Most of us have heard of Google’s Algorithm updates with their memorable names like Vince, Caffeine and Panda but few understand how they have changed SEO as most of us know it.
A brief history of Google SEO
Back in the day you could rule Google by optimising your meta data and stuffing your page with keywords. To overcome this SEO Spam Google placed more emphasis on external links. This gave rise to a the ‘paid for link industry’. Directory sites & link-farms quickly sprouted, and India became the outsourcing capital for link-building!
Google soon realised that it couldn’t place too much emphasis in external links to a site. Their response was to place more emphasis on searcher habits by evaluating usage data. They developed the Chrome browser so they had first hand data on key metrics like click through and bounce rates.
Not long after social media started to take off with the launch of Facebook and then Twitter. Google saw the potential for social media as a ranking signal so they tried to join the party with Google Buzz in 2010. Buzz failed. Google went back to the drawing board launching Google+ in 2011.
So, here’s our take on where you should be focusing your SEO efforts:
1. Social signals
SEO used to be a separate and distinct discipline now social media is now a key component.
Social signals are hard to influence, therefore they are an important factor. Google looks at social signals at a individual page level as well as at a website level. Suppose you had a website dedicated to recipes. You might not feature on Google’s first page for generic searches like ‘recipes’ but you might have an excellent recipe for chocolate brownies that people can’t help but share with their friends. As a result, you might find yourself ranking #1 for ‘chocolate brownie’ searches.
Size doesn’t matter!
Engagement is the key. People posting on your wall, sharing your content and talking about your brand on social media is far more important than the size of your fan base.
2. Analytics
Through its Chrome browser Google captures key metrics like click through and bounce rates. If a site ranking position #2 receives twice the clicks as the site above then there is every chance it will move to the top position.
3. Great looking website
Remember when you used to click on the first result to see the ugliest website imaginable? Well these websites still exist; they have just been demoted.
Google has actually figured out a way to tell if your site is pretty. That is, has a good layout and is easy to navigate. So, don’t keep putting of that redesign!
4. Great content
Google has always loved fresh content. Regularly content generation has traditionally been a great way to improve your rankings. That changed in 2011 when Google literally killed content hubs overnight with a major algorithm change. Google was not saying they didn’t want fresh content, they were saying they wanted fresh content that was great!
With the rapid rise in social bookmarking and sharing they can now identify great content.
Tip: get your customers and fans to generate content for you. e.g. run a competition seeking the best chocolate brownie recipe.
5. External links
External links are still important. It’s still important to seek sites which you would benefit from a link, but you need to be more strategic in how you obtain links; in general you have to avoid paying for links.
For example, suppose you were a mobile application developer and wanted a link from the NZ Herald. You could create an infographic (contaning a link back to your site) showing the adoption of smartphones and operating systems in NZ and let them publish it first.
6. Branded searches
When comparing competitive sites, Google looks at the volume of branded searches. If competitor A receives 3,000 branded searches
per month and competitor B receives 30,000 per month it will be very hard for Competitor A to outrank competitor B, even if they
surpass them on other ranking signals.
Tip: offer something for free e.g. whitepaper or eBook to drive branded searches.
7. Google+ business pages
Every business should create a Google+ page (we’re assuming you already have other social media profiles Facebook, Twitter etc). The experts are convinced that Google is giving Google+ pages in their search results in an effort to encourage companies put off by “having to maintain another bloody site!”.
If you need to get something indexed in a hurry then posting on Google+ is certain to be quicker than using your own site or other social media.
Tip: if possible try to post unique content; don’t repost from Facebook etc.
So, in summary if you have a great website with great fresh content and an engaged social community you should be ok. If you have operate a link-building factory in India you should start worrying!
Need an SEO Strategy? Call Steer 09 579 4269
