Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
Seen some really strange results for Very competetive terms and that really puts me off. So what are you guys doing to counter this? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome :)
My fear is i don't know how the serps were previously and if the sites in top 10 before this update were more competetive then it leads me to underestimate the amount of effort i have to put in.
What do the others say about this?
Vishal.
What I am thinking of doing is compiling everything we know about the google update and how it isnt stable yet and sending it as a memo to all the clients
Thats a really bad idea!
Just as a sample mail:
Dear Jeo Client,
This month Google is all out of order, it couldn't update its database. It tested the old index for a month on SJ data center (www-sj.google.com) and then when tried to update its www, it failed. It tried to calculate PageRank on a fly for pages rather than calculate it after the update of index. Because of which all the back links were lost and internal back links were not counted anymore. Not just that, your site has suffered but all the sites, which use to rank high on the search engine, lost their positions.
Some of the major things that happened during this update (Google's monthly May update) -
1) Failed to update its database across its entire data centers and then on www. Therefore it updated the SJ data center on www (which was tested using old database of Feb-Mach) after which fresh crawl listings were thrown in.
2) Because there was no major update of the index, all the back links (links pointing in) were lost and then brought in using old database.
3) No PageRank calculation took place. Major sites like www.business.com and several others lost PageRank to 0.
4) Internal links are not counted as back links any more. Google is still working on it.
5) Sites which use to rank high on the SERPs lost all their positions, Google themselves lost 3 places for the search term "search" on their own search engine. [google.com...]
6) All major Spam filters were lifted, all penalties were removed, and sites with penalties are back in the index.
7) ODP was not ready with its RTF to offer to Google. Therefore Google is still showing its old directory online.
8) A page which was not in index and which never had a PageRank prior to April's update has been given a PageRank 0, but its not a penalty its simply because PageRank cannot be calculated anymore.
Every one is clue less about the whole situation and questions such as - Will we see a monthly update again? Will PageRank ever be calculated? Are penalties and spam filters apply again? Will Google update its directory? And many more are still unanswered.
Regards,
SEO
P.S.: OPD (DMOZ.org) is down for maintenance and since last 20 days cannot submit a site using the submission-form, this is expected to go on till mid June.
After Effect:The client which was convinced to use your SEO, will get highly confused.
I explained that his site just dropped off one of Google's nine data centers, but it should return soon, as Google's new algorithm settles in.
-then he asks, "What's a data center?"
I explained the basics of the data centers...
-then he asks, "Joe Blow said our 'PageRank' dropped too, what's that?"
I explained the basics of how Google determines pagerank, and said they have reverted back to old information while they introduce the new algorithm.
-then he asks, "What are backlinks?"
etc... etc... etc... etc...
... 2 hours later I finally got off the phone.
It's a slippery slope when you go into much detail with a client.
....It's better to just say, Google is still broken. ;)
Hopefully most people here have gained the trust of their clients through a longstanding and mutually profitable relationship. Those relationships will weather the storm.
Otherwise, this is one heck of an unnerving climate to be nurturing new SEO clients in.
There is no garantee of that. In fact, history says it will only get worse.
- Excite randomized results in late 98
- Ink had two data centers that floated back and forth in 99-00
- Alta rotated algos among the top 5 positions daily.
- Infoseek results flux daily because of insta spidering.
Every search engine has played with what appeared to be various forms of randomization at their peek. I expect no less from Google.
Geo location, language specifics, browser type, and possible stealth personalization features mean that Google could appear to be the most random of them all in the near future.
Don't bet the bank on anything. Get your clients to realize single keyword watching is history. Watch for total referrals and build content content content until you drop.
Thanks for the encouraging words, Brett. :)
I've noticed the same thing with respect to content. As I read down, down, down, to the bottom of my logs - I'm seeing a lot of combos I haven't bothered to spend much time looking at before. The more content - the more referrals.
Combining a balance of CPC and traditional marketing - I think we'll all come through this.
The good news is, if WE can't help ourselves and our clients during this mess - there's few other alternatives anyway.
Get your clients to realize single keyword watching is history.
But Brett, that a real uphill task - how one is suppose to do that? After all, its SEO's own trick, "Top ten rankings or money back guarantee" formula! to gain fast:: cash, which now has backfired :(
