The Changing Landscape and Business of SEO – ShoeMoney

SEO is one aspect of internet marketing that is always changing, yet is also also the same. SEO is the practice of putting in the necessary time, work and effort rank a website in a higher organic position in Google. And while this may be one of the most obvious and most simplistic things we can say about SEO, at it’s very core, it’s simply changing all the time.

One of the best ways to look at this, would be to consider a zoomed out storyline of the internet over the last 20 years. A lot has changed, and very little stays the same. SEO and email are probably two of the most constant aspects of the internet, even two decades later.

However, even with the process of search engine optimization being over two decades old, it’s still a process that not many people, site owners and business can truly master.

Today, we are going to take a look at some of the most important things to consider when trying to make it in the world of SEO in 2021 and beyond. Be sure to read through each of the recommended methods, expert tips and resource guides below in order to improve your efforts and results.

Google is SEO… and They Make the Rules

As already mentioned, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization — which is the process of putting in the necessary work and effort to cater to the needs of Google, and how they rate and rank websites in the search results. And while the concept of SEO is mostly focused on link building, the algorithm created and managed by Google is changing all the time.

In fact, according to Hubspot, there are now more than 200+ different factors that Google considers when ranking sites in Google, and they’ve also had thousands of updates to this algorithm over the years.

This is important to note, as there are plenty of websites, marketers and link builders out there looking to game the system and boost their rankings fast. More often than not, these are simply wasted efforts.

Google has everything you could possibly imagine in place to make sure their rankings are more accurate than ever. And as long as Google can provide the best search results and value to their audience, they will continue to be the best and largest search engine in the world.

The Billion Dollar Industry of SEO

Getting listed on the first page of Google for any search term is a pretty unique and amazing task. There are currently more than a billion active websites and blogs on the internet today, and less than 10 organic rankings on the first page of Google. With such limited search results real estate out there, everyone is looking to secure a spot of their own.

More often than not, businesses and brands of all sizes will outsource this type of work to SEO agencies. And this is for good reason, as a business should focus on their services and products, and hand off the marketing and promotion to those who specialize in it.

However, the world of SEO and the business and services that come with it are drastically changing as well. We can clearly see this when looking at any of the most popular SEO services out there, which traditionally focus on on-site technical SEO, keyword research and link building — but not also scale out to site audits, reputation management, social media mentions and more.

And it’s also not uncommon to see agencies now pushing the services of pay per click marketing as well — for those clients that simply don’t have the necessary SEO foundation in place to reach their organic goals in a timely manner.

While Google might be generating billions of dollars annually from their search engine and paid positions, they’ve also paved the way for billions more to be generated through the use of SEO services being offered by millions of agencies and freelancers as well.

Great Content Will Only Get You So Far

Great content is the foundation for everything on the internet. It’s why people visit a website, search through Google and even scouring through endless feeds and updates on social media.

When you break it all down, there are really only three reasons why someone is using the internet or searching for something through Google, which are; to find information, to buy something or to be entertained.

And in each of these cases, they are all delivered through original content — and this is also what Google is looking for when trying to deliver the best content to their audience through search results. It’s also not just about creating the best content for your audience, but also better content than what’s already out there.

As you can imagine, with over a billion active websites on the internet, every possible topic has already been written and talked about several times over. The difference between a site ranking on the first page of Google for a topic, versus one ranking on page 10, is often a matter of how that content is packaged up and delivered.

However, if you were to ever attend an SEO conference or watch “marketing gurus’ talk about how to rank a website online, they often say “focus your efforts on creating great content“. While this might be true, it’s really only just the foundation for ranking content in Google.

Think of your site like a pizza. The bread would be the content, and the sauce would backlinks, while the cheese would be social media. Without any of these elements in place, you simply won’t get the same result.

You can have the greatest content written ever, with the most beautiful visuals and even video added… but if no one is linking to that content or sharing it on social media, how is anyone ever going to find it? They won’t.

How to Get the Most Out of Your SEO Efforts

At the end of the day, Google and the concept of SEO are going no where. What will change is the many different ways people will continue to search for and consume content — while also affecting site rankings and optimization as well.

With so many different moving parts and key factors changing all the time, it’s important to make sure you are focusing your efforts in all of the right places. This means avoiding the quick tips and tricks to boost rankings overnight, and focusing on the proven SEO methods that continue to work year after year.