![\"SEO](\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/love-316640_640.jpg\")
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It\u2019s no secret that SEO can be a little confusing, and much like the opposite sex, is often misunderstood.<\/p>\n
SEO is a complicated process, and takes time and commitment to truly benefit from. As with dating, SEO is an area where some thrive, and others flounder, where spending money doesn\u2019t guarantee success, and where you may have wasted time before in the past. With that said, there is hope.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t be too eager<\/strong><\/p>\n Nobody likes a try hard. Especially Google. A good SEO should use optimization techniques effectively, not excessively. This is a crucial distinction. If you flood your site with keywords, in\/outbound links, and manipulative metatitles, Google will deem your site to be unauthentic, causing your traffic to plummet.<\/p>\n Just like cologne on a first date, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Don\u2019t over optimize.<\/p>\n Be yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n We all know that content is king, yet it\u2019s surprising how many sites still utilize \u201cblack hat\u201d strategies. Google\u2019s recent updates, most notably Panda, have been increasingly content focused, rewarding sites that feature original content, and provide real value to their users. Black hat techniques may offer you short-term gains in traffic, but your success will be short lived. Google will eventually realize what\u2019s going on, and your traffic will look something like the graph below\u2026<\/p>\n *This graph serves to illustrate the point above, and is not based on real data.<\/p><\/div>\n Your content strategy should be unique, authentic, and focused on consumer engagement. If you attempt to be something you\u2019re not, you\u2019re going to attract the wrong type of traffic to your site, which will be clearly reflected through your analytics. Instead, focus on rewarding the users you do want to attract. This is what will have the best long-term impact on your traffic, and ultimately, your conversion rate.<\/p>\n Make sure you speak the same language <\/strong><\/p>\n Your website language is an incredibly important factor in your Google rank. Simply put, if your site isn\u2019t readable by Google spiders, you can\u2019t rank. HTML is undeniably the language Google recognizes most easily, however, web design trends have been swaying more towards minimal, image-based sites. Unfortunately, if your site is heavily image based, or uses java or flash, to Google your website\u2019s speaking Greek (metaphorically of course, Google does actually recognize the Greek language).<\/p>\n![\"Black](\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/seangraph.png\")