SEOMOZ just had a HUGE study of the future of SEO and here are the findings:
SEO strategies on the decline:
- exact match domain names
- effectiveness of paid links
- anchor text in external links
WebBizIdeas.com summary: basically building crappy links in article directories & paid links are coming to an end
SEO strategies on the increase:
- content readability / usability / design
- usage dat (CTR, bounce reate, etc…) (big increase)
- social signals at domain level (will increase the largest)
- analysis of perceived value to users (will increase the largest)
- social signals at a page level (will increase the largest)
WebBizIdeas summary: If people actually want to find, read, and use your website it is going to rank #1.
Here is SEOMOZ Full Report:
Ranking Factors Data 2011: SMX Elite Sydney
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