Among online marketing techniques, the landscape of search engine marketing (SEM) is undoubtedly the most ever-changing. This is caused by the epic struggle between online marketers on one hand trying to give their sites a fighting chance among millions of competitors, and Google on the other hand trying to weed out sites with little to no value popping up at the top of its search results.
The said landscape is in a period of significant transition, and as with most significant transitions there are losses on both sides. Google's latest round of updates has sent many previously high ranking sites into search results oblivion. As always, these updates were all in the name of trying to give the users the most relevance and quality in the content they receive. Unfortunately, many marketers are turning to other ways to drive traffic to their sites out of exasperation. This has led to Google's contribution to website traffic to fall from 37.5% in December to 31% in May.
That being said, search engines still contribute about a third of all website traffic, with Google completely dominating the scene with 71% of the search engine market, leagues ahead of the distant second at just over 9%. As such, search engine marketing remains a crucial element in all online marketing efforts.
Though there is much secrecy and confusion surrounding Google's algorithm, industry leaders generally agree on some major ranking factors to keep in mind.
Content
It cannot be said enough that "content is king". We've all heard it a hundred times before. Google is clearly and openly applying such updates as the latest Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird updates precisely to better filter quality content from spam.
The Panda update focuses on the quality of content provided by websites. It also gives negative marks for content farms and sites that are riddled with ads. Penguin 2.0 and 2.1 targets sites that use other grey- and black-hat SEO techniques such as keyword stuffing, duplicate content, and manipulation of links. The Hummingbird update features a more complex analysis of content based more on context rather than simple keyword matching, and goes down to the individual page level.
Regarding the Hummingbird update, study on the latest algorithm cited by Vocus showed that top Google results today averaged more than 2,000 words in length. This is a far cry from the previous 500 or so words average favoured by SEO content curators in the past. This has sparked significant debate over the validity of the findings, especially as consumer attention spans and the exponential rise in mobile browsing makes such long articles unwieldy. The jury seems to be out on this at the moment, but there probably needs to be some sort of balance struck between long and short, or possibly different content display options for different platforms.
Most importantly, again, is the actual content provided. Being able to deliver quality content on a regular basis is the end goal here. This would lead the search engines to see that your content is up to date, effectively engaging users of social media, and gradually builds your authority as a content provider. Everything else is just trying to find shortcuts, and with Google on the watch that's a game you will always lose eventually.
Authority
So Google completely threw caution to the wind and made Google +1s the top ranking factor in the latest algorithm. There are those who have been waiting for Google+ to be silently euthanized. But with a company that made $60 billion in a single year backing it, it's just not going to happen in the foreseeable future.
So let's just give that to them. They deserve it, I guess. After all, maybe it's just simply a matter of being a convenient way for Google to better filter and analyze website pages to give us the best results. Besides, if anyone can challenge Facebook's monopoly of social, it would be Google. This may just be for the best, in the end. After all, a good social media marketing strategy should incorporate several different platforms. Sticking to just Facebook is again no longer an easy shortcut to simplify things. Google wants you to actually put it a decent amount of work in exchange for visits and conversions.
Mobile
According to Mashable, almost one fifth of all web traffic now comes from mobile, compared to just over 10% in 2012. This is expected to grow by leaps and bounds with no end yet in sight. For example, We Are Social earlier this year noted a whopping 2 million increase in users of mobile in just two weeks.
Most if not all experts agree that mobile is a top priority for this year. This means mobile friendly layouts and content.
Bottom Line
Most if not all of Google's updates are aimed at forcing websites to provide top notch, honest content. Rather than fighting the behemoth, online marketing professionals need to accept this and start focusing on providing just that, instead of burning their eyebrows trying to find another quick fix or blanket template for success. This will all work for the benefit of consumers and retailers alike, with only the best left standing in the end.
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