As we demand more relevant content when searching for information online, search engines strive to update their algorithms to meet our needs. In 2011, as a response to our changing needs, Google rolled out the Panda update which made some significant changes to their algorithm structure. Since the Panda change was introduced, it has gone through many updates, affecting millions of websites.
DO THESE RANKING FACTORS AFFECT YOUR SITE?
Fresh Content:
There is a popular phrase in online marketing, “Content is King.” The idea is that creating new, fresh and valuable content keeps people returning to your site and increases your search engine rank. A search engine considers popular and new content more relevant, ranking it higher. The same rules are applied to Panda’s search; fresh content will rank higher than older content. Another option is to use a blog. If updated regularly, a blog works wonders for your ranking. A blog offers visitors the option to comment and share your blog entries to their personal networks. Allowing people to share your content to social media sites produces a ton of exposure.
Duplicate Content:
It is important to note that if your site contains duplicate content originally sourced from other sites, Google will penalize it by dropping its search rank. To check if this applies to your site copy and paste a few sentences from your site into Google search to see if another site comes up. If so, it is time to update your content!
Code:
Websites are developed using various web codes, or languages places in a series of sentences. It is this code that search engine spiders crawl, read and index your website. Using the information the search engine has found, your site is ranked according to relevant queries. High quality code is essential to increase your ranking. Think of code like food for search engine spiders—the better it tastes, the more they will recommend it to others and come back to feast.
Social Media:
Search engines are becoming more like humans when rating the relevance, popularity, and quality of sites. Therefore, they look at how many people are sharing links to your site on their social networking profiles. The more popular you are in the social media world, the better you will rank. is yout
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