Do you know enough to ensure your online strategy is heading for success?

Keeping abreast of the latest algorithm updates is an enduring task and with Google updating, more often than we would care to believe; staying on top of the search engines 'to do list' is undoubtedly difficult. Search engine optimisation is an unsurprisingly laborious undertaking to master which is why many will wonder 'Do I know enough to ensure my online strategy is heading for success?'

Understanding the Ins and Outs of the search process

Naturally; the first question one must ensure they have the answer to will be; 'What is the Google algorithm?" Unfortunately, we do not possess the actual answer because if we did, we'd be millionaires. Google's algorithm is a highly guarded secret however, what we are told is that it is a patented formula in which search results pages are that isn't much to go on is it?

As there is no, and most probably never will be; a sure fire way to determine just what lies within the algorithm, every so often Google will release an update designed to 'cleanse' the system and establish an improved search platform. Such updates are famously given the most unusually inept names and will provide those undertaking search engine optimisation strategies, with the do's and don'ts of achieving desired page ranking.

The Algorithm Updates

The purpose of Google's updates are simple; to ensure business owners do not 'abuse the system' and litter the search engine with spam; after-all it is the desire of Google to ensure that it provides 'the ideal search experience' and in 2002 it introduced 'Florida' the first algorithm update that put updates on the map. It caused business owners to suffer damaging SERP drops and in effect made the SEO game a little more interesting. 

Since the infamous onset of Florida; Google has introduced a string of updates, most recently named after animals; that have one purpose and one purpose only; to create a high quality, high value and highly relevant search experience.

Memorable Algorithm Updates

Bourbon: May 2005

Changed how duplicate content and non-canonical (www. Vs. non www.) URLS were treated.

XML Sitemaps: June 2005

Allowed webmasters to submit XML sitemaps; giving SEO consultants direct control over crawling.

Real Time Search: December 2009

Included real twitter feeds, Google news and newly indexed content

Social Signals: December 2010

Confirmation that data from Twitter and Facebook would be used to determine ranking

 

(Taken from econsultancy the graph shows movement of website rankings in Google. Higher peaks indicate greater position movement across a larger number of websites)

The most relevant algorithm updates (that we know of) are the Penguin and Panda updates. Introduced in early 2011 and the first half of 2012; the updates have been designed to put an end to link farming and low quality sites.

Panda

 Initial Update: February 2011

Known Updates since:18

Tighter control over content creation. This is the update that finally drew an end to duplicate content, keyword overuse and sites with a high ad to content ratio. Most importantly, this update finally introduced the importance of freshness.

Overall Purpose: To initiate a content update, cracking down on thin content and content farms. The update aimed to lower the rank of low value sites and restore quality to search results and reportedly affected an estimated 12% of search results.

Full details of all 18 updates not provided.

October 5 2011 Matt Cutts Tweeted: "Expect some Panda related flux in the next few weeks"

 

 

Penguin

Initial Update: April 2012

Known Updates since: 5+

Tighter guidelines across website optimisation. This was otherwise known as the anti-spam update  that targeted keyword stuffing, unnatural links and content spinning; in effect bringing back the adorned phrase 'content is king'

Further Purpose: To decrease the rankings of websites which defy the Google Webmaster guidelines. Penguin adjusted a number of spam factors including keyword stuffing, black hat SEO techniques, and duplicate content and link schemes.

 Further updates affected search results across multiple languages.

What do the latest updates require from you?

Quality of onsite optimisation

Many websites attempted to trick Google with an overstuffing of keywords however, the new changes now demand that only the appropriate keywords be used and at a density of between 2-3%.

Quality of onsite structure

This point links directly back to the quality of onsite optimisation. Overstuffing of keywords often rendered content unreadable. Google now demands that website and blog content be of the highest quality and provide a genuine service to the user.

Clean and highly appropriate back links

Link farming fast became the norm as purchasing thousands of inappropriate links allowed sites to achieve a phenomenal boost in rankings. Google now demands that quality and relevance remain at the forefront of a link profile. Those with a bad link profile will be severely punished.

Clean internal linking

Internal links direct from one page of a domain to another and they are used to allow users to navigate a website, establish a hierarchy and spread link juice around the website.

With Google making uncountable changes to its algorithm; SEO and business owners must ensure they remain 'on the ball' at all times in order to avoid the crass surprise of an overnight ranking decline. Although Google fails to always declare an update and the details of such, in order to protect your online strategy; as much caution as possible must be taken.