Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [46]
A second event that filled many SEO specialists with dread took place on November 16, 2003. This was the infamous Florida update (at the time, the monthly Google algorithm updates were given names, much like hurricanes). The Florida update targeted a wide swath of website factors, specifically low-quality back-links and over-optimization practices. There are many theories as to what the algorithm penalized or favored, but nonetheless, it affected nearly all websites that previously held top rankings for years prior to the update.
Articles written before or around this time period can offer very different perspectives on developing tactics for an online marketer. Reading some of the articles online now, you can see how both search engines and SEO marketers have evolved for the better in the development of tactics and with a focus on the user and conversions rather than just rankings.
Measurement
The turn of the century was the beginning of the understanding that rankings were only part of the overall equation. Design, sales, calls to action, and measurement demanded that SEO specialists become more accountable and provide business value other than a single stop for increased rankings. As businesses utilized SEO and saw increases in sales and leads, many desired to take the next step and quantify the value of the increased rankings and a return on their spending. This allowed many agencies and SEO specialists to integrate the various related backgrounds in the industry. Those SEO specialists with marketing backgrounds focused on content, messaging, and creating effective calls to action. Those with direct marketing backgrounds developed skills in targeting audiences, testing messages, and direct-response actions. Others with more analytical backgrounds saw that simple website statistics were not going to be effective measurement criteria and started to develop methods of tracking searchers to sales.
Overall, the search marketing industry evolved as a necessity in order to provide business value beyond just rankings. Design, programming, analytics, content development, marketing, and a multitude of other skills added to the ability to craft an effective website. Organic search optimization became a binder that drew in all of the elements necessary to build a website that was search engine–friendly and utilized customer-based language for increased rankings.
As the millennial decade wore on, analytics became more evident as the standard measurement of success. The bottom-line profitability and justification for marketing campaigns were preferred rather than a simple rankings report. Defining success became a lot more complicated, and the articles published in that decade spanned a wide gamut of definitions.
Factor 3: Rankings Tend to Improve over Time
Unfortunately, older content online tends to get rewarded for its longevity. As old content “seasons” over time, it also enjoys the incoming links from other websites that have been in place for years, so that content tends to do very well in the search engines. This seasoning principle is simply a factor of an algorithm that is based on typical human judgment. We tend to judge the businesses more favorably that have been established for a long time. We admire longevity in business, and it helps develop trust.
I equate this principle to comparing two restaurant choices. One restaurant has been there for years, and you know you will get a quality experience and a great meal. The other restaurant opened last week, and you have not heard anything about the food or the atmosphere from any of your friends. Most people will choose the trusted