The following notes and observations are my views of the continuing nature of Search Engine Optimization over the past 5-7 years. When I got into web design, it was relatively simple to optimize pages on new websites, and for the most part, the rules were relatively straightforward and simple to understand. The problem with the rules several years ago was that they were also easy to “game”. Unfortunately, too many web designers and “black glove” SEO firms abused the rules so badly that Google and the other big search engines had no choice but to evolve their algorithms so that gaming became most difficult.
While I understand the “why” here, I must confess that it’s a huge challenge to keep up with Google – not from the prospective of how to “game” their algorithm, but more from the prospective of how to best “optimize” sites for clients who want and expect their website to be found on the web – on the “first page of Google” as they say.
So I wrote the following article in an effort to document this journey I’ve found myself on over the past few years – in part just to see what I understand and what I don’t. I don’t represent the following to be anything but my understanding and observations about Search Engine Optimization.
Mike McLeland – North Texas Web Design
Traditional SEO
- Everyone wants to be on the first page of Google organically. Unfortunately, many web owners do not understand what ‘organic’ means – they just know what they’ve heard
- In my opinion, it is completely ineffective to launch new website w/o organic SEO – almost a waste of money. Sometimes I even feel guilty taking money for what is now my job, as I know w/o advanced SEO, the site will languish along with all other websites that “just sit there on the www”.
- While there are numerous CMS applications available today, I believe WordPress is probably the best option today for a lot of clients
- Thanks in part to the structure of the basic WordPress framework (Google has openly embraced the WordPress platform)
- Yoast SEO plug which allows both designers and clients to uniquely optimize pages and articles (posts)
- Five plus years ago, web designers attempted all kinds of tricks to manipulate their websites, including:
- Abuse of html meta data with keyword stuffing
- One-way link farms
- And numerous “black glove” tricks
- Over the past few years, it was no longer important to worry about meta keyword data in the header, as Google began looking at page text to determine the keyword focus for that page or website
- The main focus involved a unique keyword phrase for each page, avoiding multiple keyword phrases all on one page
- And placement of text was critical, including use of h1 tags.
- Good web designers had to keep up with all the latest algorithm changes Google would routinely make – which were constant.
- Google has numerous algorithm’s – most with funny names – such as Panda and Pandora
- The latest is Hummingbird
- It can be a full-time job for a web designer just trying to keep up with Google – and web owners don’t have a chance!
SEO in 2014
- In late September, 2013, Google announced its latest algorithm – Hummingbird
- The Hummingbird algorithm shifts its focus from individual search terms (in the past called keywords or keyword phrases) to a semantic search focus with is focused on “user intent”.
- This is a complete change in evolution of SEO and will markedly change how SEO companies optimize future websites.
- This new algorithm also has major implications to existing websites, e.g., those web designers that have always tried to manipulate SEO rankings with “black glove tricks” will find their websites disappear in rankings.
- And just as important, traditional SEO reports will change substantially. This change will happen because the shift in focus from individual search terms (keywords) to the new semantic “user intent” focus
- SEO changes
- While placement of page text with keyword phrases has changed over time, it was not all that difficult to keep up with Google’s expectations
- With the advent of smart phones with voice features such as Apple’s Siri, people are now changing the way they search on the web
- Examples:
- In the past, people might open a browser and search for a plumber in Plano
- Today, they talk on their smart phone and say something like “I need a good plumber in east Plano”
- In the past, Google would focus on the keywords plumber and Plano and put them together and present results back to the person searching the web
- With Google’s new Hummingbird algorithm, they can now determine what a person’s “intent” is by understanding the entire spoken phrase.
- This is a “game changer” for SEO!
- This changes everything!
- So what changes and what does not?
- Content has always been “king” and this will continue to be the case.
- However, we’ll now see the nature of content shift to more conversational styles, which will better fit how people will search the web in the future with smart technologies
- This certainly includes new pages and articles (‘post’ in the WordPress world of things), but it also necessitates changes in existing page text.
- These changes don’t have to be completed overnight, but websites that do not evolve and conform to this new algorithm will only decline in presence over time
Implications to SEO from our perspective
- Traditional SEO reports will change, as the focus on individual search terms give way to the new semantic focus based on “user intent”. It’s still not clear how these reports may look, but it no doubt will be confusing to clients who’ve come to trust keyword based analytics
- The one thing that won’t change is that clients will continue to expect to somehow be “found” on the web. They will continue to want to be on the first page of a Google search. Just not sure how this will look yet.