Let’s talk about Search.!Itʼs evolving.!

Evolution!

Communication mediums are always evolving.!!We see it everyday with computers, cell phones, television, and the internet.!

*Picture Source: yaddablog.com

Evolution of SEO!

!You have to adapt to survive.

SEO is evolving, too.!!

What Happened!

Google Updates!

!!!“…Google has introduced 550 improvements to the search algorithm in the past year [2009] alone.” !!-Udi Manber, Google!!!

A Shift in the Landscape!

Google makes hundreds of algorithmic updates a year. Many are small tweaks, but some result in major industry shifts.!!!

First Hint: May Day, 2010!

•  Algorithmic change aimed to assess the best websites for long tail queries!

!•  Primarily affects

sites with sub pages that have low value or duplicate content!

•  Also penalizes low quality links!

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Queries impacted by May Day

“…update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not

! ! !very useful.”!! ! -The Official Google Blog, 2/24/2011!

!•  Impacted 12% of all U.S. Google

search results!•  Aimed to reduce rankings of content

farms!!

!!!

Next Up: Farmer Update!

Panda Update !

April 11th 2011:!!•  Google rolls out “Farmer”

update, now named “Panda Update”, globally to all English-language users!

•  Impacts additional 2% of U.S. searches !

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What Does This Mean?!

No More Content Spam!

Content spam is just like link spam. Quality content is the only content Google notices.! !“As ʻpure webspamʼ has decreased over time, attention has shifted instead to ʻcontent farms,ʼ which are sites with shallow or low-quality content.”!-Official Google Blog, 01/21/2011!

A User-Centric Focus!

Quality content is unique and valuable to your audience.!

Better Distribution Methods!

!!!!!!!

Content must be pushed to highly relevant respected media outlets. For example, industry publications and blogs help much more than sites like ezinearticles.com.!

Consequences of Not Evolving!

Site strength and trust decrease!

Rankings drop!

Other Google penalties implemented!

De-Listing!

How to Adapt!

Leverage Your Assets!

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•  Your competitive advantages:!

•  Brand ! ! ! !!•  Authority!•  Expertise!•  Reputation!•  1st to market!•  Niche brand!

•  Co-branding !•  Innovation!•  Originality!•  Human capital!•  Pricing!•  Geography!

Create a PR Strategy!!

!!•  Holding events and generating news thatʼs compelling to

your target audience!

•  Optimizing press releases for digital engagement!

•  Pushing press releases through appropriate distribution channels to maximize target audience reach !

Develop Thought Leadership!

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•  Establish your brand as the authority of the industry by composing thought-provoking articles, blog posts, and guest author appearances!

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Integrate Social Media!

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•  Utilize social media outlets to interact with your target audience on a different level!

•  Build brand loyalty, trust, and awareness, or use as a customer service platform!

•  Moreover, incorporate social media into your integrated marketing mix to ensure brand resonance !

To Summarize!

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•  When SEO is consistent with your brand strategy and long-term business goals, you can coevolve with search engines.!

•  Focus on making your customers and site visitors happy, and the search engine robots will follow.!

!•  Technical knowledge is still a must for a successful

SEO campaign, but itʼs no longer the whole show. Public relations, social media, and a mix of content all have a large part to play.!

Questions?!www.NeboWeb.com!

404.885.1201!www.facebook.com/neboweb!

Follow us at @neboweb!!