Ignoring Google Is Your Best Bet For Success

We read it every day in the webmaster forums around the web. Google changed their algorithm and my site disappeared. Webmasters around the world are in a constant state of flux as they chase Google's tail. My recommendation for a more stable site... forget about the Googles of the world.

If you launch a site that has gardening information that can be found in 1000 other sites, yeah, no one is going to talk about it or link to it unless you buy links. This is fine for traffic, but don't expect Google to give your site preference over the 1000 other sites with the same type of content just because you have a good team of writers and great content.

Google's approach seems to reward sites that have built up their trust and links over time... the natural way. Very few sites hit stardom in a few months... which is what everyone wants for their site. It takes many years... which is the way it should be...

Another interesting point relates to SEO folks who try to "adapt" to each of Google's changes over the years. This could also be the source of some of your problems, if indeed you are having problems.... I try not to follow what Google is doing, I simply work on providing the best site/service for our users. Yes, I make sure my site is accessible to search bots, I'd be foolish to design otherwise, but I don't get caught up in the latest Google algorithm change. Instead I focus on building relationships with news reporters and other sites, building quality communities where folks want to participate and share information, and keep my site running smoothly, fast and efficient...

This approach of pretty much ignoring the latest trends has helped my sites slowly grow each year in revenues and traffic.

Am I immune to losing our Google traffic? No, of course not. But if it does happen, I'll still have my community of users and members that I have grown over the years to help keep the site growing. I'll also have our newsletter I've built up over the years, along with all the naturally acquired inbound links from news sites and blogs. All of those were made possible due to the fact that my sites offer a good service that filled a need at a time when not many others were filling that need.

So the real answer is not to start building/updating your new site based on the latest Google trend, but rather build your new site based on what the consumers/users of the world need right now, or what they might need tomorrow