A few years ago, the name of the game was back links. These are links to your web site from other sites. It used to be that the greater the number of back links, the higher your site would rank on Google search queries.
It seemed reasonable at the time for Google—being the namesake of the math term googol, meaning the number one followed by a hundred zeros—to rank site value in accordance with the mathematical quantity of incoming links from other sites.
The mathematical model of this early Google algorithm was not lost on several enterprising IT guys in India that built server farms and sold back links to site owners around the world. Faced with their noble search query integrity compromised, Google huddled up and rolled out a new game plan.
The Google Zoo
Two superstar algorithms drafted by Google changed the name of the search engine game from quantity to quality, as content began taking precedence in search query rankings. The zoo reference comes from naming the superstar algorithms Panda and Penguin. Why they didn’t fully commit and change the company name to Zoogle is anybody’s guess.
This of course is an oversimplification and by no means represents the sum total evolution of the search engine landscape. For that, you need to see the big picture in historical perspective.
Content Marketing
With content as the new measure of worth in search queries, the relevance and significance of traditional SEO and keyword practices are relegated further into supporting roles.
Marketing changes reflect the new priority for a constant flow of fresh content in all the blog activity you see, coupled with social media interaction.
Content Marketing grew through the cracks to capitalize on the shift from quantity to quality, numbers to content, with a plethora of applications and metrics. It is the the gold standard for heightened visibility, lead nurturing, and conversions in online business.
We don’t mean to imply that you don’t already know this stuff. We just want to reassure you that we do.
What’s Next?
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If reading is your preference, visit the Books page, or follow this link to the Magazines page.