Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility and relevance of a website or a web page in the organic results of a search engine. SEO involves various aspects, such as keyword research, content creation, technical optimization, link building, user experience, and more. However, not all SEO factors are equally in your control. Some factors depend on the search engine algorithms, the competition, the industry, and the user behavior. In this article, we will discuss some of the SEO factors that are not in your control and how you can deal with them.
Search engine algorithms
Search engines use complex and ever-changing algorithms to rank web pages based on various criteria, such as relevance, quality, authority, popularity, and more. These algorithms are not fully disclosed to the public, and they are constantly updated to provide better results and prevent spam and manipulation. Therefore, you cannot control how the search engines evaluate and rank your web pages. You can only follow the best practices and guidelines that they provide and adapt to the changes as they happen.
Competition
Another factor that is not in your control is the competition. Depending on your niche, industry, and target keywords, you may face different levels of competition from other websites that are trying to rank for the same or similar terms. The competition can affect your ranking position, your click-through rate, and your conversion rate. You cannot control what your competitors do or how they perform. You can only focus on your own website and try to offer better value and user experience than them.
Industry
The industry that you operate in can also influence your SEO performance. Some industries are more competitive than others; some have more search volume and demand than others, some have more seasonality and trends than others, and some have more regulations and restrictions than others. These factors can affect your ranking potential, your traffic volume, and your conversion rate. You cannot control the industry dynamics or the market demand. You can only research your industry and your audience and try to meet their needs and expectations.
User behavior
The last factor that is not in your control is the user behavior. Users are the ultimate judges of your website and your web pages. They decide whether to click on your link, whether to stay on your page, whether to engage with your content, whether to share it with others, whether to convert into customers, and whether to come back again. User behavior can affect your ranking position, your bounce rate, your dwell time, your social signals, your reputation, and your revenue. You cannot control how users behave or what they prefer. You can only optimize your website and your web pages for user intent and user satisfaction.
Spam backlinks
Spam backlinks are links from low-quality, irrelevant, or malicious websites that point to your website. They are often created by spammers or hackers who want to manipulate the search engine rankings, harm your reputation, or infect your site with malware. Spam backlinks can hurt your SEO in several ways:
- They can lower your domain authority and trustworthiness, which are metrics that search engines use to measure the quality and credibility of your website.
- They can trigger a manual or algorithmic penalty from Google or other search engines, which can result in a significant drop in your rankings or even removal from the index.
- They can increase your bounce rate and decrease your dwell time, which are behavioral signals that search engines use to evaluate the relevance and usefulness of your website for the users.
Unfortunately, spam backlinks are not always easy to detect or prevent. You may not even be aware that your website has been targeted by spammers or hackers until you notice a sudden change in your traffic or rankings. Moreover, you cannot control who links to your website or how they do it. Therefore, spam backlinks are one of the SEO factors that are not in your control.
How do you deal with SEO factors that are not in your control?
Although you cannot control these SEO factors, you can still influence them to some extent by following some strategies:
- Stay updated with the latest SEO trends and algorithm changes by following reputable sources and experts.
- Analyze your competition and identify their strengths and weaknesses. Try to differentiate yourself from them by offering unique value propositions and solving customer pain points.
- Research your industry and your audience and understand their needs, preferences, problems, and goals. Try to create relevant, useful, engaging, and trustworthy content that matches their search intent and satisfies their queries.
- Optimize your website and your web pages for user experience by improving the loading speed, navigation, design, readability, accessibility, security, and mobile-friendliness.
- Encourage user feedback and interaction by adding calls-to-action, social sharing buttons, comments sections, reviews sections, surveys, polls, quizzes, etc.
- Monitor your SEO performance by using various tools and metrics. Track your ranking positions, your traffic volume and sources, your bounce rate and dwell time, your conversion rate and revenue, etc.
- Test different elements of your website and your web pages by using A/B testing or multivariate testing methods. Experiment with different headlines, images, layouts, colors, fonts, etc.
- Learn from your results and make data-driven decisions. Identify what works well and what needs improvement. Implement changes accordingly.
Dynamic SEO process
SEO is a complex and dynamic process that involves many factors that are not in your control. However, this does not mean that you should give up or ignore them. Instead, you should be aware of them and try to influence them as much as possible by following the best practices and strategies that we discussed in this article. By doing so, you can improve your chances of ranking higher in the search engines and attracting more organic traffic to your website.
