What is your Plan if Google Penalizes Your Website?
We all know that Google is penalizing websites left and right for buying links, selling links, duplicate content and for numerous other reasons. And while you maybe safe right now, there is no guarantee that you will be in the future. For majority of us, Google is a huge source of traffic to our blogs and websites, so what will you do if Google penalizes you? We are not all like a web celebrity like John Chow who can still continue to make $40,000 with his blog even after the google penalty. But here is what I can tell you though. You can surely survive and still have a good amount of people visiting your blog.
What distinguishes you from a Popular blog?
They have a huge base of loyal readers already built. So even if they lose google’s ranking, they still have thousands of people visiting their site and reading them. And because they have thousands of people reading atleast hundred are writing about them and linking to them, and through the hundred, they are getting more new users to their blog. So at the end day, They can survive without Google!
Google is big and we know that, but it is not the end of the world. You need to follow the advice of “Not putting all your eggs in one basket” and start doing some of the things I am about to tell you which will ensure you that you are not dependent on Google. Also even if you are not penalized in google, these methods are great for you because they are going to build your readership.
The key point is Build Readership. Usually you get users through Google because you write a good article and a few people link to it, and you rank good for that keyword. But think for a second that you don’t have that luxury for a second. What will you do? Here is what I would:
Get more active in Forums
I will definitely get more active in forums because forums in webmaster industry has a lot of new users joining every day looking for help. That is how they learn, but if you facilitate their learning experience, and help them out, they will be more than likely to stick around to your website and follow you wherever you go. That is how you build the most loyal readership. Read how to use forums effectively and maximize your benefits.
Guest Posts
If you are not doing them already, then start doing them because it is one of the best ways to get mentions from other sites. Not many bloggers turn down a good guest post because in a way you are helping them out by adding good content to their website, but you are helping yourself out by putting out a good reputation for yourself. If you write a good article, people will check out your blog and most likely subscribe. So start writing guest posts. I am always welcoming guest posts, so if you are interested contact me.
Leverage the Power of Social Media
Join social media networks and interact with other users. Share your knowledge with them, and appreciate the community. They will send the love back when you add quality resources to the network. So if you write a good article, and you are active in the stumble community, it will be upvoted by alot of users. Not just that but if you make good friends on social media networks like twitter, you can later have backlinks from their site. Which drives more people to your website. (Check out the results that I got from Social Media)
The idea is give to community, and the community will give back to you. If you offer them spam, they will give you the same quality back. If you offer them good, resourceful articles, they will offer you with good quality of users.
Remember we all love google, and I hope none of you get penalized, but this is surely a way to go about it now, so just incase if you are then you have a set ground. And if you are not, you have a huge readerbase.
Hey, I am Syed Balkhi, The guy who is behind Balkhis Inc. I entered the industry back in 2002 not knowing a single thing. I barely spoke English at that time. In the past six years, my language barrier has been eliminated. Aside from English, now I also speak html, and php. Along with the languages I have also managed to master a few arts. Art of web-designing started when I first entered. Messing around with photoshop, I learned how to create my first web design. Now I founded a web designing firm Uzzz Productions. After running numerous amount of websites in various niche, I have mastered the art of web-development. Now I am compiling a resource of what I already know, and what I am learning on this blog. This resource is to help me if I ever need a guide to look back to, and it is help my fellow webmasters.
I absolutely share the idea of putting the eggs into different baskets,when you live a various life and have lateral way of thinking you can easily come to other business or find the solution of the problem.
well for blogs really Google isn’t that useful I must say especially since most blogs don’t really rank that well for some certain good keywords.My blog for instance has been pr0 for a long time (for unknown reasons) but still I was still able to get some readers and subscribers.
I think to website it applies differently. I have some ecommerce websites that really do well especially with Google and it would be a major breakdown for me if it’s all of a sudden gets banned from Google… Since websites are static, its harder to keep it alive after getting banned from search engines…
Google is very USEFUL for blogs. You probably don’t see the benefit of it, but if/when you do you will realize that it is very helpful!
Well you can at least get better $$ if your advertisers see that you rank good
You make a good point about having a backup plan.
I think prevention is the safer option though!! It’s pretty easy to not get penalised. Just don’t be sneaky and don’t sell or buy links!
But then again, people are saying PR is not important and there are lots of sites wirh PR0 appearing on the first page of Google SERP
Yes Michael, I have seen a few PR 0 websites make it to #1, over a PR 2 website, and I have even seen it remain after a Google Update. I still think though PR is relevant… but that is another topic in of itself….
Back to the topic… I really don’t have a backup plan… although for some of my websites yes I could survive without Google, but it would be really hard. The only people who would come back are those who already know the site, and from one of the forums I frequent.
Till then,
Jean
It depends on what is the main traffic source to that site, if it doesn’t depend on Google, that doesn’t really matter. Not all website depends on Google nowadays.
Quite right. If it is a non monetized persoanl site for instance, it does not make any difference, and if you are say in the league of someone like John Chow, again, if would not. It is the in between guys who need Google and it is best not to antagonize them.
What to do if your site isn’t a weblog and haven’t anything like news or articles on it?
Just enjoy yourself. You have nothing to lose any way.
It is important to not just rely on Google or any other single traffic/income source. When I can’t get good rankings on Google, I still at least try to get good rankings on MSN & Yahoo. Although those search engines have lower market share, they can still deliver consistent quality traffic. It is also a good idea to build backlinks to your website or blog on a regular basis. There are many ways to do this, including some of the things you have mentioned such as forum participation and guest blogging.
I totally disagree with what Melvin said above. He must not know how to market websites. Google is extremely important for any website, whether it is an ecommerce website, blog, forum, directory or whatever. You just have to know how to get rankings and you have to know which keywords you can realistically get rankings for.
Very well written. The hardest thing is when your traffic is totally relaying on Google. Because of penalization, webmasters must think of creating very attractive content which will attract people to become returning visitors. They will know to appreciate the hard job and be the biggest part of most effective promotion type, word of mouth.
Yeah I agree that there should be some limits to what people can do to get their website to become more popular but I think that a ban could be a little harsh. So if Google ever banned me I would have to find a new job or roll up a newspaper and hit Google in the nose and tell them NO.
Mr School Fundraising Ideas, let me know how the rolled up newspaper strategy works lol. You can still make money even if you get banned from Google. Most of the time it is just better to concentrate your efforts on another website that is not banned.
The first question is why should Google penalize you. If it is reasonable, there is a grievance mechanism in place, which is fair and quick in response. In any case, keeping eggs in different baskets is always a good policy.
Mr. School Fundraising ideas, I would give an arm and a leg to see you hit Google on the nose and tell them NO! Good luck to you.
I definately agree that Guests Posts are brilliant to have.. they really create good content and keep things fresh. I would also agree that being active in forums does give more visibility and will create and maintain your reputation
Good post Syed! Even when it comes to blogging itself, you should never put all your efforts into one blog.
Good insight, we can’t depend just on Google traffic. In case of penalization, we need other traffic source to maintain the revenue. In my opinion, social media is the best alternative.
I’m not sure who John Chow is, but it seems unfair for Google to penalize people unless they are clear about the standards for websites. I don’t know much about how they rank sites but it seems like they have to balance between saying how they rank sites and not giving away too much. Because of that, webmasters can’t tell what’s ok and what’s not. It’s definitely a tough situation for all involved.
Hmm I hope I never get penalised by google. Although I never have been in the past it is always the one thing that scares me the most. For some of my sites it would mean quite a loss in terms of money.
There are many instances that Google penalizes your site and you just keep thinking as to what really went wrong. It is really a stressful time and to be able to come out of it is really a task at hand. These tips really are of great great help and will surely calm the nerves down, if at all someone ever gets penalized.
If I got banned from google or something (which might happen, you never know) I think i’d give up blogging alltogether. Because starting a new site from scratch would be too much work and promoting this one would be almost impossible. So it’s a lose-lose situation.
Due to the post I realized that Google is useful for bloggers.I even didn’t pay attention to it.
Google is The King.
Having many RSS subscribers is the best way to keep business rolling if you are penalized.
These points surely would help keeping me rolling, even if i was penalized with google. So, it shouldn’t be a problem anymore i guess. So, the main thing, get site loyalty and trusted readers!
Could survive without Google, but it would be really hard. The only people who would come back are those who already know the site, and from one of the forums I frequent.
Google is probably the root of most of the traffic that you recieve. I jus wish i do not get penalised by google because that would mean missing on the dollars!
I don’t know that I necessarily agree that Google is “penalizing sites right and left”. I have seen sites get penalized but 99% of the time, they flat out deserved it for their black hat tactics.
The one exception I have seen 2x now: Plastic Surgeons getting their sites dropped out of the index for having “adult” content which consisted of before and after pics of their work.
Most of us know the rules and play fair. The most abused practice I see (that will definitely put you on the radar) is having more than 3 mentions of a keyword in your meta tags.
I think anyone with good Google rankings doesn’t really consider this situation. When things are going well, it is too easy to assume that things will stay like that and likely get even better. You do have to play it safe and develop multiple traffic sources.
Its always good to have a backup plan because you never know when Google will penalize you but many people rely on Google to get traffic and if their rankings go away than so will their traffic.
Great post Syed, and good resourceful advise. Giving to community takes time and effort, but in the long run it will eventually pay off. I can’t tell you how many times I got help in past from various forums and when I really needed some big help where did I go? To those that helped me with the little stuff. They got hired for the work because they took the time help me with the little stuff.
Well Google is doing this because in a way i consider it also normal, becasue to be honest thanks mostly to google everyone earn the money and the traffic.
“I will definitely get more active in forums”,thanks for your useful article. I want to be more active in forums,but the newcomers can’t post the links.
Thanks for your kind suggestions.I think I should be more active in the forums,but the newcomers can’t post the links.
Interesting post. Most people do not stop to think of this possibility. Google is so dominant that if you get in their bad books, your online business is seriously crippled. Still there are ways to thrive without getting traffic from Google. Plus there is always the option of starting fresh with a new site.
I am always scared that one day this will happen to me, I think we all are. Thanks for the suggestions, I do think that in most cases, it’s time to start a new site.
,thanks for your useful article. I want to be more active in forums,but the newcomers can’t post the links.
If Google punished my website I’d probably either punch a hole in the wall or go cry in a corner. Then again, that’s not much of a plan. Basically I would just back off that website and leave it as clean as possible for a while. In the meantime I would focus on other websites. Hopefully in time Google would forgive the penalized website.
Forum posting is great idea
Google generally penalize a website due lot of factors. To over come from Google Penalize, I can suggest you try to get quality link from .org and .gov site. Analyze your site, check your back link structure. Change your content and do ORM. That is the only way you can come out from Google penalize