An Article Marketer’s Worst Nightmare… Or is it?

Yes, Google is at it again with changing their algorithm. The mysterious method to their search technology, which determines how search results get shown and in what order, is constantly changing and improving for the better. Google currently monopolizes about two-thirds of all searches performed online within the U.S. and they certainly reap the monetary benefits from all those ads you see when your search term is displayed. Content is their cash cow. But is has to be good content.

Duh! Winning… with search results. All webmasters and marketers want to master this online. So what is Google up to now?

It seems that lately, some professional Googlewatchers have wondered if Google’s algorithm is broken. A system which is supposed to measure site popularity, keyword relevance, backlinks, and other factors, is suspect at best. Much of the recent negativity has involved pages with a smattering of questionable content and a ton of related advertising showing up at or near the top of search results.

Back on February 24th, Google made its latest move to change the quality of its results, by pushing low-grade pages that unfairly game the system down much farther in search results.

Search-engine upstart Blekko, recently gave some major content farms the death penalty. Several sites that users flagged as spam no longer appear in results, period. Google hasn’t gone that far, although they certainly won’t talk about tactics either. Rather than eliminate pages altogether, they simply make it harder for shoddy content to reach the top pages of search results.

Most sites that have suffered, tend to offer nothing but material swiped from elsewhere, known as scraped content. Or perhaps the content is merely gibberish stuffed with keywords. Even in Google’s eyes, EzineArticles, a top article directory, seems to be overrun with authors who only have a vested interest that is self-serving, rather than providing true content other readers would appreciate.

Other material mass-produced by major “content farms” such as Demand Media’s eHow and Yahoo’s Associated Content are tailored to match Google’s top queries, although they’re just inconsistent.

According to an independent analysis of Google’s latest change, the rankings for EzineArticles and Associated Content had dropped sharply, yet eHow improved. Other sites that are not considered content farms or spammers at all, got caught in the midst and have seen their traffic plummet as a result. Of course, Google says it’s working to undo any unintentional damage.

Google experiments with about 6,000 different modifications a year and seems to roll out only about 500 of them. Naturally, It will do whatever it takes to preserve its algorithm and of course, their own long-standing reputation for search excellence.

Coming from an article marketer’s perspective as the owner of Article Gallery, I know first hand how the constant change in Google’s algorithm affects sites and directories such as mine. Since 2007, my site dropped from a respectable ranking of PR4 all the way down to zero. It was frustrating to watch the decline over time have a hugh impact on quality, reputation and revenue, but you live and learn.

Once I accepted the fact you cannot merely find an instant fix to Google’s system just to stay afloat in rankings, it made my job as a directory owner and article writer that much easier. Unique content is ALWAYS the answer. It’s QUALITY that counts, not quantity.

Circumventing the playing field in the article marketing world by figuring out Google’s little secrets might work temporarily, but their constant changes in search technology will put the breaks on you at some point, if you are not providing the unique content they are looking for. I made the tough decision to scrap my former directory with over 500,000 articles and start completely over. Our massive archive is still available online if you are searching for content, but don’t expect any article to rank anywhere within Google’s search results.

UNIQUE CONTENT is what Google loves best. Learn it. Know it. Live by it… and you will survive.

Grab a FREE copy of our Article Marketing Made Easy course from Article Gallery and learn how to properly provide the unique content Google wants. We will have a new version of this course out in the coming months so grab it while it’s still free!

Some key statements for this article were derived from Harry McCracken with TIME.com. You can find his original post here: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2056576,00.html