How Google's Panda Makes Content "King" for SEO.

"Content is King" for Google's Panda

Bow down because Content is King for search engine optimization.
Google's newest page ranking algorithm, Panda, is smarter than ever, able to recognize and make relevant content distinctions.  This has had a deep impact in online marketing circles and spammy strategies aren't going to yield results.

Google Releases the Panda

In February of 2011, internet marketers everywhere were shocked. Google had released a new update, and with it, changed the way SEO would work forever.

At first, it was difficult to know exactly what the damage was. Massive "authority" websites were reporting HUGE losses in traffic. But it wasn't mindless destruction - no, Google's latest update targeted a specific group of websites with surgical precision.

These were websites who played a crucial role in SEO. Websites like:

Article Directories
Online Forums and Message Boards
Web 2.0 "write-and-earn" Websites (HubPages, Squidoo, etc.)
Online Informational Sites (eHow)
The SEO process relied heavily on these types of websites. Since building backlinks was the most important part of the process, these websites were used to get quick and easy links.

And not just any links - the best type of links you could have. Links on pages with relevant information to your website (written by you). Links in the content of this relevant information. Links Google, before the update, loved. ~ SEOSiteCheckUp.com

How Does this Impact Authors, and Book Marketing?

It is my opinion that, done with integrity and sincerity, the old strategies are still going to serve authors. If you aren't abusing the system these changes may in fact help you by eliminating many of those competing in the market who are.

Genuine comments and posts in online forums and message boards, comments which include discrete anchor links within a signature or byline, are still likely to be approved and, as long as the links lead back to reputable content, they will continue to hold relevancy for SEO.  Since Google's Panda is able to recognize relevant content, it should be able to discern when your site and book are referenced appropriately.

Article marketing directories may have been severely impacted by the changes affecting search engine optimization, which does mean there is a potential impact on an author's ability to reach audiences using this method, as article directories themselves have taken a hit in relevancy and credibility. On the other hand, excellent content has become even more significant for SEO to bloggers and site owners; who are now forced to offer richer content in order to gain popularity and relevancy ranking. Article marketing websites could retain or gain relevancy themselves by offering richer content using tighter submission guidelines.  I believe that is what has been happening. Article marketing websites have tightened their quality controls, denying publishing acceptance to authors and articles that abuse the privilege of contributing to the directory by filling an article with links that lead to marketing sites.  True and relevant articles are actually going to be in greater demand, as those in need of content seek out quality articles.  Savvy authors will be using their bylines to lead readers back to their sites. These authors benefit by the environment clean up.

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Tip Tuesday: Diversify!

It is Tip Tuesday!

Expand your online marketing reach by developing effective strategies, SEO best practices and knowledge.

Tuesday's Tip for 10/22/2014: Diversify! Diversify! Diversify!

Approach building your online presence and marketing power from multiple angles. Attract larger, more loyal audiences, and increase your Search Engine ranking while doing it. Approach your marketing and creative process with an eye to diversify. Deconstruct, re-frame and then re-imagine how you will reach your audience.

Three areas of the utmost importance in attracting an audience to your blog or website are

• SEO ranking: clean up your webpage for search engine optimization; start by loading quality content.
• Social Media: reach out and engage audiences using social media
• Mobile Apps with visually optimized webpages

Search Engine Optimization

With "Content as King," SEO is hands-down your best way of bringing traffic to a blog or website. However, search engine ranking criteria is constantly changing. Technologies are also changing, so are the ways people enter and use the Internet.  In order to increase and safeguard your ranking, you will have to be flexible too.  Diversify your marketing activities, so that when changes occur the impact on your website will not be catastrophic. 

Social Media

Did you know, Facebook has partnered with Bing to use LIKES as a major factor in which pages will rank highest during keyword searches. If one of your friends has liked a page and you perform a corresponding keyword search, that page is most likely to appear at the top of your search query. 

Google has also associated social media activity with ranking clout; analyzing Facebook, Twitter and other social media interaction and connections to a webpage or blog, and is assigning rank with these factors in view. Social Media gives Google a more reliable tool in gauging site popularity, than counting back-links ever did. Back-links aren't dead, but social media activity which leads traffic back to your site has taken the lead in determining SEO popularity.

Mobile APPs, Smart Phone/Tablets

Technological advances change the way people use the internet. Mobile apps -- smart phones and tablets, are the fastest expanding point of access for Internet users. Be sure to optimize your website for easy mobile app viewing. 

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Tip Tuesday: Anchor Text

It is Tip Tuesday!

Expand your online marketing reach by developing SEO best practices and knowledge.

Tuesday's Term of the Day:

Anchor Text

Anchor text is the visible characters and words that hyperlinks display when linking to another document or location on the web.


Have a look at this blog video . . . (Passing along the good stuff.)

How to Acquire Anchor Text-Rich Links Without Resorting to Spam or Manipulation 

October 10th, 2014 - Posted by Rand Fishkin to Link Building and Whiteboard Friday

Video Transcription

Tip Tuesday: Site Popularity and Relevancy

It is Tip Tuesday!

Expand your online marketing reach by developing SEO best practices and knowledge.

Search engines are designed to crawl and index hundreds of millions of web pages. In doing this the Google search engine makes heavy use of hypertext in collecting data for analysis and categorization of variables, and trends. It uses data gained from hypertext, including links, to establish relationships, popularity, and relevancy of and between pages. The PageRank algorithm used by Google counts hyperlinks as determining factors in popularity. Pages with the most external links pointing at them are considered the most popular.

Link relevancy is determined by both the content of the source page and the content of the anchor text. It is a natural phenomenon that occurs when people link out to other content on the web.

Tuesday's Term of the Day:

Popularity and Relevancy

Q:  What is the importance of "popularity and relevancy" in search engine ranking?

A: Popularity combined with relevancy metrics determine the best results for a given search query. When determined relevant for a particular query, the most popular and relevant pages become the first pages listed in Google's results.    

This is why elevating your popularity and relevancy with search engine page ranking is an important area of focus for any marketing strategy.

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Tip Tuesday: External Links

It is Tip Tuesday!

Expand your online marketing reach by developing SEO best practices and knowledge.

Tuesday's Term of the Day:

External Links

External Links are hyperlinks that point at (target) any domain other than the domain the link exists on (source). ~ moz.com

For our purposes and understanding, external links are those which originate on another site or domain and lead traffic to you and your website. External links are the most coveted and influential for SEO ranking, as they are harder to manipulate and therefore viewed by search engines as a more reliable indicator of popularity and relevance. Sometimes you will hear these links referred to as back links.

Developing good network relationships with other theme or interest related bloggers and site owners, in order to establish links between pages, is one way of acquiring external links for your blog or web page. This form of linking is referred to as reciprocal linking. Often these kind of relationships are used in multi-site linking where sites band together to create and use links for SEO. Trading articles, offering promotional support, participating in virtual tours, blog jogs, and incentive giveaways are just a few of the creative link building tactics used by savvy marketers who wish to establish reciprocal external links, drive Internet traffic, and raise SEO page rankings.

Another form of external link that will benefit your SEO ranking and lead Internet traffic to your door is one way links: those which come from articles, reviews, media releases, forum or comment signatures, and bylines that lead back to you. You can create many of these links through your own activity and through reciprocal relationships.

Directory links are external links which generally lead traffic seeking resource material and information. Having your site listed for expert content in a directory can be very useful to your SEO relevancy standings.

Acquiring and creating external links is an important step along the path of marketing your book, brand, product or personality online. They are valuable to search engines because they help measure two key factors, popularity and relevancy. More about that another Tip Tuesday.

The more you know the more you grow.
Great day to you.

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