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Google algorithms exposed:How to identify SEO themes and drive more traffic

Insights from the network

People want fresh, relevant search content, and Google strives to give the people what they want. Since the company’s inception, this user-focused commitment has remained at the company’s core—working tirelessly to help search users find the information they’re looking for as quickly and painlessly as possible. Whether you’re a runner looking for the newest shoes for an upcoming race, a pet owner looking for the best brand of organic dog food, or an aspiring photographer looking for the most affordable entry-level digital SLR, odds are good that you’ll turn to Google to initiate your search. Google’s delivered on its promise of a superior user experience, earning the company the top spot as the most often used search engine with market ownership at nearly 65% .

How is it that Google can stay so far ahead of the competition? Through testing, tweaking, and adjusting, Google has a long history of algorithm updates, search engine changes, and refreshes. While casual search marketers may read about an update or two over the course of a year, Google adjusts its algorithms closer to 600 times annually . Aside from major updates like PageRank, Panda, or Penguin, most updates go unnamed, unpublicized and, often, unknown. As a marketer, how can you know which ones you should pay attention to?

Eighty-nine percent of consumers turn to search to find information on products, services or businesses prior to making purchases . Given the importance of search in today’s buyer’s journey, it’s critical that companies stay abreast of Google’s algorithm updates and the resulting implications on their search marketing strategy. While some updates may have only minimal—if any—impact on rankings, understanding the core reasons for updates can provide valuable insights to help guide your search marketing efforts.

Over the past few years, Bazaarvoice has done an in-depth study of Google’s investments and algorithm updates over its sixteen-year history. We asked the question, “Why did Google win?” and have uncovered some common themes to help guide your search marketing strategy. In this e-book, we’ll provide a brief history of Google algorithm changes, introduce a framework to guide your SEO strategy, and provide best practices and proven techniques to improve your search marketing strategy.

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A Brief history of Google updatesWhile Google has a long history of algorithm updates, the following is a collection of some of the most critical updates that marketers should be familiar with.

PageRank—Developed by Sergey Brin and Larry Page (updated frequently)

The original Google algorithm (as well as the best known), PageRank is a way of

measuring the importance of websites. According to Google, PageRank works by

counting the number and quality of links to a page to determine a rough estimate

of how important the website is. The underlying assumption is that more important

websites are likely to receive more links from other websites.

Caffeine

After months of testing, Google released Caffeine—a massive infrastructure change

designed to speed crawling, expand the index, and integrate indexation and

ranking in nearly real time. Caffeine not only boosted Google’s speed, but also

more tightly integrated crawling and indexation, resulting in (according to Google)

a 50% fresher index.

Panda (updated 25 times since)

Panda rolled out for the purpose of boosting the rankings of high-quality sites that

provide valuable content. Panda sought to eliminate websites with low-quality

content that used of black-hat SEO techniques to drive traffic.

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Google Algorithms Exposed: How to Identify SEO Themes and Drive More Traffic

Schema.org/Rich Snippets

Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft jointly announced support for a consolidated

approach to structured data where they created a number of new schemas

to help produce even richer search results. Structured data markup in Web

content helps Google algorithms better index and understand the content.

Using this structured data, Google can add utility to search by including things

like product information, review data, recipes, and events.

Freshness

Google announced that an algorithm change rewarding freshness would

impact up to 35% of queries (almost 3X the publicly-stated impact of the

original Panda udpate). The freshness update primarily affected time-sensitive

results but signaled a much stronger focus on recent content.

Top Heavy (a.k.a. Page Layout Update)

Google updated its page layout algorithms to devalue sites with too much

ad space above the “fold.” The update had no official name, although it was

referenced as “Top Heavy” by some; it’s been updated twice since.

Penguin (updated 6 times)

Google launched the Penguin Update to better catch sites deemed to be spamming

its search results, in particular those doing so by buying links or obtaining them

through link networks designed primarily to boost Google rankings.

Hummingbird

Hummingbird was a Google infrastructure update intended to help the search

algorithm better understand the context behind a user’s search. The update enables

Google to better-leverage language nuances like synonyms, past search history, geo-

location, and other contextual data to improve the relevance of search results.

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So what does this mean for marketers? Where should you place your time and budget to win in search? The short answer: Marketers need to invest where Google invests. Rather than analyzing each individual update—and adjusting your search strategy accordingly—marketers will be better served by focusing on the underlying themes that each of Google’s updates is designed to address.

What matters to Google, you ask? The following is a breakdown of the core themes—and their corresponding updates—with baseline goals that marketers should strive to achieve:

Invest where Google invests

Content (Panda): Include 800+ fresh words on each page

Freshness (Schema.org,

Freshness, Caffeine): Refresh content daily

Reputation (Penguin,

PageRank): Use date and author data to communicate social

Markup (Schema.org /

Rich Snippets): Code pages with proper Schema.org markup

User Experience (Top Heavy,

Hummingbird): Load social content without a click

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The truth about search position

What percentage of your marketing budget goes to paid search today? What percentage of your budget do you allocate for organic search initiatives? Looking at 1.4 billion search queries, a recent study concluded that organic search results are clicked an astounding 94% of the time.

Take a moment to consider how you personally use Google and this may not be all that surprising. If you’re like most, you’re probably conditioned to move quickly past paid search elements—and focus on the listings that have genuinely earned their position, overlooking advertising entirely. Similarly, a growing number of consumers use ad-blocking software, preventing them from seeing ads in search at all. Considering that the top five organic listings receive about 70% of all clicks, it’s worth evaluating the investments you are currently making in paid and organic search initiatives. Is your budget allocation in these two areas proportionate with the opportunity?

A recent study concluded that organic search results are clicked of the time.94%

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Beyond the top five rankings, all others listings account for the other 30% of clicks.

If you find your pages in the red (or yellow), you could be a prime candidate for improving your rankings by tweaking to your organic search strategy. In the next chapter, we’ll show you how— breaking down the six ways that consumers search for products and offering tips to help your company optimize for each.

Organic: 94%

Paid: 6%

In 1.4 billion queries - users click organic results 94% of the time.

Source: Nielsen and GroupM UKhttp://j.mp/SEO-Inventory-94-6

Paid search is only 6% of Google The value of top SERP positionThe top 3 results get 55% of organic search clicks in Google.

Source: Moz.comhttp://j.mp/2014-click-rates

Position 1-3: 55%All Others: 30%

Position 4-5: 15%

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The six bands of search: a roadmap to optimizing for shopper keywordsTypically, all product and service-related queries fall into one of six categories—or bands of search. By familiarizing yourself with the search terms and phrases consumers are using access your brand, you’ll be able to better plan a holistic search strategy—identifying opportunities to fill gaps that may be weak or nonexistent today.

Think about how you might use Google when considering a purchase decision. For example, what are the variations of phrases that you might use when attempting to research or buy a new pair of running shoes? When searching, your query will almost always fall into one of the following categories:

Looking over the band groupings, consider which bands your company is currently optimized for. If you’re not sure, consider running some test searches—in anonymous mode, signed out from Google services—using variations of the above for your own products and services. Are you ranking well for all of the ways that consumers might search for your products? Where do you see opportunities for improvement?

Domain Only

Branded Categories

Generic Categories

Generic Categories + Adjectives

Product Names and IDs

Extreme Long Tail

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Search and CGC: a match made in heavenAs previously mentioned, Bazaarvoice has uncovered that the overwhelming majority of Google investments can be mapped back directly to one of five foundational themes—content, freshness, markup, reputation, and user experience. Through ongoing experimentation, we’ve developed a formula of our own to help guide marketing initiatives and help marketers cater to each of these themes.

You probably already know that consumer-generated content (CGC) like reviews can give prospective customers the confidence to buy—and boost your conversions rates. Did you also know that CGC can be extremely influential in improving organic search rankings as well? Time and time again, studies have shown that integrating CGC—ratings and reviews, questions and answers, local testimonials, and curated social content—on your site will improve search rank. Whether you’re currently incorporating CGC into your SEO strategy or not, it’s worth revisiting exactly how CGC maps to the themes that matter to Google:

• Content: CGC creates a wealth of content, adding thousands of product-specific keywords to your site. This ever-changing content and keyword-rich CGC greatly improves the relevancy of a page. Furthermore, as opposed to marketing copy, CGC is written how consumers actually speak and search, improving the chances of capturing long-tail search terms.

• Freshness: Google values fresh content and—as consumers are always commenting on, asking questions about, and sharing experiences about products and services—CGC provides a steady flow of content that can freshen an otherwise stagnant page daily. Product pages often won’t change for weeks or even months at a time. Consumers are always shopping, though, and regularly capturing their voice keeps product pages fresh in Google’s eyes.

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• Markup: When markup is properly structured, Google will use CGC-based information to display rich snippets complete with the star images, as well as the product’s average rating and review count. These enhanced search listings stand out compared to standard rankings and have been proven to drastically improve click-through rates.

• Reputation: Generally, CGC will include author information and user profile data—author name, location, and other relevant product-specific attributes—which signals to Google that the content is social, legitimate, and not simply keywords stuffed by marketers to improve rank. In a world where reputation is so much more than inbound links, it’s essential to properly communicate the social activity that is happening in your domain.

• User Experience: While content and markup factor heavily into Google’s algorithm, equally as important to both Google—and, of course, users—is the experience once visitors reach a page. Content should load quickly and be to match the actual meaning of a user’s search, rather than simply matching a few sporadic keywords.

Understanding that a well-integrated CGC strategy can lead to huge improvements in organic search, there are considerations that help some CGC stand out above the rest. In the following section, we’ll break things down even further, sharing CGC best practices and how they relate to the varying bands of search.

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Best practice: mapping CGC to the six bands of searchLet’s now consider the three groupings of search bands—brand/domain-only, product-specific, long-tail, and category-focused keywords —to show you how CGC can be used to improve page relevance throughout the buyer’s journey, and boost your traffic:

Homepage-Only Keywords

Generally these queries happen when a consumer is familiar with your brand, is just browsing, and doesn’t yet have a specific product in mind. Queries may take the form of your company name, a misspelling of your company name, or your entire domain entered directly into the search box.

The best way to build branded authority is with good old-fashioned branding activity—press releases, social media profiles, content marketing, etc.—and, of course, owning a domain that matches your company name. Ensure that you own both your domain name and common variations of your company name. Assuming you’re already doing this, you’re likely in good standing for specifically branded terms.

While CGC carries only minimal impact on this band, it can still be beneficial as it increases branded keyword density throughout your site and, in some cases, on social sites where CGC has been shared.

Branded Keywords

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Product-Specific Keywords

There are only so many ways to describe a running shoe, but the inclusion of CGC can effectively differentiate your product pages from pages with similar descriptions across the Web. The authority earned with your branding efforts can be supplemented by CGC to improve freshness, keyword density, and a range of other algorithmic factors that dictate rank.

The queries typically happen when a purchase decision has already been made and a user is hunting for deals or the best price prior to purchase. The phrases used in these searches are usually very specific.

Product KeywordsLong-Tail Keywords

Furthermore, CGC can also help your capture extreme long-tail phrases. These queries occur only sporadically to address niche needs, though the cumulative impact of these searches can be substantial. CGC can help produce these often obscure word combinations and phrases that would not otherwise be covered in product description or marketing copy.

Category-Focused Keywords

Category-focused queries are typically used in the product discovery process, referring to a broad category of product or service. Keywords can be fairly generic—particularly when not branded—and some of the hardest to optimize for due to the sheer breadth of competition. Category-level queries fall into one of three groups.

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Generic Category Queries

These searches most often occur during the product discovery phase. While a user may have identified a need, they probably aren’t loyal to a particular brand and not yet familiar with the category’s offerings.

While many brands have developed strategies to optimize for product-level searches, category-level optimization has traditionally been a tougher nut to crack. Many companies struggle to show up on the first page for category-based searches—often resorting to substantial investments in paid search to help fill in gaps. While SEO strategists are aware of the opportunity at the category level, the tools at their disposal can be fairly limited.

Why is it that category pages get the short end of the SEO stick? Quite simply, most category pages are not content-rich, a key rank determining factor across Google algorithms. You may have a grid of product images, each with a unique product name and price, but that’s often the extent of it. At best, you’ll have summary product descriptions or a few paragraphs of relevant introductory copy, but this is often marketing copy that doesn’t contain consumer-generated keywords and is rarely, if ever, updated over time. As a result, category page ranking and traffic do not improve.

Generic Category + Adjectives Queries

The characteristics of these searches are similar to those of “Generic Category” queries, though a user likely already has an awareness of the specific product attributes that are important to them.

Branded Category Queries

These search terms generally occur when a customer is already loyal to your brand, and researching your offering in a given category.

Category-Focused Keywords (cont.)

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Bazaarvoice found that category-level searches represent 60—70% of all

non-homepage organic search traffic. To put things into perspective, consider that while increasing product page traffic by 15% may get you 10,000 more visitors a month, increasing category page traffic by the same amount will net you 50,000 new visitors. Clearly, optimizing for category-focused search presents a huge opportunity for search marketers.

A fairly new practice, and one that Bazaarvoice endorses, is the incorporation of relevant CGC on category-level pages. In doing so, marketers can realize benefits similar to when CGC is integrated into the product page experience and stand out from the competition in search.

By incorporating CGC into category pages, brands have a much better chance for ranking on unbranded queries. In our experience, category-level CGC has resulted in 15%+ increase in unbranded organic traffic. Furthermore, in A/B testing, a leading appliance brand saw that category pages with CGC performed 4X better in search

rankings and experienced a 25% increase in clicks.

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The bottom line

As Google continues to update their search algorithms—both implementing new rules and refreshing core algorithms—it’s critical that marketers follow their lead and invest where Google invests. The incorporation of consumer-generated content across the buyer’s journey presents a tried-and-true strategy to address and optimize for the key themes that matter to Google. Written in a way that consumers actually speak and search, CGC content lines up directly with Google’s broader aspirations—understanding users’ underlying search aspirations in order to produce the most relevant search experience.

The utility of CGC has long been implemented at the brand and product level, however the opportunity to utilize CGC to optimize for category search is just recently coming to fruition. Marketers who seize this opportunity will win—providing a better on-site experience for users, reducing investments in paid advertising, and driving substantial traffic and sales.

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Sources“U.S. Desktop Search Marketplace Report,” comScore qSearch, April 15, 2015. http://www.comscore.com/Products/Audience-Analytics/qSearch

“Google Algorithm Change History,” SEOmoz. https://moz.com/google-algorithm-change

“Annual Global Digital Influence Index,” Fleishman-Hillard and Harris Interactive. http://www.fleishmanhillard.com/

“Evaluating the UK Search Marketing Landscape: Exposing SEO CTRs by Industry and Who Clicks on PPC,” Nielsen and GroupM UK. https://econsultancy.com/blog/10586-ppc-accounts-for-just-6-of-total-search-clicks-infographic

“Google Organic CTR Study 2014,” Advanced Web Ranking. http://www.advancedwebranking.com/google-ctr-study-2014.html

Bazaarvoice Client Data.

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About Bazaarvoice

Bazaarvoice is a network that connects businesses to the authentic voices of people where they shop. Each month, more than 400 million people view and share authentic opinions, questions and experiences, and Bazaarvoice powers over 30 million local service reviews. The company’s technology platform amplifies these voices into the places that influence purchase decisions. Network analytics help marketers and advertisers provide more engaging experiences that drive brand awareness, consideration, sales, and loyalty. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Bazaarvoice has offices across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

For more information, visit www.bazaarvoice.com, read the blog at bazaarvoice.

com/blog, and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/bazaarvoice.

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