While it’s sometimes difficult to keep pace with technology these days, any business that cares about their digital presence will probably have heard of Search Engine Optimisation by now. But some organisations just aren’t achieving the results they want with SEO, which is adding fuel to the fire that SEO is dead.
To put the record straight- SEO is alive and well. If anything, it will become more important than ever in 2022. But search engine optimisation is changing dramatically every year thanks to Google’s new algorithms, which are constantly looking to match searcher intent and improve user experiences.
SEO is evolving
A decade ago, black-hat SEO was all the rage. Businesses and marketers tried to cheat the system with underhand, Google-bot focused techniques that never actually had the user in mind.
These old SEO tactics are now (thankfully) dead, and have been replaced with efficient white-hat techniques that concentrate on delivering quality results to users.
This means that mastering the art of SEO isn’t as easy as it used to be. Google has seriously tightened up its standards, and expects everyone to produce quality content that audiences actually want to read.
Businesses now have to create a fast site that loads in less than three seconds. They have to focus on content and technical SEO, writing good title tags and metas, and more. So if you don’t change and adapt to Google’s new expectations, you can end up killing your traffic.
Why you should invest in SEO
Good SEO practices require continual maintenance, but the potential opportunities they can provide speaks for themselves.
Google sends billions of visits to websites every day. On average, local results in Search drive more than four billion connections for businesses every month. And the traffic Google sends to the open web has increased every year since Google Search was first created.
This is why SEO is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal when done properly. By avoiding old-school SEO techniques, you can drive more traffic, more leads, and boost that all-important bottom line.
Dead SEO strategies you need to avoid
Like everything else, SEO moves with the times. While no search engine optimisation strategy should ever be set in stone, it’s important to do away with outdated SEO techniques, as they can actually do more harm than good. Your business won’t rank where it should, and you can even receive penalties from Google if you’re trying to beat the system.
So what kind of SEO tactics should you be avoiding in 2022?
Heavy link building
Just to be clear- we’re not telling you to do away with link building for good. Link building used to be a fail-safe way of boosting your site ranking, but Google has become smarter at detecting the quality of the links you use. Instead of stuffing links into your site, you’ll need to choose quality over quantity.
A great way to build quality links is to find a few authority websites to outreach, and offer a guest post or a link round-up.
Creating huge numbers of pages
Bigger isn’t necessarily better here. Google doesn’t rank your site as a whole; it ranks individual web pages based on the merit of its relation to a keyword or search query.
You therefore don’t need to waste your time building a huge website. Be strategic and focus on creating high-quality, valuable content that lures in visitors, which will also boost your on-page metrics such as bounce rate.
Keyword stuffing
Much like link stuffing, this is an old-school SEO tactic that is now obsolete.
Instead of cramming your chosen keyword in multiple paragraphs- which can jar user experience- focus on improving readability, and solving search queries. Good content is about letting keywords flow naturally.
Fixating on that number one spot
We know that the number one spot is the most coveted SEO prize for many businesses, but it doesn’t havethe strong correlation of increased website traffic it used to have.
Today’s search results feature a mix of ads, rich snippets and question boxes, so it can take that bit longer to scroll down to get to the organic pages. Instead of fixating on that number one spot, focus on your click through rates instead.
SEO for the future
Optimizing content for search engines is a practice that is still very much alive. Older SEO techniques are dying off, and businesses that can pivot and adapt will be the ones who benefit- in 2022 and beyond.
We know that mastering the art of SEO can be a challenge, which is why we’re on hand to help you develop your SEO strategy to dominate SERPs.
As an expert-led SEO agency in Manchester, we have the knowledge and tools to help businesses maximise their potential- and their returns.
