Google Update: A Test For Keyword Dominance
Author: Danny Wirken

Google is one of the most popular search engines on the
Internet today. According to statistics about 50 to 80 percent
of searches made by users worldwide are being done on Google.
That is probably one reason why most Internet marketing
strategy, either search engine optimization or pay-per-click,
consider every action done by Google as vital factor.

How so? Well, Google works by "spidering" or "crawling" web
sites. Once this is done, the web sites are then added to the
Google "index". This index is pretty much like a phonebook, it
is Google's very own list of pages on the Internet. After that,
Google performs several operations on the information they had
accumulated. Eventually, it decides where each page will appear
on the list of results for searches.

Every once in a while Google would start using a new index for
its search results. This time is called the "Google Update".
Currently, the Google updates occur about once in a month. It
usually takes a few days and is quite an anticipated and
dreaded event for most site owners, since this is the time when
their listing in Google changes. Is it for the better or for
worse? You be the judge.

Now, the latest Google update has gained the nickname "Jagger".
It is probably due to the fact that it is causing major distress
to site owners all over the globe. Why you ask? Well, like what
happens in most Google updates, an initial period of movement
in ranking position has recently occurred.

As with every algorithm update, Google attempts to take out the
spam from its database. So what kind of changes had been made as
a result of this update? Only the Google engineers have the
answer to that. But, there are some factors which seem to be
important in this update. For instance, hidden text spam seems
to be taking quite a hit. Whereas most search engines consider
white text on white background spamming, it seems that Google
has now also take text that is hidden in invisible CSS layers.
Another noticeable change is that links from automated link
exchanges and text link advertising systems seem to count less.


But, before you picture the worst case scenario remember that
this is pretty natural. Soon enough things will get back to
normal. Google updates may last barely a day or it might take
as long as 8 weeks, depending on how extensive the update is.
After all, Google have about 16 to 24 billion web pages in its
database, so they probably need some time.

While the Google update is still ongoing, site owners will
probably see their search engine results change from day to
day. But there is still no need to panic! For any given key
phrase the ranking results may drop from 1 to 100, or vise
versa. Either way, do not get use to them yet. These are just
temporary results and will change once things settle down. So
in order to put your fears to rest check your Google Page Rank
and see if it has moved as well. If it remained the same then
you can be certain that the key phrases will pull through. But,
if your PR has also dropped just like your key phrase ranking
then it may be time to take a closer look to see what is going
on.

So how do you deal with this latest update? First of all, do
not panic. If your site rankings dropped, give it another week
just to be sure that the index update is really over. Now if
your site is still no where to be found, then its time for some
serious consideration. What do you think went wrong?

For example, if you use CSS in order to hide text on your web
pages think about removing those hidden text. If you use other
techniques that Google might consider a spam, then remove them
from your pages immediately.

If you have a links page, instead of using a link exchange
system with a central server why not host your link pages on
your own site. If you are part of a centralized system your
site will be at risk if the centralized system is considered
spam.

Once you have removed the spam elements from your pages, there
are two things that you can do in order to tide you over from
this crazy phase. First, optimize your site. Consider using
"IBP's Top 10 Optimizer" in order to optimize your web pages
for the new Google algorithm. This optimizer utilizes the
current ranking algorithm and will help you to determine which
web page elements Google wants to see on a web page for your
keyword and your web site.

The second thing you can do is to expand your promotion
efforts. Consider trying out other search engines. Do not put
all eggs in one basket. Even if you did manage to get high
rankings on Google, it's still a better idea not to rely on
Google alone.

Why not try Yahoo and MSN? They are also quite popular among
users and can bring you qualified traffic. After all, the key
to a successful online business is to get qualified traffic
from all big search engines. If your site has good rankings on
the other search engines then dropping out on one will not have
much effect on you.

Keep in mind that Google updates their Page Rankings a couple
of times a year. Regardless of your position it is still highly
anticipated, because it can be a good barometer that can help
you gauge your site.

With the ever changing factors to Google's obscure ranking
algorithm remember that you are not alone in this. If your site
has suffered lower ranking so have millions of other web site
owners out there. So, sit back and relax. Once the update is
over and thing settle down again you will be able to see just
exactly where you stand. Then you can adjust your SEO plan
accordingly, and resume your pursuit of gaining key phrase
dominance!


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