SEO for Insurance Websites

[Alston]

Some good stuff in that interview but be very careful if you're thinking about using an automated linking / article posting software like UAW. There are several out there and they can be very good if used correctly but on the other hand they can be one of the fastest ways to get your site deindexed as well. Just a word of warning. There really are no shortcuts.

I agree. Google is getting smarter and deindexing is a real problem. Just a year or so ago, a bad link had no impact on your ranking. It didn't help, but it didn't hurt either. Now a bad link (to be fair, not just one bad link) can get your site deindexed.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

Hey! How have you been? Glad to see you back.

 

[Alston]

Hey! How have you been? Glad to see you back.

I have been fine. Just super busy.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

That's always a good thing!

 

[Insurancetechhead]

you want to see something really crazy go to compete.com and type in some websites that specialize in niche stuff and most of those sites lost over half their visits since the panda update in April. Even this forum was hit pretty hard.

 

[Sam]

This forum was not hit pretty hard, you are incorrect. Compete is not accurate for sites above 10k

 

[Insurancetechhead]

Sorry I did not phrase what I was saying properly.

I meant to comment on Alston's comment about google panda & sites being penalized without a real explanation or even road map from google. Almost every site on the internet saw decreases in traffic. It was as if all of a sudden all traffic light color signals were changed to new colors and shapes without an explanation as to what was going on. I used the forum as an example since this site would be the ideal for a solid site for Google to hold up as exemplary on a few levels (content, good links ect) so if a site like this felt it then god knows what happened to everyone else.

But if compete.com is inaccurate at that level then I digress

 

[scagnt83]

How many of you guys place importance on reading ease? Specifically the Flesch Reading Scale.

Aside from the fact that your audience needs to be able to easily read your posts/pages. How much importance does good old google place on this these days?


What level would you consider appropriate for our normal target audience?

I try to revise what I write up to at least a 60...

 

[TransferMan]

FINALLY a place where I can make a comment about website readability.

Years ago, some web designer from some foreign land (I'm joking) came up with the idea the all website text should be light gray on a white background and seriously unreadable.

FORWARD TO THE PRESENT: Almost every other website seems to abide by this rule. It's almost as though the intent of the web designer is to ensure that no one can read what's been written. Not everybody has 20-20 vision.

Having a website is important if you're in business. But people should be able to READ your content. I've seen some of the best sites in the world screw up badly in this area.

Mike Merten
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What a lot of people may not realize is that Google is trying to take over the Internet, and if they destroy many businesses/websites in the process -- so be it.

Google is a public company and has to report to stockholders.

Organic listings don't make Google any money.

The only way Google makes money is through their advertising. If Google screws up your first page organic listings, you have to buy their advertising or go out of business.

Google is progressively trying to get things to a point of where if you or I do a search for something, almost everything we see on the search results page that appears is going to be Google controlled.

This isn't paranoia -- many advanced SEO people think this to be the case.

As far as their search algorithms go -- Google has been tweaking them for so long and for so many years that even THEY don't know what to expect.

Mike Merten

 

[georgetx]

So is paid SEO pretty much taboo these days? It seems like the cheaper it is, the crumbier it is (you get what you pay for). How much time are you guys devoting to this? If you do pay for it, watch out and read the reviews of whoever you use.. I did some cheap stuff and my serps went down. Anyone having any recommendations or everyone just does their own?
Thanks!