SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING FOR RECRUITMENT IN 2013 A GUIDE TO THE EFFECT ’S PANDA AND PENGUIN UPDATES ARE HAVING ON YOUR SEARCH RANKINGS WHAT IS GOOGLE’S PANDA UPDATE?

This is Google’s attempt to define what it believes is either high or low quality content 1 on websites.

Websites are then rewarded or punished respectively in search rankings.

Drop in rankings after Panda update

WHAT IS LOW QUALITY CONTENT | A GUIDE

Low Levels Of Site Engagement – This means high bounce rates and low visit times on pages entered from queries .

Duplicate Content – If there is very little original content on pages, this is perhaps the strongest signal to search engines that the site is of low quality.

Over Optimisation Of Keywords – It was once best practice to repeat keywords over and again within the content – not any more.

Page Layout Factors – Websites with pages full of advertising or graphics above the fold, with little or no content for the user, risk falling foul because Google does not deem this a good user experience.

Hygiene Factors – If your site is missing a Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, About Us, and Contact Page with Address and Telephone Number, include these without delay. These convey trust and are a signal to Google that you are genuine and not a fake site.

Slow Page Downloads Speeds.

www.4MAT.com WHAT IS GOOGLE’S PENGUIN 2 UPDATE? This is Google’s attempt to reward high quality websites. Google’s Penguin update has been devastating for many. Millions of websites were affected with ranking drops suffered across the board.

WASN’T THIS COVERED BY PANDA UPDATE? | NO

Google set about examining principally “off page” (link building) factors for websites external link profiles to determine whether these links were natural or artificial.

Even sites that were not hit by the previous Panda updates were hit by Penguin. This is because their external link profile was deemed artificial.

ARTIFICIAL LINKS?| WHAT ARE THEY?

Broadly speaking artificial links are those that don’t seem natural.

They don’t appear to have been produced organically and suggest spammy, ‘robotic’ , techniques have been used to create them.

Google rewards natural, high quality, authoritative and ‘human’ links.

www.4MAT.com WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Firstly, there’s no point fighting it. You’re going to have to give Google and other 3 search engines what they require. They key Google are sending are:

QUALITY AND RELEVANCE ARE KEY| BE ENGAGING

To be serious about ranking in Google (and becoming an authority in your niche) marketers must provide their target audience with what they want.

E.G. Good quality informative content that helps to provide users with a good experience.

This may be easier said than done, however, the latest algorithm changes allow more freedom in writing . You are writing for the user rather than the search engine. Remember it’s users that convert.

OPTIMISE YOUR ONLINE VISIBILITY| BE SEEN

Following Google’s Penguin update you may be wondering what other factors come into play? It’s no secret that since the introduction of Google Plus, (Google’s answer to Facebook) this can now help websites rank in search engines.

What this means is that human endorsement of websites through social networks such as Google Plus, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Pinterest will be taken into account more and more by Google.

www.4MAT.com KEEP UPDATING AND SHARING | BE SOCIAL

Whilst it ‘s been known for years that regularly updating content on websites can aid rankings, in the future the emphasis must be to publish unique quality posts that engage the audience not just with well written text, but also imagery, video, infographics etc.

The recruitment industry is unique in that most websites are regularly updated with jobs. However, even here, attention should be paid to writing excellent quality descriptions to attract candidates and keep them on sites.

CASE STUDY | GETAHEADINMARKETING.COM

The act of republishing and sharing across social networks is one of the best ways to build natural links to a website and also draw in real users who convert.

The power of good quality content, whether its informative news, blog posts, job postings or guides, cannot be underestimated. These in turn can be republished and shared across social networks to wider audiences.

www.4MAT.com TALK TO THE EXPERTS If you’ve been affected by either the or Panda updates, resulting in traffic to your site dropping off, it’s important this is rectified immediately before it 4 starts to have an impact on the bottom line.

If you still haven’t got your search strategy back on track, you need to be talking to the experts. Over 220,000 people visit the websites we create and manage every day, with clients, on average, experiencing a 300% increase in site traffic in the first three months that we work with them.

So if you’re looking to rebuild your SEO performance, or just need help driving more traffic to your site in a more targeted way, talk to the experts.

GET IN TOUCH| IT’S GOOD TO TALK

To discuss your search rankings and how 4MAT can help you attract the traffic you require, drop us a line on 027 247 9494 where one of our consultants will be able to help.

www.4MAT.com ABOUT US

4MAT is a full-service marketing agency that provides brilliant websites and marketing services to recruitment consultancies and corporate employers. We are 5 passionate about our work and about the industry we serve.

Our service begins with understanding customer needs and ends with meeting these needs in a way that makes clients successful. We make it easy to work with us but we regularly challenge our clients and help push their boundaries in order to provide an expert service that achieves their goals.

4MAT offer a full range of web technology services as well as digital and offline marketing. Our outstanding service, innovative solutions and unsurpassed quality of work delivers a proven return on investment to our clients.

To speak to one of our team and find out more, please drop us a line on 020 7247 9494, email [email protected] or drop in for a coffee at our office.

CONTACT US | WE’RE HERE TO HELP

Alex Charraudeau| [email protected]| 020 7392 1717

Andrew Linton| [email protected] | 020 7247 9201

David Johnston | [email protected] | 020 7247 9494

Thomas Aspinall | [email protected] | 020 7392 1716

www.4MAT.com