Google in late February made a huge change to its algorithm, a change it made in order to put the kibosh on low-quality content sites that too often relied on low-quality content. The idea was to keep sites comprised of keyword stuffed, computer-spun content from showing up too high in search results.
The change already is having a huge affect on search. For example, PCMag.com on March 3 reported that “traffic to some sites has plummeted 50 percent following Google’s ‘farmer’ algorithm change last Friday [Feb. 25], which was intended to weed out content farms from search results.”
For example, the PCMag.com article continued, “Theteacherscorner.net, a 13-year-old site with ‘several million monthly pageviews and thousands of pages of original content for K-12 educators’ said its traffic dropped by 40 percent and ad revenue by 50 percent. ‘This is a huge and devastating hit to the well-being of our website.’
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“Another webmaster from Healthhype.com said its site lost 50 percent of its U.S. traffic, even though its articles are original and apparently cost $100 to produce. Real estate page www.c21theharrelsongroup.com saw its placement for a ‘Myrtle Beach’ search go from a number 11 rank to the fourth page of results.”
Google’s response? According to the PCMag article, a “Google spokesman told PCMag that sites that believe they have been adversely impacted should ‘extensively evaluate their site quality.'” The Google rep also said, “‘[i]n particular, it’s important to note that low quality pages on one part of a site can impact the overall ranking of that site.'”
But what does it mean to you, the owner of a small business?
It means you should make sure your website is filled with quality content. Content that is engaging and well-written. Content that gives solid information. Keywords are still important, of course, but aiming for every single keyword your target market uses? Maybe not such a wise idea anymore (if it ever was).
As you build your website, aim for the narrow. That is, specialize. Become a go-to authority on your niche. Make sure your content adds value.
If you have other questions or concerns regarding the February algorithm change, give us a call here at GoiMarketing.com. We’d be happy to explain it to you in more detail and discuss how you can create a site — or fill your current one — with engaging, informative content. Contact us today!
