SEO: “a tool to be used when appropriate”

Matt Kelly from the Daily Mirror has made a fascinating speech on the importance of content and character over SEO, as reported in The Guardian today.

His basic point is that newspapers have been too keen to optimize their sites, putting more importance on visitor numbers than on loyal readership.

It’s fascinating reading, which flies against many of the myths the average SEO company will try to sell you. The lesson for all of us out there, from huge news corporations to small businesses, is that the tide is turning. We need to be looking at all-around strategies that also include meaningful content, social media marketing and a sense of individual character.

It means building sites that perform well for humans, not search engines, says Kelly.

We believe you can do both: indeed, we start with the principle that if you do the former, the latter will come to you naturally, over time. We also believe that Notting Hill Web Design has been ahead of the wave on this one – because these are things we’ve been saying for a long time.