When I read this interview, I wanted to share it with all of you. It’s very enlightening and offers a wonderful explanation of why Google might pass over some website copy in favor of another page. Read carefully then be sure to ask any questions you have or leave comments below.
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Here are my thoughts all mixed together. As you know Karon, I was affected by the latest update but continue to press forward providing the best content for all my niches.
I really don’t know what to think about this interview. Very confusing especially compared to what everyone else is saying in the online marketing space.
You can have top notch unique content 400-500 words long on whatever subject but if it’s not bringing anything new to the table they won’t rank it?
How do they determine if someone doesn’t have any background, experience or expertise? What if they’re wrong?
Btw, many of the top 10 keyword results in many different niches are now only companies with big brands with big budgets.
What’s with the mixed signals on content curation?
I see a ton of terrible websites out there now in the top ten and am hoping their next update fixes that mess.
Or do I look at those top 10 bad sites and study them to figure out why Google likes them so much despite the terrible content?
Hi Jeff,
I feel your frustration. First, let me say that I’m not a huge Google fan so you won’t find me defending their actions. I do understand why they are making the attempts they are making (to avoid manipulation and to deliver the highest quality results possible.) Notice I said “attempts.” According to what they’ve released publicly, Google is basing your level or expertise on these types of criteria: Interview With An Actual Google Quality Rater and Guidance on Building a Quality Site.
And yes… I know you do all these things 🙂
And yes… I know the top 10 are often filled with keyword-stuffed crap sites.
And no… Despite what you might be tempted to do, using gray-hat or black-hat techniques often backfires so I wouldn’t recommend your last option.
I, personally, have been working for some time to significantly diversify my traffic so I’m not so dependent on Google. I still optimize every web page for the engines, but I also drive traffic from many other places. This series describes a lot of what I’ve been doing: How to Build Targeted Traffic without Google – Part 1″.
So much of SEO happens behind the scenes. Not everything is based on the content. So even if you have the best copy ever, if the other SEO aspects aren’t in place, you won’t get far.
Karen, thanks for sharing this. Google has befuddled me lately and it sheds some new light–also gave me ideas for what kind of content I should focus more (and less) on for my site. (Basically, be ultra-diligent at implementing the site’s positioning/mission/point of differentiation plus (maybe) my own point of view.
I’m like you, not a huge Google fan (anymore).
Hey Lady! How are you? Yeah… for one thing, Google’s reach is too broad. A friend of mine (Jill Whalen) put it best. It’s no longer “SEO”… it’s online marketing. While you still have to start with keywords and I think you’ll always have to optimize the copy to some extent (because search engines are text machines), it’s becoming less about what YOU do on your site and more about how other people react to it, IMO.