A New Kind of Penguin

by AFadmin

For those of you who aren’t aware, Penguin is the blanket name given to the Google Algorithm updates that target spammy link profiles. There have been a number of Penguin updates over recent years, and they have always been characterised by a rollout date, when everyone notices the positive (or negative) impacts of the update.

Well, another Penguin update is on the way, but this one is a little different. Rather than an update that happens maybe once or twice a year or so, the next occurence is likely to see the Penguin move to realtime updates, which can be both good and bad, depending on how you do your SEO. Here’s Barry Schwarz to explain it in a bit more detail.

If you still want to find out more about this new update, Chris Cemper of Link Research Tools has created a more in depth review of what this update is likely to mean, as well as some details about how Link Detox could help if you think you might fall foul of this new kind of Penguin. This one’s a bit longer, so you might want ot grab a coffee.

How to Measure Your SEO’s Effectiveness

by AFadmin

measuring-performance

The purpose of any business is to make a profit, and so business goals need to be identified, with a clear business plan of how these goals will be achieved. The online world provides businesses with a number of solutions to make their business stand out online, one such solution is search engine optimisation.

SEO means different things to different people, but for a business to be successful in the online arena, it should understand how SEO can help a business reach its goals, and how the SEO strategy is best implemented. With the help of Grapefruit Digital, a leading London SEO Service businesses turn to help develop their SEO strategy, we’ve put together some thoughts on your business can achieve this.

Adding Value to SEO

SEO can often be seen as a way of receiving organic traffic, and while this is true, this shouldn’t be how SEO is monitored overall. The goal posts have moved tremendously since the early days of the online world, and stuffing content full of keywords is no longer a viable option.

The reason why search engines such as Google are popular is because of the quality search results it provides its online users with. In this regard, the first port of call should be to ensure that any content being created is of high quality and relevant to the website it’s being posted on. Anyone found to be ‘cheating’ the system can expect the search engines to omit their details from any search results.

Although SEO is about traffic, it’s about getting the right kind of traffic. A business should aim to rank for keywords in its niche, not keywords that are deemed popular within search engines at the moment. Ranking for keywords out of your niche may bring more traffic in the first instance, but a business can expect these numbers to drop if online users are being fed content that doesn’t fit in with their search query.

The Quality of Backlinks Remains Important

There are many questionable outlets that will boast of providing you with thousands of backlinks for a relatively small fee, so this should set on your way to a heavy influx of traffic right? Wrong, if anything a number of backlinks posted on spammy, amateur blogs will do nothing for your rankings, as the referring pages aren’t deemed to have enough authority.

The acquisition of quality backlinks normally depends on the quality of your content. If you have an interesting article, then it is likely someone will ink to it, and this can happen a number of times. There are also the social signals to consider, such as when content is shared on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

Should a Business Invest in SEO

Whichever way you look at it a business has to invest in SEO, it’s really a case of whether it invests time or money, Granted, a business doing its own SEO may think its saving money in the first instance, but if only the basic steps are being taken, then the business could be losing on traffic that could see sales conversions.

A reputable SEO specialist will be able to ensure a website is optimised in the right way, the right keywords are being ranked for and that the overall content is of a good quality that will provide knowledge and insight to those who read it. If you’ve found this information useful, and want to talk to someone further about developing your SEO strategy, why not reach out to Grapefruit Marketing via their Facebook page.

Hiring an SEO Agency – Questions to Ask

by AFadmin

Type SEO into your favourite search engine and you will be presented with hundreds of companies promising to take your site to the top of the rankings, but is it as straightforward as that? Unfortunately not, the way search engines present content to online users means that the right kind of SEO agency is more important than ever.

Those who aren’t fully knowledgeable about SEO may be left a little bewildered as to how to choose the right kind of SEO agency. Fortunately, there are some questions you can ask to help ease your mind.

Does The SEO Agency Follow Google’s Best Practices?

Google has really upped its game when it comes to SEO, and there are a number of rules in place that help decide as to whether a website should be listed within its results or not. As such, it’s important that any SEO agency is fully aware of these practices, and knows how to stay on Google’s good side, or the end result could be a website that ranks even lower than it did initially.

Are There Any Examples of the Agency’s Reporting?

An SEO agency may well tell you what’s been done, but many people will want to see physical evidence of this. A reputable SEO agency should have no concerns in supply you with reports that detail exactly what work has been carried out in relation to your site.

Can The SEO Agency Guarantee Rankings?

This is something of a trick question, as no reputable SEO agency will guarantee that they can rank you at number one on Google. If it does, then it’s probably best to source a solution elsewhere.

Does the Service Include Local SEO

While not required by every business, it’s certainly a question worth asking if you do require Local SEO. Some may include it as part of the service, others may deal with it for an additional fee. In either event, enquiries should be made as to what work will be carried out in relation to Local SEO.

Does the Agency Have Any Link Building and Content Examples?

Content and backlinks are still an integral part of SEO, but only if they are done in the right way. Posting numerous backlinks to site with little or no authority will do very little for your rankings. Similarly, content stuffed with keywords will provide no value for your business or to your customers.

Enquire about how the SEO agency goes about building links, and ask for an example of content being produced. If quality content isn’t being produced, then it is unlikely that your site will rank. The same goes for referring sites with no authority.

Overall, it’s a case of the SEO agency explaining to you clearly as to how they will be optimising your site. If you do have any concerns, ensure that you voice them at the start, as it may be too late further down the line.

 
High-quality SEO should leave your website in a robust position in relation to rankings while still conforming with the rules and regulations set out by search engines such as Google and Bing.

Why Local SEO is Different

by AFadmin

The world of search engine optimisation can be something of a complex one. There can be different terminologies thrown round that make very little sense to those who aren’t familiar with how SEO works. Local SEO works in a slightly different way, as it will focus on a specific demographic, in this case, potential customers who live nearby the business.

Local SEO 101

Why is Local SEO Important?

While there are many websites that yearn for traffic from all around the world, for a number of businesses this just isn’t necessary. Plumbers, hairdressers, restaurants and other businesses based within a community should focus on Local SEO as it will present online users looking for a service in a particular area with your details, as opposed to a business that’s much further away.

How Can a Website Improve Local SEO?

There are a number of factors to consider why ranking locally, businesses looking to have a robust SEO standing locally will need to consider the following factors:

  • Reviews
    Reviews are a great way of helping your page rank locally, as it shows that your business is one that can be trusted to see the job through. Reviews are often left on websites such as Yelp and Google Reviews, so it’s always worth asking your customers to leave a review once the work has been completed.
  • Local Terms
    Local terms just refers to the mentioning of geographical terms within your website, so if you repair computers in South London, ensure that the website content reflects this.
  • Consider Other Areas
    Evidently, many businesses have a means of transport, so they’re not always secluded to just one area. If your business operates within nearby towns and villages, ensure that this is also included within your website content.
  • Include Full Contact Details
    There’s nothing less discouraging that a business unwilling to tell customers its location, and search engines think so too. So in this regard, ensure that your contact details are listed, and can easily be found.

Ensure Your Business is listed on ‘Google: My Business’

Once known as Google Places, Google My Business allows you to not only list your business, but also receives, reviews, much in the same way as Google Reviews and Yelp. Legitimate reviews will help your website gain momentum in relation to local SEO, so ensure that you’re asking satisfied clients to leave a review about your services.

As you can see, Local SEO operates in a different way to general SEO, but it remains just as important. There are a number of tasks to undertake to ensure that your website is getting seen by the right people.

Of course, not everyone has the time to keep on top of these tasks and run a business as well, so it can be an idea to speak to an SEO company and discuss your requirements. Not only will an SEO company ensure the website is optimised correctly for local SEO, but it can also ensure that the site remains healthy moving forward, which can only lead to more conversions in the future.