A few weeks back, Google rolled out changes to its algorithm that are
designed to help the search engine read websites the way people do. With two Panda refreshes and one Penguin update, Google is seeking to push quality sites and penalize those that use shady techniques to game the system.
As
a result, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies that attempt to
leverage loopholes or fool the spiders are quickly becoming a thing of
the past. They were never advisable for the simple fact that users don't
appreciate being duped into clicking a link. Now that the spiders are
smarter (and still learning at a prodigious rate), any value tied to
such tactics has evaporated entirely.
Cloaking, sneaky redirects, automated queries, and other black hat
tricks are no substitute for the tried and true SEO fundamentals that
provide a sustained return on investment, regardless of Google's past or
future algorithmic changes. Now and always, victory in the online race to be found boils down to the essentials:
engaging and frequently updated content; organically-built inbound
links; and creative, descriptive, and accurate backend tagging, among
other tested tactics. With the Googlebot becoming more human every day,
these elements take on even more significance. The spiders are finally
behaving like users. Provide them anything less than an optimal user
experience, and watch your rankings sink.
At the same time, the web's chief content regulators are not just
focused on positives; they are also on the lookout for SEO no-nos that
were once akin to jaywalking but are now treated as capital offenses.
Simply put, the Panda and Penguin algorithm updates have created seven
new deadly sins in the SEO realm. Violate them, and the spiders will
hand down swift justice in the form of a weaker online presence:
1. Paying for inbound links.
Paying shell websites to provide inbound links is a tactic
predominantly used by small businesses seeking to compete with the
larger brands that often dominate search results. Google is now on to
this scheme and, as such, it should never be a part of SEO strategy
moving forward. If your site hosts paid links from reputable sites such
as Amazon.com, make sure that those links are tagged "no follow" so that
the spiders understand there is a legitimate reason for their
existence. Also, don't rely too heavily on your news releases for
inbound links, as their similarity to spam has diminished their SEO
impact.
2. Allowing one source to dominate inbound links.
The inbound links to your website should never be dominated by a
single source, such as the company's blog, Facebook page, or Twitter
account. This tells the spiders that only a very small, specific niche
is interested in your content and they will rank it accordingly. Also,
Google is now keenly aware of links that are posted in the comments
section of online articles for no other reason than to provide an
inbound link. Unless you are truly adding value to the conversation,
such activity is considered spam the linked site will fall in the
rankings.
3. Keyword stuffing.
When it comes to keywords, the best advice used to be to use them
heavily in your content and when writing anchor text for outbound links.
Today, the emphasis is on quality; not quantity. As such, it is best to
keep keyword density below five percent of the total content on the
page. Users have never appreciated seeing the same word or phrase
repeated over and over again in just a few paragraphs of content. Now,
the spiders don't either. Remember, if your writing is easy for a person
to understand, the spiders will get the message as well.
4. Misleading tags.
Misleading tags represent another tactic that has always been
inadvisable in terms of the user experience. Under the Panda and Penguin
search paradigms, they are SEO taboo as well. Back-end tags need to be
relevant to the front-end content that people and spiders are reading.
If tags and content don't match up, Google will now see it as spam and a
transparent attempt to appear in results that are not relevant to your
site (just like people always have).
5. Complicated site maps.
Google now reads your site the same way that humans do--so if it
takes people nine or 10 clicks to find the content they are looking for,
it will be equally difficult for the spiders to rank your content as
relevant to a related keyword search. Make sure your website structure
makes sense and is well-organized--and never bury your top line messages
more than once click from the home page.
6. Maintaining old or obsolete content.
The old way of thinking about old or obsolete content on
organizational websites was that you never know who might stumble across
it and find it to be of value; so why not hold on to it? But because of
the fast pace with which content is produced across the Web, the
spiders no longer register it. Worse yet, it now diminishes the value of
other, newer content that you want to highlight.
7. Forgetting that content is still king.
There was a time when the quality content that attracts eyeballs
wasn't as effective as certain SEO tricks when it came to luring in the
spiders. That's no longer the case. The most important thing to remember
about the Panda and Penguin updates is that they did nothing to
diminish Google's affinity for content that is widely read, shared, and
linked to by credible, relevant sources. As such, providing your
audience with consistent value is still the best way to create the
organic buzz that the search engines will crave even after Panda and
Penguin are relegated to the annals of search history.
