Google became the top search engine because it focused on one thing: being the best at search. While AOL promoted instant messaging and email, and Yahoo filled its homepage with weather, stocks, and news, Google stayed focused on its mission to be the number one search engine.
Over time, Google has successfully expanded into many other areas. Despite its growth, Google has maintained its core focus and remains the leading search engine.
As Google’s popularity grew, business owners, bloggers, and politicians quickly realized the importance of having their content appear at the top of search results. Being highly ranked means you’re seen as credible, the best, and the most relevant. Google recognized this and adapted its ranking algorithm to prevent manipulation. With each update, Google penalizes those who try to game the system.
The Rules of SEO
Avoid Automation: Google will catch automated methods and penalize you. Recovering from a penalty can be time-consuming and costly, and a severe penalty could exclude your business from all search results.
No Tricks: Cloaking, where your text matches the background color to hide keyword stuffing, is frowned upon. Any attempt to trick Google will likely be detected and punished.
Don’t Buy Links: Paying for automated links can be tempting but resist the urge. Google can identify these links, and poor-quality backlinks or spam links can harm your rankings more than help them.
Consistency is Key: Regular, varied activity is crucial. Posting infrequently won’t help your rankings, and posting a lot of content at once won’t impress search engines. Consistently updating content, directories, and data will gradually improve your rankings. For faster results, pair your SEO efforts with a PPC campaign.
Be Different: In a competitive area, you need to stand out. Analyze your competition and identify what they’re doing and what they’re not. If top-ranking businesses have many optimized videos, add video content to your strategy. If they have limited content, create more landing pages. Doing what your competitors do and more will help you surpass them.
Don’t let SEO overwhelm you. If you’re considering investing in marketing but feel daunted by SEO rules, contact us. We specialize in dental SEO and can help you reach the top. It won’t happen overnight, but it will be done right, yielding substantial, positive returns on investment. Being found on Google’s first page is crucial, and you owe it to your community to be visible.
In the meantime, if you want more useful business management tips or want to get started on a marketing plan for your practice, schedule a complimentary marketing planning session with me for no charge at https://identitydental.com/cmps.