After the recent and multiple changes in Google’s algorithm, and the Panda updates this year – confusion has overtaken webmasters.
The most common question is “now, what do I do?”. “The article directories got devalued, paid links are frowned upon, directories don’t seem to matter anymore, blog commenting and forum postings are bogus, and social media is an unknown.” Plus, big brands and Google Adwords seems like the only way things work now. The entire screen real estate on Google is changing, and even Google instant is “forcing” people to select more lucrative keywords for the search giant.
They continue, “how can I build out my website so that Google gives me (back) the love that I once had? I need tons more of it!”.
Understandably so, it is complex now – and since nobody knows the absolute, definitive ways to get ranked, and therefore attain traffic – you must go by history, new discoveries, and test “best practices” to see what sticks. Then, you have to keep doing that, and stay on top of changes…just in case.
But, there is one true, tried & tested approach for Google that will ALWAYS work for your website. Do you know what it is?
You probably have heard it before.
It’s more important than ever.
It’s “content”, actually “quality content”.
QUALITY
But – what is quality anyway? I mean, you have a great website, provide daily, weekly (monthly?) updates and relevant changes to your market, but it still seems slow going. You should search on this site for tons more detail on web page ranking tips and secrets for traffic. This post is not getting into all that detail.
USERS
However, the question I have for you today is: “how well have you studied your user behavior?”. Do you know what they are doing on your website, and when (how fast) they exit? This is something called “bounce rate”. It is not just when they exist (in seconds, minutes), but what they are actually doing. For example, if a visitor is coming to your page, how long do they stay on that page, and where do they go? And, what is your goal for that visitor? What do you want them to do? Are you showing them (easily)?
BEHAVIOR
If one of your goals is to have the visitor sign up for an email newsletter, course or special download, how many visitors are following that path, per day? Example, if you have 100 visitors today, how many signed up?
Google looks at this behavior also. I mean, it’s like the popular high-schooler… the one who had the most friends, who they hung out with, and what they were doing. These signals matter, and you may not have been thinking (or known) about them.
STATISTICS
For example, in the last 30 days, I had a 3% bounce rate for new sign-ups to my free keyword research course, and the people who signed up, spent an average of almost 11 minutes (!) per visit. That’s pretty cool.
How do I do that? It’s the answer to the “page quality” question in the headline….you know it….: CONTENT & PROMOTION.
So, your action steps should be to produce content that your audience wants (yes, from keyword and market research), and combine it with images, video, audio, free downloads and email marketing + follow-up.
Users and search engines will love you for it.
P.S.
You know this. It’s called “marketing to your target market with a targeted message, using different media”. How are you doing in this area?
About jon rognerud
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Entrepreneur Magazine says Jon Rognerud is one of the most sought-after Digital Marketing Experts. His clients extend from high-end brands and middle-tier businesses in both B2B and B2C. His SEO website optimization book, "The Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Your Website" from Entrepreneur Press is in bookstores now.