Let’s take our hats off to the golden age of blogging. From swapping home recipes to documenting your food journeys, few things have changed the hospitality industry quite like those fabulously hungry bloggers, perennially snacking and slapping away at their keyboards. Over the last two decades we’ve seen the humble blog transform from an opinion sharing forum to a multimillion dollar marketing tool in its own right.
However, in the midst of this veritable smorgasbord of food bloggers and influencers, how do you pick the genuine content creators from the con artists? This is what Google is aiming to address with their latest guidelines regarding best practice for bloggers reviewing free products they receive from companies. Released on March 11, the new code of practice aims to cut down on the over saturation of deliberately misleading blogs and reviewers who have been muddying the waters with undeclared, sponsored content.
So what does this mean for you as a blogger?
THE PROBLEM: AIN’T NOFOLLOW BACK GIRL?
Sorry guys, the jig is up! The days of swapping free links in exchange for products and meals is finally over as the powers that be have declared that,“Links that pass PageRank in exchange for goods or services are against Google guidelines on link schemes”.This means that unless the link to any external site is organically generated and unpaid for, it’s a very big “no, no”.
THE SOLUTION: GET ACQUAINTED WITH THE NOFOLLOW TAG
But don’t despair, before you launch into a keyboard war against the mighty Google, simply take a minute to reacquaint yourself with the “nofollow” tag. By applying this tag to your links, you may not pass on the SEO juice brands previously enjoyed, but you’ll also dodge the penalties from the powers that be – better to be safe than sorry (and un-searchable) we always say.
THE PROBLEM: MONEY CAN’T BUY YOUR LOVE
So you’ve finally started to enjoy the perks of a bona fide food blogger. You know, a free cocktail here, a dozen gluten-free donuts there, and you just can’t wait to share the tasty news with your fans! Well that’s just fine and dandy! However, keep in mind the following piece of advice from our old friend Google, “Users want to know when they’re viewing sponsored content”. So, for some this spells the end of casually slipping those awesome freebies into posts without first spelling it out for their readers – in other words you’ve got to say that you didn’t pay.
THE SOLUTION: TAKE YOUR RELATIONSHIP PUBLIC
Want to avoid a slap on the wrist from the big search engine upstairs? All you have to do is pop a disclosure in your article clearly stating that the post was sponsored. This shouldn’t affect the validity of your blog, but is designed to give some added context to your readers. While Google says that it’s perfectly OK to place this disclosure at the bottom of your article, they strongly recommend placing it clearly at the top – just in case readers don’t quite make it all the way to the bottom of the page.
THE PROBLEM: SAME, SAME, BUT DIFFERENT
Anyone worth their salt (and tequila and lime) knows that when it comes to hospitality marketing, there’s trends, and then there’s just plain oversaturation. Which brings us to the final problem Google is aiming to address, by putting a stop to copy cats and lazy bloggers who are reproducing the same article in lieu of creating original content – can we get a hallelujah?
THE SOLUTION: BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE
Want to stay on top of your game? Google urges you to think twice before posting just any old review, instead try your best to spin an original angle on the review and
“provide exclusive content that only you can create due to your unique expertise or resources”. By tackling a niche perspective, you may just get the edge you need to break away from the pack once and for all.
While the rules may seem a little rigid for some (and the end of a glorious era of freebies for others) the repercussions for failing to comply could be potentially disastrous for both food bloggers and producers alike. So just remember, even though Google can’t take away your free donut connection, what they can take away is your audiences ability to hear all about them.
If you would like to know more about the latest Google Webmaster Guidelines click here to view their latest policy.
Are you a blogger? How does this affect you? Leave your comments below.