Change is the essence of life, but this simple bit of wisdom is perhaps no more apparent than in the economic model that drives all Internet enterprises. Revenue is what drives every business and in today’s modern world of social media and web connectivity, SEO techniques drive the flow of online marketing revenue. The recent Facebook IPO and the uncertainty of its potential revenue assumptions going forward, highlighted how significantly small changes in viewer dynamics can impact revenue flows.

Dawn Of A New Marketing Age

We are definitely witnessing a new age in marketing evolution. Internet companies, much as in the early days of television, depend on advertisers.  They help to fund their operating costs based on the amount of visitors a site gets. Evaluating the return of investment with the advertising of a products has always been the key area of difficulty. Measuring direct relationships are never easy, but if there is no clear rise in sales from a specific marketing venue, then an advertiser may withdraw his support. GM stopped advertising with Facebook for this very reason!

Internet advertising techniques have evolved over the past fifteen years. Various measuring attempts, from click-through fees to elaborate statistics on-page viewing dynamics, have been used to justify marketing potential.  SEO techniques have been the primary focus of activity, driven by search engine providers and their direct relationships with advertisers. For years SEO professionals have learned how to use keywords effectively to drive up their web ranking. Today keywords are still important, but search engine providers are constantly changing their ranking algorithms.  This forces SEO experts to be flexible and they are forever guessing at new directional trends.

The net result is that SEO techniques are a ever evolving. Search engines are penalizing websites that are “keyword spamming” and attempting to trick search algorithms into a “Page 1” ranking. The industry response has been to broaden the number of factors and employ a host of “secrets” to arrive at a combined evaluation.

Check out our On-Page SEO & Off-Page SEO techniques posts to see some of the methods that you can use to legitimately increase your website ranking.

Using SEO Techniques Effectively

If SEO has changed, what is the new direction today?

The primary focus today is media content, the broader, the better. The general thinking is that if more effort is required to produce quality content for the search engines, then there is less chance of tricking the algorithm.

Content doesn’t need to be limited to just articles – photos and video work too!  Asking viewers to comment and add their own twist on the page can also work wonders in this field. Content must, however, be new and original to register – no duplications from other websites.

The placement of advertising can also have an influence. Many webmasters attempt to load ads within the top portion of a page, forcing the user to go below the “fold” to find the desired content. Search engines will now downgrade this practice. You do not have to remove all of the ads, but a portion of the content must be prominent above the fold. Adapting these tactics to include mobile smartphones will also become a new art form in the years ahead.

There is no “silver bullet” in this optimization process. No single technique will ensure success. SEO experts must employ a wide range of accepted SEO techniques, and then keep up to speed with the community to use whatever new idea gains traction in this arena. Using tried and true methods, along with ethical link building, and then supplementing these approaches with the latest innovations is the prudent path to higher SEO rankings.

When done properly, a broad and flexible SEO strategy will enhance your ad revenues, improve your actual website visitation statistics, and yield higher overall conversion rates. Accept the “ever evolving” quality of this profession and enjoy the ever-changing nature of this landscape.

What do you think? Have you had to adapt and change your approach to SEO recently?  If so, what did you do differently?  Let us know by leaving a comment below!
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Thank you to my Guest Post Author: Tom Cleveland 

Tom is a writer for MerchantSeek.com. He has over 30 years of experience in executive management, corporate governance and business development. Tom served as CFO for various Visa International entities from 1980 until his retirement in 1999 and was instrumental in expanding the global reach of the Visa system. Tom’s writing on business issues has appeared in the NY Daily News and BusinessInsider among others.
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