Massive google traffic drop

NeoSeo · 2003-11-17, 07:52 AM

> Sometimes I think Brett asks Google to do this to get traffic.

I really wish that could happen. The case for se reps in forums like we have at WebmasterWorld is pretty simple: They participate and read in all the major seo forums, so it is either they id themeselves or they don't.

Which would you rather have:

1) se's participating and using that knowledge acquired without telling anyone they are there?

or b:

2) announcing their prescence and participating where ever and howerver possible given the constraints of corporate life?

Out of thet four big reps we have had in the forums (Google, AllTheWeb, Teoma, and Overture), Google has been by far
the most forthcoming with info. Things like:

- announced several of the toolbar betas.
- announced the advent of ppc based adwords.
- announced updated penalties as well as the fact that pr0 was not a bug ;-)
- took feedback and based on that, added the "what's related" feature.

That is just the beginning of the info that has come out of Google in the forums.

This all stemmed from the SEO vs SE wars of 97-98. During that time, many seo's were tracked and banned from search engines along with their clients (as we saw in the famous seo black list publish in the forums).

Throw in the fact that there is at this time, only 1 real search engine left, and the premise is pretty simple, we can either be part of the solution, or part of the problem. Either way, by Googles public participation, we win with occasional bits of info that are worth their weight in gold.

Is all info in forums good? Oh god sake no. In any open forum you will have those that know what is going on and those trying to seed disinformation about what is going on. This is true in just about every forum on the web today. You always have to be careful of what you read and learn what and where to trust info. I mean come on - you guys are aff guys, you know how it is.

Anyway dudes - looks like a nice forum brewing here.

> Sometimes I think Brett asks Google to do this to get traffic.

Honestly - I have more traffic than I know what to do with. I've been slowly ratcheting it back over the last 4-6 months. Traffic is ok an all - but traffic that converts is what it is all about.

Anyway, back on topic:

I think it is too early to tell yet what really happened in this "update" (for lack of a better term). Most of our sites haven't shifted much, but
I don't stress too much about minor flux as we aim for that soft under belly of google (3+kws per phrase).
We pull from 80-90k unique phrases a month so it is hard to tell what an update has done until we can look at traffic for a week.

From what I've read in this forum, that is a big stylistic difference from most optimizers here. Most it seems are using the Niche approach and going for the micro content targeted 5-10 phrases max. I've always thought it better to hunt with a shotgun and spray a big pattern of 4-5 kw's per phrase, than going hunting with a rifle trying for that 1-2 kw sweet spot.

-bt

2003-11-17, 07:52 AM	#25
NeoSeo Internet! Is that thing still around? Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1	> Sometimes I think Brett asks Google to do this to get traffic. I really wish that could happen. The case for se reps in forums like we have at WebmasterWorld is pretty simple: They participate and read in all the major seo forums, so it is either they id themeselves or they don't. Which would you rather have: 1) se's participating and using that knowledge acquired without telling anyone they are there? or b: 2) announcing their prescence and participating where ever and howerver possible given the constraints of corporate life? Out of thet four big reps we have had in the forums (Google, AllTheWeb, Teoma, and Overture), Google has been by far the most forthcoming with info. Things like: - announced several of the toolbar betas. - announced the advent of ppc based adwords. - announced updated penalties as well as the fact that pr0 was not a bug ;-) - took feedback and based on that, added the "what's related" feature. That is just the beginning of the info that has come out of Google in the forums. This all stemmed from the SEO vs SE wars of 97-98. During that time, many seo's were tracked and banned from search engines along with their clients (as we saw in the famous seo black list publish in the forums). Throw in the fact that there is at this time, only 1 real search engine left, and the premise is pretty simple, we can either be part of the solution, or part of the problem. Either way, by Googles public participation, we win with occasional bits of info that are worth their weight in gold. Is all info in forums good? Oh god sake no. In any open forum you will have those that know what is going on and those trying to seed disinformation about what is going on. This is true in just about every forum on the web today. You always have to be careful of what you read and learn what and where to trust info. I mean come on - you guys are aff guys, you know how it is. Anyway dudes - looks like a nice forum brewing here. > Sometimes I think Brett asks Google to do this to get traffic. Honestly - I have more traffic than I know what to do with. I've been slowly ratcheting it back over the last 4-6 months. Traffic is ok an all - but traffic that converts is what it is all about. Anyway, back on topic: I think it is too early to tell yet what really happened in this "update" (for lack of a better term). Most of our sites haven't shifted much, but I don't stress too much about minor flux as we aim for that soft under belly of google (3+kws per phrase). We pull from 80-90k unique phrases a month so it is hard to tell what an update has done until we can look at traffic for a week. From what I've read in this forum, that is a big stylistic difference from most optimizers here. Most it seems are using the Niche approach and going for the micro content targeted 5-10 phrases max. I've always thought it better to hunt with a shotgun and spray a big pattern of 4-5 kw's per phrase, than going hunting with a rifle trying for that 1-2 kw sweet spot. -bt