How To Build a High Quality Site

I get a lot of questions from clients about getting their sites ranked with Google. It’s constantly changing what Google requires for you to be ranked and indexed by the keywords and search phrases you want to be found by. Well, they’ve done it again. Google changed the rules by introducing the new Panda algorithm that has had a lot SEO gurus freaking out because so many sites dropped their ranking. Google stated that people are incorrectly assuming that their change in rankings were due to Panda.

Whether you want to maintain or improve your rankings, Google is encouraging you to focus on delivering the best possible experience for users. The site quality algorithms are aimed at helping people find “high-quality” sites by reducing the rankings of low-quality content.

Keeping this in mind, Google has given a list of questions to be asking to assess the quality of a page or article on your website.

• Would you trust the information presented in this article?
• Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?
• Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
• Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
• Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
• Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?
• Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?
• Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
• How much quality control is done on content?
• Does the article describe both sides of a story?
• Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?
• Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
• Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
• For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?
• Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?
• Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
• Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
• Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
• Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
• Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?
• Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
• Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
• Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

If you haven’t implemented any type of quality control for your website, now is a good time to start with the list above. Running your own business requires you to wear many hats (owner, accountant, copywriter, customer service specialist, etc.), one of the new ones you will need to wear is the “Quality Manager” hat.