SEO and Your Site
There's good reason to believe that SEO is dead – or dying. While search engine optimization used to be the lifeblood of any website, it's a concept that really didn't make any sense to begin with. If you think about it, SEO means creating a website that search engines will love. It also meant building content that wasn't, necessary, human-proof. Instead, SEO made search engines happy, and that translated into more site hits.
But, those times are quickly sliding past us now. The focus today is on great content – but it's on more than that too. Building a successful site today means actually taking the time to reach out and network with people, not search engines. In the very near future, search engines may not matter a whole lot when it comes to site traffic.
Go Social Instead
Social media was always on the list just below SEO, but that way of thinking won't bring any more traffic to your site these days. Instead, focus on building up a strong social media presence. Not one that is built on posting random links and broadcasting your message regularly, but one that is built on building relationships.
How can you create a strong social media presence? By speaking with people, engaging with others, talking about ideas and news – and not advertising your company every chance you get. The idea here is that people will begin to visit your site and read your content simply based on what you offer in the way of conversation. It's a new tactic that's really gaining speed.
Should You Hire an Expert?
My immediate response here would have been a strong ‘yes!' a few months ago, but now I believe that the opposite is true. Nobody knows your company better than you do, and social media is (simply) about socializing. You can do that, right? But, if you don't have the time to spend on social media, you can always train one person that you work with to become an expert on what you do.
Make sure that person knows how to answer questions about your company, knows your product, and understands what you do inside and out. This way, that person can quickly respond to any questions that someone has and act intelligently when it comes to being an expert at what you do. Social media is about being real, and that's something that people coming from a SEO background may not fully understand.
SEO and Your Site: Is SEO Dead?
I believe that is dying. Do you still need it? In some ways, but not as much as you used to. It doesn't hurt to have an optimized site, but you should also work on building your social media. Really, it's important. More important than pandering to search engines.
What do you think about SEO? Is it dead? Do you still use it or rely on it to send traffic to your site? Are you on the social media bandwagon? Is social media what's next?
