The Tet* feasts are behind me, but the energy lingers! Back in the saddle and ready to ride – wishing you a year packed with good fortune and the healthiest of bottom lines.
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Last year felt like a wild SEO rollercoaster, didn’t it? Google’s updates and AI had bloggers scrambling. Me too – I went down the rabbit hole like everyone else, trying to outsmart the algorithm in this whole new landscape. Here are 5 SEO lessons I learned from the last year:
Lesson 1: Don’t Chase the Algorithm, Chase Quality
Remember those frantic moments after each Google update? We’d twist and turn our content, desperate to match whatever we thought the algorithm wanted.
But the truth is, quality always wins in the long run. Invest in pieces your readers genuinely love, the ones providing real value. Trust me, Google has gotten smart enough to notice (more on that later).
Lesson 2: Tech Matters More Than Ever
Slow loading times? Broken links? Poor mobile experience? It doesn’t matter how stellar your content is; these snags will tank your rankings.
SEO’s gotten technical, so ensure your site works as effortlessly as your ideas flow.
Lesson 3: It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Those overnight SEO miracles? Yeah, mostly fairy dust. Last year taught me, once again, that success in this game is about consistency and SEO takes time.
Focusing on quality content and consistent link building brought me more reliable results than scrambling after every flashy trick.
Lesson 4: AI Tools are Friends, Not Foes
At first, those AI writers felt like the enemy, right? But the smart play is harnessing them. AI can streamline tasks like keyword research, brainstorm topics, and even help edit.
These tools won’t write your next masterpiece, but they can give you a serious efficiency boost.
Tip: Use AI writing tools such as WriteAny to scale up your content game; then edit your blog posts with personal voice, relevant Youtube videos and anecdotes.
Lesson 5: Trust Google less
I used to hang on every word from the official Google Search account, trusting their guidelines completely. But, after several instances of misleading or ambiguous information (like this article on links), I’ve realized that blind faith in their pronouncements isn’t wise.
A leaked DOJ document (read more) just blew the lid off Google Search’s secrets! Turns out, Google doesn’t assign individual scores to every website for ranking. Instead, they watch how you and I interact with search results.
Every click, every scroll…it’s all data for Google to figure out what we really want. The better the match, the higher the ranking.
What (May) Work in 2024
While other search engines like Bing hold value, there’s no denying Google Search reigns supreme. Optimizing for this giant is essential to capture free traffic. My experience in 2023 points to these 3 pillars as crucial for unlocking Google’s favor:
- Initial Traffic: A website needs early momentum to catch Google’s eye. This means driving those first visitors any way you can – social, forums, whatever it takes. Some common tactics include Facebook, Pinterest and email marketing.
- User Interaction: How people interact with your site once they land is everything. Dwell time, click-through rate – these metrics tell Google whether you’re providing the answers searchers crave. Therefore, prepare quality content on your site before driving the initial traffic. Videos, quizzes and ebook lead magnets are some cool tricks to try.
- Links: High-quality links remain a strong signal of authority, validating your site in Google’s algorithm. From experiments, links demonstrate a significant influence on ranking outcomes. Parasite link building experiments from different SEO practitioners reinforce this observation.
One thing’s for sure: SEO never stands still. In 2024, AI, changing user behavior, and even more surprises from Google await. The tactics of today might not be enough tomorrow.
Stay attuned to your niche, learn from others, and embrace the agility this field demands. Who knows what SEO wizardry we’ll discuss a year from now!
*Tet (short for Tết Nguyên Đán) is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. It marks the arrival of spring and the Lunar New Year based on the Vietnamese lunisolar calendar.
