A Real-World Analysis and 6 Misinterpreted SEO Trends for 2016

17 May

Let’s have a look at and analyse a good old SEO progress graph above. Had a look? So, does this graph depict perfect SEO efforts or was there still some room for improvement? Are keyword rankings bound to improve over time, the way your potential search engine optimiser claims and promises? The reality is far from it, and probably you will need to take everything with a pinch of salt. While the graph does mostly look rosy, there are certain tiny things that can raise a few client eyebrows — like the progress (or lack thereof) for the keyword ‘Coffee Dubai’ or for ‘Coffee Beans Dubai’. You must have now noticed how these keywords improved but later had a negative impact in and around the third week of April. The ‘red’ keyword improved, but the ‘purple’ one remained frosty. Why did this happen and how can the downward spiral of certain standalone keywords be explained for a website that otherwise ticks all the right boxes? The problem is that however much the biggest SEO experts have screamed about the transition in SEO strategies over the years, most SEO agencies either refuse to listen, or are too preoccupied with keeping their clients happy with illusions. We are here to bust the 6 most common myths about the latest SEO trends, and help you see beyond the illusions.

Algorithm Updates (and RankBrain!) are Changing the Rules of the Game. Google is learning. All it wants is to give the end-users the best Search experience and stay ahead of its competitors. If Penguin and Panda weren’t enough, RankBrain came along to enhance its cognitive ability. RankBrain allows Google to relate even unique search keystrings with existing data, and get the most accurate search results. As Google continues to push differential and dynamic updates for its search algorithms and RankBrain, and even boosting its mobile-friendly algorithm, gone are the days when steady keyword ranking improvement was the name of the game.
Forget those Straight Line Graphs Depicting Keyword Ranking Improvements. The graph above is a great example of what you can and should expect from search engine optimisation efforts. Coming to the top of the reckoning table on Search Engine Result Pages, that is, the first page, is not that hard, but moving upwards from there might be a bigger uphill battle than you think. And if your SEO agency claims to bring you up top without any constraints whatsoever, you probably need to reconsider. The above graph for one of the websites that we manage, clearly indicates that. In fact, the way ‘Coffee Beans Dubai’ has performed, might cause an uproar and overshadow the great performance shown by its compatriot keywords. Is there a way around that? No. Not unless website owners understand that the days of constant improvements are gone, and understanding the criteria for a specific ranking fluctuation is the key. This is what we had to do as well — get to the drawing board, nitpick the content optimisation and common technical errors that we might have missed, or check for the onset of an algorithm update which might have had a late effect on that specific keyword.
‘Unique’ Content is the King. But, Such Cliched Lines are Not! You must have heard this for the umpteenth time, but we fear you still don’t understand what it really means. Take this into perspective: there are 1,025,705,580 live websites at the time of typing this. There must be thousands, if not millions, of websites in the same or largely similar sector that your business operates in. Amongst the crowd of these many websites, how is yours any different? You might be having the same product stock and even identical prices and demographics, but that website chugging ahead of you in terms of core volumes from online sales, might just be able to present itself better. You need to target and intrigue the potential customer, get more than a glance from him in this ocean of options that he has available right in front of his eyes. Uniqueness is the key. Be the black sheep.
You Don’t Just Need Quality Content, You Need to Market It. If you think just creating quality content and posting it randomly will win you brownie points in Google’s eyes, you are probably more wrong than people who predict SEO services’ apocalypse. Content marketing and Social Media Optimisation have become integral to creating a brand name that your target segment is abuzz with. From high-quality Articles on Ezine to genuinely performing official Press Releases, and from Business Listings on top websites to website blogs that are shared on social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Reddit, and Pinterest — your SEO strategy will need to fire on all cylinders. Great backlinks give great dividends.
Developmental Constraints WILL Hurt Your Long-Term SEO Goals.Even when you have seen a lot of progress over a few months’ span, you might struggle in the last lap, the last hurrah. Try looking at your competitors. If they have a better overall website which is mobile-friendly, more functional, and has much better web design overall; why wouldn’t it be preferred by potential visitors, and dare we say, even Google!
SEO is NOT Dead. Whoever Says that, Barely Knows what the Acronym SEO Stands For. You must have heard whispers loud enough to cause a concern “SEO is no more! Long live SEO!” But all of that is nothing more than a load of dirt. As long as Search Engines are there, organic traffic and ways to tap into marketing options on them will remain a thriving option for online businesses. Period.

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A Real-World Analysis and 6 Misinterpreted SEO Trends for 2016

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