What is a Fishy Link?

Penguin is a new version of the Google algorithm. It is intended to sniff out and then trash “fishy” links. This begs an important question. How does Google define a fishy link? How will Penguin catch these smelly fishy links?

I want to help you to understand what is the thinking behind a fishy link.

Here are some concepts:

• If you have too many unnatural or spammy inbound links pointing only to your home page then this is cause for concern. Have the links point to multiple relevant pages as much as possible.
• If all of your links a perfectly worded exact match text links then this may not look natural. Be careful overdoing it with exact keyword phrase links all going to the same page. Gain some non-keyword phrase in-coming links.
  If your have a large portion of your links coming from the comment sections of blogs or forums. Get links from a variety of sources.
• If you have a large number of links from the same IP address with the same keyword phrase. Get as many links as possible from as many relevant sources as possible.
• If a large percentage of your links come from low quality sites. Get as many high-quality sites to link to you as you can.
• If a large portion of your links are from low quality directories. Again, establish variety in your link network.
• If you have links from link farms and get caught then this is trouble. Just don’t do it.
• If you have too many unnatural footer links then this could be considered fishy. Avoid SEO companies that employ this kind of link building.

Beyond this Penguin wants to see links built up over time. If it detects a large number over a fairly short time frame then it may pay closer attention and if you violate a few of the above items then with the extra scrutiny your search position may not improve.

Does the Google’s Link Operator Tell You Anything Meaningful?

The simple answer a NO! Typing link:www.yoursite.com into Google’s search box often won’t even show you any links. It certainly will not show you all your links. When it does show you some, they’re usually not the best ones.

Don’t bother to use this command because it is mis-leading at the very best. While there are some helpful tools that can find some backlinks, there is no foolproof method for finding out about all the links that point to your site or to your competitors’ sites. The good news is, just because you can’t find them all doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Keep making a great site with great content that delights your visitors and also continue to create fresh web content. Then work to get the word out in as many ways as you can.

Keep building your link profile and link network. Do not worry too much if you cannot generate an accurate list of all your links. As you create great web content and gain in-coming links you will see your site rise in search and you will see your traffic grow and this will be proof enough.

Can A Small Business Survive Panda and Penguin?

To me the big factor with Panda was a major attempt by Google to define authoritative content.

Penguin was clearly a major attempt by Google to refine it algorithm as it relates to in-coming links to a website.

Can a small business properly deal with this heavy scrutiny?

Let me discuss Panda. The entire issue is related to the quality of your on-site materials. If you have “thin” content or duplicate content then you may be affected negatively by Panda. It is natural for Google to want to present the most authoritative content to its searching audience. If your content is thin and of little value or depth then you run the risk of being penalized. If your content is not original and Google can detect the original source then your page (or site) can be negatively impacted. If you have duplicate (but non-original) content then your page is clearly not the authority.

The lesson is to create (and to continue to create) high-quality web content that delights your website visitors. Google wants to present websites that delight. If you are a small business then you have the ability to delight and you should make every effort to do so.

In my next few posts I will explain more of what Google is doing with the Penguin and how to not get penalized.

Search Engine Position – Dont’ Freak Out! —

If you go onto any internet marketing forum you will see this every time. People freak out when they see their search engine position drop. There is no need to panic but rather there is every need to think about the situation and map out a plan. There are many factors that cause a site to move in search position. There are algorithms changes. There is the new site “honeymoon” period where their websites rank very well at the beginning, but after a couple of weeks they settle in the search results… usually at a much lower ranking, again, this is natural.

Also, never underestimate your competition. They may have taken some search engine position building action. To move up in search position means that you must dislodge someone else. They may not simply throw in the towels and give up.

If your website have age and have dropped in rankings, you may need to work harder to get your position back. You may need to update your content more often, you may need to build more backlinks or you may need to re-evaluate your SEO strategy. Google’s algorithm is changing frequently these days so it’s important to find out what they want, and go give it to them.

Search Engine Position – Have a Plan and Implement It!

With a good plan and then the implementation of that plan you can achieve good search engine position and maintain it.

Web Design – Create Great Content – Do So Regularly —

The more high quality backlinks pointing to your content, the higher your search engine rankings will be. You will then get lots of free traffic. While this is the basic approach that everybody uses to gain position in search. However, there is another effective way.

Google loves websites that update often. I have worked on website content creation projects where we have defined a specific content creation plan. This plan called for more content on a regular basis. We did no focus on in-coming links but I will admit that because the content was the focus and we created good content that we did gain some links anyway.

The site did very nicely in search and the reason for this is because there were frequent updates to the content.

Many website owners spend a great deal of time building backlinks to their websites. This is important of course, but if they also spent an hour each day writing a new post for their website, they would also generate good position in search. This approach works

With all the Panda’s and Penguins about these days, it is a good idea to create great content and to add this great content to your site on a regular and frequent basis. It helps!

Content Updates and SEO Value —

Google loves websites that update often. I know of many websites that do not have many backlinks pointing to them. However, they still achieve good search engine position on niche-phrase because they update their content relative to their niche target markets. Google and the other major search engines love high-quality fresh web content.

Building backlinks consistently is important of course however do not neglect the SEO value and importance of great and fresh content. Write a new post for your website. This will help to get position and traffic. This works!

Content is still king when it comes to attracting search engines. It has worked in the past and it works now.

With all the Panda’s and Penguins about these days, you will find that your website can gain higher search rankings, simply by creating high-quality fresh content. Perhaps you do no want to write everyday but schedule an hour to write something every week. Your site will be rewarded with improved search position and your visitors will also like the new content and the value it provides.