Long-Term SEO: Sustainable Tactics, Strategies & Solutions
Last month, I attended the Long-Term SEO: How To Win For Years, Not Days session at SMX West. I have worked in the search industry since 1995. I have seen search engine optimization (SEO) trends and tactics come and go and Ive also seen fundamental, universal concepts get stronger and stronger over time.
So what I wanted to learn was: what are flavor-of-the-month strategies, and what strategies are going to stand the test of time? Would I hear anything about information scent and the aboutness of digital documents? Should you invest in link development, a sustainable SEO strategy, or has it been relegated to SEO history?
And, as search engine guru Danny Sullivan so aptly put it, Am I constantly trying to make the algorithm happy?
What follows are the panelists perspective on sustainable SEO.
Sustainable SEO consists of search engine optimization concepts, strategies, tactics, and implementation that stand the test of time.
Rhea Drysdale, CEO of Outspoken Media, opened with, It is up to you to manage the site from beginning to end. The strategies that you choose and tactics all of that ultimately falls onto you.
Drysdale said that website owners should focus on the big picture rather than short-term vanity goals (I like that phrase) or choosing shortcuts without weighing the risks. Do no harm to the brand and let people know the risks, she said.
She also pointed out that human behavior forces algorithm updates. The example she gave to support her statement was The Decay and Fall of Guest Blogging for SEO in Matt Cutts blog.
I could not help but be reminded of my warning about PageRank sculpting years ago. Many overzealous SEO professionals and website owners will go to great lengths to achieve search engine visibility. In the long run? These short-term tactics can actually do more harm than good.
Mark Munroe, Director of SEO at Trulia, takes a more holistic approach to long-term SEO: focus embedded SEO intelligence throughout your organization and build your brands reputation. Links might go away, he said, but your reputation never will.
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Long-Term SEO: Sustainable Tactics, Strategies & Solutions