Google’s long and ongoing adherence to unique content is no secret to digital marketers – and it’s most recent Panda update just further enforces this compliance with it’s algorithm.
Yielding to this change is the difference of ranking high — or not ranking at all.
Here are the Top 10 Items To Pay Attention to:
1.) Make sure your content is unique!!!
If you’re spinning articles to create unique content, expect backlash from the Panda!
2.) The Panda is HUNGRY
The more fresh, unique content, the better your website will rank in search engines.
3.) Vary the Length of Your Content
Not all blog topics are created equally — some need more explanation than others. Treat each of your blog posts as unique and give it the length of words that it deserves. Google’s algorithm is flagged when content is wrapped in 250-300 word bites, so make sure that you’re mixing it up a bit so that Google can tell that your content isn’t canned.
4.) Feed the Panda
Remember that the Panda is hungry — you should feed him often with rich, new content…..a good rule of thumb is to post high quality, sharable content one or more times a week.
5.) How many pages of your website has Google indexed?
This is a great way to see how you stack up to your competition. If the top competitors in your niche have a certain amount of pages and you’re coming in with way less, it’s best to add more pages so that you will be seen as a “peer” website. You can check to see how many of your pages Google has indexed by typing your website’s full URL into the search bar on Google.com or Bing.com.
6.) It’s just like the newspaper (here’s that reading theme again) — How does your site look “above the fold”?
This is the portion of your site that visitors see first, and Google would like to see textual and relevant content that’s “above the fold”.
7.) Don’t starve the Panda! Down with advertising, up with content!
Be sure that there’s more content than advertising on your website pages — watch the ratio so the Panda doesn’t starve.
8.) Include Outbound links on your site
Google wants to make sure that you’re participating in your online community and that you’re not a fly-by-night website. If you’re linking to sites that are similar or in the same market, Google sees it as an indication that your website is here to stay.
9.) Include relevant disclosures, including:
Anti-spam, Affiliate Agreements, About Us, Privacy Policy, DMCA Policy, Earnings Disclosure and others.
10.) Google is now Embracing Social Media
This began with the Caffeine update months ago, and now they’ve released their own social media platform, Google+. Using the term made popular by Sex and the City, Google’s new Google +1 is “shorthand for this is pretty cool” or “you should check this out” — according to Google.
