This article delves into these developments, offering expert opinions and practical advice for navigating the current SEO environment.
The changing importance of link building in SEO
Google has recently said links are less important than they used to be, and an experiment by Ahrefs found that while this is generally true, there are a few exceptions.
For example, links tend to matter more at higher search volumes, for local SEO keywords and for informational content.
Patrick Stox, Product Advisor, Technical SEO, and Brand Ambassador at Ahrefs, said the reason link building seems to matter more at high search volumes is because those search queries are likely to have more competition, so quality links are needed to stand out.
Mr Stox also speculated that since there may be fewer external link signals for local search queries, additional signals from internal links have become more important.
Her also observed that: “With the rise of AI content, I suspect Google may end up relying on links or other signals more, and may start weighting them higher.”
He concluded by saying that smaller local businesses should still be focusing on link building at least at a foundational level in order to stand out from the competition.
HubSpot’s organic traffic drop: causes and implications
In late January, SEOs were shocked to see organic traffic drop severely for HubSpot’s blog, which has always appeared extremely high in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS) and has been seen as following SEO best practices.
People in the SEO industry speculated that this may have been caused by a combination of Google updates last December and the fact that blog articles which had seen a severe drop in traffic were about subjects which could be seen as outside of HubSpot’s expertise. Some cited pages with thin content and a lack of depth as possibly playing a part.
Basically, content which seemed to prioritise getting organic traffic from Google, rather than people-first content.
This has been a massive shake-up in the SEO industry and has also demonstrated the importance of using SEO as part of your wider digital marketing plan, rather than it being the only marketing strategy. For example, traffic from social media, paid ads, organic videos, email marketing campaigns, and referral sites all send signals to Google that your content is worth reading, helpful to users and worth ranking higher.
The role of Click-Through Rates in SEO success
Best-selling SEO author Eli Schwartz has also emphasised the importance of Click Through Rates in SEO. This makes complete sense because at the end of the day, if you are ranked in the top 5 search results, that doesn’t mean anything if people are not clicking through to your website.
The CTR measures the percentage of users who see your website page in SERPs and click through to your site.
He adds: “When users see your result and choose to click, it is a powerful sign of your content’s relevance and quality.”
To improve your CTR, you need to ensure you are writing compelling SEO titles for your page by experimenting with unique angles, hooks, figures and clarity.
We advise people that while meta descriptions are not a direct ranking factor, it’s your chance to ‘sell’ the page to the user. Give them a reason to read your page or article, address pain points, add in value propositions and generate interest.
Think about your customer ice cream (that’s what we call a sales funnel here at PDM because no one wants to be stuffed down a funnel). What stage is your customer at in their journey when they are entering those search queries and does your title, meta description and overall content reflect that?
The impact of audio versions of blog posts on rankings
One other interesting question which was answered this month was whether adding an audio version of a blog post could improve its search rankings. We’ve seen this become an emerging trend thanks to AI tools making it easier to turn blogs into audio or even podcasts.
However, according to Google’s Developer Advocate Martin Splitt, he said: “I don’t think it will… I think it is a good thing for the user, though, so I would definitely do it—but not for SEO reasons.”
This is a very interesting comment, as Google is constantly emphasising the importance of optimising your content for the user, yet they are also saying that this example of something which does that isn’t likely to improve rankings.
Conclusion
SEO best practices seem to be in constant flux, with new trends and updates shaping the way we approach digital marketing. As we’ve seen, the importance of link building, the impact of click-through rates, and the need for a holistic marketing strategy are more relevant than ever. All of this should be underpinned by an approach which puts the customer first.
About the author
Kirsty Nelms is the Director of award-winning Staffordshire-based creative marketing agency, Peacock Digital Marketing. The agency grows businesses through proactive, creative, insightful marketing – helping brands to strut their stuff 🦚.
Kirsty holds a first-class honours degree in Journalism and Editorial Design, has six years of experience as a qualified senior journalist, seven years of experience working at senior level in marketing, holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Institute, and a number of other advanced-level SEO qualifications.
Connect with her on LinkedIn, sign up for Peacock Digital Marketing’s email newsletter for free marketing tips and goodies, or follow her blog.
