Building links using purely exact match keywords is a practice that’s in dramatic decline and Google has stopped reporting keyword referrals in Analytics altogether, so why-oh-why are we devoting yet another one of our High Impact blog posts to keyword chat? The fact is, whichever way you look at it, keywords are still very much at the core of SEO. If you want to have a conversation about SEO tactics you can adopt that will lead to hardcore conversions, they’ll all start with a serious keyword discussion.

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And so we come to the close of another tumultuous year in the land of search. There have been notable ups – the growth of content marketing and semantic search, the divergence of PR and SEO, a flutter of local fluctuations and a firm and persistent focus on mobile friendly-ness, to name but a few. And then there have been some significant downs, including some rather serious dives in rankings experienced by even the big-name sites, thanks to an algorithm update or two (well, around 14 significant ones, actually).

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You know that shampoo advert where they smile at the camera, flick their hair and say “Because we’re worth it!” Today we’re going to tell you that your business is worth SEO investment. Of course, as providers of SEO services we realise we have a vested interest in this message, but we also know that when it comes to marketing, SEO is one of the easiest areas to measure your return on investment. So, when you have to make every penny count and show its progress, SEO is very much your friend. Here’s our guide to how and why you’re SEO worth it…

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From Panda to Penguin, Hummingbird to Pigeon, Google has launched a whole flock of algorithm updates with the aim of making the internet an easier place to explore and find things. And, as everyone starts to accept user intent is at the heart of everything Google does, some people have began questioning whether SEO is needed at all. After all, if you consider what the user wants you should be able to put together a decent online strategy, not to mention some great content for your site.…

The conundrum

One of the key things businesses like about search is its measurability. Whether you choose paid or organic search or a combination of both, it is possible to set clear KPIs and measure your return on investment in terms of traffic and resulting revenue. That said, in an evolving search landscape hit by penalties and algorithms, some businesses may find themselves drawn more to paid search and its ultra-visible equation of X£ in ad spend=X amount of traffic ≈ £sales.

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