In a bid to level out the playing field between websites that produce quality content but have little SEO to those that heavily rely on keyword insertion and links; Google are continually announcing plans to make their Google algorithm smarter.
By tweaking their search engine, they hope to stop marketers who abuse keywords and links from claiming all the top rankings and instead help websites who produce great content to gain more visibility amongst consumers.
How will this affect SEO?
This will depend on the SEO technique used…
For those who abuse the system by excessively inserting keywords and links into their pages, buying links, using repetitive anchor text and spinning poor quality content, these changes by Google will more than likely cause them to lose rankings.
However, if you are initiating a quality SEO technique which implements the right balance of keywords, internal and external links and content diversity/adaptation, then your website will see one of two things:
- An improvement in rankings – this will be especially evident if your SEO encourages you to produce new, quality content regularly.
- A maintained position – this will depend on the quality of your content, how regularly you update your site/add new content that isn’t based around keywords.
How can I ensure I am receiving the best SEO advice?
There is no denying that once this change is in place, that it will quickly identify websites who are abusing common SEO strategies.
However, if you’re just starting out and haven’t chosen made an SEO plan yet, it is important that you choose one that won’t abuse the system, but will have your best websites long term interests at heart.
For this, make sure you do the following:
- Review the competition – what sites do they have? How have they been impacted by Google’s latest string of changes? With a little research you’ll be able to get to grips with their SEO strategy and what it can do for you.
- Ask for a proposal from an SEO agency – all good SEO agencies should supply you with a proposal containing their planned SEO strategy. Take a look at their strategies – do they adhere to Google’s intention to offer consumers quality, informative content?
- Create a monthly report – this should contain everything they have done for your website – content, blogs, keywords, links, new pages etc. This iwll help you look back at your work and compare it with your rankings.
With the right SEO strategy in place, you can feel confident that your website is receiving all the advantages that Google’s recent changes have to offer. So choose wisely and witness the benefit of quality SEO.