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The Future Of Search Engine Optimization

By Julie Ann Ross

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 14Jan2012 Word count: 575 Viewed: 55 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Search engine optimization was thrown for a loop a few months ago as Google launched a new algorithm dubbed Panda. The net effect was that many SEO professionals' work suffered because some of the techniques they had been using no longer had the same high level of importance that they once had; some SEO work was even outright dropped by Google.

While some search engine optimization pros managed to hang on to their spots — the ones who were already doing the things Google now prefers — many less-than-professionals saw their efforts wiped out.

However, Google made it possible for everyone to reclaim their previous standings and earn their top spots once again. It takes a bit of understanding of what is considered "good" search engine optimization to be able to rise to the top.

Search Engine Optimization Tactic #1: Create High-Quality Content. One of the factors Google is looking at for their new algorithm is how long people spend on a site. If a site is not very good, or if the writing is poor, and people do not spend a lot of time there — say, less than 10 seconds — Google concludes it must not be a very good site, and so they will drop it on the search engine results pages (SERPs).

To improve time on site, it is necessary to have both a well-designed site AND well-written content — two factors that keep people on a site longer, because they enjoy the experience. A good search engine optimization program will focus on creating good quality content and a good-looking navigation and layout. Have a beautiful site with interesting copy, and people will stay longer.

Search Engine Optimization Tactic #2: Lower Bounce Rates Through Navigation. "Bounce" is when a person enters a site, visits one page, and then leaves the site again. They bounce, like a ball. But if someone visits a second page on the site, they did not bounce. If 10 people visit a site and leave, the site has a 100 percent bounce rate. But if five people visit a second page, the bounce rate is only 50 percent. The higher the bounce rate, the less valuable Google may consider it.

A good search engine optimization technique is to include navigation on a website that encourages visitors to visit more than one page. It could be an "articles just like these" section at the end of every blog post, or links to the next or previous post. Some newspapers and magazines will split up stories into two or three sections. They do this ostensibly to serve up more ads (thus charging more to their advertisers), but it also keeps their bounce rate lower, which helps them rank higher for certain stories and keywords.

Search Engine Optimization Tactic #3: Embed Videos Videos are an excellent search engine optimization tactic, because they accomplish so many things at the same time. Just by embedding a YouTube video on a blog or website — especially if it is one's own video — it can help search engine optimization in at least three ways. 1) If a video is 1 - 2 minutes long, and a visitor stays to watch the video, time on site is increased. 2) By using video SEO tactics, the video will also rank higher in YouTube's SERPs. 3) Because Google often shows related videos in a SERP, a high-ranking YouTube placement will also lead to a high-ranking Google placement.

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