Getting Google Algorithms To Notice Your Business Online

It might have been a while since the initial launch, but Google’s Penguin algorithm has had a couple of updates since then and it’s still causing ripples of uncertainty across the web.

Firstly, if you don’t know anything about search strategies you might be asking ‘Penguin?’ yes, the updates are sometimes quirkily named. Previous updates have included Esmerelda and Big Daddy, with Panda and Hummingbird launching alongside Penguin - we told you they were ‘quirky’!

Secondly, let’s start at the beginning, in exceptionally simple words; an algorithm can be defined as, “a detailed sequence of actions to perform to accomplish some task”. So, Google has, over time, developed their search algorithms to stop people figuring out how to ‘cheat’ their way up the SERPs (search engine results pages). This is where all the name changes and the latest update come into play.

Google’s algorithm updates, in May 2013, were dubbed the most significant changes to Google’s search engine optimisation rank techniques, causing a stir of anxiety amongst all SEO techies, as websites began to rise and fall in SERPs. The main aim of this Google update was:

“Decreasing search engine rankings of websites that violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines by using now declared black-hat SEO techniques” (Wikipedia)

Which hat would you like to wear - black or white?

No, search engines don’t wear hats, in basic terms, the white hat and black hat theories are:

• White hat SEO: It is called white hat if the content is user-created, it hasn’t been made to manipulate search engines, and it’s deception-free. This is exactly the kind of SEO that Google loves and wants to help climb the SERPs. It’s also thrive’s favourite way of increasing search engine visibility – creating quality, sharing content through blogs and web pages, sharing it on social networks and engaging with users to increase brand awareness.

• Black hat SEO: Naturally this is the opposite; this is all about improving SERP rankings by deceiving search engines and ignoring Web Guidelines. An example of black hat SEO is a website which has a white background with a box of white coloured text (therefore invisible to the eye) full of optimised keywords and content which once upon a time would have increased its Google search ranking.

Now, we can imagine you are saying what’s all the fuss about? Well, for years a lot of companies and individuals used black hat techniques or paid for higher search rankings, so suddenly they are seeing search rankings dwindle. However, that’s not all. Some companies who do have quality content or a huge traffic intake and a ‘name for themselves’ in their field, have seen their search engine rankings fall too.

Who won and who lost the fight with Penguin?

The next thing these websites – and perhaps yours – might have to do is adapt their techniques to increase search engine visibility. There are a number of steps, suggested by SEO techies, Google themselves and industry experts, so which ones can you realistically follow to make Google like you?

5 Tips to Making Google Love You

Getting ranked by Google’s search engines has always been challenging for small-medium businesses, and with the latest updates it’s a process that has to be carefully planned and you must be patient with it. Great tips for a rule-abiding search engine visibility strategy are:

• 'Long tail' and 'short tail' keywords: Strategically creating content with different search terms, as long as they’re relevant, is all well and good. Most content creators believe that it is best to use a mix of long tail and short tail keywords, so try and find a balance. Remember short tail keywords tend to be basically the topic of your blog, i.e. we would use “long tail, short tail, SEO, Google, Penguin update” to optimise this blog post. Whereas long tail is more how people find the blog i.e. “What does long tail and short tail mean?” or “How has Google Penguin changed my website ranking?” would be relevant to this post.

• Fantastic content: Survey/ask business contacts, clients or regular followers of your web content, to find out what they would read from you. Once you know what they want to read, create it, share it and then you know you have guaranteed blog visits – if they are looking for it, others probably are to. Organise your blog content into relevant categories so users and search engines can properly find and rank your content. Create suitable, relevant, descriptive metatags, blog/page titles and URLs so search results lead the relevant audience to the relevant content.

• Multimedia: Creating various types of multimedia and posting it through your website/blog shows Google that content is genuine, carefully crafted and the opposite of the devious SEO methods it hates. Create a YouTube channel and share your videos/websites.

• Social indicators: Create and share content through numerous, relevant, consistently updated social networks, building brand awareness and audience. Google’s Penguin update is specifically looking for websites which audiences are actually engaging with so it is ideal to link all these platforms in one.

• Sitemap: Google Webmaster Tools is handy for uploading a site map (or use one of the tools to let Google do it for you) which then tells Google what exactly is on your website, ensuring it is indexed correctly. Other tools include (opens YouTube official video for Google Webmaster Tools) analytics, web search results and errors, as well as searching your website for malware, so it is well worth experimenting with.

Google Authorship: What is it and how can it benefit you?

Google Authorship is an upcoming tool that you will have probably seen in action, yet not realised what it is. Have you ever come across a Google search result that has the author’s picture beside it (below)?

This is Google Authorship. Creating a personal brand awareness alongside your brand is a brilliant way of confirming to Google’s algorithm that you are creating relevant, verifiable content – let’s be honest, you only put your face to something if you know it’s going to be good!