As most of you will know at this stage, the latest Google algorithm update – Penguin 2.0 - was released yesterday. This appeared much earlier than expected; based on an interview with Matt Cutts only two weeks ago, we were led to believe the update would not appear until the end of the summer. Good job we’re all over great SEO practices so *insert smartass, content marketing related I-told-you-so comment here* So what has Penguin 2.0 brought with it? WOAH, HOLD ON…PENGUINS, PANDAS….??? Where’s the zoo? For those who are not familiar with the Google’s algorithm updates, the great people over at Brafton have created this super Penguin-inspired infographic.
Penguin 2.0 is what we’re worried about though, and this infographic highlights the key tenets characterising the update:
- Build a homepage with more content; make sure it’s quality, engaging and useful content - and not stuffed to the gills with keywords
- Create more landing pages. We love landing pages. Brendan in our office at Wolfgang has a bit of a fetish for creating really engaging ones – and they work! Also, a little bit of useful information; did you know that, according to Hubspot, companies see a 55% increase in leads when increasing their number of landing pages from just 10 to 15.
- Develop a site map. This should be no brainer if you have a decent web designer! If you don’t have a sitemap, be worried. A sitemap is essential in guiding search engines when crawling your site.
- Begin with varied and dynamic organic linking; this means linking within your website, as well as to external pages outside your website. This helps optimise the customer experience by guiding them to a solution to their problem. The most important thing, however, is that you engage in content creation that makes people link to you NATURALLY! Inbound links still go a long away towards great ranking. And stay away from linkfarms!
- Add high-quality and relevant content to your website. Okay we’ve been beating this drum for long enough. If you have been thinking about adding content marketing to your marketing mix, STOP. Starting DOING it! If you haven’t thought about it, read about why it is the buzz of 2013!
- Enhance your social media presence. We know that Google look to social signals as a way to determine authority and thus ranking. But this also means that you need to get your ass on Google+ (stick us in your circles if you are already there!).
I think the key thing to take from all these updates is, and it’s been said somewhere before, that we should no long engage in search engine marketing. We are now in an era of search experience marketing. Siobhan
