Google Updates and SEO/SERP Changes – Even Google Chrome Got Screwed with the Recent SERP Update
I write this today as I’ve been looking into the most recent Google Update after many of my sites’ rankings dropped in a big way at the start of the holiday season. What I thought was going to be an extremely successful end to 2011 with regards to my Internet Marketing and SEO efforts, quickly turned into somewhat of a horror on the morning of Dec 13 when I checked my SERP rankings. Some of my websites which have been ranking on the first page of Google between #1 and #6 consistently quickly dropped from the first page, some even disappeared from the index completely. I was incredibly frustrated to say the least.
After an entire year of working really hard to increase my websites’ visibility, all my effort went down the drain it seemed when I noticed that my own sites was affected in a major way with what seems to be another “Panda Update“. Although many of my sites are still ranking on page 1 of Google, the vast majority of my sites pulling in a chunk of my income dropped. I quickly jumped to Warrior Forum to see if I was the only one to have experienced this, as it didn’t seem like a typical “Google dance” as I’ve experienced so many times in the past where rankings drop and come back stronger within a week or 2, no, this was something way worse. I quickly found this thread on there and quickly came to realize that my worse fear came true at the worst possible time.
Google SERP Updates Changed the SEO Game Completely!
I quickly realized that I needed to change my SEO strategy completely, -since it’s one of the main services we provide on the site here, and purchased every SEO course I could find that came out after the recent Google update. I bought a total of 8 courses on SEO in total, because not only don’t I want my other rankings to drop, but I also know that I need to be on top of my game for the service I provide as many people are promoting it through our SEO Affiliate Program. The courses all had a few suggestions in common:
- Google will focus more on the Social Media side of things when it comes to ranking websites, meaning “sharing” posts and websites have become increasingly important after the introduction of Google Plus.
There are many other contributing factors which can cause a site’s rank to increase or drop, but this is the main reason why many thin content sites outrank their competitors who have ten times more posts, more attractive pages and a much bigger advertising budget. Another thing that was mentioned in these courses, was that backlink strategies need to be adjusted, as many of the 2011 ways of building backlinks will no longer be effective in 2012 and in future.
Don’t get me wrong, backlinks still play an incredibly vital role in SEO, but you need to be more careful than ever before when planning your backlink campaigns. The SEO game changes constantly, in the past you could link to just about any blog and get credit for your link, but after the recent Google SERP update it has become clear that the posts or pages your backlinks appear on need to be very relevant to the site/post you’re linking to or you’ll get penalized.
If you’re in the online business, I strongly suggest keeping a close eye on Google’s Webmaster Guidelines section regularly to avoid the same thing happening to your sites. It gives you a clear indication of what Google is looking for and how they analyze websites to determine ranking factors.
Another thing I advise you do, -if you haven’t done this yet, is to join Google’s Webmaster Central to give you a broad overview of how Google views your site. The webmaster central, aka Webmaster Tools is incredibly important when it comes to determining what changes need to be made in order to keep your SERP rankings, so do this immediately if you haven’t done so already.
How Google Chrome got Penalized by the Recent Google SERP Update
What appears to be quite the laughing matter when you look at Matt Cutts’ response to the penalty given to Google Chrome, it becomes clear that Google did not anticipate the effects the recent Google update would have on their very own site. In effect, Google also penalized paid and “sponsored” links where sites attempt to gain better rankings in exchange for money, which is exactly what Google Chrome was guilty of according to this post. Obviously, this wasn’t intentional, since Google runs the show and controls the SERP algorithm…
However, since they talk the talk, they need to walk the walk as they’d they. Chrome violated the very same Google Guidelines for Paid Links which they introduced and updated 10/3/2011. According to Matt Cutts, Chrome will suffer a 60 penalty after which they can apply for reconsideration, which is the same process which can be followed by any other company hit by this SERP update.
Talking about rankings falling from page 1 of Google for certain keywords, where Chrome was in #1 slot for the term “browser”, they are now completely wiped from page 1 for this term. Although, it surely can’t be so bad since I doubt people search for “browser” very often, and instead would search for “Chrome” if they were interested in downloading the Google browser, right?
A quick search for “Chrome” pulls up their download page in #1 slot, so you have to wonder if they’ve really taken such a major hit with the SERP penalty issued against Google Chrome for the word “browser”, or if they’re just out to please people like me who have been affected by the recent Google SERP update. A means to say, “don’t be upset, see, the same thing happened to us”.
Post Panda Update – How to Regain Rankings after Google SERP Changes
In conclusion, I’m excited to see my own rankings increase once again after the recent Google update with regards to SEO and SERP rankings. It can really be a struggle trying to pinpoint the problems pertaining to your own site after its been affected if you don’t take the proper steps. It took me hours, days, even weeks to get my head around the recent updates and how to adjust my SEO strategy accordingly, but I finally figured it out. Here’s 5 steps to take to get your rankings back:
- 1. Read the Webmaster Guidelines carefully and take notes
- 2. Do whatever you need to do on your site to comply with these guidelines.
- 3. Sign up to Webmaster Central and resubmit your sitemap once you’ve made the necessary changes
- 4. Grab this SEO Course. Post Panda SEO course by a leading expert for just $9.97
- 5. Read and Apply everything in here and your rankings will improve drastically
Follow these SEO blueprints and guidelines and there’s absolutely no way you can fail. It covers absolutely everything you need to know in order to stay ahead of the game when it comes to SERP rankings and how to give Google exactly what they’re looking for in a step-by-step fashion. Out of all 8 courses I’ve bought, this one is by far one of the best, most complete course of them all. I HIGHLY recommend you give it a go to give your site the boost it needs.
Please leave a comment below if you have any questions, or share this post with your friends if you found this to be helpful.
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