Keeping up with Google can become a part-time job within itself, especially as they consistently change their search algorithm to better the playing field for all businesses and consumers online. It’s important to remember that with changes rolled out by the big guys, they are usually for a good cause, something that encourages fair play and ethical SEO practices.
Often times, website owners who used to achieve a great ranking on Google will notice over time that their rankings have dropped. This brings up a very valid point.
SEO is not a one-time thing you do and then walk away. Or should I say, “good” SEO doesn’t encompass this.
The biggest form of movement on the web when you see your website slip in rankings almost always has to do with what your competitors are doing and you aren’t. So as much as it seems that Google is dropping your site, it’s more of your competitors putting more time in to improve their rankings, which in return bumps you down on the list.
Luckily, there are some very effective things that you can do on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis to ensure that not only does your website not see a significant drop, but even see a constant hold or upward climb in rankings.
Blog, Blog, Blog……
Blogs started out as online diaries for people to write about their life. Although years ago, the blogging practice was heavily picked up by business owners to help increase their exposure, SEO efforts, and boost rankings.
So why is blogging so important?
Every time you post a blog post, you’re adding a page to your website.Google loves websites that are making consistent efforts to grow and add new content. Think of every page that your blog produces as an extra arm to reach out and grab customers searching for a specific topic.The idea is that over time, you have a gigantic number of blog posts, which helps really boost your exposure and page count of your site.- Blogging on a regular basis shows your customers how invested you are in your company and helping them.Many companies use their blog as a tool to reach out and provide new information relevant to their customer base. In return, many customers return to their blog to view new and useful information. This helps you build a loyal following, and of course leads to word of mouth marketing as they tell their friends and colleagues about your business, etc.
- The Name of the Game is ConsistencyBlogging is very effective for keeping your site ranking strong, however the real winners are those that keep a very consistent blogging schedule. If you use your blog once a month, odds are that your competition who blogs on a weekly basis will have the upper hand.
- Quality of ContentThe more time and research you put into the content that you produce will greatly affect the feedback you receive from your blog. It’s always safe to provide a good mixture of content that is useful, entertaining, and valuable to your customer base.
In the end, if you see your rankings fall over time, implementing a blog can really help turn things around.
Until Next Time,
Josh Olswanger
Thrive Web Designs – Your Boise Web Design Team