3 Things to Know About the New Panda
Google has done it again. They’ve given their search engine algorithm another makeover with the latest Panda update. The revamp, Google claims, was a way to eliminate the low quality, spammy, content floating around on the Internet. The residual effects were felt by many bloggers – for better or for worse. Here’s what you can do if the big, bad Panda has made a mess of your website. 1. Get your code up-to-date. It doesn’t make sense. Your once highly trafficked site has gone from 90 to 5 in 24 hours. If this sounds familiar, you may want to check your code to see if you’re using outdated or deprecated HTML tags, CSS attributes, javascript functions, etc. Nate Kinkead, Development Manager, gave me a good example. If you are hosting your blog using the code from WordPress.org, for example, and have not upgraded to the latest version or been performing the updates, you may be due. If you have a blog hosted at WordPress.com, on the other hand, they take care of the software updates so you should be sitting pretty (assuming your content is useful). 2. Get good grammar. Shakespeare would’ve cringed at some of the content we see daily on the Web. Fortunately, we don’t have to be versed like Mr. William to be considered a good writer these days. But we should, at the very least, aspire to be reputable sources of information rather than merely write content for the sake of writing content (Think content farming and link-building). It takes longer to compose something worth reading so don’t worry if you’re not posting as frequently. Just make sure you’re posting smartly. 3. Rethink written blogs. I love the written word just as much as the next Content Strategist. But to continue drawing visitors, you’ve got to get out of your comfort zone and try new things. Creating videos is one such way. Jupiter research recently stated that one minute of quality video is equal to 1.8 million words. No, you haven’t been wasting your time as a blogger, but these days, there’s no denying the world has video on the brain. A few things to keep in mind with video content: • Video icons, like on Google, work well to generate traffic. Integrate these into your video content plan. • Get on multiple channels. • And of course, keep creating original, educational material. The good thing about the Internet and the ever-changing algorithm is that it keeps us technology fiends on our toes. There’s always room for more cowbell, er, content; we just have to make it count. Plus, you know that pesky Panda is bound to get bored sometime in the near future and start planning the next algorithm upset. You’d best be prepared!  Leave a Reply |
