…That’s pretty clunky. But it might be a more accurate depiction of what SEO really is these days.

We can keep the term SEO around for some aspects. Like those quick boosts that anybody can do. Change the alt text in your images, page titles, change some wording in your articles so they feature more keywords – it’s a simple process. Website builders have even condensed it down to a button – “Click here for SEO.”

It’s low-hanging fruit. Just like the Hidden Keyword trick used in the early 2000’s. That’s when you would up your site with keywords in tiny text, in the same color font as your background. Google is always out to keep and improve the quality of its search results. So when it found out that sites with little substance could spam their way to the top, it pulled the plug on that technique, and made it so that sites using it got pushed to the bottom. Easy come, easy go.

Google doesn’t want fly-by-night promoters to monopolize its listings by banging on the table the loudest. It wants quality insights and information from people who care about their passions. It wants commitment.

And who is better committed than a company that updates its blog on the regular? Than a guy who’s so impassioned about candy or glasses or long-term financial solutions that they can’t stop talking about it for a second?

The guy actually making the candy, you might say.

Time was, you worked your whole life in a field, getting better and better. Then maybe upon retirement – when you had time– you could publish a memoir with the insights you’ve learned over your career. Your insights are worth more now. And what’s amazing is, they can be shared at the click of a button. There won’t be an invitation. The people who need them need them now.

And what’s best is that you’re never alone in your field. Have you read a great article written by someone else in your industry? Your response is content as well – even if you have nothing to add and thoroughly agree. (The original author will appreciate the support!)

Doing all this takes commitment. And Google’s biggest metric for commitment is time. If making regular updates and interactions is part of your day to day business, Google knows it. And Google likes it – a lot more than a little changed alt-text.

So that’s commitment. What’s veracity?

I can tell you the easiest way to be a committed and consistent publisher. Just publish misinformation! You’ll never run out of new topics because you can just make them up as you go.

…Yeah, this won’t fly. Consistent with its “Do the Right Thing” motto, Google doesn’t take kindly to useless information. Google wants to show its customers something they’ll actually find useful or enjoyable. That’s a bit more subjective of a metric, and harder for a computer algorithm to pinpoint. What the computers can do is take the lead from other humans.

If other people are linking you on their website and sharing your articles, they’re vouching for your presence on the web. They’re helping confirm that the money you pay out each year for domain hosting is being put to good use.

The truth helps. Maybe it’s the truth that lies in working in your trade, that other people don’t know about. Write up a little essay on it; like we said, you’re never alone in your field. Maybe a harsh truth of your world can be explored through comedy. Shoot a funny video. If it lands and spreads, then people will get to know your name very quickly. And the more truthful it is, the more that’s likely.

It’s the force of habit that we humans will likely never shake – the increased likelihood to get behind something that we see other people doing. It’s why you’ve put all those testimonials on your website. It’s why companies ask for feedback with all the desperate tenacity of an insecure romantic partner. Social proof is a valuable thing – and Google knows it.

After taking a look at the high rankers, we see that SEO has become more about verifying your company’s commitment and veracity, among other things. Sure, those quick fixes work too – for now. But how long will it be before Google pushes the quick fixes down in the results – just like it did for the Hidden Keyword technique?

True SEO works best when it’s handled by a team. Business owners don’t have time to wear the extra hat of publisher. High rankers have often hired whole teams to publish, design, and engage. It’s gone from a quick fix into a full investment. Good, conscious SEO follows your company’s whole story, and continues to follow you as you grow.

That’s good SEO. What is great SEO? How could you optimize optimization?

The only organization with the answers is Google itself. To get SEO that’s above and beyond, you’d have to know what goes into Google’s more covert algorithms. The search engine also prefers aspects that are more subliminal, that take into account color, layout, and fonts. Someone who has studied these patterns since the beginning of the Internet would be poised to be ahead of the SEO game.

…You’ve figured out that we’re talking about ourselves by now, haven’t you?

Bottom line: Google is getting rid of easy come, easy go. It’s a fight to the top – one we’re passionate about winning on your behalf. We’re a group of programmers, coders, and marketers, who learned what they love on ground zero of the tech boom. Get us on it and we’ll have it covered, like we’ve done for hundreds of satisfied customers in many lines of work, from all around the world.

Don’t worry that you don’t have everything all together. We’ve always been the type to look past presentations to the heart of the idea. So talk to us today for free. If you’ve got “committed” somewhere in your mission statement, we already have something to go on.