If you spend a lot of time reading the various webmaster forums, you are no doubt well aware of the complaint that many webmasters experience after seeing a change in Google’s algorithm cause their web pages to sink like a stone in the search results. But there are always other webmasters who do well with the changes, and many whose rankings are virtually unaffected.
What allows some websites to withstand frequent algorithm changes and even thrive, while others are banned in the lower regions of SERPS or banned altogether? In a word, moderation.
Search engine optimization is a lucrative business, and many SEOs routinely “push the limits” of what search engines allow in an attempt to maximize a client’s site’s ranking and attract more business. The problem with this approach is that Google is constantly moving the goal post. If you play too aggressively, you will find that your site will be penalized when Google changes the algorithm.
So what can you do to safely optimize your site for search engines? There are several things to remember:
1 – Make your SEO efforts an asset to Google, not a nemesis. Use ethical optimization practices that help ensure your pages rank well and pass the “relevance” test. Google hates spammers
because they distort search results making them less relevant to searchers, and less relevant results drive searchers to other search engines. It’s understandable that Google doesn’t like it.
that a bit! Bottom line: make your pages search engine friendly, but don’t spam. That way, when your page hits the top 10, it really deserves to be there.
2 – Corollary to #1: Provide content that is truly relevant to the search queries for which the page ranks well. In fact, work to make your page the most relevant (and most useful) page on the Internet for those search terms. Google really loves high-quality content that is actually useful to its visitors, and its ranking algorithm will reward you handsomely for it, often.
with little to no SEO techniques in use. A lot of quality content attracts a lot of quality inbound links to your pages, which in turn helps further improve your rankings.
3 – Use moderation in everything you do regarding SEO. If you don’t move all the way to the line, you’ll be much less likely to cross it when Google moves it towards you. This goes for links, keyword density, header tags… all typical SEO techniques webmasters use today.
Conclution
Webmasters who are happy after each and every Google update make their SEO efforts really benefit the Google index. Their pages are full of relevant and useful content and they refrain from
using “gray area” SEO techniques. Remember, the “grey area” techniques of today are often the “black hat” techniques of tomorrow.