There isn’t a surefire method for staying on top of rankings. Search engine optimization leaders continually tweak their methods to account for fluctuations due to Google’s changing algorithms or other varying factors. Especially now that Google Caffeine’s implementation is looming over the search engine optimization world, it’s no wonder that bloggers are worried that their pages may drop in search engine results or disappear altogether. We’re going to cover some basic search engine optimization guidelines and tips for when your rankings drop.
First, don’t panic. Fluctuations in search rank occur frequently, for better or worse. When you see your rankings drop, this isn’t a call for action to initialize a major search engine optimization overhaul for your site—chances are the traffic will return after a period of time, i.e. a few weeks. If you don’t see a nearly full return in traffic after an extended period of time, then make more tweaks to your search engine optimization efforts.
Second, make sure you diversify where your traffic is coming from. Simply focusing traffic on a blog or a single website can be hurtful to your rankings. This can include traffic directed from social media marketing platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Another factor to consider is Black Hat activity. We all want traffic driven to our site, but search engine giants like Google frown on manipulation and bending of the search engine rules. You’ll be banned from search engine results until you clean up your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts and apply for reconsideration to be reinstated into the results.
SEOmoz has also confronted the issue of an indexing cap on Google, meaning there is the potential that not all pages on your site will get indexed. While Google downplays this fact, there is a “cap” on the number of URLs that will be indexed from a site. This has stemmed from duplicate content on pages that Google now flags as abuse. But likewise, SEOmoz stresses that you should diversify traffic to your site and make your content better and “stickier.” Provided you follow all the rules and have great content, Google will reward you for your efforts.
Written by: Daisy K.