If you are one of those who launched a website a couple years ago, set it up with a few keywords, and left it alone, you need to read this. Google Panda, a new algorithm launched in February 2011, has changed the way websites are ranked forever. Gone are the days that you could launch a site with keywords loaded on a webpage, and be listed in the first page indefinitely. Since Panda was released, rankings of advertising sites have taken a big hit, and news sites and social networking sites have seen a large surge. Since its first roll out almost a year ago, there have been several updates to Panda, and they have dramatically changed the rules of SEO.
How can you thrive in a Panda environment? First remember that Google’s goal is simple. They want to give their users the most relevant, high-quality search engine results as accurately and quickly as possible. So with that in mind, if you can’t beat them, join them. Here are 4 things you can do to thrive in a Panda environment.
1. You need to remove low quality content. What is low quality content you ask? Low quality content can be duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles. The articles may have somewhat different keyword variations. Articles short in specifics, or with grammatical errors are also considered low quality.
2. Fill your site with unique content. When publishing content try to pick topics that your readers, customers, and prospects will be interested in. Ask yourself “What can I tell them that they can’t find anywhere else”. Talk with your customers to find out the information that they are looking for. They are probably representative of a wider base.
3. Before Panda, back-links to your site was a significant search engine factor. The rule was the more back-links, the better. Now, with Panda, the rule is the more quality, authoritative links the better. You want quality sites to link to you. Quality sites linking to your site is a sign that your site is informative, authoritative, and useful. Getting quality sites to link is not easy. It’s mostly out of your hands. Following rules 1 and 2 will help in that regard. Submitting your website to online directories will help. Whatever you do, you should never pay for back-links. They are never high quality.
4. Design your site to engage the reader. One of the factors Panda looks at is the amount of time spent on a website. You need to engage your readers. Panda tracks the number of pages visited on your site, and the bounce rate. When writing content, less is better. Short authoritative articles are best. Be specific whenever possible. It is important to keep you content fresh. Blogging is an imperative if you want to remain a web authority in your field.
Google’s goal in creating Panda was to return control to the humans. Panda was designed to nullify the robotics many sites set up to drive traffic and high rankings. If you remember that it is humans who are visiting and reading your articles, information, and pages of your site, the job of staying relevant, timely, and informative will be much easier. Panda will reward you for your efforts.
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