Do the words Panda and Penguin mean anything to you, other than both being black and white cute animals? In fact, they relate to two key 2012 updates to Google’s search algorithms, with one key alteration going by the name of Google Author Rank.
You might have noticed recently that if you search for a particular word or phrase on Google, the results that appear highest might have been written by an ‘expert’? And that these people may have X thousand contacts in their Google + circles? That’s essentially what Google Author Rank is all about – giving prominence to web sources with authoritative content.
Why did we at AD sit up and take notice of this? Well, anything that might impact on our clients’ online profile grabs our attention. These changes mean that online media coverage, branded content and social media activity are increasingly critical to Search Engine Optimisation.
Generating valuable and authoritative content, and propagating it via earned, owned and social media has become the key to pushing your brand to the top of organic search results. (And no, keyword stuffing does not come into it!). Fortunately, as communications specialists, content creation and media relations – including social media – are among our core skills.
We’ve produced a white paper which goes into detail on how the relationship between PR and SEO is crucial, with lots of tips to get you started on making sure your content fits the bill. Contact us for a copy if you’re interested. We’re also hosting a lunch-and-learn session on the topic in June, to help our clients understand the implications for them.
So next time you’re Googling, think about how the search results got there, and remember that the authoritative content you create and own can also catapult your search engine rankings.
Written by Joanna Muggeridge