After surviving the Google Penguin update, do you know what should now be the focus of your SEO campaign? Before this question can be answered, it is important to know what the meaning of the Penguin update was. In a nutshell, the Penguin update addressed anything to do with web spam. The recent Penguin update caused many SEO experts to sit up straight and begin to fear the worst as the most recent Penguin update actually changed the algorithm rather than refreshing it. This has caused many websites to simply fall off the radar overnight – something which every SEO expert prayed would not happen to any websites in their care.
The Penguin update differs to the Panda update in that Panda concentrates on quality content, whereas the focus of Penguin is web spam. Both Penguin and Panda are very popular, but should not be confused.
So what can you do to avoid falling foul of future Penguin updates?
One of Google's keen focuses at the moment is Authority and is one of the biggest changes seen within the algorithms so far. By Authority we mean becoming an authority in your niche. Essentially this means getting awareness out there and becoming the known source to go to for whatever it is you are promoting. A key thing that is needed first is to use Author Rank. This is where Google ranks the quality of particular authors through Google+. It is also important to gain a presence within social media if you haven't already done so through platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Linked In.
So what does all this mean?
Google Authorship Markup is probably the best thing you can do to up your exposure and gain brownie points with Google. Google Authorship is a straight forward process that allows you to connect your writing to your Google+ profile.
Google+ Sharing: When content is posted, share as much as possible and ensure every site you share to is included in your Google+ contributor section. Make this your focus for the rest of 2013 and use all opportunities such as industry contacts and Google Ripple to share your content.
Google+ Connections: If you haven't made a start yet, start adding people to your circles and make sure they are returning the favour. Keep them relevant though.
Google+ Activity: Share your content of course – but didn't forget to share the content of others. +1 content you like and comment on other posts. This way you are showing Google you are social and helping others too.
Ensure that all content you write is helpful, relevant and compelling. This will ensure people will keep sharing and helping you. Combining this with healthy social media outlets with relevant followers that are used regularly will encourage them to link naturally to your content. Using your time wisely to engage and become more social on line will reap far more rewards and create a useful network of people conducive to your business interests. It is far more fun than placing inadvertent links onto websites and hoping it is allowed.