You may have heard from the grapevine about Google’s new algorithm changes that hit the US in February and the UK just last week. So what do they mean for your seo projects and more importantly, your website rankings?

Google Panda update

The changes which are also known as the Panda update have affected websites in different ways, some gained rankings whilst others fell away to page umpteen oblivion. If your site saw a tumble then there is no point complaining about it. Google have a habit of not changing their minds.

The changes all boil down to one thing and that is quality. Many link farms, low quality sites with tons of copied content all bit the dust. But then so did established sites like Ezinearticles.com lost position as well.

Shallow sites that carry dubious content and allow anyone to publish anything have been hit. Some web2.0 properties that many use for seo have also suffered. Sites have basically been told to stop publishing low quality, small crap articles designed just to get search engine rankings.

It appears that sites such as those mentioned above also got hit because they allowed users to promote bad stuff such as pharmaceuticals, gambling etc. This has had an effect on the whole website which has got a good slapping.

It appears that low quality was hit but also the length (number of words) in the website content was also a factor. Is it a coincidence that Ezine are now upping the maximum word count for articles submitted?

So what can you do to achieve good rankings and avoid wasting your time? Well for a start write good quality content and post it on your own website or blog. Then post to select article and web2.0 sites that are still in vogue. Look at the length of the post, number of paragraphs etc. Add social networking features so your content gets tweeted on Twitter and liked on Facebook.

If you have a blog then people should be comenting on your posts. Are you linking out to other quality sites?

When it comes to backlinks then just make sure you diversify. If a particular area like article pages are suffering then your links from a Press Release may still be strong. For most people, this update will have no effect whatsoever and for the rest? Well they probably got what they deserved.

Some of you who have been around for a while may have heard of LSI or latent semantic indexing. Search engines have a method for sorting websites into the correct category and ranking for the right search terms. LSI is one way they achieve this aim, and if you know how to use it, then it can improve your websites position in the serps.

lsi for seo

So in a nutshell, latent semantic indexing is how the search engines associate words that are all similar or related to a certain topic. As an example, your website may be about plumbing. Google knows that the page should also contain related words, such as boilers, leaks, bathrooms, 24 hour callout, repair leaks etc.

This lets the search engines know what your subject is and how to organise the search terms. It knows that all the related words are refering to plumbing matters and not shopping or anything else. Once you have a list of related words and phrases, put them on pages of your website.

To find these related words pop over to the Google keyword tool and find all the related words the search engine finds relevant to the term. Then just use the words and phrases from your list to write or rewrite your content.

So instead of using traditional keyword percentages and density, use related phrases. Increasingly search engines are including LSI into search algorithms to evaluate your website pages better. And many experts now say that sites optimised for keywords can even rank lower as they are falsely over optimised.

Social media is becoming ever more important in the search results, especially if your logged into your Google account. You may have noticed an increase in emails, requests and gentle prods of persuasion from contacts wanting you to like them on Facebook or follow on Twitter.

GEt social networking to get more visits

The reason why is now clear if you perform a search on Google. They have always had a Social Search feature but it has now been ramped up. Now when looking at a standard search result you may be asked ” Results from people in your social circle for {search term here}.” This makes having contacts, friends and follows on all the social networks much more important.

Google say that:- “relevance isn’t just about pages – it’s also about relationships” so they are attaching a great deal more importance to social media and networking.

Imagine for example you sell sheds and have a Twitter and Facebook page on your website. You then blog about or tweet that your having a special offer on sheds this week. If anyone following you searches for sheds in Google, they may get your result on page one of Google simply because you are a contact of theirs.

This opens a lot of avenues for businesses that may not have the rankings they want. And also means you may find yourself getting a lot more friend requests.

Bad news if your shovelling a ton of money into PPC advertising, browsers are clicking on organic search engine results rather than the paid variety. The report which was compiled by User Centric shows what most people already know, organic is trusted more by buyers.

Organic seo is the way to go

The report looked at how users reacted to paid search ads on the big two search engines from Google and Bing, and the findings show that organic natural results are chosen in preference. Although some users take a look at the paid results/ads, everyone looks at the organic listings.

Interestingly the report showed that if you are going PPC then Google’s your search engine, as Google paid ads are looked/clicked at more than the Bing versions. For those that are into stats, users looking at paid ads look for less than a second (9/10ths) doing so on Google’s search results, compared to 7/10ths of a second for Bings.

All much of a muchness but when it comes to organic listings users take a mammoth 14.7 seconds perusing the results on Google. And Bing users spend 10.7 seconds on average looking. A rather obvious stst that came out showed that higher results get more attention, hmm did’nt need the report to tell us that one.

The report does help to emphasise how important organic seo is to your marketing efforts. I have always believed that the natural results tell users that the website is established and has a certain amount of trust. Anyone can put a site up and be number one for paid results but much more work is required for top organc listings.

So do you kick your pay per click campaign into touch. Well no, plenty of business can be gained from paid listings but a percentage of your budget should be spent on seo services so your ranking gets higher.

In the fight against website spamming their way to the top of the search engines, Google have revealed that they have made changes to their search algorithm which will remove the offending sites from their pages, and also punish websites that copy content.

The changes come after mounting criticism that Google are not doing enough and presenting users with irrelevant search results thanks to the many websites that use blackhat SEO techniques to influence search results.

Google getting tough on spam

In a Google blog post, Matt Cutts head of anti-spam said that Google are making a series of changes to their algorithm in a bid to reduce the levels of spam in search engine results. He also said that websites that have original unique content will benefit from the changes, getting better positions in their rankings.

Writing in his blog, Matt Cutts said:-

This was a pretty targeted launch: slightly over 2% of queries change in some way, but less than half a percent of search results change enough that someone might really notice. The net effect is that searchers are more likely to see the sites that wrote the original content rather than a site that scraped or copied the original site’s content.

So it all sounds good in theory, but what about in practise. I can still search for many terms and find blatantly spammy sites that use all kinds of dodgy techniques to achieve high rankings. But maybe we should wait for the results to kick in before making judgements.

Google Places For Local Business

One seo technique you really want to get to grips with is listing your business on Google Local Business Centre, or as it is now known Google Places. It can help you achieve page 1 rankings for numerous keyphrases.

Google Places is basically a business Directory, but the biggest directory on Earth. Not only is it tied in with Google Maps, so that everytime someone looks at a map your business could be there. It also means your business could show up on any of the millions of mobile phone/tablet users as well.

Google Places is a must do seo task

If you have’nt already, then claim your business listing now. Or contact us to do the job for you. Everyday millions of people search for local businesses just like yours using Google Maps. And best of all, the service is free to use except for a little bit of time and know how.

Google Places

When entered, your business listings will show up in Google everytime someone types a local search (eg. Basildon Plumbers or car dealers Brentwood etc.). Because Google are becoming very focused on narrow searches, the Google Places listings tend to be shown before the organic web results are.  This means that you really do need to get a share of that search engine traffic.

All you have to do is submit your website and enter additional information such as pictures, video,voucher codes etc.

How To Submit Your Business To Google Places

If you want to get registered then just follow these easy steps:-

1. First of all sign up for Gmail account if you dont already have one
2. Now go to the holy grail that is Google Places and proceed to the registration area.
3. Now just fill out all the information, and dont scrimp. The more information that gets entered increases your score and position in places.
4. When finished, you will need to verify who you are, either by phone or a postcard mailed to you. Mail takes forever and phone is instant, so use the phone option.
5. Thats it, you will be listed usually within hours.

There are other things you can do with your listing including adding voucher codes and sending messages to your potential buyers, and you can upload more videos and photos. These however are the basic steps to take. If you really want the listing to drag in the traffic, your account will need some seo and maintenance just like your website.

We offer a full Google Places listing service, that includes:-

- Set up your dedicated Google Places listing
- Add content including video and pictures
- Monthly updates and managment
- Full seo work to put you on top and make sure you can be found on Google Maps

Dont forget, your listings will show up on computers and mobile phones, laptops and tablet pc’s as well so it’s well worth the effort. Check out our guide to get listed in local directories. Every day we put off things because we are too busy, but make the time to put your business on the map.

SEO not dead, just diversifying

Many commentators are saying that traditional seo is dying, with the array of new advertising methods and platforms available. Mobile phones, tablet pc’s, Google pushing local search to the front pages etc.

However, you must remember that whatever device your potential customer is using to search, the results will still be search engine based. Local results being emphasised just means you need to add local search into the seo mix.

In 2011, SEO campaigns will still be of great importance in your marketing strategy. In 2010 many aspects of SEO that were most important will just be relegated and taken over by new seo methods. Such as local search, social networking and optimising your website for the mobile market.

As for search engines, Google will remain the daddy, but Bing will continue to grab market share (40% up already since launch), Yahoo is losing share so is not considered as important as the big two.

SEO Training

Webworx Limited are happy to announce their revamped SEO website, which will offer improved services for business users and companies looking to create an online marketing strategy, including SEO Training for companies or individuals.

The website showcases the services of SKS Services, who are part of the Webworx Limited group. The new website has a new, cleaner, easier to navigate template implemented across all pages. As well as being easier to navigate, the pages also load more quickly due to streamlined coding. We also have an expanded set of case studies and testimonials from customers.

SKS Services have also launched a new services which can help businesses grow easier and faster online using inhouse SEO work. We now offer SEO Training, including training in-house or our training centre in Chelmsford, Essex. We also are compiling a series of seo video’s. Our seo experts can train your business and/or employee’s to carry out seo work for the company thereby saving ongoing monthly charges.

Talking about the changes, Steve Sanger, Managing Director of Webworx Limited said:- “The new website marks a turning point in the SKS Services function. Previously we offered a much broader range of services, but we are now narrowing down to SEO as our primary function. The new look makes the site easier to use for visitors, with the new services on offer and the testimonials, customers will be able to make a better judgement on the company. There will be many more improvments and new services on offer in the cominag months.”

Seo training makes sense for any business because it will give you an insight into what is involved in achieving top rankings and will help you become more seo self-sufficient.