SEO
is an ever changing landscape. In the past 20 plus years, webmasters have seen search engines coming up with more and more ways of leveling the playing field to support professionalism and honesty in websites. Gone are the days of spam and manipulation, and the focus now is on several factors and tactics that you had better adopt and follow or you’ll be left in the dust. Here, we’ll take a look at what works still and what to avoid.
First of all, using sloppy or unprofessional layout and structure will get you creamed by the search engines. If your site looks like it was built by a chimpanzee on crack, you will soon find your SERP listing somewhere so low it would take a surfer years to find it. Google’s bots will have to not only see your site but will have to be able to send in data that fits Google’s standards. Google is sick and tired of worthless websites that deliver nothing near to the value of what its surfers desire and need. If surfers run into sites that are nothing more than spam traps, the surfers will go elsewhere and Google loses revenue and traffic. This is like poison to Google and any search engine, so it’s best you go pro or suffer the consequences.
Take the time to review your site honestly and objectively. Make sure the spelling and grammar are the best you can do and make sure the tags are relevant and the navigation is easy. Don’t cram each page with redundant or irrelevant information. Honesty is the best policy and any deception will either be picked up by Google’s algorithms or by surfers who file complaints.
No Black Hat Techniques
Second, no ‘Black Hat’ techniques. There’s always some joker who thinks he can beat the system. In many cases, the smartest programmers and developers will indeed find an exploit to cheat the search engine systems. Not so much today as in the past, but it still happens now and then. Next thing you know, they’ve put out a course or tutorial to sell their tactics as legit, and other webmasters fall for it and find out later that their sites have been banned into oblivion by Google.
Again, honesty is the best policy here. Sure a black hat tactic might get you up in the SERPs, but that’s only temporary until you’re found out by the algorithms or by surfers, or worse, by your competition that will rat you out in a minute. When this happens your name and company and websites will be dirt and you may never recover from it. Not only that but if you’re building sites for others and they find out you’ve been dishonest, you’re looking at a lawsuit or even criminal charges.
Honorable Linking Is Best
Search engines gauge your site’s importance by the friends you keep. Linking or linkbuilding as it’s called is still effective. The issue here is that these links have to be from relevant, honorable, authoritative sites, not spammy sites that are out to deceive surfers. If you think the number of links you have inbound is going to get you over, you’re in for a big nasty surprise.
Don’t join webrings of links as it’s sure one or more in the group are crooks and Google will see this and ban you via ‘guilt by association’. Spend time nurturing link exchanges using social media and good conduct. This will show Google’s algorithms that you’re a real, active website and not some bot run zombie.
Who You Gonna Call?
LocalSEOTampa.com is a company you can rely on to get your website the kind of presence it deserves. With a highly trained staff and the latest tech, you’ll rest assured of professional service and satisfying results.
