Did you know that SEO (search engine optimization) is a millennial? It’s not plural for more commonly known as Generation Z. SEO started around 1991 after the first search engine was born in 1990. Many things have changed since then, one of which is how we optimize our sites for the search engine.
There was a time when website owners would stuff their pages with keywords just to make sure they rank first on search engine results. This then changed to coming up with coherent content with keywords insertions here and there. This trend gave birth to hiring local SEO service from Syracuse to Singapore and all places in between.
The last few years, however, brought about changes that make us rethink if ranking first on a search engine should be given much importance. Upon careful research, the answer we found is Yes and No. Let’s start with the “no.”
You’re writing for humans, not search engines
When we hear SEO, we think keywords. So, we look for the most viable keywords we can use and write about them. The problem with keyword-centric writing is that it forgets the audience. Your target market has a problem. That said, they turned to Google to look for solutions. They look for websites that can provide a way out of whatever bind they are in.
To ensure that you help your audience with their issues, Forbes recommends communicating with them well. Grab their attention and hold it. Encourage and convince them to follow your advice.
How will people find me if I don’t rank on search engines? You might ask. That’s something you can deal with later. Besides, there are social media where you can share your write-ups. When your readers see the amazing content you have, they’ll be the ones to make it viral.
On the other hand, if you focus first on appearing on the first page of search engines, you may end up with high bounce rates. This is likely to happen if your content is not worth reading. Your audience clicks on your link but closes it in seconds because it’s not useful. Consequently, search engines will push your page down as more click-and-close occur.
SEO rules are dynamic
Another reason you should not solely prioritize SEO is that its rules are dynamic. As mentioned above, the trends change. If you do a quick search for “SEO tips,” more often than not, auto-suggest would include the year after the keyword.
Prioritizing SEO before the content may distract you from knowing exactly what to write about, especially if you follow the skyscraper technique. You’re stuffing a lot of information in one go, which may either bore or confuse your audience.
What should you do?
However, this is not to say that you should stay away from search engine optimization altogether. You still need to appear on searches, but you must make sure the search engines’ algorithm won’t “downvote” you. Don’t pull information out of thin air and publish it.
After you have drafted an intelligible message, it’s time to take care of the keywords, tags, robots.txt, XML, and the rest of SEO tactics. If choosing the right words and putting them together comprehensibly is not your prowess, better leave it to the experts. They can apply the effective techniques to make your content and your webpages appear on Google search results.