Internet Marketing for Small Businesses: Modern SEO

The Evolution of Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) has changed greatly over the years.

What worked once may not work again and can actively harm you.

Many large companies have failed to adapt to trends and have suffered for using outmoded practices.

*As a small business, you can apply the best current internet marketing practices to gain an edge over bigger companies.

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Best Modern SEO Practices

The following are tenets of contemporary internet marketing that provide a blueprint from which you can branch into more creative and elaborate strategies.

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On-Site Elements

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Quality, Linkable Content

Quality content is the crux of a successful internet marketing campaign.

Your content should be completely unique, address the needs of your clients, and demonstrate how you offer more value for them than your competitors.

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*Excellent content generates links on its own merits (without a conscious link-building effort).

Mobile Compatibility

Web users are increasingly using mobile devices as their primary browsing platforms.

Your site should reflect this trend and allow your customers to transact with you from anywhere at any time.

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Load Times

Certain search engines will dock sites for excessive load times. Users will likewise click away from your site it it does not

immediately respond to them.

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Internal Link Structure/Site Navigation

If your anchor-text links fail to provide any real convenience or value to your customers, search engines will recognize them as attempts to game the system and penalize you.

The overall link structure of your site should be inter-connective and promote browsing fluidity.

You should be able to reach every important page on your site within a few clicks.

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Off-Site: Building Relationships

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Third-Party Links

Getting external sites to link to your content is still an integral part of SEO, but there are right and wrong ways to do it.

If you are attempting to cultivate long-term relationships with other site-runners, you are doing it right.

If you are looking for a quick link with minimal effort, you may want to reevaluate your tactics.

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