Last month Matt Cutts answered a lot of questions concerning upcoming Google updates at the SES San Francisco. Last year’s Penguin and Panda updates rocked the world of Internet Marketing, kicking some websites off of long standing rankings. During the interview, Cutts explained that the next Penguin update could be “jarring and jolting” for SEO. A poll taken by seroundtable.com concluded that up to 65% of SEOs were hurt by the initial Penguin updates, much more than the 40% of the Panda updates. It is important to realize that many of these updates are geared toward illegal SEO techniques and spam websites. There are some very simple ways to ensure that the next round of updates will not affect you. By using these methods you can ensure your rankings and rest a lot easier.
1. Filler Content
Filler content is any content that does not directly pertain to your website’s goal. Filler content can look amazing and even read really well, but we’re not working with a data driven Internet anymore. The algorithms are designed to rank websites based on bounce rates. Filler content leads to bounce rates; therefore you should avoid it when you can. Rankings are becoming more of a user-based system. If people are coming to your website and spending a lot of time on it, you will start to see your rankings increase in the search engines. Spam websites get high bounce rates. Even if you’re not a spam website, it could be seen as one if your bounce rates are comparable to that of a spam site. Go back through your content and delete or rewrite the filler.
2. Link Relevant Pages
One of the telltale signs of a bad website is internal linking. Using anchor text to link between pages on the site is a good 
way to get more traffic and rise in the ranks. If you are using incorrect or spammy links with irrelevant anchor text, you will feel the brunt of the next Penguin updates. Go through every page and look for opportunities to link to internal pages with relevant content and then look for opportunities to link out to other content. The linking on your websites should not only be to internal pages. There are a lot of website on the Internet that have the same niche or industry news that your site is involved with. Make sure that you are using the correct linking and you will not have anything to worry about.
3. Use Guest Posts
Guest posting is not only a way to get great content; it’s a way to get better links. A guest poster can write a blog post or article on your website and link back to their own website. One of the best ways to utilize a guest poster is have them write something controversial to your niche. Whether your niche is industrial machinery or golden retriever puppies, have the guest poster write something about new technologies or techniques within the industry. This will get more traffic for your website and their website, making both more of an information hub in the eyes of the search engines.
Hire a professional agency that employs best SEO practices and sound techniques to assist your business to achieve its online goals. Active Web Group specializes in providing a quality user experience for its clients’ websites. AWG develops sites for site visitors, their target audience, not just for search engines. If you are tired of playing SEO games, why not give AWG a call?
For more information about professional Search Engine Optimization, call us at 1-800-978-3417 or Contact Active Web Group and let us help you!
