The news spread across the internet like wildfire. Almost 28% of all websites where impacted by the recent Google changes also known as “Google Slap.” Guess Google just reached a point of having enough of people trying to manipulate the search engines by taking advantage of bots, link farms, article submission sites, etc.

I can’t say I blame them. Have you ever read articles written by bots. It’s pure chunk. But a lot of those articles made it on the first page of Google leaving others with relevant and valuable content in the dust. Never underestimate the power of Google. You may be able to ride the wave for a little while, but Google is an expert in recognizing the “footprint” and they will shut you down if they catch you “gaming the system.”

So how can you benefit from the recent Google changes?

It’s actually quite simple. Just give Google what it wants. Keep it happy!

There are 3 things Google is looking for specifically.

Relevance – Fresh and Original Content – Popularity

1) Relevance

Choose keywords that are relevant to your content. You would think that’s obvious, but have you ever entered a keyword into the search engine and then landed on a page that had absolutely nothing to do with it? After you have decided on your keyword or keyword phrase make sure it shows up in the headline, first paragraph, sprinkled throughout your content and in your last paragraph.

2) Fresh and Original Content

It really helps to have a SEO friendly website. Google actually prefers WordPress and is looking for fresh, relevant and original content. Not pre-written content or template based websites.

When writing a blog post make sure it exceeds 250-300 words. This is a big part of the Google changes. It’s best to keep it around 400-500 words. Of course some of your posts can be longer or shorter.  Just try to keep about 60% of your blog posts at least at 400 words.

3) Popularity

Google now places a lot more emphasis on how popular your site is. How long do people stay? Where did they come from? Where do they go after leaving your site? Social media is playing more and more of a role. Maybe you have heard that Google has been trying to get into the social media game for a while now. They have been keeping a close eye on Facebook and just recently introduced Google +1 which is much like the Facebook “like” button.

So how can you keep your visitors on your site longer?

One way to do this is by interlinking, which means using an anchor text enhanced link to send your visitor to a related post on your site. Make sure you use a keyword or key phrase you want to rank for in your anchor text.

Here’s a little secret: Take pages that are already ranking well on Google and improve their positions by interlinking using your keyword.

Another way to make your post more popular is by inserting your own videos. Google loves YouTube. Make sure you link back to your website. Turn a blog post into a video. Your video is much more likely to rank #1 than just a text-based post and if you link back to your post it’s a win-win situation. Google favors video because it’s authentic and can’t be duplicated by spambots like text-based content.

Are there going to be more Google changes in the near future?

There’s a lot of chatter that Google will be adding social media seo into their algorithm. Do you have a Fan Page? Are people “liking” you? Is it updated regularly? Does it contain your keywords?

All this is part of the ongoing Google changes and there will be a lot more coming down the pipe. I don’t know if you heard that Google just bought PostRank.com, a site that tracks social engagement across the web. It tracks what’s going on on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites and delivers real-time data and analysis on any topic, trend, or interest relevant to you or your business.

Google is definitely busy coming up with and implementing a lot of changes. I know it can be hard to keep up, but the bottom line is if you give Google what it wants then you shouldn’t have any problems to get a page one ranking.

What are your thoughts about these Google changes?

Did you feel the impact of the recent Google changes. Where you among the 28% of sites that felt the “Google Slap?”

If you have any thoughts about this topic I sure would love to hear your feedback in the comments below. Let us know what you think.

To Your Success,

Ilka Flood
The EnlightenedNetworker

P.S. If you enjoyed this post and found value in it, I sure would appreciate you sharing it with your friends and followers. Thank you so much!

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1. 3 Powerful Strategies to Keep Visitors on Your Blog Longer and Get More Google Love