Like it or not the internet has fundamentally changed the way we do business.
Being visible in search engine results has become a critical factor for most UK firms. It's estimated that there are hundreds of factors that Google take into account in their ranking formula or algorithm.
To a large extent we are all in the hands of Google as they can update their algorithm at any time without any prior notice. The initial Panda update in 2011 targeted sites with what Google deemed to have “thin or poor copy” and also attacked sites that had duplicate copy taken from other websites. This is a clear message that “content is King” in Google’s eyes.
In 2012 Google released a new breed of update called Penguin which concentrates more on inbound links to websites rather than on page copy. It’s apparent that over-optimisation may also be a factor included in this update which punishes spammy SEO (search engine optimisation) techniques. The Penguin update attempts to devalue rankings for certain phrases / web pages / sites where Google believes the backlink profile to these looks unnatural.
Both the Panda and Penguin updates have affected the rankings of thousands of businesses online.
On Wednesday 22nd of May Google released an update to Penguin dubbed Penguin 2.0 which promises to be much harsher than version 1.0.
Obviously Google doesn’t publish a document outlining what Penguin 2.0 is targeting so it’s the job of the SEO community to learn more about the update collectively.
The weeks and months ahead will involve savvy businesses adapting their online marketing strategy. It’s probable that the latest update will take into account the dominance of mobile search and the importance of social media signals.
Long term online marketing strategies should involve:
Publishing high quality content
make sure your site is one that people would want to bookmark
Gain authoritative, relevant links
the days of building thousands of spammy links are gone
Use of social media
social media signals are becoming more and more important
Follow best SEO practices
use an SEO expert to aim for perfection
The bottom line is that SEO is changing and businesses will have to follow suit or fall behind.
Disregarding social media for business because “it’s something that just kids do” is no longer an option.
Businesses in the UK need to commit to rewriting and continually adding new, compelling copy to their websites or risk falling behind in search engine results.
