The most fascinating thing about SEO is that it is constantly changing. Each time Google alters its algorithm, your strategy for ranking higher should also change. That being said, there are endless online resources and digital marketing experts that can assist you with tackling the right SEO strategy for your small business. To give you a head start on building a great marketing strategy, we’ve gathered some of the best SEO quotes from fellow industry experts.

SEO isn’t about content creation. It’s about content promotion.

Brian Deen, SEO Expert and Founder of Backlinko

Search engine optimization doesn’t exist without content. From keywords to backlinks, there is nothing to optimize for SEO if there is no content. Quality content comes first. The promotion of that content, SEO, comes second.

No website can stand without a strong backbone. That backbone is technical SEO.

Neil Patel, Marketer & Entrepreneur

The technical side of SEO is what’s not seen by those visiting your site. From that perspective, it can be easy to forget technical SEO and the impact it can have. Navigation, speed, and structure are all technical aspects that would make a user have a positive and easy experience on your site, which is what makes it the backbone of SEO.

SEO isn’t about gaming the system anymore; it’s about learning how to play by the rules.

Jordan Teicher, Writer/Editor & Director of Content at Contently

Mastering SEO is less about knowing the best tips and tricks, and more about learning the ever-changing rules that Google sets. Once you know the rules like the back of your hand, then you can begin optimizing your business’s best content for SEO.

The Reality Is That Being found online requires constant SEO activity and content creation, publishing and marketing.

Jeff Bullas, Digital Marketing Influencer

Content creation and good SEO go hand in hand. Without content creation, there can be no content promotion. Being found online requires consistent content creation, and therefore consistent SEO optimization.

Optimize for what would happen if you ranked, do not optimize to rank.

Will Critchlow, Founder & CEO of SearchPilot

What would you do if when searching, you landed on a site that ranked, but didn’t answer your question? From the user’s perspective, this site would lose its credibility due to irrelevant content. It’s important to optimize for what would happen if you did rank because this improves the user experience and benefits your business in the long run.

My rule of thumb Is to build a site for a user, not a spider.

Dave Naylor, Founder of Bronco.co.uk

If you’re too focused on building a site that’s intended for a spider, then you’re ignoring the overall end goal of generating traffic and converting it into leads. Focusing on a site built for spiders puts the customer on the back burner, and the customer experience should be the top priority.

SEO isn’t about ‘how do I get keywords into Google,’ it’s about understanding how many people search for information and finding a way to get it in front of them.

Danny Sullivan, Co-Founder of Search Engine Land

Keywords need to be reevaluated periodically to ensure that you’re attracting the right target audience. The goal of SEO isn’t to fit as many keywords as you can into your business’s content. Rather, it’s about putting yourself in the shoes of a customer and understanding what, why, and how they are searching for their information. Then, find a way to get it in front of them.

Design is marketing, and if your design sucks, and it’s not usable, then no one is really going to stick around.

Neil Patel, Marketer & Entrepreneur

Having a responsive web design matters to those that are visiting your site. If your website is hard to navigate and is slow to load, then no one is going to stick around. Optimizing for a responsive site is a guaranteed way to improve your small business SEO strategy.

Anything you do that improves the user experience and happiness of people who are looking at your page helps you long term in Google.

Rand Fishkin, CEO & Co-Founder of SEOmoz

Improving the user experience (UX) improves the happiness of those visiting your site. If those visiting your site are happy, then your site will have a better long-term relationship with Google. This is so because improving UX increases the chances of a viewer staying on your site and becoming a new customer.

FirstPage Marketing is an SEO-driven digital marketing agency that delivers results, not just reports. Schedule a free consultation today!