Search Engine Optimization has exploded in use over the last few years, thanks to its great effectiveness as a long-term marketing solution. After all, many purchases begin on Google and other search engines. Without search engine optimization, it might be more difficult for you to connect with consumers looking for your product or service.
That being said, SEO has evolved far beyond repeating keywords until Google notices you. Search protocols become more comprehensive and complex with each passing day, especially with the introduction of AI solutions and machine learning. More and more, these search engines are being designed to answer more complex questions—to understand what users are searching for rather than to tie keywords together.
This has resulted in different kinds of SEO being developed for different reasons. This article will go over those different types, so that you can understand how you need to approach this particular part of marketing.
1. On-Page SEO
On-page SEO refers to all the activities that are on the website of a business. Keyword optimization is a huge part of this. Other aspects of this include meta description, external and internal linking in your blog posts, and URL design. Attractive and relevant visual content can also benefit on-page SEO greatly.
2. Off-Page SEO
Link building is encompassed in off-page SEO. If your links are linked to by other websites, it builds credibility and relevance with Google. Links and interactions on social media are also gauged by Google, so it is important to have a robust social media presence as a business. Consider emailing other blogs and news outfits about the relevance of your offerings, as this can be a mutually beneficial partnership for all parties.
On- and off-page SEO can and should be used concurrently.
3. White-Hat SEO
Recent developments in search engine protocols have also ensured that websites that provide a good user experience are more likely to be prioritized. That means it should load quickly, offer meaningful content, be easy to navigate, and be well-structured. One particular area of focus is that your website also has to be mobile-friendly, since the majority of searches now begin on a mobile device.
4. Grey and Black Hat SEO
Grey and Black Hat SEO methods are fairly controversial, especially since they involve keyword stuffing, using abandoned domains to create backlinks, putting a comment on random posts to get backlinks, buying links, and guest posting. This can also involve spamming on blog comment sections, sending different links than the one initially clicked, and so on.
These methods are frowned upon by search engines, and many of them have protocols in place to de-prioritize websites that use these methods.
5. Voice SEO
Voice SEO is a relatively new field, brought about by the introduction of digital assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa, and so on. Voice SEO seeks to optimize a website in such a way that it tailors to vocal inquiries, which are often formatted differently from regular searches. For example, users are more likely to use complete sentences rather than a string of random keywords.
Final thoughts
As user habits change and evolve, so too will search engine protocols. That makes it of paramount importance for businesses to employ all the latest techniques possible if they want to stay relevant to search engines. After all, the easier it is for customers to find you, the easier it will be for you to profit.
If you’re looking for someone’s help with SEO services, sign up with us at Local SEO Pro. We can make you more visible to your customers, help you gain more website traffic, and improve your conversion rate.
