How Google Panda Search Engine Optimization Messed Me Up

I created screenshots, edited paragraphs and created what was already over 10 pages of content (in Microsoft Word)…and yes, I was planning to drop all that content onto one post. I was almost ready to go, and then it happened…

The Google Panda Update

Google Panda is the nickname given to the most recent Google algorithm update that drop kicked thousands of websites off their perch atop the search rankings and erased as much as 80% of their traffic overnight. Even very well established websites like Ezinearticles.com and tons of other previously high traffic websites were affected.

Click on the Infographic below for a history of Google algorithm updates (and attitudes):

Infographic by SEO Book

The truth is that Ezinearticles featured heavily in the link-building phase of my strategy, and I just felt very uncomfortable with publicly pushing that strategy until I figured out what would happen in the aftermath of the pummeling ezinearticles.com and others took.

Google Slap XXXV – Google Algorithm Update Difficulties

For me, the primary challenge of Google Panda is (was?) that over 107 articles authored by me and hosted on article directory websites suddenly lost their online visibility, which means that the web publishers and ezine owners I depend on to republish my articles and link to my website just don’t see these articles as much.

Some pretty authoritative sources accused Google of maybe not playing fair when the updates first happened. Aaron Wall, for one was quite vocal about his perceived “Demand Media Google bias”, but also documented the vicious hit Google later unleashed on Demand Media.

In his view, Google was forced to go after Demand Media (Ehow.com, in particular), or risk lasting damage to its brand!

The challenge in all this, is that many small web publishers also saw their search rankings take a direct hit. Those who escaped (like most SBi! customer websites whose traffic actually INCREASED 3% on average), tended to emphasize original, creative, first person content with very distinctive voice.

As for me, and my 100+ articles on directories, over 90% of these high quality articles took a sharp dive in traffic after the initial Google panda update, and yet many web pages that automatically (and nonsensically) scraped content from these articles are still showing up atop search engine results pages after panda!

Tell me how that makes sense…

At least there are rumors that Google is about to take them out soon.

Another thing about timing of the hit is that I had planned to re-publish the same content to my website, which would have resulted in over 100 pages of great relevant content, and all written by me! Unfortunately, this update has made clear that having a website dominated by content that can also be found elsewhere is now a fairly dangerous SEO practice. Regardless of authorship.

In any case, since I spent quite a bit of time researching the effects of the Google Panda update on this website and others, I have some recommendations to share with you now.

Post-Panda SEO Tips

1. The “Quality Content” standard has changed

   Just writing an article with topical relevance is no longer good enough. Is it bringing something new and unique that the current page 1 results don’t? Does it have enough voice, personality, tools (like infographs) to bring another dimension of value to searchers for that term? If not, try again.

 

2. Deep, not wide

   Deep relevance is hot. As in, “deeper into your website topic domain”. The theme-based content websites that Dr. Evoy first pioneered with his classic book, “Make Your Site Sell” will apparently stand the test of time in search. Your website content should be within the same domain – don’t have articles on “how to remodel your kitchen” on your social media themed website. 

   Don’t be a content farm – that’s who Panda was aimed at. And don’t specialize in “me-too” content because Google users can now block you from their results, and this is what probably took down Ehow.com (Demand Media). You won’t pass manual reviews after you get hit with a nasty Google algorithm update.

3. Video Marketing Rules…Unless You’re in “Make Money” Niches

   If you’ve been dancing around your webcam and avoiding your youtube account, it’s time to shape up. You should be working on your video content editorial calendar right now, as we speak. Target your top 100 keywords and their variants for your videos, make sure your videos are creative and relevant, and that they provide actionable information in less than 2 minutes (for Youtube in particular).

 

4. Guest Blogging & Guest “Contributor” Writing Are In

   If you’re a locally themed business, like say, a “Tampa Credit Repair company“, or a “Denver Marriage Counselor”, you should be concentrating on other local websites or other blogs themed around where you are or what your expertise is. 

   Finding these websites can be as simple as logging on to your personal Google machine (at www.google.com), and searching for something like ["Guest post" + Denver] (if you’re looking for Denver blogs that accept guest posts) and other searches like that. Scan the results and contact them after reviewing their blogs for fit. Of course there’s much more on this topic.

 

5. Get Beyond SEO Pt 1 – Become a Content Marketer

   If you have followed the history of Google algorithm updates, or studied the infograph above, you’ll quickly come to the conclusion that there’s a lot of fools gold in “flavor of the month SEO”. Unless your average customer value is enough to justify paying professional SEO consultants to win that particular arms race, you had better concentrate more on content marketing than on stand-alone SEO! 

   What does this mean? Well, it means that if you market directly to consumers, you should be on Facebook, youtube, and twitter. It means you should be creating ebooks, resource guides, interactive marketing channels, webinars and teleseminars.

   And if you are a B2B marketer, it means that you should be doing multichannel marketing online – combining organic seo with email marketing, and social media strategies like Linkedin Groups and Webinar programs. It means you should consider having a strong contributor presence on the major trade association websites and networks where your target decision makers hang out online.

   Finally, for you B2B marketers, it means that your online marketing should be executed within the framework of a strategic plan that accounts for the necessary investments in tools like marketing automation platforms that will make your online presence a true profit center and strategic differentiator. Don’t go half-way in your internet marketing strategy…you’ll just put yourself at risk from your more forward thinking competitors!

 

6. Get Beyond SEO Part 2 -Become a Brand Name

   There’s a great cliche which has guided decision makers for decades (if not longer). It says,
   

   “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em…”

   There are some bloggers and experts who would purport to tell you how to “beat Google”. Unless you own more than the estimated 1 million computer servers that power the Google search box, you haven’t a prayer of beating Google. And we haven’t even counted having some of the best “search minds” money can lease. Ask yourself, “Can I afford to pay a staff engineer $3.5 million dollars to keep him from leaving?”

   I didn’t think so.

   You can’t beat Google. You need to think about “joining ‘em”. How? Well, the closest thing you can do is to leverage Google properties (youtube, blogger, Adwords PPC), and become a brand name in your niche as fast and as aggressively as possible.

   Some industry experts argued (quite persuasively) that Google was favoring big brands with its supposedly algorithm-driven Florida update a while back, and I think there’s a lot of truth there. It just makes business sense.

   So the two things we can assume will be true about Google long into the future of its search leadership (if it persists) are that:

   • Google loves theme-focused websites with highly relevant, original content.
   • Google makes money from advertising ($20 billion+ annually) and will favor big brands.

   One important thing to note about this love of brand is that it applies to both “big money” brands and “big reach” brands. Not only will the BMWs of the world get outsized Google love, industry niche leaders and influencers will also get respect from Google.

   There’s some important SEO advice I once read (unfortunately, I’ve forgotten the source). It goes something like this.

   
   

   “Market your website as if Google doesn’t exist. But optimize your website as though it does.”

   This means that you should be doing all the online and offline activities that you would ordinarily have done before the search engines were ever sophisticated enough to find you. Leverage both. Ride the search engines and ride your off page (and offline) branding. Just Do It!