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Google Vs. Content Farms

GOOGLE CONTENT FARMS The Who, The What, and the What Now? Last month, Google made one of the most consequential algorithm updates of the last decade. Deemed the “Farmer Update," the recent slap removed websites deemed to be "content farms" from many of the results. The outcome has rocked the SEO community and left some websites teetering on the brink of obscurity. What caused Google to issue this slap, and who was most affected by it? Most importantly, how can marketers made sure it doesn't affect them? WHAT MAKES A CONTENT FARM? For several years now, content farms have been a big part of search engine optimization strategy. These sites were vast repositories of articles, editorials, and how-to guides, which existed to boost other websites' search rankings. It worked like this: HV Google's natural bias toward # 1 information-based sites rewarded The content farm published (or stole) large quantities of cheap, low-value the sheer volume of content with articles on a number of assorted links. a good search rank. 2$ Once the farm's authority got high enough, it could then link to other websites in need of 3 4 These small articles attracted links from other bloggers, SEO help and boost their search further boosting the farm's search rank and authority. rankings (usually for a price). GOOGLE STEPS IN Since its launch, Google has been on a singular mission to deliver the most relevant search re- sults possible. In fact, Google is so obsessed with search result quality that it makes between 350-400 updates to its algorithm a year. That's roughly one update 0000000 D0000 D00000000000 EVERY SINGLE DAY. blog.owardispace.com/how-mary-changes-does-googie-make-to-their-primary-search-algorithm-in-a-year/ Most of these updates are practically invisible to the searcher, but when Google set its sights on the hundreds of content farms invading the front pages, the world took notice. On 2/24/2011, Google engineers Amit Singhal and Matt Cutts announced that Google was stepping in to take action against content farms. This update is designed to reduce ranking for low-quality sites- sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites. -Singhal & Cutts The engineers went on to say that almost 12% of the search results would be affected by this massive update. googieblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/finding-more-high-quality-sites-in hemi WHO WAS AFFECTED? When the Google slap came, it hit hard, wiping out millions of top search ranks across a myriad of supposed content farms almost overnight. The slap affecred targeted websites in a number of different ways. Search engine research blog SISTRIX uses a formula to measure how well a domain is ranking for searches related to its content. This is known as "visibility", and the recent Google slap wiped some sites clean off the map. Five Sites That Lost The Most Visibility SUITE101.COM ASSOCIATED CONTENT.COM ARTICLESBASE.COM BUSINESS.COM ESSORTMENT.COM 94% 94% 93% 93% | 91% If losing nearly all visibility is a death sentence on Google, losing a major percentage of top search rankings is the nail in the coffin. Top Five Biggest Search Rank Losses SUITE101.COM ASSOCIATED BUZZLE.COM EZINE ARTICLES.COM HUBPAGES,COM CONTENT.COM 79% | 75% 72% 71% 67% searchenginelandcom/who-lost-in-googles-farmer-algorithm-change-66173 www.sistrix.com/biog/870-sistrix-visbiotvindex htm/ WHO CAME OUT AHEAD? Of course, with so many top search rankings removed, there had to be new websites to take their place. As a result, some companies received huge gains in the Google results as their pages rose to claim the empty slots on page one. Top Five Biggest Wins 89% | 26% | 2O% 20% 19% BESTONLINE ETSY.COM ANSWERS. YAHOO.COM EHOW.COM SEARS.COM COUPONS.COM Curiously, eHow, regarded by most as a blatant content farm, not only wasn't affected by the slap, but actually benefitted from many of its competitors wiped out of the top ranks. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR S.E.O.? Seeking links from content farms is no longer a winning strategy. When the Google update came, it not only affected the content farms, but the blogs that received links from them: When a blog with good authority links to another site, positive link juice is passed along. If that website loses its authority, those links become worthless, and could even pass along negative link juice. Blogs that built their SEO strategy around content farms saw their search position plummet as a result of the slap. Now that Google has put an end to the power of content farms, how can you avoid being hurt by the new algorithm? DO NOT COPY CONTENT Google's Anti-Scraper update was a preamble to the content farm slap. The update punishes any blog caught ripping content from an original source. DO NOT REPOST YOUR CONTENT ON OTHER BLOGS Your original content should stay on your blog. Posting copies of it elsewhere could cause Google to deem your site as a scraper and hurt your rankings. DO NOT BUY LINKS Google's algorithm rewards sites with many inbound links. Some websites, including JC Penney and Overstock, have tried to trick Google by buying huge amounts of links, but if Google catches on, your rank will be damaged. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR INBOUND LINKS Sometimes your website may have inbound links from content farms without your knowledge. Through no fault of your own, your rank will fall. searchengineandcom/poogelaunches-agon enspam-62736 moneycnncom/201/02/25/technologgaming www.jonathanlegercom/google-vs-content-farms/ FOCUS

Google Vs. Content Farms

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The search engine marketing geniuses and engineers of world domination that run Google, Inc. are the go-to guys for SEO profitability -- as they well should be, considering they process at least 1 bil...

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