We received a few emails regarding our post yesterday about how Google’s changing algorithms scare most SEOs but we don’t really mind because we haven’t seen any major negative impacts from any of their updates. The comments were mostly asking for specific advice for the website SEO doit yourselfers. Of course our goal in writing these posts and promoting our site is to get more customers for ourselves, but we also have a desire to help those who can’t afford or don’t want to pay for SEO services. I should have included this with the original post, but here are a few quick tips on how to honestly get your site ranked better while not having to worry (too much) about possible future algorithm updates.

1. Add content often

Content is king. We all know this by now. But writing unique, interesting, useful content on a regular basis is anywhere from a p.i.t.a. to nearly impossible. Who has the time to research and write good content several times a week? If you want a successful website then you have the time. Write a solid blog post or article at least twice a week. If you are using someone else’s article as “inspiration” you better make darn sure you make it your own and don’t copy anything, even the flow. Simply paraphrasing another article will not help and will likely get you in trouble. Don’t rewrite someone else’s article – write your own!

2. Share your content

Simple enough – post your newly written articles everywhere you can – Google +, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, pin the graphics, etc. The more exposure your site gets the more chances someone will find you and the more likely the search engines will appreciate your efforts.

3. Google+ Authorship

Have you seen search results with people’s faces next to them? That’s Google+ Authorship listings. You’re basically linking your pages to your G+ profile and vice versa. Here are the basics:

• Make sure your Google + profile photo has a goodheadshot.
• Make sure a byline containing your name appears on each page of your content and the name matches the name on your Google+ profile.
• Use an email address on the same domain as your site or use the link method to verify.

More info here

4. Don’t link out too much

Some people think if they link to credible sources such as government agencies and news sites their site will be more credible. Wrong! Think about it – you can link to whomever you want. Why would that make you more credible? If there’s something relevant to link to (see above) then do it, but don’t link for the sake of linking.

5. Don’t add inbound links too quickly

I think I’ve mentioned this a few (thousand) times. Natural link building service takes time. If you get a lot of links in a short period the search engines will think you’re doing something to game the system. In the 1:1,000,000 chance you wrote a brilliant piece and it goes viral you’ll be fine 🙂

6. Monitor your webmaster tools

Messy code, bad internal links and inaccurate sitemaps (among other things) can hurt your site. Google Webmaster tools will help find them. You then need to fix them.

7. Don’t TRY to optimize your site

If you’re writing an article for SEO purposes then you’re likely to spam the goodness out of it. Assuming you’re an expert in your field you should be able to write naturally and Google will figure out what you’re talking about.

8. Improve page load time

If you’re on a low cost hosting account you may not have much control over this, but it’s important nonetheless. Google wants to give their users the best sites based on searches and that includes not having to wait around for pages to load. That being said, there are a few things you can do to speed up your site. I could list them all here, but it would triple the size of this post. I’ll add a post in the future that deals with this specific topic. In the mean time give us a call and we’ll give you some specific advice on speeding up your site.

Change is inevitable and often a good thing. In the case of Google updates, they are typically very good for searchers, but for SEOs these updates correlate with increased GlaxoSmithKline stock prices. You see, every time Google makes an update it could mean our sites that are raking well or climbing up the ladder could fall to the bottom of the pile. You may have heard of Panda, Penguin or Hummingbird – these are the user friendly names for Google updates that destroyed some websites literally overnight. Before you join my fellow SEOs and protest Google, keep in mind these updates only hurt sites that were (intentionally or not) gaming the system. Some had fishy inbound links, some have duplicated content, some just didn’t make sense to Google. That’s the very abridged version of what Google looks for and penalizes.

Of course we’ve seen our sites dip from time to time, but never once did one of our sites completely tank after an algorithm update. Are we lucky? Did we miss the bullet? No! the answer is simple – we have always held true to white hat SEO techniques and have/will never do anything that’s remotely shady. We don’t take shortcuts and we certainly don’t buy into any quick ranking techniques. It’s really not that hard to maintain good ranking sites with honest SEO.

The problem is that good SEO takes time and far too many people and SEOs are tempted to take the quick seemingly easy path. The hard fact is if you’re starting a new site or if your site is currently not ranked well then you need to expect 3-6 months to get to a decent search engine ranking. It’s all dependent on how much time you put into your SEO. Unique content, social media engagement, honest link building practices and several other factors are at play in getting your site ranked well. Every one of those factors takes time to build.

When you’re ready to get serious about your SEO and website give us a call. We will review your site and brand across the Internet, give you advice and let you know the best path to get your site ranked well as quickly as possible. Our honest methods work. As of the date of this post, our site is about a month old and we’re already listed on page 1-2 for may highly competitive search terms including “SEO Expert” (see the graph below).

To get a sense of Google’s dedication to perfecting their search engine check out this list of Google’s Algorithm Changes since 2000. Many are minor updates, but it’s impossible to know the full impact of any once update until it comes out.

I’ve seen it dozens of times. Prospective clients recently had another firm redesign their website hoping the new modern look will drive more conversions and increase traffic. Unfortunately it often does the exact opposite. The sad truth is many design firms simply don’t understand the full value of SEO or how to implement it, especially when relaunching a site. There is an art and science to ensuring the SEO value and traffic your old site had carries on to the new.
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