Google, the world’s number one method for searching on the web is constantly applying better strategies aimed at delivering true search results for users who are looking for answers to a question or to find a product or service that they want to either read about or purchase.
This year we have seen many such changes to the secret algorithm Google uses to deliver search results. No one knows what the actual formula is or how it affects the ranking position of a search result. As SEO marketing professionals we can either guess at some methods to improve the search ranking position of a particular web page or we can apply true and honest methods that adhere to Google’s own Quality Guidelines Policy:
1. Avoid hidden text or hidden links.
2. Don’t use cloaking or sneaky redirects.
3. Don’t send automated queries to Google.
4. Don’t load pages with irrelevant keywords.
5. Don’t create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.
In its quest to provide authentic content, Google is cracking down on artificial schemes like “link building,” where you talk the owners of a host of unrelated websites to include links to your site, giving the illusion that your site is more popular than it really is. It’s just a matter of time until Google changes the algorithm that determines your ranking, booting you back into your rightful position.
Sound SEO practices focus on ensuring that your website offers content of genuine interest to visitors because search engines favourably rank sites that are well visited and generate valuable visitor engagement levels.
Ensure that each Web page has a title and description that both accurately reflects what’s on the page and is likely to attract site visitors. These titles and descriptions are displayed during Google searches and having them in place can increase the likelihood that your other website pages are pulled into search results, versus just your home page.
Equally important, Google is placing increasing emphasis on the conversations people are having about your company on sites other than your branded website. When the public talks about your brand through social media, for example, Google takes notice.
Search engines crawl through Twitter activity – looking at company and brand names – to determine which brands deserve top ranking. What they’re looking for is two-way communication. Get to know your followers and provide them with interesting content. Request feedback. “Retweet” their content and share in their successes. Socialize – as that’s what social media is all about.
Upload videos to YouTube that others are likely to share. Don’t forget that Google owns YouTube, which may give you an indication at the connection between the two.
While most businesses have been slow to warm to Google+, there’s no doubt about the powerful role that conversations about your brand on this site will have on your future search engine ranking – once this new player to the social media space really takes off.
It’s time to change the conversation – away from how best to rank well with Google and toward how best to be an active participant in the consumer conversations in your business category. Successfully addressing the latter will no doubt increase your ranking over time – authentically and long-term.
