Many webmasters are drawn to the possibility of passive income by simply ranking high on Google search. While there are websites that still rank with minimal (or even zero) updates from its owners, know that these cases are very rare. There are a lot of factors involved when it comes to Google’s various algorithms, after all. The keywords that you are targeting or are ranking for, as well as their corresponding competitors, would have to be considered as well. It has even been revealed that different search queries have equally dissimilar requirements for freshness.

Google has Confirmed that It Prioritizes Fresh Content

If there is one fact that should convince almost any webmaster to make sure that his content is up-to-date it is that Google themselves have said that they really place greater importance on new content. After all, Google gives a freshness score for every web page that it indexes. This score gradually decreases over time, from the time the page was first discovered by Google and placed on its index. The fact that Google has such a system in place is pretty telling of how important freshness is to a site’s overall SEO.

How Much Change is Actually Needed to Score High Freshness Scores?

It has to be stressed, though, that simply changing a few words on various sentences on your body text would prove to be futile as these kinds of practices rarely impacts the freshness of its content. If Google discovers that you did a lot of changes on larger bodies of texts in your content, though, this would surely cast a favorable light on its freshness. These are core parts of your content that, once updated, would immediately catch Google’s attention.

How Frequently Should You Change Your Content?

It’s not clear as to how Google sees the rate of change in a web page, but what’s certain is that a page that is being updated daily is scored differently from one that only introduces changes to its content once a year.

Do External Link Signals Matter?

There is strong evidence that supports new link signals as playing an important role in freshness as well. This has lead SEO experts to conclude that a web page’s freshness is not solely limited to its main body of text. This is because any change (increase, in particular) in the growth of external links to a site is viewed by search engines as a sign of not only relevance but freshness as well. It has to be noted, though, that the freshness score is still primarily based on what specific topic or news (e.g. celebrities that are getting married this week, recent discovery of a cure to cancer, etc.) these links are pointing to.

It’s Not Rocket Science

Google’s Freshness Algorithm should never make any webmaster feel daunted, at the least bit. In the end, what you really should consider when trying to keep your content as up-to-date as possible is that what counts as fresh content is almost always something that is relevant to your target niche, shareable, and was posted to impart new information. It just takes a bit of know-how, instinct, and anticipation to pinpoint just what it is exactly that people (and Google) would consider as newsworthy. Otherwise, you can always opt to keep yourself informed of current events or developments in your niche through various platforms online.

Author Bio:
Martin Brown is the Marketing Executive of Top SEO Rankers based in New York. Top SEO Rankers evaluates and lists the top Digital Marketing firms and also gives SEO service providers a direct channel for prospective

The ability of a website to captivate its visitors relies greatly on web design. Even though it has been said that content rules in web marketing, customers are initially attracted to a site because of its design.

Because web design holds a major role in marketing that can make or break a business, knowing how to play this card right is a must.

If you want to drive more traffic to your website, make sure that you know the dos and don’ts of effective web design. Take a look at these key points:

The Dos of Web Design:

DO keep your design clean and simple.

In your effort to achieve a design that can capture the interest of your audience, it can be tempting to fill your website with enticing banners, attention-grabbing colors, and striking graphics.

You have to remember that these options, while seemingly inviting, may not be easy on the eyes. Customers visit a website to get information fast. The best way to do this is by displaying the content in a clean, simple structure that visitors can easily navigate and read.

For designers, a simple interface may be a boring task but you have to remember that the website should be structured for the benefit of the users. The simpler it is for them, the better the chances of a business in turning visitors into customers.

DO aim for a responsive web design.

Will customers find it easy to contact you? Can customers access your website through their mobile gadgets and smartphones? Does your website load seamlessly regardless of the device being used?

These are the questions you need to consider when aiming for a responsive web design. Many companies suffer from a high bounce rate because their websites do not fit in mobile devices. This is a red flag to watch out for because majority of the traffic that comes through websites are now channeled through mobile platforms.

DO optimize web search or page scan.

Web searchers visit your site to get information. If they can do this the easiest and quickest way possible, you get top points in customer experience. When users find your website useful, you drive in more traffic and eventually, more business.

Google’s algorithm can also detect if visitors frequent your site. As more and more people visit and approve your site because they can easily find answers in it, Google will put your website on its first page.

DO make use of your brand colors.

People associate a brand with its logo and colors. This kind of branding is more powerful than words because it enables consumers to recognize your company at first glance.

This is why your website should showcase your brand colors. When they visit your site, they should instantly connect your content with your business through the color scheme used in the design.

The Don’ts of Web Design:

DON’T cram your website with pictures, articles, and graphics.

With various resources for pictures, graphics, and articles, it can be quite tempting to fill your website with these contents.

This move is counterproductive because customers will find it hard to digest an excessive amount of information. In addition, filling up your website with content will only slow down its loading time.

DON’T force visitors to download or sign up.

While asking visitors to sign up or subscribe is a good marketing concept, forcing them to key in their information or download your application or a new browser just to view your content is a different story altogether.

Pressing people to do anything without first giving them the chance to get to know your business better gives a dubious impression on your company name. If you want to earn the trust of prospective customers, forcing them to do anything is a route you should avoid.

DON’T use abusive SEO tactics.

Before, business owners force keywords into their web content to get on the first page of Google. Some designers forcibly take the email addresses of visitors before they display the website. These kinds of shady tactics are sure ways to frustrate customers and get penalized by Google.

It pays well to pore over the different kinds of resources about acceptable SEO practices.

Web design can be an intimidating subject to tackle after considering its major role in business development. The good news is that you can get support from virtual assistants or freelance designers to help you come up with the best design for your website.

After knowing these key points, what changes are you making on your company’s web design?