How Will SEO Best Practices Change With Google And How Can Your Local Business Keep Up?
We're not sure if Google's latest algorithm changes will be helpful or hurtful for companies, but the search engine announced the latest changes in an aptly named update called "Helpful Content."
The update rolls out this week and aims to help users find the most valuable content for them. It is prioritizing content that feels more human and deprioritizing content that feels robotic.
Although Google has not released specific numbers surrounding how many current rankings will be impacted, the company has stated that the changes will be “meaningful.”
While it remains important to utilize SEO best practices, Google is taking steps to prioritize authenticity in its high-ranking content. This is great news for businesses that create content with their clients and future clients in mind. The update will penalize content primarily created for ranking purposes, otherwise known as doorway pages, and reward content that provides value.
If you have been keeping up with the world of algorithm changes and SEO, you know that a lot goes into helping a page rank highly on Google. Many businesses choose to take this off their plate by hiring a team of SEO experts who utilize platforms like Scorpion Ranking to help. For those who need a refresher on SEO best practices, let’s walk through some of them and discuss which ones will likely be impacted.
Google explains its SEO Starter Guide guidelines into general, content-specific, and quality guidelines. Most general guidelines will not be impacted, such as keeping a simple URL structure and browser compatibility. Some of the content-specific and quality guidelines, however, are likely to become even more important. This means your business should:
Write high-quality information about your products and services.
Establish your business details in a way that helps users understand what you can provide them.
Avoid automatically generated content and “keyword stuffing,” which is the practice of weaving excessive keywords in a single piece of content.
Avoid posting “thin content” or content with little or no value to the user.
Avoid “cloaking,” which presents different content to the user than what was presented to the search engine. Think of this as SEO clickbait that encourages users to click on a website when it is not what they are looking for.
Do not weave irrelevant keywords into your content for the sake of including keywords; only include keywords that directly relate to the content.
Practices like “keyword stuffing” were common in the past, and some marketing professionals even recommended them. If you think your content might be implementing these outdated practices, it would be wise to make some changes to avoid being penalized after Google’s update rolls out. The bottom line is that strong SEO content is written by humans and for humans, and Google’s algorithm is making changes to match this.
Want help with your local business SEO?
At Scorpion, SEO is coded into our DNA. That is why we created Scorpion Ranking. Contact our team to learn more about our platform and how we are constantly working to keep up with Google’s algorithm updates so you don’t have to.
