What counts as a high-quality website in Google?

Google’s quality algorithms for websites are aimed at helping people find “high-quality” sites by reducing the rankings of low-quality content. Taking a step back, Google wanted to explain some of the ideas and research that drive the development of their algorithms.

Below are some questions that one could use to assess the “quality” of a page or an article. These are the kinds of questions Google team asks itself as they write algorithms that attempt to assess site quality. Think of it as their take at encoding what they think their users want.

Image Courtesy: Googleblog.com

Of course, Google isn’t disclosing the actual ranking signals used in their algorithms because they don’t want folks to game their search results; but if you want to step into Google’s mindset, the questions below provide some guidance on how they have been looking at the issue.

Consider below question and check your website quality accordingly. These factors will not improve the ranking immediately but obviously improve the quality of the website. If your website have the quality content then your website will rank soon with your keywords.

Google Recommends You Use ‘Qualys Lab Tool’ to Test Your SSL Certificates

Google also recommends the SSL certificate checker. You can use here “Qualys Lab Tool”. It shows the all information about the SSL/HTTPS and other things. It is very nice tool. Try it now.

In March, Matt Cutts said he’d like for HTTPS to be a Ranking signal and I guess, even though he is on leave, he got his wish.

Google announced in August 2014 that they are now using SSL/HTTPS as a ranking signal in their Google search algorithm.

That signal was extremely weak and SEOs/webmasters should not go crazy about it, but it is indeed a signal now. Google said they are “starting to use HTTPS as a ranking signal.” Google did add it is “only a very lightweight signal” and that it only had an impact on “less than 1% of global queries.” Google did say they may “decide to strengthen” the HTTPS ranking signal “over time” to “give webmasters time to switch to HTTPS.”

It can be a signal for those websites which are getting the user information but I don’t think that it will be applicable to all websites. If my website is just related to travel information then there is no need to apply the HTTPS, I think. But what Google wants, not exactly clear to me. Most of the webmasters are asking the same queries on the forums.

Is Your Website READY for Google PENGUIN (3.0 or 2.2) Update?

As you know that Google has not released the Penguin update since last 9-10 months. So every webmaster or site owners are waiting the Latest Google Penguin update. It can be named as Penguin 2.2 or Penguin 3.0. But my question is to all of you
that Is Your Website Penguin Proof?

Thousands of webmasters have been performed link audits after being impacted by Penguin. Specifically, they have gone to great lengths to remove or disavow every link that could be interpreted by Google as being part of a link scheme.

However, as everyone should know by now, Google always keeps its cards fairly close to their vest, and there has been no definite announcement regarding Penguin 3.0, it’s due date, or if this will even be published name for the next update.

It’s our job, as an SEO and content marketers, to be as prepared for Google’s upcoming updates as humanly possible. So, with Penguin 3.0 or 2.2 update, let’s look at what should be for the Penguin proof, and how to keep our websites and blogs from falling under new penguin update.

This Penguin will be looking even more closely at:

• Link strategies: We should check the all links with the help of Google webmaster tools and other link evaluation tools so we can assure that there are not running any spam links on the website. You’re looking for links from non-niche directories,
  low quality articles or profiles, spammy blog comments, and irrelevant or unrelated websites.
  • Remove Site wide links with exact match keyword
  • Remove paid links from high value websites
• Anchor text usage: Avoid over optimized anchor text. Also do following…
  • Remove articles with exact match anchor text
  • Remove Exact match and keyword rich anchor texts
  • Remove keyword based anchor text in the Guest Blogging
• On-page SEO than ever before: Now this update will more focus on on-page optimization so EVALUATE your on-page optimization. Now Google wants to provide quality content to its users, but that content still needs to be properly optimized as per relevant search queries. We should remove the keyword stuffing, and embrace a more advanced on-page strategy fro the websites. Some basic recommendations are following:
  • Optimize your URL structures. Remove keyword stuffing from the URLs.
  • Use short and meaningful URLs.
  • Write more effective title tags as per relevant search query. Title must be for users not for the search engines.
  • Add H1 tags for heading to your page content.
  • Decrease loading time
  • Remove Server errors and clean your code.
• Content Optimization: The page content must be for users only. Old content can be a problem as per Google quality guidelines. Remove old pages which are no more required and there page views are very low. Some websites has low quality content as per old Google guidelines. There must be change the content as per latest Google guidelines.

Proper SEO strategy requires ongoing link audits of your back-links profile to find your bad links. Cleanup those bad links or proactively disavow them, just like Google recommends. Unfortunately, Google is not done rolling out punishing updates
that nail site owners who violate their webmaster guidelines. If you want to survive Google updates, you need to be ahead.

I think Google is testing Penguin related algorithm changes and may or may not launch it any day. Keep an eye on your main keywords rankings, Google webmaster tool and Google Analytics too. Penguin update may come any time any day. So be Alert
about it. The reason is that Penguin is an algorithm and not incorporated into the normal and ongoing search engine refreshes.

According to Google’s John Mueller, Penguin requires a “complete rerun” of the algorithm. So there can be some happiness and tears too because this update will increase or decrease the rankings an traffic too. If webmasters have done a hard work on links, website on-page and its content then they can get the happiness otherwise the they can also get tears. So Be ready for new Google Penguin Update.

When you get any news for this update then please share with me too.

Google Algorithm Update – Possibly Panda Refresh Around 8th or 9th August 2014

Google has not justified the Algorithm update till now but as per seroundtable.com, it can be possible to update the Panda refresh by Google around 8th or 9th August 2014. Some webmasters has seen the drastic drops in the traffic volume and conversions. Google won’t comment on this but the update seems to have around 9th or 8th August and has continued through the weekend.

If you have seen some changes in traffic volume, please share with us.

Google Penguin 2.1 – How to recover it?

 Google has been released its spam fighting algorithm on 4th October’13, named as “Google Penguin 2.1. Search Engine Experts believe that this update has been hampered only few percent queries searched by users. As per this update, Google wants only more reachable and easier to locate websites for the Users.

But the question is that how can websites avoid a Penguin penalty?

And the some answers come in my mind are following…

• Basically we have to focus on making the site is more usable for your visitors.
• Syndicate your blog’s content.
• Publish some user friendly unique videos to YouTube.
• Distribute your content on only high quality PR websites .
• Write useful guest blogs without any keyword stuffing

What should you do if you have been penalized by Penguin 2.1:

• Identify the Problem and realize your mistakes which you have done for your website.
• Always remember that Google is just looking for you to do what’s best for your users. If you are publishing or providing only the user friendly content to the users then there is no problem but if you are working only for search engines then is not good for your websites.
• If your traffic is going down after October then your website is 100 % affected by this update and you have to rectify the problem.
• If you have received the “Manual spam” in Google webmaster tool than it is the Alert of your ranking drops and that means your site is affected by penguin 2.1 update.

Google Penguin has no tolerance for what it considers an over-optimized website. So optimize your website as per latest Google Quality guidelines and focus only the Users not for the ranking. If your site will gain the visitors then your website will rank automatically.