Updated June 27, 2016.
When you have been in the industry as long as I have, you start to see situations where SEO initiatives fail. Most of my work is performing unbiased SEO audits – and determining what issues the client is facing that may have caused poor results from organic search. You name it. I have seen it.
Here are seven facts w
hen SEO has failed.
These, in my opinion, are the big ones.
1. SEO is just based on rankings
Rankings matter. They always have and likely always will. However the days of the ten blue links are long gone. Rankings now bounce up and down. What is important in terms of rankings is to be be visible in search results for your target audience and what you do. And… then you need to get the click – or who cares? It’s relevant organic search traffic that really matters.
2. SEO is focused on content only
Yes content is king. Nothing new. However it’s hard (almost impossible) to rank on content alone. Links are still SEO fuel. Those from relevant authoritative sites (of course). And… content that cannot be crawled & indexed by the Search Engines doesn’t matter.
3. SEO is only focused on the website
We all know the importance of the website. However from a search perspective, it only one component. Anything that Search Engines can crawl, index and display in the search results matters. This, of course, goes beyond just the website.
4. SEO that is based on tactics rather than a strategy
Tactics without a strategy simply doesn’t work. It’s short sighted. And… short lived. While an SEO audit is not a strategy – it’s the basis for an informed strategy (based on real search data). There needs to be shift from a tactics approach to a strategic approach in SEO.
5. SEO is done once
SEO is constantly changing. It’s simply not a one time thing. Search engines update algorithms, change Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) layouts as well launch new web properties. And… your keyword competitors are likely not standing still either.
6. SEO that is canned or automated is not a good solution
If you truly want to get results from organic search, doing the same as your competitors rarely works. Unless you are in an industry, sector or market that is not online (not likely these days) this is not the way to go. Anything that is canned, automated or packaged is just that – same approach as your competition.
7. SEO recommendations that are not implemented, don’t work
If you have good recommendations from a qualified SEO professional (someone who has lots of experience, knowledge and results) that are not implemented at all, nothing happens. Plain & simple.
SEO should be about getting rankings, clicks & web conversions. And… tracking results via analytics.
Got a question about SEO? Just ask!