Get back to SEO basics in 2020 and stop losing income

It’s a well-known fact in the internet marketing industry that Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is continuously evolving, with constant new algorithms and updates being rolled out by Google nearly every single week. Unfortunately, this can create uncertainty for web site owners, SEO Guru’s and internet marketing companies, but many SEO professionals believe that you should be able to take back control in 2020 by going back to basics and using the right forms of content marketing as a starting point.

Always choose content over rankings

SEMrush CEO Oleg Shchegolev recently said that the obsession with search engine positions and Google rankings might be having an adverse impact and the best way to fight poor rankings in the search results is to simply deliver high-quality content, news and articles on a regular basis and the search engines WILL place your site high in the rankings. In other words, write good, informative articles and they will come…. Or should I say the bots will rank you….

Shchegolev also says that following best marketing practices before the content creation and upload phase cannot hurt though. This means doing things like making sure that your website or blog is Google friendly and mobile/tablet optimised, including Structured Data and using relevant keywords and phrases without sacrificing the articles impact, grammar or readability.

He goes on to add: “All of these things are still relevant today but they should only come after you’ve ensured your content offers something of value to your audience.” Because at the end of the day Google wants to server their customers – search engine users – with the most relevant results.

When Writing Articles Remember to Always Provide Value to the Reader

Providing value can be accomplished by clarifying a few important concepts and facts in layman’s terms without industry-specific phrasing and language. Shchegolev says that it may be a good idea to provide content that can help those in the B2B (Business to Business) industry to perform their respective roles better or to inform and answer FAQs in B2C (Business to Client) environments.

Using simple, straightforward and relatable language rather than trying to clever with multiple Synonyms or tech speak will make it easier for you to educate and deliver value to your readers or customers whilst also aiding organic search, which will continue to be a principal traffic driver in 2020. Remember most people tend to search using basic terms and words and seldom reach for their thesaurus when asking Google a question.

Plan Your Campaign and Monitor Your Results

Whether you are making your first venture into content creation in the new year or aiming to update your existing marketing strategy, Shchegolev also recommends following a PDCA (plan, do, check and act) attitude. Planning should be centred on a final marketing goal and a theory based on how you will go about achieving it.

You can then implement the plan, monitor how a new or updated campaign performs, and identify any areas of improvement before acting on new insights ahead of a new content cycle. Making tweaks and changes quickly is important if you have a busy schedule planned for 2020.

Looking Forward to 2020

In my honest opinion, over the past 5 years or so, Search Engine Optimisation has gone down a dark path with many website owners and marketing companies focused on manipulating the search engine bots with strategically placed keywords, fake structured content, Meta Data and Title Tag manipulation, keyword rich anchor text, bought backlinks and more, rather than focusing – as you should – on providing useful and readable content.

Content is and always has been king and in 2020 websites that provide the best content WILL get the best results