What Happened to My Google Ranking? Explaining The Google Dance
What
Happened to My Google Ranking? Explaining The
Google Dance
by Karyn Greenstreet
Have you noticed your website slipping in the
Google rankings over the past few months for keywords
that previously scored high? Join the club and
welcome to The Google Dance.
The Google Dance is a phrase that was coined to
explain the new search engine algorithms that
Google puts into play on occasion. The most recent
Google Dances, in November 2003 and January 2004,
startled website owners as they watched their
previous number 1 site plummet to number 400 in
the rankings Ð or disappears off the Google charts
all together.
Many of my clients called me in a panic, wondering
if they did something "wrong" to cause this to
happen. The answer is mostly: no. You didn't do
anything wrong. Google is testing new search algorithms
to help people find more relevant results from
their searches and to give penalties to people
who use illegal techniques to try to get higher
rankings in the search results. I can't say that
the results are any more relevant, though. For
instance, when I use the keyword "small business
coach," I expect to receive results that list
small business coaches' websites. But when I type
in "small business coach" in Google, the first
result I get is an Amazon.com site. In fact, only
four out of the top 20 sites listed are coach's
sites.
So, what to do? The knee-jerk reaction is to try
to figure out what the "new" algorithm is and
to optimize your site accordingly. That's a bad
idea. First of all, the search engines use over
100 elements to rank a site. Since you can't possibly
know what all 100 elements are, or what weight
is given to each element, you will be wandering
in the dark. Second, you don't know how long this
particular Dance will last, so you might be optimizing
your site only to have it all wrong when the next
Dance occurs. Third, you might optimize your site
for Google, only to harm your rankings on Yahoo
or MSN.
My advice to my clients is two-fold: First, read
the guidelines for each of the search engines
and make sure that your site isn't doing something
against policy, as your site will be penalized
and dropped in ranking. Next, sit tight. Wait
a month to see how the Dance goes. Monitor your
site once a week to see where its ranking is for
each keyword phrase you're tracking.
Search engine optimization should be just one
part of your fuller Internet Marketing strategy.
While the Dance is happening, focus on other pieces
of your Internet Marketing strategy and use other
techniques to bring visitors to your site. In
the end, your strategy and results will be stronger.
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© Karyn Greenstreet 2004.
Karyn Greenstreet is a Self Employment expert
and small business coach. She shares tips, techniques
and strategies with self-employed people to create
and grow their businesses, stay focused and motivated,
and perform at their peak. Visit her website at
www.PassionForBusiness.com
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