Ever since Google came up with its Penguin update in 2012 it has given nightmares to business owners and online marketers. With its aim to refine search experience Google turned standard SEO techniques upside down. Strategies that had for long paid dividends to websites overnight turned into their nemesis. Every major Penguin update ushers in trouble for some sites which witness massive drop in their traffic. In this write-up we shall discuss five simple tips that can arrest drop in traffic and help you recover from this problem.
Fresh and Valuable Content
The entire idea about this algorithmic update is to offer more value to the users. And it comes from the quality of the content posted on your site. You need to make sure it is unique, well-researched and offers something more than the ordinary. Prevent your content from becoming outdated and post fresh content on the high traffic pages of your website including the home page every few months. This will update your XML file and keep you in the ‘good books’ of Google.
Be Careful With Keywords
Since the early days of Search Engine Optimization, marketers have used keywords to drive in traffic. Some have gone overboard and use them with rather cunning motives resulting in poor search experience for the users. Penguin update has severely penalized such websites. As a thumb rule you should keep the keyword density to maximum 2% and not continually use the same keywords in H1 and H2 headings. You should be careful and avoid stuffing them on landing pages. Instead of using the same keywords repeatedly use Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) Keywords. For example in place of ‘car rental’ repeatedly you can use ‘car hire’, ‘rent a car’ etc.
Don’t Let Backlinks Haunt You
Like keywords backlinks were the cash cow in the SEO industry but Penguin update has set the bar straight – its quality over quantity. If you are in ‘bad company’ you are in the ‘bad books’ of Google. To overcome drop in traffic it is important for you to revisit your link profile and measure their quality. There are a number of online tools that help you check the Trust and Citation Rank to judge the quality of your backlinks. When you come across backlinks from sites that are low on Trust and Citation Ranks you have pinned down on the problem. Remove such backlinks also keep moderating the comment section of your blogs to remove all spammy comments that come with links.
Avoid Duplication In Local Search
Google is obsessed with removing duplicate listings from local search and this can deliver a killer blow even if you have done no wrong. If two service providers use the same physical address chances are one may be removed from search listings. To overcome this problem make sure your business description, address, contact numbers are unique to avoid any confusion. Pin down your address to the last floor, the suite no etc. to make it unique. List your business information in as many local directories as possible and encourage your customers to write reviews on Google listings.
Stress On Social Sharing
Does your website have social sharing buttons on every page? If not you are likely to be penalized by Google and the best way to overcome this is by integrating social sharing button on your website and let users share your content within their network. Google’s logic behind ranking sites with social integration high on result pages is simple – if the sites are being shared socially and have got their users engaged, they would surely be of high value to new users.
Keep these things in mind and you are all set to get into the recovery mode and arrest the fall in organic traffic to your site.