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Washington, DC Miami, FloridaEmail & Phone
info@districtmaven.com 202-695-3226Office Locations
Washington, DC Miami, FloridaEmail & Phone
info@districtmaven.com 202-695-3226Office Locations
Washington, DC Miami, FloridaEmail & Phone
info@districtmaven.com 202-695-3226Office Locations
Washington, DC Miami, FloridaEmail & Phone
info@districtmaven.com 202-695-3226Office Locations
Washington, DC Miami, FloridaEmail & Phone
info@districtmaven.com 202-695-3226Watercolor
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Pattern
Stroke
Abstract Portrait
Aesthetic
Glowing Light
Light Effect
Glitter
Comic Bubble
Blogger Doodle
New Words
Monoline Elements
Background Design
Lines Texture
Texture
Water
Pattern
Watercolor
Gradient
Light
Wood
Sky
Nature
Clean
Digital Marketing
SEO
Social media marketing
Web development
Email marketing
Web design
Web design
Content marketing
WordPress
Blogger
HTML
Freelance
Video editing
Grunge
Grainy
Pattern
Paper
Shadow
Torn
Abstract
Overlay
Fade
Paper
Floral Border
Gold frame
Watercolor border
Dot border
Flower border
Border Design
Spring border
Corner border
Divider
Edges
Newframe
Dynamic aesthetic frames
Smudge
Paint splatter
Paint smear
Graffiti
Paint Drip
Watercolor
Hand Drawn
Doodle
Scribble Line
Handpainted
Freeform
BloggerDoodle
Handdrawn Love
FreeformPro
Pencil freeform
Simple drawn objects
Quotation Marks
Motivational
Quote Box
Quotations
Caption Box
Text Box
Neon Words
QuoteDecor
Watercolor
Pattern
Stroke
Abstract Portrait
Aesthetic
Glowing Light
Light Effect
Glitter
Comic Bubble
Blogger Doodle
New Words
Monoline Elements
Background Design
Lines Texture
Texture
Water
Pattern
Watercolor
Gradient
Light
Wood
Sky
Nature
Clean
Digital Marketing
SEO
Social media marketing
Web development
Email marketing
Web design
Web design
Content marketing
WordPress
Blogger
HTML
Freelance
Video editing
Grunge
Grainy
Pattern
Paper
Shadow
Torn
Abstract
Overlay
Fade
Paper
Floral Border
Gold frame
Watercolor border
Dot border
Flower border
Border Design
Spring border
Corner border
Divider
Edges
Newframe
Dynamic aesthetic frames
Smudge
Paint splatter
Paint smear
Graffiti
Paint Drip
Watercolor
Hand Drawn
Doodle
Scribble Line
Handpainted
Freeform
BloggerDoodle
Handdrawn Love
FreeformPro
Pencil freeform
Simple drawn objects
Quotation Marks
Motivational
Quote Box
Quotations
Caption Box
Text Box
Neon Words
QuoteDecor
Watercolor
Pattern
Stroke
Abstract Portrait
Aesthetic
Glowing Light
Light Effect
Glitter
Comic Bubble
Blogger Doodle
New Words
Monoline Elements
Background Design
Lines Texture
Image
Texture
Water
Pattern
Watercolor
Gradient
Light
Wood
Sky
Nature
Clean
Digital Marketing
SEO
Social media marketing
Web development
Email marketing
Web design
Web design
Content marketing
WordPress
Blogger
HTML
Freelance
Video editing
Grunge
Grainy
Pattern
Paper
Shadow
Torn
Abstract
Overlay
Fade
Paper
Floral Border
Gold frame
Watercolor border
Dot border
Flower border
Border Design
Spring border
Corner border
Divider
Edges
Newframe
Dynamic aesthetic frames
Smudge
Paint splatter
Paint smear
Graffiti
Paint Drip
Watercolor
Hand Drawn
Doodle
Scribble Line
Handpainted
Freeform
BloggerDoodle
Handdrawn Love
FreeformPro
Pencil freeform
Simple drawn objects
Quotation Marks
Motivational
Quote Box
Quotations
Caption Box
Text Box
Neon Words
QuoteDecor
If you haven’t noticed by the myriad of algorithm updates Google has released recently, they take the user experience really seriously. One of the tools they provide that helps webmasters see where their website stands (in the search engine of things) is using their Core Vitals Tool. In addition to being free to use, the insights it provides are invaluable.
Don’t get it twisted – the hosting registrar you choose for your website really, really matters. Aside from being the overall foundation of your digital presence, it can impact the site’s overall performance and visibility. Slow loading speeds or downtime can impact your SEO efforts, and not in a good way. By building your website with a hosting registrar that concentrates on WordPress ensures it has the server infrastructure required to produce the best performance possible. (We personally recommend Flywheel for this!)
Seasons change and so do the relevance and so does the overall impact of all keyword phrases and terms. In addition seasonal fluctuations, popular terminology and how Google interprets search inquiries is constantly evolving. Stay on top of your digital marketing game (and the results pages) by making a habit of regularly doing keyword research and adjusting your onpage optimization strategy accordingly.
It may sound elementary, but everything you add to your website takes up space. Overload your server with too much and you run the risk of slowing your site down or taking it offline entirely. An easy way to combat this is by always compressing media files and PDF documents with a third-party site such as SmallPDF.com, CompressJPG.com or something similar. By reducing the file size, the amount of space it takes up is also reduced ultimately making it less likely to negatively impact your site speed.
Another SEO smart rule of thumb is to make sure that all images on your site are properly optimized. Media files like these have slightly different optimization rules, as Google requires an alt tag to determine what a photo is of or signifying. Make sure the search engines have no issues crawling your website’s media by simply adding the appropriate alt tag when you upload it.
Similarly to how media files and PDF documents can take up a lot of room on a server, a website’s internal coding can account for a lot of space as well. Prevent slow site speeds and loading problems by optimizing the “guts” of your website. Utilizing tools to minify things like your javascript and CSS can make an enormous difference in your page’s overall performance in more ways than one.
No matter what algorithm update Google releases, its ultimate goal will always be to deliver the best, most reliable results possible to searchers. With this in mind, it is understandable as to why having 404 errors present on your website would negatively impact your SEO efforts. Webmasters who utilize Google Webmaster Tools will be notified via email if they discover errors like these when crawling any given page, and plugins like All-In-One SEO can also help as well.
Regardless of how 404 errors are discovered, the important thing is that they are fixed in a timely manner. This can easily be done by installing the 301 Redirects plugin or something similar, which will allow you to add the URLs of all dead pages and instead point that traffic elsewhere – hence the name “redirect.” When you’ve finished inserting all of the 404 errors, alert Google that the updates have been made and that they should crawl your website again. Resolving problems such as these is easy to do, but will go a long way in improving your marketing performance for both humans and search engines alike.
Another simple and easy way to boost your website’s presence in the search engines is to submit a sitemap through Google Webmaster Tools Console. Think of “sitemaps” as a table of contents found at the beginning of a book, only for search engines. When submitted, Google is signaled to follow the sitemap as a proverbial outline for how your site and its pages should be crawled and indexed. Especially if your digital marketing efforts have been sluggish for a long time, this is one quick way to get your SEO campaigns back on track.
If you haven’t noticed by the myriad of algorithm updates Google has released recently, they take the user experience really seriously. One of the tools they provide that helps webmasters see where their website stands (in the search engine of things) is using their Core Vitals Tool. In addition to being free to use, the insights it provides are invaluable.
Don’t get it twisted – the hosting registrar you choose for your website really, really matters. Aside from being the overall foundation of your digital presence, it can impact the site’s overall performance and visibility. Slow loading speeds or downtime can impact your SEO efforts, and not in a good way. By building your website with a hosting registrar that concentrates on WordPress ensures it has the server infrastructure required to produce the best performance possible. (We personally recommend Flywheel for this!)
Don’t get it twisted – the hosting registrar you choose for your website really, really matters. Aside from being the overall foundation of your digital presence, it can impact the site’s overall performance and visibility. Slow loading speeds or downtime can impact your SEO efforts, and not in a good way. By building your website with a hosting registrar that concentrates on WordPress ensures it has the server infrastructure required to produce the best performance possible. (We personally recommend Flywheel for this!)
It may sound elementary, but everything you add to your website takes up space. Overload your server with too much and you run the risk of slowing your site down or taking it offline entirely. An easy way to combat this is by always compressing media files and PDF documents with a third-party site such as SmallPDF.com, CompressJPG.com or something similar. By reducing the file size, the amount of space it takes up is also reduced ultimately making it less likely to negatively impact your site speed.
Another SEO smart rule of thumb is to make sure that all images on your site are properly optimized. Media files like these have slightly different optimization rules, as Google requires an alt tag to determine what a photo is of or signifying. Make sure the search engines have no issues crawling your website’s media by simply adding the appropriate alt tag when you upload it.
Similarly to how media files and PDF documents can take up a lot of room on a server, a website’s internal coding can account for a lot of space as well. Prevent slow site speeds and loading problems by optimizing the “guts” of your website. Utilizing tools to minify things like your javascript and CSS can make an enormous difference in your page’s overall performance in more ways than one.
No matter what algorithm update Google releases, its ultimate goal will always be to deliver the best, most reliable results possible to searchers. With this in mind, it is understandable as to why having 404 errors present on your website would negatively impact your SEO efforts. Webmasters who utilize Google Webmaster Tools will be notified via email if they discover errors like these when crawling any given page, and plugins like All-In-One SEO can also help as well.
Regardless of how 404 errors are discovered, the important thing is that they are fixed in a timely manner. This can easily be done by installing the 301 Redirects plugin or something similar, which will allow you to add the URLs of all dead pages and instead point that traffic elsewhere – hence the name “redirect.” When you’ve finished inserting all of the 404 errors, alert Google that the updates have been made and that they should crawl your website again. Resolving problems such as these is easy to do, but will go a long way in improving your marketing performance for both humans and search engines alike.
Another simple and easy way to boost your website’s presence in the search engines is to submit a sitemap through Google Webmaster Tools Console. Think of “sitemaps” as a table of contents found at the beginning of a book, only for search engines. When submitted, Google is signaled to follow the sitemap as a proverbial outline for how your site and its pages should be crawled and indexed. Especially if your digital marketing efforts have been sluggish for a long time, this is one quick way to get your SEO campaigns back on track.
Don’t get it twisted – the hosting registrar you choose for your website really, really matters. Aside from being the overall foundation of your digital presence, it can impact the site’s overall performance and visibility. Slow loading speeds or downtime can impact your SEO efforts, and not in a good way. By building your website with a hosting registrar that concentrates on WordPress ensures it has the server infrastructure required to produce the best performance possible. (We personally recommend Flywheel for this!)
If you haven’t noticed by the myriad of algorithm updates Google has released recently, they take the user experience really seriously. One of the tools they provide that helps webmasters see where their website stands (in the search engine of things) is using their Core Vitals Tool. In addition to being free to use, the insights it provides are invaluable.
Don’t get it twisted – the hosting registrar you choose for your website really, really matters. Aside from being the overall foundation of your digital presence, it can impact the site’s overall performance and visibility. Slow loading speeds or downtime can impact your SEO efforts, and not in a good way. By building your website with a hosting registrar that concentrates on WordPress ensures it has the server infrastructure required to produce the best performance possible. (We personally recommend Flywheel for this!)
Seasons change and so do the relevance and so does the overall impact of all keyword phrases and terms. In addition seasonal fluctuations, popular terminology and how Google interprets search inquiries is constantly evolving. Stay on top of your digital marketing game (and the results pages) by making a habit of regularly doing keyword research and adjusting your onpage optimization strategy accordingly.
It may sound elementary, but everything you add to your website takes up space. Overload your server with too much and you run the risk of slowing your site down or taking it offline entirely. An easy way to combat this is by always compressing media files and PDF documents with a third-party site such as SmallPDF.com, CompressJPG.com or something similar. By reducing the file size, the amount of space it takes up is also reduced ultimately making it less likely to negatively impact your site speed.
Another SEO smart rule of thumb is to make sure that all images on your site are properly optimized. Media files like these have slightly different optimization rules, as Google requires an alt tag to determine what a photo is of or signifying. Make sure the search engines have no issues crawling your website’s media by simply adding the appropriate alt tag when you upload it.
Similarly to how media files and PDF documents can take up a lot of room on a server, a website’s internal coding can account for a lot of space as well. Prevent slow site speeds and loading problems by optimizing the “guts” of your website. Utilizing tools to minify things like your javascript and CSS can make an enormous difference in your page’s overall performance in more ways than one.
No matter what algorithm update Google releases, its ultimate goal will always be to deliver the best, most reliable results possible to searchers. With this in mind, it is understandable as to why having 404 errors present on your website would negatively impact your SEO efforts. Webmasters who utilize Google Webmaster Tools will be notified via email if they discover errors like these when crawling any given page, and plugins like All-In-One SEO can also help as well.
Regardless of how 404 errors are discovered, the important thing is that they are fixed in a timely manner. This can easily be done by installing the 301 Redirects plugin or something similar, which will allow you to add the URLs of all dead pages and instead point that traffic elsewhere – hence the name “redirect.” When you’ve finished inserting all of the 404 errors, alert Google that the updates have been made and that they should crawl your website again. Resolving problems such as these is easy to do, but will go a long way in improving your marketing performance for both humans and search engines alike.
Another simple and easy way to boost your website’s presence in the search engines is to submit a sitemap through Google Webmaster Tools Console. Think of “sitemaps” as a table of contents found at the beginning of a book, only for search engines. When submitted, Google is signaled to follow the sitemap as a proverbial outline for how your site and its pages should be crawled and indexed. Especially if your digital marketing efforts have been sluggish for a long time, this is one quick way to get your SEO campaigns back on track.
If you haven’t noticed by the myriad of algorithm updates Google has released recently, they take the user experience really seriously. One of the tools they provide that helps webmasters see where their website stands (in the search engine of things) is using their Core Vitals Tool. In addition to being free to use, the insights it provides are invaluable.
If you haven’t noticed by the myriad of algorithm updates Google has released recently, they take the user experience really seriously. One of the tools they provide that helps webmasters see where their website stands (in the search engine of things) is using their Core Vitals Tool. In addition to being free to use, the insights it provides are invaluable.
Don’t get it twisted – the hosting registrar you choose for your website really, really matters. Aside from being the overall foundation of your digital presence, it can impact the site’s overall performance and visibility. Slow loading speeds or downtime can impact your SEO efforts, and not in a good way. By building your website with a hosting registrar that concentrates on WordPress ensures it has the server infrastructure required to produce the best performance possible. (We personally recommend Flywheel for this!)
Seasons change and so do the relevance and so does the overall impact of all keyword phrases and terms. In addition seasonal fluctuations, popular terminology and how Google interprets search inquiries is constantly evolving. Stay on top of your digital marketing game (and the results pages) by making a habit of regularly doing keyword research and adjusting your onpage optimization strategy accordingly.
It may sound elementary, but everything you add to your website takes up space. Overload your server with too much and you run the risk of slowing your site down or taking it offline entirely. An easy way to combat this is by always compressing media files and PDF documents with a third-party site such as SmallPDF.com, CompressJPG.com or something similar. By reducing the file size, the amount of space it takes up is also reduced ultimately making it less likely to negatively impact your site speed.
Another SEO smart rule of thumb is to make sure that all images on your site are properly optimized. Media files like these have slightly different optimization rules, as Google requires an alt tag to determine what a photo is of or signifying. Make sure the search engines have no issues crawling your website’s media by simply adding the appropriate alt tag when you upload it.
Similarly to how media files and PDF documents can take up a lot of room on a server, a website’s internal coding can account for a lot of space as well. Prevent slow site speeds and loading problems by optimizing the “guts” of your website. Utilizing tools to minify things like your javascript and CSS can make an enormous difference in your page’s overall performance in more ways than one.
No matter what algorithm update Google releases, its ultimate goal will always be to deliver the best, most reliable results possible to searchers. With this in mind, it is understandable as to why having 404 errors present on your website would negatively impact your SEO efforts. Webmasters who utilize Google Webmaster Tools will be notified via email if they discover errors like these when crawling any given page, and plugins like All-In-One SEO can also help as well.
Regardless of how 404 errors are discovered, the important thing is that they are fixed in a timely manner. This can easily be done by installing the 301 Redirects plugin or something similar, which will allow you to add the URLs of all dead pages and instead point that traffic elsewhere – hence the name “redirect.” When you’ve finished inserting all of the 404 errors, alert Google that the updates have been made and that they should crawl your website again. Resolving problems such as these is easy to do, but will go a long way in improving your marketing performance for both humans and search engines alike.
Another simple and easy way to boost your website’s presence in the search engines is to submit a sitemap through Google Webmaster Tools Console. Think of “sitemaps” as a table of contents found at the beginning of a book, only for search engines. When submitted, Google is signaled to follow the sitemap as a proverbial outline for how your site and its pages should be crawled and indexed. Especially if your digital marketing efforts have been sluggish for a long time, this is one quick way to get your SEO campaigns back on track.
Don’t get it twisted – the hosting registrar you choose for your website really, really matters. Aside from being the overall foundation of your digital presence, it can impact the site’s overall performance and visibility. Slow loading speeds or downtime can impact your SEO efforts, and not in a good way. By building your website with a hosting registrar that concentrates on WordPress ensures it has the server infrastructure required to produce the best performance possible. (We personally recommend Flywheel for this!)
Although they don’t directly come out and say this, Google makes it indirectly clear that being “helpful” starts with one’s website. After all, this is where the search engines (and potential customers) gain a strong sense of expertise, trust, and experience from any given business or brand. Google explains this is where the “people-first” content should start. According to their post, if one can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, their website (and its contents) are on the right track:
- Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if it came directly to you?
- Does your knowledge clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge (for example, expertise that comes from having actually used a product or service or visiting a place)?
- Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
- After reading your content, will your target audience or demographic experience the feeling like they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
- Will someone reading your content leave feeling like they’ve had a satisfying experience?
- Are you keeping in mind our guidance for core updates and product reviews?
Or, in other words, does your website convince others that you’re an expert in your field? Or that the services or products offered to solve major problems for your desired audience? If not, this is the first place we would look to make adjustments for the Helpful Content Update. No matter what is published elsewhere, your business or brand website will be the primary place that the search engines look to derive information about a company – one would be wise to prepare content accordingly.
Again, determining what Google means by avoiding “search engine first” traffic can be somewhat confusing. According to their blog entry, answering “yes” to any of the following questions can be considered a warning sign that content needs to be reevaluated:
- Are you brainstorming and producing lots of content on random, irrelevant topics that have zero to do with your business or brand, all in the hope that some of it might perform well in search results?
- Are you using extensive automation to produce content on many topics?
- Are you mainly summarizing what others have to say without adding much value?
- Are you writing about things simply because they seem trending and not because you'd write about them otherwise for your existing audience?
- Does your content leave readers feeling like they need to search again to for more clarity?
- Are you writing to a particular word count because you've heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (No, we don't).
- Did you decide to enter some niche topic area without any real expertise, but instead mainly because you thought you'd get search traffic?
- Does your content promise to answer a question that actually has no answer, such as suggesting there's a release date for a product, movie, or TV show when one isn't confirmed?
Essentially, Google encourages you to be real with yourself about the content your business or brand produces. If the creative you’re producing isn’t inherently helpful to your target audience, providing valuable information or offering a unique perspective, then you should readjust your content strategy.
Although they don’t directly come out and say this, Google makes it indirectly clear that being “helpful” starts with one’s website. After all, this is where the search engines (and potential customers) gain a strong sense of expertise, trust, and experience from any given business or brand. Google explains this is where the “people-first” content should start. According to their post, if one can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, their website (and its contents) are on the right track:
- Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if it came directly to you?
- Does your knowledge clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge (for example, expertise that comes from having actually used a product or service or visiting a place)?
- Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
- After reading your content, will your target audience or demographic experience the feeling like they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
- Will someone reading your content leave feeling like they’ve had a satisfying experience?
- Are you keeping in mind our guidance for core updates and product reviews?
Or, in other words, does your website convince others that you’re an expert in your field? Or that the services or products offered to solve major problems for your desired audience? If not, this is the first place we would look to make adjustments for the Helpful Content Update. No matter what is published elsewhere, your business or brand website will be the primary place that the search engines look to derive information about a company – one would be wise to prepare content accordingly.
Again, determining what Google means by avoiding “search engine first” traffic can be somewhat confusing. According to their blog entry, answering “yes” to any of the following questions can be considered a warning sign that content needs to be reevaluated:
- Are you brainstorming and producing lots of content on random, irrelevant topics that have zero to do with your business or brand, all in the hope that some of it might perform well in search results?
- Are you using extensive automation to produce content on many topics?
- Are you mainly summarizing what others have to say without adding much value?
- Are you writing about things simply because they seem trending and not because you'd write about them otherwise for your existing audience?
- Does your content leave readers feeling like they need to search again to for more clarity?
- Are you writing to a particular word count because you've heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (No, we don't).
- Did you decide to enter some niche topic area without any real expertise, but instead mainly because you thought you'd get search traffic?
- Does your content promise to answer a question that actually has no answer, such as suggesting there's a release date for a product, movie, or TV show when one isn't confirmed?
Essentially, Google encourages you to be real with yourself about the content your business or brand produces. If the creative you’re producing isn’t inherently helpful to your target audience, providing valuable information or offering a unique perspective, then you should readjust your content strategy.
Although they don’t directly come out and say this, Google makes it indirectly clear that being “helpful” starts with one’s website. After all, this is where the search engines (and potential customers) gain a strong sense of expertise, trust, and experience from any given business or brand. Google explains this is where the “people-first” content should start. According to their post, if one can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, their website (and its contents) are on the right track:
- Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if it came directly to you?
- Does your knowledge clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge (for example, expertise that comes from having actually used a product or service or visiting a place)?
- Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
- After reading your content, will your target audience or demographic experience the feeling like they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
- Will someone reading your content leave feeling like they’ve had a satisfying experience?
- Are you keeping in mind our guidance for core updates and product reviews?
Or, in other words, does your website convince others that you’re an expert in your field? Or that the services or products offered to solve major problems for your desired audience? If not, this is the first place we would look to make adjustments for the Helpful Content Update. No matter what is published elsewhere, your business or brand website will be the primary place that the search engines look to derive information about a company – one would be wise to prepare content accordingly.
Again, determining what Google means by avoiding “search engine first” traffic can be somewhat confusing. According to their blog entry, answering “yes” to any of the following questions can be considered a warning sign that content needs to be reevaluated:
- Are you brainstorming and producing lots of content on random, irrelevant topics that have zero to do with your business or brand, all in the hope that some of it might perform well in search results?
- Are you using extensive automation to produce content on many topics?
- Are you mainly summarizing what others have to say without adding much value?
- Are you writing about things simply because they seem trending and not because you'd write about them otherwise for your existing audience?
- Does your content leave readers feeling like they need to search again to for more clarity?
- Are you writing to a particular word count because you've heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (No, we don't).
- Did you decide to enter some niche topic area without any real expertise, but instead mainly because you thought you'd get search traffic?
- Does your content promise to answer a question that actually has no answer, such as suggesting there's a release date for a product, movie, or TV show when one isn't confirmed?
Essentially, Google encourages you to be real with yourself about the content your business or brand produces. If the creative you’re producing isn’t inherently helpful to your target audience, providing valuable information or offering a unique perspective, then you should readjust your content strategy.
Although they don’t directly come out and say this, Google makes it indirectly clear that being “helpful” starts with one’s website. After all, this is where the search engines (and potential customers) gain a strong sense of expertise, trust, and experience from any given business or brand. Google explains this is where the “people-first” content should start. According to their post, if one can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, their website (and its contents) are on the right track:
- Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if it came directly to you?
- Does your knowledge clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge (for example, expertise that comes from having actually used a product or service or visiting a place)?
- Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
- After reading your content, will your target audience or demographic experience the feeling like they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
- Will someone reading your content leave feeling like they’ve had a satisfying experience?
- Are you keeping in mind our guidance for core updates and product reviews?
Or, in other words, does your website convince others that you’re an expert in your field? Or that the services or products offered to solve major problems for your desired audience? If not, this is the first place we would look to make adjustments for the Helpful Content Update. No matter what is published elsewhere, your business or brand website will be the primary place that the search engines look to derive information about a company – one would be wise to prepare content accordingly.
Again, determining what Google means by avoiding “search engine first” traffic can be somewhat confusing. According to their blog entry, answering “yes” to any of the following questions can be considered a warning sign that content needs to be reevaluated:
- Are you brainstorming and producing lots of content on random, irrelevant topics that have zero to do with your business or brand, all in the hope that some of it might perform well in search results?
- Are you using extensive automation to produce content on many topics?
- Are you mainly summarizing what others have to say without adding much value?
- Are you writing about things simply because they seem trending and not because you'd write about them otherwise for your existing audience?
- Does your content leave readers feeling like they need to search again to for more clarity?
- Are you writing to a particular word count because you've heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (No, we don't).
- Did you decide to enter some niche topic area without any real expertise, but instead mainly because you thought you'd get search traffic?
- Does your content promise to answer a question that actually has no answer, such as suggesting there's a release date for a product, movie, or TV show when one isn't confirmed?
Essentially, Google encourages you to be real with yourself about the content your business or brand produces. If the creative you’re producing isn’t inherently helpful to your target audience, providing valuable information or offering a unique perspective, then you should readjust your content strategy.