Edible SEO - Ahead of the game- exploring the new wave of SEO [Part 1]

Common Threads Across SEO Over the Last Decade

SEO continues to evolve, with the recent June core algorithm update the latest example of some sites crashing (online gambling as a hard hit industry, mercora.com as an example from healthcare), and others rising (generally sites following EAT principles- expertise, authoritativeness, trust). That’s why it’s necessary for business owners and bloggers to stay updated on the latest algorithms and rules. This will ensure they can continue to rank high on search engines. The first search website went live in 1991 when sites were simply ranked by their content. In the last 10 years, Google has become stricter with the rules enforced as more websites are developed and the web becomes an increasingly complex place to navigate. In the last decade, some of the top trends with SEO include utilizing keywords, improving content quality, and using ethical and relevant links. Although it’s often been challenging for businesses to stay updated on the latest SEO guidelines and trends, it’s also improved the quality of the information presented and has delivered a better user experience. 

Most recently, the changes that have been made have been developed to deliver a better mobile-friendly or responsive web design, local SEO, semantic markup and content that is topic-based, and improved website security with SSL and HTTPS. All of the tools are used to provide a better, user-friendly, and secure experience when browsing each website. They are also part of Google’s plan for remaining the top search engine on the Internet, unless the US government pushes a regulatory agenda that breaks apart portions of the core search business. 

Threads Still Popular and Powerful Today

Quality content is here to stay with SEO, but now Google values thought-provoking content that shows the company or blogger truly cares about the reader and values their time spent on the website. Without quality content, people will spend less time on the page or browsing all of the pages, and Google measures that engagement as another factor in search ranking. Quality websites that deliver an excellent user experience can’t rely on visuals alone to keep users on their site. All of the content should be good enough to acquire links to ensure it can rank on Google. Backlinks continue to play an important role, which allows businesses to achieve authority and trust. Please check in for Part II next week where we will discuss some best practices and tactics to succeed in the latest SEO ecosystem.

Ben Faw is a Co Founder of BestReviews which sold to Tribune Publishing in early 2018. Ben helps both B2B and B2C companies navigate and reach their goals in the online marketing world.