Does your website need a face-lift? Of course, it does. Read on!
Google’s 2011 Panda update has made many online businesses reconsider their marketing tactics. The dramatic changes in the search result algorithm that have come post the Panda update have sieved the “thin sites” or low quality sites that otherwise ranked high on Google search. Sites which sustained on advertising and amateurish SEO tricks have gone down the Google’s drain. The subsequent minor updates in the following years – 2012 Penguine Update which made redundant the inbound link structures used by SEO specialists for back–linking, and the recent 2013 “softer” updates rolling out every month – have left many webmasters scratching their head.
This is done to improve the quality of the search engine results. And, if your site lacks quality content, thrives on advertisements, has low-quality back–links, you too must be among the 12 percent of Google’s index wiped out from the search results, overnight.
So, what to do about it? Implement these tips from Google as to what makes a quality site. Keep this Talisman ready when revamping your site.
1. Never Compromise on Quality Content :
You have heard it before, many times. It is often followed with the cliché “Content is King”. But, do you ever ask, what is a quality content and how can I have it? Well, the answer is simple. When you want to know if your site has the content good enough for Google to rank you well in its search, ask yourself: Does your website have content that reader would trust? Is your content original and thoroughly researched? Is there a variety in your content or is it just a rehash of one idea written with different keywords? Does your website content have grammatical, factual or typographical errors? Are the Article topics written by experts or an amateur? Is the topic driven by the interest of readers on the site or is it just to fetch search engine rankings? If you are not sure about the quality of the content on your site, invest in a good writer and editor. It will pay off in the long run.
2. Smart SEO: the Smarter, the Better!
When we say smart SEO, we do not imply tricks to manipulate Google’s search engine algorithm. We insist on organic SEO. Take these simple tips for example:
- Use text instead of images to display important information. Google crawler cannot recognize texts in images.
- Create content that is worth sharing and you will no more have to worry about meta tagging, reciprocal linking and going about begging people, or worse paying them, to link your site to theirs.
- Optimize your website by using keywords in your content which people use when looking up information on search engines. But, wait, No keyword stuffing as Google measures the quality of your site by the density of the keywords used, the more, the worse. You will be ostracized for being a spammer.
3. Social Media Optimization :
The only way, today, to get your website buzzing in the search engine is to create content that people cannot resist sharing. No tricks to back-linking works anymore. When links are shared by people, you get a reference across the social networking site and Google recognizes that there is eye-catching-content somewhere which needs to be surfaced in the search engine.
Optimizing your website for search engine through social media marketing is fun and rewarding when you see people enjoying and sharing your website for what it offers, and not because you slapped it onto their face by spamming their inboxes and cluttering their Facebook wall.
Content that is useful, interesting, educational and unique draw readers, back-links, social shares, and yes, the thing you want the most, search engine visibility.
