Google Panda landed in the UK on the 9\/4\/2011 and immediately and dramatically changed the way SEO agencies do link building.<\/p>\n
Google’s Panda update was a major algorithm change that affected almost 12 percent of all search results, and the web is still buzzing about the implications which include dramatic losses for some companies (Mahalo, Suite 101), and gains by some established sites known for high-quality information.<\/p>\n
In the pre-Panda days one of the primary ways we performed link building was by producing a number of articles to place on strong article sites and on good-looking resources like squidoo.<\/p>\n
But now with the Panda update, Orchid Box has immediately stopped any article marketing activity and instead refocussed our efforts on unique and strong content within the site (obviously this was always the case, but even more prevalent now) and guest blogging is becoming a good alternative to supplement the\u00a0shortfall in inbound link equity.<\/p>\n
Here are our SEO strategies both pre and post-Panda:<\/p>\n
Article marketing constituited 30% of our Online Marketing strategy.<\/p>\n
Article marketing is now dead, online PR has been hit slightly, and the key is now creating more and more viral \/ social content. Guest blogging is now increasingly important for our actions.<\/p>\n
The web at moment is abuzz with theories and conclusions that have been drawn since the update – here are just a few good ones we’ve selected:<\/p>\n
1. Ensure your content is unique and useful \u2013 there\u2019s nothing terribly new here (good content has always been best practice) but it does seem that Google has tightened the ship slightly on duplicate content and thin-content pages<\/p>\n
2. Ensure there is a good amount of value added to users above the fold on your page \u2013 value here is a difficult concept to nail down algorithmically but for your site it should be fairly easy to figure out. Perhaps consider using a service like feedback army to test your site with random people. Ask them some of the questions that Google ask \u2013 would you put credit card details into this site? Do you trust this site? If the answers don\u2019t give a positive response \u2013 keep going with adding value (or making the value added clearer!).<\/p>\n
3. Get rid of aggressive ads and images that look like ad blocks. Whether it\u2019s adsense, kontera, banner ads or just large images that look like ads \u2013 make sure they don\u2019t take precedence over your content.<\/p>\n
4. Re-design your site to make it look like a web 2.0 site. Did I really just say that? Yes, I did. Because Google\u2019s algorithms are now based on what people want to see, not where the actual value is \u2013 so you need to fit in. If your site is the ugly one the you\u2019re far more likely to get hit than if your site is good looking.<\/p>\n
5. Make your site look more trusted. This has always been a good thing \u2013 it helps conversion rates \u2013 but you should ensure you have a good about page, privacy policy, contact page etc to ensure people feel comfortable using your site.<\/p>\n
Orchid Box has launched a new\u00a0\u00a0to replace article marketing links.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Google Panda landed in the UK on the 9\/4\/2011 and immediately and dramatically changed the way SEO agencies do link building. Google’s Panda update was a major algorithm change that affected almost 12 percent of all search results, and the web is still buzzing about the implications which include dramatic losses for some companies (Mahalo, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1150,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"yoast_head":"\n