If you are a website owner, then one of your primary tasks is to market your website so that you gain more visitors. That’s not very difficult, but it becomes a lot harder when Google changes its algorithm. Usually these changes are small, but sometimes they are huge and devastating. For example, the first round of Panda and Penguin updates almost destroyed some major content farms and businesses. While no one can truly anticipate the changes, there are a few trends that Google has shown throughout the years that can help you get ready for any algorithm updates.
User Experience
If Google’s primary function is to help users find relevant websites, then its secondary function would be to give people a good experience. One of the many reasons why Google is so popular is because most of the websites on the first page are very good. They give people good information, have useful features and are a pleasure to look at.
Most of the algorithm updates have targeted things that diminish the user experience. For example, Google penalized websites that used keyword clouds or keyword-laden text in an invisible color. This is because the websites that used these tactics were often irrelevant and users got angry.
Ensure that your website is properly serving the user experience. If you are doing anything that takes away from that, then you can be sure that Google will penalize you eventually.
Common Blackhat Strategies
Google hates it when you build links because they aren’t organic. The Google system is supposed to work by users organically linking to other websites. The problem is that most website owners build their own links, which goes against the system.
At the same time, Google usually doesn’t penalize whitehat SEO strategies because they don’t directly try to manipulate the Google algorithm. These strategies just help you gain exposure so that you get a higher ranking.
While Google tolerates this behavior, the search engine is against blackhat strategies. These are link building and marketing methods that are damaging to the user experience, give the marketers an unfair advantage by manipulating the Google algorithm and they tend to rely on software and automated methods. Google is constantly doing its best to take these strategies down.
For example, there are many programs that help you build thousands of links in minutes. Most of the websites included in these programs have been devalued. Google has also penalized people for posting links on spammy websites and manipulating PageRank with a 401 redirect.
You can be certain that Google will discover any blackhat strategy and snuff it out. Be sure that you avoid these tactics.
Removal of SEO Bonuses
Another thing that you can anticipate is Google removing or reducing SEO bonuses that are being used too often. The best example of this is the EMD update. EMDs used to be unstoppable in Google because this gave the website owner a huge SEO boost. While having the keyword in your domain is still useful, it’s not nearly as good as it was years ago.
Google wants to ensure that the main websites are relevant without giving someone an unfair advantage. It’s best to rely on proper optimization and good link building rather than targeting SEO bonuses because all of these values will be eventually leveled.
Conclusion
It’s easy to make sense of Google’s algorithm changes. Each and every change has ensured that website owners present a good user experience, avoid blackhat strategies and that they don’t get unfair SEO bonuses. If you want to stay ahead of the updates, then be sure to think about these three factors before doing any marketing.
This article was submitted by Lewis Jacobs, an avid blogger and tech enthusiast. He enjoys fixing computers and writing about internet trends. Currently he is writing about ISPs in my area campaign for a local provider.