It is almost becoming general knowledge that SEO is a must have for every site. However, not all efforts at optimization deliver the same value. As it is, search engines can tell what sites offer quality and which ones do not. This article zooms in on Google because 90% of all searches all over the world use the search engine.
Google utilizes ‘Google algorithm updates’ to ensure that only quality gets the attention. As you hirea Utah SEO expert to help you get your website to rank highly, it is paramount that you ensure they understand these updates. That said, below are the four Google algorithm updates that ought to be understood.
Google Panda
Google Panda update ranks sites by the content quality and rewards high quality. For SEO, this will be a matter of on-page optimization. The update is triggered by thin content – that does not answer the search query, low quality – hard to read, and untrustworthy content – causes harm. Google Panda will also detect any duplicate texts and rewritten content. The only way to get around Google Panda’s penalty is improving the content quality in your site.
Google Penguin
This algorithm evaluates websites for link profiles. The backlinks used will improve a site if they are placed in context, are within related content, are from a trusted source and originate from different domains. The opposite of these factors is true. Penguin will automatically lower the ranking of your site if there are bought links, similar anchor texts, low-quality links and stuffing of your keywords. There are backlink quality control tools that one can use to see how well their backlinks do.
Google Pigeon
Google Pigeon is the algorithm update responsible for watching local SEO. Nowadays, a website will be ranked by location and proximity to the user. The update also produces three top results for the user, making the competition for the business, cutthroat. You may not be able to influence your location, but there are things to do to rank higher. Google Pigeon rewards high-quality niche content, location keywords, mobile optimization, and reputable links. Images, videos, and texts related to your location content are also vital. It helps if a site has testimonials and is listed in business directories.
Google Hummingbird
This update was aimed at improving search. It interprets the user’s query by trying to determine intent through the keyword context. For the website, this means semantics are important. The idea is to know what users are looking for and to offer detailed answers using words related to the context. This means that the writer must research to come up with words related to the content they seek to publish.
Google does not play around the quality of search results. It can take one update to lower your site’s ranking and so one needs to check their website frequently. A sudden drop in traffic may be an indicator that your site has been hit by one of these updates. The specific one will depend on the specifics of your site.
