There’s no doubt about it – Google updates are something that all Internet marketers fear. After spending months (or even years) building up your backlink profiles and making sure that you’re maintaining good search engine rankings, a Google update can rock your marketing plans and leave you with a lot less income each month.
Google Panda was especially hard for many marketers because it focused on content and changed the game when it comes to online publishing. If you’ve made it a regular habit to spin articles, create keyword heavy text or otherwise try to increase your rankings with lots of keywords, you may have been in for a rude awakening once Panda rolled out. And there’s more yet to come! According to Google, Panda is just the first wave of several hundred changes that will be made to the algorithm. Most will have to do with quality content.
If you experienced a huge dip in your traffic after February 24, and still don’t know what to do to regain your rankings here are five quick ways to create better websites that the new algorithm will love.
1. Focus on high quality content.
Google is now separating pages into two basic piles – high quality and low quality. If you want to ensure that you’re getting ranked well you need to make sure your content falls into the first pile. This means publishing content that is helpful to the reader, related to your product or service and completely original. The algorithm is looking for a reason to put you on the first page – give it to them.
2. Consider consolidating pages.
Typically, marketers would publish dozens and dozens of pages on their websites, each one dedicated to a long tail keyword. This kind of spread might not be as helpful post-Panda. Look for ways to integrate a few long tail keywords together on one page, all the while focusing on creating quality content.
3. Try press releases rather than article marketing.
Many of the most popular article marketing sites lost rank in the Panda update, meaning that the backlink benefit you received might have vanished. However, many of the press release newswires maintained their ranking power and can give you two to three backlinks each. There are dozens of free press release newswires that you can use for submission.
4. Write and submit original articles.
Google Panda doesn’t mean that article marketing is done forever. It just means that you’ll need to use article marketing in a different way. You must submit original articles to article directories, and they have to be high quality. In addition, you’ll need to select your article directories carefully. Try submitting to five to ten high quality directories rather than hundreds all at once.
With these steps and a focus on really understanding what your site visitors are really looking for, you can beat the Google Panda update, earn back higher rankings and keep making money from your websites.