The Monthly “Steal” by David Steele

The Monthly “Steal” is a bit of relevant technology information intertwined with personal thoughts, opinions and some real life experiences. It is written by David “Steele” and is free, hence a “steal” from a “Steele”.

Since the release of Google Friendly algorithms, things have been relatively quiet on the SEO scene. Not much has changed in the industry and most of the articles on strategy are what I call reruns. I believe we are in the period when Google watches us to see how we react to all the changes, like a mouse looking for cheese. I’m personally glad all the companies that were calling our clients to tell them their site would disappear from search engines if they didn’t upgrade must have been kicked off the coffee shop wifi.

I am all for mobile and making user experiences more productive. We have more information in our hand than some 3rd world countries could ever hope to know. But I was thinking, what is really going on with the whole Google Mobile Friendly and SEO as a whole? It was only a few months ago and the entire web development industry was just turned upside down to see what would fall out. What did we really learn about maximizing our search engine placement strategies? What did Google learn about us and the mobile users? I see lots of additional ad options. I see responsive CSS that is really cool. But what is really going on?

I personally don’t see mobile optimization any different than another strategy used to maximize placement and presentation of content to a client or prospect. Most websites are bursting at the screens with content and most people (4 out 5) never read a full page, so what is with all the content? Well, it’s to prove to the search engines that we are a valuable site and should be considered at a high organic placement for these keywords.

When I start working on an initial project scope, I start by identifying the client’s goals, including the search engine placement goals. This provides a foundation of content requirements that is used to build the entire site. Companies that optimize after the website is built are more focused on the end user and not necessarily how they will get in front of the end user. I look at the search engines as the gatekeeper or referral system to that searching prospect. It’s easy to optimize a website after it’s built, hand it over to a programmer and follow the suggested things to do, but that is only optimization of what is already built. On the otherhand, an online marketing strategy built around placement, digital marketing and visibility comes from a different angle than most development companies. Typically, we find that marketing companies come from the visual presentation side. Sites look great, graphics are brochure quality and key messaging is used throughout the site. Development companies use the latest fancy code and templates to impress your users with motion and navigation. Here at Intrada, we start with identifying the desired results and setting goals. Then the project webmaster works with the client, designers, writers and programmers to bring everything together to accomplish the desired goals.

So where is Google going next? I think Google will be tweaking their mobile friendly and all organic listings to maximize placement of sites that follow the recommendations and provide quality content on the related key phases. The balance is developing a site that provides great listings so the breathing prospect can find and navigate your site.

If you are interested in learning more about Intrada, give me a call or email me today.

David Steele, Partner / Webmaster

djsteele@intradatech.com
570-321-7370