Posted: March 13, 2015
Sometimes the easiest SEO is the worst SEO.
In May 2014, Google released its Panda 4.0 update, and it has since been considered one of the most impactful yet despised update for businesses across the web, particularly for legal websites. In one fell swoop of updates, certain websites associated with FindLaw plummeted out of sight from Google’s search result pages, leaving many in the legal community wondering what went wrong.
Google’s Panda 4.0 update targeted websites that were filled with content considered to be poor, low quality or “spammy” in an effort to remove those sites from the top rankings of the search engine results pages (SERPs). Google has posted webmaster guides online to explain what it considers “low quality.” Some of the main points include:
As you can see, while trying to weed out poorly written content with no real informational value, Google is also trying to tweak SERPs into providing the type of content that users are more likely to read and share. The search engine favors content that provides information about a topic, not necessarily matching a string of keywords used in a query. And while Google continues to update Panda, the 4.0 update hit a lot of websites that weren’t expecting it, and here’s why.
FindLaw is a business that provides law firms with information, websites and a slew of other Internet marketing services. Many of the practices at FindLaw were considered by other SEO strategists to be Black Hat search engine optimization tactics. Black Hat refers to techniques used to either trick users into clicking on a page or trick a search engine into doling out a higher ranking than a web page deserves. There are several ways to trick users and search engines, including swapping out pages after a link is clicked, using a backlinking network that has been purchased, and using content that is duplicated, overfilled with keywords or that has no relevance to the topic at hand yet contains topic keyphrases. Whether or not you agree with FindLaw’s tactics, it was the websites of their clients that were hit the hardest.
At the beginning of 2014, a few SEO blogging sites began listing reasons that FindLaw should be penalized by Google. Some argued that FindLaw relied on outdated practices, like creating graphic-heavy web designs, reusing content, and publishing blog posts that don’t really say anything. Whether or not their clients realized that the websites being created, and the content filling those sites, were not of sufficient quality is debatable. But after Panda 4.0 rolled out, many clients were caught by complete surprise that their website was marked as spam by Google.
Internet marketing practices have changed a lot in the last decade. Updating your site daily is no longer a marker for a quality website. One of FindLaw’s practices for their clients was to continually add pages to websites, which is usually considered a good thing. However, the added web pages were not of high enough quality to pass Google’s tests, so all of those pages became marked as spam with Panda 4.0. While it’s obvious then that a website that was completely created by FindLaw would plummet in the rankings, many found out that just having a few pages created by FindLaw within a vast website still hurt law firms. So all that “fresh” content just hurt each website more and more rather than helping. Panda penalizes entire websites, not just web pages, so a website with just 15 percent of its pages coming from FindLaw would be penalized as much as a site with more spam-filled pages. And this is where a lot of clients suffered. Reputable, credible law firms instantly felt the effects of Panda 4.0 as their pages disappeared from Google’s SERPs.
It has also been alleged that FindLaw created websites and website content en masse and then shopped that content to their clients. Client sites were penalized by Google for having duplicate copy, but some of the clients allege they had no idea FindLaw’s content wasn’t original or unique. That provided a lot of problems to clients who thought they were dealing with an online marketing firm that created new designs, new websites and new content. One lawsuit even claims that the people creating content and implementing SEO strategies were not experts and that FindLaw outsourced a lot of its work.
FindLaw’s graphic-heavy websites were immensely popular in the mid-2000s. But since then Google has revamped its algorithms to favor websites that provide more content “above the fold” and fewer graphics and advertising. So all of those popular, colorful websites became obsolete.
Linking practices were also called into question. FindLaw was one of the first online marketing companies that catered specifically to law firms. Being ahead of the game gained FindLaw thousands of clients, which also provided the opportunity for a network of backlinks. On top of that, FindLaw also placed its own website on each client site, building its own network of links. But once Google’s algorithms caught up to these practices, all those links became relatively worthless. Especially after Panda 4.0, who would want to link to a site that doesn’t even rank on the first page of Google?
SEO is not easy. There are no quick-fixes or overnight success stories. It takes a lot of time to write high-quality content, implement effective SEO techniques, and follow through with effective Internet marketing. In order to avoid following in the path of FindLaw or its thousands of client websites, choose an Internet marketing firm that follows White Hat tactics. These firms will not make outrageous promises, but rather will explain to you how certain actions can improve certain goals. For example, you may be able to increase website traffic by providing better content, improving your pay-per-click marketing campaign, and by increasing your search saturation. These actions can also help improve your SERP ranking and increase the number of times your website and web pages appear on SERPs, which in turn can improve the visibility of your site. When more people have access to your web pages, then more people are likely to click through to your website, thus increasing your website traffic. Providing better content that is optimized for search engines can also make your site more relevant to keywords and phrases used in search queries. As you can see, many SEO and Internet marketing strategies are interconnected -- one tactic can work with another to help your business reach your goals.
At Jumpem, we are very clear in our practices. We will never try to trick our clients, audiences or search engines just to gain clicks. Rather we rely on tested and true SEO practices that can help your business grow. As Certified Google Partners, we know how important it is for our clients to have a strong online presence, and we work hard everyday to help our clients meet their online goals.