Search Engines Come of Age
Back in the "Middle Ages" of search engine evolution, when I was still a new SEO copywriter, the trend was to choose the keywords first and write the text around them, no matter what. If it all didn't quite scan properly, and if the same word was used twenty times in one sentence, it wasn't that important, because getting the search engines to sit up and take notice was the thing that everyone was focusing on.
Irritating Content
It didn't much matter that human beings reading those pages were going to be various shades of bored, confused, and downright annoyed at the results.
Things have changed. Search engine algorithms have developed to the point where stilted text that is stuffed with keywords will be penalized. It may even get you banned. While the use of keywords is still critical, the main focus should be on the flow and quality of the text at any time.
This is all in keeping with a search engine that gives people what they're really searching for, which is, as some of us may recall, the whole purpose behind search engines in the first place. You could say that search engines have become "more human." Now, when they crawl the pages of our websites, they are looking for text and features that will make human readers happy. The result is that written standards are rising fast. This is a great relief to most of us: not just readers but those of us who are responsible for website content too. The result is that website owners are forced to behave in a more ethical and considerate way when they build a website.
The Internet Rises to New Standards
Content isn't the only thing that's improved as a result. Dozens of shady links will also get you penalized. Popups and undesirable programs are the mark of a website that doesn't have a code of ethics and the majority of surfers will now avoid them.
The overall impact is that the Web is becoming a friendlier place to be, in my perception. Seedy websites will begin to fade away quietly when their owners discover that they're not actually profiting from them. Well designed websites with plenty of genuinely informative content will become the norm and we will all be the better for it. Thanks to the search engines and their amazing algorithms.
wellwrittenwords
Irritating Content
It didn't much matter that human beings reading those pages were going to be various shades of bored, confused, and downright annoyed at the results.
Things have changed. Search engine algorithms have developed to the point where stilted text that is stuffed with keywords will be penalized. It may even get you banned. While the use of keywords is still critical, the main focus should be on the flow and quality of the text at any time.
This is all in keeping with a search engine that gives people what they're really searching for, which is, as some of us may recall, the whole purpose behind search engines in the first place. You could say that search engines have become "more human." Now, when they crawl the pages of our websites, they are looking for text and features that will make human readers happy. The result is that written standards are rising fast. This is a great relief to most of us: not just readers but those of us who are responsible for website content too. The result is that website owners are forced to behave in a more ethical and considerate way when they build a website.
The Internet Rises to New Standards
Content isn't the only thing that's improved as a result. Dozens of shady links will also get you penalized. Popups and undesirable programs are the mark of a website that doesn't have a code of ethics and the majority of surfers will now avoid them.
The overall impact is that the Web is becoming a friendlier place to be, in my perception. Seedy websites will begin to fade away quietly when their owners discover that they're not actually profiting from them. Well designed websites with plenty of genuinely informative content will become the norm and we will all be the better for it. Thanks to the search engines and their amazing algorithms.
wellwrittenwords
posted by SEO Blogosphere at 10:18 PM
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