SEO has always been two-part – on-page SEO and off-page SEO.

But before the Panda Update, very few people put a focus on on-page SEO. It’s because, with enough off-page work (mainly backlink building), it was possible to rank for almost any keyword. But, as you well know, that’s all changed.

Now, if anything, on-page SEO is more important than off-page. Especially post-Penguin, as Google’s pretty blatantly shown what they think about built backlinks.

In this world of New SEO, many internet marketers and online business owners are confused. They look at Google and think, “why does Google continually change their mind on SEO?” Fact is, they really haven’t.

But once we SEO’s got into the game, Google HAD to start making changes. Because it was either that or let the rankings be dictated by marketers.

So Google did make some changes – BIG changes. And it’s thrown us all for a loop.

But fortunately, we do have a direction. With “New SEO”, we identify Google’s main goal – that is, to stay #1 in the world of search.

With that in mind, we optimize our websites for USERS FIRST, SEARCH ENGINES SECOND.

In this article, we’ll go over a few tips on how to do that.

What’s the Searcher Looking For?

Whenever you search for something on Google, you’re looking to get the closest possible result to your search term.

So if you search “piano theory lessons”, you’re literally searching for piano theory lessons. Now, if Google displays a website that’s optimized for “piano theory lessons” but only sells pianos, you’re not going to be happy with your result!

As an internet marketer, SEO, or online business owner, the key is to know your market. Know who’s looking for your website, and what, EXACTLY, they’re looking for. If you can identify this, you’ll know exactly what type of site to provide them with as soon as they hit their page!

The idea is to get your page to match as close to possible with the searcher’s intent. If you can do this, you’ll get Google love like never before.

Your Listing Matters

This is a HUGE DEAL. Listen up!

Most people skip out on this and it is oh so important!

It’s not enough to rank on page #1. Realize that even if you are on page #1, you still have competition – you’re competing with nine other listings! And they’re all claiming to have what the searcher’s looking for.

So how are you going to stand out?

Google’s given us several ways we can stand out. Google’s new “trusted store” program is one way.

It is very easy to control how your website is presented to searchers. So do it! Go the extra mile and pimp out your listing. It’ll pay off in the long run, BIG TIME.

SOCIAL

Last but certainly not least, remember – we’re in the social era! Social media is the bread and butter of the business. The most successful businesses are those which properly integrate social media into their marketing campaigns.

So whenever you publish an article, whenever you make an update… make sure it’s sharable. If you’re writing a controversial article, make sure people can easily tweet about it! Take the initiative and share it on Reddit.

Getting MASSIVE traffic volume is easier than ever. But you have to prepare for it! 

So on-page SEO is alive and well. But it’s a bit different than before. Instead of viewing it through the lens of “old SEO”—that is, a focus on keywords and “SEO content”—it’s viewed through a lens of “New SEO”.

How much value can we give to the customer? Can we provide EXACTLY what the searcher is looking for? If so, we’re in great shape moving forward.