Optimizing your website for SEO through it all... the updates, I mean.

Let's talk how to optimize your website for the current Google Algorithm.

If there’s one constant in the ever-changing World of Digital Marketing, it’s the fact that Google's search engine is constantly changing and updating - so much for the comfort food, eh?

The truth is, Google updates their algorithm as often as you and I might change clothes. Ya. Sometimes you feel the daily struggle, but knowing the core pillars of Google's current search algorithm and what changes to look out for- will help tremendously!

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Many business owners and online entrepreneurs get blind-sided each time they face a new Google update that they’re totally unprepared for. These updates can lead to precipitous drops in search engine rankings for some and can totally impact their business bottom-line.

As of 2020, Google uses over 200 factors in its search algorithm to rank websites. It is important to make sure that your website is “algorithm proof”, meaning that it will stand through any future Google updates with minimal to zero negative effects. This also saves time and money on SEO updates, which are necessary but not as often with a good understanding of your website's SEO ;).

Fortunately, there are some tweaks and optimizations you can implement on your site right now to ensure your traffic and rankings will be safe whenever a major algorithm change occurs:

Tip #1: On-Page Content Changes

In these modern days of SEO, you need to commit to creating quality content more than over. But “create quality content” is generic advice that many website owners don’t really come close to following. Here’s what we mean by "quality":

✔️ Content is original. When using sources to create your next blog or website content, avoid writing a watered-down version of a single source or reference. Instead, base your ideas on multiple sources all over the web, and write your piece using your own words and content structure. Add personal stories or case studies about your business. Re-name some known industry practices, processes, and jargons (for example, Brian Dean of Backlinko.com took the already popular practice of creating long form pillar SEO content and named it the “Skyscraper Technique”). These will add a stamp of originality to your work.

✔️Beef it up, not fluff it up. Instead of prolonging sentences and paragraphs just to meet a word count (fluff), fill up your web content with facts, bullet points, infographics, tips, and actionable advice for your readers (beef). Avoid keyword stuffing. According to recent stats by Impactbnd.com, the simple act of updating and republishing old blog posts with beefier content and images can increase organic traffic by as much as 106%.

✔️Provide Legit Company Signals. Google has amped up its war against affiliate sites whose sole purpose was to bridge online visitors to paid offers and services (also known as doorway pages). Cookie-cutter one to two-page sites that lead to payday loan offers or thin weight loss e-books simply won’t cut it anymore.

*Remember, Google wants to see that you are a real person or company. This will always hold high value in their algorithm. To do this, you need to have a site menu that makes it easier for readers to know more about you or your business. Create detailed “About Us” and “Contact Us” pages with visible contact info, which shows your OFFLINE address and a Google map of your location. Also have a clear privacy policy, disclaimer and terms of service (also necessary things for advertising on Google and Facebook platforms).

Tip #2: Technical SEO Changes

✔️ Check for duplicate content. You have to ensure that each page on your website is unique and doesn’t have identical content. "Dupe" pages will conflict with Google indexing, and could prevent them from showing up on search. Much worse, if it happens a lot in your site, you could suffer a Google algorithm penalty. This is something to check for no matter the time or season.

✔️Fix broken URLs. If you have URLs embedded on your site that lead to 404 “not found” pages, fix them. Either remove the links altogether or replace them with a live URL that works. If the link leads to a defunct page on your website, 301 redirect it to the latest working version of the page or the most relevant one.

✔️ Avoid selling backlinks. It’s quite tempting to offer backlink building services to other webmasters, but avoid doing it. Asking other webmasters to pay for guest posting on your site in exchange for linking out to them is no longer a safe SEO practice. It’s gray-hat SEO at its best. If you link out a lot to websites which lack authority, and if hundreds of these links are found on your site, this could be seen by Google as a link scheme and could lead to an algorithm penalty. If you really need to link out, point to authoritative sources and do it organically. Your links are not for sale!

Remember, when optimizing your site, go for long term quality standards that lead to long term great marketing results.

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We hope you found value in the above tips for optimizing your website RIGHT NOW and will definitely be discussing more of the 200 algorithm guidelines in future posts. Use these SEO tips to make sure you are meeting Google's expectations and feel free to message us if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments.