12 Feb Grow Your Online Presence With Google Friendly Content
The new year is here.
Although 2016 is already a month old, most of us still have that ‘out with the old and in with the new’ mind-set. Many brands are using this New Year-mentality to their advantage by launching new products, concepts, and innovations.
Google is one of them.
Their spam-fighting SEO algorithm, Panda, which was originally launched at the beginning of 2011, has re-appeared in full force 5 years later. According to Search Engine Land, Google’s Panda is a search filter that prevents “sites with poor quality content from working their way into Google’s top search results”.
And it is now officially part of Google’s core ranking algorithm.
This is great news for copywriters worldwide.
Why?
Because the Panda algorithm is all about content. So if SEO jargon like ‘anchor text’, ‘bounce rate’, ‘meta tags’, and ‘page rank’ left you more confused than a chameleon next to a Smarties box, you will be very thankful for Google’s Panda. Blogger Jennifer Slegg, writer for the Moz blog, says that Panda isn’t about links, mobile-friendliness, or HTTPS sites – its focus is simply great-quality content. Google’s Panda will reward website pages that are identified as good quality by sending traffic to the page; content that is spam-like or of poor quality, will be demoted.
Please The Panda…And Your Audience
Thanks to Panda, copywriters can now solely focus on what they are passionate about – writing impactful copy – and leave SEO to the specialist. This, though, sounds deceptively simple. Writing copy that is engaging, relevant and newsworthy is challenging regardless of the platform, and in an online environment, there are a few additional hurdles to overcome.
Here are a few tips and tricks to ensure that you keep Panda, and your audience, happy:
Stop Counting
Content is king, not the word count.
Many writers make the mistake of adapting an article to a specified amount of words, and more often than not, valuable information is omitted or edited out. Although shorter is sweeter when it comes to the web, this should be used as a guideline for the style of writing.
Long sentences are a no-no. Long-form content isn’t. Longer articles can be just as engaging and informative as shorter pieces – it all depends on the quality of the content. According to Quick Sprout, the average Google-favoured blogs are around 2 000 words.
Sharing Is Caring
If content is shared on social media, it can have a very positive impact on the search engine ranking. Google references a brand’s social media presence to rank content and calculate overall optimisation, says Business2Community.
Not only does this improve the content’s SEO, but if people are sharing your content on other platforms, it means that they see value in what the piece has to say. Relevance is a very important element to achieve when writing. The platform where the content is uploaded should therefore make it as easy as possible for readers to share on other online platforms. Sharing buttons are the easiest way to achieve this.
Talk Back
Many brands still fall into the trap of having one-way conversations. When content is published online, it should be seen as the start of a conversation. Many websites incorporate comment sections to encourage commentary from readers. Although some brands are still hesitant about prompting input, this is the soul of online communication – having conversations. Monitoring where your content is shared is key, and responding to the comments is essential. Brands shouldn’t just start discussions. They should also keep them going.
Dear Reader
The most important thing to remember is that you can’t write quality content if you write for yourself – it is all about your readers. Make sure your content is fresh, original, easy to digest, and interesting to your audience. This means that you have to understand them and what makes them tick.
Also remember to reference any sources you use so that readers can click through to additional information on the topic. In doing so, you avoid plagiarism, increase’s your sites SEO, and… the Panda will look upon you favourably.