Did Google Search Updates Affect your Rankings?

Google processes over 40,000 search queries every second of every day. And believe it or not, some people still think the Internet is a passing fad. If you are not part of the latter, you want to know how Google handles those 3.5 billion daily searches.

Well they do so through a complex algorithm that is a closely guarded secret. What we do know is that this secret algorithm is constantly changing. This is Google’s attempt to provide the searcher with a better answer, translating to a better user experience.

Most of these daily changes are minor and unnoticeable to most users. But every so often a major algorithm change occurs that can significantly impact sales of a small business. Well, December 26th was one of those days.

In an unconfirmed Google update, business rankings were significantly impacted and most small businesses suffered. Why? Because Google finally delivered on their promise to punish websites that try to “game the system”. Marketers know how important Google rankings are and how important inbound links affect those rankings. They often try to manipulate their rankings by purchasing links from link farms known as private blog networks, link spam and other unnatural link acquisition methods.

Well, those days are finally over. Google only wants natural links and they take a lot of time and to develop and grow. Like a great wine, natural link growth happens gradually over time.

If your business website isn’t performing as well as you would like, it may be time to examine your inbound links and clean up your link profile to give your business a rankings boost. It’s been said before, “less is more”, and when it comes to links the old adage appears to be true. To discover your business’s link profile, contact a reputable SEO company that has the integrity to play by the rules and has your business’s long term success as their shared goal.