Over the years, marketers have come to realize that Google’s algorithm updates have been trying to build an Internet in its own image, especially true in the Google Phantom update. (Not a bad thing at all—keep reading.)
Yes, Google is trying to doctor the Internet so that it conforms to what it sees as ideal. To this end, many of Google’s updates have been based around increasing the value of sites to the user.
This user-centric approach has the positive effect of winnowing out the sites that create poor quality content, leaving high quality sites for users top consume.
With summer 2015 bringing with it another potential important update, known as the Google Phantom, and hints of more updates on the way, now is the time for you to contemplate where your content is and how it can be improved.
Yes, welcome to the 1925 Phantom of the Opera.
Google Phantom & Defining How To Create “Good Content”
Everyone who does content creation should know by now what constitutes good content. Good content adds value to users’ lives.
According to SearchEngineLand, good content either helps your audience understand a topic, displays unique expertise on the topic in question, compels people to revisit it or to link to it externally and encourages your audience to do something.
Although there are many different other factors that affect whether content is considered good, the end result is that your content should be doing one or more of these things at its core.
Why Filler Content Is Bad Business
Now that we know what constitutes good content, we’ll look at the things that Google updates frown upon such as filler content.
Remember, Google’s aim is to create an Internet environment that is conducive to users clicking, reading and empowering themselves. It can’t happen if the content that Google has to work with is insubstantial.
3 Common Errors To Avoid That Will Help You Steer Clear of Filler Content
To avoid creating filler content, you should keep an eye on these common errors that can sneak in: 1. Duplicate/Redundant Posting
It’s common knowledge that duplicate posting can cost you more than just a little SEO traffic. It can hit your search rank value pretty hard if you deal almost solely in duplicate traffic.
While most sites avoid duplicating pages 100% they still fall prey to the misconception that they can have content that is almost similar (to a major degree) on multiple pages with only changing a few lines of the original content. This is also a problem in Google’s eyes, and can lead to a hit in the relevancy scores of these pages. A simple rewrite of the content on these pages is a good place to start, and a number of different online content production companies are skilled in page rewriting. 2. Ad Ratios
The volume of ads on the page in relation to the actual content to the page is also a telling factor in how substantial the content on a particular page is. Affiliate pages that deal solely in ads are not seen as desirable by the Google algorithm.
If you have one or more of these pages it might be a good idea to scale back on the sheer volume of the ads on the page or maybe include some more text-based or image-based content to balance out the amount of ads present. SearchEngineWatch has already stated that Google may penalize your site for having too many ads. 3. Poorly Written Articles or Posts
In keeping with the ideal of good content, Google demands that your articles and posts be well written.
Improving the quality of your content is a multi-layered task. You may be doing all you can within your power to increase the quality of your posts or articles and still getting back content that is insubstantial. Dealing with this problem requires you to raise the content value of your writing and your overall content production skills.
How Do You Raise the Value of your Content? 3 Key Ways
Ah, here’s the crux of the matter! Your content might follow all the mechanical necessities of Google’s algorithm, but does it really benefit anyone? It might be exactly what Google is looking for but it’s nothing like what your users are looking for, and Google knows it. Your aim is not to create content that looks good and conforms to the mechanical requirement of the search algorithm. To keep your content on the focus of the users, you should consider the following: 1. Repackaging
Many content producers tend to fall into the trap of developing content along a singular line. The content they develop is of one type only and it can lead their users into boredom. Repackaging your content allows you to revamp the content into a different style. Instead of a top-ten list article, maybe you should develop one on a particular topic that allows you to expand in a more prose-like fashion. Relating to your audience is key and if you need to change your content type in order to successfully do so, then you must. 2. Build Great Topics
A topic is where you catch the attention of your audience. Your topics should incorporate your proposed keywords in ways that make it easy fort Search Engines to index. More importantly, your topics should reflect what the piece is about in a fun, upbeat and relatable manner. Crafting great topics can be a difficult prospect but they are among the most important parts of your article or blog post. 3. Standardize your Layout
One of the major pet peeves of many Internet Denizens is having to deal with a page that has inconsistent styles on its page layout. Both Google and your core audience will appreciate having a layout that is easy to read and to follow, as well as having that layout kept constant throughout your entire page.
When looking at your layout you should take into account things like:
Word Size & Formatting: A well-formatted page goes a long way towards establishing credence to an audience. No user wants to have to deal with a page where the headers are several orders of magnitude above the body text or where the sub header text is either italicized or bolded, but not both. It can be frustrating to have to read through all of these formatting changes. Google is well aware of this as well and will penalize you for a page that looks as though it was formatted by someone who didn’t have a web-browser handy to check their work.
Grammar and Spelling: The Internet today is a place where a slip up in your grammar or your spelling can lead you to be the subject of ridicule quite easily. Many users base their opinions of pages on how articulate that page is. To say that grammar and spelling are the hallmarks of a trustworthy site is not an understatement. To truly impress your reader your site should have a properly proof-read version available to users.
The Idea Behind Google Changing So Much in Their Algorithms
It comes back to the ideal of creating an Internet that users will be able to find things that are relevant to them when they perform a search. For many years prior to this, site owners could get their sites to the top of search rankings easily, without any great amount of effort. However, these sites that the search engine directed users to weren’t very good at giving the user information and, indeed, their aim was not to do so. All they wanted was the user to click into the page and from there present them with ads that they could click on to generate revenue for the site owner.
Breaking The Carousel
When the first major Google algorithm updates came out in the form of Panda and Penguin, they literally broke the internet.
Sites that had sat atop their keyword page for a long time were suddenly displaced, showing up as far as twenty pages down in the search results.
What had happened? Google, realizing that the future of the Internet and the relevancy of their search technology depended upon sites being relevant to users changed the game up on the people producing low quality content and profiting from it. A new era was born in content creation.
Google’s “Phantom Update” & What It Means For Summer 2015
In keeping with their trend of regular updates, Google slipped in an algorithm update around April or May of 2015 and didn’t actually come out and state what it was to users. The results, however, were felt by a number of big sites, most prominently Hubpages with a massive decrease in traffic of 22%. The algorithm changes refined how Google saw “good content” and penalized those sites that didn’t produce good content along the lines of what Google dictated. As summer 2015 slowly comes around, we’re only liable to see more changes on the algorithm that will affect those not prepared for it.
So How Do We Prepare?
Get a grasp of what your audience wants. At the end of the day, their opinion is what matters above all others. Google’s search algorithm has a certain number of stipulations you must follow, but under no circumstances should you let those rules get in the way of developing content that is valuable to your audience.
Most importantly, build content that is substantial and that attracts your desired readers. Algorithm changes will continue, but as long as you are dedicated to your audience you won’t have to worry about being hit by the backlash of Google’s future algorithm updates.
Remember earlier this year when Google once again shook up content ranking as we knew it with some mysterious update they wouldn’t even admit to? Now it has a more official name, and we have a lot more information.
The Google Quality Update: Formerly Known as Phantom
Out of the blue last May, sites suddenly started seeing mysterious drops in their Google rankings. This was especially true for how to and hub based sites.
Nobody knew exactly what had happened, but they knew it was clear, despite Google’s denial of its existence, that Google must have once again changed up its algorithm. Since it had no other name and had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, it was coined the phantom update.
Since that time, Google has admitted that it did make a change, and we have learned more information about what happened and what it means for content marketing.
Because the change is no longer cloaked in as much mystery, Search Engine Land coined a better name for it: the Google Quality Update.
Search Engine Land’s Vigilance
Search Engine Land, the leading daily publication on all things search marketing, has been on top of Google about this update. When it was first reported, they got in contact with the search engine giant and asked if there had been an update. Google denied it.
After continued requests for information, they finally got an answer. There had been an update to the algorithm. But they were quick to point out that it was not a spam-related update, such as Panda and Penguin. Instead, it was a change to the core algorithm.
No matter how you word it, though, there was an update, and it has made obvious changes to page ranking.
What the Google Quality Update Is
While more information is now known, there is still a lot that needs to be determined. Right now, it is unclear just what the quality update has done.
When it was first examined as the phantom update, the trend seemed to be that whatever had been done hub-type pages, such as HubPages, and how to sites, such as WikiHow, were being hurt the most.
There were many theories about why this was. One was that Google had decided to disfavor sites of this nature. However, that was soon turned with the realization that this was a domain change instead of a page change meaning that the updated algorithm looks at the site as a whole instead of at each individual page.
Google was punishing sites with poorer quality content by lowering their rankings across all content on the site, even good pieces. In other words, it didn’t matter that you also created great content if you still had poor content on your site.
It was affecting how to and informational type content because many such sites, while offering a lot of great content, also tend to have lesser value stuff. But the update was not designed necessarily with them in mind.
The update is intended to rank any site with poorer quality content lower as opposed to just the sites it has most obviously affected.
The Knowledge Graph
Furthermore, as Ari Levy pointed out in his CNBC article, how to sites are also being affected because of Google’s new search display. If you search for “How to … “ the information will generally appear on the top of the page though it is the content of another site.
For example, if you Google “how to boil eggs,” which was the first thing to pop up when I Googled “how to,” you will immediately see directions that have been taken from Martha Stewart.
Similarly, if you ask a question or search for anything with information housed in Google’s knowledge base, it should pop up at the top of the research. This is all part of Google’s Knowledge Graph, which was first released in 2012.
This system is intended to save users a step in the search process. Instead of cutting out the middle man, though, which in this case would have been Google itself, it opted to turn the middle man into the source of information.
While this is useful to users, it is not as useful to owners of the information. Since this means that people less often need to click on the actual website, it also results in lower traffic on these sites. In combination with the other updates, the results can be brutal.
Quora & The Quality Update
Now that we know a little bit about this new update, let’s look at how it affects sites such as Quora.
What Is Quora?
Quora is a question and answer site where users may ask a question and, as you might have guessed, get an answer. The idea behind this site is that people not only get answers to their questions, but that the answers come from vetted, knowledgeable users.
It allows users to pick the topics they are interested in and those topics show up in the users feed.
The Effects of the Quality Update
Because of the type of information found on Quora, which is “how to” in nature, you would think that it would be negatively affected based off of the update. However, instead of falling in the rankings, Quora actually jumped.
What sets it apart from other, seemingly similar sites? As Contently points out, a big reason for the jump is that Quora consistently enforces high quality standards.
Google does not like content that is self-promotional or generic. It wants to promote detailed content that actually adds value to the searcher. And Quora is clearly doing a good job with this.
The site works through an upvote system wherein readers vote for helpful answers. Some answers, like this one on “Overcoming Procrastination: How do I get over my bad habit of procrastination?” have received over 30,000 upvotes alone.
Since an upvote tends to mean that an article has been well-received, it goes to show that the site is a good source of content that adds value to the searcher, which is what Google wants.
The Next Steps
While we do not know everything about the way the Google Quality Update works, there is a lot that we do know. For instance, take a look at the update’s unofficial name.
While Quality Update is not the most original of names, it is very telling. Search Engine Land did not come up with the name out of thin air. The update, like changes before it, is intended to promote quality content. Thomas Smale, an Entrepreneur contributor, discussed many of the things that people should be doing in order to keep high rankings even with the new algorithm.
Do not use duplicate material (e.g., do not post the same or similar article in multiple places in an effort to seem like you have more content than you do.)
Create high value content. Make your content more detailed and helpful. If you are explaining why the sky is blue, for example, don’t just say because of science, go into it. Really teach people about the subject. Basically, be a place that meets the users’ needs.
Be credible. Prove that you know what you are talking about. Use sources to back up your points. Basically, make people, and thus Google, trust you.
Make the site all about the user. While ads on your site may be an important part of your website’s revenue, they should never take away from the user experience.
Do some quality control. Make sure your content is informative and free of errors, both factual and grammatical.
Quality content has been growing in importance for a long time. Because of this, most of your content should already be high value. This means that hopefully you will not have to do a lot to get yourself up to Google’s new standards.
And if Forbes contributor Jayson DeMers is right, you may not have to worry about another one again.
Final Thoughts
In the end, this update, like the ones that came before it, shows us one very important thing. Google really likes good content. Hence the Google Quality update.
It cannot be stressed enough. Do not just throw up content for contents sake. If you don’t have time to do it right, don’t bother writing it at all. Content is important, though, so if you don’t have time to write quality content, then get someone to do it for you.
While bad content will not get you ranked very high on a Google search, no content means you won’t get ranked at all.
To get that great content without having to sacrifice your valuable time, try out our content marketing services. Photo courtesy SearchEngineLand Screenshots taken June 2015
Google really wants you to mind your P’s (though I guess they care nothing about your Q’s.) First there was Panda and Penguin, and now there is the Phantom.
The Ms. Manners of web traffic has secretly updated its algorithm (again) and made havoc for many content creators out there. Let’s take a look.
What is Google’s Phantom All About?
Earlier this month, HubPages, which as its name suggests is a huge hub of pages on informational content of all sorts, saw its traffic drop by 22 percent seemingly overnight. Other sites, such as WikiHow and eHow saw drops as well, though not as significant.
What had happened? No one was sure because Google is keeping tight lipped, but we do know it has something to do with what Glenn Gabe, a search engine expert, coined “the phantom” or, since this is not the first time Google has so covertly turned Internet searches on its head, “phantom 2.”
Basically, as far as the experts can tell, Google made a change to its algorithm that has the potential to hurt many websites who rely on Google to get traffic.
But what does this mean for you and your website as you try to create a Google-friendly body of content?
What All the Google Updates Have In Common With the New Phantom
I have talked about this before: you have to write good content. Forget for a second the fact that readers want good content and if you do not give it to them, they are not going to read what you have to say. So who cares if you pop up on Google or not? Let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s focus on Google.
What do Panda, Penguin, and Phantom have in common other than they all start with P and they were all Google updates (and they are all nouns)? They were all created, at least allegedly, to weed out weak content.
Panda. This update was created in order to make low-quality sites or weaker content rank lower on the Google totem pole. What this meant was that higher-quality sites with strong content got bumped up in the rankings and made it to the top of Google searches. And let’s face it, who is going to page 10? The higher you are, the better your chances of someone clicking on you.
Penguin. This update was created in order to punish “link baiters.” Link baiters are the websites that post links back to themselves all over the Internet in order to appear like a quality site. (If you have ever wondered why someone would take the time to leave a comment on a post about, well, pretty much any topic, in order to mention their completely unrelated and often gibberish sales pitch with a link back to their site, now you know the reason.) Google was not fooled by this scheme and fixed their algorithm to reduce the success of these link impersonators.
Phantom. Now, there is the phantom. At first, Google was not commenting on the update, and so we were all left to speculate. What was pretty popularly decided was that Google was targeting informational sites and How to sites that had lower level quality content. However, we have since found out that this was a little misleading. According to a press release by ASEOhosting, Google is not targeting informational and How to sites. Instead, they are simply targeting sites with poorer quality content, which happens to include some informational and How to sites.
What this tells you is that the content game is survival of the fittest. If you create strong content, you are going to beat out weaker content. And the stronger your content is, the less you have to worry about Google. If everything they do is done in order to make life easier for quality content, you know that you are going to remain on top as long as you keep creating the best content.
Lesson: Do Not Write Bad Content
I am not repeating myself here. Write good content and do not write bad content are not synonyms. You could write good content and bad content if you wanted to. I would advise you not to, though. Google does not reward good content, it simply punishes bad content.
Ari Levi discusses Gabe’s, the search engine expert’s, assessment of the phantom in a CNBC article. What Gabe found was that even informative, well written pages were being ranked lower. In other words, an entire domain was being hurt because of its bad content even if it also created good content.
Basically what this means for you is that it does not matter how good some of your content is if the rest is awful. It is not enough to start writing good content, you have to stop writing bad content.
How Do You Write Good Content and Avoid Bad Content?
It is easy to say that you will get rid of your weaker content and start churning out good content. It is a lot harder to actually do it. With everything else you have going on in your career and business, how are you supposed to start over from scratch if you have not already been creating strong articles?
As difficult as it may seem, there are some foundational easy ways that you can do this.
The first, and perhaps easiest, is to outsource. Hire someone else to write your content for you. Professional writers know what they are doing not only because they are good writers with a passion for words, but because they have to stay on top of things. Their job is to research what makes good content, how to properly use SEO, and what Google wants. They get training and alerts when the rules change. They make a living by consistently giving you good, quality content. So you might as well take advantage of them.
If you do write your own content, whether entirely or even just some of it, do your research and perhaps get some training. Make it a point to keep up with these changes. Follow some blogs that talk about web writing. Maybe even take a training course on content creation.
When you write, write for a human being. Yes. Make sure you know and use important keywords. Yes. Think a little about what Google might like. However, do not write for Google, write for your audience. But more about that in a second.
Never write something just because you want to post something. Always have a meaning and a purpose behind your words.
Be trustworthy. Back up your claims with research. Don’t just say, “Buy us because we are the best.” Say why you are the best and convince your readers that you really are.
Worry a Little Less About Google, a Little More About Your Readers
I mentioned it above, but it is important enough to merit its own section: worry more about your readers than about Google.
Google is smart. Google is kind. Google is important. But in the end, your readers are more important. Who cares if Google thinks you should be number one on people’s search results if the reader does not agree. They might click on you, but they won’t click back on you if you do not convince them to stay.
When you write, think about your readers. What do they want to hear? What do they want to know? Base what you write on those facts. In the end, it is the readers’ opinion and thoughts that will make a sale or conversion. So focus on them, and you will not have to focus as much on what Google is plotting in its secret lair hidden away from prying eyes.
Here is the thing, though. If you write what your readers’ want to know, then not only will it make your content better, but it will make you fall right into their searches anyway. That list of keywords your SEO guy sends you did not come out of thin air. It came from data about what your potential audience has been searching for.
If you write what they want, then they are going to be searching for what you write. It’s simple logic. So ultimately, if you write for your readers, you are going to rank higher in Google anyway. Win, win.
Cross Your Fingers and Hope for the Best
In the end, you can do everything I am writing, and Google can change the game again tomorrow. Even Gabe, who is a well-respected expert, admits to being at a loss as to what should be done and how to handle Google.
A lot of your web writing life is trial and error, guess and predictions. However, if you consistently create good content, you do not have to worry about all that. Google wants readers to find you, and even without searches, readers keep the very best websites bookmarked.
So what should you do about the phantom? Give it what it wants – high quality content that readers can trust. And you should be doing that anyway with or without Google.
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