This is perhaps the shortest chapter of any book I’ve written, and the main point is to emphasize that one of the parts of SEO is to keep up with changes.

It also mean looking critically at resources that might be out of date, including this book! Depending on when you read it of course. To balance that approach, I’ve tried to make this book more about learning how to learn than attempting to explain “eternal” SEO best practices. There are no practices that are eternal. Except maybe one—quality content!

Outside of looking for quality content, Google evolves and changes its algorithms. The entire SEO industry responds with workshops, blogs, webinars, seminars, conventions, and panel discussions. Sometimes Google makes announcements and sometimes things change quietly and people who are watching closely notice them. It’s just the way things go.

Part of the reason that Google doesn’t always disclose exactly how things work, is because in the past, present, and probably in the future, there will always be people who try to capitalize on exactly how things work to manipulate the system. They take it to an extreme and get good results for a while, but Google eventually catches up with them. Google’s algorithmic changes have also caused legitimate businesses with the proper approach to have to revamp everything. Even if you’re pursuing a particular business model that’s content related and relies on search engine rankings, an algorithmic change can have a large impact on your results.

For example, this is a report from a mid-2015 news article.

Check out http://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/13/ntom-algorithm-update-hits-websites.html or http://tinyurl.com/goog-phantom .

If you still don’t believe me, look at Moz’s article entitled, “Google Algorithm Change History” at https://moz.com/google-algorithm-change .

Sometimes Google acknowledges these issues and sometimes they don’t.

Perhaps the biggest one in recent memory—which is still worth being aware of because you might be the one to explain its importance to a business or organization—is called “mobilegeddon”. This was when Google (with ample public notice) started penalizing sites that were not mobile friendly.

Suffice it to say that it’s a good idea to keep up with changes. How do you do that? Read on.

Keep Up with Industry Resources and Blogs

Sometimes all it takes is reading a blog post. Sometimes it’s helpful to read a book or attend a webinar. The best thing to do is get familiar with some of the industry resources out there. Here are a few that have been mentioned. Some are tools that also include news and others are news sites that have tools as well as training materials (and certifications, as you’ll learn in the next chapter).

• www.searchenginenews.com

• www.moz.com

• www.semrush.com

Of course, try searching for “SEO news” to see what comes up in Google.

Note

Remember, remember, remember—when you’re reading blog posts, look at the dates of publication to be sure you’re getting the latest news.

In general, the companies and sites that are focused on SEO news, such as the ones mentioned previously, are fairly current. They may be the ones you go to or hear from about the latest changes. There are also a host of blog posts from a variety of sources that will come up in a search, but do not reflect the latest changes in Google. For example, you might find a book, blog post, or article that talks about meta keywords. These used to be more important, but now they are less so. You need to look for information with a critical eye.

If you want my personal advice, go right to moz.com and subscribe to their blog at https://moz.com/blog .

You’ll learn something, you’ll keep updated, and you’ll be glad you did.

I also recommend exploring Search Engine News . At the time of this writing, they have a $1 trial. I learned about them through an agency I worked for. The owner found their information helpful enough that it was worth paying for. See www.searchenginenews.com .