Did Google’s latest update effect the ranking of your Affiliate Marketing page(s)?
You may have heard Google have updated their algorithm (again) and released an update called Panda 3.3. In this post, I am going to talk about how you may be at the mercy of Google, if you are into Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
If you have read any of my previous posts, you should know that I am in favor of SEO. Getting your Affiliate Marketing web site to rank in Google is a great method to generate traffic. SEO should definitely be part of your marketing plan. Note- It should only be part of your marketing plan, not your overall marketing plan.
You see, since engines can generate tons of traffic. With the promise or potential of so much traffic, many web site owners focus solely on SEO. This can sometimes be problematic since you are not always in control of the traffic you get. .
Apart from those at Google, no one knows exactly what Google will do next. I believe its to keep the “cheaters” on their toes. Google is good at keeping their algorithm and changes quiet. So ,basically, Google’s rule changes could result in your traffic being cut off at any moment, if they believe that your site goes against their “rules”.
Regarding the recent Panda update, for years Google has been telling web masters that link building is very important or even crucial. However, in their latest update they seemed to have changed that stance based on the following statement:
“We often use characteristics of links to help us figure out the topic of a linked page. We have changed the way in which we evaluate links; in particular, we are turning off a method of link analysis that we used for several years. We often re-architect or turn off parts of our scoring in order to keep our system maintainable, clean and understandable”
So, the thing is, they don’t tell you exactly what link evaluation signal is being turned off. For those of us trying to do SEO in the manner which Google wants, not telling doesn’t do us any favors. If you Google Panda 3.3 update or any other keyword regarding this issue, you will find a ton of information out there on this subject. It seems that no one really knows what the changes were exactly. So, it appears that Google seems to like to leave some mystery on their algorithm.
Basically I conclude that Google will be penalizing web sites that over utilize SEO. This basically means that sites that have got too many links coming in too quickly will get penalized. In Google’s eyes if you get an abundant amount of links coming in overnight (lets say 800-1,600), something is not right and the recent changes may affect you. This is because the quality of the links most likely won’t have any value or will be unrelated to your site or niche.
Matt Cutts, Google engineer said indicated that the changes are targeted at sites engaged in tactics such as keyword stuffing, or “unusual linking patterns” where unrelated links are sprinkled throughout a fake or manufactured article. These sites might be harder to recognize than more blatant SEO offenses, but Google engineers believe that targeted sites “are engaging in webspam tactics to manipulate search engine rankings.”
On the flip side, if you follow the rules properly, you will be rewarded. This is good news of course. Just remember that SEO should be about adding quality content to your Affiliate marketing site and posts. SEO is also about getting relevant links.
As stated at the beginning of this post, SEO should be part of your marketing plan, not your overall marketing plan. Ensure you have other sources bringing traffic to your site. That way if (or should I say when) Google decides to change their algorithm that may affect your search engine rankings, you still have other sources bringing in the traffic and visitors. This way the effect on your Affiliate Marketing site can be minimized. Otherwise, your traffic can quickly disappear and so does your Affiliate Marketing business.
This topic is bigger than any one post can possibly cover. So, I would recommend that you review Google’s Webmaster Central Blog, which provides detail on the changes. Pay special attention to the “White hat” vs “black hat”
Thats it for now, until my next post….
Recent Comments