2 Views on SEO
Entrepreneur.com has two articles (probably more) on SEO. Interestingly, one of them is pretty much spot on and the other makes a very dangerous and completely moot suggestion. So, we are going to discuss the latter.
First, though, here is a link to the first article. The important thing here is probably to avoid misinterpreting the word “links.” Linking can be dangerous if done the wrong way. If you seek inbound links, think quality over quantity (one link from UB will be far more effective than 400 from irrelevant and un-authoritative sites). So long as you understand this linking concept, the article will definitely help you to get a bit of a grasp on contemporary SEO. And, really, everyone should know a little bit about SEO for successful internet marketing.
That being said, the second article suggests that one could “master” SEO without the use of Google Analytics. My question, why would you ever want to avoid Google Analytics? It’s helpful, gives you a great idea of when things are or are not working and it’s incredibly easy to use.
The first tip is to talk with your customers. My question: will they be able to break down the geography, source mediums, visitor flows and bounce rates? Of course not. They can’t give you anywhere near the info that you can receive from Analytics and, if they could, they probably wouldn’t feel like it.
The second tip, “focus on great content,” creates a false dichotomy in which the author believes that content will take a backseat when an SEO focuses on Analytics. This makes no sense, since utilizing Analytics works toward analyzing the efficacy of your content changes and additions. In other words, one depends on the other.
The third tip basically boils down to additional Analytical tools which help to remove bad links. Well, interestingly enough, we now have another false dichotomy. Analyzing links for ones that work against your rankings is all well and good, but this won’t tell you whether your SEO strategy actually works. So, this point is another false dichotomy.
Tip four: “Throw yourself into social media.” Again, this is an SEO tactic which is necessary for success. Success is measured through analytics.
Tip five again suggests another tools which analyzes anchor text. Again, I don’t see how this negates the use of Analytics.
And tip six… “stay informed.” This is a key factor of any discipline. Architecture, medicine, law, advertising, entertainment. You can stay informed in a “macro” sense by keeping up on industry trends, etc. You can also stay “micro” informed by knowing how many new visits you get in a day, week or month, where they’re coming from, how they’re getting there and, to some extent, who they are. So, I agree. Stay informed and use Google Analytics.