SEO update for May 2010

This is an extract from an update sent out this month to clients to keep them updated on some of the key SEO changes and updates from our blogs, newsletter and Webmaster radio show.

1. SEO News

Key news items for May:

a) Google Mayday algorithm change

Around the 28th April to 3rd May, Google implemented a change to the algorithm. Some webmasters experienced a significant loss of their long tail traffic post this date, while other webmasters did not see any drop at all. Matt Cutts confirmed this change in a recent video on YouTube. The key points are that this is an algorithm change not manual intervention, with the aim of providing better quality search results for long tail queries.

Implication: The main thing here is not to make drastic changes to your website without identifying the potential issues and putting a strategy in place. Start by checking your search referral traffic post April 28th for long tail terms. A drop in traffic to head terms isn’t likely the result of MayDay, but a drop in long tail traffic and the number of pages getting search referrals could be. We would suggest you follow the same SEO methodologies that you use for competitive head terms, build an optimised and siloed website structure and ensure there are good quality on-topic internal and external links into the depths of the website.

Photo by Panoramas via Creative Commons

b) Top Google Ranking Gets Twice The Traffic Of #2 Ranking

In research completed by Chitika, based on a sample of about 9 million impressions, it has been found that a web page that ranks at the top of Google’s search results gets twice as much traffic as the number two listing, and triple the traffic as the page listed third. Pages in the number one position received more than 34% of all visits, compared to 17% for pages ranked second, and 11% for pages ranked third. This is slightly different than the 2006 AOL data which suggested that 42% of clicks were on the top-ranked page, 12% on the number two listing, and 8.5% on the third-ranked result.

Implication: If you want your website crawled frequently, make sure you update your website with fresh content regularly, at least a few times a month. If you have a very low PageRank, then attempt to build some links from relevant, high trust sites to boost your PR and ensure Google visits your site regularly.

c) Google tries to revisit each website in their index every few days

In a Google Webmaster Tools video, Matt Cutts revealed that Google crawls a large fraction of their index every few days, in the past they had a goal of refreshing their index every month. If content stays the same for a long time, then the time between Googlebot spidering that page may be lengthened. Having a low PageRank score can also negatively affect how often Google visits your site

Implication: If you want your website crawled frequently, make sure you update your website with fresh content regularly, at least a few times a month. If you have a very low PageRank, then attempt to build some links from relevant, high trust sites to boost your PR and ensure Google visits your site regularly.

d) More Google Webmaster Tools keyword information

The Google Webmaster Central Blog announced that the keyword section within GWT has several new updates. As requested by many, they’re now showing an “Average position” column right on the main Search Queries page. This provides a quick at-a-glance way to see where your site is showing in the search results for specific queries. The other addition they’ve made to Search Queries is a “Starred” tab. Next to each Query on the Search Queries page there is now a clickable star icon. You can click the star icon for all of the queries that are of most interest to you. All of the queries that you “star” will be consolidated under the Starred tab providing a super easy way to view just the queries you care about.

Implication: The more data you have, the greater the insights you can extract from that data. From those insights you can create accurate, actionable items that you can implement to enhance the search engine optimisation of your website.

2. Blog

Key blog posts in May:

• Google unveils two new innovations
• Busting the Myth of Originality: Branding Basics
• Whats up at Google I/O
• Branding Hierarchy of Needs
• The Social Media Discussion is Here to Stay
• Content Boot Camp: Run a Mile in Your Reader’s Shoes
• Small Business SEO — SEM Synergy Extras
• Social Media Strategy, What’s That?
• Universal Search – Digital Asset Optimisation
• SEO sharing session

3. Newsletter

Key newsletter articles in May:

• Understanding SEO for Small and Local Businesses
• The Ins and Outs of Meta Data
• SMX Sydney 2010 Highlights

4. Webmaster Radio – SEM Synergy

Key podcasts in May:

• Brands in SERPs and Search News
• Facebook Marketing & Privacy Issues
• Small Business SEO
• Mayday, Enterprise SEO & Retail SEM

5. SEO Training

The next one-day training dates are in Sydney on June 9, and Melbourne on June 23.

Further dates for 2010 will be released shortly. The SEO training page has further details.

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