Updating Content for Search Visibility

Yesterday, June 8th, Google announced on their blog that they have completed "Caffeine", their newest search engine index.  This is a major step forward in providing searchers with the most timely and relevant results possible. 

To really understand the difference between the Google search we are all used to, and Caffeine, you have to understand how search originally worked.  Every time that you (or anyone) would search on Google, they would be provided back a list of websites that Google thought were most relevant.  Google would index these pages every few weeks to ensure that they are still relevant, but that isn't good enough in the Twittering, Facebooking, constantly updating world we live in today - and Google knew it.   

Enter Caffeine, the world's first continuously updating search index.  No longer do site administrators and authors have to wait days or weeks to get their content to update in Google's index.  This is great news for web authors that are using a content management system.  Simply adding keyword rich and relevant content to your site could possibly have a dramatic effect on your overall search engine ranking, giving you the power to market your site the way you know how.  Blogs will become an even more effective way to increase traffic organically.

It is difficult to say if anyone will notice a true difference in their search engine rankings - only time will tell.  While we are waiting though, you might as well get out there and keep creating that relevant content that matters so much.   

(If you haven't done it already, read their blog post as there are some seriously amazing statistics that put this new Google endeavor into perspective)

I recently had a beer with Andrew Gouty and Aaron Douglas of Deep Ripples.  For those of you who haven't heard of Deep Ripples, they specialize in organic search engine optimization.  It became apparent that we all share a very interesting viewpoint on Google rankings:  If you are already at the top, you realize how your business can't live without it...if you're not, you know that it COULD be valuable, but you don't truly understand how it can impact your bottom line.  

Now, if you do the research you'll notice that all sites that win (competitive) search engine rankings share a few (definitely an understatement) common things.  First off, their internal search engine optimization is up to par.  Think of this as the foundation of a house...if the foundation is poor, your house, or site in this case, will crumble.  You, as a site owner, should be able to control this internal search engine optimization with a good content management system and a little guidance. 

The second thing that you'll notice is that these sites have lots and lots of links pointing to them.  The natural way to build links is to create informative, useful content on a regular basis that people will want to share and link to.  If you are managing your site with a CMS, you are probably already doing this.  However, this takes time and resources.  If you are impatient, which you might be if you're not at the top, you might want to consider calling in some hired guns, like Andrew and Aaron.  You can't afford not to. 

As I was having coffee this morning with a friend and client of Marketpath's, it became apparent that using Google Analytics effectively might be more difficult than I thought.  This particular client owns a website that sells both indoor and outdoor water features.  While we were discussing his website traffic, I asked him if he knew the search terms that were driving the most traffic to his site.  He was unaware that the Google Analytics account that he used would tell him that information, so I explained to him where to find it and why.

You can find that info within the lower lefthand box on the front page of your Google Analytics account.  Simply click on the title and open up a more in depth look at your traffic sources.

Here are the reasons why it is important to know:

1.  If the top keyword that people are typing in to get to your site is a specific product or service that you offer, you need to make sure that that specifc page relating to that keyword (or product page) is as appealing as possible (especially if you have a high bounce rate).  
2.  Knowing your top keywords gives you an accurate view of what your customers are specifically looking for.  You can then tailor fit your website's message to that search term. 
3.  Finally, this gives you the ability to add more content based on your high traffic search terms.  You can easily craft blog posts about these topics and raise your visibility.

Google Analytics gives the majority of site owners more information than they can handle.  I urge you to explore the data and become familiar with the tool.  It can be an extremely beneficial, as long as you give it a shot.