{"id":70615,"date":"2012-10-05T14:11:25","date_gmt":"2012-10-05T13:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/google-algorithm-updates\/"},"modified":"2012-10-05T14:11:25","modified_gmt":"2012-10-05T13:11:25","slug":"google-algorithm-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/google-algorithm-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"Google algorithm updates: Fear and loathing online"},"content":{"rendered":"

 
\nThree words strike fear into the online marketer\u2019s heart – Google algorithm update.
\nBut these words are also what keep digital marketing agencies in work. After all, the basics of SEO can be picked up from the thousands of blog posts published online each day, it\u2019s keeping up with Google that takes time, skill and a thirst for all things technical.
\nGoogle tries to keep changes light-hearted, giving its updates names like \u2018Penguin\u2019, \u2018Panda\u2019 and \u2018Venice\u2019 – anything to detract from the potentially huge impacts on your website if you haven\u2019t been link building ethically (whether you knew it or not), or you haven\u2019t kept up-to-date with ever-changing SEO best practice. Of course, the harder SEO gets the more attractive PPC becomes and the more money Google makes from your paid marketing strategies \u2013 it\u2019s no coincidence that Google is worth an estimated $197billion (\u00a3122billion).
\nBut it\u2019s important to remember that while it\u2019s irritating, time-consuming and expensive for website owners to have their strategies at the beck and call of Google\u2019s technical bods, for users it\u2019s often a blessing. Algorithm updates mean search results are becoming more and more relevant and tailored to individual preferences and search trends, so when you search for \u2018washing machines\u2019 you\u2019re presented with white goods retailers or relevant sites to your local area (if you\u2019re signed in to Google), and you\u2019re not bombarded with affiliate sites packed full of useless information and banner ads.
\nPanda and Penguin were both designed to downgrade over-optimised websites, or de-index those sites simply set up to offer backlinks to websites \u2013 this in turn saw many websites lose rankings for big keywords if they had relied heavily on such sites to prop up page one rankings for top generic keywords. The natural backlink profile has never been such a sought after commodity before.
\nOn the back of recent updates, it\u2019s important to ensure that websites meet new criteria. Here are a few top tips for how to do just that:
\nIt is no longer enough to provide content for content\u2019s sake (blogs, guest blogs, web copy etc), it should be of benefit and interest to your audience. Quite frankly it\u2019s about time the idea of quality over quantity was rewarded by the search engines. If you don\u2019t think your audience will read it and be interested enough to share it with their friends\/colleagues, don\u2019t bother writing it.
\nThink about upping your social media presence<\/a> \u2013 it can help with your visibility in the search results (particularly for brand terms), as well as your chance to listen to your audience and market your wares to them accordingly (but that\u2019s another story).
\nKeep your web copy<\/a> fresh and relevant \u2013 regularly updating your strategies based on cold, hard evidence (Google Analytics is a good place to start).
\nLink building it still important, it\u2019s the backbone of SEO and has been since the dawn of online marketing. But we beg you, please, don\u2019t pay for those links, don\u2019t relentlessly build links using the same terms \u2013 it\u2019s not that simple and it can take a long time to achieve.
\nAsk yourself this:<\/strong><\/p>\n