Is quality content a substitute for traditional SEO techniques? That’s the point blogger Samantha Stanley made in a recent blog post on Sprout.com.
Google’s Panda and Penguin updates definitely represented a seismic shift in the company’s attitude towards SEO as we know it; as does their new AuthorRank feature.
These updates are part of Google’s long-range plans to increase increase customer satisfaction by providing better search results. That means websites that are created to please search bots will no longer have an edge over sites that are designed to serve actual readers.
The Move from SEO to CEO
To get in tune with these changes, Stanley suggests webmasters add a new element to their marketing plans that she calls Customer Experience Optimization (CEO). She describes the concept as follows:
CEO is focused more one what is right for the users of the internet. Google wants to please customers by providing content to suit needs, not providing a page that played ‘the game’ better than others.
Web users are tired of sorting through keyword dense search results to find the information they’re really looking for and improves their overall experience.
Implementing customer focused content requires a major mindset change for webmasters used to link exchanges and article directories, but the payoff is definitely worth the headaches. After all, those same customers Google is trying to please are the same ones you’re trying to convert.
Which traditional SEO concepts do you think still work? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.