One of the most structured (and rewarding) tasks a company like ours could be asked to execute, is the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of a website. Gone are the days when SEO meant placing keywords in a page’s HTML code. Nowadays, if you want to be a winner in the SEO game, you have to consider a wider array of factors. As from December 2010, Google has introduced five major changes to its algorithm which are playing a major role in the indexing of websites:
1. Social signals: both Google and Bing are attributing priority to websites whose content is distributed on social networks. The reason is simple: as organic search is all about the relevance of a website to those performing the search, a website whose content is distributed through Facebook, Linked In, Twitter or Google + is perceived as relevant by search engines. Ensure your visitors can share your posts and press releases through social media buttons (all the websites that our company develops have this feature).
2. Backlinks: these are more important than ever, as websites featuring bogus ones are banned by search engines. On the other hand, if your back linking strategy is genuine, you will be rewarded with a higher ranking in query results. You can build an effective back linking strategy, by distributing your press releases to online media and including a link to your website.
3. Google + button: users clicking this button will automatically flag the content as interesting and relevant, thus resulting in Google ranking your website higher.
4. Fresh is better: if you were the owner of a fish restaurant, would you serve your clients fish which is not fresh? Just like a five-star restaurant, Google and other search engines only offer their clients fresh content. The more a website features updated content, the higher it will be ranked.
5. Search Plus your World: Search Plus Your World is a Google + feature expanding a post’s lifetime and making it easy for your contacts to find your post, even months after it has been posted. Another good reason to share your blog posts and press releases on Google +.
If you would like to improve your website’s performance, contact Strategic Communications for a free SEO consultation.