That Parlous Cheshire-Cat Smile
After several warnings when agencies failed to change their modus operandi, Google had to pull the plug. All these while, digital agencies played down the warning thinking that those were nothing more a tired schoolmaster’s admonitions, but what seem like a smile of weakness and submission to unethical way of optimizing search results was actually a Cheshire-Cat smile!
In February, 2011 when the first Panda update rolled out, many experts were busy optimizing their sites the normal way they always did, unaware that in a couple of months nothing of those would make any sense anymore. Not only did the change baffle newcomers in the industry, it shook the very foundation on which SEO veterans of several years had made their fortunes.
Utter Confusion and Hopes of Things Falling Back In Place
For a huge chunk of the search engine optimization workers, Google’s Panda and Penguin algorithm updates came as death blow. Some got obliterated entirely from the surface of the industry while the majority of them were on their knees smarting from the confusion of the aftermath. The immediate reaction was heighten SEO efforts even further to regain lost positions. This did have a very temporary effect, but when the algorithm came back to check things, the casualty was even severe. Nevertheless, those that couched by the success of their SEO techniques were blaming Google’s lust for money. Incidentally, Google Adsense revenues were impressive during the initial days of the algorithm rollout adding fuel to the speculation that Google was indeed doing something nasty to suck in more money through paid inclusions! Later it turned out that the increase in Adsense activities was because of panicked website owners and Digital Agency employees trying everything within their reach to reclaim visibility.
Some Will Learn, Some Never Will
What is even unfortunate is that some are still at a loss as to the best strategy that will find them their sweet spot back in the search results. Some will never learn from what happened because of the algorithms is because they never knew anything about the beginning of how search began, what role search engines play in search and what search means to search engines. Thankfully, not all are as clueless. Panda and Penguin did affect almost every SEO digital agency on the planet in a lesser or greater degree, but those that are making fast recoveries are not agencies trying to sell the same old snake oil in new bottles!
In this new era of search only an ethical digital agency will find success. Good ethical, honest and smart work is the only way beyond this, there is absolutely no way of replicating success fast for cheap, not at least in SEO.
This post first appeared on Latest In Social Media Marketing, Reputation Management And Local SEO, please read the originial post: here
