Low-quality links can lead to a higher bounce rate and click-through rates, which can eventually degrade the ranking of your site on search engines. As brands across industries continue to see the impact that organic search can have on their growth, search engine optimization has come from humble beginnings to become a recognized strategic field of marketing. Links still matter. We should just think of them differently. Consider whether the links you attract will actually drive qualified traffic to your site, rather than just adding to antiquated metrics like external link volume. If a site links to you using the ’nofollow’ meta tag then their website’s authority won’t be passed to you. Some publishers automatically nofollow all external links, which is bad practice. Nofollow links should be reserved for sponsored or paid for links and content you don’t necessarily trust but still want to use as an example.

Is there a further shift towards user focussed factors?

Content simply refers to the text on your homepage, your blog posts, videos you’ve produced, and any podcasts you’ve published. Focus on producing the best content you can – or pay someone to create it for you! Make it compelling, detailed, substantive, accurate and entertaining. Keeping track of your backlinks is just as important as building them. That’s because SEO relies on the quality of the backlinks your website gets. The more high-quality links you have, the higher you will rank in Google. The anchor text section clearly shows what text the links pointing to a website has. This is an opportunity to take a look and make sure that the website does not have a spammy anchor text profile. Once you know your goals, you should be able at least to decide on a balance between “head” keywords and “long-tail” keywords.

Join Facebook groups based around your lead generation vertical

Google’s featured snippets, also known as “position zero” on the SERP, can be a great opportunity to get one over your competitors in search results. Currently more than half of searches account for mobile devices. Ranking high on Google is crucial for attracting consumers to your company. By investing in blogging, you have the opportunity to establish your company as a leader in your industry, as well as reach the customers who are going to take you to the next level. For some businesses a point in the right direction is all that is needed, for others that have had an audit carried out they may just need keeping on-track. Dependant on your requirements this can range from analysis of your site and advice given over the telephone to a visit to your premises and coaching given directly to your in-house team.

Add relevant links where necessary

It does not matter if you are running an e-commerce store or a business blog, content marketing remains an important part of modern-day SEO processes. Search engine optimization should be a part of a website for its lifetime, continuously improving its ability to make a brand (and its content) be more visible and to create a better experience for users. Links from a diverse range of websites are good, as too many links from the same domain can be seen as spammy. Gaz Hall, from SEO Hull, had the following to say: "Importantly, Google is now looking for ways to improve its understanding of non-written words such as through videos and audios, and of course, images."

Be prepared to work really hard for high quality backlinks

Earning links is not about following a static link building strategy for a long time. In the landscape of Google’s ever changing algorithms, sticking with just one or two tactics for link building is not going to help you in any way. There is definitely no hard and fast rule or way to get you tons of high valued and qualified links. On page SEO of course refers to all the strategies that you can use within your pages to get Google interested in your site. This begins with content – and it begins with having a stronger understanding of the subtle changes Google has gone through in recent times. Content that empathizes with prospective customers’ emotions can guide them through their journey as a buyer. Optimizing for local SEO means more than just making sure your location is clear. You can also use it to show opening hours, reviews and phone numbers (which smartphone users can click to instantly call).