The State of SEO in 2015

The landscape of Search Engine Optimization has greatly changed for 2015. Webmasters have found that anchor text link diversification has negatively affected their websites and watched in horror as their sites have fallen in the rankings. What most people fail to see, is that it isn't the links a website is linking to that is causing the problem. Rather, it is simply a matter of poor SEO. As Google initiates it's changes in the latest Penguin search engine algorithm updates, don't become a casualty due to the changes in how websites are judged.

Search Engine Optimization Algorithm

The Google algorithm used to dictate which sites succeed and which sites fail and this is not a transparent list of rules and guidelines. A webmaster that wants to avoid being negatively impacted by changes to search engines would do well to find the fine line between search engine optimization and quality content to improve SEO. Webmasters should carefully review Google's webmaster guidelines to ensure that any websites they manage aren't in violation of any of the rules. Google has a way of isolating and identifying deceptive strategies designed to use SEO to attempt to garner higher search engine results.

Web Design and Web Development

Web design and Web development companies need to concentrate on the overall layout of the website and make sure that the site can be easily navigated by readers. Google wants easy to navigate sites with valuable information. Think like your readers, if your content isn't providing what they want in an accessible way, you may see your site get hammered in the rankings.

Each page on your site should be accessible through some form of site map, navigation or menu bar on your website. The Web design should also be lightweight and load quickly to ensure that readers don't click the back button before accessing your site. As more mobile users come on the scene, it's important to hire a Web development company that can make your website compatible on mobile phones can also increase the value of your site to readers.

Link Building

When using anchor text, use a combination of brand anchor text links, website URLs, general and exact keyword matches. The majority of your links should be brand name links and website URLs. Google tends to view these anchor text links as more honest and doesn't penalize websites that appear to have a high degree of good quality links. General anchor text links use terminology like "click here" or "read more" and don't attempt to target specific keywords. Exact keywords can be used, but they must be used sparingly. When possible, use variation in the keywords. For example, if your keyword is "bottled water" use the anchor text "distilled bottled water" or "natural bottled water." Avoid using the same exact keyword several times on the same page.

Quality Content

Longer articles with facts and figures are going to be seen as more authoritative than short, general articles that provide only limited value to readers. Social media marketing and Internet marketing can help a website improve in the rankings by becoming relevant to users. When you create a website, you are creating a brand. By utilizing social media marketing or Internet marketing techniques a website owner can learn ways to help improve the overall quality of the website. Write good, quality content that readers want to share and read about and your website will begin to rise in the rankings. Rather than writing to a specific keyword, write pages that discuss topics and have overarching themes. When it comes down to it, Google wants quality content and is going to continue to find ways to boost the rankings of quality websites while reducing the visibility of spammy websites.