We here at Big Red SEO have been coming to terms with Google’s (not provided) over the past few months, and as we’ve heard others in the industry bemoan that our valuable keyword referral data being taken away signals the slow death of our livelihood, Big Red SEO knows better. The SEO industry’s response to (not provided) was knee-jerk, but now in the aftermath of Google’s change we have a chance to think about what to do going forward.As long as 1) the Internet exists, 2) people buy things on it, and 3) those people use search engines to find the things they want to buy, there will always be a demand for search engine optimization (SEO). It’s more than a safe bet that none of these three essential factors will change anytime soon, so what we need to do is understand why a change like (not provided) takes place and adapt our methods to the emerging models.
The Keywords are Dead, Long Live SEO!
Google makes its swimming pools full of money by delivering fast and accurate information to searchers, and they’re the best at what they do (Scrooge McDuck would be jealous). That’s why we in the SEO industry should sit up and take notice when a change as drastic as (not provided) happens, because it signals a baseline paradigm shift, in this case toward semantic search.
Keywords will still be a part of Big Red SEO’s strategy for the foreseeable future, because people obviously still search for things using words. Fortunately, here at Big Red SEO, we have always used several other SEO techniques that Google considers more effective in delivering what its’ users want. We believe that it only makes sense that Google wants to direct searchers toward the best, most relevant content on the Internet for their needs. At Big Red SEO, we recommend your focus should be on creating great content—that’s how Google will find and recognize you as first page material.
The Future is Semantic Search
We can already see Google moving away from matching user-supplied keywords to words on web pages in features such as the search carousel, autocomplete, and conversational search—these features and others focus on anticipating the needs of the user based on a number of personalized factors (geographical location, previous searches, etc.) and often aggregate results not based on keywords on a particular page but what the site as a whole is about.
In other words, Google has gotten so good at understanding topical relationships that trusted quality content can rank for keywords that it doesn’t specifically target. This is pretty amazing, and although it does bring us one step closer to Skynet and robot uprising, for now it’s immensely helpful in bringing relevant content to end users.
Becoming a Topical Authority
As SEO experts, we believe in order to attract Google’s attention you need to build authority in your field, and focusing on crafting quality content is one important step in that direction. It’s a simple fact that people are drawn to great content. They share it. They tweet it. They link to it. They talk about it. Keyword targeting may help them to find your content, but if it isn’t compelling and useful, all the keyword targeting data in the world won’t help you make a conversion.
Furthermore, building authority doesn’t just mean showing off your knowledge on a given topic. We could just as easily say that we’re building relationships. Proving your knowledge is certainly a part of it, but what’s even more important is understanding that your end goal is for people to know and trust you, and for that to happen you have to be an active voice in their community.
Contact Big Red SEO Today at (402) 522-6468!
Keywords are still important in the SEO toolkit, but our team of content creation and SEO experts at Big Red SEO know that they won’t be the central pillars of our strategy as they once were. With Google growing more advanced in its ability to conceptualize, to see the big picture, we have to do the same when it comes to our optimization strategies.
Big Red SEO is a full-service web design and SEO company in Omaha, Nebraska, specializing in developing cutting-edge strategies that help our clients get noticed by potential customers on search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. Contact us today at (402) 522-6468 and let us get started sending your business to the top of the search engine rankings!