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.
An article worth reading. Google panda algorithm brought many changes to the SEO world and we had no choice but to follow its guidelines as far as google dominates the search engine.
I tell everyone… As long as you keep your content fresh, you can survive any search engine algorithm update, as well as any Google panda update too 🙂
Just have to say I LOVE this post. Especially what you said on Panda updates and depending on Google (Google traffic) as your sole means of traffic and income. I agree wholeheartedly that Google is responsible for their business model – I’m responsible for mine.
Loved your advice – engaging your list, going after residuals, etc. … sometimes it’s easy to get off track or get sloppy. Posts like this are good reminders – thanks!
You are right Lisa don’t depend on one income. Google adsense just one of the many income resource in the internet. There are many way to make money online like become a Affiliate marketer or sell your own product. Thanks for your sharing and advice Lisa
TOTALLY AGREE WITH U! PREACH!
if you use article submiters will you be affected? And now thats it’s over won’t the spammers just go back to their old tricks again? also your still allowed to use plr and still be cool with google if it’s well written? and if people used other search engines like yahoo etc they should be ok? and when talking about spam sites are you talking about sites that steal content are are link farms? thanks
Hi Scott
I’ve never used article submitters, but the bottom line is Google is getting more selective. They aren’t just looking at who has the most content on a certain phrase or who is submitting the most articles. They are looking at things like site freshness, who is “authentically” popular by measuring who they are connected with in social media. So all the things people used to do to increase their authority may not work as well going forward.
Let’s say two websites have identical content and the same amount of backlinks. The one that’s going to do better with SEO in the long run is the one who is more connected socially with Google Plus, has the most updated/fresh content, etc. Link farms and content thieves will continue to get dinged, but now “legit sites” are starting to get hurt as Google begins to weigh things like social media presence, how many tweets and plus ones your content receives, content freshness, etc.
The point is, writing content is just not going to be enough anymore. Google is looking for true authority websites and they are starting to use different factors to weigh authority when it comes to SEO. The game has changed. So if all you’re doing is writing articles and not engaging with people then you may find yourself at a big disadvantage with SEO in the long run.
It’s going to be increasingly harder for spammers to dominate because it’s more difficult to fake your social media presence and content sharing.
I’m watching the traffic of an Empire of dozens of sites slowly waste away under _increasing_ pressure from Panda. Particularly starting mid-October (‘Brand update’) and November (‘Fresh update’). Fresh seems particularly deadly to both blog posts and static pages. With each successive crawl (and it’s important to note that every site has a pre-determined crawl rate of up to 30 days) – page after page are getting demoted, short and long-tail keywords are vanishing. Slowly. Steadily.
The truth really is UGLY. I suspect in 2012 it’s only going to get uglier for the vast MAJORITY of sites. Google is tightening the noose on Authority, Quality, Timeliness, Age, Authorship, and Participation with a voracity I’ve never seen before!
Lisa – We’ve probably both done a 1001 things right, smarter, and better than most. For the first time, I’m feeling that Google’s pretty much finally nailed the formula for declaring ‘95% of the internet as garbage’ once and for all. Stay on your toes, Kids! If you thought successful Internet Marketing was tough – the year ahead is going to get even rougher.
Lisa,
I am so stinky happy you have touched on this topic and spoke your mind! 🙂
I could not agree with you more, with everything you just said. When I promote my sites, not only do I use [article marketing], but, I “write unique articles from scratch” & submit to only one article directory “for now”. All of my back-links are unique, as they are spread across an array of websites, blogs, and discussion forums. Speaking on my behalf, I am far from worried about [algorithmic changes in search engines], because, the majority of my site content is fresh “for the exception of automated Amazon affiliate links being posted via RSS”, as I seriously take into account the importance of unique content, as well as engaging meaningfully with others on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. When it comes to the power of the Internet, it’s all about the people, as well as sharing valuable information! 🙂
IMO the Panda update Fixed nothing bc the searches are still packed full of junk. The copy-pasters still get to 1st page with tricks and the good hard working original content creator get the shaft when our content is stolen and turned into a 1st page ranking for all but the creators of the content.
Many sites are ranked higher with my members’ articles and photos. One site is #1 and has ALL my tattoo photos from my site/members! Many left and deleted their accounts bc they blame me. That hurts more than panda!
Panda was only a first step in a list of things come to weed out the little guys for their own profits. Watch n see. I dumped G**gle and my profits are actually up! I dont even mention then when I show friends how to earn online. Who needs them…really!
Even though the Panda update was painful, it was absolutely necessary because there where to many websites with zero original content gaining traffic just by copying and pasting articles from other websites.
It was like THAT? I would do this regardless of the outcome. Thanks.
From a reader’s point of view – Panda was awesome. So much garbage content out there! If you have good content, you will do fine, regardless of Google’s changes. Just my 2cents! 🙂
Awesome post Lisa, but I think google is out there for their own business. I don’t think that they will pay for the google traffic. Even I am tried to add my own video on youtube but they will delete that 🙁 .But anyway thanks for these great tips.I will follow them in future :).
I have noticed that some of the website’s ranked of some of the affiliate marketer’s on the internet have a decrease after google change, their algorithm. I don’t even blame google for this. I blame all the spammers who have a large number backlink than those people that are trying to rank their site in the right way. Great article Lisa! Cheers
I have yet to notice any positive or negative changes in my traffic from any google changes over the last 18 months i’ve worked on my site. Unfortunately my biggest traffic killer is often me. Some how I manage to break a vital function holding my site structure together like breaking my custom menu’s ability to hold urls in wordpress really killing my pageviews per visitor while I have to learn to fix it. Other things include reaching adsense earning I could retire on and knowing I should just not change a thing but I get the bright idea to try a new plugin that ends up being incompatible with others and drop 2000 of my usual 4000 visits a day.
I Have managed to develop endless motivation and determination to solve every problem I end up creating for myself. I am glad I don’t have to deal with google dropping my ranking too!
The internet marketing is the business where you have always to update your knowledge, if you are not ready to do so, if you fear out of an Panda change, than it is not for you, I do not mean you Lisa, I think about all marketers. Yes Panda did harm some of my sites too, but you know what it offered to me much more: if I build a site which really has a value, if I do a good promotion, I’ll get results, but most that are building spam sites, will remain forgotten! Thank you Panda! Seriously, thank you!
All the best from Igracke!
if there’s anything that I like about Lisa, it’s that she’s an “honest entrepreneurial diva”, as she tells the [heart truth] like it is 🙂
I couldn’t agree with you more, Lisa. None of us should ever put all of our eggs in one basket (Google) with the expectation of sustaining. Post-Panda will be a learning experience for all of us.
it’s always good to diversify your eggs because you never know what additional opportunities are out there. Like you said, experiencing panda will be a learning experience for all of us 🙂
the truth may be ugly, but the truth certainly set you free 🙂
as long as you keep your site content fresh and distribute press releases regularly, you can survive any search engine algorithm update 🙂
That’s right. I agree with you Drewry.
Hi Lisa,
I am happy that the PR of my blog raised after this update of big G. What I like the most in your article is your advice to deversify. Most people depend too much on one source of traffic and one source of income.
Regards
Albert
I’m putting social media to work “all crazy” nowadays! =)
Yeah, a lot of them rely too much on their main source of traffic which is the google traffic and can’r earn much sio it’s pretty understandable that some of them went back to 9-5 job for the same very reason.
It would be the best if you do have other option to get your website exposure rather than base on search engine organic search. Because it too risky while anything can happen.
My SERP can drop from 1st page to secona page and get back to page one again within one week time. It risk while this make your traffic not consistence.
Lisa,
Great stuff as usual. It is amazing how many people rely fully on Google. Diversity is a must. Even if you “think” you are doing everything by Google’s standards, you honestly don’t really know.
One minute you can be on page one and raking in good income and the next on page 100. So, this post is critical for anyone serious about building a true business.
Thanks…Eli
Thanks Eli for your post.
You expressed a sentiment I have.
How do you feel about being number 1 one day and on the 100th page the next?
What is your plan to deal with this?
I know social media is the thing right now.
But how reliable is social media to bring you the type of traffic that search engines once did?
I also wonder about your experience in converting social media contacts to buyers.
Thanks for your comment.
In efforts of staying relevant in social media as well as getting good rankings on search engine results pages, one must focus on article marketing & press release distribution in efforts to keep themselves out there and listed in good positions in major search engines. In addition to using social media effectively, it’s also good to utilize the power of [social bookmarking], so that not only can one potentially “generate instant traffic” to every new piece of [unique content they publish to the web], but, they can also use [social bookmarking to a positive advantage] in terms of building authority, links as well is a positive reputation to their online existence. So, as long as a person is putting out some good content and using all forms of positive social media promotion, they should be A-OK, in terms of getting good rankings in search engines as well as quality web traffic, and keeping “puters puting Camron Dipset style”! LOL 🙂
I love the fact that you have just told it exactly how it is.
There are so many people out there who rely solely on Google for their income. If Google was to disappear tomorrow, they would simply be broke.
It’s called putting all your eggs in one basket and it’s never a good idea. I totally respect the fact that you didn’t leave your daily job when making a good Adsense income, most would give it up, the smarter people know that it can’t last forever.
you can say that again 🙂
It’s really an earthquake! My business website’s, really made so many changes when the time that Google Panda happen. My backlinks increases as my websites Page rank decreases. I can’t find the real thing that Google wants for me to do, so that I can increase everything for my website. Anyway, this post is really great! Thanks.
Great post, fortunately my website didn’t suffer any downfalls so I was happy about that.
Nice post.Google panda alwayes love fresh content.
i hate google panda. they eat my 10 websites!!
Wow, Lisa – very informative! I think that this all was issued that a lot of content was copied from one site to another spamming huge amount of keywords. The best solution to overcome all this Google dance is to create unique content…
you’re right Lisa, sometimes too much relying on one business can make very frustrating especially after google panda update.
Thanks Lisa I just got the ebook!
Hi Lisa!
I totally agree with you on this post. Google Panda has really dealt heavily on few websites. However, the truth is that we rely heavily on Google. I did not have a second thought on this till recently. Yes, there are several other ways to get traffic and promote products other than Adsense and I already have a plan in my mind. Thank you for this good post.
I just tell people one simple thing, and that is key to content fresh and submit articles to article directories often.
Lisa, I enjoyed reading your ebook and apprecaite your comments on affiliate marking. Question: can you (or anybody else) recommend a good ebook on just affiliate marketing or affiliate marketing basics? I’m looking to do more of this next year and want to make sure I do it write (link cloaking etc)
Thanks!
Joe
Hi Joe,
Yes, get Rosalind Gardner’s book
http://superaffiliatehandbook.com/
Oh dear..This algorithm also effect my site so badly. I research lot on how to get rid of this problem but i find nothing. Finally i starts again link building and my site again get set well.
There’s an array of things that I tend to focus on as a site owner when search engine algorithms change. the first thing I like to focus on is keeping my site content unique, informative, and down-to-earth. This way, when I write website content not just for search engine optimization purposes, real world people can relate to what I’m writing in website content copy thus giving them the ability to connect and respond to things posted on the site. the second thing that I focus on is promoting well-written press releases and articles. Not only does he give me the back point advantage in getting good positioning in search engines, but I like to write often in promoting articles and press releases for real people to read and relate to, not just so that I can get a quick index in major search engines and instant traffic. The third thing that I focus on is being myself. What I mean by that is my online personality is the same as my off-line personality, as you can feel the type of person I am as well is my character through the content I produce and publish to the World Wide Web. I’ve learned through trial and error that when you are genuine in your content creation, search engines quietly re-ward you for being real, humble, while using honest search engine optimization practices to effectively promote yourself on the Internet. So whenever a search engine algorithm is changed nowadays, I don’t worry too much, because as long as I put out good quality content, and focus on building meaningful online relationships, I’ll be able to survive any search engine out the rhythm update. 🙂
I love your website Lisa! did you create this yourself or did you outsource it? Im looking for a blog design thats similar so thats the only reason I’m asking. Either way keep up the nice work I was impressed!
Thanks. I use the Thesis theme and I customized it further with CSS.
hi Lisa,
quick question for you. Did you do the theme for the website babble forum also? 🙂 Thanks for your response
DrewryNewsNetwork
Yep Lissa !! The Google Panda has changed the fate of the SEO drastically.But every one must recognize that if we have the best quality websites with the exact approach, definitely it will be helpful in getting the best ranks.
content is still king my friends, so high quality content is the best way to be sure that u’re website or blog is still one of google’s favourite 🙂
thanks for the post
~alex
One of the reasons I am so motivated to make money online is because of the many success stories I heard. Compared before, the change in algorithm made things difficult. I have no choice but to follow Google’s rules. I just have to learn the effective ways to generate more returns online.
Create high quality and fresh content and be a best friend og panda.
Sandy, I think you just probably hit the nail on the head. my stuff is VERY original (I get plagiarized a lot so I must be good lol). I also beat a lot of those other sites in my niche in Google rankings. I guess its the “niche site vs authority site” debate? I aim to be the authority site
Thanks for the heads up! if you are right then this might not bode well for the industry of ghostwriters that seems to have cropped up to facilitate website content.
I mostly write about exercise and vitamins and I write all of my content so I’m wondering if that helps vs having a ghostwriter?
Of the people who got slammed by Panda, did you all write your own content or was it farmed out to others? I’m just trying to figure out why some were more effected by Panda than say, me who was not impacted.
For me its about passion and helping others. I would do this regardless of the outcome.
Joe I think if you have a good writer it doesn’t matter. But I think that when google reads “general” stuff about a subject(often called Pap) it is not a good thing.
For example you write about vitamins. Hopefully your articles are personal, conversational and not just regurgitated facts that everyone knows already.
What I’m seeing is that those websites in a niche which has stuff you can find on wiki, encyclopedias or articles are sort of glossed over. It’s like going to the store and looking for “flat shoes”. The clerk shows you a hundred pairs and they all have a buckle on them. Now each designer thinks his buckle looks different than the others but they are still buckles when seen in mass. Ah but there is a pair of flats with beads and a ribbon. Those stand out. Yet its a flat pair of shoes.
Personally I think if you take time from your website and visit some in your niche for the first 5 pages and then come back to your website, with fresh eyes, you will see if yours is apart of the sea of same. If as an artist you cannot be objective about your product. Then, ask a friend or family, who likes health, what they see about your site.
Nowadays, objectivity is a necessity in this business.
Good luck with your site.
Thanks for the information Lisa, the first day Google changed their Panda I saw a drop in my visits.
Excellent post and it is an eye opener indeed. Too much relying on one business is sometimes very frustrating especially after google panda update. thank you.
Great article Lisa! I do count on adsense for most of my income. The latest Panda cut me by about 70% and that hurts. Yes I should’nt count on Google like that but … I still can’t understand why they would care about how small, how poorly written, or if a site is lacking good content. Who made them the internet police? If a site is bad the folks who visit won’t return or recommend it. It’s like opening a restaurant and the food is bad. People won’t return. Eventually the restaurant closes. There is no agency that says I can’t open a restaurant that serves food people won’t like. I think Google is getting a little full of istself … to big for their britches. Your right … there not the only game in town.
>If a site is bad the folks who visit won’t return or recommend it.
you said it yourself.
if Google also “recommends” these CRAPPY websites people wont think so good about google or keep recommending it.
So, is the same thing, the reputation of the recommender is also affected. You wouldnt recommend crappy stuff yo your friends would you ?
Great post.
I was absolutely smoked during the panda update and I didn’t even come close to the kind of revenue you have. You have some great tips here and i’ve bookmarked this specific page as I need to be reminded to get off my butt and build a list!
The Google panda update has caused many of my clients to drop their sites and stop doing internet marketing. They did not realize that there are still many ways to save their fallen business by using as what you have said, a solid foundation for the business and to not rely too much of Google.
I’ve heard a lot of stories of people just quitting. That’s when you really learn who’s in this for the long haul. A lot of people gained a lot of Google traffic very easily (relatively) back in the day by just spitting out content and submitting articles. They rode that traffic for a long time. Many got comfortable and didn’t seek other ways of promoting. But what really amazes me is the number of businesses that had to lay off people after the update. I can’t imagine hiring people if I knew that my business and their salaries were so dependent upon fickle Google traffic. Scary stuff!
What?? It was like THAT? Some businesses had to lay people off? Wow. I had to fight and scrap for every visitor so it wasn’t just about putting up content and riding the gravy train. Unfortunately, Panda wiped out all that traffic as I was working to diversify, so the Adsense hit is a hard one.
It does make you feel like quitting for a minute. It’s a bummer, but not the only basket I have for my eggs so there is still potential with my other niches.
Thank goodness. 🙂
Little did your clients know that the key to staying relevant despite the “Google panda update” was to have press releases widely distributed, with links pointing back to their sites. This is how they could’ve saved their pages in the search engine results saved from being negatively affected…
I agree google not owe us anything, majority of websites are only depends on google traffic. They do whatever changes they want,they didn’t care if many are affected.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.
quick question for you Aarav…
Why do you feel having your first YouTube channel is scary? Just curious…
Well Lisa i totally agree with you on why panda dealt a heavy blow to so many web masters I for one have both gained and lost from it.
While my other blog about business ideas has seen increased traffic and earnings, my hubpages sub-domain which was doing really fine before panda came on board has suffered severely both in terms of earnings and traffic.
My guess is that google wants to reward websites that are wholly devoted to certain niches and ‘punish’ others that seem to be jack of all trades and master of none.