Google and It’s Many Algorithms
September 4, 2012
What is an algorithm, you ask? It is a measure for which Google decided to rank (or not rank) websites. Each algorithm is unique and is updated on a frequent basis. What does this mean for your visibility on the engines? Well firstly, you should find a strong a company such as SEOhaus, to manage your SEO campaign. 😉 A major part of our job is to stay on top of the latest trends with Google and be able to judge their next move, even before they know what it is. Two of the major algorithms that we have become very familiar with, are Panda and Penguin. Google Panda was released in February of 2011 and aimed to focus on strong website content and user likeability. So when you’re writing content, don’t just write ill-thought material that’s stuffed with keywords, give your visitors something they want to read, something interesting and informative. Content that will keep your visitors coming back and staying longer!
The next update was called Google Penguin and was released in April of this year. Google Penguin focuses on targeting deliberate black hat techniques. Basically meaning that websites engaging in keyword stuffing, over-optimization of title tags, etc. were, and continue to be, “penalized” by Google.
What is the big deal? Why is Google so moody?
Think about it. Google has a reputation and name to protect. It wants to provide visitors with the highest quality search results possible, making sure that the websites they choose to rank on top, display relevant and informational content. How can they tell if a website is equipped to rank in the top positions? Well your Bounce Rate is one of them. This means if a visitor arrives to a top ranked website and leaves right away, they probably didn’t find what they were looking for and that website doesn’t deserve to be ranking in that position. How do you keep people on your site? Relevant and interesting content of course!
Breaking it down to the basics:
- Have a clean and easily navigable website
- Make sure your website has all of the pertinent information on the homepage ie. Phone number, contact form, pricing information, etc.
- Make sure your website copy includes some of your targeted keywords, make sure it is well written, informative and relevant.
Will having all of these measures in place ensure that you rank in position 1? No, but it will certainly aid in the efforts that we produce on our end. Patience, Grasshopper!