Pick up a Penguin – Best practise for Optimisation

Earlier in the year Google announced another major change to its algorithm as it stated that, "site wide links, would no longer be ranked as high as single on-page links".

People ask me all the time, “How can I get my site to the top of Google?” The answer is not complex nor is it difficult and its certainly not worth paying SEO companies a fortune for. It’s just a case of following a few basic guidelines and ensuring that you stick to them. Sure, patience is everything and it will likely take you at least 6 months of hard work to get your site to the top of search, but the rewards are enormous.

Over 95% of consumers begin their purchasing behaviour with a Google search. If your business is ranking on page 1, then you’re in line to pick up a significant amount of business.

So what’s changed since the penguin update?

Firstly, content is king. So don’t try and trick the search engines by using any untoward keyword stuffed content. Use a varied amount of synonyms associated with your key term and make sure that you’ve properly tagged your webpage. <h1>, <h2> and <h3> tags are still all applicable on titles and should contain your key term. Page titles and meta descriptions are still equally as important.

The major change that Penguin has introduced is the removal of the value of site wide links or those annoying websites that offer purchased links. The solution for companies looking for more link juice is viral marketing – getting your customers talking and letting them build the links for you. Using social media is critical for the future of SEO as social links now rank the same as general keyword rich backlinks.

For more information about Search Engine Optimisation view our Rank Higher page.