Google's Latest Algorithm Update

We have all heard about the recent changes that Google has made to their algorithm. But what did they change? How will it affect my site? According to reports, Google is now analyzing the content of pages which contain outbound links. Sites holding mostly (or all) links, commonly called 'Content Farms' seem to be at the core of this update. Google wants to filter out unrelated or spam filled results to increase the overall quality of search results.

Well, for starters, we can evaluate the way we are link building by asking some questions about our process.

• Where are these links coming from?
• How reputable is the site linking to mine?
• Is the site relevant to what I do?

If you can answer these three questions solidly, then you probably do not have much to worry about. The end result Google is searching for is a higher quality search result for the end user, ultimately this should be everyone's goal. To provide quality, correct, and timely information to surfers. This begs the question, “What can I do to improve links to my site?” We have several strategies to do this, some you may already know about:

• Social media, are you linking back to relevant parts of your site when you tweet or post to Facebook? If not you're missing out on a valuable opportunity to link to your site.
• Forums. Forums are social outlets for people to post questions (and answers) or information about their industry or business. Forums are good way to get links related to the main topic your business covers. Just make sure you are posting to a trusted site.
• Press releases. Sending out press releases is a good way to send out relevant information about your industry. Quality inbound links have always been an important part of Google's search algorithm and this a great way to get high-quality, relevant links.

In summary, link building is one of the most important tasks you can complete when optimizing your site. Thus, making sure that we are not only focusing on the quantity of the links we are sourcing, but also the overall quality of the link itself is extremely important, and is certainly something that you can count on Blue Tent taking into consideration when we are optimizing your site.

- Ethan Hinson
SEM Tech