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.
great post!! and the line like “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.” is awesome spot. you wrote a very good topic really.
Thanks Lisa, for another solid message. Yes, I knew I was overly dependent on Google so I can only blame myself.
Thanks for this 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.
Great tips. My SBI sites were hit hard by Panda.so many forums continuously talk about it ..be natural make look links natural to search engine is the key of success…thanks you very much.
I had had a problem with the update last year but after I complained they fixed it. At least I think they must have done something because things went back to normal. Mine is all original content. Now last few days it’s again happened. Page views drastically gone down, and I think there must be another update which no one knows about. February 2013 Google Update of which there are rumours of.
As for content, mine is all original. However its a photo blog so I am not sure how much I can write below the photos. I write very little as the category is photographs. I wonder if Google penalizes photo blogs.
There is a buzz around about the “google zebra” the fresh update from google .updates create panic after 7-10 days but rumors started from February itself so many forums continuously talk about it ..be natural make look links natural to search engine is the key of success
one more buzz which is so common now a days if the positions got lost from 1st page seo freaks its coz of panda lol……the Google team have released around 20-25 set of algos which repetitively come into existence from last 6-8 months which make google dance….stay safe deploy links which look natural to search engine will be the best key to survive from google algorithms effects
It’s beed almost one year of launching Google panda updates , and now we all SEO’s became much familiar with the updates. I was searching about Google panda and came to your post . Thumbs -up for a well written post.
Absolutely correct. Another great post. All search engines are solo businesses and you can’t depend on them always. Thanks for sharing.
Yeah it really hurts to see your income drop after an update. But then again, the people who were affected most were the one’s who didn’t do thei job properly. If you don’t spam and do your off page seo the right way and build qulaity content you shouldn’t feear anything i think in the future!
Hello Lisa,
totally agree with you as Google changes everytime its algorithm and that make the thing worst for the bloggers or web site owners who are solely dependent on google traffic as you mentioned above.
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.
Great post Lisa, I couldn’t agree more, with Penguin and Panda hitting so many sites, I have started diversifying my traffic techniques concentrating far more on CPA offers, and email marketing.
Hello Lisa… Great tips here..
stop building the site for search engines.. back to relevance and natural. 🙂
Lisa,
Insightful, honest and to the point as always, another great post! My question to you is you say that you say, “Anytime your traffic and business model is largely dependent upon one site you have absolutely no control over, you are playing with fire.”
Does this mean that you say that even with a business model that has several diversified income streams both on and off-line and small local presence, would you say that still you need more than one site?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Thanks so much!
I love the concept of residual income thats why I got into network marketing.
i like your post, but don’t like panda bcoz it always lower my blog rank
Hi Lisa
“I knew my income was relying too heavily on Google traffic” exactly my thought process too. We were hit by one of the updates on the 29th September and we still haven’t recoved fully although it is getting there.
However even before it happened we knew we were in a very difficult place where 100% of our income was via google and we knew we could have been in trouble.
In some ways, these algo changes have been good as they have forced us to re-evaluate our website structure, content and link profile and now we are building links with our local community which we have never done before.
Again, another stupendous post Lisa.
Yeah I also noticed your static site lost the top spot for some keywords it used to rank 1. This is the reason why I am waiting for Yahoo or Bing to compete closer to Google so Google could not hold new bloggers like me on the neck.
Google Panda, Penguin, one thing is for sure, just constantly blog, do not over optimize and I think your site will be safe.
The trend nowadays are blacklinks from video and PRs
Are you also using PRs to promote your sites Lisa?
Great article Lisa,
I love the concept of residual income thats why I got into network marketing. Great tips here. I am always lerning from you!!
Paul Butler
Also, I would like to point out that this is the percise reason monoploys are destructive to liberty.
If I was earning 6 figures from my websites I would be set for life in one year. On another note, it seems that Google is slowly leaning away from creating oportunities for bloggers, but much like certain politicians, instead focusing on making life easier for those already doing quite well. I realize they are striving for nuetrality and trying to put the most relevant at the top, but relevance seems to be taking a back seat to views and traffic, which can easily be pumped-up with money, making the whole “neutral” search thing kind of a joke.
Agree with the content of this post. So any website rely on Google for all their website visitors and on diversifying into other traffic streams. Myself I do no take anything for granted, traffic from Google is a bonus.
Panda affect hit me slightly as I did not update my website for 7 months with an fresh content. Many of my links dropped away and I have a new strategy that is showing good results to counteract Panda.
My site is affected severe in recent google update, there is no artificial promotion, but went wrong any help?
Hello Lisa,
Yes, totally agree with you as Google changes everytime its algorithm and that make the thing worst for the bloggers or web site owners who are solely dependent on google traffic as you mentioned above. Even my site also got affected few days back,but recover after some time. For a certain period i was in loss due to decrease in google search engine ranking.
Hi Lisa,
I’m happy I read this post especially now that I’m about building my list. I use a blogger account for my blogging and yes I know you recommend wordpress and blogger is owned by google but it’s what I want to stick to for now. Adsense revenue as your only source of online income is like having all your eggs in one basket.
Thanks Lisa for your tips!
Here’s some UGLY TRUTH for you!
?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BslAhJ5-C9g
The Google panda update has caused many of my clients to drop their sites and stop doing India tours keyword down my sites pl z help me …………..
This was a pretty accurate article from my perspective. A Google panda update on April 19 hit my main web site hard. I make money answering computer questions on JustAnswers.
Also, a few months ago I started a live Internet broadcast and archived podcast that has earned me a little money. I recently made my first Youtube video and plan to use Youtube quite extensively to drive traffic to my main web site that just lost a ton of traffic due to panda.
Thanks Lisa,
Great article! It is very true that a site audit can be a great time waster for some. Many thanks for your tips about succeeding online, going forward.
Hello Lisa,
You mentioned that you were affected by the Panda update in September, but did you go back to “audit” the pages that already had posted? or did you just continue building and creating?
Dean
For the most part I didn’t do much. I just updated some pages that needed a refresh. I don’t spend too much time on audits unless there are obvious things that need to be fixed (broken links, etc.) But tinkering with keywords, etc is a waste of time to me.
Superb article and i think google panda will hurt you when you not working hard on your site’s content. A well optimized substantial quality content will help you to defeat google panda.
thank you very much so much news about google panda update.thanks it is going to help me a lot
I feel lucky because Google Panda algorithm has still not affected my blog 🙂
BTW as far as the article is concerned, it’s just awesome 🙂
Remember the “Alaska Gold Rush” from 1896–1899 or even read up on it?
To keep a long story short is, the fact of making a fortune is in the hands of the tool sellers, not the worker bees.
FOR INSTANCE: A very small amount of “Gold Diggers”, meaning us the peasants might make a good living and around one percent us will get rich on the internet. (THE ELITE) like Google, YouTube, Facebook and Yahoo, not mentioning other are the tool sellers in a roundabout way.
They are the ones that make all the money off us “Gold Diggers” (WORKER BEE’S), that end up going broke on an idea that the “Elite” themselves tell us we can or will make a lot of money if we do as they suggest in this capitalistic world we all live in.
Only a few hard working and dedicated people on the internet will make a half way decent living and the rest of us will be the ones that are helping them build their wealth, just as in the days of The Alaskan Gold Rush.
Google Panda is Prevention of spamming if spammer stop spamming then we don’t need such as policies.
Lisa this post put my mind at ease. Being someone who solely relies on SEO for my sites, I always have a fear of being hit by Google, and this can bring on some episodes of anxiety. These ideas will put my mind at ease for the future.
Thank you,
Brian
I would have to agree about webmasters being too dependent on Google. IF Google drops you off their SERPS, it is not their job to amend the situation and they do not owe you anything. You have to work your way in this very competitive IM world and learn that at the end of the day,you still have a boss and the name of the boss is Google.
Amen to that.
I would say Social media engagement is must today as it sends you free traffic and helps in G rankings too.
However relying totally on BIG G is not good.
Hello Lisa,
recently Google announced “page layout algorithm”.
Have you lost some of your Google traffic from January 19 2012?
“Page layout algorithm” doesn’t like big headers and ads in above the fold area. You can find more details in my article .
Please leave a comment with your experience in my article.
true story. Google does’t own us any traffic or incomes. That’s why not quitting your 9-17 job is a great idea until your business is more stable and not relative to Google’s traffic.
Hi Lisa, I believe that content it’s king. write long articles, use keyword density in your article, link to other articles and pages. That’s the way!
Lisa, this may just be the best article I have read regarding Panda, which I think is the biggest change that Google has ever made. The key here is diversity–you hit that point hard and it’s so true.
For any of you out there looking to diversify into affiliate marketing, I have created a product called The SEO System which provides great residual income. The system tells members exactly what to do everyday to achieve rankings in Google…and I am in the process of incorporating Panda updates as well 🙂
Google may not be the same a year or two from now bc they are going to be in court a bunch. Many Companies are tires of their bs. + will fail like Wave. Their search is just adverts for their own creations. Once people see that the boat is sinking they will jump ship. I will be so happy.
My tweet are #1 for many things in google but the links goto a blank twitter page bc i guess Google is not happy w/twitter so they try to force their will on them too.
I still make $ from them but I use NOTHING they offer and they still send me traffic that converts. I have noticed that dumpling Google makes my ranks go up for bing and yahoo. RIP Google! 🙂
I understand your point about not relying on one source of income. Diversification is king. But as this discussion is going on, we are at a point where Google and Facebook and Twitter are having a war. Twitter is currently upset with Google about their new Google + Search policy development. And everyone knows that Facebook and Google are at odds. So I’m re-looking at your post about not relying on just “google adsense” and I’m wondering what the face of web will look like in the future. I’m now left with this: At any point in your web development business activities one can never say definitively what they won’t do. The models keep changing based on the speed of internet technologies. For instance Google is now developing a television, along with some third parties, and this could change the quality and the way we do business with Google and even Google adsense. So while I agree with you on diversification, I also think one has to be open to not being “anti” anything, but flexible to go with the flow and to develop their own personal strategies which work for their business. I love your website and I just wanted to elaborate a little; because I think your acknowledgement of diversification was not an endorsement or non endorsement of any particular entity and its software.
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.
What was funny about this is about half of my sites appeared to gain rang and the other half appeard to loose rank. I just about broke even with this update. Wish Google would just tell everyone what there expecting in a good site. Funny thing it the site that lost rank are suddenly gain hit from bing and yahoo. SEO is always good for a head ache or two.
College of Content wishes everyone at 2 create a website a fantastic new year 🙂
wishing everyone a blessed 2012. Remember to not drink and drive this weekend, as checkpoints will be virtually everywhere across the country. Also, if your licenses are suspended, it’s best to head on down to the Department of Motor Vehicles and renew it “with no delay” in your [2012 New Year’s resolution] to make healthy changes in your life. Wishing you the best 🙂