exist in isolation. It involves the interplay between different online visibility and user experience strategies, rather than focusing on a single tactic to boost rankings. SEO remains vital but should be viewed as an aggregation of multiple important strategies. Keep this holistic approach in mind as you work on optimizing your online presence, both on-site and off-site.
