The Penguins are coming…

In the first weeks of January, Google integrated Panda updates, which measure the quality of a website, into its core search algorithm. As of the week of January 18, those updates were still ongoing, but yet another update was expected, one that would allow Google to better measure the number of active links in a site, an update called Penguin.

This last rumor was confirmed by Google itself back in December 2015, when a Google spokesperson said, “With the holidays upon us, it looks like the penguins won’t march until next year.”
So what does all this have to do with you, and how will it affect your website?

The More Things Change…

Throughout the year, Google will make hundreds of tweaks to its ranking factors, both large and small. This January has been a particularly busy period, with some seismic updates going live. Despite this, some things never change. Despite new technologies and devices, fully 93% of online experiences start with a search engine. And though estimates vary, Google still owns 65-70% of the search engine market share.

Panda and Penguin are the names Google gave to two major updates. Pandas help Google’s web-crawling spiders better measure a website’s quality (or lack thereof), while Penguins gather information about backlinks. No matter what kind of update is in the pipeline for the rest of 2016, both Pandas and Penguins have the same solution: quality search engine optimization strategies.

So What Kind of SEO Branding Strategies Will Work in 2016?

With Google putting more of an emphasis on quality than ever before, it’s crucial that sites regularly update their content. This is a strategy known as content marketing, and it’s become the bedrock of modern SEO. It’s one of the most important tools at your disposal, but unfortunately, creating quality content is much easier said than done. That’s where an affordable SEO company like our’s comes into play, helping you reap the benefits of SEO without wasting time or money.

Another crucial tool for effective SEO in 2016 is local search optimization. While similar to SEO in general, local search optimization focuses on boosting the visibility of a business in local search results. It’s a very specific sector of digital marketing, and our Arizona SEO company specializes in delivering local results.

So why is local search optimization so effective?

Our Arizona SEO consultants can help identify high-traffic keywords in your area that see less competition than major national keywords, helping you achieve faster results and bring in more business.

You can try and go it alone, but if one day you see your website slipping down Google, chances are good there’s a Panda or Penguin to blame.