Entrepreneur Magazine asks the question “Is SEO dead?”. The answer is a solid NO!
Savvy small business owners are learning to avoid the SEO snake oil and stay focused on the 3 pillars of a sound SEO strategy. An article we wrote back in 2010 is still applicable today (Search Ranking Lessons from the Tortoise) – SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.
1. Content
By far the most important component for SEO is content. New content should be added to your site on a regular basis and should be relevant to your audience and key phrase(s). A good rule to follow is if your visitor will be happy with the content, so will search engines.
2. Links
Inbound links from high quality sites help search engines feel confident that your site and content is trustworthy. Stay away from paying for links or websites that list dozens if not hundreds of links (link farms). The goal is to write content that is so awesome that other website want to link to it.
3. Social Media
I’ll admit it. I feel like social media is just another burden I have to keep up with, but I shouldn’t feel that way. Social media extends your reach and is another indicator to search engines that your content is trustworthy and relevant.
I hope you noticed that SEO starts with awesome content. So set aside some time each week to write one article/post that your visitors will find relevant.