4 SEO Methods That Still Work

Critics claim that search engine optimization (SEO) is no longer effective or even dead. This is not true, since plenty of marketers and webmasters still rank their sites with search engines using SEO techniques. Regardless of what algorithm or update Google applies, you can’t expect your site to get high on the search engine results without SEO. Here are four methods that still work.

Having Quality Content

Google has always stated that quality content is essential to ranking a site, and has proved it with another refresh of the Panda update that demotes sites with thin content. A one-page website won’t get ranked with Google any more, and neither will a site filed with content that contains no real information. Focus on creating quality content that adds value for your visitors and do not rely on cheap spun articles to fill your pages.

Quality Linking

In the past, you could rank any search term with enough links pointing to your site. Things have changed and now you need to focus on link quality. The best links come from authority sites, and the more you can get from them the higher your site will rank.

Another effective method is creating links within a Private Blog Network (PBN), a group of blogs that you use to create backlinks to your money page. When Google penalized and de-indexed spammy PBNs with too many artificial links, marketers believed that the method was no longer effective. The good news is that PBN links still work, but you need to choose your links well — use quality websites and make sure that you only link to one money page. If you want to stay out of trouble with Google’s ranking algorithm, don’t try to get additional links by adding anyone else’s sites to your PBN.

Improving Loading Speed

Another important factor in website ranking is loading speed. Google has stated that user experience is important to searchers, and a site that takes too long to load is not user-friendly. This is still a relevant factor, so improving your code and making your site as lightweight as possible will help your SEO efforts. Page Speed Checker

Having Great Site Security

You’ll need to focus on site security if you want to rank well now and in the future. You can use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption on your site to enhance the user experience and boost your ranking. SSL encrypts data transfers between your visitor’s browser and the server, adding a layer of security to the exchange and creating a safer user experience.

SEO is not dead, but it has evolved. If you want your site to rank with the search engines, you’ll need to adjust to new SEO methods every time Google updates its ranking methods. However, these techniques are still valid, and will continue to help your site rank higher on search results for your targeted topics and keywords.