As with the release of every Google Search Algorithm update the latest Penguin and Panda updates have caused a bout of ëSEO non-believersí to claim (once again) that ìSEO is deadî. Of course, they are completely wrong. In fact Iíd say the opposite is true. SEO is now more alive than ever and each and every business in the world (including yours) needs to be optimising their website and keeping up with the latest developments in the industry. More reason in my opinion to hire an external SEO specialist agency.
The latest Google Algorithm has indeed changed the landscape of SEO and honestly, maybe even more than any other single update in the history of Google. But thatís okay. Relax, take a deep breath and know that SEO is alive and well.
So what’s changed with the latest algorithm update?
Over optimization happened. ëBlack-hatí SEO agencies tried (successfully) to trick the system by employing dodgy tactics such as keyword stuffing, buying links, linking from too many pages in an unnatural fashion, and using hidden text to raise the profile of their clients websites. In late 2011, several SEO industry experts looked into the state of SEO through an experiment to see if Google was living up to its promise of stopping such practices working. Google has preached for years that if you build good content your website will rank well on its own. Guess what? That was not necessarily true.
In one example from the experiment two websites on the same topic which were about the same domain age were examined. One site ranked in the top three on Google and the other was on Page 5 for the same keywords. The problem is that the first website only had about 20 pages indexed and was not developing or promoting content on their website on a regular basis. The second site was in fact developing great content on a regular basis, promoting that content via social media and yet they still ranked on page 5. The experiment then looked deeper at the websites link profiles. Guess what they found? Thatís right; site #1 had a large amount of suspect links running back to it. In other words, it was obvious that the site had been ìover optimizedî and the links coming to it were of low quality. This goes against everything that Google has promised webmasters for years.
What happened next?
The indication is that this research data directly influenced Google’s latest algorithm update. Link profiles now must be varied and we are seeing websites that are regularly updated with fresh content jump up the search rankings. In contrast, we are seeing sites that had a lot of backlinks but lack of content and promotion being dropped massively.
How do I move forward?
Well if you have not picked up on it yet, you need to develop regular good quality content, and share it through social media and social bookmarking sites. That means you should be blogging and creating videos (as well as any other content) as much as possible about your industry and company’s products and services. You then need to spread this content across social channels. Social media is a great place to share this content because if you are developing great content it is likely to be passed onto friends. That combined with a good solid SEO program and good on-site SEO and you will find yourself ranking better in no time.
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