Company blog relaunch. Best practices with Google Algorithm updates in mind?
-
We have a company blog living on our corporate domain. The blog contained many posts with keywords and we believe google is penalizing us for over optimization as we use to be ranked in the top 5 for our main keyword now we're on page 8. Keeping this in mind, we are planning to relaunch the blog and we wanted to get some tips on best practices that addressing the following questions. Should we archive _all _of our previously published content and start fresh with this relaunch? Should we keep 50 or so published blogs visible? Where should this blog live (on our domain or a wholly separate domain)? We'd love to get thoughts and opinions, and any insight about best practices for a blog relaunch.
-
Many thanks for the great response Carson. This is very specific, helpful advice that we will be integrating into our overall content and marketing strategy. We very much appreciate you taking the time to address this inquiry.
-
Hi there,
It sounds like you got hit by Panda - let's avoid the "over optimization" word, as it's fairly imprecise in light of recent algorithm updates. It actually referred to Penguin, but it is confusing. So let's continue with the assumption of Panda.
If you had high-quality pieces that real people liked, were particularly well written, still receive traffic, or received a lot of coverage, save those. If you have a lot of blog posts targeting random keywords that are of questionable value to a real person, delete those. Google's measuring things through readers' eyes and actions now, and so should we.
I would not launch the blog on a new domain. It might be a good idea to put the blog in a new folder (ideally /blog/ unless that's where it used to live). Make sure the old posts you don't want to keep either 410 (preferable) or 404, and either keep the good posts (if any) on the same URL or 301 redirect them to the new URL. Once you've cut the section of bad content, you should hopefully see progress after a Panda refresh or two.
Please also make sure that the rest of your site is easy to navigate with a credible design and feel. Panda isn't limited to blog posts.
-
Well, even without stuffing, there can be an impact. 800 is a lot, lot of content. And I'm assuming that there's a lot of similarities in the posts (I assume there's a central theme of the blog) which could be a contributing factor. Yes, other sites do this, and yes, that can also feel the impact if there's a chance that the search engine sees it as not Panda-friendly.
Now, when you say one or two keywords per post, are you referring to you targeting one or two different keywords per post (acme, acme products - for example) or only using the keyword once or twice on a page? The way your answer reads, I could interpret it that you were only targeting one or two keywords, however if you used them too many times in the post that would cause the over optimization....
-
Rank drops happened immediately following Panda update #24. We had roughly 800+ posts using keywords but all post were original. The individual post were not overloaded with keywords; one or two keywords per post.
-
Great questions - and although you ask several, I'm going to focus on one in particular. Keep your blog on your domain. It's the best SEO value you're going to get. Other structures just don't offer quite as much benefit.
It can get tricky as far as balancing keywords and optimization, however the domain authority, link juice and everything else is worth it.
Now, to your other questions - starting with over optimization. I'm hesitant to make that conclusion without any information. The basic-ness of your statement doesn't give quite enough info to be able to make a solid determination (IMHO) as many posts with keywords isn't in-and-of-itself a bad thing. If every post had a cramming of keywords so they were too loaded, then maybe but there's not enough info to really identify (is it over optimization or bad links? Or did the ranking drop in time to map to an algo change?).
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Looking for a Proof Reader for a Moz Blog Post..
Hello everybody, After being here for 4 years I decided to write a post for YouMoz. That was about 3 months ago, and while I have read, re-read and proofed this thing a dozen times since, I know my own limits. I honestly want the post to be the best it can be, and while I stand by my article, I know my forte is not with writing. My article is about Beginning SEO and Where to Start, yes it maybe cliche but I find myself answering many of the questions on these QA boards that I address in this article. It would be nice to have a post I could point to when such situations arise. What I'm looking for is one or two persons with a strong knowledge of basic SEO, the ability to understand me (a cluttered mind), and strong grammar skills. Credit will be given to those who want it. The article is basically in what I consider a finished state, I just need to add a compendium video for one of the sections. I have done my own artwork, research, and document design. I just need a keen eye to snuff out those grammar errors I always miss and somebody to tell me if a section doesn't make sense. If you are interested please let me know here, or send me a PM. I would like to have something to review to make my selection so if you're not active here, a link to where you are would be beneficial. I know that might be asking a lot; help and you also get vetted, but the idea is I don't want to send out what I think is a very good article only to see it appear on another site. Thank you, Don P.S. To the Moz staff. Once I make my selection I will mark at least one response as Good so it don't keep annoying you as an un-answered question.
Content Development | | donford1 -
At what point to stop comments on a blog? Do too many comments hurt the page?
I have a page that's ranking pretty well, and driving sales. That page is starting to get 10+ comments per day and is starting to get quite long. I was wondering if there is a point where I should disable the comments? My gut tells me that people interacting with the page, and Google seeing responses with the users SHOULD be a good thing not bad. But, then I think that a majority of the content of the page is no longer the article, but the comments. All the comments are good, non spammy and directly related to the topic. People just asking questions, etc. Good engagement, I should be happy right?
Content Development | | DemiGR0 -
How many articles are ok to publish a day on my website blog?
I have a blog on my website which is a part of the website. Currently I publish one article a day. Is it ok if I increase it to 2 a day? Is there any limitation in order not look negative to Google
Content Development | | AlirezaHamidian0 -
Blog Content
I keep reading that a steady stream of new blogs from my site is a great way for getting inbound links to my site. My question is... Does the content of my blogs have to be relevant to my site? My site is www.marblerenovation.com. If the blog should stay relevant, I am finding it pretty hard to create engaging content around cleaning marble floors. Also, does anyone know of a good place to find bloggers to help create this content? Thanks in advance everyone Dave
Content Development | | david.smith.segarra0 -
What is Moz Community and Blog Commenting System Built on?
Hi, I love the Moz blog and community so I'm just curious what it is built on. Is it built on something like a bbPress or is it custom system built in-house? Thanks!
Content Development | | fbchris0 -
Should I publish several blog posts at once or stagger?
I have several blog posts that I want to publish (40 or so). For freshness is it better to stagger their publication over several months or is it fine to publish them all at the same time. The comments are closed.
Content Development | | AndreB0 -
Blog Commenting Best interface
Hi All, In your opinion what are the advantages and disadvantages of Livefyre Facebook comments system Disques Thanks, John
Content Development | | johnshearer0 -
Connecting facebook and twitter to your wordpress blog?
Does anyone know a good plugin for connecting facebook and twitter to your wordpress blog? I’d like it so when i make a new post on my blog it automatically displays on my facebook/twitter
Content Development | | christinarule0