Apr
14
2017
Relationship Advice – Building Trust with Google
Whether or not you realize it, you are in a long-lasting and involved relationship with Google. There may be times when you are neglectful (intentionally or not), and there may be other times when Google gets your full attention, devotion, and commitment.
The world has moved to the internet. The web contains billions of websites. It is only realistic to browse those sites by finding them using a search engine. In the world of search engines, Google is the president. It makes sense to realize that your business’ happiness is heavily impacted by how happy you and Google are together.
It Starts with A Foundation of Trust
Tell Google everything it needs to know about you in the beginning so that there are no misunderstandings or surprises later on. Open communication and effective off-site SEO strategies are the building blocks of a great relationship.
Google determines your trustworthiness from the on page information you provide, as well as your reputation and the amount of authority signals it can find about you on the web. It looks to the opinions of others to decide how accurate what you’re telling it is.
Make Sure You Provide the Right Contact Information
Now that Google has chosen to give you more of its attention, it is important that you offer the correct name, address and phone number, in addition to using other local search optimization techniques. This way you can stay in touch, and Google won’t look foolish telling people about you.
If your NAP signals are constantly changing, Google may lose confidence in your stability.
Keep Things Fresh and Exciting
Don’t let things go stale by telling the same stories over and over again. Even if you are busy, make sure you dedicate time to providing new and interesting content. Google wants to know that you deliver quality material that can’t be found elsewhere, rather than the repetitive lines it’s used to seeing.
You should regularly treat Google’s search algorithms to keyword-rich content that is brag worthy. If you respect Google’s intelligence, and you don’t cheat with black hat techniques, you’ll find that you have a friend by your side that will elevate you in all that you do.
Remain Loyal During Tough Times
Google has something called Query Deserved Freshness (QDF) that it applies if a search term suddenly shows more popularity than usual. During these times, if your content matches the nature of the trend, you’ll experience extra love from Google for those search terms.
Keep in mind that after things return to normal, your site may go back to the placement it had prior to the temporary boost in search popularity. This doesn’t mean you did anything wrong or that your off-site SEO techniques are flawed; it just means that the real-time pulse of the industry has changed. Just because you see a decline in rank, doesn’t mean you should stop trying to make things work for the long haul.
Avoid Sending Mixed Signals
Canonicalization is extremely important when it comes to giving Google the right impression of the value of your pages. When Google is presented with duplicate, similar or cached versions of pages, especially when local search optimization techniques are driving active inbound linking that is getting spread out among them, it can lower the perception of the authority and trustworthiness of the content.
Always make sure that Google sees the version of you that is the most accurate and best reflects what you’re about. If there are old versions of your content lingering around, make sure Google knows that you’ve changed.
Build A History Together
As you grow with Google, keep in mind that it is paying attention to your habits and patterns. If you suddenly begin acting bizarre, such as sharing links with spam websites, blogging about topics you’ve never covered before, or crossing into violation territories, you may trigger alarms and end up on Google’s bad side.
Conversely, the more time Google has had to learn your behavior and spend time with you, the more trust you will have earned. This can result in a gradual favorable outcome and is often considered among the best off-site SEO strategies in itself.
Make Sure Google Knows All of Your Friends
Although Google has been interested in knowing the company you keep from the beginning, as things get more involved, it becomes increasingly important to see where you stand socially and how well you play with others.
Invest time into developing and nurturing your social media presence and building a reputation. Using effective local search optimization techniques such as infographics can boost your audience’s interaction rate with you. If you have the ability to be popular, Google will make you a star.
The Engagement
Google will certainly factor the engagement metrics of your site. While other areas are important in building your relationship with Google, this is the real show and prove. If your site is high-quality, people will want to stick around and interact more.
If your site tends to cause people to hit the back button, this behavior may cause Google to rethink the value of what you bring to the table.
Stay Interested Long After You Think You Know Everything
If you have followed the advice above, you are most likely in a rewarding relationship with Google. Just because you have great keyword placements and are receiving all of the traffic benefits, doesn’t mean you know everything there is to know about Google; that could take a lifetime.
Always be ready to learn more, and remain fascinated by the complexities of Google. You’ll find that the ever-changing search algorithms and technologies will provide a world of adventure for years to come.
