Google to Penalise Over Optimisation
Last week during an interview at SXSW, Google’s head of search spam Matt Cutts revealed that the search giant is set to unleash algorithm changes aimed at crippling websites in search results that “over optimiseâ€.
Uh oh. If your business is involved in spammy techniques that Google deems as over-optimisation, prepare for a slap down the rankings ladder.
But before you all panic and flood my inbox, let’s take a quick look at the types of the techniques Google may be targeting in this next algorithm update set to roll out over the next month.
- Non-organic link exchanges
- Nonsensical, disjointed, keyword stuffed content
- Pages built for Google’s bots and not for users
Because some of these outdated and spammy techniques can work in the short-term, many of the SEO practices based on building a great site have fallen by the wayside in favor of a ‘mathematical-equation’ approach to SEO.
These changes are Google’s attempts to “level the playing field†and reward great websites that provide great content without having to resort to dubious SEO practices.
Just this week Google released a great new video that exposes the mistakes many websites make with their approach to SEO.
The mistakes Google highlights in the video include:
- Working on a site without a value proposition
- Working on SEO in a segmented & disjointed manner instead of a holistic approach that considers the entire user experience
- Putting effort into time consuming workarounds rather than discovering new Google features and best practices that can help your site and users
- Getting caught in SEO trends that may have once worked, but are no longer effective. EG: Keyword stuffing
- Moving too slow to adopt new features and seize new opportunities in an industry that is always evolving.
If you think your site may run afoul of any of the mistakes Google has highlighted, you should be placing your SEO on life support and reassessing your strategy before Google takes you for a ride in a month’s time.
That’s it for this week guys. Feel free to send me any questions to [email protected] and make sure you’re signed up to the mailing list here so we can keep you updated as these changes roll out!
Jim’s been here for a while, you know who he is.
