Why traditional SEO isn’t enough anymore

 

The multicategory retailer struggle

Many of the biggest brands and retailers have seen massive drops in rankings because they churn out irrelevant content. This is especially true for multicategory retailers: brands that sell a wide variety of products across multiple categories but fail to produce content that is specifically relevant to those categories. These brands may have once ranked well for broad, high-volume search terms, but the lack of category relevance has caused their rankings to slip. The takeaway here is that while being a large brand with high authority might have worked in the past, the relevancy gap is now the true differentiator. If your content isn’t relevant to the specific needs and interests of your audience, you’re going to struggle to maintain your position in the SERPs.

The changing face of search: new features on the SERP

Search engines have evolved significantly in recent years, and so has the structure of the SERP. Traditional blue links are becoming less dominant, and new features are emerging that drastically change how users interact with search results. Here are some of the newer features you’ll find on the first page:

1. Popular Products Pack: This feature is driven by Merchant Center feeds, not traditional SEO, yet it still appears as an organic listing. It’s a good reminder that PPC strategies are becoming increasingly intertwined with SEO. Those who manage Paid Search and Merchant Center feeds are also doing SEO, whether they realize it or not.
2. What People Are Saying: This box pulls in content from a wide array of sources—Reddit, TikTok, and UGC—and places it directly on the first page. For example, a search for fashion terms such as “dresses” might feature user reviews, opinions from Reddit threads, and even TikTok videos, signaling that social search and user-generated content are becoming increasingly valuable for SEO.
3. Videos: High-volume terms now often display video content in the search results, giving users a taste of the content before clicking. Whether it’s a tutorial or a product showcase, video content is now a major player in organic rankings, and brands that overlook video as part of their strategy are missing out on valuable opportunities.

These new features underscore a fundamental shift: SEO today is much broader than simply focusing on traditional tactics like link building or keyword targeting. Being agile, relevant, and nimble is now crucial for outpacing competitors.

The importance of relevance: more than keywords

In today’s SEO landscape, being relevant goes far beyond keyword targeting, keyword stuffing, and link building. Relevance is not about simply filling in content gaps your competitors might have missed, nor is it about having a high keyword density or numerous links from arbitrary authoritative sources. Relevance is about creating content that matters to your audience, content that speaks directly to their needs, questions, and desires. Take the example of ASOS in the US, a brand with a massive link profile and a diverse product offering. We used our platform Salient, which employs natural language understanding to evaluate link relevancy and content relevancy at scale to analyze the brand. For instance, if a link to ASOS’s product page appears on a page about “women’s trainers”, it’s not just about the link’s position on an authoritative site: it’s about how relevant that link is to the context in which it’s placed. An authoritative site with highly relevant content to your audience matters more than simply being mentioned on a broad, non-specific site. Contextual relevance will help you dominate in the new SERP environment.

Tools and strategies to close the relevancy gap

So how can you ensure your brand doesn’t fall victim to a relevancy crisis? Start by understanding your audience’s sources of influence and building content strategies that align with those sources. There are several powerful tools that can help you get a deeper understanding of what your audience cares about:

1. SparkToro: This tool helps you identify what your audience is interested in, including which brands, websites, and content creators they follow. You can also see what types of media they engage with, from podcasts to news outlets. This allows you to create a hyper-relevant content strategy that speaks directly to their needs.
2. SimilarWeb: Using SimilarWeb’s cross-visitation metric, you can see where your audience is spending time across different news sites and media platforms. This is key for building a hyper-relevant media list for content placement and earned media. It helps you understand the sources of influence that really matter to your audience, guiding your content strategy.

Once you understand where your audience is, you can start to map out your content strategy to not just target keywords, but to be truly relevant across the multiple platforms your audience is engaging with.

A new SEO playbook: collaboration and data integration

Success is no longer about a single department or team. Organic growth requires collaboration across marketing, Paid Search, content, social media, and even digital PR teams. SEO is now more of a team game than ever before. Here’s what a successful strategy looks like:

• Owned Media: This includes your website, blog, and other content assets that you own and control.
• Earned Media: Collaborating with influencers, media outlets, and content creators to increase brand awareness and build backlinks.
• Shared Media: This involves leveraging social media, UGC, and social search to boost visibility and relevance.

It’s no longer just about SEO alone. Instead, organic media planning, which integrates Paid Search, video content, social search, and earned media to drive organic growth. SEO is now at the core of a much bigger picture that includes partnerships, collaborations, and content creation across all channels.

Key takeaways

If your brand is suffering from a relevancy crisis, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Traditional SEO tactics won’t cut it anymore. Relevance is the driving force behind organic search success. By understanding your audience’s sources of influence, leveraging the right tools, and embracing organic media planning, you can close the relevancy gap and position your brand to dominate the SERP. By focusing on what really matters to your audience and aligning your strategy across Paid Search, social media, and earned media, you’ll be able to future-proof your brand and ensure sustainable growth. It’s no longer just about doing SEO: it’s about creating a holistic, audience-first strategy that positions your brand as relevant, agile, and ahead of the competition.   How relevant are you? Request a demo to see where you stack up against the competition for the metrics that matter.