SEO Movers & Shakers in 2012

New Year is round the corner and SEOs are busy making strategies and resolutions (err avoid black hat?) for 2013. But before we do that lets rewind 2012 to take note of Movers & Shakers of the year and our lessons for 2013.

Following list of SEO changes were observed during 2012:

What Happened in 2012?

1. Google Panda

This year Google Panda has been updated 13 times which has majorly impacted websites having:

• Duplicate Content in high volume
• Poor quality inbound links
• Too many irrelevant ads above the fold
• Keyword Stuffing

2. Google Penguin

Google Penguin was launched later in April 2012 to keep a check on web spamming. The following spam factors are being monitored by Penguin:

• Spam blog comments
• Black hat link building schemes
• Exact Match Domains e.g. (xyz.com, xyz.org, xyz.net, xyz.other)
• Exact Match Anchor Text
• Keyword stuffing

3. Increased Focus on Reputation & Trust

Reputation here refers to the credibility of website’s content, design, and external links. Google, Bing, and other search engines liked and promoted consistent quality of reputed and trusted websites whereas others lost their SEO value.

4. Increased Communication via Webmaster Tools

In the first two months of the year, Google sent out 700K warnings via Webmaster Tools to websites notifying them for their black hat links.

5. Decreased Organic Search Listings per Page on Google

It was noticed that Google was displaying less than usual 10 results on some SERPs since April 2012. The % of SERPs was 1-4% initially, later it jumped to 18% in August 2012.

6. Infographic & Guest Blogging Links

In July, Matt Cutts said that Google may discount the value of links generated by infographics. The same way they did with widgets.
A similar warning was given to guest bloggers in Oct 2012.

7. Indexing iFrame Content

iFrame links/content is now being indexed by Google. Also it was observed that iFrame links/content is not visible in the text only version of the cached copy of Google.

Based on these changes, we have also listed down the key points to follow during 2013:

What to Do in 2013?

1. Google Panda

• Create original and error free content
• Always link from an authoritative source
• Avoid displaying excessive ads
• Avoid keyword stuffing & maintain a keyword density of 3-4%

2. Google Penguin

• Avoid hidden text/links
• Avoid cloaking or sneaky redirects
• Don’t create multiple pages, sub domains, or domains with substantially the same content
• Create unique and relevant content that drives a user to visit your site first
• Avoid keyword stuffing & maintain a keyword density of 3-4%

3. Increased Focus on Reputation & Trust

Need to focus on the content, design, and external links loved by search engines & users, avoiding duplicity.

4. Increased Communication via Webmaster Tools

Regularly monitor your Webmaster Tools & follow the instructions recommended by Google.

5. Decreased Organic Search Listings per Page on Google

Regularly check SERP ranking for your targeted keywords for their positions especially when they are ranking in the range of 6-10.

6. Infographic & Guest Blogging Links

• Infographics are a hit if considered from a user perspective. But if they will get discounted by Google, they will add no value to SEO.
• Guest Blogging if done using white hat techniques will be rewarding.

7. Indexing iFrame Content

• It is recommended not to use iFrame as it is not being indexed by other search engines like Bing & Yahoo.
• But at critical times, where it cannot be avoided, it is recommended to host the iFrame content on the same domain rather than hosting it on a sub domain or a cross domain.