There has been a lot of chatter throughout the SEO community recently about the latest Google algorithm update, Penguin 3.0. Many search engine specialists are noticing their rankings fluctuating all over the place, and the consensus of opinion is that there a few weeks left as Google continues their roll-out.
Some webmasters are even noticing huge shifts across all verticals. And unfortunately for many of these professionals, the shifts are not beneficial to their businesses and search engine rankings.
In fact, one professional search engine optimisation specialist reportedly said that he sees such massive shifts that he hopes Google is broken! Obviously the algorithm update did not work in his favor!
As a business owner, you have to be prepared for the inevitability of a Google algorithm update. It’s going to happen, and if you are not ready for it, you could suffer the negative consequences just like thousands of others every time Google has a bug up its butt.
How Often Does Google Update Its Search Engine Algorithms?
While it’s hard to say since Google keeps everything close to the vest, some insiders and search engine specialists say that Google is constantly tweaking the algorithms. In fact, they are updated almost every day and may, in fact, be more often. A widespread belief in the SEO industry is that there is up to 500 minor and 2 or 3 major updates a year. The minor updates rarely affect small business owners and webmasters alike. It’s when Google rolls out a massive update like Panda or Penguin is when you have to worry. Unfortunately, the update and shifts that people were starting to see in the last 2 to three weeks are obviously on a massive scale. The search engines are going crazy, and this can potentially have a negative effect on your rankings.
How Will an Update Affect My Rankings?
The thing about Google updates is that you never know how they are going to affect your keyword rankings. One major update might end up putting you at the top of the search engine results for some incredible keywords in your market. Another ranking might knock you down 100 places for no rhyme or reason.
But when this happens, remember that all hope is not lost. Sometimes an update will make massive shifts immediately, and people will start freaking out because they’re worried that their rankings are gone forever. But then Google will slowly but surely begin rolling back some of the changes that they made, and rankings will soon recover. So a massive Google update is not necessarily going to be a bad thing for your business, although you might suffer temporary ranking losses.
On the other hand, sometimes Google will put through an update that makes massive shifts in the search engine results, and you will suffer because of it and your rankings will not recover right away. This is when you need the Google penalty recovery services we offer. The recovery process depends upon the penalty and its severity. Every case is different; every website is different, and that’s we provide a unique strategy that will address your particular situation.
Can a Google Algorithm Update Alter My Business?
Unfortunately, a Google update can certainly alter your business as many of you already know. If you rely heavily on search engine traffic to bring more customers and prospects into your sales funnel, you will suffer negative effects if you suddenly go from a top three ranking all the way to the third page of the results. This is inevitable if search engine traffic is your only source for new prospect acquisition.
It’s time to begin protecting your business from Google and the other search engines. Their traffic is fantastic when it’s there, but there is no guarantee that search engine traffic is going to last forever. Google could even de-index your website for no reason at all, and if that were to happen then you’d be up the creek without a paddle!
Ways to Protect against a Negative Google Algorithm Update
You can protect your company in a number of different ways from algorithm updates. Some tips include:
• diversify your traffic sources so that you’re not so heavily reliant upon the search engines
• learn pay per click advertising, banner advertising and email marketing
• manipulate the semantic web and use it as a barrier to protect your main web properties from losing rankings in the search engine
Use this information to keep your business strong during the ups and downs of Google algorithm changes.