Got a question? UpCity’s Ask the Expert encourages members to ask inbound marketing-related queries and receive in-depth, personalized answers from our experts. Each week, we will post some of the Q&A’s here on the UpCity Daily Tips Blog.
To access our database of questions or ask your own question, become an UpCity member today or send an email to info@upcity.com. Sign up for our free Daily Tips newsletter to learn other strategies for improving your online presence.
Question One: The industry seems to remain heavily biased towards links and content. Is there any chance we’ll see a shift to other ranking metrics?
Our Response: This has been an interesting dilemma for quite some time. Marketers have long been aware that links and traffic determine rankings. However, even the most trafficked website isn’t always the most accurate, merely the most popular and most trusted.
In order to level the playing field, there are several key things that Google is going to consider in the future. On such key factor is Knowledge-Based Trust. While this likely won’t replace current algorithms regarding search, it’ll be an increasingly important indicator on how sites are ranked based on accuracy and facts.
Learn more about knowledge-based trust here.
Question Two: What are some steps I can take to prevent against a Google penalty?
Our Response: Google penalties can be devastating to a website and its traffic. You’ll want to do as much as you can to avoid them.
The best ways to keep your site is to constantly monitor the health of your backlinks. There are plenty of backlink research tools available across the web (Ahrefs, Google Webmaster Tools, etc.). Once you have all your links collected, you’ll want to analyse them for low-quality links.
Any bad links you spot should be reported through the Webmaster Tools Disavow tool.
In addition, you’ll want to continue to build high-quality backlinks from trusted sources. Building strong content and relationships in this area is key.
For more in-depth knowledge on the subject, check out this article.
About the Author
Adam Polaszewski, Head of Marketing at UpCity is a data driven demand marketing professional with more than a decade of digital marketing experience creating award-winning online and offline marketing programs. Adam’s passion for marketing and technology has moved him from coast to coast working for some of the fastest growing start-up in the country. He lives in Chicago with wife Sarah, baby Leo-Cruz (2years old) and just recently baby Zoey-Lane (5 months).
To access our database of questions or ask your own question, become an UpCity member today! Sign up for our free UpCity Daily Tips newsletter to learn other strategies for improving your online presence.
