It should be no surprise that SEO is more than just a fast loading website. The technical aspects of SEO have become more complicated but not impossible to manage. Recently, we added a free website audit to the Big Fin SEO website to help clients with technical SEO.

What we are discovering is that many clients haven't addressed the basic blocking and tackling associated with technical SEO which has expanded beyond keyword research and meta data to a page by page analysis of keyword specificity and performance. 

Google continues to evolve and utilize natural language programming. What that means is that in addition to machines evaluating all of the technical aspects of SEO, they are also using artificial intelligence to understand the level of engage users have or will have with a given page focused on a particular topic.

This is forcing SEO's to take a fresh look at technical search optimization from both the perspective of the individual as well as search engines like Google. The end result is a more elegant search experience that benefits everyone involved.

When focusing on content, a key aspect of any search engine optimization program, the definition has expanded greatly. We used to think about content as a well written article. Now, what we're finding is a shift from authored content to a search-centric approach. What do I mean by search centric? 

Users are going to their preferred search engine to find products, answers to questions, and learn about a particular topic. SEO's who write content in a manner that is easily used by search engines to address the needs of their audience are winning the day. 

This means question and answer boxes, featured snippets, and other formats are being used to present information in real time using a format that is easily digestible. We see this as accelerated mobile pages are gaining popularity and more of the search results are dominated by non-traditional formats.

From our perspective, optimizing a webpage today has more to do with desired formats than what keyword you're trying to optimize for. What I mean by that is it's always best to do a search for the keyword phrases you're targeting and see how Google is providing the information to searchers. 

If results are a combination of featured snippets, videos, and answer boxes, the trend is your friend. Think about formatting your content to match the result types already being shown. Don't be stubborn, follow the manner in which content is currently being shown to searchers.  By adopting the current content format, and evolving with it, you can being to reap the rewards of a well thought through optimization program.