Achieving good ranking in Google has never been simple. However after years of attempts I finally felt that I have gotten it down. For a while there it seemed that everyone knew what needed to be done in order to watch your ranking on Google rise to the top. Then, it seems Google has taken us all by surprise and implemented some major changes in their algorithms, and we are back to square one.

Forums, Blogs, Discussion Boards all express the SEO’s frustrations over Google’s Changing ways. No I do not want to sing “back in the day” song or turn this into a “Lets Bash Google” the point here is that sometimes we feel like we are chasing after a run-away train. On average Google will find and index your page within 3-4 days. However we sometimes need more time to figure out what has to be done to ensure higher ranking.

Google – Monkey See – Monkey Do

I have to hand it to Google. Regardless all the confusion out there it is an undeniable fact that Google is doing everything they can to talk to SEO Community. Recently Google has addressed their ranking policies, offered examples and advise. Overall Google has taken a much more pro-active stand in communicating with web master community. They have released Google Site Maps, Google Analytics all of which directly or indirectly help us get the higher ranking. Ironically It seems however that very fiew people are actually listening… Instead we tend to take on “Monkey see – Monkey Do” approach.

Honestly every single one of us has done this expertise:

We would find a high ranking competitor of ours on Google search results and then try to analyze their website in hope of finding answers.  Is it the hidden text? Is it the lack of certain Meta tags? Perhaps they are using Link exchange? What about Valid or Invalid HTML? This site ranks well and it has invalid HTML does that mean Google Likes it? In the defense of SEO community I must say that when it comes to SEO we tend to trust the results. We are skeptical about direct advice if it’s not verifiable in live example.  So in reality Google is talking but very few are listening.

Google: Follow me and do exactly what I say

It is quite clear that Google is not Perfect and it is constantly changing and will continue to change. Google is the type of the company that will not sit still, they are evolving, they are improving and this means we have to follow after all Google is the number one source of organic traffic for so many of us. In light of these statements one should ask so what do I know now what should I do to get my ranking higher?

n      One thing we know for sure is that Google frowns upon Duplicate Content so if your site mainly consists of articles which are distributed all over the internet in thousands of identical copies you are not likely to get high ranking.

n      Another fact we know for sure is that while it is possible to fake your way into Google’s top ranking by trying to trick the algorithms that ranking will not even produce 15 minutes of fame. The fall that will follow will be oh so permanent.

n      Purchasing your way into an organic search world is also a terrible Idea. While you are told that Google will never know the difference between a legitimate link or a purchased one fact is purchased links are not that hard to detect. Just think of it this way if you can tell by looking at it Google will definitely be able to crack that so called conspiracy.

n      Classifieds. A lot of webmasters are beginning to market their sites on services such as craigslist.org. Just posting hundreds of ads about their sites. While this may produce short term traffic boost your links will not be used while Google is ranking your page. Besides half the time most of your posts get deleted by operators of these classifieds and in the end time and effort is down the drain.

n      Using automatic Link exchange programs on some “GetHigherRankingSEOForYouSite.com” website is also a terrible idea. There is a difference between automatic link exchange and legitimate link exchange.

n      Being a good Samaritan always pays off. Do what you do best and do it diligently. Better your site, better your content, do not stoop down to the levels of SE Spam, hidden text, redirects, and if you decide to purchase content verify that you are not purchasing content that is considered spam.

Why should you listen to me? Well you don’t have to but unlike many I’ve been listening to Google. I am not offering my own theories of truth rather I am paraphrasing what I got from Google employees through their blog entries, conferences and by simply analyzing Google’s tools.

Listen or not but do what Google tells you.

About The Author
Steve Slavutskiy is co-founded MetaChecker.Net as well as RankChecker.net  He has been researching and developing SEO strategies to achieve more prominent listings in search engine results since 1998.

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