Search the death of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) in Google and you’ll see it’s a hot topic with web designers for 2013. But what does that mean for you? Does that mean you can no longer optimise your website, or web pages in such a way they will rank better on Google? Of course you can, but not like you used to.
Over the last couple of years Google has released two major updates to its search algorithm, the first in 2012 Panda and more recently in 2013 Penguin. The goal of these two updates was to increase the quality of search results in Google and penalise sites who have used ‘black hat’ techniques to artificially bump their rankings. It was possible before to ‘cheat’ your way to the top of the ranks but those days however are well numbered. You as a website owner or your SEO partner now need to take a different approach to ensure your site ranks well.
As most people should know if your business ranks well on Google it gets more hits, in turn more hits mean more inquiries about your goods and/or services and the off-shoot of that of course is increased revenue. Lets say for example I need to get the motor repaired for my lawnmower. I live in Tauranga New Zealand, so I’d search something like “lawnmower motor repair tauranga”. Google now proceeds to get me a gazillion websites which it thinks are relevant to my search query and I as a consumer most likely choose a repairer close to the top of that list. My thought process around this is “if Google rates it high it must be good”. I, and I’m sure hundreds of millions of other people, think the same way so it’s not hard to put two and two together and see the direct correlation between a good Google ranking and higher turnover.
The question now is, if none of the old SEO techniques work well anymore, what can you do to get a better ranking? I can answer that easily with one word, and in 2013 that one word is content. It’s the reason I now find myself regularly blogging about all the topics we happily help out our clients with. The more content I put on our website, the higher Google ranks my site. Google is now getting better equipped (some may argue this point) at deciphering a website full of good content from a website which is just full of bloat. It’s not content alone however that helps you achieve Google stardom but these days the content is one of the most important pieces. Not just any content mind you but great engaging content which by its very nature will help bring more visitors to your site.
If you haven’t already make sure you head over to our Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) page to learn a bit more about SEO and get our essential tips to help your website start climbing the Google ladder.
