There’s Another Google CORE Update in Progress

And I, for one am not the slightest bit worried about it. Whilst some SEO’s may be a little uneasy about what the update will do to the rankings they have won for their clients, I am not. I say this as I firmly believe that I am on the same page as Google in all the areas that count. I am not saying that the sites I have optimised are 100% correct, but then again, I have never, in 23 years, seen a site that has ever got near to that figure. But that does not worry me either. I work with the Pareto 80 / 20 rule in mind, whilst also KNOWING that if you concentrate on just three areas, that a website will be able to obtain rankings and traffic that hitherto it could only dream of. The 80 / 20 SEO Rule I am sure that some other SEO experts will decry my way of working, but putting it into context, I do not work with clients that have bottomless pockets. This means that I have to spend their money in the most cost effective way, and that is just what I do. And I get results too. I could spend time sorting out the many minor issues with their pages (and don’t get me wrong, these do count), but I would far rather deal with the major issues instead. The Three Things I said I was not worried about the update, but what is a Core Update anyway? To explain, over the years Google must have updated its algorithm thousands of times. In the beginning, many were counters to slick SEO practices like massive linking projects, keyword stuffing, and even such tricks as putting white copy on a white background to add keywords to a page. All of these tricks (which I never employed from day 1) have fallen by the wayside, but it took Google a long time to kill them off with updates about page quality (Panda) and suspect linking practices (Penguin). These days, Google seems to be concentrating mainly on one area, that of Quality of content, and in my opinion these ‘Core’ updates are all about Google tuning its rule set to favour sites that do indeed meet the user intent of a query / provide good information. The ‘Quality’ Google are looking for goes far beyond using the right keywords on a page, indeed, it goes beyond the page itself. Nowadays THE ENTIRE SITE is tested and the results of that added to the score of each page. You see, every page has to fight for its own listings, but if it does not have the ‘support’ of the rest of the site, it is highly likely to fail to rank. But don’t worry, all you have to do is to create useful, helpful content that proves to Google that you can help your potential customers, place this on a site that is fast and easy to use and then get enough backlinks to the domain so that Google trusts what it finds. All of this is not rocket science, but it does take time and commitment. But the thing is, if a sufficient level of time and commitment is not forthcoming, it is highly likely that the site will fail to gain the rankings it wants. In such instances, many will blame the SEO company, or claim that SEO itself is a load of rubbish. Basically, this is totally unfair to all parties, simply put, insufficient effort will result in an insufficient result. Don’t Do Half a Job Putting it more simply still, only carry out an SEO project if you are going to commit enough resources. Doing half a job is simply not worth it and the whole thing is likely to end in tears. That is not to say that you need to spend many thousands of pounds, but it is not what you would call a cheap option either. In the end it all depends on whether you want what SEO has to offer, that is access to a whole new world, a world where your customers visit most days of the week and once there start to actively search for your products and services. What SEO is Really All About… To win the business, you have to convince them that you are their best bet, but you can only do this once they know you exist and that, is really what SEO is all about, ensuring your potential customers can find you in the first place… Want to know more from the 80 / 20 SEO ‘Google Relationship’ manager, then please contact me on graham@somltd.co.uk DM me or call 01981 259 885

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