It goes without question that most websites have gone through a rollercoaster of position and ranking changes over the course of the last year with the release of Google Panda, a brand new algorithm designed to return higher quality search results. Techniques used in the past to increase search rankings have been patched over and new techniques are slow to be developed. Below are a number of topics we will be discussing within this article in order to optimize the targeted search results;
- Content is King – Picking Related Keywords.
- Micro-sites, why it’s more valuable than you think.
- Websites can be too big, why those single page websites from 1992 are ranked higher.
- Picking Relevant Locations and Multi-Location Marketing.
A new saying has emerged from the demise of Google Panda and the easily influenced search results, “Content is King” and it couldn’t be more true. This could mean a lot of things to a lot of people so let’s clarify this statement.
Content is King
What does it mean? Immediately, most people would assume that this means the more content on a given topic, the better the results. Wrong. If this were true, we would be able to build a page with 1,000 occurrences of a given keyword and it would rank at the top of the search engine result pages.
With the Panda update to Google, there seemed to be a bit of intelligence added to it as well giving them the ability to recognize the difference between organic content and stuffed keywords. Although keyword stuffing has always been a “No-no” we’ve demonstrated a higher sensitivity in Google Panda.
So what does it really mean?
It means you must produce content on a consistent basis. Typically the web design and SEO industry has pushed consumers to “Blog” about topics affecting their industry.
What should your blog or content contain?
Keyword relevancy! The biggest mistake most people make when writing content for their websites is they don’t pay enough attention to the keywords they’re marketing within their website.
Did you know?
The more irrelevant content on your website the lower it will rank against your competitors.
But all of my content is relevant!
Is it really? How many search terms are you marketing towards? If you answered with more than 3, you’re probably hurting your own site.
But my website needs that information!
Consider this; websites can be broken down into sub-domains and domains. http:// your-service.your-business.com will actually provide a major benefit, indicating to the search engines a change in content.
The other solution to the content relevancy issue and picking your keywords is micro websites – or small websites that are branded with your corporate image designed to tunnel traffic into the main area of your website. These micro websites are the most effective tool as they provide extremely high content relevancy.
Have you ever checked out your competition only to find a single page website designed in 1992 ranking above you in the search results? Simple explanation… content relevancy. If you’re targeting “cars” as a keyword, and your website contains only information about “cars” than your chances of reaching 100% relevancy and become the “Authority” site on that keyword will sky-rocket.
So how do I target multiple cities with only a few keywords?
The same way to keep your relevancy up on your keywords. A location in a keyword will affect relevancy the same way the keyword itself will. It is always recommended that location based marketing be divided into location.your-company.com. This will ensure that when a user searches for “Used Cars Barrie” that the targeted “Used Cars Toronto” does not cause irrelevancies.
How do I know if my keywords are going to be effective?
There are a number of resources available such as the AdWords keyword tool found at; https://adwords.google.com/o/KeywordTool
Keyword analysis can be done at any time and will suggest keywords that may be effective that you haven’t considered. Make sure to provide this tool with as much information as possible to provide the most accurate results. Since this tool doesn’t provide provincial statistics, keep in mind Ontario contributes approximately 35% of Canada’s overall population.
Another great tool available for keyword analysis is Google Trends, which can provide some very insightful data on the history of your keyword. Perhaps people just aren’t using specific terminology anymore; this would be a great place to find out.
Google trends can be found at http://www.google.com/trends
What was that again?
Strategy in a Nutshell. Summary of this document;
- Keyword Research – Do your research on your keywords using Google Trends and the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. Find 3 or 4 popular search terms to market towards.
- Location Research – Figure out your locations, are you going to sub-domain ex. City.your-company.com or will your use individual domains Your-Company-City.com
- Divide and Conquer – Figure out the division of content, do you need to build micro-websites or sub-domains to hold un-related content? Put your plan of action into effect.
Still don’t understand? Call and speak with the professionals today!
NetGain
https://www.netgainseo.com
705.797.2455