Content Remains King
April 4, 2013
As Jori mentioned last week, the recent Panda update was pretty anti-climatic, in the best way possible. While we are seeing more positive fluctuation than negative, for those seeing bigger dips than normal, there does seem to be a common thread among all. Content, or I should say, the lack there of, seems to continue to play a major factor in where you stand in rankings with Google.
It’s becoming more and more apparent that a few simple lines on each page just will not cut it, and expecting to rank for a keyword by just including it in the title tag is becoming very wishful thinking. In the past, this may have been all you needed to maintain your top position, but it seems as though Google keeps getting smarter and if a keyword can not be found in relevant information, most likely you’ll get dinged.
Include keywords here, but don’t over do it! Use exact phrases..but not to exact. When looking at the big picture, all of these Google content “rules” can seem daunting and one might be left wondering if they are doing anything right at all. Yes, it can seem overwhelming, but if you keep two simple things in mind, keeping on Google’s good side is actually quite easy:
1. If you think you are outsmarting Google, you’re not.
2. Look at your site from the standpoint the visitor you are wishing to attract. Are they seeing helpful, relevant information on each page they are visiting? Is it easy to read and find?
While content may seem like an odd factor to place so much value on, it really translates into user experience, which should be the number #1 goal of your site to begin with, shouldn’t it?
Elisa Houghtelin is one of the Account Managers at SEOhaus. If you would like to stay up-to-date on all of the latest SEO industry news and tips, you can subscribe to our blog here. Thanks for reading the SEOhaus blog!