Many websites that once had a high ranking website on Google for Livermore businesses saw their ranking fall after the Panda and Penguin updates earlier this year. The reason for the update, according to Google, was to adjust the algorithm so websites with low-quality content, poor quality links and spam ads were valued properly. They wanted the websites that were providing higher quality content that provided value to the reader to rank higher. Unfortunately, even websites that thought they produced high-quality content were affected. Here are some ways to beat any future Panda updates.

• Use original content. Google frowns upon duplicate content and will penalize any website that uses content copied from other websites. Panda will rank websites with original content higher than those with poor-written or duplicate content. If you want to see ranking for your website on Google increase, be aware of the originality of your content. If your Livermore business doesn’t have the budget to purchase quality original articles, you may want to concentrate on focusing on a few pages with quality content rather than creating many pages with lower quality content.
• Pay attention to the website’s design. Even though content is so important, Google’s algorithm looks at more than mere content. Google is also concerned with whether a website fulfills its intent, or does what the developers intended. Avoid using too many ads which may appear as spam in Google’s eyes which may result in the site rank dropping.
• Consider existing content. If your business website currently has old content or empty pages, you will want to remove them. This is particularly true if the old content does not generate traffic. It will be seen as ‘dead weight’ and will likely incur a penalty. You want to keep only those pages that consistently bring traffic and help with ranking your website on Google for your Livermore business.
• Learn your bounce rate. For those who do not know, this relates to the time a visitor spends on your website. If the user was able to find what they wanted on your website they would stay longer rather than leaving and searching for another site to provide what they need. If visitors are leaving quickly, you may want to ensure the keywords used on your Livermore business website pages are relevant; if not, you will want to change them so they are.
• Realize recovery from Panda may take some time. Even if you saw the ranking of your website on Google fall, time and consistent improvements to your website are what will help it rise in the rankings again. Do not try to take short cuts by adding poor quality links to your website, it will only backfire. Any new links should be relevant to your site and be added only if they make sense, not simply to increase page ranking.
• Take advantage of social media. If you aren’t already, start adding social networking buttons to your website. Google looks favorably upon these social networking markers when ranking websites. Adding these buttons will make it easier for visitors to the site to “like” or “pin” a post that they like or contains information they want to share.

While it is true the Google Panda updates may have wreaked havoc on your website, you can beat those updates. Take a close look at your website, make the changes indicated above, and it shouldn’t be long before you see a rise in the ranking of your website on Google for your Livermore business.