The new Google algorithms, dubbed Panda and Penguin, have had big effects on blogs and websites. Strategies that once worked, don’t anymore and sometimes even backfire.
So what does content marketing look like with the new Google, in a post-Panda world so to speak?
This infographic shows interesting results and techniques.
Here are the main take aways:
- spammy techniques like paid linking will now backfire;
- keyword stuffing doesn’t work anymore and neither does over-optimization;
- be careful with your ads-to-content ration, as this is something that Google takes into account as well;
- content is king, great and original content is favored in the new algorithms;
- make sure your site supports Google key mission of ‘good guys making great websites for users’.
[Click for Larger]
Have you seen the effects of the new Panda algorithms on your website or blog?
What do you think of Google’s strategy?
[via Econsultancy]
Tyler H says
This reminds me of The Wedding Singer…”Once again, things that could have been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!”…or….4 years ago when I started my first blog…I’m glad I’m following these ideas more closely with my new one…just kinda stinks how powerful google is to ruin businesses like that…I realize they aren’t a monopoly, but they’re so big that they basically are one in practice…it isn’t like Bing is going to be blowing them out of the water tomorrow morning
Rachel Blom says
Yup, Google sure is powerful. I’ve read reports that more than a few blogs have lost substantial traffic due to Panda and Penguin. Still, I do like where they’re going, they’re promoting content rich, original blogs and demoting spammy ones that don’t offer real value. That does make sense, dont you think? Where did you go wrong with your first blog?
Tyler H says
Well, my other blog is Christian Music Zine, where we have news, reviews, interviews, stuff like that. The problem is that I’ve got hundreds, if not thousands of news posts that are basically “band x is coming out with album/song/video y go check it out here”. that is the kind of thing that most music sites do. i started it out as just a fun thing to do, then saw it grow, then saw it get cut in half by penguin. the content actually IS helpful to music fans, it just isn’t always long winded, so i think google decided to like it not so much a few months ago. we still have our loyal fan base, just not as many search based readers.
Rachel Blom says
I see your point. Google’s exact considerations and algorithms are still a mystery of course, but it does seem they favor somewhat longer posts. I’ve read somewhere that they should be at least 300 words, but can’t remember where exactly…But I can see why that’s very impractical with short announcements like that.
Jonathan Assink says
There are certainly always going to be exceptions, but I think anything Google does to break link farms and “eHow” type sites that produce massive piles of steaming cra… er, content is good for the internet as a whole in the end. As a writer, it drives me crazy to see a site where the content is driven by SEO rather than engagement driven. Create compelling content, don’t just try to game the system for more page views (can we just kill slide-shows now please???).
I have found in the last couple years I have scaled back on the number of high volume-base quality news blogs I follow (gadget sites, sports coverage, etc.) in favor of sites that post 1x per day or less and focus on quality content.
Tyler H says
Oh yea, can we somehow get Yahoo answers out of google search results while we’re at it? They’re even worse than eHow or Wikihow
I’m more likely to bookmark news sites and RSS sites w/ 1 post a day, i’m sure everyone has a different strategy based on their own preferences
Rachel Blom says
I agree and I do appreciate Google trying to penalize spammy sites. One thing I wish they would rectify a bit more is less weight for the age of a site. I see older sites that are pretty much inactive now still score on the first page for some relevant search terms for me and that bugs me.