After many Google SEO updates, some Search Engine Optimization experts are coming to terms with the realities of building a business using SEO strategies.
What are they doing, and how are they going about it?
Let’s get started.
The State of SEO
If you entered the SEO industry ten years ago, you started at a good time. Then, creators were rewarded for creating quality content.
Or what looks like quality content. The queries were few compared to today, and we had equally fewer websites at the time.
(This post will mostly use Google, in general, to refer to search engines because it has the biggest users. More than 87% of searches happen on Google, according to Statita.)
In 2013, Google’s algorithm, hummingbird, was in use. The algorithm rewards quality content and considers many other factors and the overall website’s keywords. You have a better chance of ranking if you have similar or related keywords on your website. Earlier algorithms are simpler; they often consider the keywords on that one page you’re trying to rank for.
As years went by, the world of internet content continued to grow.
SEO experts continue to find ways to manipulate (‘or do their jobs,’ if you prefer a more respectful phrase) the search results in their favor. First, they would figure out what makes a website page rank and try to achieve that in less time.
For example, if the ranking factor shows that having a domain that is X years old is a good thing, many experts will get domains with x number of years. They simply buy expired domains.
If the ranking factor is having a lot of backlinks, the answer is how your website can get lots of backlinks quickly.
On and on, the questions continue.
Google SEO Updates
Then, a problem began to appear in search results. The best content is not the one getting the ranking.
Or worse, some people learned how to rank websites without creating excellent content.
For example, you can pick content from someone else’s website and put it into an article spinner. Use a tool like Surfer SEO, which generates some of the keywords the ranking pages on Search result have in common. Add those generated keywords to your website pages. Voila! You should start ranking in a few weeks if other factors, like backlinks, are added.
This type of hack poses a big issue. All the posts start looking similar. Some websites answer questions wrongly, and yet they get ranked because they figured out how to ‘hack’ it.
So, Google SEO updates became the biggest solution Google could think of.
What is Google SEO Update?
Google regularly updates its search engine so that the factors that rank content in searches are frequently adjusted. It is an attempt to make the search results better and difficult to manipulate.
Where can I read about the details of each Google SEO Update?
You can find the Google SEO update details at Search Central or by following Twitter handles (@googlesearchc). You can also see the latest Google SEO updates by following websites such as search engine journals or following experts and subscribing to newsletters.
Why Are SEO professionals always angry about Google SEO Updates?
Making millions and millions of pages and websites rank is not an easy thing. So, each time an update is rolled out, many websites usually get bad news. Many lose their rankings, the number of visitors drops drastically, and some never return to what they used to get.
The purpose of updates is to improve search and make it difficult to manipulate.
There are too many websites on the internet. Each time an update is rolled out, some websites see improvements, while many see the opposite.
Imagine having a website that gets 100,000 visitors per month. Let’s say you get around 1000 sales every month from that number of visitors. Your product costs around $10. So that’s a lot of money.
But Google updates put your website in a difficult situation. You went from 100,000 to 10,000. Now, you can’t even get up to 100 monthly sales. Your business is in a tough situation.
You’ll be angry, too.
What are businesses and SEO professionals doing about Google SEO Updates?
At first, it looks like a temporary problem.
Many SEO professionals try to find a solution by reading the updates or trying to tweak a thing or two.
But many websites are struggling so badly.
These are some of the steps the owners are taking.
Giving up
Some SEO professionals and small business owners took their time and decided to move to other things. They think the industry (their business) is going on a path that can’t be saved. With artificial intelligence in a position to create content and answer people’s queries, there is no point creating content to serve an audience.
Content marketing
Some are choosing a different approach to get traffic. Instead of relying on search engines like Google, they are looking for ways to get traffic. They share or recreate snippets of their content on Social Media, forums, and other popular channels, like Medium. This approach is not sustainable, but it’s safer and can bring positive results, unlike relying on Google as the only traffic source.
Email marketing
Email marketing is another method SEO experts are exploring to get more visitors. But it’s a game of quality and content of uncommon value. Why would anyone subscribe to get something they can get from a simple Google search? To use email to get traffic, you have to create exceptionally useful content.
Sticking to the fundamentals
One of the fundamentals of content creation is to create great content consistently.
Some experts see search engines as vehicles, not drivers or passengers. In terms of priorities, quality and originality come first. Optimization second. Caring about what rank in search is important, but there is no panic. The SEOs in this group often run their own business or see the business as a side hustle, not their only and only source of income. To these business owners, content creation is a favorite task; though making it a business is great, it’s not all that is. They see internet business or SEO businesses as something that fluctuates. Noting is permanent.
If it is simialr to exsiting posts on the internet, if the simialraities are about 60 -99%, it’s not quality content. It’s recycling.
Anonymous
Does that mean SEO isn’t sustainable anymore?
Yes, it’s more unpredictable than it used to be, but don’t take my word for it. There are still businesses out there that don’t experience the fluctuation or decline in traffic that most websites complain of.
My website is one of them. I haven’t experienced that serious decline that makes me wonder if I understand SEO. But this is a tiny blog.
Still, there are businesses out there that still make a sustainable business. It might mean sticking to the fundamentals for years and targeting other traffic strategies to get running for years. SEO is still sustainable if you put users ahead of everything. It might take years.