We are all aware that Google cares about “The User Experience”. If you don’t know and you own a website, then you should know that Google search is all about giving the user what they are searching for, presented with good content and a good user experience.
Well yesterday, Google announced a change to the algorithm that returns the search results. Basically what they are after is that the user is presented with good quality, solid content and not hit with a multitude of adverts before they get to the content. What a lot of sites have been doing recently is presenting ads above the fold to the user when they land on the webpage and the user is then forced to scroll down below the fold in order to get to the content that was displayed in the search.
What this in effect does is irritate the users who have come to your page and ultimately this will be reflected back to Google who will get really annoyed and your site will then find itself penalised by the new algorithm. What Matt Cutts from Google says is that having a normal amount of ads on your site above the fold will not get you any penalties but bombarding users with ads will!
It was also stated that the algorithmic change will only affect about 1% of searches, which you think in the scheme of things is tiny, so why bother making any changes? Well, if you think that there are billions of searches performed every day, only a 1% change will be huge, so you ignore this at your own peril!
Lets be clear here, Google want you to succeed, but they do not want you to succeed at the cost of the user experience which is of paramount importance. You can have ads on your site, just do not overdo it! Provide good quality content which improves the user experience, brings you repeat traffic and you will not have to worry about the changes.
I have read on quite a few places on the web that people have been expecting another change and it was only a matter of time. People are sick and tired of being held hostage by the big “G”. To be honest, this was a similar situation with adwords a while back, everybody got penalised. The next shiny new toy came around in the shape of Facebook advertising and people moved on. With SEO it has always been about providing content and good content to the users who visit your site.
Why would you want to trick someone in to purchasing or signing up to your list, what value does that add and what long term viability does that give you, none. Provide the good stuff and you can never go wrong!
You can see Matt Cutt’s original posting here: Google’s Algorithm Change
Alan
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Excellent post Alan! I think it is always good to be ahead on what the platforms are doing or else you may find you are out of business for a while until you find a new storefront.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop!
Val
@valheisey I certainly think that being ahead of the curve is an absolute must these days as things change so quickly you can get caught out if you are not up to speed with your business.
Thanks Alan for the update on the changes to google. Luckily that won’t affect my site as I don’t sell any advertisements on it. Keep up the good work!
@dukeromkey Thanks Duke. I have to say your site is really looking good, even without the ads! LOL.
This is a great update for us Alan. I’m glad I can count on you to stay on top of this techie stuff for us.
Terry
@TerryPetrovick It’s a bit weird really Terry, because at one point I was never really that techie, but absolutely love it now.
Thanks for that update Allan it always helps to know what Google are thinking and if it’s a good experience for their searchers, then its a good experience for our visitor because they are one and the same.
Dave
@DaveSharp it is all about the user experience Dave.
Thanks Alan, I must admit I read this and my heart sank and I just thought “not again”!
Great update though Alan, Google do like to keep us on our toes don’t they? I
@LilachBullock Lilach, having read your various posts and seen the content that you are posting I really do not think you have anything to worry about.
Great post Alan,
I didn’t hear about this new algorithm change, but it does make sense. I personally never feel comfortable when I walk into a shop and 3 salespersons jump on me, trying on selling me everything they have in their shop. I like to walk around to see and after a while if a salesperson come over and ask me if I need help he is more than welcome. Sadly most online marketers are after the money first.
Take care,
Daniel
@Daniel Lombardi Hi Daniel, thanks for visiting. I would have to agree with you, I equally cannot stand it when I don’t get any service at all and it is clear that I need help. Which is what it is all about these days, helping others get a foot up! Then if you do that enough times you may get to stand at the top of your ladder!