24-Website improvements that Google will love –

The recent changes in Google’s Panda algorithm has improved rankings for a large number of high-quality business websites but what about those organizations that have been affected by Panda? How about your business? Have you noticed a drop in your ranking over the last few months?

According to Google, the focus for any business website should be to deliver the best possible user experience and offer high-quality information rather than trying to optimize for any particular Google algorithm.

What counts as a high quality?
Essentially Google’s new algorithm is aimed at reducing rankings for “low-quality websites.” So what constitutes ‘low’ vs. a ‘high-quality’ website? Google puts it this way: your focus is not to build a content farm, but rather to build a great content pipeline based on audience need. Positioning your business as a thought leader should be your online focus, in order to differentiate yourself and bring real value to your audiences.

Below is a list of questions that Google reviews in an attempt to assess the quality of a business website. So, here you go: in an ever-ending attempt to improve your website, and rank well with Google, keep these questions in mind:

1.)  Does the information published present a level of trust?

2.)  Is the article written by an expert who really knows his stuff? Or, is it shallow.

3.)  Does the website have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same topics but using
      slightly different keywords?

4.)  Does the website exude confidence? Would you give them your credit card information?

5.)  Is the article filled with typos, bad grammar, and factual errors?

6.)  Is the content topic generated to attempt at guessing what might rank well in search engines?

7.)  Is the article original?

8.)  Does the page provide substantial value compared to other pages in search results?

9.)  How much quality control is done on the content?

10.) In some cases, does the article present both sides of the story?

11.) Is the website a recognized authority?

12.) Is the article mass-produced, outsourced to a large number of creators lessoning
       the effect or value of the article?

13.) Is the article hastily or sloppily put together?

14.) If you were in the healthcare business, would you trust information from this site?

15.) When mentioned by name, would you recognize this name as an authoritative source?

16.) Is the article complete and comprehensive?

17.) Does the article contain insightful analysis or a twist on the information that presents it beyond obvious?

18.) Would you bookmark this page?

19.) Is the article surrounded by an excessive amount of distracting ads that cheapens it?

20.) Could you see this article in a magazine or book?

21.) Are the articles lacking in helpful specifics?

22.) Has there been time spent on attention to detail?

23.) Is the article short and lacking in helpful specifics?

24.) Would users complain when they see pages on your website?

Here’s more valuable advice from Google: low-quality content on some parts of the website can impact the entire site’s rankings. So, if you feel your website content is affected, review your site’s pages and determine if your content is valuable (does it meet the criteria above) and if not, edit, re-write or move it out altogether. Eventually this will help the rankings of your higher-quality content.  

Additional resources that may be helpful:
– http://bit.ly/i3OOUx
– http://bit.ly/mLSwbK

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WhiteSpace is a Toronto Inbound marketing agency that helps small business grow with winning design and marketing, from website redesign and graphic design, to branding,  social media marketing, and online marketing strategies . Call for a free no-obligation website consultation – 416-449-9559.