What exactly is SEO? We can define search engine optimization in a number of ways. On the most simplest level, it?s an effort to get websites ranking higher in search engines for certain keywords.
On a more in-depth level, though, it can be argued that SEO is about building human connections. The internet may be a service, but it?s essentially a service that links people to other people in a variety of ways — and Google is constantly looking for ways to improve the ?human? quotient of what they provide. Here?s how.
Google Continues to Fight Back Against Spam
Anyone working at a digital marketing company is familiar with the comments that come with explaining to someone that you work in SEO. Quite frequently, people will claim that they?ve heard that ?computers are now capable of writing articles that seem like they?re written by real people.? In reality, few search engine optimization companies would claim this, because Google is getting smarter and smarter at detecting spam and content that isn?t genuinely written by people. It can examine everything from syntax to originality. Computers don?t stand a chance.
Building Links Requires Human Contact
It used to be a wild west when it came to link building. These days, though, Google has clamped down on what is and isn?t considered a strong link and search engine optimization companies have upped their game. Bulk linking is dead, and creating great, valuable links — even if there?s only a handful of them — is considered a much better investment. In most cases, though, this involves communication. If you?re writing a post for an online site related to your industry about what?s trending, getting your link in there requires clear communication and a commitment to providing relevance — otherwise, they?re not going to risk their own website?s reputation in order to help you out.
Links are for People, Not Web Crawling Spiders
It?s easy to get in the habit of thinking of links as something purely ?for Google? to use as an analytic tool. In reality, though, links have allowed the web to expand as much as it has over the past two decades. Without links there is little structure to the world wide web — and there?s no search engines. Links count as endorsements for the products and services they represent, and in the past few years we?ve certainly seen a shift away from bogus, randomly applied links that used to proliferate content even on high profile websites like Yahoo News.
In the End, Consumers are Not Machines
You can pay all you want for SEO from search engine optimization companies but if your website is horrible and doesn?t establish trust, users won?t like it, and they won?t use it. About 56% of mobile searches, for example, are people looking for local information like addresses and phone numbers for businesses. Always remember that at the end of the day, SEO services lead back to real people.