Why is SEO getting so much harder?

SEO was never meant to be easy. Think about it: there are millions of online stores and services across thousands of industries using complex coding optimisations to make their website number one in their field.

If that doesn’t put it into perspective, Google and other search engines are constantly updating to analyse, evaluate and essentially weed out superfluous contact forms, content, images, products, false claims and so on!

Combine that with the fact that business owners are getting more tech-savvy and that agencies are becoming super savvy and you have yourself a recipe for a difficult element of daily business operations.

So, why is SEO marketing getting so much harder? Is it because of the influx of experts applying their advanced knowledge? Is it because Google wants to make things as difficult as possible to smite the less technologically-inclined? Or, is it simply because digital marketing is its own industry where one needs the skills to thrive just like in, say, medicine or construction?

Well, to put it lightly, it’s a combination of these factors and then some. Let’s take a look at why SEO is getting so much harder and why there is no shame in saying, “hey, I’m trying to run a business here, and Google is making this increasingly difficult for me to juggle on top of daily business operations – I’m enlisting the experts” (Digital Debut, of course!).

1. The competition is huge! 

SEO, like other facets of digital marketing, has only come to fruition in the last 20 years or so. And, like other tech-related industries, it underwent a huge boom, ushering in a new generation of marketing experts.

This is great for business owners, as they can enlist the services of a skilled team of experts who have the client’s success close at heart. Conversely, like any other booming industry (and pre-existing industries), there has been an increase in competition, making it imperative for business owners who are seeking SEO services to do their research, read the reviews and choose a digital marketing agency that has the skills and experience to take their campaign to new heights.

2. Google is getting smarter

Google is and has long been at the forefront of the digital era, right? So, it should hardly come as any surprise that they have the most advanced technology and are using that to create a better user experience for users across the world.

How are they doing it, you ask? Well, don’t freak out, but they do it through machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence (AI).

Machine learning essentially analyses algorithms in a way that it can improve a customer user experience through collected data.

There are multiple ways it can do this, including:

• Filter out spam: Google is in a war against spam. They hate it, we hate – we want it gone. The most advanced way to do this is through machine learning, and its ability to easily pick up on a website’s spammy content. What was once Google’s search “trawlers” leisurely raking over websites to find spammy content is now a hyper-aged spam Terminator that will blast your dodgy website into oblivion (or at least penalise it heavily).
• Outdated content: Look, we get it: it can be incredibly difficult to keep your website’s content updated when you have so many other things to do with the daily operation of a business! However, Google is a merciless entity, and it is more than happy to seek out and hold back websites where it looks like the owner forgot the website actually existed some time ago. Why? Because it creates a poor user experience for the customer, and a poor user experience for the customer is a poor user experience for Google. Thus, websites with outdated content are on the Google machine learning hit list.
• Poorly written content: Obviously, nobody wants to visit a website where the about page reads as follows: “welcome 2 Melbourne plumbing – we are hire plumbers Melbourne”. Google is more than happy to penalise a website that looks like the author took a good three or four minutes to come up with poorly written content further demoralised by endless spelling mistakes, grammar issues and keyword spam. It’s for the same reason as their motive for penalising outdated content and they won’t stand for it.
• Slow load times: We are starting to sense a trend here, and that is that Google won’t allow a poor user experience to flourish because it reflects badly on them as a search engine supergiant. If your website is plagued by slow load times, due to faults like endless plugins clogging up its script, then Google, and the frustrated consumer, will not hold your website in high regard.

3. We just don’t know what you want, Google! 

It can be hard to know what Google wants this year. Google is so full of complex technology and algorithms that it is always on the move, and this can prove difficult for business owners to keep on top of when they are trying to run other daily operations.

This is where the digital marketing experts come in: they love the game, they live for the game, it’s the thrill of constantly learning Google’s moves and applying them to client success that makes digital marketing such a rewarding industry for its adherents – they can do all the work while you worry about the actual running of your business and managing your clients.

4. Mo’ content, mo’ problems 

Sure, Google wants you to have amazing content. They don’t want your website to be full of scrappy, poorly written dribble, and they certainly don’t want poorly compressed images clogging up the screen and slowing down your site’s loading times. They also don’t want you to write content just for the sake of adding information to your website.

So, your website needs content, and a good amount of it. The downside here? Well, the simple fact that the more content your site has, the more convoluted your digital strategy becomes. This comes down to your marketing strategy: you have to decide what kind of content and overriding strategy you want in a way that will make Google notice your site.

Having more content on your website won’t guarantee incredible results, especially if it’s low quality content that we were just talking about. So, you have to be sure about the content you are publishing and know that it is top quality – this is, again, where your digital marketing experts come into the play.

We are those digital marketing experts 

Yes, Google is a moody monolith; a stubborn customer who wants the best for its users whilst simultaneously making things difficult for the world’s business owners. Luckily, there are professionals who are always up to date with Google and its changes, applying their skills and constant tthirst for digital wisdom in a manner that takes their clients to the top of their field.

Digital Debut is one of such entities. We are always on the move with Google, challenging ourselves to create the best, SEO-friendly websites in the industry, covering all bases in the SEO game, including that of social media, PPC, Ads, retargeting and more. 

If you are looking to chat to a team that takes the SEO bull by the horns, initiates intelligent, data-driven campaigns destined for success, get in contact with the Digital Debut experts. We are always happy to chat with potential (and existing) clients about their campaign and what we can do to make it shine through the murky world of Google marketing.

Feel free to give us a call or submit an inquiry form via our contact page and we will get back to you with all the information you require.