Google is a search giant that has entered into a myriad of other business niches. The search engine directs billions of people daily to various websites relevant to their searches. The search intent of a user is so important to understand and Google has all but perfected this. With all areas of the internet that generate revenue through traffic, there come those that try to game the system. Certain tactics have worked for years but others have been stomped out by Google search algorithm updates. 

Agencies likely employ those that market in a traditional manner and those that think outside of the box. The heads of agencies that helped figure out Google search algorithms were offered jobs in some cases. In other cases, certain agencies seemed to be the target of Google with their link networks and clients all being penalized or even deindexed in the most severe cases. Digital marketing trends tend to change as Google makes updates and data is gathered on the effects of said updates. 

The Google Webspam Team

The Google Webspam team wreaked havoc on a number of brands and marketing agencies with leader Matt Cutts in the early 2010s. The updates were secretive but sought to make the search experience better for consumers. The team is still constructed with initiatives that are made public while methods are not made public. 

Ensuring Search Results Have Quality Websites

Google has not forgotten that searchers want to be navigated to sites that work well. User-experience is a huge factor in rankings as the search engine giant does not want to lead visitors to site that freeze constantly. Even mobile compatibility issues have impacted websites negatively in the past until remedied and updated. Page loading times are taken into account although pages on YouTube rank well due to the vast amounts of traffic they generate. 

Pages that are referenced on a specific subject will rank the highest. These pages could be answering a question that a searcher had about a particular topic. Those with questions might be in the market to spend money on a particular service or product. Content on product pages even matters as a consumer might be searching for a specific product feature that isn’t included in other listings. 

Organic Growth With Quality Content Is Possible

Organic growth of traffic can be achieved through quality content. Outreach to expand the exposure of a piece of content can be quite fruitful. Offering new content to relevant publications can create a relationship that helps generate sales/leads for a business while garnering traffic for the publisher. A piece of content that has done well in the past can become evergreen by updating this regularly. Republishing the piece with current information or statistics can be quite simple. Getting content included in industry roundups of interesting articles can still allow a company to establish itself as a thought leader in their niche. 

Even Large Brands Have Been Penalized

Large brands have been penalized for webspam violations including that of Expedia. A number of other brands have witnessed their websites being deindexed due to ignoring warnings from Google. Blackhat tactics exist that can include hacking sites for backlinks or even hiding backlinks on websites. Purchasing a link in an article without a disclosure is also against guidelines. A post that has been labeled sponsored is viewed differently than an organic backlink. Keyword stuffing along with massive amounts of guest posts on irrelevant sites no longer have a major impact. 

Google has created such a vast network through their search engine. The corporate juggernaut has a reach in nearly every industry with sponsored spaces at the top of results going for premium prices. The leading search engine in the world has had so many try but fail to emulate the success it has had.