August 13 2013
Did you know that Google updated their search algorithm this past May? In fact, Penguin 2.0 affected a reported 2.3 percent of search queries.
What is Penguin 2.0 and what is its impact on real estate professionals? Good question. Now that the dust has settled, here's a look at some of the key changes and what you can do to make sure that your website continues to rank well.
Aside from being an adorable, flightless bird that's permanently dressed for a black-tie event, Penguin is the term for Google search algorithm updates that address issues that stem from spamdexing via 'black hat' SEO techniques.
SEO techniques that violate Google's Webmaster Guidelines and artificially boost search engine rankings are considered black hat tactics. These include actions like keyword stuffing, spamming unrelated blogs with comments, buying links and more.
White hat SEO techniques are practices that promote link sharing and your website organically. For example, by authoring unique, relevant content that other people want to share and also sharing quality content you are participating in white hat SEO.
Google's recent update was orchestrated "to help searchers find sites that provide a great user experience and fulfill their information needs." White hat SEO practices help promote sites with relevant, authentic and unique content. This is good for both searchers and search engines.
When you search, you want to find sites that are experts on whatever word or term you searched. Sites that use black-hat SEO to artificially boost their relevance probably aren't going to contain the genuinely useful information you're looking for.
This update is all about aligning search with real-life best practices for businesses. People want to visit businesses and websites that provide a good user experience and have the product or services they need. For real estate websites in particular, it means three things:
If you try black hat SEO tactics and buy links, you may see success in the short term, but Google's evolving algorithm will eventually find and penalize your site. Your best bet is to work on making your real estate website the local authority and promote it using white hat strategies. Want to read more about Penguin 2.0? Click here.
Have you noticed any change in search engine traffic since Penguin 2.0 took effect?
To view the original article, visit the Point2 Agent blog.