Thanks to the rise of mobile, changes in SERPs, and the continued crackdown from Google on spam techniques such as keyword stuffing & link farming, the discipline of SEO has changed dramatically over the years. Essentially, quality is taking over quantity, making the online marketplace more competitive than ever before. However, with the primitive stages of SEO well and truly behind us, the user experience has increased tenfold, meaning people are now being directed to valuable content. ‘Valuable’ content in this regard, refers to that which connects the user with their end, in an engaging way, over multiple devices and platforms – whatever that may look like.

So how has SEO changed exactly?

When it comes to on-page optimisation, there have been dramatic changes in semantic search (that which attempts to understand the user’s intent and context in order to deliver more relevant search results) and machine learning, which means search engines are now able to rank pages based on a number of keywords, not simply those which you use to optimise the page. By doing so, content has evolved to better match the user’s needs. So what does that mean for businesses, or in my case, an SEO consultant Melbourne, Australia? Well, modern day SEO should have a thorough understanding of not only content creation, but also content promotion. We can no longer rely on optimising existing landing pages, we must also focus on creating, optimising and, perhaps most importantly, amplifying valuable content. By doing so, you can effectively increase brand awareness and rank higher in SERPs.

Before the Facebook revolution, online sharing largely took place through instant messaging or via email, in other words, those places which fall outside the realm of search engine optimisation. Nowadays, social media is ubiquitous, and certainly not something to be ignored when it comes to SEO, or any digital marketing effort in that case. If we’re talking survival of the fittest, social media is the fittest. Together, social media and SEO is undefeatable in increasing brand exposure, connecting businesses with their audience, and driving consumer engagement. Any business, or best SEO consultant Melbourne must make proper use of social networks to promote a site’s content to achieve as many shares, likes, etc. as possible in order to achieve a maximum exposure on search engines across multiple devices.

Back in the day, desktops were the primary device used to surf the web, so optimisation was largely focused on these. Today however, mobiles are the preferred device, now accounting for over 65% of digital media time. In 2015, mobiles officially surpassed desktops in terms of Google searches made across 10 countries, including Australia, the US and Japan. And this doesn’t even cover tablets, as Google group tablets with desktops rather than smartphones. With this in mind, the value in optimising for mobile is undeniable. Business must focus on optimising the mobile experience, especially apps, and ensuring page load time is 2 seconds or less. Pages with longer load time receive a far greater bounce rate, and a lower average time spent on the page, thus resulting in a lower average conversion rate. Not ideal.

Finally, the practice of link building has changed dramatically over the years. In the primitive days of SEO, it was all about link stuffing in order to obtain a higher ranking on search engines. Today however, the focus has shifted to the quality of links on web pages, and how relevant they are to the end-user’s needs, whilst link stuffing from spammy websites is penalized heavily by Google. It is therefore vital that any business or SEO consultant Melbourne ensures they are creating high quality content that includes relevant links that are of value to the user.

SEO is continuously changing to better the user experience, and it is our role as a SEO company in Melbourne, Australia to ensure we are adapting..  Newpath WEB keep your audience captivated with creative and innovative posts across the various social media platforms with which your business has a profile. For more information, visit https://www.newpathweb.com.au/ or call 1300 761 806