Online reputation management professionals are keeping a close eye on Google’s latest round of Panda updates for the benefit of their clients. Some Panda updates, of course, have a more significant impact than others.
As usual, Google’s remaining tight-lipped about what their algorithm rewards. Google has also recently stated that the company will no longer confirm that Panda updates have been instituted.
For those who continually monitor key phrases, there will definitely be significant fluctuation even on a daily basis. Some sites will rank highly on one day, and then drift further down search results the next. To ease the transition, Panda updates will roll out over the course of 10 days each month.
The slow and steady process is intended to lessen the impact on webmasters who are consistently observing these changes. At this point, some websites will rank for a keyword phrase, then vanish a few hours later, only to return to a similar position. It can be difficult to determine what is a standard fluctuation and what is truly a unique Panda rollout. Therefore, many businesses and professionals are confused as to how they can increase their visibility on Google search results. In these cases, an online reputation management provides the necessary insight into the ebbs and flows of Google search results.
Authority Sites Remain Significant
Some basic facts still hold true. Google previously stated that their objective is to provide authority sites a little more prominence in their search results. Major informational sites such as about.com and Wikipedia are experiencing definite changes in their rankings. The most recent update seems to target authoritative sites in an effort to authority websites with other sources of content.
Beware of Advertorials
As well, Google plans to be more strict in their enforcement of paid advertising and links, often disguised as “advertorials.” Google founder Matt Cutts has clarified that advertorials are acceptable, but that they shouldn’t be abused for linking purposes. If advertorials, he recommends that they should be appropriately marked as paid advertising. Many advertorials currently violate the quality guidelines set by Google. To that end, developers have shaped the algorithm so that it better determines what are authority sites and what are spam sites with low quality content.
Make Google+ a Major Priority
Sites that are active on Google+ are also experiencing stronger than normal results. Google+ ownership is one of the most notable signals in determining search engine rankings. Some sites that were noticing a significant rankings decline have since observed a resurgence with the latest Panda updates. Google search results are meant to weed out spam sites while accentuating content from authority sites.
Seek Professional Guidance
Online reputation management companies are in a unique position to monitor any search engine results changes as they occur. Their highly trained professionals better understand the complexities of the Google algorithm and know core strategies to improve your prominence on search results. In today’s competitive marketplace, businesses and professionals need every advantage they can get to secure attention to their products and services.