Search engines work in mysterious ways . . .If you have a Web site, you probably pay attention to your rankings for the keywords important to your business. My site was doing well, and I was in the top 10 to 20 results for several highly-competitive keywords. Then–BOOM!–I dropped out of sight.
After some research, I determined that Google was in the midst of an update (appropriately nicknamed “Bourbon,” as it was enough to drive me to drink). I crossed my fingers and hoped that once the update was complete, my rankings would return to what had become normal.
What was especially worrisome was that my rankings in other search engines were affected, too. (You may know that many search engines share data; however, my problem extended to even those that don’t share data with Google.)
Last week, I was suddenly right back where I belonged. Not only in Google, but in most of the major search engines.
Although I pay attention to my search engine rankings, I also spend time developing other sources of traffic to my Web site. During my recent “exile,” I was especially glad I have done so.
Pay attention to optimizing your Web site for the search engines, but also make sure you have customers coming to you from many sources. Even if one channel dries up, you will still have a steady stream of customers coming your way.
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*Learn About the Search Engines*
There are several helpful resources in search engine marketing and optimization. One of my favorite resources is at http://www.SEOSMarts.com/
One of the easiest ways I have found to stay on top of what is happening with the top search engines is The Unfair Advantage Book on Winning the Search Engine Wars. You can get more information and download it at: http://www.SEOSmarts.com/