Well-known experts in the field are now claiming that “content strategy” is the new search engine optimization. After Google’s infamous Penguin update, many people claim that the old ways of getting links no longer work. For this reason, optimizing your content for search engine optimization is essential for your company’s success.
That’s like going back to square one. Do you long for the good old days of informational websites, when linkages between blogs were “natural” and valuable?
Recent algorithm updates have made it clear that Google wants webmasters to “be natural” in their efforts to improve their sites’ rankings.
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What Does This Mean For The Future Of Link Building?
As a matter of fact, links continue to play a crucial role in the algorithm used to determine rankings.
However, traditional link-building efforts are ineffective at best (and may even hurt your rankings) and innovative link-building strategies are only useful if you have something of value to trade.
Simply put, this “valuable” thing is informative, original, and useful material.
The Role of Search Engine Optimization and Content Strategists
The SEO strategists who focus on “content” rather than links operate in complete isolation from the tech-focused SEO community. The brand’s value is built by these individuals.
Content strategists, by developing and disseminating value, can attract readers’ attention from a wide variety of channels, not only websites.
SEO used to be mostly an algorithm game, but that all changed with Google’s Panda and Penguin updates. It made use of the fact that Google ranks websites in part by the number and quality of the links pointing to them.
SEOs reaped the benefits when Google deemed links from credible directories to be important. As a result of Google’s discovery that anchor text is a great way to measure the importance of the site’s content, SEOs also saw an uptick in their own rankings.
Content strategists, on the other hand, don’t work in that fashion. Producing and disseminating high-quality content is the primary emphasis of content strategists. The remaining work is finished.
Good content does more than just establish a brand’s reputation and boosts its visibility through social media; it also forges connections, increases traffic, and keeps giving for quite some time. Increasing website traffic is the obvious goal of any good content strategy, but here is a less-trodden path to that end.
Traditional link building may be somewhat effective right now, but it will backfire if it is not performed through the implementation of the correct approach for content quality. Since Google is now more concerned with quality than quantity, the standards for what constitutes “excellent content” and the value of links have increased.
These Are 4 Outdated Link-Building Strategies
Directories
Even though there are still some benefits to building links using directories, the number of authoritative directories and their relative importance have both declined as a result of recent algorithm updates.
In recent years, Google has given less weight to directory connections. Google has occasionally viewed directory links negatively.
Posting to Discussion Boards/Forums and Weblogs
For quite some time, blog and forum comments have been seen as integral aspects of an effective link-building strategy. However, the success of these techniques faded a few years ago, which prompted the development of the “no follow” tag, which has since been the subject of much debate and misunderstanding in the industry.
Unfortunately, some self-confessed SEOs are still employing these old-fashioned approaches. It’s not worth it to make disrespectful comments in online debates in the hopes of getting links back to your site if that’s part of your content plan.
Thousands of fresh inbound links were created for JC Penny as a result of the nationwide news attention. However, sponsored links are absurd.
Web 2.0
Everything that was lauded about Web 2.0 was centered on social bookmarking sites like Digg, Del.icio.us, and Delicious, and on blogging platforms like Blogger and WordPress. The acclaim has faded. The concept of “Web 2.0” isn’t making a lot of waves these days. It’s an outmoded method of creating links, but it can help when there’s a content plan in place.
Link Exchange
Link exchange (the practice of trading connections) was among the tactics for building links that were first to be made ineffective. This tactic should have been abandoned once Google downgraded the value of links it seemed to be mutual.
But a lot of webmasters get emails from people wanting to trade links. Some folks appear to be lagging behind the technological curve.
5 Reasons Why Content Strategy May Be The Future Of SEO
It’s not just filler; it contributes significantly.
From Google’s point of view, the big picture is all about giving people the information they need. Google finds useful sites and tries to place them high in search engine results to achieve this goal.
The mission may be more difficult than ever before, what with hundreds of unrelated and unworthy websites cropping up continuously and laying around; nonetheless, Google is overseen by some of the smartest people alive, and it is always adapting.
Benefits can be gained from implementing a good content strategy. To boost ranks and visits, it helps to have users, automatic linkbacks, social sharing, and other such factors.
Helps bring people together and fosters community.
The goal of any good content strategy should be to attract readers by providing them with something of value.
Blogs and social media are only two of the many platforms and resources that can be used by content strategies that are carried out with skill and efficiency to attract and retain an engaged audience. Because of this, businesses can make more money from a relatively small increase in traffic.
Google values “natural” language over all others.
Material strategies aren’t stealthy or covert; they include generating and sharing useful content through the right channels. You don’t have to worry about software revisions or new algorithms impacting this distribution strategy.
Enhanced public perception of the brand.
In contrast, the purpose of link building is to increase traffic through natural search engine results. There is more at play than search engine rankings when it comes to content initiatives.
Additionally, it is geared on developing a reputable brand identity for your business. A content strategy that consistently provides helpful information might boost your ranking in SERPs.
Links can’t spread like wildfire, but good content can.
Final thought: only a great piece of content can do the trick if you’re thinking about even somewhat making advantage of this “viral” component. There is no way that hyperlinks can accomplish this.
The value and “shareability” of the content is essential to the success of any viral marketing effort. There will inevitably be a slew of new connections made.
It’s not simple to stick to a content strategy, that’s all.
We constantly strive for more efficient methods that yield faster outcomes. The true importance of content strategies that put a website and business ahead of the competition is only understood by those who have the ability to produce value and have a clear awareness of the wider picture.
Investment of both time and money is necessary for a content strategy. Yet there are several benefits to this one-stop shop.
A Guide to Developing a Powerful Strategy for Digital Content
Data-rich information may be repurposed in a variety of formats (ebooks, infographics, blog articles, white papers, etc.).
Always keep in mind that the end goal of your online content strategy is to build brand recognition, customer loyalty, and user engagement through the delivery of memorable content experiences.
The four components of memorable experiences for content will help the stakeholders stay in the here and now while maintaining perspective on the bigger picture.
Relevance
Users demand personalized material that may be accessed in the ways that they like. In order to deliver customized experiences, brands need the ability to tailor the information based on the user’s location, device, and personal preferences.
Consistency
A user’s experience with a brand as a whole should be improved by each and every brand touchpoint. Users of an app, website or online storefront have little interest in the identities of those responsible for the products, content localization, or shipping.
Each time they come, they want to hear the same tone and see the same logo.
Without the ability to think imaginatively about attention spans, the future is doomed. Brands that want to retain their customers’ interest must think outside the box, design, and implement experiences that are unique and even shocking.
Speed
Buyers are trend-seekers who are always looking for the next big thing. If one company can’t meet consumer demand for cutting-edge products in its industry, another will.
Their teams need systems and resources that enable them to adapt rapidly to changes in the market and in customers’ wants and demands.
And if you don’t, what’s stopping you? Create a new identity for yourself as a content strategist, and you’ll find yourself magically converted into a search engine optimization expert. It’s the only way to ensure your hard work isn’t undone by Google’s next algorithm upgrade.
