Changes to search algorithms appear to have hit harder than Taylor Swift's breakup song.
There's a lot of talk about core updates, useful content, reputation abuse, etc. OpenAI is building a search engine, and Google's Search Generative Experience could soon expand.
It's becoming hard to keep up, and many SEOs are suffering from severe FOMO.
With all this discussion, I can't help but notice some recurring themes. Search engines are clearly evolving (very fast), but neither the search engine's mental model nor his SEO philosophy seem to be evolving as quickly.
Whenever a new change occurs, I first try to understand what search engines are doing and why they are trying to accomplish it. This can be difficult as site owners and companies often have opposing views.
I've been playing the contrarian role a lot lately, and I'd like to share some unpopular opinions that I think will help many businesses, even if they're a little hard to swallow.
1. SEO is now real marketing
With every new algorithm and change, we move further away from the old days of fooling search engines and closer to having to do real marketing.
If you're not thinking about user needs, personas, and intent, you've already failed.
I often meet SEOs and companies that take a backwards approach. They start saying: “I have this.” Rank for this keyword. ”
That's the wrong approach.
A better approach is to start with keywords, understand user intent and what they find useful, and then build on that.
2. Spam/tricks are not a business model
All SEOs, even white hats who don't admit it publicly, dabble in spam tactics and what some call “programmatic SEO.”
Most companies have a test site and a side hustle site. We all push the limits of search engines to see what works and what doesn't.
But that doesn't mean these tactics are good business models. These come with risks.
If you run a small affiliate site that you can easily throw away and pick up again later, it might be worth the risk. If your company has employees who have families to support, you probably shouldn't take that risk.
3. Search engines are not obligated to get traffic.
It's not a level playing field. Search engines are not public utilities, so their rankings do not have to be fair and balanced.
Legally, that ranking is still that search engine's editorial opinion. Search engines have a responsibility to their users. If users aren't happy, they won't use the search engine anymore (or click on your ads).
People are often quick to complain that Google and Bing have “brand bias,” but if users didn't have brand bias, they wouldn't have it either.
As recent disclosures have revealed, Google uses click data to train its systems. This means that the user must be clicking on a known brand or it won't be ranked.
As marketers, our goal is to become a brand, but we know it's not easy. It takes a lot of effort, effort and time, all of which today's leading brands have invested in.
SEO is not an overnight success.
Digging deeper: If all your content is terrible, how should Google rank you in search?
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4. Search engines care more about their users than your business, website, and revenue
Accepting this allows us to match our interests with those of our search users.
Remember the actual marketing line? You don't just have to give the user what they want.
You also need to make sure that you are giving the engine what the user wants. You must also accept that those desires may change over time. That's why you shouldn't base your business model entirely on engines. Differentiation is still important.
5. Not all searchers want a website
The purpose of a search engine is to show you the 10 websites that mentioned your search query, not to sort the websites with the most links. It's the best technology we had in the late 1990s.
Search has evolved significantly.
When a user searches [how old is Taylor Swift?] They are please do not Requires a link to a webpage with a cookie consent notice, newsletter sign-up, alert notification opt-in, and age check (for EU). Packed with autoplaying videos and overlay ads, the actual answers are buried five paragraphs deep in the page. A story by a fabricated author that was medically reviewed by a doctor for some reason because we had misunderstood his EEAT.
They just want a number – it’s 34 (or 10 if you’re still stuck with the 1999 SEO model).
There's a great quote Bill Gates said in 2009 (when a 20-year-old Taylor Swift was working on her album Speak Now): “The future of search is verbs.”
What he meant by this is that people are looking to accomplish tasks. I quickly realized that I should focus on websites that help users do something. This is not a website that attempts to trick the platform into ranking you with information that was not created by me and is neither expert nor unique.
Since that day, I've strived to bring SEO back to “real marketing,” which always starts with user intent. As search becomes more AI-based, this strategy will become even more important.
While AI can answer simple questions like these (without having to be tested by a random doctor in a random country), it can't replace real human experience and insight. I'm not going to discuss the latest fan theory about a TV show, and I'm probably not going to rely on this article to buy a house.
6. Regarding reputational damage
If someone is paying you to post something on your website, it's not content. It's an advertisement.
That ad may be very helpful to the website's users, but in the search engine's opinion; do not have Be useful to users.
That doesn't mean it can't be done. Perhaps he can earn some money by promoting that content in his newsletter, widgets on his website, and social media accounts.
It's great if it's useful for users, but don't expect it to rank unless search engines think it's useful for users.
So what to do about all this?
back to our time wildest dreamsthese You are mine Your SEO strategy may not have worked. But since that infamous incident, Florida! ! Update, they are just creating bad blood with search engines.The current model looks like this 15-age cardigan – It may be comfortable, but it’s never comfortable. timeless.we need to shake it off And don't hold on to outdated methods.
change is required.it's time speak now in fearless Pursue user intent. our song It's more valuable than following trends.let's start again Focus on what search engines think users actually want, rather than just trying to meet their criteria. blank irrelevant content, or different hits than searcher intent. This is a new era and what we need is please live long SEO strategies that prioritize user experience and build trust.this is nothing new. long story short, it's time to do some serious marketing. you...are you ready?
I'm really sorry about the last two paragraphs, but I just couldn't resist.
Yes, it's a giant AI-enhanced Taylor Swift joke. But it also shows why non-AI and keyword-stuffed content is preferred. this Paragraphs are user-friendly.
Our next step is clear.Need to focus on user intent and Search engine intent: What they think users want. It's also a good time to start diversifying your business to reduce your dependence on a single traffic source.
Search engines and the way search results are displayed may change, but one thing always remains the same. That means the user still needs to do something.
As long as users have needs, there will always be a need for marketers to help users make decisions and accomplish tasks.
Is it SEO? Is it marketing? call me whatever you like. 🙂
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily those of Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.