Editor’s note: This article was first published in March 2011, about the Google algorithm change announced in February 2011, later known as Panda, which had not yet reached Europe. The claim that Google, Bing and Yahoo account for 95% of searches worldwide is an unsourced 2011 figure.
The recent change to Google’s algorithm has just been announced, and it will affect the search rankings of websites that have used unorthodox (in other words, prohibited) methods. The change hasn’t become visible in Europe yet, but some people, including companies that specialize in SEO, are already starting to feel the first chills.
Clearly, if you’ve played by the rules as a webmaster, you have nothing to worry about. Even if you run a business and hired a reputable SEO company, you don’t need to fear your site disappearing from the top positions in the search engines. The problem is knowing whether those companies used entirely legitimate methods. You’ll find out very soon.
SEO (search engine optimization) should be natural, not forced. So when an SEO company assures you that your site will be in the top search results within 30 days, the only way to get there is by taking shortcuts, and in this business shortcuts get paid for sooner or later.
SeoFemenino.com offered some very useful advice on when to distrust an SEO company. As you can see there, some of the advertising claims are that they’ll register you with 1,000 search engines or point 1,000 links at your site, when we all know that if a site receives 1,000 links in a short time, it would be sent straight to Google’s sandbox.
As for registering you with 1,000 search engines, it’s more than obvious that ranking well in the three main ones (Google, Bing and Yahoo) is more than enough, since together they account for 95% of searches worldwide.
Before long, these quick-SEO companies will have to beef up their customer service to handle complaints from clients whose sites have been penalized.
Featured image: Luc Viatour, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
