Content and
Google:
Google's SEO
Advice For Your
Website: Content
The web pages
actually at the
top of Google
have only one
thing clearly in
common: good
writing. Don't
get so caught up
in the usual SEO
sacred cows and
bugbears, such
as PageRank,
frames, and
Javascript, that
you forget your
site's content.
I was
recently struck
by the fact that
the top-ranking
web pages on
Google are
consistently
much better
written than the
vast majority of
what one reads
on the web.
Of course,
that shouldn't
be a surprise,
considering how
often officials
at Google
proclaim the
importance of
good content.
Yet traditional
SEO wisdom has
little to say
about good
writing.
Does Google,
the world's
wealthiest media
company, really
ignore
traditional
standards of
quality in the
publishing
world? Does
Google, like so
many website
owners, really
get so caught up
in the process
of the algorithm
that it misses
the whole point?
Apparently
not.
Most Common
On-the-Page
Website Content
Success Features
Whatever the
technical
mechanism,
Google is doing
a pretty good
job of
identifying
websites with
good content and
rewarding them
with high
rankings.
I looked at
Google's top
five pages for
the five most
searched-on
keywords, as
identified by
WordTracker on
June 27, 2005.
Typically, the
top five pages
receive an
overwhelming
majority of the
traffic
delivered by
Google.
The web pages
that contained
written content
(a small but
significant
portion were
image galleries)
all shared the
following
features:
Updating:
frequent
updating of
content, at
least once every
few weeks, and
more often, once
a week or more.
Spelling and
grammar: few or
no errors. No
page had more
than three
misspelled words
or four
grammatical
errors. Note:
spelling and
grammar errors
were identified
by using
Microsoft Word's
check feature,
and then ruling
out words marked
as misspellings
that are either
proper names or
new words that
are simply not
in the
dictionary. Does
Google use
SpellCheck? I
can already hear
the scoffing on
the other side
of this computer
screen. Before
you dismiss the
idea completely,
keep in mind
that no one
really does know
what the 100
factors in
Google's
algorithm are.
But whether the
mechanism is
SpellCheck or a
better shot at
link popularity
thanks to great
credibility, or
something else
entirely, the
results remain
the same.
Paragraphs:
primarily brief
(1-4 sentences).
Few or no long
blocks of text.
Lists: both
bulleted and
numbered, form a
large part of
the text.
Sentence
length: mostly
brief (10 words
or fewer).
Medium-length
and long
sentences are
sprinkled
throughout the
text rather than
clumped
together.
Contextual
relevance: text
contains
numerous terms
related to the
keyword, as well
as stem
variations of
the keyword.
SEO Bugbears
and Sacred CowsA
hard look at the
results shows
that,
practically
speaking, a
number of SEO
bugbears and
sacred cows may
matter less to
ranking than
good content.
PageRank. The
median PageRank
was 4. One page
had a PageRank
of 0. Of course,
this might
simply be yet
another
demonstration
that the little
PageRank number
you get in your
browser window
is not what
Google's algo is
using. But if
you're one of
those people who
attaches an
overriding value
to that little
number, this is
food for
thought.
Frames. The
top two web
pages listed for
the most
searched-on
keyword employ
frames. Frames
may still be a
bad web design
idea from a
usability
standpoint, and
they may ruin
your search
engine rankings
if your site's
linking system
depends on them.
But there are
worse ways you
could shoot
yourself in the
foot.
JavaScript-formatted
internal links.
Most of the
websites use
Javascript for
their internal
page links.
Again, that's
not the best web
design practice,
but there are
worse things you
could do.
Links: Most
of the web pages
contained ten or
more links; many
contained over
30, in defiance
of the SEO
bugbears about
"link popularity
bleeding."
Moreover, nearly
all the pages
contained a
significant
number of
non-relevant
links. On many
pages,
non-relevant
links
outnumbered
relevant ones.
Of course, it's
not clear what
benefit the
website owners
hope to get from
placing
irrelevant links
on pages. It has
been a proven
way of lowering
conversion rates
and losing
visitors. But
Google doesn't
seem to care if
your website
makes money.
Originality:
a significant
number of pages
contained
content copied
from other
websites. In all
cases, the
content was
professionally
written content
apparently
distributed on a
free-reprint
basis. Note: the
reprint content
did not consist
of content
feeds. However,
no website
consisted solely
of free-reprint
content. There
was always at
least a
significant
portion of
original
content, usually
the majority of
the page.
Recommendations:
Make sure a
professional
writer, or at
least someone
who can tell
good writing
from bad, is
creating your
site's content,
particularly in
the case of a
search-engine
optimization
campaign. If you
are an SEO, make
sure you get a
pro to do the
content. A
shocking number
of SEOs write
incredibly
badly. I've even
had clients
whose websites
got fewer
conversions or
page views after
their SEOs got
through with
them, even when
they got a sharp
uptick in unique
visitors. Most
visitors simply
hit the "back"
button when
confronted with
the unpalatable
text, so the
increased
traffic is just
wasted
bandwidth.
If you write
your own
content, make
sure that it
passes through
the hands of a
skilled copy
editor or writer
before going
online.
Update your
content often.
It's important
both to add new
pages and update
existing pages.
If you can't
afford original
content, use
free-reprint
content.
Distribute
your content to
other websites
on a
free-reprint
basis. This will
help your
website get
links in
exchange for the
right to publish
the content. It
will also help
spread your
message and
enhance your
visibility.
Fears of a
"duplicate
content penalty"
for free-reprint
content (as
opposed to
duplication of
content within a
single website)
are unjustified.
In short, if
you have a
mature website
that is already
indexed and
getting traffic,
you should
consider making
sure the bulk of
your investment
in your website
is devoted to
its content,
rather than
graphic design,
old-school
search-engine
optimization, or
linking
campaigns.
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