By Diane Thomas
Webmasters across the Internet were totally floored by what
happened to their Google ranking recently. Those whose pages were
ranked on top seemed to totally disappear, and many who had been
ranked at the bottom were suddenly in the top 10.
So what caused this phenomenon? Simply put, Google spent a lot
of time (and probably money) coming up with new ranking guidelines.
In Webmaster speak, "Google changed their algorithm".
Why? you ask...Google, from the beginning has been more in tune
with what people are searching for than any of the other search
engines or directories. They have always seemed to be more in
sync with the average surfer - in other words when you search
you actually find what your looking for.
Well, apparently they just weren't satisfied. So they decided to
make it even better.
On first glance I thought they had made a huge mistake, but as
Webmasters began reworking their websites and pages to get back
to the top ranking positions, it appears to me that their idea
was right.
In case your wondering, I was one of the Webmasters whose site
seemed to disappear! And let me tell you it was scary. I lost
700-800 visitors a day - and a lot of income.
I went to the Google site to try and figure out what they were
looking for, and frankly didn't find much that I didn't
already know, so I set about reworking my pages and website so
that this couldn't happen to me again.
In record time, after evaluating and reworking and submitting
my pages, they went back to the top. In fact, some that I could
never get to the top are there now.
What I found was that although keywords are still a prominent
factor and linking was important, that the relativity of the
pages became very important.
In other words, the keywords and links really have to be relevant
to the entire page - and to the site as well. Google likes
everything linked internally. I'm sure the idea being that this
ensures the "search results" will indeed provide what the surfer
is really after - and that's their bread and butter.
The bottom line is that after going thru a very harrowing
experience, my website and my profit line are all the better for
it. In other words, I ended up with a better website, a better
idea of what my visitors are really after, and long term I don't
think this could ever happen to me again.
Google seems to really have come up with what people are looking
for and is offering good web sites with rich content as their top
ranking sites. This is good news for the serious webmaster.
I know that everyone is out there giving advice and speculating,
not to mention the new products that have risen up to get you
listed fast!
My advice - save your money, and put the elbow grease to work -
you'll be all the better for it. And if your really thinking, it
won't take long.
©2005
About the Author
Diane Thomas is the editor of
eBook Crossroads.com specializing in resources for writers, publishers
and promoters of eBooks and Audio Books. She publishes a monthly ezine,
the eBook Crossroads Insider, offering articles, tips, contests, free downloads
and much more!
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