If you want to achieve an SEO strategy that is penalty proof, you need to prioritize the needs of your users and this is usually done by offering them quality content that meets their expectations.
Getting results on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) is not easy, your main focus should not be all about providing value to your users but to make the users visit your page only.
Over the years, search engines have released a number of updates aimed at helping users have a good search engine experience. These updates are known as algorithms, a set of instructions made to perform a specific task. These algorithms also check user experience in websites.
Some of the Google algorithm updates are:
- Panda
- Penguin
- Pigeon
- Hummingbird
- Mobilegeddon
Every update is different but they have one intent, user experience.
Your website should have a foundation of trust for the following two reasons:
- Trust is important as it boosts rankings in SERPs.
- Trust helps you avoid Google penalties.
You can shape your SEO strategy to be in line with all Google Algorithm updates.
How? Continue reading to find out.
Google Panda
The aim of this Google algorithm update is to produce high-quality content that is valuable to users.
How to avoid Google Panda penalties:
Avoid using duplicated content
If you have such content on your site, hold a no-index page to inform Google not use that page to penalize your entire site. You should also revise the content to make it unique.
Bounce Rate
Your website should be of value to users. If users leave almost immediately after clicking your site, you will be penalized because Google understands that:
- Your website is too complex
- Your users can find what they are looking for
Google Penguin
The work of this algorithm is to stop the use of unethical links (inbound and outward).
How to avoid Google Penguin penalties:
- Unnatural links – low quality links to irrelevant content.
- Link scheme – links introduced to manipulate page rank.
- Keyword stuffing – using keywords in an unnatural way.
- Over optimization – you can be penalized for going overboard with SEO.
Google Hummingbird
This update understands user queries to provide useful results.
Avoiding Google Hummingbird penalties:
- By using long-tail keywords in your content.
- Having conversational content on your website, this is important when looking up any information.
- Optimizing your website for mobile.
- Well-structured data markups for better results.
- Building strong backlinks.
Google Pigeon
The main purpose is to provide useful, relevant and fast search results.
How to avoid Google Pigeon penalties:
- Keep your information consistent such as phone details, addresses, and names.
- Get listed in directories.
- Advertise for local.
- Optimize your website for mobile.
Google Mobilegeddon
This update prioritized sites that were optimized for mobile devices.
How to avoid Google Mobilegeddon’s penalties:
- Having a mobile-friendly website.
The main issue that you can have with Google algorithms is to have a website that is not built on trust. You should link naturally with other sites, write quality and original content and make sure that your website is mobile friendly.