The Future of SEO after Google’s Penguin & Panda Updates

It seems ironical, how updates named after two particularly cute & cuddly animals, have rocked the SEO industry & sparked a series of debates on whether SEO still has any relevance. While these updates may have had a cataclysmic impact on rankings & hence fortunes of many websites, it is equally true that both these updates have only been Google’s way of cleansing the good old W3, or separating the wheat from the chaff, if you like.

In short, Panda’s focus has been on content while Penguin’s focus has been on credibility. Panda updates are designed to target pages that have “thin content,” while Penguin Updates are targeted at web spam including keyword stuffing & unnatural back links. As with everything else, there have been winners and losers. The greatest impact has been felt by affiliates, e-commerce sites, key word stuffed sites, redirects etc.

If the Penguin & Panda Updates have impacted SEO, it is the black-hat SEO practices, that had affected the quality of search results. As they say, practices that are steeped in commonsense & integrity, however, never go out of fashion.

Content is King- Now more than ever

The first & the fundamental rule of SEO is, as relevant as ever. And that is, that there is no shortcut to generating unique content. Any website that focuses on building relevant content is likely to see a more engaged user base, than one which spends time on unproductive SEO strategies. Original content, that speaks to the user base, has a personality of its own & perhaps a little sense of humor, is far more likely to succeed than sheer keyword density & repetitive content.

Trust

The online world, in a sense only mimics the offline. If trust is an important factor for consumers to make their judgments in the offline world, the online world is no different. More & more people today are likely to come to websites that seem trustworthy & authentic. A site’s authority can only be enhanced if its links come from credible People & Organizations & provide value to the user. Gone are the times, that SEO meant creating innumerable back links, no matter how irrelevant. Instead of low level link building, the links need to be natural & a function of great content . The focus needs to be on building relationships with domain bloggers, for example & to benefit mutually from each other’s audience.

Effectively Using Social Media

Though not technically SEO, generating great content that lends itself to likeability & shareability on the social media, is another great way to build recall for the brand.

Overall, although SEO is likely to remain a relevant concept for times to come, its success depends upon the web site owner’s ability to think like their target audience. The key lies in worrying not just about a SEO strategy post the Google Panda & Penguin Updates, but an effective Internet Marketing Strategy.