We’re halfway through 2014 now, so it’s a good time to check
in with Google to see if we’re still on top of everything that they’re doing
and everything that’s ahead. That way, as website owners we can all continue to
adjust so that we put ourselves in the best possible position to rank our
content.
The Big
News: Panda 4.0
The biggest news is Google’s most recent algorithm update:
Panda 4.0. In many ways, Panda 4.0 is just a refinement of the existing Panda
updates. It is, again, all about avoiding “thin” or duplicated content. If
you’ve been doing a lot of the right things all along you may not have much to
worry about.
However, Panda still had an impact, and it’s important to understand
that impact, especially if you are running an e-commerce site.
How to
make your e-commerce site Panda friendly
Panda 4.0 had a significant negative impact on the ratings
of e-commerce giants such as eBay and RetailMeNot.com. We know if they had a negative
impact on those types of site then the update probably had a significant effect
on many smaller e-commerce sites as well.
That means now is a good time to really clean up your
e-commerce site. Does your software automatically create duplicate pages? Axe
those. Make sure your links are really on the up-and-up as well, as there’s
some talk that eBay was penalized for “questionable link practices.”
This
article suggests that it may be time to avoid the “mega-store”
strategy and to focus more on a specific series of products on your site. I
think that Mr. Challis may be throwing the baby out with the bathwater a
bit—there’s nothing inherently wrong with having a big online store full of
products. However, he is absolutely
right that it’s time to focus on customer education.
This isn’t hard to do. Got an online sports store? Selling
roller blades? Link up a few articles right in the product descriptions. Write
about common concerns like:
·
How to choose the best pair of rollerblades.
·
How to know that your rollerblades fit
correctly.
·
How to order the right rollerblade fit online.
You can do this for your products whether you sell 100
products or 100,000 products. It’s just vital for you to get it done.
Incidentally this isn’t just about SEO—it helps you set yourself apart from
your competitors, too.
Using
press releases? Time to make those Panda friendly, too.
All of us have probably done it at least once: we’ve written
up those press releases for stuff that is barely “news” in the hopes of getting
a cheap but “legal” back link.
Sadly, I think those days are over. Panda 4.0 really hurt
press release sites such as PR web. That means we’re going to have to turn away
from this strategy, which was never very sustainable in the first place.
Instead, make sure you are only putting out press releases when
you have a real story to tell…and you should think about cultivating the real
press contacts that might turn it into a story for real media outlets. A
newspaper’s website is always going to rank better than PR Web’s to begin with.
The
rest is same old, same old.
Keep focusing on content marketing. Make sure that you’re
matching very specific, long-tailed search queries to very specific pieces of
content that match those queries (and not your site’s home page). Get rid of
syndicated content, duplicated content, or questionable content. Keep your
website fresh and updated on a regular basis. Then, you’ll be in a good
position to maintain your rankings…even if Google parades out another one of
its tricky little zoo animals during the latter half of 2014.
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