Latest posts by James Martell (see all)
- Building A Better Fathers Day With Gifts That Give Back - June 6, 2013
- The Simple Path To Google Rankings Success - January 14, 2013
- Google Rankings – The Gift That Keeps On Giving - November 12, 2012
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It was known as the << Google Dance >> back in the day :: {2001-2005}. Every 4-6 weeks or so, Google would update their algorithm while everyone held their breath. It almost seemed to good to be true that we affiliate marketers could outrank the competition so easily.
But we did :: month after month, year after year.
Although the days of shooting-fish-in-a-barrel are gone I insist that Google is still the gift that keeps on giving because essentially it is free advertising.
Would The Yellow Pages List You Without Paying A Fee?
Prior to my Internet career, which started in 1999, I had several businesses. For those businesses to make money we needed customers. Although it was nice to get referrals from time to time, we needed to spend money on advertising otherwise how would anyone find us?
One of the most stunning aspects of this new Internet money I was earning with my growing number of affiliate sites was that Google :: {and the other search engines} :: were essentially providing free advertising for those savvy enough to apply a set of keyword density rules.
Compared to a typical Yellow Page Ad of $2000-$3000 a month I had zero expenses for advertising.
Google Makes 500 Algorithmic Changes Per Year, But Their Goal Is The Same
Without a doubt its tougher to compete for rankings these days because of the sheer volume of web content competing for 10 spots on page one.
And now that Google is such a cash rich and powerful global company they can afford to hire the needed talent to fine tune their algorithms almost constantly.
But does this disqualify you?
Not at all!
In fact, I see awesome rankings for sites published by relative newbies all the time.
But I also see enormous drops in rankings as Google strips out the content published by those guilty of not keeping up with the times.
I applaud Google
And although myself and others used to make a killing with weak content and questionable backlinks I’m glad they do meaningful updates almost twice a day now to ensure only the best get seen.
Is Your Goal To Make Money Or Be Seen As The best?
The way I see it, the money now comes as a byproduct of being good.
By *good* I mean things such as:
- using an SEO friendly publishing tool, such as WordPress
- having site content that is well researched, typo free, and makes a point
- site visitors find interesting and useful
- publishing on a schedule so your site doesn’t look abandoned
- placement of important info & graphics above the fold so visitors see it immediately after the page loads
- a site so interesting that visitors tend to stick around and click on other pages
- a site that appears so popular that other trusted webmasters refer to it by placing links in the content that they publish
- a site with some social media buzz
If you focus on the above the money will come, whereas in the old days the money was due to a competitive advantage we no longer have.
Einstein Said The Universe Is Friendly :: I Say Google Is Friendly Too
I’m paraphrasing here, but when Einstein was asked about what was the most important thing he had learned he replied, “the Universe is friendly”.
I guess that answer startled many who believed in a dog-eat-dog-world, but if I were a betting man I’d put money on the answer given by one of the world’s greatest scientists.
And if I were you I’d take with a grain of salt such comments as, “Google conspires against sites with no Adsense”, or that “Google hates affiliates”.
In my opinion, Google is doing what we all should be doing: building better sites, that serve more and more people while prospering along the way.
To your online success!
James
Twitter: bhar
The thing is far from good. After its changes, we are seeing some sites loaded with adsense in the first pages of it results page. Something serious is wrong. There is no such thing is continuous growth, there will be a time when an another search engine will take over.
Shalu Sharma recently posted..Types of ghosts and haunted places in India
I think one of the BIG mis-perceptions about Google is they are perfect, that every change they make will weed out the low quality or offending websites. This is clearly not the case. The reality is it’s all a moving target to them. I would think Google is dealing with such a level of SPAM that it would be hard for us to get our heads around. One thing I do know is Google is so far superior to AltaVista, WebCrawler and Excite that they did change the paying field.
Question: When was the last time you had to “surf” to find what you were looking for?
James Martell recently posted..Coffee Talk #74 – Stay Ahead as Mobile Marketing Takes the Internet by Storm
Twitter: rancorinfotech
Hi James,
I agreed with your views, Google is continuously making change in its algorithm which helps them to keep low quality sites out of its search results. So I think SEO is even become easy, as if you build informative and user friendly website then you can see good result with little link building efforts.
Aasma recently posted..Online Mobile Recharge Software Developers
I agree, and I DO so love the fact that we can write naturally. It is such a breath of fresh air.
Hi James,
Well said however it becomes tough to explain to few business owners , However keeping in mind the trend and how dominating google has become ,More and more people are getting inclined to stay away from Yellow pages .
Who would have thought 5 years back that yellow pages would be history , makes me wonder what the future of google will be 5 years from now !!!!
Twitter: JamesMartell
True, many business owner are finding themselves in a state of transition. They are finding the older more “traditional” methods of advertising are not working for them like they did in they past. The reality is though, they better get up to speed fast on what is working otherwise they’re TOAST!
hey James, can you contact me regarding your user account?
(your email address is bouncing back any messages the site sends you)
Andy Bailey recently posted..New additions to CommentLuv Premium – ReplyMe Premium
Twitter: JamesMartell
Hi Andy, thanks for the heads up on this. I updated my email address in my profile. Anything else I can do for you?
Twitter: iseocompany
Hi,
Well I must say that the title is definitely the best one. Going through the title, visitors would definitely like to read the post too. Yes, a recent ranking update is there from Google. I like the Google friendly concept that you have shared. Thanks for the share!!
Twitter: JamesMartell
Hi Aditi, you’re welcome. Thanks for your comments. I appreciate your kudos for the title. It did see to get people attention.
James Martell recently posted..Coffee Talk #74 – Stay Ahead as Mobile Marketing Takes the Internet by Storm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/itnews9
James – this ranking thing is too confusing to some companies, but I tell my clients that it takes time and efforts to make it to the top. But if you keep making good content and building links..then the rest will come.
itnews9 recently posted..NASA using selective laser melting to build rockets
Twitter: JamesMartell
Yes it is a tough one too explain. Most client also don’t have the patience to work there way too the top of the search results.
Hey thanks for updating your profile. You should see emails from the site when you get approved comments on your posts and your replies to comments will be sent to the parent comment author.
Thanks for being a great contributor to the site
Andy Bailey recently posted..Submit Your Article
Oops, sorry I clicked the wrong reply link on my iPad. That reply was to the other comment
Andy Bailey recently posted..CommentLuv Premium
Twitter: muscleover40
Hi I follow your podcast and love it. Although not sure if I agree that google is making the web a better place. More like google is making google a better place
kevin redman recently posted..Welcome to Muscle building over 40
Twitter: JamesMartell
Hi Kevin, thanks for the kudos on the podcast. Much appreciated and great to have you on board as a listener. I do like your comment ” google is making google a better place”. This is probably true, but wouldn’t you say things are improving overall? They offer so much — Google Drive, calender, analytics, webmaster tools, etc.
James Martell recently posted..Coffee Talk #74 – Stay Ahead as Mobile Marketing Takes the Internet by Storm
Google gifted high ranking to my blog earlier but it is also decreasing them too.. as there isn’t any big competetor of Google that’s why it is on air… besides.. nice post.. thanks for sharing
Twitter: teesort
Google changes its features day by day. By new PR it has given good page rank to quality websites or blogs.
Hi. Some pretty insightful stuff there James! Google works for the best interests of the people, i.e. us. We often complain when our websites take a hit and fall down the SERPs, and sometimes, websites DO get penalized wrongly, however mostly it’s because the competition is producing better content, and are doing things in a better manner than us.
Aaron recently posted..Popular and Successful Blogging Niches
Twitter: JamesMartell
Hi Aaron, well said. It seems many have a tendency to praise Google for ranking their sites highly, only to take shots at them when rankings drop.
I find this a bit confusing when Google change their algorithims so much and so often. I suppose it keeps the saerch engine fresh but it is hard for us small businesses to keep up with it all sometimes!
Google panda also looks at the quality of your hosting, a good quality hosting is a must at these times. So how much is pagerank actually updating a year?
Twitter: JamesMartell
I don’t believe there is any set schedule for the PageRank bar updates. It seems to happen when it happens. As far as hosting, staying away from servers that are polluted is good advice.
Hello,
we need to be prepare well before any Google update. Google keep on updating algorithm. So, this article gives beginners an option to work efficiently with their website/ blog.I hope that this article is helpful for beginners.
chirag sachdeva recently posted..Where to buy Aakash 2 tablet at student discount price?
Ah, the Google dance. I read about this study once where they had lab rats that they randomly gave food to. These poor rats would come up with these elaborate sequence of events that they thought was the key to making the food dispense. A lot of the time I feel like one of those rats trying to get Google to shuffle me up in the SERPs. At least it keeps things interesting, right?
Twitter: JamesMartell
Hi David, that is a hilarious analogy. …and yes it sure does keep things interesting.
James Martell recently posted..Coffee Talk #74 – Stay Ahead as Mobile Marketing Takes the Internet by Storm
Twitter: IsmailNZ
Yup, I think that Google is trying hard to make fair to everybody. Those with good/quality contents should be on top of Google Search Engine ranking. So, those changes are necessary.
Ismail N recently posted..Alan Shearer – Man Utd’s Fantastic Four Is The Most Frightening Ever
Twitter: JamesMartell
Agreed, and not too mention Google’s challenge of stemming the growing rise of SPAM. I do believe the Google spam team has the best of intentions. I have seen some very interesting videos on Youtube of them going through the testing of a change to the algorithm. Very interesting stuff.
Twitter: HadleyHodgson
You here a lot of things like ‘SEO’ is dead which I just don’t think is true. SEO has changed dramatically recently but it’s always changing and it’s just a case of adapting.
Twitter: JamesMartell
The “SEO is Dead” headline has to be one of the most over used headlines in the search space. It has been used over and over for over a decade. The headline clearly does grab people’s attention.
My tips for noobs.. stick to the basics, and don’t do anything stupid. Google likes natural, quality content, and natural linking. Don’t pay for content unless you’re hiring someone to write for you, and even then make sure it’s not duplicate. Don’t pay for links either. Google is getting better at detecting sites that sell links, so your purchase will probably be worthless at some point, or you’ll end up getting penalized for it.
Donny recently posted..Halo 4: How to Unlock Armor Sets
Of course SEO isn’t dead, as James said it’s just a way to catch people’s attention. Backlinking and the same old tricks do still work very well, just don’t do anything weird, don’t spam and try to look as natural as possible to Google’s eyes.
Twitter: OddRandomThots
Search engine placement has always been an uphill battle for me. Although I use wordpress and try to use headings properly. It’s still so very hard to compete with millions of others fighting for that special spot, as you’ve pointed out.
I try to put my trust in creating worth while content, or at least content that is relevant to my niche. I’m hoping some day it will pay off, but I keep hearing more and more that the main focus should be in creating excellent content and the rest will follow. I don’t even try to figure out google’s algorithms.
Robert recently posted..Just how much info is on Wikipedia
Twitter: webduck
I’m probably delusional, but I think I write good content most of the time. I do try to monetize my genealogy blog by writing affiliate ads for related products, etc. I don’t try to earn an income from blogging though, just a few extra bucks here and there. That way I too can write what I want. It has taken me years to make real friends in my niche though. Well worth it in that we all share a love of a fairly benign interest in tracing our family trees.
Twitter: Elena__Anne
I, too, believe that Google has the best intentions. I like that if you are writing well, giving people valuable information, and adding content regularly you have a good chance of getting good rankings. And to David Prophete – thank you for the laugh!
Elena Anne recently posted..The Benefits of Dance Exercise
Twitter: caprianderson1
The new comers like me, had to stick with the basics.. BTW,
Really Amazing and very interesting post whatever you have shared. This is wonderful view and now i have found the views and very quite informative that is very useful well thanks for sharing this info.
Thanks!
Ivy
Ivy recently posted..The paper show
Twitter: http://twitter.com/fashiontrends9
hello james – Thanks for the good read. SEO is very important for any online business and SEO depends mainly on 2 things Content and links. Both content and links required quality not the quantity, if we are providing quality content and making quality links for our sites then we can be sure to get a good spot on SERP.
zoya recently posted..Latest Wedding Dress Fashion 2013
James, How long do you think it takes for Google to notice a website with good content but few links? And how to we get noticed for the right keywords if link building is not as important anymore?
Catie Watkins recently posted..Working Your Notice
I am working in a SEO company and I am exclusively in charge for link building. It sounds a bit funny but do you think my job gets more or less useless in the future? I mean I am not afraid of it because I still study and have other opportunities. But it would be nice to know where the trend develops.
Hey James.
Can it really be a symbiosis between Google and new sites that benefits both?
Cristian Stan recently posted..Best Home Espresso Machine
In my opinion. google adsesne income will be less if your site having many affiliate links compared to sites with only adsense.
shameer recently posted..BSNL- Wishtel Launches Android(ICS) 3G tablet IRA Icon for Rs 10,500
Google may be friendly but they lack the support which is a big factor in ranking any organization.
Usman recently posted..Download Internet Explorer 10 For Windows 7 (All Languages)
Excellent post, I definitely agree– if your number one focus is to make money, you likely won’t become the best, and if that never happens you’ll never rank highly on Google.
Mike recently posted..Just Another Online Marketing System Review?
The niche you choose could be a small one or one that you have a lot of topics that you can cover, but really, it boils down to whether you have the passion to keep writing. You will sometimes find yourself covering every nook and cranny of your niche when you write, and that can be tedious….at least to some.
Methews recently posted..HPSC Interview Shortlist For Assistant District Attorney ASA Group B Posts
Google is changing its algorithms constantly, but the goal stays the same. Great point. So keep on giving good content and keep on innovating. But make sure your business is NEVER dependent on google alone (or any other loose marketing-tactic)
bert recently posted..Marketing nekt mkb
Google has gifted and then taken away! I’ve been bouncing back and forth with a PR3 and PR2 for several years…..oh well. Time to get back to work toward the 3.
Brad recently posted..Short Sale Real Estate Market Jacksonville
Twitter: WerryAdnan
Interesting post James. I’ve got good advice from this post. I’m agree with you about 8 points that you share above.
As professional Internet Marketer we must have great strategy to win the competition. SEO is essential to us to get many visitors. Because google algorithm always change, we should learn SEO continuously.
But, to make money from online is not only about SEO. We should give great experience for visitors. By providing Great content, Beautiful lay out and some social media buzz, we can win the competition.
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I am trying my best to learn new things about this seo stuff i just dont understand logic between alexa and google rank some sites says you have this much back link other says you dont. Is there any place that you can check your work?
It’s like being friends with a disco bouncer…you never know when he might punch you in the face..
a “friendly” punch of course.
Alec Deacon recently posted..The Illusion Of A Free World
Great post,you just need to keep making good content and building links,then the rest will come.
I find it interesting that by google changing their algorythems as often as they do they cause so much confusion in what they really want to see on our sites, and what they consider authority on those sites. Is it social backlinks or content, or other type of backlinks, such as wiki-links or forum comments, comments, and likes.
I don’t see the point of it. Blogging is hard enough without always having the rules changed.
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Big G is great because it brings “free” trafic, although it’s more and more difficult to rank for competitive keywords.
Still I hope some competitors will emerge, because it’s not healthy imho to have one so dominant search engine
Twitter: SMARTSocMed
Google has it’s good points but I’m making sure that I am not wholly reliant on them for traffic. I know they’re not perfect and I haven’t been “Panda-ed” but I’m learning more about SEO and checking out Bing, who’s growing nicely by the way. So while I’m not exactly in the love part of the love-hate relationship with Google, I respect them as a powerful search engine but not the only choice.
D. Dixon recently posted..Creating Your Basic SEO Checklist Part 1
Thanks james, your post is very useful to face google dance. It experience by many beginner.
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Great post, very intresting to read. I know personally when i search google i want relevant search queries. Updating algorithms is great because i know sometimes a lot of irrelevant sites outrank certain key words which creates a bad user experience. So google focus on the searcher receiving the best content.
actually Google updates not always good some times it affect some good site for no obvious reason. some of my sites has been affected despite highly rich good quality content. i will have to wait to next update to see if it will be corrected or not.
Twitter: AnnettaPowell
I often hear from affiliate marketers say that the ranking of the site depends if the site is monetized or not. I don’t really believe that ranking has anything to do with that. As long as the site complies with the webmaster guidelines, constancy, unique and valuable content, Google is friendly.
Annetta Powell recently posted..Strategic Pricing of Your Products as a Marketing Tool
Twitter: HappyHealthyetc
I personally use Google for a lot of searches and can not imagine my life without it, but it’s a kind of scary that it has become such a monopoly and everyone is so dependent on it. Great article! Thanks for your insights!
Elena recently posted..Amazing Health Benefits of a Good Night Sleep
Twitter: PMStudyCircle
You are right James that Google is very friendly.
Google is really friendly but some people make him angry by following black hat techniques. We should try to keep this friend happy by natural way not through some artificially tactics.
Regards,
Fahad
Fahad recently posted..What is the Passing Score for CAPM Certification Exam?
There’s a lot of good info here; thanks for posting. I can remember back when Yahoo was the number one search engine, but once Google came along, they eclipsed everybody. Like a lot of people, I have a love-hate relationship with them. But all in all, they provide a valuable service and will be around as long as the Web’s around…
Dave Cozz recently posted..Nuclear Medicine Jobs: An Overview
I don’t blame Google for being so careful with the information it provides its users. I almost feel like new webmasters have it easier because there are so many examples of what to do and not do when building your site.
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Hi James, i totally agreed with your views, i monitor google algorithm very closely and i 100% agreed that google only gave ranking to some one who really having uniqueness and good content over their site, now if you having good content on the site and perform good SEO like article writing, good presence in high PR social websites etc got good ranking.
Twitter: Steps2BuildSite
I love Google but the only thing which I don’t like is its algorithm change
Its good that Google keep changing its algo to filter out spam but the sad thing is some good sites are also impacted with the change.
Chaitanya recently posted..Dofollow forums to increase backlinks
Great views James but the Google is not that friendly to everyone, every time it comes out with its new algorithm some sites will be given gifts like PR and some will be dumped down.
Kevin recently posted..Fundamentals of Competitive SEO Analysis
Hi James,
In the morning I was wondering what went wrong with my efforts and everything white hat that I was doing for my websites, which has resulted in decreased traffic to my sites. Well, with so many algo updates from the finest of all the talents, even the Google bots are confused now! So, all we mortals can now do is sit and watch the repercussions of the next update which is again going to push us far behind. Somehow we’ll manage to climb up the rankings over a few days after the last update, and bingo! we’ll see them spiraling into abyss after the next update. Almost 80% of the people out there follow guidelines. Perhaps this is not enough. It is our vision that needs to get updated along with the algos! Lol
Misha recently posted..How To Choose A Cheap Gaming Laptop
Twitter: twitter.com/CoffeeL90593622
I do miss the days of shooting fish in a barrel, but I’d imagine that Google is now much better at producing higher quality search results that are more relevant and less duplicative. However, do they still need to be making 500 algorithmic changes every year to improve the system? They must be pretty close to getting it right.
Twitter: prabhatrayal
hello james,
google is trying to make the web a safe place.where users can find the information without much pain. and this results in new algorithms which make the web better every time but yes we have to change our strategies and SEO tricks every time according to the update.
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Twitter: mchhimwal
Google is king off all. That is 100% right.first Google make algorithm for showing search results, people get the algorithm by guessing and start cheating it. Then Google have to change its algo for beating these cheats taken by low quality sites. that is the reason for contineosely changing algorithm of Google.
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Twitter: Techblowup
Google’s algorithm are really different and not static. It always change. We have to manage the changes.
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