Last Updated on 22nd January 2024
The digital marketing landscape has changed remarkably quickly over the last few years – and it is showing no signs of letting up just yet. One of the reasons for these fast-paced changes is Google algorithms.
The search engine giant is on a mission, and to be fair, there are a lot of SEO service providers out there that are not on-board the Google Mothership. Instead they are trying to cheat their way to the top by manipulating search results.
But Google is too big and too clever to allow cheats to prosper forever. Woe betide online business owners that attempt to use backdoor methods of SEO. They are in for a hard fall.
But it is not only search engines web owners should be concerned about, web-users are getting tough as well. They will not stand for slow-loading sites, spam or persistent marketing they have no interest in.
What the modern web user wants is information. Not only that, they want reliable, useful information they enjoy reading. And that means transforming your website to give readers and search engines what they want.
Transform your blog into a magazine
The internet has become a haven for searchers looking for information about all manner of things. Not only that, but we have become accustomed to getting all this info gratis.
Newspapers and magazines have dipped in sales since going online, and we have already started to see signs media companies will start charging a subscription fee to access their content.
And that is not what online readers want, we still want free stuff. Which is good news for online businesses who are well placed to provide readers with valuable information they want and need without it costing them anything.
Okay, this tactic may not win you immediate conversions, but another factor the modern day internet user demands of the web is a trusted source to provide them with information.
Fair enough, some businesses are limited to what content they can publish because it has to be relevant to your business. But you can write about peripheral subjects that go with you product. Ritz for example have been writing about cheese.
The future of the web is a hive of information and the blogs with all the honey will perform better in search engines. Keeping a blog is not just about maintaining your website with relevant content anymore.
Today’s digital marketing arena requires you to turn your blog into something awesome and with varied content you will not only attract more readers, you will retain them as well.
2. Build an online profile
Google look to be moving away from inbound links to track quality sites, but they still want to be assured the websites they are ranking highly are owned by professionals with authority that can be trusted.
One of the indicators they will use to judge authority, is by how much content writers are producing on other sites, and if you are publishing on authority sites that are controlled by an editor, search engines will know you are producing excellent content.
Building an online profile also raises your visibility with readers and attracts them to your website – especially if you can develop a voice your audience wants to stay tuned in to.
3. Social status
There is a theme of trust running through digital marketing strategies and social media networks are the best platform a marketer could wish for. However, you have to be on the ball and engage with your audience to increase your social status.
Sometimes web users cannot find answers to questions on the internet, or they can’t be bothered to look, so they invariably post a message in their social media account and wait for guidance.
This is where you come galloping in on a pristine white horse and hard, shiny attire. But be careful not to make a sale. Social scavengers are looking for advice, not a sales pitch.
The digital arena is moving towards a new type of website, but sadly content publishers are not sharing the same vision as search engines. But it is only a matter of time before the cotton on. Make sure you start first and get a head start.