SEO has changed - do you have your game face on?

So you updated your meta tags a few years ago, maybe some title tags and content updates for good measure. As a result you saw some good results to your search engine positions - and a nice uptick in revenue to go with it. You have been riding the wave of good fortune and basking in the adoration of your superiors - eating up the praise and promotions that have come along with it.

Then one day a friend asks you about your company and you tell them confidently "just do a search in google for x, we'll pull right up...". After a brief pause your friend asks you again what company you work for - you tell him and he tells you that someone else is showing up.

You frantically open up google and do a search for your company...and like a horror movie where the young woman is about to realize her fate - you belt out a horrific scream, startling your coworkers and the poor friend on the other end of the line...

"What happened to my rankings?" you say as you grab you composure.

What happened was that you got too comfortable.

SEO is no longer a simple process of updating tags and building up your inbound links. Your competitors are actively watching your SEO movements - the better rankings you have the more of a target you become.

Think of SEO as a game of "smear" where the person holding the ball is singled out by everyone else for getting tackled. If you have a sweet search ranking for a highly sought after keyword, congratulations...you got the ball.

The key to holding onto your search ranking is to always be paying attention to others on the field - get lazy and your bound to have your back end handed to you...and your search term stripped away.

So the game has changed. You can either come suited up ready to play or get in the stands with the other wannabes. The glory belongs to those on the field.