How to Choose the Right Langley SEO Company for Your Business Needs

How to Choose the Right Langley SEO Company for Your Business Needs

Effective SEO

Assess Your Business Goals and SEO Needs


When you're diving into the bustling world of digital marketing, picking the right Langley SEO company to partner with can feel like a daunting task, no? Explore Boosting Online Visibility with a Trusted Langley SEO Company here. You've gotta start by taking a good, hard look at your business goals and SEO needs. It's a bit like setting up a puzzle; you need to know the picture you're aiming to complete before you start slotting pieces together.


First off, what're your objectives? Are you lookin' to increase brand awareness, boost sales, or maybe break into a new market?

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Every goal might require a slightly different SEO strategy. Oh, and don't forget! SEO and SEM Your goals gotta be SMART – that's Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (just a handy little acronym to keep in your back pocket).


Now, assess your current SEO situation. If you've been around the block a few times, you probably have some data to work with. But if you're a newbie, that's okay too! Understanding where you stand is crucial because it sets the baseline. And let's be honest, no one expects you to know all the nitty-gritty details. That's what the SEO pros are for!


Then there's the budget (ugh, the dreaded B-word).

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You can't ignore it, though. Be realistic about what you can spend, but remember, with SEO, sometimes you gotta invest a bit to get those sweet, sweet returns. And hey, a good Langley SEO company should be able to work with you to maximize your budget, however big or small it may be!


Once you've got all that figured out, start lookin' for a company that aligns with your goals and needs. You want a team that's not just skilled but also a good cultural fit for your business. After all, they're gonna be your partners in crime (well, not actual crime, but you get the idea).


And finally, don't rush into a decision, alright? Take your time, meet with a few companies, ask loads of questions (and expect clear answers), and trust your gut.

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If something feels off, it probably is. But when you find the right match, you'll know – it'll just click!


Effective SEO

So, to sum it up, assessing your business goals and SEO needs is a crucial step before shaking hands with any Langley SEO company. Keep your wits about you, and don't settle for less than what your business deserves. It's a big ol' digital world out there, and with the right team on your side, you're set to make some serious waves. Good luck!

Research Potential Langley SEO Companies


Oh, the task of finding the right SEO company in Langley for your business - it's not exactly a walk in the park, is it? I mean, you've got to sift through a whole bunch of options, and let's be honest, they all claim they're the best! (At least that's what their websites say.) But here's the thing: Not every company is gonna be the right fit for your unique needs.


First up, you've gotta consider their experience and track record. Look, I'm not saying that new companies can't do a good job, but you can't just ignore the seasoned players who've been optimizing websites since, well, before it was cool! Check out their case studies, reviews, and testimonials. And don't just skim 'em! Really dig in to see if they've got experience in your industry. It makes a difference, trust me.


Next, communication is key! You don't want to be left in the dark, wondering what the heck's going on with your SEO campaign. So when you chat with potential companies, take note of how they talk to you. Are they clear and straightforward? Do they explain things in a way that makes sense, even if you're not a digital marketing whiz? If the answer's no, well, that's a red flag right there.


And hey, let's talk about the elephant in the room: Budget. You can't ignore it (even though sometimes you wish you could). The thing is, the most expensive option isn't always the best, and the cheapest isn't necessarily gonna be the worst. What's important is value. You want services that give you a bang for your buck, right? So don't be shy about discussing pricing and what you get for it. Professional SEO Services Transparency is the name of the game.


One more thing! Don't forget about the cultural fit. You're gonna be working closely with these folks, so you want to make sure you're on the same page. If the company culture is like oil to your water, well, that's not gonna work out too well, is it?


In conclusion, choosing the right Langley SEO company involves a bit more than just a quick Google search. It's about finding a partner that understands your business, communicates effectively, fits your budget, and meshes with your company culture. Phew, it's quite the journey, but when you find the right one, it's like a match made in digital heaven! Online Presence Now, go on and start your search - and remember, patience is a virtue (even though it's a pain sometimes)!

Evaluate the Company's Track Record and Case Studies


When you're on the hunt for a reliable Langley SEO company to support your business needs, you can't just go with the first one that pops up in your Google search! It's essential to dive deep (I mean, really get into the nitty-gritty) of what these companies have accomplished in the past. Evaluating their track record isn't just a fancy step; it's crucial to see if they've walked the talk, you know?


Let's start by looking at their case studies - these are like treasure maps that show you where they've been and what they've conquered. But don't just skim through 'em! You've gotta read between the lines. Are the results they're boasting about relevant to what you're aiming for? It's not just about big numbers and flashy graphs. If they can't show how they've helped a business similar to yours, then it's a red flag, isn't it?


Oh, and another thing, watch out for those testimonials.

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Sometimes, they can be as genuine as a three-dollar bill.

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Try to reach out to the clients listed (if you can) and get the real scoop. There's nothing like hearing it straight from the horse's mouth to give you a sense of assurance (or the opposite).


Of course, don't forget to consider how long they've been in the game. While it's not always true that the older the better, experience can play a big part in understanding the ever-changing landscape of SEO. But hey, don't dismiss the newbies outright! Sometimes, they're hungry and innovative, which can be just what your business needs.


However, here's a little nugget of advice: don't get swayed by smooth talkers. Some companies can talk the talk but when it comes down to walking the walk? Not so much.

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It's about what they've done, not what they say they can do.


So, in a nutshell, take your time (no rush!), analyze their past work, put on your detective hat for those case studies, and don't be afraid to ask tough questions. After all, it's your business we're talking about. You need an SEO partner that's as committed to your success as you are – anything less just won't cut it.

Consider the Company's Expertise and Services Offered


When it comes to picking the right Langley SEO company for your business, oh boy, it's no walk in the park!

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    You've gotta dive deep and really mull over what the company brings to the table. Now, don't just go for the first one that pops up on Google. That could be a rookie mistake!


    You see, each company's expertise can vary like night and day. Some might be wizards in local search optimization, while others might shine in the international arena. So, ask yourself, what's your business aiming for? If you're lookin' to dominate the local market, then find a company that knows the ins and outs of Langley like the back of their hand. They should be familiar with the community, the local competition, and how to make your business stand out.


    And services offered? Ah, that's another kettle of fish! Make sure to check (and double-check!) that the services they offer align with what your business needs. If they're all about link building but your website's on-page SEO is as weak as a kitten, then what's the point?


    Also, let's not forget, a company might talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? Check their track record, peep at their portfolio, and don't shy away from asking for references. And here's a little secret: peek at their own SEO ranking. On-Page SEO If they can't get themselves to rank high, how can they do it for you?


    Bear in mind, it's not just about what they can do, but how they do it.

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    (You know, the whole white hat versus black hat shebang.) You wouldn't want your business to get dinged by search engines because of shady practices.


    So, take your time, do your homework, and don't rush into a decision. Remember, it's not just a service you're investing in; it's a partnership! And with the right company (fingers crossed!), your business could soar to new heights. Just imagine seeing your business at the top of search results. Now that's something to aim for!

    Check Reviews, Testimonials, and Client References


    When it comes to choosing the right Langley SEO company for your business, it's crucial to do your due diligence! One of the most telling steps in this process is to check reviews, testimonials, and client references. Now, let's be honest; not every review you come across will paint a perfect picture (and that's okay, because it doesn't have to).


    First off, head over to the company's website and take a gander at their testimonials section. These are usually glowing reports, handpicked by the company themselves, so while they're helpful, remember to take them with a grain of salt. It's like when you ask someone how they're doing, and they automatically say "Good," even if they've had a rough day; it's the polite response, but it doesn't tell the whole story.


    Next, venture out into the wilds of the internet and look for independent reviews. Sites like Google My Business, Yelp, and even social media platforms can offer valuable insights from a range of clients. Now, while you're sifting through these comments, don't be put off by a negative review or two. SEO and SEM No company's perfect, and sometimes a bad fit or a misunderstanding leads to a less-than-stellar experience. It's more about the overall trend and how the company responds to criticism. Do they offer to make things right, or do they react defensively? That response tells you a lot about their customer service.


    Oh, and don't forget to ask for client references directly from the SEO company. If they're confident in their work, they shouldn't have a problem connecting you with previous or current clients. Have a chat with these folks, and don't just talk about the successes. Ask about challenges, too; how the company handled obstacles can be incredibly revealing.


    In conclusion, while it's tempting to just go with the company with the slickest website or the top spot on search results, it's not always the best indicator of what's right for your business. So, dig a little deeper, look for honest feedback, and remember that it's the patterns that matter, not the occasional hiccup in service. With a bit of legwork (and a healthy dose of skepticism), you'll find an SEO partner that'll help your business shine online.

    Understand Their SEO Strategies and Techniques


    When it comes to picking the perfect Langley SEO company for your business, it's like navigating a minefield, isn't it? You want a partner who not only talks the talk but walks the walk! Understanding their SEO strategies and techniques is crucial – I mean, you wouldn't want to dive in blindfolded, would you?


    First off, let's talk about their game plan. A good SEO company should have a clear, comprehensive strategy that's tailored just for you. They should be able to explain their approach in simple terms (even though SEO can get pretty technical, right?). If they start throwing jargon at you without breaking it down, that's a red flag!


    Now, here's the thing – not all techniques are created equal. There's what we call 'white hat' SEO, which is all above board, and then there's 'black hat' SEO, which, well, isn't. It's like the dark arts of the internet world. You want to make sure your SEO company is using tactics that won't get you penalized by search engines. So, ask them about their methods! If they're hesitant or vague, that's not a good sign.


    And, oh! Don't forget about their track record. A reliable company should have case studies or examples of past successes. They should be proud of their work, eager to show how they've helped businesses like yours climb the ranks. If they can't provide any proof of their prowess, why even consider them?


    But here's a little secret: don't just take their word for it. Do a bit of snooping around (it's not being nosy, just thorough!). Check out their own SEO. If they can't rank their own site, how can you expect them to rank yours?


    Lastly, communication is key. Your SEO partner should keep you in the loop, updating you on progress and changes. After all, it's your business on the line. You deserve to know what's happening every step of the way.


    Choosing the right SEO company isn't just about fancy promises; it's about finding someone who understands your needs, has the skills to back up their claims, and isn't afraid to show it. Local Business SEO So take your time, ask the tough questions, and don't settle. Your business deserves the best (even if the search is a bit of a headache!).

    Discuss Communication and Reporting Processes


    Choosing the right Langley SEO company for your business needs is, without a doubt, a critical decision! It's about finding a partner that not only understands your business goals but also has the capability to effectively communicate and report on the progress made towards achieving those goals. Now, let's delve into the communication and reporting processes, which should never be overlooked.


    First and foremost, clear communication is the cornerstone of any successful partnership (and this is no exception to the rule). A trustworthy SEO company should establish open lines of communication from the get-go.

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    They should be asking you questions about your business, your target audience, and your expectations. And, it's not just about them talking; they ought to listen – really listen – to what you have to say.


    Then there's the reporting part. Website Traffic A decent SEO firm won't leave you in the dark, wondering what's happening with your investment. They should provide regular, comprehensive reports that show not just rankings and traffic, but also insights into what it all means for your business. It's not enough to just throw a bunch of numbers at you; they must explain the data in terms that you understand (and, let's be honest, terms that don't make you yawn).


    Ah, but here's where it gets a bit tricky. You don't want a company that bombards you with jargon-filled reports just to make themselves look good. The reports should not only be detailed but also actionable. You want to see what's working, what's not, and how the strategy is evolving to meet your business goals. And if something isn't working, they shouldn't shy away from telling you. It's all about transparency, isn't it?


    Moreover, the SEO company should be reachable. If you have questions or concerns, they shouldn't be like a needle in a haystack. You should be able to pick up the phone or shoot an email and expect a timely response. And not just any response - but one that actually addresses your queries.


    So, when you're sifting through options for a Langley SEO company, pay close attention to how they plan to communicate and report. Ask them about their processes. If they can't give you a straight answer, well, that's a red flag right there. Remember, you're not just hiring them for their SEO expertise but also for their ability to keep you in the loop (because nobody likes being left out, especially when it involves your business).


    In conclusion, don't settle for less when it comes to communication and reporting. It's not just about finding an SEO company; it's about finding a partner that'll walk you through the journey, hand in hand. And hey, if they can do all that without making your head spin with redundant information, you've likely found yourself a winner.

    Compare Pricing and Value for Money


    When looking to select the right Langley SEO company for your business needs, a key factor often comes down to comparing pricing and determining the value for money. You might think, "All SEO services should cost about the same, right?" Well, that's not always the case! The prices can vary significantly, and it's essential to understand what you're getting for your investment.


    First off, let's talk about pricing. It's tempting to go for the cheapest option available-after all, who doesn't want to save a buck or two? But hold on a second! Low prices can be misleading. Sometimes, a lower cost can mean that the service might be cutting corners or that they're not as experienced.

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    On the flip side, just because a company charges premium prices doesn't guarantee top-notch service either. SEO Trends It's like, you don't wanna pay for a gourmet meal and end up with a fast-food burger, do you?


    Now, let's chat about value for money (this part's crucial, so pay attention!). Value for money isn't just about the amount you pay; it's about what you get for that amount. A good Langley SEO company should offer a clear strategy, transparency in their methods, and, most importantly, results. You don't want to throw your hard-earned money down the drain, right?


    When comparing, look at the company's track record. Are their clients satisfied? Do they have case studies or testimonials that show real, tangible improvements in search rankings? Also, consider the range of services they're offering. Are they providing a comprehensive package that covers all aspects of SEO, or are they just doing the bare minimum?


    Let's not forget that SEO is an investment! And like any investment, there's a risk. But with the right company, the potential return on that investment can be massive. Think about it; if your visibility on search engines improves, that leads to more traffic, more leads, and ultimately, more sales. That's the kind of value for money you want to look for!


    In conclusion, don't just settle for any SEO company because of attractive pricing. Do your homework, compare the services (and yes, that means reading the fine print!), and evaluate the potential return on investment. And remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Choose wisely, and your business could soar to new heights. Good luck!

    Conversion Rate Optimization

    Custom SEO Langley

    The City of Langley, commonly referred to as Langley City, or just Langley, is a municipality in the Metro Vancouver Regional District in British Columbia, Canada. It lies directly east of Surrey, adjacent to the Cloverdale area, and is surrounded elsewhere by the Township of Langley, bordered by its neighbourhoods of Willowbrook to the north, Murrayville to the east, and Brookswood and Fern Ridge to the south.

    SEO for Langley retail stores


    Citations and other links

     

    Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines.[1][2] SEO targets unpaid search traffic (usually referred to as "organic" results) rather than direct traffic, referral traffic, social media traffic, or paid traffic.

    Unpaid search engine traffic may originate from a variety of kinds of searches, including image search, video search, academic search,[3] news search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.

    As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, the computer-programmed algorithms that dictate search engine results, what people search for, the actual search queries or keywords typed into search engines, and which search engines are preferred by a target audience. SEO is performed because a website will receive more visitors from a search engine when websites rank higher within a search engine results page (SERP), with the aim of either converting the visitors or building brand awareness.[4]

    History

    [edit]

    Webmasters and content providers began optimizing websites for search engines in the mid-1990s, as the first search engines were cataloging the early Web. Initially, all webmasters only needed to submit the address of a page, or URL, to the various engines, which would send a web crawler to crawl that page, extract links to other pages from it, and return information found on the page to be indexed.[5] The process involves a search engine spider/crawler crawls a page and storing it on the search engine's own server. A second program, known as an indexer, extracts information about the page, such as the words it contains, where they are located, and any weight for specific words, as well as all links the page contains. All of this information is then placed into a scheduler for crawling at a later date.

    Website owners recognized the value of a high ranking and visibility in search engine results,[6] creating an opportunity for both white hat and black hat SEO practitioners. According to former industry analyst and current Google employee Danny Sullivan, the phrase "search engine optimization" probably came into use in 1997. Sullivan credits Bruce Clay as one of the first people to popularize the term.[7]

    Early versions of search algorithms relied on webmaster-provided information such as the keyword meta tag or index files in engines like ALIWEB. Meta tags provide a guide to each page's content. Using metadata to index pages was found to be less than reliable, however, because the webmaster's choice of keywords in the meta tag could potentially be an inaccurate representation of the site's actual content. Flawed data in meta tags, such as those that were inaccurate or incomplete, created the potential for pages to be mischaracterized in irrelevant searches.[8][dubiousdiscuss] Web content providers also manipulated some attributes within the HTML source of a page in an attempt to rank well in search engines.[9] By 1997, search engine designers recognized that webmasters were making efforts to rank well in their search engine and that some webmasters were even manipulating their rankings in search results by stuffing pages with excessive or irrelevant keywords. Early search engines, such as Altavista and Infoseek, adjusted their algorithms to prevent webmasters from manipulating rankings.[10]

    By heavily relying on factors such as keyword density, which were exclusively within a webmaster's control, early search engines suffered from abuse and ranking manipulation. To provide better results to their users, search engines had to adapt to ensure their results pages showed the most relevant search results, rather than unrelated pages stuffed with numerous keywords by unscrupulous webmasters. This meant moving away from heavy reliance on term density to a more holistic process for scoring semantic signals.[11] Since the success and popularity of a search engine are determined by its ability to produce the most relevant results to any given search, poor quality or irrelevant search results could lead users to find other search sources. Search engines responded by developing more complex ranking algorithms, taking into account additional factors that were more difficult for webmasters to manipulate.

    Companies that employ overly aggressive techniques can get their client websites banned from the search results. In 2005, the Wall Street Journal reported on a company, Traffic Power, which allegedly used high-risk techniques and failed to disclose those risks to its clients.[12] Wired magazine reported that the same company sued blogger and SEO Aaron Wall for writing about the ban.[13] Google's Matt Cutts later confirmed that Google had banned Traffic Power and some of its clients.[14]

    Some search engines have also reached out to the SEO industry and are frequent sponsors and guests at SEO conferences, webchats, and seminars. Major search engines provide information and guidelines to help with website optimization.[15][16] Google has a Sitemaps program to help webmasters learn if Google is having any problems indexing their website and also provides data on Google traffic to the website.[17] Bing Webmaster Tools provides a way for webmasters to submit a sitemap and web feeds, allows users to determine the "crawl rate", and track the web pages index status.

    In 2015, it was reported that Google was developing and promoting mobile search as a key feature within future products. In response, many brands began to take a different approach to their Internet marketing strategies.[18]

    Relationship with Google

    [edit]

    In 1998, two graduate students at Stanford University, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, developed "Backrub", a search engine that relied on a mathematical algorithm to rate the prominence of web pages. The number calculated by the algorithm, PageRank, is a function of the quantity and strength of inbound links.[19] PageRank estimates the likelihood that a given page will be reached by a web user who randomly surfs the web and follows links from one page to another. In effect, this means that some links are stronger than others, as a higher PageRank page is more likely to be reached by the random web surfer.

    Page and Brin founded Google in 1998.[20] Google attracted a loyal following among the growing number of Internet users, who liked its simple design.[21] Off-page factors (such as PageRank and hyperlink analysis) were considered as well as on-page factors (such as keyword frequency, meta tags, headings, links and site structure) to enable Google to avoid the kind of manipulation seen in search engines that only considered on-page factors for their rankings. Although PageRank was more difficult to game, webmasters had already developed link-building tools and schemes to influence the Inktomi search engine, and these methods proved similarly applicable to gaming PageRank. Many sites focus on exchanging, buying, and selling links, often on a massive scale. Some of these schemes involved the creation of thousands of sites for the sole purpose of link spamming.[22]

    By 2004, search engines had incorporated a wide range of undisclosed factors in their ranking algorithms to reduce the impact of link manipulation.[23] The leading search engines, Google, Bing, and Yahoo, do not disclose the algorithms they use to rank pages. Some SEO practitioners have studied different approaches to search engine optimization and have shared their personal opinions.[24] Patents related to search engines can provide information to better understand search engines.[25] In 2005, Google began personalizing search results for each user. Depending on their history of previous searches, Google crafted results for logged in users.[26]

    In 2007, Google announced a campaign against paid links that transfer PageRank.[27] On June 15, 2009, Google disclosed that they had taken measures to mitigate the effects of PageRank sculpting by use of the nofollow attribute on links. Matt Cutts, a well-known software engineer at Google, announced that Google Bot would no longer treat any no follow links, in the same way, to prevent SEO service providers from using nofollow for PageRank sculpting.[28] As a result of this change, the usage of nofollow led to evaporation of PageRank. In order to avoid the above, SEO engineers developed alternative techniques that replace nofollowed tags with obfuscated JavaScript and thus permit PageRank sculpting. Additionally, several solutions have been suggested that include the usage of iframes, Flash, and JavaScript.[29]

    In December 2009, Google announced it would be using the web search history of all its users in order to populate search results.[30] On June 8, 2010 a new web indexing system called Google Caffeine was announced. Designed to allow users to find news results, forum posts, and other content much sooner after publishing than before, Google Caffeine was a change to the way Google updated its index in order to make things show up quicker on Google than before. According to Carrie Grimes, the software engineer who announced Caffeine for Google, "Caffeine provides 50 percent fresher results for web searches than our last index..."[31] Google Instant, real-time-search, was introduced in late 2010 in an attempt to make search results more timely and relevant. Historically site administrators have spent months or even years optimizing a website to increase search rankings. With the growth in popularity of social media sites and blogs, the leading engines made changes to their algorithms to allow fresh content to rank quickly within the search results.[32]

    In February 2011, Google announced the Panda update, which penalizes websites containing content duplicated from other websites and sources. Historically websites have copied content from one another and benefited in search engine rankings by engaging in this practice. However, Google implemented a new system that punishes sites whose content is not unique.[33] The 2012 Google Penguin attempted to penalize websites that used manipulative techniques to improve their rankings on the search engine.[34] Although Google Penguin has been presented as an algorithm aimed at fighting web spam, it really focuses on spammy links[35] by gauging the quality of the sites the links are coming from. The 2013 Google Hummingbird update featured an algorithm change designed to improve Google's natural language processing and semantic understanding of web pages. Hummingbird's language processing system falls under the newly recognized term of "conversational search", where the system pays more attention to each word in the query in order to better match the pages to the meaning of the query rather than a few words.[36] With regards to the changes made to search engine optimization, for content publishers and writers, Hummingbird is intended to resolve issues by getting rid of irrelevant content and spam, allowing Google to produce high-quality content and rely on them to be 'trusted' authors.

    In October 2019, Google announced they would start applying BERT models for English language search queries in the US. Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) was another attempt by Google to improve their natural language processing, but this time in order to better understand the search queries of their users.[37] In terms of search engine optimization, BERT intended to connect users more easily to relevant content and increase the quality of traffic coming to websites that are ranking in the Search Engine Results Page.

    Methods

    [edit]

    Getting indexed

    [edit]
    A simple illustration of the Pagerank algorithm. Percentage shows the perceived importance.

    The leading search engines, such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo!, use crawlers to find pages for their algorithmic search results. Pages that are linked from other search engine-indexed pages do not need to be submitted because they are found automatically. The Yahoo! Directory and DMOZ, two major directories which closed in 2014 and 2017 respectively, both required manual submission and human editorial review.[38] Google offers Google Search Console, for which an XML Sitemap feed can be created and submitted for free to ensure that all pages are found, especially pages that are not discoverable by automatically following links[39] in addition to their URL submission console.[40] Yahoo! formerly operated a paid submission service that guaranteed to crawl for a cost per click;[41] however, this practice was discontinued in 2009.

    Search engine crawlers may look at a number of different factors when crawling a site. Not every page is indexed by search engines. The distance of pages from the root directory of a site may also be a factor in whether or not pages get crawled.[42]

    Mobile devices are used for the majority of Google searches.[43] In November 2016, Google announced a major change to the way they are crawling websites and started to make their index mobile-first, which means the mobile version of a given website becomes the starting point for what Google includes in their index.[44] In May 2019, Google updated the rendering engine of their crawler to be the latest version of Chromium (74 at the time of the announcement). Google indicated that they would regularly update the Chromium rendering engine to the latest version.[45] In December 2019, Google began updating the User-Agent string of their crawler to reflect the latest Chrome version used by their rendering service. The delay was to allow webmasters time to update their code that responded to particular bot User-Agent strings. Google ran evaluations and felt confident the impact would be minor.[46]

    Preventing crawling

    [edit]

    To avoid undesirable content in the search indexes, webmasters can instruct spiders not to crawl certain files or directories through the standard robots.txt file in the root directory of the domain. Additionally, a page can be explicitly excluded from a search engine's database by using a meta tag specific to robots (usually <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> ). When a search engine visits a site, the robots.txt located in the root directory is the first file crawled. The robots.txt file is then parsed and will instruct the robot as to which pages are not to be crawled. As a search engine crawler may keep a cached copy of this file, it may on occasion crawl pages a webmaster does not wish to crawl. Pages typically prevented from being crawled include login-specific pages such as shopping carts and user-specific content such as search results from internal searches. In March 2007, Google warned webmasters that they should prevent indexing of internal search results because those pages are considered search spam.[47]

    In 2020, Google sunsetted the standard (and open-sourced their code) and now treats it as a hint rather than a directive. To adequately ensure that pages are not indexed, a page-level robot's meta tag should be included.[48]

    Increasing prominence

    [edit]

    A variety of methods can increase the prominence of a webpage within the search results. Cross linking between pages of the same website to provide more links to important pages may improve its visibility. Page design makes users trust a site and want to stay once they find it. When people bounce off a site, it counts against the site and affects its credibility.[49]

    Writing content that includes frequently searched keyword phrases so as to be relevant to a wide variety of search queries will tend to increase traffic. Updating content so as to keep search engines crawling back frequently can give additional weight to a site. Adding relevant keywords to a web page's metadata, including the title tag and meta description, will tend to improve the relevancy of a site's search listings, thus increasing traffic. URL canonicalization of web pages accessible via multiple URLs, using the canonical link element[50] or via 301 redirects can help make sure links to different versions of the URL all count towards the page's link popularity score. These are known as incoming links, which point to the URL and can count towards the page link's popularity score, impacting the credibility of a website.[49]

    White hat versus black hat techniques

    [edit]
    Common white-hat methods of search engine optimization

    SEO techniques can be classified into two broad categories: techniques that search engine companies recommend as part of good design ("white hat"), and those techniques of which search engines do not approve ("black hat"). Search engines attempt to minimize the effect of the latter, among them spamdexing. Industry commentators have classified these methods and the practitioners who employ them as either white hat SEO or black hat SEO.[51] White hats tend to produce results that last a long time, whereas black hats anticipate that their sites may eventually be banned either temporarily or permanently once the search engines discover what they are doing.[52]

    An SEO technique is considered a white hat if it conforms to the search engines' guidelines and involves no deception. As the search engine guidelines[15][16][53] are not written as a series of rules or commandments, this is an important distinction to note. White hat SEO is not just about following guidelines but is about ensuring that the content a search engine indexes and subsequently ranks is the same content a user will see. White hat advice is generally summed up as creating content for users, not for search engines, and then making that content easily accessible to the online "spider" algorithms, rather than attempting to trick the algorithm from its intended purpose. White hat SEO is in many ways similar to web development that promotes accessibility,[54] although the two are not identical.

    Black hat SEO attempts to improve rankings in ways that are disapproved of by the search engines or involve deception. One black hat technique uses hidden text, either as text colored similar to the background, in an invisible div, or positioned off-screen. Another method gives a different page depending on whether the page is being requested by a human visitor or a search engine, a technique known as cloaking. Another category sometimes used is grey hat SEO. This is in between the black hat and white hat approaches, where the methods employed avoid the site being penalized but do not act in producing the best content for users. Grey hat SEO is entirely focused on improving search engine rankings.

    Search engines may penalize sites they discover using black or grey hat methods, either by reducing their rankings or eliminating their listings from their databases altogether. Such penalties can be applied either automatically by the search engines' algorithms or by a manual site review. One example was the February 2006 Google removal of both BMW Germany and Ricoh Germany for the use of deceptive practices.[55] Both companies subsequently apologized, fixed the offending pages, and were restored to Google's search engine results page.[56]

    As marketing strategy

    [edit]

    SEO is not an appropriate strategy for every website, and other Internet marketing strategies can be more effective, such as paid advertising through pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, depending on the site operator's goals.[editorializing] Search engine marketing (SEM) is the practice of designing, running, and optimizing search engine ad campaigns. Its difference from SEO is most simply depicted as the difference between paid and unpaid priority ranking in search results. SEM focuses on prominence more so than relevance; website developers should regard SEM with the utmost importance with consideration to visibility as most navigate to the primary listings of their search.[57] A successful Internet marketing campaign may also depend upon building high-quality web pages to engage and persuade internet users, setting up analytics programs to enable site owners to measure results, and improving a site's conversion rate.[58][59] In November 2015, Google released a full 160-page version of its Search Quality Rating Guidelines to the public,[60] which revealed a shift in their focus towards "usefulness" and mobile local search. In recent years the mobile market has exploded, overtaking the use of desktops, as shown in by StatCounter in October 2016, where they analyzed 2.5 million websites and found that 51.3% of the pages were loaded by a mobile device.[61] Google has been one of the companies that are utilizing the popularity of mobile usage by encouraging websites to use their Google Search Console, the Mobile-Friendly Test, which allows companies to measure up their website to the search engine results and determine how user-friendly their websites are. The closer the keywords are together their ranking will improve based on key terms.[49]

    SEO may generate an adequate return on investment. However, search engines are not paid for organic search traffic, their algorithms change, and there are no guarantees of continued referrals. Due to this lack of guarantee and uncertainty, a business that relies heavily on search engine traffic can suffer major losses if the search engines stop sending visitors.[62] Search engines can change their algorithms, impacting a website's search engine ranking, possibly resulting in a serious loss of traffic. According to Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, in 2010, Google made over 500 algorithm changes – almost 1.5 per day.[63] It is considered a wise business practice for website operators to liberate themselves from dependence on search engine traffic.[64] In addition to accessibility in terms of web crawlers (addressed above), user web accessibility has become increasingly important for SEO.

    International markets

    [edit]

    Optimization techniques are highly tuned to the dominant search engines in the target market. The search engines' market shares vary from market to market, as does competition. In 2003, Danny Sullivan stated that Google represented about 75% of all searches.[65] In markets outside the United States, Google's share is often larger, and data showed Google was the dominant search engine worldwide as of 2007.[66] As of 2006, Google had an 85–90% market share in Germany.[67] While there were hundreds of SEO firms in the US at that time, there were only about five in Germany.[67] As of June 2008, the market share of Google in the UK was close to 90% according to Hitwise.[68][obsolete source]

    The most notable countries in which Google is not the primary search engine are China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the Czech Republic, where respectively Baidu, Yahoo! Japan, Naver, Yandex and Seznam are market leaders.

    Successful search optimization for international markets may require professional translation of web pages, registration of a domain name with a top level domain in the target market, and web hosting that provides a local IP address. Otherwise, the fundamental elements of search optimization are essentially the same, regardless of language.[67]

    [edit]

    On October 17, 2002, SearchKing filed suit in the United States District Court, Western District of Oklahoma, against the search engine Google. SearchKing's claim was that Google's tactics to prevent spamdexing constituted a tortious interference with contractual relations. On May 27, 2003, the court granted Google's motion to dismiss the complaint because SearchKing "failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted."[69][70]

    In March 2006, KinderStart filed a lawsuit against Google over search engine rankings. KinderStart's website was removed from Google's index prior to the lawsuit, and the amount of traffic to the site dropped by 70%. On March 16, 2007, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (San Jose Division) dismissed KinderStart's complaint without leave to amend and partially granted Google's motion for Rule 11 sanctions against KinderStart's attorney, requiring him to pay part of Google's legal expenses.[71][72]

    See also

    [edit]

    References

    [edit]
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    In the field of search engine optimization (SEO), link building describes actions aimed at increasing the number and quality of inbound links to a webpage with the goal of increasing the search engine rankings of that page or website.[1] Briefly, link building is the process of establishing relevant hyperlinks (usually called links) to a website from external sites. Link building can increase the number of high-quality links pointing to a website, in turn increasing the likelihood of the website ranking highly in search engine results. Link building is also a proven marketing tactic for increasing brand awareness.[2]

    [edit]
    [edit]

    Editorial links are the links not acquired from paying money, asking, trading or exchanging. These links are attracted because of the good content and marketing strategies of a website. These are the links that the website owner does not need to ask for as they are naturally given by other website owners.[3]

    [edit]

    Resource links are a category of links, which can be either one-way or two-way, usually referenced as "Resources" or "Information" in navbars, but sometimes, especially in the early, less compartmentalized years of the Web, simply called "links". Basically, they are hyperlinks to a website or a specific web page containing content believed to be beneficial, useful and relevant to visitors of the site establishing the link.

    In recent years, resource links have grown in importance because most major search engines have made it plain that—in Google's words—"quantity, quality, and relevance of links count towards your rating".[4]

    Search engines measure a website's value and relevance by analyzing the links to the site from other websites. The resulting “link popularity” is a measure of the number and quality of links to a website. It is an integral part of a website's ranking in search engines. Search engines examine each of the links to a particular website to determine its value. Although every link to a website is a vote in its favor, not all votes are counted equally. A website with similar subject matter to the website receiving the inbound link carries more weight than an unrelated site, and a well-regarded website (such as a university) has higher link quality than an unknown or disreputable website.[5][self-published source?]

    The text of links helps search engines categorize a website. The engines' insistence on resource links being relevant and beneficial developed because many artificial link building methods were employed solely to spam search engines, i.e. to "fool" the engines' algorithms into awarding the sites employing these unethical devices undeservedly high page ranks and/or return positions.

    Google has cautioned site developers to avoid "free-for-all" links, link-popularity schemes, and the submission of a site to thousands of search engines, given that these tactics are typically useless exercises that do not affect the ranking of a site in the results of the major search engines.[6] For many years now, the major [which?] search engines have deployed technology designed to "red flag" and potentially penalize sites employing such practices.[7]

    [edit]

    These are the links acquired by the website owner through payment or distribution. They are also known as organically obtained links. Such links include link advertisements, paid linking, article distribution, directory links and comments on forums, blogs, articles and other interactive forms of social media.[8]

    [edit]

    A reciprocal link is a mutual link between two objects, commonly between two websites, to ensure mutual traffic. For example, Alice and Bob have websites. If Bob's website links to Alice's website and Alice's website links to Bob's website, the websites are reciprocally linked. Website owners often submit their sites to reciprocal link exchange directories in order to achieve higher rankings in the search engines. Reciprocal linking between websites is no longer an important part of the search engine optimization process. In 2005, with their Jagger 2 update, Google stopped giving credit to reciprocal links as it does not indicate genuine link popularity.[9]

    Blog and forum comments

    [edit]

    User-generated content such as blog and forum comments with links can drive valuable referral traffic if it's well-thought-out and pertains to the discussion of the post on the blog.[10] However, these links almost always contain the Nofollow or the newer ugc attribute which signal that Google shouldn't take these into its ranking considerations.[11]

    [edit]

    Website directories are lists of links to websites which are sorted into categories. Website owners can submit their site to many of these directories. Some directories accept payment for listing in their directory while others are free.

    Social bookmarking

    [edit]

    Social bookmarking is a way of saving and categorizing web pages in a public location on the web. Because bookmarks have anchor text and are shared and stored publicly, they are scanned by search engine crawlers and have search engine optimization value.

    Image linking

    [edit]

    Image linking is a way of submitting images, such as infographics, to image directories and linking them back to a specific URL.

    Guest blogging

    [edit]

    Also known as guest posting, is a popular SEO technique that consists of writing a piece of content for another website with the goal of getting more visibility and possibly link back to the author's website. According to Google, such links are considered unnatural and should be generally containing the Nofollow attribute.[12]

    [edit]

    In early incarnations, when Google's algorithm relied on incoming links as an indicator of website success, Black Hat SEOs manipulated website rankings by creating link-building schemes, such as building subsidiary websites to send links to a primary website. With an abundance of incoming links, the prime website outranked many reputable sites. However, the conflicts of being devalued by major search engines while building links could be caused by web owners using other black hat strategies. Black hat link building refers explicitly to the process of acquiring as many links as possible with minimal effort.

    The Penguin algorithm was created to eliminate this type of abuse. At the time, Google clarified its definition of a "bad" link: “Any links intended to manipulate a site’s ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme.”

    With Penguin, it wasn't the quantity of links that improved a site's rankings but the quality. Since then, Google's web spam team has attempted to prevent the manipulation of their search results through link building. Major brands including J.C. Penney, BMW, Forbes, Overstock.com, and many others have received severe penalties to their search rankings for employing spammy and non-user friendly link building tactics.[13]

    On October 5, 2014, Google launched a new algorithm update Penguin 3.0 to penalize those sites who use black hat link building tactics to build unnatural links to manipulate search engines. The update affected 0.3% English Language queries all over the world.[14]

    Black hat SEO could also be referred to as Spamdexing, which utilizes other black SEO strategies and link building tactics.[15] Some black hat link building strategies include getting unqualified links from and participating in Link farm, link schemes and Doorway page.[6] Black Hat SEO could also refer to "negative SEO," the practice of deliberately harming another website's performance.

    [edit]

    White hat link building strategies are those strategies that add value to end users, abide by Google's term of service and produce good results that could be sustained for a long time. White hat link building strategies focus on producing high-quality as well as relevant links to the website. Although more difficult to acquire, white hat link building tactics are widely implemented by website owners because such kind of strategies are not only beneficial to their websites' long-term developments but also good to the overall online environment.

    See also

    [edit]
    • Deep linking: linking directly to a page within another website.
    • Inline linking: linking directly to content within another website.
    • Internal link: linking directly to content within your own website.
    • Overlinking
    • PageRank: an algorithm used by Google Search to rank websites in their search engine results.

    References

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    1. ^ "Link Building Strategies You Need to Know | SEJ". searchenginejournal. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
    2. ^ Bailey, Matt (2011). Internet marketing : an hour a day (1st ed.). Indianapolis, Ind.: Wiley Technology Publishing. pp. 83–84. ISBN 978-0470633748. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
    3. ^ Rognerud, Jon (2011). Ultimate Guide to Search Engine Optimization Drive Traffic, Boost Conversion Rates, and Make Lots of Money (2nd ed.). New York: Entrepreneur Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-1613080207. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
    4. ^ "Link schemes" Google webmaster central
    5. ^ Oxer, Jonathan (2007). How to build a website and stay sane (2nd ed.). Lulu.com. p. 134. ISBN 978-1847997340. Retrieved 2 December 2014.[self-published source]
    6. ^ a b "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)" Google webmaster central
    7. ^ "Is That Directory Link Unnatural? | Search Engine Watch". searchenginewatch.com. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
    8. ^ Jerkovic, John I. (2010). SEO Warrior. Sebastopol: O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 17. ISBN 978-1449383077. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
    9. ^ Webster, Ken. "Google's Jagger Update – Dust Begins to Settle?". WebProNews. iEntry Network. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
    10. ^ Hines, Kristi. "How to Use Blog Commenting to Get Valuable Backlinks". Search Engine Watch. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
    11. ^ "Evolving "nofollow" – new ways to identify the nature of links". Official Google Webmaster Central Blog. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
    12. ^ Southern, Matt (10 April 2020). "Google Answers: Is It OK to Link to My Own Guest Post?". Search Engine Journal. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
    13. ^ "10 Big Brands That Were Penalized By Google, From Rap Genius To The BBC". Marketing Land. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
    14. ^ Matt McGee. "Google Penguin Update 3 Released, Impacts 0.3% Of English-Language Queries", Retrieved on 17 February 2016.
    15. ^ Frick, Tim (2013). Return on Engagement: Content, Strategy and Design Techniques for Digital Marketing. Taylor & Francis. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-1136030260. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
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    Frequently Asked Questions

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