Google is notoriously tight lipped when it comes to telling webmasters what exactly goes into its proprietary algorithms and how a website is deemed worthy of a coveted position one ranking. Earlier this week, the search engine relaxed its grip on its treasure chest of secrets and released a video charting the top five SEO mistakes web owners make when trying to climb to the top of the SERPs.
The video, presented by Maile Ohye, Developer Programs Tech Lead at Google’s Mountain View headquarters, provides valuable intel for those still struggling to get to grips with search engine optimization. It also provides key talking points for those wanting to increase their search engine presence by laying out the top five things that turn Google cold.
1. Value Proposition (lack of)
One of the things that most web publishers are guilty of at some point or another is failing to identify exactly why a user should click on their website in the search results. In the midst of tearing your hair out at sliding rankings and just how difficult it is to get decent links, the target of the exercise gets forgotten – not Google itself but the end user. The human being with a credit card and the power to add to the success of a business by bestowing it with custom.
For Google, the lack of a value proposition is the number one error committed in SEO strategy.
Righting the wrong: Google advises optimizers to identify why a user should click on your site link in the search results before starting a campaign. This could be anything from cheaper prices, free quotes, complimentary shipping to award winning customer service or multi-language customer support– the important thing is to be aware of what makes the site better than competitor offerings in order to make the information presented both compelling and useful.
