The degree of reaction from my clients and I would assume the whole market will tend to fall into two camps. Those that accept the changes maybe complain a little and then carry on as before. Then there are those that embrace the changes and realize the opportunities that they offer.

You may have heard about something called Google Slaps. The term was invented for the slap in the face that some web sites received when Google made changes in its search algorithm. One day they could be top of the page, the next day Google has slapped them onto page three.

However, during changes to Google’s algorithm, we will have winners as well as losers. So, surely we need to make sure that we are always one of the winners?

Google has announced this month that they are working on a new Google update called Caffine. (I know, search engines that can not spell!)You can read it yourself from Google’s own Dev Blog here. Not only have they announced this, but they have also given access to a beta version, so you can see how this new proposed version will affect you. Google are even looking for feedback from customers.

Now, as business people, I believe there are two reasons why Google is giving all this effort to a new release. Firstly, it is actually great publicity. Secondly, it suggests Google is aware of the impact such changes can make, and is giving the opportunity for those that care to work with Google.

The conclusion of all this is simple. Take advantage of the information from Google and look at the content.  You must make sure you have a quality tracking application installed. Google Analytics is good, and is free, and I will not air my reservations here, but I do personally use something better (http://www.seowebtracker.com/).  You need to make sure you understand your current baseline. Not only the hard numbers of visitors, but also which keywords are bringing in the most visitors.

When Google implements this new update, you will need to look at the impact and find out which of your pages are winners, and which are losers. Then you will need to apply the lessons of the former on the latter. Of course, this time you could make some of those changes BEFORE Google makes it all live?

It does make sense that Google should consider high rankings to sites that are ‘recommended’ by links to you from other sites. The number of link creation companies and link ‘farms’ also show how effective people are finding this method.

So, if we are all so keen to find ways to build links, and pay for the privilege, why do so many sites give away free links to their web designers? A random sample of web sites listed in my leads database showed a significant number of sites have links at the bottom of their web pages to their web designers.

Maybe the owners are not aware that not only do links into your site boost your rankings, but there is significant evidence that ‘Page Rank’ and ‘Link Status’ can be past from one site to the next.

So, putting this into plain English, companies who can be paying to create links into their site, then pass on free links to web design companies. Thus giving away part of that link credibility.

If you do have a link at the end of your pages, then please ask your web design company why that have this. If they can not give a good reason, and if not, I suggest you remove the link and find a more reputable company for Search Engine Advice.

We would all like a quick and easy way to reach the top of search engines, but that stopped many years ago. Now if you want a top Google listing,  you work for it.  Or you can choose a phase so obscure that nobody else has ever thought of it!

So why do people fall for this. Because we all like it easy and if it is too good to be true we believe that it this is the exception. It never is.  For every Google there are millions of failed search engine ideas.

So, if you want to top the charts for Smoked Fish, then buy the domain smokedfish.com!

 

Google search for 'smokedfish'

Did you see my deliberate mistake. I put the search in as one word. So you want me to search ‘smoked fish’ instead?  Well that’s what I did next and  I regret that things get even worse for this ‘use the keyword’ theory.  Now the keyword included domains names are no where to be seen!  You may click on the second image to see the Google Listing.

Notice that andyrace.co.uk and 3men.com both achieve good positions for each listing. So they must be doing something else right then?

 Well that is all until for another time. It is obvious that when choosing a domain name, it is good to be able to include your best keywords for more effective listings. However, that is not enough to justify your top billing. A little more work is required.

You start finding Spam messages on your comments list.

So, make sure your Blog does not publish any comments until you have approved them. This is not cheating. Spam messages and other marketing messages are not what your Blog is for and reduce your message relevance both for users and Google. Interesting and relevant comments are something different. They enhance the listing and show that people not only read the post but want to contribute. Do not be afraid to comment on your own listings, either to reply to a comment made by somebody else, or maybe to offer up a link to another article which follows on.

Well, if you think about it for a moment, this concept makes perfect sense. What can be a better way to show a site of the quality, that makes it worth a top listing on Google? Google likes a recommendation from another quality web site on the same subject, by way of   links.

So there you have it – easy.

However, I hope you did pick up a few points I put in there.

• The link is the recommendation, so make the text of the link relevant.
• The site should be associated with the same subject. So a link on a listings page full of links is not going to count so well.

Let’s take a look at the most wasted phrase on the Internet.

“For more information click here.”

How many times do you see that on the web?  It is of little value because it does not say what the link is for. Please look up ‘click here’ on Google.  What you find is the download page for Adobe Acrobat. Why? Well quite simply because all those people with Adobe Acrobat files on their sites add a little comment similar to this.

If you do not have adobe acrobat reader installed then you can download it for free. For more information click here.

So Google therefore says that the Adobe Acrobat page is the most important for the keyword ‘click here’ If you look at the other Google listings on that page, you will see that many of the others are download pages which have made it there for the same reason.

OK, so back to your site and let’s sum up some good and bad links.

1. For the best Green Garden Chairs from JD Chairs, Click here.
2. Buy your green garden chars from JD Chairs.
3. JD Chairs is the place for Green Garden Chairs.

The results are;

1. Promotes click here so no good.
2. Promotes the company name, so still no good.
3. Promotes the product and key words – perfect.

One last comment on the subject of links. I did say that Google likes a site on the same subject. Well testing has shown that a link in the middle of a long section of text talking about the subject is better than a link hanging around on its own in a sidebar.

I know the temptation, you receive an email from an ‘Internet marketing Expert’ who claims he can beat Google. – Well you waste your money and I hope you don’t find the site blacklisted. They can tell you stories of all the money they made. Well that’s just from mugs like you.  Notice when their ‘amazing discovery’ has only been used to sell the one page web site that sells their product.

Seriously, it really is not worth the effort. Even if the tactic actually brings in a few extra visitors, you can be sure that Google will find our and stop it quickly. Except of course, if the tactic was not anything special in the first place. In that case then the only fool is this story in the one in the mirror.

Long term success is gained from following some simple rules.

• Be honest with your content, don’t be what you are not
• Provide good background information on your product or service. Customers love this as much as Google.
• Find good quality legitimate links. So, that’s links from other sites also interested in the same subject as you. 
• Keep updating your site. Not total rebuilds,  just regular updates.