5 replies to this topic

[Neil F]

Hi All,

As you can see my last post was back in 2005...I learned a TON of great stuff here and my website (execshirts.com) was number 1 in my top keyword (custom dress shirts) until 2010. Then it dropped and I have been having problems ever since. I have tried the usual changes to make it more relevant...etc...

But I was wondering is there anywhere here that discusses the changes the major changes that google made to their algorithm and what they are focusing on now versus pre 2010. I have not seen any real changes to my SEO rankings in the other search engines...

Thanks so much...

[chrishirst]

Oddly enough they are still focussing on the same things they have done since 1998, which is showing the best pages they can to their users for their query, and every update that is made is moving towards that goal.

Rankings are still nothing to use as a yardstick (even less so) other than that the two major updates have been "Caffeine" and "Panda".

[Jill]

Unfortunately many who easily enjoyed top rankings for competitive kws in the old days simply by having first mover advantage have found themselves in similar situations to what you're experiencing. A lot of it is due to increased levels of competition, and google seeming to have removed some of the weight they used to put on older domains.

You're likely going to have to plan out an SEO strategy for moving forward under these conditions. You may never again be #1 for your old phrase, but that shouldn't be your focus. It should be on getting traffic for the thousands of phrases that relate to what you offer.

Many SEO consultants offer site audits with recommendations for an SEO strategy you can start moving forward with. It will likely be a lot more work than it was in the old days, however.

[Neil F]

Actually there were huge changes in 2010...there were several lawsuits from companies that lost their top rankings...and lost millions of dollars as a result...it was all in the news.

My phrase are actually hyper-competitive and have been that way for the last several years...but I still came out on top starting in about 2005...

Google has changed their emphasis since 2010...they are placing more weight now on some things and less on other things...so I was wondering if anyone has commented here on what they think those changes are.

[Mikl]

Actually there were huge changes in 2010...there were several lawsuits from companies that lost their top rankings...and lost millions of dollars as a result...it was all in the news.

Just our of curiosity, can you give any examples or references to those stories? I'm not doubting what you say. It's just that I would be amazed if anyone thought they had a chance of getting damages out of Google just because they lost their rankings. It's not as Google offers any guarantees of high rankings or has entered into a contract with the sites in question to deliver customers to them.

(I assume you're talking about companies that lost their rankings in organic search results. Obviously, pay-per-click might be a different matter.)

[SEOBestTips]

Most of the sites that were devalued and penalized are link farms and sites with duplicate content. If you are contributing to either of these, then you'll need to revamp your site. If not, keep adding new content regularly, and make sure its unique and well-written. Start link-building to deeper pages/posts of your site and creating social media outlets for your company. You should start to see trust come back to your site as your continued vigilance pays off.