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Posts Tagged ‘search rankings’
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
Gone are the days where a website that was five or more years old with a thousand or more pages could count on ‘age’ as a positive factor in the search results. In some cases, those old pages could be having a negative effect on your search rankings. Search engine users have long bemoaned the fact that search results were often outdated and not relevant to what they were looking for. Sure, you could tweak the results to find the most recent content related to your search term, but that takes extra work, and modern users want the best results first time every time.
Google is now taking positive steps to promote fresh content over old content. I won’t go into the technicalities here – you can read an excellent article by Justin Briggs on this topic here. It’s not rocket science to work out that fresh data is often more preferable to stale data, even if the fresh data is only rehashing what is in the stale data. As website owner, you need to determine whether or not your content is starting to fall into that stale category. If it is, there are a number of options available to you.
The first option is to ignore the stale content while adding new content on a regular basis. Hopefully the new content fits the ‘freshness’ test and helps to prop up your website. A second option takes the process one step further – you create new content based on your very old content. The key is to make it relevant to today including links out to some of the latest information available. Your third option is to update your old content using current data and links to current discussions or information.
For most business owners, time is the biggest issue. Do you have time to work through your old content to bring it up-to-date? You will also need to consider relevance - is the content written five years ago still relevant to today’s user? If it is, then another option exists; that’s to gain some social media activity around the content and to build fresh links. If the search engines can see that your old content is still relevant to today’s users and that these users are still referencing it in social media and linking to it on their websites or blogs, then rather than being classified as stale, it maintains importance and age once again becomes a positive factor, not a negative. Is your website looking a little stale?
Tags: fresh content, search rankings, stale content
Posted in Business Writing | 3 Comments »
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Jennifer Ledbetter wrote about something on her blog last week that not many people know about. She explained that when your web pages hit the No. 1 spot in Google rankings, they are then reviewed by real human eyeballs. It’s not all “man vs. machine,” she said.
That’s an important thing to understand. Search rankings are not just based on algorithms. If you do well and get your pages ranked for keywords that you target, you’ll have to get through a human reviewer. If your web pages can stand the scrutiny of that reviewer, they may stay at the top. If not, they could fall from the rankings – sometimes pretty far.
So what do these human reviewers look for? Basically, they’re looking for signs that might tell them something is amiss.
If your web page is full of spam, you’ll fall in the rankings. If it is relevant for the search query for which it ranks well, it might stay. The one big question your human reviewer will be asking about your page is, Does this web page have any discernible weaknesses that would prevent it from ranking for this search query in a perfect world?
The reviewer probably isn’t asking that specific question, but they are asking something similar. The idea is to scrutinize the search result as a searcher would. Would any normal searcher be satisfied to see that page rank so well for their search query? If not, you’ll fall in the rankings. If so, you’ll stick around.
Aren’t you glad you know Google uses human reviewers?
Tags: google, search rankings
Posted in SEO for Small Business | 2 Comments »
Monday, September 12th, 2011
If you read blog posts like this one you might come away with the impression that your small local business is insignificant, worthless, and doomed to get lost in the great cyberspace shuffle. Don’t believe it for a minute. First off, Mike Blumenthal is absolutely correct about Google’s algorithm. It is impersonal and computational. But that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a better ranking.
What should you if you find your small business not having the ranking in Google Places that you think it deserves? Will writing a letter to Google make it better? Not likely.
What I suggest is studying Google’s rankings to get some kind of clue as to how the rankings are the way they are. One of the most important things to remember about Google Places rankings is that they are based in part on distance from the searcher. So if your business is located in a southern suburb of your city and a searcher on the north side of town is looking for your type of business, you may or may not appear in their search results depending on how they write their query and how much competition you have. That’s vague, I know, but that’s how the algorithm works.
If you feel lost in the cyberspace shuffle and you’re wondering why your business isn’t ranking better in Google Places – or anywhere else – contact an Internet marketing expert for a consultation.
Tags: Google Places, search rankings, small business
Posted in search engines | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
Google is always on the prowl for the next big idea. Ever since social media has taken off and become the new “in thing,” Google has been trying to figure out how it can get in on the game as well. The Google +1 button just might be the ticket.
Or maybe not.
According to WebProNews:
Google has said flat out that the button will be used as a ranking signal.
Nice. But will anyone use it? I mean, besides website publishers and SEOs?
Here’s what I see happening. A mass flux of websites flocking to add the Google +1 button to their sites, then webmasters and publishers encouraging their users to +1 them. They, of course, won’t inform their users that by doing so they are pushing the publishers up in the rankings. And, of course, the publishers themselves will +1 their own sites.
I also see communities forming to +1 each other’s sites in the same way that StumbleUpon users now reciprocate Stumbles.
Eventually, Google will figure out a way to discount +1s by site owners themselves. They may even figure out reciprocal +1 schemes. But in the end, will the +1 button make SEO any easier, or will it make it more difficult for the average Internet marketer?
Only time will tell. I just hope Google doesn’t flub this up.
Tags: +1 button, google, search rankings, Social Media
Posted in SEO for Small Business | 3 Comments »
Sunday, May 1st, 2011
When it comes to ranking your web pages for local search traffic, it’s easy to assume that the same factors affecting global search rankings will also affect local search rankings, but that may not be the case. Certainly, I think on-page content is one factor, and inbound links, to a certain degree, are also a factor. But what else can be a factor?
It seems obvious – at least to me – that local links are more valuable than what are generally termed “relevant” links. In other words, if you are a local real estate broker, a link from your Chamber of Commerce will likely carry more weight than a link from a national real estate website.
I also believe Web citations could prove a factor as well. A Web citation is any place off of your own website that mentions your business, web address, or Local business listing information without an accompanying link.
So how can a non-link affect your search rankings? If you’ve claimed your business listing in Google Places, Bing Local, and Yahoo! Local, then the search engines know your business address and phone number. They also know some other basic information about you. If that information also appears on another website – say, your local Chamber of Commerce or BBB website – then it adds a level of credibility to your business. A link isn’t necessary.
So here’s my tip for today. If you are a local business trying to rank better for your search terms and a geographical targeting metric, see if you can get a few local Web citations, with or without a link.
Tags: inbound links, local search, local SEO, search rankings, small business, web citations
Posted in Local Internet Marketing | 6 Comments »
Saturday, May 29th, 2010
Google doesn’t usually go public with its search algorithm changes. Search marketers usually have to guess what they mean. And there are so many of them that trying to keep up with them all is a bit of a nightmare. However, Google has confirmed a recent update, which is being called Mayday.
SEO is not a zero sum game; however, some algorithm changes can seem to be that way. If I’m reading this correctly, large sites that aren’t reaching their full potential will get a boost under this change. That means other sites will have to fall – at least where long tail search phrases are concerned.
So my question to you is: Have you noticed any changes in search rankings in the last month? If so then it means one of two things:
- Your site is a large site that hasn’t done well in the optimization arena and so isn’t getting the attention that Google believes it deserves; in this case, you’ll see a boost in your search rankings.
- Or, maybe your site is a large site that has a good handle on SEO and you really need no help getting rankings; you might have seen some slippage in the rankings for certain long tail keyword phrases. If that’s you then depending on how many competitors got Google’s help, you could still be within the neighborhood for those keyword terms.
Now, do you see yourself in there?
I’d really like to know how many small businesses have been affected, either positively or negatively, by this change. Sound off, please.
Tags: google, search rankings
Posted in search engines | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Bing entered the search field with the usual pomp that Microsoft likes to display and by all accounts it is doing well. There have been several studies done comparing Bing to Google, Yahoo! and Bing’s predecessors and most of these studies put it ahead of everything except Google. One report from Marketing Pilgrim indicated that Bing was doing better than Google when it came to travel, retail and finance.
The latest study, published on Cuil, suggests that Bing has a particular liking for large sites, keywords in URL’s and keywords with the first letter capitalized. They are all interesting observations so it begs the question, if you are in a travel, retail of finance niche, should you be targeting Bing.
It would be interesting to see if a site from one of these niches started to rank higher in Bing if they were tweaked that little bit to suit its apparent preferences. Capitalizing the first letter of keywords and ensuring URLs were optimized with keywords. It would also be interesting to see what if any change there was in the ranking within Google after tweaking.
Bing is still young and is still going through a settling in stage. If Bing makes any inroads into Google’s traffic you can be sure Google will react to try and stop Bing’s progress. In the meantime, if you are from one of those niches, you could perhaps doing a little tweaking to see if there is any gain. Let us know if there is?
Tags: bing, google, search rankings
Posted in search engines | 7 Comments »
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
You’ve hired a web designer, paid for search engine optimization, made sure your keywords and keyword phrases are placed correctly within the content of your site, and you’ve even learned a thing or two about links–but what you don’t know is if all your hard work and cash outlay has paid off.
Can your small business website be found quickly?
There’s a great book by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton, Now, Discover Your Strengths, which reveals that it’s much smarter to capitalize on your strengths, what you’re already doing well, than to attempt to work on your weaknesses. They’re weak for a reason–you’re not good at it.
So take that basic principle and apply it the success of your small business, and in particular, to the success of your website. One mark of a successful website is how well it ranks on search engines. The higher your website is placed on search engines, the easier it is for people to find you. Face it, how many times when you’re searching online, do you wander past page five? Not often.
The easiest way to check your site rank is to simply type in one of your keywords and see what comes up. Does your website come up on Google on page one? Two? Ten? Check some other search engines and see what happens. One way is to do an advanced search link on Google and check for your keywords, then scroll through a few pages and see if your site is listed.
There are other ways. As with anything on the Internet, you can pay to find out your site ranking.
There are several companies such as WebPosition.com, MarketPosition.com, and AllBusiness.com (some offer 30 day free trials), that offer software that can show you your rank on various search engines within minutes. If this interests you, you might also consider WebCEO.com and SEOReporter.com.
Why go to all the trouble and expense to find out?
Because you want to know what you’ve done right.
It’s vital to know how people find your website so that you can then repeat that process many times over! You want to know what search engines have given your site a higher rank, and you want to know what keywords brought them to you.
If you have a good web designer, you can ask them to view your logs and this will show how your viewers are finding your site. If you write a blog, many blog sites such as WordPress and Blogger will provide a log for you. You’ll be able to see what exactly what words and phrases were typed in, (very enlightening since you begin to see the problems or issues people have and what they are searching for).
You’ve already invested so much in your company and in your website and other online tools. It take time and effort to build your site ranking, and there’s nothing more motivating than to see progress.
By knowing your small business site ranking, you can continue to build upon your strengths.
Tags: keywords, search engine optimization, search rankings, Tracking & Analytics
Posted in SEO for Small Business, Small Business Internet Marketing, Tools for Small Business, Tracking & Analytics, Uncategorized, search engines, website development | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008
TheGoogleCache had a great post today about site re-evaluations and penalties. It’s interesting to note, and I agree, that just because you lose ground in the search engines it doesn’t mean your site is being penalized. Specifically, here’s one point I’d like to highlight:
Your site may have lost a handful of high-quality links. Websites disappear (especially older ones which may have been providing you a lot of PageRank pass-thru), other sites begin to implement No-Follow, blogs, comments and press-releases get auto-pruned. Because the quality of the link matters so much, you could track your back links and believe your site to be growing in Link Popularity, but actually be losing your most important links.
This re-pruning is exactly why you should not rest on your link building laurels. Just because you built 1,000 links in the last six months and those links seem to be helping your rankings, that doesn’t mean that they will benefit you two years from now. Old link partners fade away and the search engines change their algorithms. It is highly likely that you will have some pages lose PageRank and even search engine rankings at some point. That’s why you need to keep performing link building tasks over time. Because the more new links you add today the more you will benefit the next time Google decides to update its algorithms or completely re-evaluate your site. Old link partners will die, let the new ones rise.
Tags: google, link building, search rankings
Posted in link building | 1 Comment »
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