There have been several reports that indicate that Google may be altering its famed algorithm yet again, to continue to favor websites with high-quality content over those that work hard to incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) strategies into their daily and permanent content. While search engine marketing for small business campaigns, such as keywords, is a great way to rise up a bit in the rankings, high-quality content is a long-term priority to sustain a company's online presence.
Last year, Google released a list of 23 bullet point questions in an attempt to get people to better understand what it meant by "high-quality."
"Our advice for publishers continues to be to focus on delivering the best possible user experience on your websites and not to focus too much on what they think are Google’s current ranking algorithms or signals," read the May 6 post.
While the questions varied in topic and specificity, they boiled down to a few major points. In order to be considered to have "high-quality" content, a website must be professional, well-written and trustworthy. The three go hand-in-hand, really, but professionalism begins with the way a website looks. While your website should have targeted online advertising, flashing or pop up advertisements are distracting and keep your website from looking legitimate.
When it comes to content, make sure your permanent as well as short-term (social media, blog posts, marketing emails) is always well-written and checked over for spelling and grammar. If your company used outside sources (which you should), be sure to cite them.
How trustworthy a website is plays into whether or not its content reads like an expert in the industry and its layout is streamlined and user-friendly, but make sure that if a customer can purchase items from your website, your company has set up a secure URL and included all possible contact information for personal questions and further assistance.