By now, I am sure you have noticed that Google has made a few changes to the results they are displaying. In case you hadn't had a chance to see what they rolled out, on the 24th they announced on the Google blog 2 major changes. Those two changes are:
- Extended Snippets - The descriptive information displayed below the title of the result, referred to as a snippet, will be extended for longer searches. When a user is digging deep with a long search Google wants the user to be able to find the information they are really looking for. Providing more in-depth snippet text will allow the searcher to review the results in more detail before clicking. In some cases this has doubled the decriptive text to over 50 words.
- Related Search Suggestions - Google wants to help you find the information you are looking for by suggesting additional related searches. This can mean suggesting an additional 8 related search phrases. No longer will users have to guess on what else they might need to search for, Google can just tell you what you need... :)
Ok, so the changes are there, what are you going to do about it? Aaron Wall provided some good insights on his blog and here are some action items that we can take immediately to make sure we stay ahead of the competition.
- Extended Snippets - Google can only provide additional snippet information if there is enough content on your website. The focus on quality content on your real estate website or blog should continue to be the focus. Short pages that are 200-300 words may not give enough real information for Google to look at. Putting together longer, more detailed pages (400,500,600+ words) will allow Google to digest more of your content and be able to display it to the user on those long searches. Also, don't forget the obvious like Meta Description text, although it doesn't really help for improving your results, I have still seen it picked up and displayed in the snippet text so make sure to fill it out on each and every page.
- Related Search Suggestions - This one is a gold mine! This is keyword research in the most obvious and public view. Run the searches that you are used to showing up on in the top 10 and then click the related searches. Look to see if your website still shows up in those related searches. If you are already showing in the related searches, then you are in good shape, and if not, then you have some homework to do. If you aren't showing up, look to add some pay per click in those related searches so you don't miss out on any traffic. For the long haul look to see where you can fill in more content on your website and grab some additional links to increase your authority.
Google is always going to be making changes, the real key is if you are going to keep your total online presence up to date to remain competitive. Whether you are running a real estate website, blog, or more than 1 of each, it is important to be aware of the changes and then take action where you can to stay ahead of the curve.
What other changes could you be making to stay competitive with the latest changes that Google made?
Related Must Reads (outside links):
Comments(19)