The Battle for the Top Organic Positions in Google's Search Results is a daily struggle for all SEO content specialist copywriters. They must create articles using various techniques with the goal of appearing on the first page of the search engine. Google is aware of this and, since its launch, has created new algorithms that have significantly changed the requirements for web content.
In this article, we will analyze how content created by industry experts looked during Google's early years and the evolution it has undergone up to the present day.
Content During Google's Early Years
Google arrived in 1997 to stay. During the early years, web page writers had the freedom to experiment with different SEO techniques to rank higher on the search engine. Many industry experts realized that the most effective way to rank higher was to repeatedly use the main keywords. This technique is called "keyword stuffing," a bad practice that involves continuously incorporating the most relevant keywords throughout the entire web. Since it didn't offer valuable content to users and relied solely on keyword repetition, websites that used, and still use, this technique are penalized by Google.
Google's Algorithms
Over the years, Google paid more attention to the techniques used by SEO experts to achieve top positions in the search engine. Many of these techniques were not user-friendly, as they did not include elements that could help users find what they were interested in. For this reason, Google intervened by creating algorithms that would change all the parameters of web content published up to that point.
2011: The Year of Before and After
In August 2011, the Panda algorithm appeared, responsible for eliminating all websites that used undesirable content practices.
From that moment on, Google focused on evaluating content that provided answers to users' searches. The Panda algorithm brought about a permanent change in the evaluation of the texts on all existing websites, significantly impacting the content that was created afterward.
Google's goal was to penalize websites with duplicate content, those that excessively used main keywords, and, therefore, did not offer any value to users. In short, Panda was created to put an end to the most invasive SEO writing techniques, which aimed to rank high without considering users' needs.
The algorithm is still in operation and has a learning system that determines whether a website has quality content or not. Once it has made this evaluation based on its criteria, it boosts websites with valuable content and buries those with poor texts in lower positions.
Some of the parameters that Panda penalizes include:
- Websites with duplicate or similar content.
- Excessive use of the same keywords.
- Low-quality content that does not provide value to users.
- Texts with spelling and grammatical errors.
- The publication of a large number of ads.
- Texts that do not instill trust in users.
In conclusion, the Panda algorithm, which still monitors content by writers, has undergone various updates to continue ensuring the creation of texts where users can find answers to their queries, providing all the necessary help and generating maximum value. Therefore, it is important to follow Google's suggested guidelines when creating content for websites.
What Is the Perfect Content for Users?
It's the same as for Google. Fortunately, the world's number one search engine has the same interests as users: answering all questions with valuable content. This content can be generated in different ways, but we must not forget that offering a good user experience is also a key element. Here are some things to consider before starting to write content:
Know your audience: If you know what kind of people access your website and what their interests and preferences are, you can write customized content that will be ideal for your audience. Find out what they want to find and offer it to them.
Organize your content by categories or topics: This will improve the experience for your users and for Google's robots that freely roam your website.
Write creative content: This point is probably the most challenging, as the internet is full of information, much of which is repeated constantly. However, writing differently depends only on you. Apply it, and you will manage to surprise your users and stand out from your competition.
Trust is the key: Have you ever read content and felt a connection with it? Surely at that moment, you felt that the website represented you. This impact is generated through the trust conveyed by the content. Use it in your own content, and you will evoke the same feeling in your readers.
In conclusion, creating content that pleases your users will make Google very happy, and it will reward you with higher rankings. Nevertheless, it is essential to use the basic SEO guidelines in your content, such as the appropriate use of keywords, the inclusion of suitable titles and subtitles, and the categorization of different topics. All of this will make you succeed as a content writer."
