June 01, 2005
Google whining - what it means
"Google sure can drive ya crazy!" shouts Brad Fallon.
Brad, Brad, Brad. Why tell us what we know? And who doesn't know this?
For a couple of years now, the SEO emails I consume have been filled with desperate letters-to-the-editor on the lines of "We were number one in Google last week and this week we are number 32!!!"
"Dear Reader: In answer to your question, Google [yawn] changed it's algorithm again. Now go forth and make good, keyword rich pages."
Count me among the lazy "make good pages" crowd. I am so shiftless, that I assume it's Google's job to find my excellent, on-topic content. If they don't - well, they're not worth bothering about.
Not a businesslike attitude, you say?
I understand there are SEO shops making a living and individual webmasters who will get creamed by a drop in traffic (sales). In those cases, you hedge against your (free, lucky) Google rank by building alternative traffic through ads, keyword buys, whatever.
The reason your ranking changed may be that some hardworking, highly disciplined SEO results company has found a way to game Google and now Google has to change the way it compiles search results. Who cares, though? Build the page and if you must have high levels of traffic, hedge the number of visits with Google-proof traffic delivery systems.
Now if you're hiring an SEO, that would be a good line of questioning during the sale.
SEO: Will will deliver you a top three position on Google. Guaranteed.
You: Actually I want to discuss how you could build Google levels of traffic without reference to Google at all. I wanted guaranteed Google volume without Google.
If they act confused, tell them you are in "Google Anonymous," a 12-step program for ranking junkies. If they still don't understand the propoer function of an SEO ranking service, move on to the next vendor.
Posted by at June 1, 2005 04:23 AM