how to take advantage of google changes in 2014
DESCRIPTION
Google has introduced lots of changes in the last few months. This presentation will take you through the changes and how to take advantage of them. Protect yourself against future Google penalties, and know the RIGHT way to build links in 2014. Love or Hate Matt Cutts? Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and when you've been hit by a Google penalty it can be easy to hate, but it's usually for good reason. Google is constantly making changes to try and deliver better search results to users. Sometimes these updates can have negative effects, but most of the time they do actually improve the search quality for people searching on Google. Hummingbird - Google algorithm update has built a capability to understand conversational search queries much better than before. Ability to effectively address conversational queries and match content based on synonyms Nothing has changed. If you have original, high-quality content, and you have high-quality and relevant websites linking to your own website, then your website is still going to rank well. If anything, your website's rankings will improve just as they should have after the Penguin and Panda updates rolled out. Think about topics rather than keywords when considering content creation. What questions does the page answer? Are there synonyms for the topic that can be used on the page? Hire qualified, capable people for both writing and SEO. Just because someone is good at SEO doesn't mean they can write copy that is clear and compelling, and most writers aren't trained to do SEO. Not all sunshine and rainbows - plenty of people have been hit by penalties from previous "cheap" SEO efforts. Even if it was done 5 or 6 years ago, it can still hurt you NOW. So far I've removed 5 (out of 5) manual penalties. Hitting some big players now - Expedia, Interflora etc. Penalties can mean lots of lost revenue - if you're not on page 1, nobody will find you. PPP sites = Porn, pills or poker. Only keep quality sites - if in doubt, throw it out. Keep a spreadsheet with all your link cleanup so you can submit this to Google with your reconsideration request. Matt Cutts has announced war against poor quality guest blogging. Slide 27 is the perfect example of how to get your request for a guest post IGNORED. It's clearly written by an outsourced SEO that hasn't bothered to read any content on my website. What's in it for me? How would it benefit me/my readers? Where's the unique/useful/interesting angle? If the author had even bothered to look at my website, he would've seen that I already have a comprehensive guide on this topic. Link building outreach - use personality e.g. the Doug DeMuro example. Much better cut through - remember it's a real person with a real personality that you're trying to connect with! Read the rest at http://digitalgrowth.com.au/google-changes-2014-penalties-guest-blogging/TRANSCRIPT
Luke Chapman @DigiGrow / @s13_eisbaer
WHAT’S NEW?• Hummingbird
• More penalties
• Guest Blogging Targeted• Keywords (not provided)
• No more PageRank
HUMMINGBIRD• Conversational queries
• Matches content based on synonyms
• Preparing for voice search?
Penguin 2012
Unnatural Links Manual Penalty 2013
The best place to hide a dead body
is page 2 of Google search results.
STEP #1FIND ALL LINKS• Google Webmaster Tools• Open Site Explorer (Moz)• Majestic SEO• Link Detox
STEP #2ASSESS ALL LINKS
• PPP = INSTANT REMOVE• Low quality article sites = REMOVE• Blog network = REMOVE• Any doubts? = REMOVE
STEP #3ASK FOR REMOVAL• Find contact info for sites• Ask for link removal or “nofollow”• Record details and dates in Google
Docs spreadsheet
STEP #4DISAVOW LINKS
• Submit disavow list to Google• Can take several weeks to take effect
STEP #5RECONSIDERATION
REQUEST• Explain your situation honestly• Beg, plead, grovel, cry• Wait…
DENIED
STEP #6TRY, TRY AGAIN
• Continue link clean-up• Wait for disavow list to process• Re-word reconsideration request• Cross your fingers, toes, etc
Automate
APPROVED
STEP #6BUILD NEW LINKS
• Links that helped before are GONE• Build new, QUALITY links to replace• EARN links instead of “building”
Building Quality Links
in 2014
Guest Bloggingin 2014
• Subject line doesn’t warrant opening
• Doesn’t address the recipient by name
• Not personalised in any way – they clearly know nothing about the website
What’s Wrong With
This Picture?
Hi,I’m Ella!
LESSON #1Contacting people out of the blue and asking for links DOESN’T WORK…
…UNLESS
Guest Posting Tips• Know your target – topic/style• Address the person by name• Provide a benefit to them & readers
(write something interesting)• Link out to other sites• Don’t link from an “Author Bio”• Don’t use spammy anchor text
Here’s the best kept secret to
building quality links…
Create timeless content
It’s OK to link out!
OptimiseExisting
Rankings• Rich Snippets• Titles• Descriptions
Search Marketing
Want to ensure your marketing
efforts are as good as they should be?
Do 1 ThingGet an independent,
external audit every 12 months to find out where you’re really going wrong.
What We Found• One campaign targeting both search
and display networks.• One ad displaying for many “broad
match” keywords.• Too many or too few ads in a
campaign.• WATCH YOUR QUALITY SCORE
What We Found• Ad rotation settings
What We Found• Broad and Phrase match causing
keyword overlap• Bids poorly optimised
Results?Before: Losing money on PPC ads
After: 300% ROI
Don’t Count On SEO
Penguin 2012
Unnatural Links Manual Penalty 2013
Redistribute Your Eggs• AdWords/PPC advertising• Re-targeting• White label B2B partners• Affiliate marketing• Offline advertising• E-mail marketing• Referral marketing• Public Relations/Media• Link building for traffic (not SEO)• Twitter outreach
Luke Chapman @DigiGrow / @s13_eisbaer