Months have passed since the first big slap issued by Google, but the words “SEO is dead” is still being uttered in small circles everywhere. These people’s sites which refuse to move on with the times shuffle listlessly like zombies, trying to gain traction but just can’t seem to get any. For them, the old ways are over and
Contrary to this belief though, the apocalypse is not yet nigh. While many sites have fallen to the mighty hand of the Big G’s update, there are some sites which actually survived and even thrived after the initial changes were put in place. With the initial panic finally dying down and sites gradually adjusting to the changes, the question stands: What is life on the Internet like right now after the Panda update?
Out with the old, in with the new
So we now know that old tactics like keyword spamming and paid links aren’t the way to go in this current generation of Google’s search algorithm. In a way this is also good, since it promotes the idea that quality will always trump quantity every time.
This has always been one of the ideal goals that Google has always envisioned for their search engines. Actual site content based on relevance will score you a lot of points on their SERPs. Likewise, promoting your site through organic means and building strong relationships with other sites seem like the best way to go nowadays.
In fact, for Internet marketers like us, one of the biggest changes in establishing these links can be seen through the way social media has grown as a tool to promote your campaigns. What better way to get your face recognized on the market than by creating a fan page which promotes your products or services. With over 800 million active users on Facebook, that’s a huge pond to swim in and to get the word out about you and your site.
Not all which died stays dead
You can just imagine the amount of backlinks you can get should you successfully promote your products through these social media channels. However, there some misconceptions that all the old rules (regarding backlinks, for example) have died and are no longer applicable in today’s SEO playing field.
Let me dispel that notion by saying that not all of the old hat SEO tricks have been completely buried six feet under. Going back to my mention of backlinks earlier, they are still very viable way to squeeze some valuable link juice into your site. What Google frowns on however are links that are taken from unreliable sources or low quality link farms.
This goes back to what I said earlier about quality over quantity. People no longer have to rely on hundreds upon hundreds of links pointing back to their site to get a good SERP rating. You can still score big on relevance and reliability if the few sites pointing back to you come from high quality authority sites. While you probably won’t hit the top 3 searches on the first page of Google, you can rest assured that you will still be easily searchable if you stick to building quality backlinks for your site.
Still alive and loving it
I’m pretty sure that Panda won’t be the last major change that Google will implement into its search algorithms. What’s important to remember is that SEO will go on and continually evolve to fit the needs of the current generation in spite of everything. As long as you remember the rules of the game, I’m sure that you won’t be left behind in the Google ranking race.
If you have your own stories to share regarding the aftermath of the Panda update, please feel free to share them with us in the comments section below.
Thanks,
Andy
