google search algorithm

A Look Ahead to 2022 and Your SEO Plan

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Happy New Year!  As we move into 2022, it is time to look back on the challenges of 2021 and make a plan to move forward in 2022, making it the best year ever for your business! The Challenging Year One word that stands out as we review 2021 is “challenging.”  Between the pandemic, lockdowns, … Read More

How Topical Are Your Links?

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There is a great debate swirling around how topical links must be in order to give you the SEO value you want. Which links pack the most punch and deliver the highest quality for your website? Which links should you pursue and which ones do not really matter?

Site vs. Page—Context Matters

First, it is important to clarify what Google looks at in terms of site versus page. If Google gives more weight to a site than a page, then the overall purpose of the site is more important to link building than the content of a particular page. If the opposite is true, then the content of the page is all-important. This is a consideration that must be addressed, because there may be a particular article in a page that is relevant to your site, even if the overall purpose of the site is not relevant.

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Are You Ignoring a Giant SEO Ranking Factor?

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Everyone has been scrambling to understand Google’s new algorithms, but it is quickly becoming clear that there is one ranking factor that many SEO experts are not utilizing: engagement.

What Is Engagement?

Most people immediately think of onsite engagement when they discuss the word, but overall web engagement is frequently ignored. In fact, many SEO experts focus exclusively on onsite engagement to the detriment of overall web engagement with sites and brands. For example, branded searches are often ignored in researching keywords, although they are frequently used by those searching for particular products. Overall engagement also includes time on site, browse rate, traffic referrals that you send out to the rest of the web, and non-link forms of amplification such as press releases and social media.

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Google’s New Panda Rollout Is Here

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“Panda” is the name given to the set of algorithms released by Google that are designed to filter poor content and penalize websites that do not follow Google’s guidelines. Now, the latest version of Panda began a “slow rollout” this week, according to Google sources, and is predicted to affect up to five percent of all search queries.

There are a few signals added to this new algorithm that theoretically will help small and middle-sized businesses rank higher on search engine results pages or SERPs. Here are a few pointers:

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Don’t Become a Pigeon!

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When Google rolled out its latest algorithm change, this one known by the ironic name of “Pigeon,” local SEO and organic rankings were affected. How do your provide support and sound advice in the wake of Google’s changes?

What Happened With Pigeon?

Pigeon changed several things including the calculations for distance around a search. In most cases, Google reduced the default radius. That means that you may no longer appear to certain local searchers, and your ranking may be affected by the new radius as well.

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What Is The Panda Algorithm Looking For?

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You have no doubt heard of Google’s “Panda Algorithm,” and you may have even heard that Panda looks for high-quality content, but what exactly is Panda looking for?

In order to answer this question, we first must understand what Panda measures. The content issues surrounding originality, quality and interactivity are more easily understood when we realize how Panda works.

Thick Content vs. Thin Content

Many websites have suffered because of simple lack of content. While there is no definitive rule on how long a page should be, most Page 1 ranking pages are between 1,500 and 2,000 words after HTML tags are removed. This may sound like a lot if you have only 200 words on your page, but you may be able to “cheat” a little by combining several smaller pages together into one larger page with tab navigation to make it easy to read.

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Hummingbird Impacts SEO

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Hummingbird optimization is no laughing matter, although many SEO experts have not realized its significance yet. When Moz recently polled 300 marketers about Google changes that affected their traffic, almost all of them cited Penguin and Panda but not Hummingbird. However, while Penguin and Panda specifically targeted webspam, Hummingbird may have even broader implications for … Read More

Diversifying Your Link Portfolio

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For awhile, it seemed that blogging was the bulletproof way to build links. Now, with new Hummingbird and Panda algorithm updates, some experts are decrying the use of blogs, particularly guest blogs. However, there is still a great deal of benefit to be gotten from blogging and guest blogging if it is handled correctly. In … Read More

What Should Webmasters Do In Response to Penguin?

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The problem of Panda and Penguin penalties has been universally discussed and dissected. There is plenty of information available on what webmasters should do if their websites are given a penalty. However, recovery methodologies are not always followed, and risk mitigation is not always well-managed. It is up to webmasters not only to understand these … Read More