The constant upgrades in the search ranking algorithms continuously cause major problems for the SEO community. Upgrades and new rules will come non-stop and there is nothing that we can do about these things.

Over the last decade, considerable change has occurred resulting to new practices and many old practices becoming obsolete. As a matter of fact, Google confirmed that they make at least one change a day to their search algorithm. This is exactly the reason why many people believe that SEO is just too difficult.

Since there is nothing we can do about Google’s continuous change in search algorithms, the best thing to do is to focus on durable elements of SEO. These are time-tested elements that we can work on in order to achieve SEO success. Here are the most durable elements of SEO that we should focus on:

Basic On-Page SEO
The best resource for basic keyword SEO is the Google Webmaster’s SEO Guide. These are very simple yet very effective rules that can ensure excellent on-page SEO for a successful campaign. Some examples are the inclusion of target keywords in URLs, titles, meta tags, etc. You also need to determine which particular pages rank for certain keywords.

User Experience
It is very important for Google to satisfy their users. This is why they give higher rankings to good websites or those with good designs, fast page load speed and easy-to-navigate pages. The two best indications of a good user experience is fast page load speed and low bounce rate. Good user experience usually guarantees that the visitor will return to your site. Just think about it, would you come back to a website where you had a bad experience?

Inbound Quality Links
Quality inbound links are not easy to accumulate but these are very helpful in increasing rankings with search engines. The best way to increase quality inbound links is to have excellent content which naturally encourages other sites to point to your site. Another way is to create relationships with other relevant websites and web writers who might be interested in linking to your contents.

Freshness
You need to be constantly updated with recent events. You also need to regularly update your website and post new content in order to keep up with your competitors. If you become lazy, you will be left behind quickly. Freshness is a secondary factor to authority and is a big part in news ranking which is very important for SEO today.