In any field, there will be unscrupulous people who use underhanded tactics to get ahead. The web is no different, especially where search engine optimization is concerned. There exists a ton of black hat SEO tactics that people try to use to get ahead.

Search engine optimization used to be a numbers game. For those of us who can remember them, those were dark times. There was no shortage of underhanded, spammy webmasters who sought to game the system through tactics like hidden backlinks, automated content, link-building schemes, and malicious software.

Search engine optimization has evolved. While keyword research and on-page SEO are still important in terms of how a website will rank, they’re no longer the only things that matter. How people engage with, perceive, and talk about your brand is every bit as important – if not more so.

Hey there, folks! Today we’re going to talk about Metadata. For the uninitiated, that’s just a fancy way of saying we’re going to talk about data which is focused on other data.

The topic’s neither as boring nor as useless as you might at first believe, particularly from an SEO standpoint. The truth is, a thorough understanding of the metadata on your website is vital if you ever want to properly optimize your site. Continue reading →

Last week, we wrote about how Google is taking legal action against SEO firm Local Lighthouse. Amidst the claims leveled against the company is that it guaranteed customers placement on the first page of the Search Engine Results Page – something Google staunchly maintains is impossible. That last piece concluded with the message that SEO is an intensely strategic practice which requires hard work and a strategic mind. Continue reading →

As most people who know a thing or two about SEO have steadfastly maintained, there’s no such thing as guaranteed rankings, or perfect, ironclad SEO. Now, at long last, we’ve been given a bit of ammunition for our arguments, straight from Google. See, recently the search engine giant took SEO firm Local Lighthouse to court. Continue reading →

By now, you’ve likely heard the news – after all, everyone’s been talking about it. Google’s been bitten by the reorganization bug and announced that it will operate under a parent company known as Alphabet. I know, I know, reorgs don’t exactly have the best reputation in the business world, and they’re often the result of a business that’s either seeking a way to revitalise or lacks any sort of meaningful direction. Continue reading →

Although traditional search engine optimization doesn’t hold quite the same weight as it used to, that doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile to school yourself in a few of the tactics generally associated with SEO. After all, even in the era of semantic search, older techniques can still help you rank – and understanding them can give you a greater understanding of the semantic web, besides.

At any rate, search engine optimization is just like any other field – you’re only as good as what you know. That’s where we come in. Today, we’re going to go over a few advanced, less-understood on-page techniques.

Let’s get started. Continue reading →