Over the next few blog posts, we’ll be looking at three of Google’s search algorithms: Panda, Penguin, and Pigeon.
Panda examines the quality of content on a website.
Penguin inspects the links in and out of a website.
Pigeon focuses on local search.
This blog post will focus on Panda and what you can do to improve your standing in Google within the search algorithm.
Google Panda Algorithm:
Congratulations, you’ve constructed a website for your business! You’ve put in your business location, contact information, and your services. So now you’re done, right?
Wrong.
In order to stay relevant in Google’s content algorithm, Panda, website maintenance isn’t a one-time deal. It’s an ongoing process. When Panda crawls your website, it’s looking for updated information relevant to your small business such as blog posts or updated employee bios. It’s also looking to see that the different pages of your website aren’t all the same. Panda favors websites that aren’t carbon copies of each other; having one default template for every page simply won’t cut it.
So what can you do to improve your standing? Here’s a list of some small things you can do that can have a major impact on your standing in Google.
- Update information. As employees come and go or your restaurant menu changes, it’s important to update that information on your website. It’s not necessary to make an announcement for every change but taking a few minutes to make small updates to your website as changes occur will help ensure you’re prepared for the next Panda crawl.
- Maintain a blog. This is a great way to share news within your industry but also news specific to your business. Taking just a few hours every month to write a blog post or two can go a long way to improving your standing in the Google rankings.
- Utilize keywords. When you go to Google to search for something, what do you type in? Those few words are keywords; they help filter the results that are most relevant to you. So when putting content on your website, be sure to work in keywords in your descriptions and blog posts. But be sure not to go overboard as that can have a negative impact on your Google standing.
- Be consistent with your messaging. If you’ve ever clicked on a headline that promises one thing but then actually got to the article to find it completely unrelated then you know how frustrating that can be. While flashy headlines may entice consumers to visit your website, make sure that what they advertise is consistent with the content of your website and business. Google will ding your site if they find that what you advertise isn’t consistent with what you deliver.
Greatness Over Time
Keep in mind that your improved Local SEO Success Factors may not happen overnight. It may take a little adjusting to get the results you want but keep in mind there is no immediate fix. Don’t jeopardize your standing with Google by overuse of keywords or information irrelevant to your business. If Google were to find out, your website could be blocked completely from the Google rankings.