posted bydopweb11/10/2020
Backlinks have often been considered crucial to boosting a website’s search engine optimization (SEO) because they signal relevance and credibility. However, in 2020, Google has updated its algorithm to void the importance backlinks once had.
Are you interested in maintaining your website’s visibility despite the changes in search engine algorithms and learn about SEO practices that will not go out of style anytime soon? Keep reading!
In this article, we will be discussing:
First and foremost, let’s define what backlinks are for those who may not know.
Backlinks are links to other websites that exist throughout the written content on a website, such as blog content.
A backlink often links to additional information on a topic or keyword mentioned in an article. They aim to provide resources for readers to explore additional information or gain a deeper understanding of a topic.
Additionally, backlinks are considered very important for improving search engine optimization (SEO).
If many other websites link to your site, this suggests that the content on your website is useful and credible enough to be referenced by others.
Search engines aim to provide users with the most relevant information for their search query. Therefore, these links that acknowledge your website’s credibility are tracked by search engines, communicating to the search engine that your content is relevant to others. In turn, this improves your search engine rankings.
Google tends to adapt its perimeters for ranking websites to adapt to shifts in technology use.
This time, Google has decided to re-evaluate its use of backlinks for ranking websites. Once online content creators began overusing backlinks to boost their website’s ranking, Google changed its algorithm.
Google now evaluates your content based on how rich it is and what it is truly providing to the user.
Therefore, online content creators can no longer rely on backlinks for higher search engine rankings. Instead, they need to prioritize the depth and quality of their content.
Just as Google has reevaluated its search engine ranking algorithm, businesses need to adapt their SEO practices to maintain visibility in our highly competitive online media environment.
Now that backlinks are becoming less important for SEO, here are some tips to boost your visibility without relying on backlinks:
First, add alt text (short for alternative text) to your images.
Alt-text is a description of the image on a webpage and exists within the site’s HTML code. On dopweb, one can easily edit the alt text for their images on the builder without directly editing code.
Integrating alt text on your website is important for SEO because it ensures the page is accessible for visually impaired users who use screen readers.
Additionally, if a picture does not load on a webpage, the alt text will take its place so that users know what the image was depicting.
And finally, alt text is important for SEO because it provides an additional description of the content for search engine crawlers to better understand the content of the page and rank it accordingly.
Our next tip for boosting your website search engine rankings in 2020 without using backlinks is implementing keywords in your content.
This is not new advice in the world of SEO because keywords remain king.
Keywords provide search engines with a better understanding of what your content is about. Search engine crawlers will scan your website or article for keywords that best match with the user’s search. Therefore, the more applicable keywords your article has, the more likely it is to show up in a search.
It is also important to have sufficient keyword density on your page. An acceptable average is 0.5-3% density with a minimum of 300 words per page. However, the ideal content will vary between 1000-5000 words.
Our next tip for maintaining the best SEO practices in 2020 is to differentiate your content. The media landscape is highly saturated with pages of similar content. To complete, your content must be different.
This means picking keywords that are relevant to your content but not overused.
Integrating keywords in your content that are too competitive may mean your webpage will be drowned out by the many others.
In the same regard, the actual information your content contains should present something different. For example, present a new perspective, a deeper analysis of the topic, or a new angle.
Google now uses depth of content as a parameter for ranking, therefore differentiation could be the perfect opportunity to give your content the greater depth it needs to rank higher.
Finally, improving search engine optimization is about creating a visual aesthetic for your website.
Images and graphics catch the reader's attention and help break up a large piece of text, ensuring they stay engaged with the content longer, which is one of the most important metrics for higher search engine rankings.
When a user is searching for information, they may get overwhelmed by a block of text. Images, graphics titles, and a creative layout will make the content easier to digest and more visually engaging, at the very least.
Additionally, visuals are often easier to understand than complex writing filled with technical jargon. So, if you are writing about a topic that may benefit from a visual representation or diagram, create one for your content. This will ensure that your content applies and accessible to a wider audience.
Just because Google decided to switch up their algorithm, does not mean that your content and SEO strategy has to remain in the past.
Say goodbye to backlinks and hello to dynamic and engaging content!
If you are looking for a fresh and innovative approach to SEO content creation and AMP web development, contact the professionals at dopweb for a consultation!
