Stumped by the New Google Algorithm?

The latest Google shake-up has once again left Search Engine Optimization consultants and website owners scratching their heads. Everyone's wondering what Google is up to. While these changes are definitely a nuisance, we should remember that Google is trying to improve the quality of their search results.

Therefore, there's no need to panic. As with all Search Engine Optimization issues, we need to take a long-term approach. We shouldn't be too quick to change things.

If you have slipped in the Search Engine rankings, look at the other websites in your category. You're likely to find that the search engine results are not as dependable as what you have come to expect from Google. For alot of searches, the results aren't as relevant as those we're used to. We've been seeing lots of general-interest websites - which do not appear to be optimized for the search engines - appearing at or near the top of the rankings, while others which are obviously more "search engine friendly" take a back seat. This would indicate that Google is still in a state of flux and we should just wait it out. The really difficult thing is to have faith when you don't know what the search engine's optimization rules are.

Faith is one thing we've needed with our most recent account. We started working on the site at the same time as Google began shaking things up. Our customer does not wish their competition to know that we're optimizing their site, so we can't disclose the URL of the site (we have chosen to take this as a compliment; never thought of ourselves as a secret weapon...) But just as we were submitting to Google and hoping for some great rankings, Google decided to change their algorithm.