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As Google updates continue to roll out and the algorithm becomes more focused on displaying legitimate companies. SEO agencies and businesses in Sydney and throughout Australia need to know what Google is gong to reward. What are the things that they are looking for to rank quality websites over spammy, trashy sites? Over the past couple of years we have seem Google really tighten the noose on websites that have tried to manipulate page rank and we are now seeing, especially this year websites with greater authority starting to rank. And why have they got better authority? Cause they are writing and posting content that makes these websites an authority within their niche. They are publishing great copy that users are reading and in turn these sites are getting rewarded.
If businesses want to get their websites ranked in the next couple of years they must place more focus on what they are publishing and what they are communicating via their blogs, web pages, social media and news feeds.
So what can businesses do in regards to producing authority building content?
Lets have a look at Local Web Content Trends
So what is local content? Local content is aimed at your local community, suburb, area or city. If you are going to the be best in your local area and expect to be rewarded for this online, then your copy must have a very local feel to it. Think tradies, local professionals and local retailers. All content produced by these local businesses must be geared and aimed to the local market. This is the only and very best way to become an authority in your field in the local area.
Well Worded and Lots of Content Is Essential
If your pages are going to rank locally then they need to not only read well but there has to be some substance there. What I mean by this is that there is no point posting a blog article that’s only a couple of paragraphs long. It just wont cut it. Thin pages are in fact going to work against you. People often ask me how many pages should I write for my blog posts and I say that the word count can be no less than 750 to 1000 words. On top of this it has to be riveting, informative content. Make readers want to read more and stay on your website. Reasons why you are the best supplier for the local community should be highlighted. Keeping it real and from the heart is always going to work in your favour.
Google’s Penguin update will pick up on thin spammy content and this is going to get your site downgraded as a source of authority – hence poorer rankings.
Do You Have a Social Media Presence? Having a strong social media presence will send really powerful signals to Google that you are an authority. If you are publishing copy on your website, get it out there on your social media platforms. But, and I want to make a point here. Your posts and tweets need to have a strategy behind them Simply posting random content full of nonsense is not going to work well for you. The more time and effort you put into getting real followers (never pay for followers) on Facebook for example, the more you are going to be perceived as the go to place or the authority in your niche; be it local or national.
White Hat Links: This is a massive area and one that carries so much weight when it comes to establishing your websites authority. In short, you need quality in bound really high authority links if your website is ever going to rank. This is where the problems begin as many companies unfortunately end up using SEO agencies that can only provide links from sites that are in essence have no authority. Google looks down on this and punishes websites who fall foul of their strict link guidelines. To become an authority you need to be amongst other websites that are an authority. Anything less than this will not work – this is a given and this is the fundamental building block for SEO and web rankings. You can go online and read about this en masse.
There is so much documentation out there that it’s absolutely mind blowing. But to save you the effort of trying to understand the effects of bad back links all you need to do is give us a call here at SEO Sydney Experts on 02 9360 8514. If you have ever had a Google penalty or are simply unable to create a website that has authority we will be able to explain to you why this is so and help you reverse this situation.
Who Is Going To Write Your Content?
Authority is not easy to create if being an authority means that you have to write compelling great copy. For some people this is easy, even part of what they do for their business, they actually love writing copy and relish in it. But for the rest of us mere mortals, the task of sitting down, thinking of a topic and actually coming up with nearly a 1000 words is not going to happen. It is simply out of their scope and abilities. What is needed is a copywriter and businesses looking for more authority MUST start to think about getting professional content written for their business. One the one hand they can go the cheap option and get it done overseas for next to nothing, whilst on the other, they can invest in a local copywriter who understands the market and your audience and will write for them specifically. THIS IS THE BEST WAY to go and if businesses are smart enough to realize this then they will create some serious online authority and will shoot up the SEO rankings.
A point to note here is if you are going to have a go at writing your own web copy try to steer well clear of keyword stuffing and trying to cram as many local area keywords and services you are offering on the one page. These tactics used to work but nowadays you can forget about it.
Honesty With Google is the Best Policy
Don’t try to register offices with an address in each city. If you are in 1 area be honest about this and focus your efforts there. Look to expand organically by writing content that addresses other areas. Just cause you are in area A does not mean that you cannot target area B. The best way to do this is create a whole new page and write content specific to that area. When it comes to Google moving forward, the best way to rank your website will be being completely transparent and honest. You just might get away with it in the short term but eventually spammy, illegitimate behavior will get detected and your site will suffer.
Google has come a long way in recent times and its best practice policies that are going to win in the future. They actually have a set of guideline policies you can read BUT as with anything technical its best left to the experts that know how it works. Going it alone in the internet space is just too risky.