panda ranking signals semne june 15

The Google Panda Update and Beyond

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Who Am I?

Co-author of The Art of SEOPresident of Stone Temple Consulting

20+ person SEO and PPC firmTrainer for Instant E-TrainingFounder of Web Site Publishing Companies

Publish web sites, grow them, then sell them2 significant exits so far

On Twitter: @stonetemple

What was it all about?

• Panda targeted at content farms?• Broader than that• Real Question: How good is your content?

– User engagement (compared to competition)– Content Quality

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How Ranking Used to Work24% Trust/Authority of Domain22% Link Popularity of Page20% InBound Anchor Text15% Keyword Usage7% Traffic / Click-Through Data6% Social Graph Metrics5% Registration / Hosting Data

Source SEOmoz RankingFactors Survey (2009)

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What it Might Look Like Now

20% Trust / Authority of Domain 18% Trust / Authority of Page 16% Inbound Anchor Text12% Engagement Signals11% Keyword Usage10% Content Quality9% Social Media4% Registration / Hosting

Source: ME

20%

18%

16%

11%

10%

12%

9% 4%

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=

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Manual Classification of Test Sites

TestSiteSet

ManualAnalysis

usa.govmit.edu

ehow.comsuite101.com

Good!

Bad!

usa.govmit.eduehow.comsuite101.com

Human ratersChrome Blocklist Ext.

Blocked Search Results

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Extracting Key ParametersGoodSites

BadSites

1. Unique Content2. Low Bounce Rates...

Good SiteCharacteristics

ParameterExtraction

Bad SiteCharacteristics1. No Unique Content2. High Bounce Rates...

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Running the AlgoAll

Sites

Web SiteClassifier

usa.govmit.edu

ehow.comsuite101.com

Good!

Bad!

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Scoring the AlgoAlgo Classified Manual Classified

Good!

Bad!

Good!

Bad!

Doc 1Doc 3Doc 5Doc 7...

Doc 1Doc 2Doc 5Doc 7...

Doc 2Doc 4Doc 6Doc 8...

Doc 3Doc 4Doc 6Doc 8...

+1-1+1+1

-1

+1+1

+1

Score: 4 @stonetemple

Tuning the AlgoAll

SitesAlgo

Score theAlgorithm

Parameter Adjustments

Output Data

Manual Data

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Myths

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No way to get whitelisted

http://searchengineland.com/google-weve-made-no-significant-changes-to-the-farmer-update-66591

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There is no blacklist

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Tools for Measuring Behavior

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66 to 67% market sharein the US

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AdSense

• CTR on AdSense ads is another signal• Low CTRs is an indicator of a spammy

page• Another indicator: Ad Bounce rates

– http://www.bayardo.org/ps/kdd2009.pdf

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Toolbar Sees All!

• Everywhere you surf!• Bounce rate• Time on site• Page views per visitor• Repeat visitors• Where users go when they leave your site

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Google Reader (56%)

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Walled Garden – No Problem!

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Android

Source: comScore via Gigaom

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The New Kid on the Block!

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User Behavior

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Search Results Interaction

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Bounce Rate

• Google Analytics– Did the user view only one page?

• Google Toolbar– One page? How long on page?

• Search Results Interaction– Time between click through to back to results

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Time on Site

• Hard to measure with Analytics– Measures time from 1st page view to start of

last page view

• Easier to measure with Google Toolbar– Can see when they go to another site

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Pages Per Visit

• Easy to measure in analytics• Easy to measure with the Google Toolbar

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Brand Searches

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Print Pages

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Scroll Bar Usage

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Social Metrics

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Searcher Ratings

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Chrome Blocklist Extension

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A Direct Thumbs Down!

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Site Previews

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Use of Site Preview

• Users sees a snapshot of your site• What if they get a preview but don’t click?

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+1 Usage in Search Results

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+1 for Websites Available Too

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Content Analysis

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Reading Level

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Spelling!

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Zappos SpendingMillions to EditUser GeneratedComments

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Keyword Stuffing

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Synonyms

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Ad Density

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Sameness

Do we reallyNeed 2.54MillionResults?

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1st Sample Site on FrogsHere is some info on Frogs:

• Frogs are green• Frogs live in water• Frogs like to jump• Frogs are not toads

Thanks for reading our article on frogs.

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2nd Sample Site on Frogs

Frogs are interesting creatures partly because they are green. Many people do not realize that they are not toads. Frogs like to jump and live in water.

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3rd Sample Site on Frogs

While often confused with toads, frogs are not the same as toads. Here are some key facts:

• Color: green• Habitat: Water• Locomotion: Jumping

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User Interaction

• This user wants to know what frogs eat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN37Fn3Hw8E&feature=related

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Must Find Ways to Add ValueManufacturer Supplied Text?

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Panda is a Fundamental Shift

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1998 - 2010SEO

Mindset?

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Sites hit by Panda want this …

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But this is more likely …

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Panda Recoveries To Date

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Classic Marketing

• Target Audience• What they want• Unique Selling

Proposition• Engaging

Experience• Effective

Promotion

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Some Ideas

• Establish Authority• Unique Viewpoint• New Information / Data• User Generated Content• Kill weak pages• Offer unique tools• New media (videos)

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Be Surgical

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Be Heartless

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Know the Goal

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Thank You!

Eric Enge

eenge@stonetemple.com

@stonetemple

(508) 485-7751

www.stonetemple.com

For a One Sheet SEO Checklist, email me, or drop off a business card