The Internet has become very crowded over the past 10 years. In addition to corporate websites, there are personal sites, social media websites, blogs, video sites, photo sharing sites, and the list goes on and on. Adding keywords to your website’s title tags, headings, and content isn’t good enough anymore.

Search Engine Optimization is Changing

Search engine optimization is becoming more complicated by the day. Your organic listing is now fighting for real estate against other organic traffic, local search results, pay per click, and real time search. If your listing manages to show up in search results for some of your keywords, it doesn’t mean your listing is going to have that same spot on the page if somebody else performs that same search. Search engine results are now influenced by the searchers past search behavior, location, and Google is currently testing Social Search. Social Search uses a searchers social circle to determine what search results are most relevant.

How to Approach the New SEO

Google’s algorithm may be changing, but their concept of a great website hasn’t changed much in the last decade. Creating valuable content is still the best way to rank well in search engine results. If you look at SEO as onsite and offsite, onsite accounts for around 25% of the search algorithm. Google has created their algorithm to weight offsite activity heavier because it is harder to manipulate. Anyone can add keywords to their websites title tag. Does that mean they deserve to rank first in search results? No. On the other hand, if high authority websites like CNN are linking back to my website to support their articles, then I probably deserve to rank higher than a site that only has well written title tags.

Become a Publisher

SEO moving forward requires a new mindset. Marketing departments and SEO firms will need to become publishers. Unique, valuable content is a timeless catalyst for higher search engine rankings. As you blog, write white papers, create ebooks, shoot video, and record webinars you are creating a diverse portfolio of content for targeted prospects to read and share. Content will attract inbound links from other websites and social networks resulting in an increase in search engine ranking. Valuable, engaging content will potentially expose your brand to millions of people across social networks and give you the ammunition to generate leads online. SEO in the future is the merging of Search and social intersecting at content.

How do you plan to use content to increase your search engine rankings and generate more leads online? Let us know by posting a comment below.