The good people of SEOmoz release new information constantly on how to stay current on Google’s ever changing SEO tactics. Recently, their CEO Rand Fishkin released a video called “The Death of Link Building and the Rebirth of Link Earning,” on the newest Google strategies; it essentially makes you forget everything you’ve ever known and think way back to a time where boy bands, not search engines, ruled the land– the nineties.
Back before search engines really took off, people brought in traffic by finding strategic ways to draw people into their websites. In theory, Google wants you to think back to that time and stop relying on them to be successful - go out and earn it for yourself (and then once you earn it authentically, you’ll be rewarded with a high page rank). Say sayonara to those sneaky black-hat SEO tricks, and good old-fashioned strategy will get you one of those coveted top spots.
Here are some of the best takeaway points from Fishkin’s video:
1) Don’t spam – search engines will inevitably catch up with spammers on everything. You’ll be penalized and will have to redo everything…who has the time for that?
2) Work for your links – get them places where leads will actually click on them and convert. For example, become active in a relevant forum, and once you’ve proven yourself worthy by dropping some serious entrepreneurial knowledge, invite others to your content rich website and it will reiterate your awesomeness.
3) Focus on “link partnerships” as opposed to “link exchanges” – find partners with whom you can link back and forth in a normal, mutually beneficial way – ex: having a tech company link to your tech blog on their page will bring attention to your website.
4) Create and share good content that goes viral, and it will help to get your name out there. For example, write a sweet bacon perfume relating to self-storage. By creating the content that entertains and informs people on industry-related topics, others will be sure to tweet out or link to your website, drawing in potential customers from places other than a search engine. Plus, as an added bonus, you’ll be seen as expert in your field.
5) Get on high quality, popular lists such as “Kansas City’s Top Startups” on TechCrunch.com or similar websites.
It’s no longer about “knowing how to keep up with Google” it’s about thinking strategically to draw customers to your website in an authentic way. If you can do that, a high SERP rank will inevitably follow.
