Strategies You Need to Romance Search Engines

Strategies to Romance Search Engines

Wouldn’t a tale of romancing the search engines be the perfect addition to anyone’s day? I know what you are probably thinking as you are reading this. How can romance and search engines possibly have anything to do with each other? Stay with me, and you will see.

 

When you think of what makes a relationship work, what are some of the things that come to mind? Please try to think of attributes that might have something to do with SEO. Did you think of a few basics? SEO does have best practices that can be compared to the most effective ways to pursue and maintain a relationship.

5 ways pursuing a search engine is like a romance

Let’s unpack the idea of how pursuing some search engine love is similar to a romance.

  1. The Courtship
    Similar to an old-fashioned courtship, the first steps that each website owner needs to take is to learn what the search engines are like and how they operate. There are no short-cuts to the process. Learning how they work and understanding the specific guidelines are fundamental steps.
  2. Uniqueness
    No one is impressed by someone who is trying to be someone they are not. No one is awed by canned phrases or cheesy lines from a movie. Search engines, specifically the dashing knight, Google, want uniqueness, too, when it comes to the content on a website.

     

    Matt Cutts, the former head of the webspam team at Google, clarified what the Google knight is looking for. He explained in one of his Q&A videos that it is important to provide unique and original content. He made it clear that original research can make a big difference.

    It may take a lot of work. However, when you offer unique and original content, you will attract others and will be more likely to get referenced by other people. You will attract some search engine attention, too.

    Eric Enge, CEO of Stone Temple Consulting, had this to say in the episode, Why Does Your Content Need to be Unique? of “Here’s Why with Mark & Eric.”

    “Unique content targeting very specific queries gives your site a fighting chance to stand out from the crowd…”

    On the flip side, Google’s Panda algorithm updates brought the devaluing of sites that practiced “content spinning,” which is the process of takings someone else’s article, making a few minor changes, and publishing it as one’s own content. Like the cheesy pickup lines, this practice won’t win any points and can ruin the search engine relationship.

  3. Integrity
    Integrity is a foundation of any relationship, and dishonesty has ruined many. In the search engine world, dishonest practices will sever the relationship bond, too. Google has been crystal clear about techniques that should be avoided, including sneaky redirects, scraped content (plagiarism), hidden text, link schemes, and more.

     

    For the full list, please see Google’s Search Console Help – Webmaster Guidelines Quality guidelines. You get the picture. Anything dishonest can get one the boot. Integrity in a search engine relationship cannot be compromised.

  4. Commitment / Work
    For a relationship to last, there has to be a commitment and work. The search engine arena has changed, and search engine optimization has evolved since it was first coined SEO back in 1995. At times, SEO may seem like a daunting and overwhelming phenomenon, but like any relationship, it is worth the time and energy it takes to make it work.

     

    The Internet is a vast source of quality information, and there are many champions in the field to learn from. One outstanding resource is Google’s growing volume of YouTube video tutorials that will help guide you in your journey.

  5. Time
    Finally, a great relationship takes time. SEO is no different. SEO has often been described as a marathon and not a sprint. Why? Similar to a long-term relationship, SEO is a long-term commitment where patience is key.

     

    One of the top questions I hear from new website owners involves when their website will start placing high in search engine results.

    The answer: Real SEO takes time.

    There are no short-cuts or quick tricks to earn qualified traffic and quality backlinks.

    Mark Traphagen, former Senior Director of Online Marketing for Stone Temple Consulting, said it well,

    “Real SEO takes time. If it’s done right, you can be assured there will be positive results…”

[clickToTweet tweet=”Real #SEO takes time. There are no short-cuts to earn qualified traffic and quality backlinks” quote=”Real #SEO takes time. There are no short-cuts to earn qualified traffic and quality backlinks” theme=”style1″]

Takeaway

Relationships start with a courtship, are influenced by uniqueness, are built on integrity, require commitment, hard work, and time. The romance of the search engines is no different. When you create a great website and follow best SEO practices, not only will Google take notice, he (she?) may consider your site the perfect match.

Over to You

What do you think about romancing the search engines? Can you think of any other ways that pursuing a search engine’s favor is like a romance?

Similar Posts

16 Comments

  1. Robin, Wonderful post! Love the analogy and love the advice! Too good not to share, but I’ll wait until Valentine’s Day (tomorrow)!

    1. Hi Michelle,

      I’m so happy to hear that you like this analogy! I had fun writing it. I appreciate you sharing it, too, my friend! Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

  2. Such a cute article~thank you Robin for posting this.
    I have been romancing SEO for quite sometime and I’m hoping it will return my love sometime very soon.
    In the meantime I am very fortunate to have many customers that share their Love with me, this Love keeps me going.
    Happy Valentines Day my friend. <3

    1. Hi Cindy,
      You are so welcome! It is great to hear that you like this post. I hope that your romancing endeavors will pay off very soon! Happy Valentine’s Day, my friend!
      ~ Robin

  3. You always share the most incredible organic SEO tips! We are feeling the love. Thank you Robin. Keep it up!

    1. Hi Heidi!
      I appreciate that and thank you! I know that this was written with Valentine’s Day in mind, but wooing some search engine love should be done each and every day of the month 🙂

  4. Hi Robin,
    Wonderful post! Love the analogy and love the advice!
    Thanks for sharing.

    1. Hi Mansi,
      It is great to hear you love the analogy! Thank you for stopping by.
      ~ Robin

  5. Theses are 5 great hints, not only for Valentine’s Day for for every day!! And not only for search engines, for for real life!! I shared my Valentine’s Day with a lot of people who were bringing a little bit of love into the life of their loved one. At the end of the day I realized I didn’t get to enjoy Valentine’s Day myself, but it was very rewarding to be able to make it special for others. I think that’s what you do day-in-and-day-out. Thank you for sharing the love!

    1. Hi Tina,
      You are right! These tips can be for each and every day. I am sure that you were very busy helping others enjoy their Valentine’s Day! It is rewarding to help others. I appreciate you stopping by!
      ~ Robin

    1. Hi Ana,
      So glad you like the analogy! I had a great time writing this 🙂
      ~ Robin

  6. Hey Robin,

    I love the analogy as well, you always have a great way of spinning things that to most of us is a little over our heads.

    I can appreciate though how you mapped SEO out and how it’s something that does need to be nurtured and like any relationship we need to stay on top of things and keep them going strong.

    I’m glad that Google is trying to stay on top of things so that we can continue to keep finding the best content for ourselves when we’re out there searching for answers to things.

    Love this post and hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s.

    ~Adrienne

    1. Hi Adrienne,

      It is great to hear that you love the analogy of how romancing the search engines is like pursuing a relationship. I had fun writing this! At times, the whole SEO arena can feel overwhelming. Yes, SEO is similar to nurturing a relationship.

      I did have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, and hope you did too.

      ~ Robin

  7. Hi Robin!

    I love the analogy you’ve used here.

    Yes, quality relationships take time to develop, don’t they?

    Just the other day, I saw someone in a Facebook group complaining that they had launched their blog two weeks ago, and Google STILL wasn’t sending them any traffic…

    Oh, to be young, naive and in love… LOL

    Hope you’re doing well.

    Brent

    1. Hi Brent,
      I’m happy to hear that you love the analogy. Yes, quality relationships do take time to develop. I remember one wise woman saying, “Never stop courting.” The same is true for search engines. We need to continually “court” the search engines to be sure we continue to keep a great relationship.

      Thank you for stopping by, Brent. I hope you’re doing well, too!
      ~ Robin

Comments are closed.