Optimizing Content in a World of Never Ending
Algorithm Changes
Jon Wuebben, CEO
Fundamentals• Google makes over 600 changes to its
algorithm in a year
• Vast majority of these are not announced
• When Google makes a big change, they give it a name
* Panda algorithm* Penguin algorithm* Hummingbird algorithm
2
Ensuring Great Rankings • Create content that answers users queries!
• Don’t just try to rank for a particular keyword.
• Google's goal: encourage webmasters to publish content that’s best of its kind & to deliver answers to people who are searching.
• Lost rank? Google has lost trust in your site's
quality, either on-site quality or the legitimacy of backlinks.
• Fix the quality issues to regain the algorithm's trust and see improvements.
3
Checklist for High Quality Content *
• Would you trust the information presented in this article?
• Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow?
• Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
• Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers or does the site generate content by guessing what might rank well in search engines?
• Does the article provide original content or information, reporting, research, or analysis?
4
(From blog post by Google Employee Amit Singhal)
…Continued….• Does the page provide substantial value
when compared to other pages in search results?
• Does the article describe both sides of a story?
• Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?
• Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites?
5
Panda – Launched 2/23/11
• Purpose: try to show high-quality sites higher in search results and demote sites that may be of lower quality.
• Many called it the "Farmer" update as it seemed to affect content farms
*(sites that aggregate information from many sources, often stealing that information
from other sites)
6
Penguin - Launched 4/24/12• Goal: Reduce the trust that Google has in
sites that have cheated by creating unnatural backlinks in order to gain an advantage in results.
• Also impacted “Anchor text” (text underlined in a link)
• SEO’s manipulated the hell out of anchor text
7
Anchor Text Example• Landscaping company in Orlando
• Cheating: Create a bunch of self made links & use anchor text in links that contain phrases like Orlando Landscaping Company, Landscapers in Orlando & Orlando Landscaping.
• Pre-Penguin: Creating links from low quality sites was effective. (directory listings, self made articles, and links in comments and forum posts)
• Post-Penguin: Not so much
• Penguin algorithm is Google putting a "trust factor" on your links.
8
Hummingbird – 9/26/13• Completely different from Penguin or Panda.
• Was a total overhaul of the entire Google algorithm
• Panda & Penguin – new engine part (filter or fuel pump)
• Hummingbird wasn't a new part; it was a completely new engine.
• Goal: for Google to better understand a user's query. • And for Google's voice search to be more effective.
*Typing a search query: "best Seattle SEO company”
* Speaking a query: “Which firm in Seattle offers the best SEO services?
• Point of Hummingbird: better understand what users mean when they have queries like this.
9
Content Tactics
10
Goal: Start Title With Keyword
• Most important on-page SEO factor
• Moz.com study: pages that started title with a keyword ranked higher than pages with the keyword in the middle or at the end
11
Add Search Love Bling with Multimedia
• Text can only take your content so far
• Engaging images, videos & diagrams reduce bounce rate & increase time on site
• These are 2 user interaction-based Google ranking factors
• Increases perceived value of your content: people more likely to link to it.
12
Add Modifiers To Your Title
• Adding modifiers like “2014”, “best”, “guide”, and “review” can help you rank for long tail versions of your target keyword.
• Great trick to wrangle in those long tail searchers that use 5-9 words per search
• These modifiers aren’t targeting any particular long tail keyword.
13
Post Long Content
• Adage “length is strength” supported by a SERPIQ.com industry study
• Found that longer content ranked significantly higher in Google.
• Aim for at least 1500 words when targeting competitive keywords.
• Brings in more long tail traffic
14
Sprinkle LSI Keywords (Latent
Semantic Indexing)
• Synonyms that Google uses to determine a page’s relevancy (and possibly quality)
• Long content makes it likely that you’ll naturally include LSI keywords in your content
• Search for your keyword in Google and scroll down to the “Searches Related to…” area at the bottom
15
What Quality Content Can Do
• Repeat visitors
• Chrome bookmarks
• Time on site
• “Dwell” time*Measures how long a searcher stays on
your page before hitting the back button.
*Increase dwell time by writing long, engaging content that keeps people
reading.
*Shows Google you gave them something of value while there
16
17
Ranking Factor Weighting
What is Your Reward? (From Rand
Fishkin)
• Have the best opportunity to rank highly in Google and Bing
• Earn traffic from social networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+
• Be worthy of links & shares from across web
• Build your brand's perception, trust, and potential to convert visitors
18
“Uniquely Valuable” Content (Rand Fishkin)
• An optimized page doesn't just provide unique content, but unique value.
• Unique content: those words don't appear anywhere else on the web.
• Unique value: usefulness & takeaways derived by visitors to the page.
• Many pages can be "valuable," but few provide a truly unique kind of value
• Put yourself in the minds of potential visitors; imagine a page that provides something so different & functional, it rises above everything else in its field.
• Result? More social shares, links, bigger branding impact, and better ranking signals.
19
Examples
• “The Baby Name Wizard”
• “How Much Does a Website Cost”
• “Scale of the Universe”
• “The Best Instant Noodles of All Time”
• “Top Social Networks by Users”
20
21
Other Important To Do’s• Focus each piece of content on 1 keyword phrase. • Include the keyword in the content title.
• Add the keyword to the content’s URL
• Use your keyword in first 50 words • Link to credible outside sources • Create your content for human beings
• Optimize images & video
• Eliminate duplicate content
22
Prepare 12–Month Content Plan• Creating content on a whim when inspired is not viable for the
long term.
• 12-month content calendar allows for planning content around:*Holidays & Company milestones & Events*Variations in team workload and resource availability
• Can include information needed for proper content optimization:*Ideas for SEO-friendly titles*Suggested links*Blog category and tags*Meta keywords and meta descriptions*Sample social media posts
• Becomes much easier to publish content successfully, on time, and with appropriate optimization.
23
Questions?
24
