Google Bought A Zoo: Surviving Penguins, Pandas & Other SEO Beasts According to search honcho Amit Singhal, Google is making up to 600 changes to its algorithm per year. Some major, some minor, but all potentially having an impact on whether your site and content is found when people are searching. How do you track these changes? How should you respond? Attend this session to get answers, and learn the best strategies for getting back in Google’s good graces should you get negatively hit.

1. Google bought a zoo!

2. @simmonet #SMXGrant Simmons
Director SEO & Social Product
The Search Agency
Search Agent, Father, Sailor
But not necessarily in that order
when there’s a fair wind
“Agent Algo” #OrangeFedora

3. Google bought a zoo!
What’s Next?
@simmonet #SMX

4. No one knows
what’s next!
@simmonet #SMX

5. The Shamu Update!
Wild guess…
Black & White
Mammal
@simmonet #SMX

6. The Shamu Update
Panda + Penguin + ?
We Need Future-Proof!
http://true-wildlife.blogspot.com/

7. How to avoid getting bit?
The Shamu Update
@simmonet #SMX

8. Take notes 
@simmonet #SMX

9. RELEVANCE
intent
@simmonet #SMX

10. Avoiding Shamu - Relevance
• Research queries not keywords
• Every search is a question
Intent to content
• Create content to satisfy user search query
@simmonet #SMX

11. The result does
not always match
the keyword, but
it does match the
intent!
(Google guesses)
@simmonet #SMX

12. Google suggests…
Google delivers
relevance… not an
exact match…
@simmonet #SMX
Research for intent

13. Beware of The Thin Long Tail
@simmonet #SMX
Relevance

14. AUTHORITY
trust
@simmonet #SMX

15. Avoiding Shamu - Authority
• Does your site appear fishy?
– Does it pass the sniff test?
@simmonet #SMX www.google.com/insidesearch/howsearchworks/thestory/

16. Quality
Quantity
not enough vs. not good enough
@simmonet #SMX

17. Quality Inspires Interaction
Mentions. Associations. Citations. Connections. Links.
= Authority
Love your penguin site
www.penguinsnacks.com Thanks for
da link man!
@simmonet #SMX

18. ENGAGEMENT
@simmonet #SMX

19. Avoiding Shamu - Engagement
• SERP – Are you clickable?
• Site – Are you satisfying the users’ intent?
• Social– Are you inspiring shares?
@simmonet #SMX

20. Clickable?
• Fix Your SERP
• Got Graph?
• Authorship
• Core optimization
– Titles
– Snippets
• Matching intent
• Mark up
@simmonet #SMX
vs.

21. Satisfying Intent?
In the long run, the brand names secure
rankings through depth of content, trust in
brand and user interaction (searchers clicking
a SERP result and staying on their site because
the site is trusted and answers the searchers
question).
Duane Forrester
Bing’s Matt Cutts 
January 28th 2013
@simmonet #SMX

22. @simmonet #SMX
(Great) Content Inspires Shares

23. FUTURE-PROOF
SEO
@simmonet SMX

24. Beating the Shamu Update!
• Understand Your Users
– Intent to Content. Be Relevant.
• Quality over Quantity
– Build Authority. Inspire Links.
• Engagement Matters
– Clickable
– Satisfying
– Share-worthy
@simmonet #SMX

25. Grant Simmons
grant@thesearchagency.com
@simmonet
linkedin.com/in/simmonet
www.thesearchagency.ca
www.thesearchagency.com
www.thesearchagents.com
Thank you

26. @simmonet #SMX
Darth SEO Jr.
“Now I am the master.”