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Ask HN: Does SEO still work in 2018?

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Re: Ask HN: Does SEO still work in 2018?

#71

Post by walshemj »

everdev wrote: post #70
debaserab2 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do things like meta description tags and site map submissions still matter? Just curious.

Description tags matter in terms of converting a search to a click. So, while Google says there isn't a body for putting keywords in the description, I still do because it gives the searcher confidence that the content on the page will match their search query. For site maps, it helps Google find updated content if you have a large site. It's not required, but it won't hurt if you submit one.

Also Bing seems to like sitemaps.

Re: Ask HN: Does SEO still work in 2018?

#73

Post by nikanj »

jachee wrote: post #47
brosirmandude wrote: post #34

I'm a little biased because I currently work as an SEO Manager at an agency, but I would say yes. It REALLY depends on the type of business, what stage the business is at, their goals, and probably a few other things. SEO should almost always be a part of a larger overall marketing strategy. If you're an ecommerce shop optimizing product and category pages - SEO will help. If you're a plumber and ranking higher than…

Give us some more counter-examples? Where will SEO definitely not help?

If you’re doing something completely new, there might not be too much organic traffic. E.g when AirBnB was launching, the users were not googling for ”home accommodation”, they were looking for hotels. Same for Twitter, nobody was looking for ”sms blogging platform”

Re: Ask HN: Does SEO still work in 2018?

#75

Post by thelegendxp »

codingdave wrote: post #40

SEO works, and always will. However, trying to figure out the latest tricks is a losing game. Even if you do figure out how to make something work today, algorithms will change and you'll be punished for having gamed the system. Instead, write 'honest' content. Write it well. Write it for humans. If you find yourself adding content in hopes the search engine will pick it up, that is a short-term gain for long-term pa…

there are still factors to focus on other than just writing honest and good content though. Google makes it clear about weighing results based on mobile-friendliness, for example, and it's worth at least looking at Google's guidelines to make sure there aren't low hanging fruits of honest site-improvements that will bring SEO benefits

Re: Ask HN: Does SEO still work in 2018?

#77

Post by orliesaurus »

petra wrote: post #68
amelius wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess it takes a lot of time. Change a thing, wait for Google to crawl your site, then inspect the results and repeat. Most of it is waiting for Google. So yes, I suppose you can do it on the side.

So you just read about seo from time to time, get a few ideas and select one that you think will fit your circumstances, try it , and wait ?

I would say, you create an interest in SEO/SEM - become aware of the various types of things you can do, then start experimenting with incremental changes to the site you're trying to improve. Some changes takes hours, some weeks, the results - similarly - will show in weeks or months. (i.e. getting back-links is extremely tough and time consuming and the results aren't immediate, but once you're in..you have a tremendous boost in rank improvement)

Re: Ask HN: Does SEO still work in 2018?

#78

Post by ajeet_dhaliwal »

cookiecaper wrote: post #53
codingdave wrote: post #40

SEO works, and always will. However, trying to figure out the latest tricks is a losing game. Even if you do figure out how to make something work today, algorithms will change and you'll be punished for having gamed the system. Instead, write 'honest' content. Write it well. Write it for humans. If you find yourself adding content in hopes the search engine will pick it up, that is a short-term gain for long-term pa…

I don't run a web agency and make 0 dollars from selling SEO. This is not true. Google has been gamed for well over a decade. On a past enterprise, I believed the lie "write good content and it will magically rank" and paid a content writer for about 9 months. She posted lengthy original content about 3 times per week, all highly relevant to the search terms we cared about. I did the same about once a week. A competi…

I agree that sometimes it gets ‘gamed’. I didn’t realize it until I wanted to promote my own business. Ironically the ads on Google are more honest than the organic results for certain keywords, at least its out in the open it’s an ad.

Re: Ask HN: Does SEO still work in 2018?

#79

Post by spamwatch »

I thought I'd try my usual check to see what the state of the art is. Googled "rivonia plumber" (where I live) and got pages like this:

http://plumber-plumbers.co.za/index-rivonia-plumbers.html

http://www.plumbersgauteng.co.za/gauteng-plumbers-areas/plum...

That is so gamed. Keyword stuffing, repeated exact pages. I assume it's better in the US but surely the algos are run over the whole dataset? Is this a worldwide problem?

When I first did that search I found nests of sites using exactly the same content and styles, with different areas. Same phone number across many sites, cross-linked out the wazoo. I don't have the interest to check now but it doesn't seem much better.

Re: Ask HN: Does SEO still work in 2018?

#80

Post by rokhayakebe »

I do SEO for lawyers, mostly Family Law. I can tell you SEO works as in: Proven Measured Positive ROI, to the point I wish I was allowed to own a law firm. One thing I would say though is SEO should be one part of your marketing strategy but not all of it. You should have a diversified approach.

Edit: Let me offer a different way to look at it.

Does having a well organized website help turn visitors into clients? Yes. Well that's SEO, a well organized website.

Does having useful and well written information about the services and products you offer, or you industry, help your business? Yes. Well that's SEO too.

Can sharing your knowledge online across different relevant forums help you grow your brand and business? Yes. Well that's SEO as well.

It is just that people who do not know SEO think it is things such as keywords and metatags and url structure, but everything above and more is SEO. And all these things work to your advantage, therefore SEO works.

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