The latest Google Panda (algorithm) updates shook the online world like an earthquake.
I’ve heard horror stories from massive layoffs to long-time Webmasters/Bloggers having to look for 9 to 5 jobs again.
If you think about it, it’s very scary how one algorithm change can negatively impact a site’s revenue in seconds.
When I saw Ken Evoy of SiteSell on the Google Forums requesting an explanation on behalf of his customers, that really emphasized to me how widespread this impact was.
Not saying Site Build It! sites are never affected by algorithm updates. Of course, they’re often impacted like any other site.
However, I’ve been inside the SiteSell community for 10 years and it was clear from browsing their forums that this update had a bigger collective impact on websites that are often unaffected (as a whole) by Google algorithm changes.
Even if you weren’t affected this time, you could get hit with the next update, so I hope you pay attention.
The Truth Hurts
This post is going to sting a little, and I don’t mean to offend anyone. Please don’t take it personal as I’m only trying to help you get off this emotional algorithm roller coaster.
The reason why Panda crushed so many of you is because your business model was flawed from the start. (Ouch! I told you it would sting.)
Any time your traffic and business model is largely dependent upon one site you have absolutely no control over, you are playing with fire.
AdSense is not a stable income solution, and it’s even more unstable when your AdSense earnings are mostly dependent upon your Google traffic.
It always amazes me when I hear stories of people quitting their jobs solely because of their Google AdSense earnings. The main reason I continued to work at my 9 to 5 (even when I was earning six figures on my websites) was because I knew my income was relying too heavily on Google traffic.
My friends called me cheap. Some even said I was lying about my success online. I heard things like, If you’re really making that much money online then why are you still at your 9 to 5?
The simple answer was I just wasn’t comfortable with such an unstable source of traffic that was controlling my business. So I waited until I had multiple streams of traffic and residual income.
I realize it’s often difficult to recognize your Google dependence when your traffic is climbing and the AdSense checks are rolling in. Even though you know deep down nothing is guaranteed, it’s easy to fall into a false sense of security with the traffic Google is sending you.
Too many of you got comfortable and were sitting back relying too heavily on programs like AdSense and income sources that depend largely on how much Google traffic you had.
Here’s another hard truth…
Google never guaranteed you anything and they don’t owe you any traffic. They are running their own business as they see fit, and by relying on them too heavily, they are running YOUR business too.
Whether you think their practices, algorithms and models are inherently flawed or not, it’s THEIR business — period. They are never going to get that algorithm 100% right and “quality” websites will always suffer with these updates.
As long as Google remains the number 1 search engine, you should expect to see more of this going forward. Some months will be good, some will be bad.
So we can sit here and over analyze our rankings (analysis paralysis), manipulate keywords on our pages, create speculation, try to predict the future, publish articles that attempt to expose Google’s “unfair” practices, beg them to give us our rankings back…
Or…
We can restructure our business models to be more Panda-proof.
I vote for the latter. So here are some things you can do…
1) Engage Your List
It’s not enough to just build a list. A lot of people have e-mail lists, but they don’t know how to keep their subscribers engaged. And I’m talking about myself here. [raises hand]
I got so sick and tired of hearing everyone say, “The money’s in the list” because that just wasn’t my story. I went a long time just building a list and not doing anything with it because I had no real strategy and my open rates were deplorable.
I’ve spent the last year really focusing on how to get more out of my list, and Fortunately AWeber makes managing my list a breeze.
NOTE: I will be launching a WordPress guide next week that covers a lot of missing lessons with regards to building WordPress sites correctly for SEO and the user experience. I hope to see the fruits of my labor once again.
Ana Hoffman probably doesn’t even know this, but she’s a huge reason why my open rates and e-mail list engagement have improved. If you need some tips on how to polish your e-mail marketing strategies, click here. This is a page you’ll want to bookmark.
She also wrote a really useful guest post on my blog about list building.
2) Seek Residual Paying Programs
This is not always easy for everyone because not all topics have many residual affiliate and reseller programs.
Clickbank has added a lot more products that pay residual income in many different niches. When searching through their marketplace, look for the blue symbol that represents residual payments.
As many of you know, I’m a domain/hosting reseller, and the residual/passive income that I’ve built up over 9 years is enough for a medium-size family to live comfortably on.
If you target wanna-be Bloggers/Webmasters, this is something you may want to consider. However, if this is not your niche, I would not recommend it because it is a difficult space to compete in if you don’t have the right kind of audience.
3) Create Your Own Product
Not only can you generate a solid income through sales of your own product, but you can add an affiliate program to generate another level of residual earnings.
Thanks to programs like ShareaSale, eJunkie and Clickbank, setting up an affiliate program for your product is not the hassle it once was.
4) Get on YouTube
It is MUCH easier to get ranked in YouTube for competitive keywords because YouTube is not nearly as saturated with videos as Google is with Web pages. I rank well for many keyword phrases on YouTube that I would NEVER rank for on Google.com.
Embedding YouTube videos into related content may also improve the rankings for those pages. And some of your videos may also start to rank in Google by themselves.
I know I’m trying to break your dependency from Google. But aside from the Google SEO benefits of creating YouTube videos, you are also creating another traffic stream to your site from YouTube.
5) Work the Social Media Space
Social media is another avenue you can use to build more traffic and loyalty. However, it’s easy to get obsessed over your number of followers, fans and subscribers.
Those numbers don’t mean much of anything if you aren’t converting those people into customers and using that space to build up the foundation of your business — e-mail list, site traffic, sales for your product, etc.
As popular as social media is, you don’t technically own those pages and accounts. You may remember when SiteSell had their Facebook Page yanked out from under them for no known reason.
Fortunately they got it back quickly, but it’s a reminder why you should always use social media to continually promote sites that you actually own and control.
Remember to draw people back to your website and encourage them to sign up for your e-mail list so they stay engaged with your own site, not just your Facebook Page and Twitter account.
Speaking of e-mail, AWeber makes it super easy to add an e-mail sign-up form to the left navigation of your Facebook page. Here’s a tutorial that shows you how to set that up.
Diversify, Diversify, Diversify
My static site took a small hit in the September Panda update. I could sit and try to over analyze what I did wrong, but I chose to let it keep me focused on strategies that continue to build long-term income and traffic.
Yes, I’m still primarily an affiliate marketer, but I’m continuing to expand my portfolio with my own products and work on engaging my e-mail list more.
Google can take your search engine traffic, but no one can take your engaged e-mail subscribers, products and personal brand away from you. When the foundation of your business is built on solid models like that, Google algorithm updates won’t cause so much turbulence in your life.
I know I was tough on you in this post, but I have a feeling a lot of you needed to read this. If your website success is largely driven by Google traffic, you need to rethink your strategy NOW.
If you get nothing else from this, get that you need to break your dependence from the Almighty Google and learn to generate more stable sources of income and traffic.
Whether it’s social media, guest posting, a newsletter, your own product or a combination of all the above, I guarantee it will give you incredible piece of mind going forward.
I hope this post is the motivator you need to shift how you run your business.
Use the negative impacts of Panda and turn them into opportunities to build a solid foundation for your business instead of a shaky one that is dependent upon an unpredictable algorithm.
In other words, anything from Google, Youtube, the Search Engines, etc… is not safe for any business to rely on, except if you have your own mailing list with engaged visitors.
Very thoughtfull, I got it…thanks again for your post:)
Regards,
Dev
Wow! Very well written blog. I hate how google controls so much. I have been hurt by the google waves. I love them when I rank high and hate them when I don’t. I really wish we had like three or four popular search engines that were equally used.
This post is true on many counts. But, you can’t blame anyone for taking easy money for years and expecting it to continue. That’s human nature. Still, most people won’t be forced offline as a result of this. They’ll adapt, as always.
True words. People who are here for the right reasons aren’t going anywhere. 🙂 Just comes with the territory.
Lisa i wanted to tell you that in Pakistan more than 90% Adsense publishers have lost their Adsense account after this Panda Update.
90% really? How are you able to know this number? Was this reported somewhere?
This is true Lisa. I don’t know what the main reason behind this, Panda Update, may be Pak-USA relationship is not good now a day or Google is taking revenge of the legal case file by Pakistani government against them. Websites with Adsense account for more than 7 years are also banned.
Lisa, The main thing to keep in mind is. Keep your content unique, frequently updated, Try to meet up with google standards. And your blog will continue to grow. Love the post. Thanks for the write up. With the recent panda update my traffic has almost twice of what it was last month.
Google Panda has brought great changes. While it was sad to see some of my favorite blogs getting slapped, the fact that readers can now avail quality information I think is also a plus point.
As you have rightly said, you tube is fair enough to get top ranks for certain keywords . The future is not so away, where even the videos will start flooding youtube 🙂
A lot of bloggers and internet marketers lost a part of their income, whether it was their main one or just a sideline. I think Google made it clear that it was now taking things more seriously – “No more spamming backlinks and add more quality content to your sites!” Well, that’s how I understand it anyway.
Cheers,
Sandra
I was one of the victim of Panda Update and I feel sorry for that.. This was my own mistake because among all of my blogs,, I did not care about the blog which was the victim of Panda Update.. Later with some research, I was able to gain back my ranking. I removed all less quality posts and added some unique , long content and I was able to get my blog back..
Hi Lisa,
You’re right there. My adsense sites have been affected recently because the sole source of traffic was from Google. Fortunately I was already working actively to build my list and learn some tips to engage my subscribers.By the way I’ve been successfully using a tool called rapportive to engage my audience more.
You really inspire me .
Thanks again!
I am also getting ready for my mailing list, although its a lot of work I hope I can contribute to the community. Good tips Lisa, will keep that in mind.
Hey Lisa,
Great content ones again.
Good post.
A very hard hitting comment
“they are running your business too”
I hadn’t thought of it that way.I am one of those people that “rely” on adsense income . I will certainly start to diversify
Thankyou
Lisa I LOVE LOVE your desk. Can you please tell where you got it? Im shopping for home office furniture and i want a desk just like yours.
thanks
Thanks I got it from Office Max.
well Jim Cockrum has predicted that google will eventually diminish in its importance, that eventually people will develop and find new ways to get the information they want, not filtered by the whims of faceless, outsourced drones 1/2 way around the world with a “GoogleRatingGuidelines” pdf on their hardrive…
It seems google is trying very hard to customize each users search results, and I don’t think I appreciate that! I wish I could turn it off. And I DO NOT like all those damn YT videos showing up at the top of the serps either. I should be able to block videos from showing up when I search google, or I might as well be searching in youtube. (Why don’t webpages show up when I search in youtube, btw…)
anyways, maybe someday the SE’s will pay US just to use their services, lol…
Hi Lisa, I’m rely rely proud about your stuff and I love it very much. I’m trying to follow your tips and techniques as possible as I could. I’m trying to set-up a blog at http://www.electronictradingacademy.com but I’m still confused a bout how to make a good looking and build a rich fresh content for it. I need your help to let me find my way to get it a live. Please help meeeeeeeeeee to do it and I will thank you much for all of your efforts. Thanks once again for your understanding.
Very well written article. I have a very SEO savy partner that set up our Radii Duck Jacket website with building around our google organic hits per day. We run contests weekly with our email lists and run coupons constantly. Too much What if factor with heavily relying on Google Search Engine Traffic.
Absolutely scary Lisa! There is another panda pending? You are scaring me with this Lisa “Even if you weren’t affected this time, you could get hit with the next update, so I hope you pay attention.” Well this is true ” Anytime your traffic and business model is largely dependent upon one site you have absolutely no control over, you are playing with fire.” and definitely not me. Maybe I shouldn’t worry.
Real tough truth indeed “Google never guaranteed you anything and they don’t owe you any traffic. They are running their own business as they see fit, and by relying on them too heavily, they are running YOUR business too.”
Another very informative post Lisa with proof that you have taken some real time out to put together. Thank you for sharing this with us, I will be bookmarking Anna Hoffman’s site.
There will always be more Pandas but no one knows when but Google. I wasn’t speaking of anything specific. Just a reminder of how we cannot put all our eggs in one basket.
Okay Lisa, gotcha.
Incredible way of explaining the “Google Panda” I didn’t notice a hit from the panda the way most people did. I just hope people are taking this advice serious and building their businesses upon a more firm foundation.
P.S. THIS is a PERFECT example of Pillar Content 🙂 [according to your definition] lol you knocked it out the PARK, as usual
Thanks Sam!
Anyone else get the little email from Google (YouTube):
“Congratulations, you can now earn money from your YouTube videos! Click here to begin.”
I clicked through and sure enough was able to select and monetize individual videos.
Hmmmm…
Yes, YouTube is now opening up monetization options for non-Partners. Way to go! 🙂
This is confirmation for me as I already had experiment with income sources on my to-do list for next month. I’ve also just started my first youtube channel (for some reason having a youtube channel scares me less than guest blogging. lol.) and plans to branch out to the other video host such as dailymotion.
More Googley news: Google: redesigning AdWords from the ground up!
More ch-ch-changes!
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/google-adwords-redesign-looks-beyond-keywords-135950
nice article. agree that someone should not rely on his/her adsense earning.
Diversifying your online empire is key. You cannot rely on google to bring you all your revenue; it’s like relying on a single big customer in a brick and mortar business to bring in 90% of your sales? Over dependence on a single person/client within a business is a very high risk model to adopt.
I definitely agree that it is not all about list building but about engaging with your list and about having a highly responsive list. There is no point in having a list which is 100,000 if only 3,000 people actually read your e-mail. It would be better to have a list of 10,000 people that are raving fans and much more responsive!
Membership sites are definitely a way forward. I have been going to my local gym for 6 years now and they are still getting $40 out of me every month. If you build a list with a good membership site/or monthly service you offer then you don’t really have to worry about the effects of google.
But what’s most important here is to DIVERSIFY, DIVERSIFY AND DIVERSIFY!
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for this post. My sites were hit pretty hard by Google Panda and almost all of my Web income comes from Adsense. I need to come up with a different business plan so thanks for the tips.
Hi Lisa,
I’ve just read your post in my email and felt so compelled to jump here to leave a comment.
What you wrote resonated with my own experience. I’ve always felt that my niche websites were relying too much on Google for traffic and Adsense for monetization. Around mid October my two main sites (on two different hosting companies) saw big drops in traffic up to 40%! You can guess that my Adsense revenue also fall like a stone.
You are so right about not putting all the eggs in the same basket. Diversified sources of traffic are necessary if one wants to build a long term internet marketing business.
Cheers,
Lisa, thanks for the reminder that while we are basking in the Google traffic euphoria, we should diversify. It’s true, we never know what the guys at big G have got up their sleeve in their effort to “make the web a better place”.
It’s a pity about your site. I’m thinking this may have something to do with your design change rather than anything else. You know, all those keywords on your left navigation column that were pointing into your inner pages are no longer there. I was going to ask you the effect of your design change on your rankings but I forgot. Google takes these into consideration too when ranking websites.
You cannot be farther from the truth about YouTube. I am experiencing first-hand that it is an untapped source of traffic that everybody should get into. YouTube is now my No. 1 source of referral traffic since I started making videos. I really wish I had started earlier.
Lol lisa, that last part is supposed to be “You cannot be closer to the truth … ” I got it backwards 😀
Lisa, thank you for alerting us.
I’m in deep trouble right now. 89% of my traffic comes from Google.
I don’t have a plan on how to diversify, but having a contest might help generate a list.
I’m wondering, I use feedburner’s email list. Is this OK or should I own my email list?
I thought of writing an eBook for baking mini pies, but is it worth it? I never buy them myself; so I’m thinking not many others will either.
Hi Pie Guy
Use your own list. Legally you can only use the Feedburner list to send out your blog posts, so I would recommend MailChimp or AWeber to setup your own newsletter. I use AWeber and love it!
Excellent post Lisa and it is an eye opener indeed. Too much relying on one business is sometimes very frustrating especially after google panda update.
I won’t lie – it feels good to be liked. LOL
Thanks for the mention, Lisa.
And thanks for your wisdom; I wholeheartedly agree.
I have way too many readers who depend on Google for MOST of their traffic and that’s precisely what I keep telling them: what are you going to do when the next algorithm wipes out your site?
Ana
I have 14 websites and several blogs. I spend every waking hour that I can trying to build quality websites and long term income.
I have been down about 40% since this month. My stats are showing that I am getting more search engine referrals from Bing than Google.
This never happened before, not even close. It’s unnerving. I am looking at SEO a bit more and using Google analytics for ideas but still sliding down.
Help me I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!
Thanks for the inspiration.
The best advice: make your blog the very best it can possibly be. With great content, you can build a great reputation, which will ensure you have an active readership regardless of what Google does!
Hi Guys
I had a few sites hit by Panda in Sept..But I fought back because I realized there were genuine errors going on with my sites… I had old content, not much internal linking, some broken links, slow site load, and so on…
I fixed my errors madly and Google gave me my traffic back and so much more!!! My traffic is now going through the roof and climbing… 🙂
Call me stupid, but…I think Google should have more consideration for authority sites. They should have worked the Panda changes out better so that it didn’t have such a negative effect on so many legitimate sites.
It’s like they took a machine gun and just started shooting all over the place without any concern for “humans!”
Yes, I said humans. There were too many innocent business people wounded and businesses killed by their technological negligence.
Lisa,
You are so spot on with your comments and assessments. I’m a big fan of yours and use SBI as well. I’ve learned a lot from you already through your sites and just wanted to THANK YOU for it all.
Best regards!
Steve
Hi Lisa,
So true all the points mentioned.
Traffic is the business of Google, not ours and they can change their algorithm at any time, and for sure they’ll be doing in the future constantly.
It’s clear that they are pursuing quality on sites and the best way is to show quality posts, today optimized for SEO and for social channels too.
Don’t put all the egg-efforts in one basket is a valid statement nowadays 🙂
Cheers,
Gera
Excellent advice Lisa. This post is jam-packed with good advice. I have never been a fan of Google AdSense ads but I haven’t created my own products yet either. I clearly have a lot of work to do. Between your article and reading the comments, I once again realize how far behind I am on taking advantage of YouTube and building my mailing list. Lots to do!
Great stuff. I’m now considering creating other sources of income online that isn’t so dependant on Google. I’ll let you know how that goes. Thanks again.
yeah google is always changing it because they are trying to improve they service … like I always say when someone lose money someone makes money, I know google is the number 1, but I am trying to search on bing as much as I can when I need it because I dont like when one company has control of everything. thanks Lisa
Lisa-
Even though I have been following you for about a year, I still have a lot to learn about website building. I am glad that Google Adsense is just a very small part of my total business. I am not sure about what Google Panda is. So I will read and hope for the best.
Thanks Lisa, for another solid message. Yes, I knew I was overly dependent on Google so I can only blame myself. This is a lesson that needed to be learned. I’ve only had my online business for 1 1/2 years so I guess things could have been worse. My new business model will be on more solid ground. It’s just another challenge to overcome. Thanks again.
I hear you loud and clear. I’m still figuring out how to make my email list better. I will have to check out some of the posts you linked too.
Hi Lisa!
The only adsense income I’ve ever earned comes from my youtube videos and never from my websites, so I just about gave up on that lol.
The youtube videos never seem to be significantly affected by the updates so I usually end up not worrying about it. I only notice when someone I know is screaming to the heavens that their site has dropped in the rankings.
I never seem to see anyone screaming about how much they’ve gained from the updates, though. Might be just human nature to complain, or maybe they don’t want their competitors coming to their site to analyze it for clues.
I’m just starting up a niche site where I’m determined to do everything right this time, so I gotta start paying more attention and make sure this thing is diversified form the start. Your tips will come in handy -thanks!!
Actually YouTube received the biggest INCREASE in traffic with the Panda update according to many of the SE “expert” blogs I’ve read. Shocking that their own site would get such a boost right? lol Good luck with your new site.
This is what you call an ‘On-Time’ message! I have been told that I have excellent content and that my site was very user-friendly (Thanks to SBI!). However, I came to the realization that it’s not just about a good looking site with great content (Panda will certainly let you know that), but more-so about (as Lisa stated) HOW your running your business.
I am currently working EXTRA hard to build up my subscribers so that they will be my soldiers to get me more traffic. The more I provide quality, RELEVANT information to my regulars, the more NEW customers I will obtain through word of mouth, links (that my customers will create) and definitely with my social-networking business pages.
I refuse to rely on one source for traffic, I’m going to be the Google of my own world!
Yeah the game has changed. “Good content” is just not enough anymore. Now go get ’em Louis!
Lisa,
You hit ’em hard, don’t you? But everything you said is true. I never got the hang of Google AdSense and I probably never will. Meanwhile, I’ve been building software and writing fiction, so the diversity will be there.
It’s great that you’ve kept a level head throughout the years. I wish you all the best!
Cheers,
Mitch
Thanks for stopping by Mitch and good luck on your projects! Writing software — now that’s something I’d love to get into one day when they invent more hours in the day. lol
Lisa, I want to add on to your points about YouTube. Many of the videos on YouTube are poorly optimized in terms of SEO. I see people using titles, tags and descriptions for their YouTube videos which could be vastly improved. On the other hand, I see low quality videos that have tons of views and show up higher on YouTube search simply because they use good titles and descriptions.
I’m going through my videos and as I update the titles, tags and descriptions I’m getting more views and subscribers too.
I’m looking forward to your WordPress guide – thanks!
So very true, Ileane. It is much easier to affect your rank on YouTube by changing titles/descriptions just because it’s not as saturated. One thing I often do is use an engaging title just to get my subscriber’s attention and then after the video gets older, I’ll change it to something more SEO friendly. Which reminds me, I need to go and do that. 🙂
Solid post Lisa. I have to admit that in the beginning I was one of those that relied an awful lot from Google traffic. Obviously, I never left my offline “Consulting” company in favor of solely online business. I think you hit an important point of “YOU” running your business rather than someone else running it for you. What you mentioned about being dependent on search traffic (e.g. Google), actually makes it look that way. Really a great mindset.. hopefully this will clear up a lot of people’s mind when they choose their business models.
Thanks, DiTesco. I really do hope it helps people shift their thinking.
“Google never guaranteed you anything and they don’t owe you any traffic. They are running their own business as they see fit, and by relying on them too heavily, they are running YOUR business too.”
spot on! I couldn’t agree more.
The same happen when youtube decides to take down your youtube video. I remember once how Darren’s videos were removed and the hardships he had to go through..
It happens to the best of us.
cheers
Shamelle
That’s right! I do remember Darren blogging about that.
I remember that. My main source of income and traffic is Youtube. It would be very scary if my videos are removed.
I can not believe your static site can suffer any! I am following a few threads in the SBI Forums and I am amazed at how many good sites were hit.
Apparently, Google ADsense team and Google Quality search team are not working together as Ken said. A lot of sites that were hit have big adsense blocks at the top but at the same time Adsense is sending us emails about how we are missing on income 🙂
I agree 101% with you here and every time I implemented something you suggested it was worth it. So I am going to follow this advice and diversify even more.
Yeah a lot of people are buzzing over the constant AdSense Optimization tips and then the change in recommendation about not using large blocks at the top of the text. I think the sites that were affected because of the large blocks at the top probably had other issues (not enough quality backlinks, etc.) nevertheless it is still very confusing.
Great tips. My SBI sites were hit hard by Panda. The experience has really woke me up to what I was doing wrong. I started looking for ways to diversity the next day.
Sorry about that Lovelyn, but it’s good you are looking to diversify. That’s the only way to ensure your longevity. I wish you all the best.
Just like Lisa said “Diversify your traffic” I have been talking in forums for over a year about this.
You have to have a business model that does not rely on Google traffic.
My site got hit but I also use PPV and CPA on YouTube as part of my business model, so Google cannot kill my earnings with one of their updates