This week the New York Times broke the story about how JCPenney nabbed the #1 spot in Google for a slew of search terms. For months – right through the holiday season – they were top of the rankings for phrases like “skinny jeans”, “home decor” and “comforter sets”, to name just a few. Google looked into the results and, suddenly no more JCPenney. They were penalized for buying links on spammy, irrelevant sites, which is a violation of Google’s terms and conditions.
What does Google like? Good quality content. And no, that does not mean buying reams of articles from content farms.
The Official Google blog says “As “pure webspam” has decreased over time, attention has shifted instead to “content farms,” which are sites with shallow or low-quality content. In 2010, we launched two major algorithmic changes focused on low-quality sites. Nonetheless, we hear the feedback from the web loud and clear: people are asking for even stronger action on content farms and sites that consist primarily of spammy or low-quality content.”
So what does Google like? Really good quality linkbait. Creative content that adds value to the conversations online. Here is what Matt Cutts of Google has to say about this.
Listen to your audience/community/tribe and find out what kind of content they’re interested in, what they find entertaining or valuable. Figure out what you can provide that will grab their attention and get them to link to your content.
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