Author: Marty Eigner

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Google Penguin 2.0 Algorithm Update

Google is set to roll out a new update to the algorithm used to determine website rankings for the search engine. The Penguin 2.0 update is aimed to improve the search engine results page (SERP) for the user by providing high-quality results with more emphasis on authoritative websites.

Google Penguin 2.0

It is anticipated the Google Penguin 2.0 update will result in a boost for companies who are dedicated to providing their clients with valuable, accurate information. Head of Google’s Webspam Team Matt Cutts addressed the following concerns related to the changes coming over the coming few months.

Editorials with Hidden Advertisements

Google’s quality standards dictate websites are not allowed to provide editorial articles that are hiding an advertisement. Any articles meeting this definition must be clearly labeled as an advertisement and the ability of these to pass page rank will be removed.

Spamming Google

Google plans to keep track of black hat developers by tracking conversations in forums. This means if website developers are looking for a way around guidelines by exchanging different types of spamming techniques these methods will be made ineffective.

Hacking and Webmaster Tools

Webmasters will stay better informed of any hacking to websites they manage when Penguin 2.0 is introduced. The update will be able to detect whether a website has been hacked and integrate with Webmaster Tools to notify the webmaster with better informaton to help them clean up their site.

Search Results

An increased quality in SERP listings is expected with Penguin 2.0. The update will allow Google to focus on certain keywords or phrases that are known to return results that are riddled with spam. Solutions are expected for these highly-spammed search queries. For example, people who search for payday loans or gambling websites can expect to see less spam in the future.

Cluster Search Results

Some web developers use unsavoury practices allowing a company website to appear multiple times in many of the top results of a search. Penguin 2.0 is set to keep these cluster results from happening as often in order to improve the quality of search results for the user.

There are many other updates coming with this change to the algorithm. The result is expected to be positive for businesses that dedicate themselves to providing high-quality, valuable information that complies with quality standards. Companies who are unsure about their compliance status should consult an SEO professional for assistance.

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Content and Analysing Competitors

The key to ranking high in Google and other popular search engines weighs heavily on the ability of a business to produce high-quality content that encourages an increase in website traffic. Keywords are an important part of rankings, but the quality and usefulness of the overall content of a professional website is essential to the long term online success of any company. Google Quality Guidelines help dictate how a business should put together informative, engaging content for a website, but finding the right keywords to stay competitive is necessary.

Content and Competition

Every company that wishes to maintain a strong online presence needs to complete an internet search of similar companies in order to get to know the competition. Analysing competitors who are successful is an important step in putting together content for a company website. What are successful competitors doing that your company has not yet tried? What kind of content are these competitors using to draw attention from potential customers?

Finding out how competitors use their content in order to achieve and maintain rankings allows companies to utilise this information to put together their own useful website content. However, it is important to understand that copying a competitor is not recommended. Using the successful techniques of a competitor in a unique way is a valuable tool, but outright copying of these techniques could be detrimental to the success of a business.

Looking at a competitor’s website is just the first step in analysing their techniques and evaluating the content that a competitor chooses to use. Different tools that are used to analyse an individual URL can go beyond the words on a website to determine how the competition really stacks up when it comes to online presence. For example, SEMrush determines how words used by the competition are working for ranking purposes, Open Site Explorer analyses linking of a specific URL and Mutual Mind allows a company to discover how their competitors are using social media to establish a strong online presence.

Learning more about a competitor and their use of SEO allows a company to determine what they need to work on in order to stay ahead of the competition. Weak points in a business can be pinpointed when the success of a competitor is evaluated. Companies can work on bettering their own business when they take the time to learn all that they can about the businesses that are their direct competitors.

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Balance Between Rankings and Conversions

SEO companies often run into a problem when finding ways to prove to their clients that online rankings are important when it comes to the overall success of a company. Businesses that are just starting to establish an internet presence may be unimpressed by the time it takes to see a correlation between rankings and conversions. Marketing campaigns that relate to brick-and-mortar locations of a store often see results in the short term, but businesses that are establishing their online rankings and looking for important conversions may struggle to see the correlation between the two.

Rankings Vs Conversions

White hat SEO practices can take a long time to begin to see results, but this doesn’t mean results are not going to be enjoyed by a company. Optimisation that aims to improve rankings in the long term are beneficial to a business for a much longer time than any media campaign that leads to short term results. Even if the text of a website is optimised, achieving conversions may depend on changing the overall layout and usability of the website to ensure people can easily find what they need.

SEO service providers may need to illustrate the usefulness of their services to clients by offering evidence of results. Finding keywords that allow for high rankings and conversions at the same time is the best way to do this. Searching for these keywords typically starts with looking for keywords that offer high conversions before moving on to research which of these words or phrases could be beneficial for ranking purposes. Many of these phrases include words that are related to shopping and purchasing items online. For example, a company that sells historical biographies may benefit more from a key phrase related to buying books instead of a keyword that simply related to biographies or books in general.

Marketing copy should be sales-oriented without sounding forced. There should be a human element to any key word or phrase that is used to increase rankings and conversions to encourage website visits without scaring away potential customers with an overly aggressive marketing campaign.

Every key word or phrase that strikes a balance between rankings and conversions needs to be flexible for changing trends. To maintain a high ranking, one needs to be able to change the chosen keywords in a way which keeps clients successful in the long term.