Search engine optimization is not a new idea in online marketing. It has changed and evolved a great deal, especially over the past five years. Those in the market for a new SEO company as well as any business that hopes to continue running its own in-house SEO should understand the same thing that every successful SEO marketing company does: that failing to keep up with changes in SEO means being unable to conduct successful SEO. Two changes in the past year, Google+1 and Panda, demonstrate the pace at which search engine marketing evolves and the dramatic nature of changes that can take place.
Google+1
Although it may have lost some steam since its initial wave of success, the Google +1 feature continues to have a powerful impact on the company’s search rankings. More than one search advertising expert has claimed that “search will never be the same.” Beyond using saved cookies and search history to tailor search results, with the +1 button, Google has added a social ranking system to its search algorithm. People love services like Yelp and sharing good reviews on Facebook. With this update, the giant has enabled users to benefit from that same desire to get references and reviews from friends, allowing them to rate every search result.
People with Google accounts who have searched similar terms and clicked the +1 button will influence what results Google returns. This means that there are virtually infinite results for the same search phrase, depending on the person’s Google contacts or circles on the new social network, Google Plus. Getting +1’d by a broad swath of searchers has become very important to maintain strong search ranking with the most active social networkers.
Google Panda Update
Google Panda is an update to its ranking algorithms that increases the importance of users’ interpretations of a site. It decreases the weight of links to a site and the credibility of those linking sites, and instead measures variables like a user’s time on site, page views per visit, and other very specific, new metrics that all change the way SEO advertising companies influence a site’s search ranking for a given term. This means that by itself, traditional SEO techniques won’t have the same impact that they did a year ago.
If a company’s in-house SEO team doesn’t quickly learn about and adjust to Google +1 and the requirements of Google Panda, it will fall behind the dedicated SEO company that survives by dissecting these kinds of change to out-advertise the competition.
About the author: Every Search Engine Optimization company worth hiring spends considerable resources keeping up with changes in search Engine technology. Learn more about this race at www.wpromote.com.