Google is constantly tweaking its search algorithm, in an effort to provide relevant results to end users. However, in the last several weeks, more and more webspam has been noticed in Google’s search results.
In his Google Search and Search Engine Spam post, Matt Cutts says:
…webspam is junk you see in search results when websites try to cheat their way into higher positions in search results or otherwise violate search engine quality guidelines.
Today, Matt Cutts wrote an article titled Algorithm change launched, on his personal blog. In it he says:
The net effect is that searchers are more likely to see the sites that wrote the original content rather than a site that scraped or copied the original site’s content.
This newly modified algorithm reinforces the importance of original content, when considering a website’s current search rank. Simply put, Google Search gives Original Content the nod over Webspam.
Too often, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is thought to be the quick answer, when a website isn’t ranking high enough on Search Engine Results Pages (SERP). However, this thought process is seriously flawed and unrealistic.
Just think about this for a minute. Is it realistic to think, a website trending near the bottom 10%, of 2,000,000 search results, can reach and maintain first page visibility, in a matter of hours?
NO!
Websites reaching first page visibility, in a matter of hours, will fall to the bottom again, in the same amount of time. They simply can’t maintain their newly found, “first page” popularity, because there is no substance to the website’s content.
Optimizing anything always sounds good and I’m not saying SEO isn’t important. However, many people fail to realize, that only a website’s content and code can be optimized. After the content and code has been optimized, SERP position is largely about Web Presence.
Immediate “first page” results is simply not a promise any SEO services company can keep, especially if they have no control over your website’s code or content. Without the ability to modify your website’s code or content, what are they going to optimize?
A promise like this, should be an immediate red flag.
Correctly improving a website’s search engine ranking takes time. Evaluating a website’s content and code is often a grueling task. It can take days, or even weeks (on large websites), just to finish the evaluation process. Once the entire website has been evaluated, changes (optimization) have to be made.
Here are some things to remember:
- Don’t worry about how fast your website can get to the top. A gradual SERP improvement, over time, is okay.
- Don’t worry if your website falls in rank from time to time. Think big picture and how it does over 6 months and 12 months, instead of day to day.
- Don’t worry about websites reaching first page visibility, in a matter of hours. They will fall to the bottom again, in the same amount of time.
- Don’t fall for SEO Scams. SEO should always start with a full evaluation of your website’s content and code. Results should be provided to you in writing. You should always have the option of making necessary changes yourself.
If you are not able to wade through thousands of lines of PHP and HTML code, while identifying problems, then you should hire a professional to help.
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