As you may well be aware, search engine ranking is dynamic. The major search engines are always changing their methods of ranking so I’ve asked a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist, Kerstin Hutchinson of Total Impact Marketing to tell us what the major search engines are looking for now. The information she provided will give you the inside scoop on what you need to do to increase your search engine results.
Recent Changes in Google and MSN
Kerstin found that over the past 12 months, Google and MSN have undergone algorithm changes that may have affected your rankings. Here’s what she found:
Google – the most important search engine for which to have good rankings – has implemented several changes since spring 2007 and even more in early fall.
The spring changes involved discrediting several linking techniques that have become hot trends with webmasters, those that dabble in SEO and even some SEO companies whose linking practices are questionable. Linking refers to a website that provides a link to your site as well as any links you provide to other sites. Inbound links to your site help build your popularity, which then increases the chance of ranking well in the search engines if your site has been optimized.
1. The first change was to discredit reciprocal linking. Reciprocal linking occurs when one website trades a link with another website so they each link to one another. Sites with excessive reciprocal linking lost all benefits to their popularity or page rank. So, get rid of your links to sites that aren’t compatible with your business. For example, a link to a mortgage lender site is good but a link to a tire repair company is not.
2. The second change was to discredit Link Rings. Not to be confused with link farms or linking networks, Link Rings is a new trend some webmasters and SEO companies started when they found out that a one-way inbound link to a website was the best link to have.
How it works? A Link Ring essentially has site A provide an inbound link to site B; site B provides an inbound link to site C; and site C links back to site A. Google caught on to this trend, and believing it was a way of cheating the system, stopped the Link Ring sites from getting any benefit from such links.
3. Google’s last change in the fall was to discredit known paid links. A paid link is any inbound link to a site from another site that it paid for. There are many paid directories that have been de-listed in Google; therefore, anyone with inbound links from these directories have lost the popularity it brought to their site.
It is important to note that any site that has employed any of these linking strategies has seen a drop in their overall rankings in the search engines.
The Trust Factor Trend
Google seems to be moving toward a “trust factor” trend that includes any one of these three features:
• A site with an older domain name doing much better than that of a new domain name. This is something already well known within the industry but is being seen much more often now.
• A site that displays their phone number and full address and doesn’t hide behind a contact form.
• Good unique, professional content – not just lots of content for the sake of having content. Many sites have added thousands of pages of cheaply written content by those that don’t speak English as a first language. They are full of grammatical and spelling errors but are optimized for certain keywords. Sites with such content have been dropping in their rankings as opposed to other sites that contain less, but more professional, unique content.
Did you know that 80% of consumers search for local businesses on the search engines before contacting them? MSN noticed this and saw it as an opportunity to increase its 10% search engine market share. They decided to improve the results it returned for local searches in an attempt to appeal to those searching locally by providing better local results.
But fear not, for this is not likely to affect the real estate industry since the local search results for real estate professionals are already very good. The real estate industry as a whole is very competitive and many agents are already optimizing their sites for good rankings.
What Hasn’t Changed?
What has not changed with the search engines is the need for a search engine-friendly website and for professional search engine optimization services. Consider this: when is the last time you used the Yellow Pages to locate a business locally? Instead, your first reaction was probably to search Google, Yahoo or MSN, right? As you can imagine, having first-page rankings in the search engines is just as important, if not more so, than a Yellow Pages listing was 5-10 years ago.
Look at Your Web Design Company’s Results
To achieve good SEO, you need a search engine-friendly website. Many specialty web design sites (such as those designed specifically for real estate professionals) will claim they build search engine friendly websites, but you shouldn’t take their word for it. Look at their SEO portfolio and make sure they list clients that have good rankings in the search engines. Also, be sure the company’s SEO ranking portfolio is relevant. If they’re touting a number one search engine ranking for a real estate agent in Timbuktu, you should be saying to yourself, “So what?” Think about the competition they actually have and how easy that number one ranking would be to achieve … even without any SEO! Instead, you’d be better off looking for SEO specialists that have high rankings for sites that are highly competitive such as those in huge markets such as California and Washington, D.C.
One word of advice: if they don’t have a prominent SEO portfolio on their site, consider this a warning. Make sure you address this when talking with them.
Do This for Your SEO Company as well
When hiring someone (or a company) to perform your SEO work, be sure to research their portfolio as well. They can certainly sound like they know what they are doing but nothing speaks louder than what they have been able to achieve for others. Ensure that they proudly display that their SEO methods are ethical or “white hat” (meaning they will not employ any questionable tactics that can leave your site punished or banned from the search engines causing irreparable damage to your website and your online presence). When you consider that poor SEO techniques can be harmful to your rankings, you want to be sure that your SEO specialist applies the current trends in order to increase your rankings.
By implementing these new SEO methods, you should be able to increase your ranking in the major search engines. This is especially important when you consider that over 80% of buyers in the market head to the Internet first. Don’t pass up your chance to get better rankings; find a reputable SEO company to optimize your site.
Evy Williams is our VA QUICK TIPS columnist. She specializes in designing marketing materials to sell homes through her company, BrochuresByDesign.com. She holds a Master’s degree in Administration and is a certified Master Virtual Assistant, Military Spouse Virtual Assistant, Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Real Estate Support Specialist and is EthicsChecked. Contact her at Evy@BrochuresByDesign.com
