The New SEO Rules For 2020: It’s No Longer About The Backlinks

SEO is one of those things no one wants to do. It requires patience, a lot of money and unmatched creativity — all things that are tough to come by in today’s society. SEO is the smart person’s game. It’s a classic tortoise-and-hare story: Slow and steady wins the race. Part of that slow-and-steady game is knowing when the rules change and how to adapt accordingly. 

1. Backlinks are out; dynamic content is in.

Google’s search team realized a lot of people were using shady SEO tactics and building tons of backlinks from huge websites, so it fought back. You’d think a backlink from Forbes, one of the most trafficked sites in the world, would shoot you to the top of the ranks, but it doesn’t. Google now ranks sites by category, and news outlets, among others, have lost a ton of SEO credibility and rankability.

Now Google’s algorithm focuses more on the richness of your content, much like Instagram. This means the worth, depth and differentiation of your content are more important than the sites that link to you. Things like the use of images with alt tags, visual aesthetics and depth of writing are all measured by the algorithm and can set you apart. So make sure to include keywords, along with images and video. Think of your new SEO-rich blog posts more like infographics and less like essays or articles.

2. SEO never goes away.

As ad platforms rise in cost, SEO continues to be the backbone. Don’t underrate the value of having an SEO presence. Ads go away as soon as you stop spending, but SEO lasts forever, and the longer you have your domain, the more your domain authority rises. Google rewards longevity, and once you rank for a top keyword in your niche, you’ll always have that content and footprint until you delete your site or remove the content. Google now shows more ads on the search results page than ever, but SEO still matters because some consumers still actively avoid ads, and those ads cost you more.

Read more: forbes