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Just when you got your SEO mojo, out comes Penguin 2.0, trippin' up your flow. Here's what to do about it!
... Post-Penguin 2.0, the message is clear: if you want to rank and drive real traffic, you need to build your online brand. By strong branding, I’m not talking exclusively about giants like CNN and Zappos et al. I mean a strong brand in relation to the other sites in your industry fighting over specific SERP territory. Say you're a local dentist trying to rank for your best keywords. You won’t ever have brand recognition equal to that of Apple. But you can have an amazingly strong web brand for your local market. And if you do, you’re much more likely to rank.
When you think about branding as a ranking factor, it makes a lot more sense. Google is trying to replicate the logic of the “real world” and apply it to the online world, after all. For instance, if you have a business and you’re trying to build your brand as part of a local marketing blitz, how would you do it? What constitutes a strong brand offline? Well, you might have printed ads in the local magazines and newspapers, or maybe radio and television ads -- you know, the kinds of things that might help create some brand recognition for your target market when they're not at a computer or mobile device....
While the changes may disrupt marketer's formula's for success, as consumers we have to appreciate the Google's continued attempt to improve their algorithm with Penguin 2.0. The digital world is simply an extension of our reality, meaning it's ecosystem is as vital as any other. Business owners and marketers should be proud and embrace the importance of branding as it is as fundamental as understanding P&L.
Once again, if one reads between the lines, you will see building brand recognition, authority and trust is what marketing online is about anyway.
Proactively manage all aspects of your brand, ensuring these aspects are in sync and that they continue to reinforce your brand attributes and market niche.