Surviving SEO Evolution

In constantly changing world of search engine optimization, one thing that has been established is that links are the oldest and truest form of trust being exchanged between websites. Links essentially work as votes of confidence from one site to another stating that the mentioned link will satisfy the needs of a consumer.  This allows websites with more quality links to be ranked higher on search engines. Much like Oprah backing President Obama in 2008, the more popular the site giving the link, the higher the linked site will rank on a search page. Now obviously President Obama wasn’t elected and re-elected only because he had support from Oprah, but her endorsement yielded him some credibility among certain voters, thus Oprah’s vote of confidence gave President Obama a higher rank in the public eye. A dated metaphor, perhaps, but it is still very applicable. What some people have been arguing over lately in the SEO industry is that links are losing their significance when two websites link to one another. Some claim that links are not influencing page rankings as much as they have in the past. The argument is far from settled and most likely will continue until there is a clear winner which probably won’t be for some time. Until then, SEO teams will continue to dissect Google’s algorithm updates to measure the effectiveness of backlinking along with every other SEO tactic. Though this provides great insight on what SEO specialists should be focusing on, they can never be certain that Google values certain elements more than others. The only thing for certain is that Google will continue to change its algorithm, so SEO specialists must continue to adjust. Whether that means putting more emphasis on social, keyword research or getting the most quality backlinks possible, SEO will continue to evolve and the ones who can adapt the quickest will be the most successful. Of course, even with the best SEO strategy in the world, a website will not rank highly if it is simply a bad website. At the end of the day, investing in infrastructure and content is the best way to get you website to rank highly. With a quality website, people will want to give you backlinks and share your site on social media. This is easier said than done, but it is possible. Just remember that SEO is meant to supplement a website’s content, not be it. Search engines aren’t easily tricked and when you accept that, you can actually implement some SEO strategies that will increase search ranking and benefit the business.