SEO is its own worst enemy

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a great strategy for organisations to increase the visibility of their website, and therefore increase profit.  

With everyone competing to get on that all important first page of Google, it’s easy to see why SEO can be its own worst enemy:

Adaptability

Whatever Google says, goes. Google updates its algorithms frequently, often up to 500 to 600 times each year. While majority of these are minor, there are some major updates, such as the new Penguin algorithm. This means companies are forced to come up with new SEO techniques. Back in the day, SEO used to be all about keywords. Not anymore. Having to come up with a new strategy can often mean people will abandon ship and forget about SEO all together. This causes a lot of marketers to claim “SEO is dead”. While it does change, it’s still alive and well and playing an important role in marketing strategies.

Quality links

Your website will feature higher on Google if its content is full of links, whether that be to your own content or external. This created a major problem. Rather than having good quality links, it became a numbers game, and those with the most links ranked higher. Google then altered its ranking algorithm to take this into account. Now, if you fill your content with a ton of links that aren’t relevant, it might actually hinder your Google listing. Make sure you’ve got backlinks that are right for your website by making sure they are:

• Relevant to your audience
• From a trusted website
• Be from a variety of sources
• Not be a paid link.

Content Explosion

Because of the need for backlinks, there’s a need for additional content. This means there is more content to compete with when trying to get your post to that coveted number one listing on Google.

It also means you should avoid duplicating content. It’s tempting to write about the same topic so you can link back to your own site. This means that you’re competing with yourself for Google’s rankings. Google is only going to rank one of the pages on page 1. The website with more SEO content such as back links and social media authority will inevitably rank higher.   

Mobile Websites

So you’re using the latest techniques, your article is full of backlinks, but it’s still not ranking on Google. Why? Google knocks down websites that are not mobile friendly. If you’ve only got a desktop website, say goodbye to a good listing. People searching for your site using their mobile or tablet will only be able to reach the desktop website, rather than one optimised for a mobile. This will make the website more difficult to use, and result in the customer leaving the website quickly.

Expecting results instantly

SEO isn’t like some miracle product that proclaims to work instantly. Achieving results with SEO takes time. Not seeing immediate results can cause some clients to abandon ship. If an SEO team uses the wrong techniques to try and get results quicker, it can often backfire. Google won’t put you on the first page overnight. It takes time to recognise changes to your website and alter its rankings. If your competition is well established and has been in the industry longer than you, it will take time for an SEO team to catch up. So next time you see someone promising next day results - don’t believe them.

So SEO might not be dead, but it is easy to see how it can self sabotage and work as its own worst enemy.