I get asked a lot about how search engines work and whether I can get a site to the top of the search listings.

You’ve probably heard the term SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), and you may have even had the unsolicited phone calls or visits from so-called SEO experts.

The web has changed a lot since Google launched back in 1999, but users are ultimately still looking for the same thing: Good quality, relevant content. Unfortunately, the web is also chock full of low-quality, irrelevant content as well.

Luckily, Google and others have developed their search engines to a point where the good quality content will win out in search rankings. Gone are the days of meta-tag spamming and cross linking! In fact, Google themselves don’t even bother reading meta-tag keywords anymore and haven’t done so since 2009.

So why should we stop worrying about SEO?

Because all that effort and expense involved in meticulously crafting keywords and utilising outdated SEO optimisation techniques won’t make up for poor quality content. You should also be aware that Google now actively penalises sites that use certain SEO techniques that were previously common place.

Instead, just don’t think about SEO. Think about the customer. Provide content that is useful and engaging for them.

A well written article that provides genuine information for your customers will gain more traffic and interest than something intentionally filled with keywords for specific search terms, written to impress a robot.

Of course, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have an overall strategy for marketing your website, because you most definitely should. That strategy will differ business to business of course, and will look very different to how it may have looked 10 years ago. There are also a lot of people who stand to make (far too much) money by making you worry about SEO – in spite of the fact that it is significantly less relevant than it used to be.

Customers need a reason to visit your website. Give them one by building an ongoing relationship with them through your content, be it via a blog, newsletter, social media or a combination of platforms.

There’s plenty of things in life and business to worry about. SEO shouldn’t be one of them.