Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Google is Changing - and so are 'we'.

For the last 6 weeks or so, there's been ongoing discussion in SEO circles (and by website owners) over a significant change Google's organic search results.  Big changes, unexpected changes....and, ongoing changes.

Websites that have held 'position one' for two or three YEARS are now on page two, while a few have seen the 'dreaded' -30 penalty (or -60 or even -90) applied.  (Ouch!)

Some search marketing consultants were caught off-guard and immediately engaged in discussions on various  SEO forums and websites..  What do I tell client 'A'?.  What's going on here??.

The writing has been on the wall for some time.  Some just didn't read it.

I like to compare SEO's to doctors.  If they think they know it all and don't continue to read on an ongoing basis, they get behind. There are new technological changes every day.

It's like bloggers with HUGE ego's.  The ego is a turn-off to most readers and it's a sign that whatever they're doing, they could very well be way behind the curve.  (Hint: Look for modesty).

The web is changing, and Google's all over it.

While you may see some funky returns in Google's blog search (a difficult prospect at best), the main Google  index is getting smarter and more fair.

Over the last month, in addition to several posts to Matt Cutts' personal blog and The Official Google Webmaster Central blog, Google has been posting numerous articles to the Official Google Blog explaining how Google currently indexes the Internet.  TONS of free stuff that's real.

While it isn't the entire ballgame, Google is being more transparent than ever.

The bottom line is 'relevant results' are what gets them the ever-growing search market share.   It's that simple.

Hyper-indexing, written about here numerous times, continues.  Significant changes in PageRank (just one piece of the pie - don't get carried away with this!), social media, and other factors are now being used by Google.  The web is getting bigger exponentially each day.

Is it relevant for the same site to hold the organic (free) position no. 1 for 3 years?

In some cases, absolutely.  In other cases, those websites have long since been replaced by a more informative, current, and relevant website or blogs.

Very small businesses, without the huge SEO budget, now have a better chance at balancing their paid ads and organics than ever before. 

This is all real and caused me to re-examine my own profile a few months ago.  This past week, I made those decisions, and even tested them with a few external websites.

I was going to hold off on this for another week or two until the other 'company' websites are up-to-date on this ... but the 'timing' is right for some minor changes here.

Shameless self=promotion?  Maybe. But what better place than hundreds of you have come to TRUST.

Anzman Consulting has been around for over a decade.  My first company was one of the first two US electronics exporters on the Internet (It was a fun time! :).

Quieter than most, I've helped many others over the years.

We're changing.

The 'we' is now just me (and of course, my strongest ally, my wife).  The company goes on ... for very small and small business SEO and Social Media Consulting ONLY.

Frankly, it's less of a 'brain drain' for me at my stage in life and I'm enjoying developing personal and rewarding relationships with smaller companies.

In the old days, I used to call it 'Playing Chess with Google'.  The Google Dance days are over (no, not the dance they held last night :).  There's new and exciting things happening all over the Internet. Social Media and Lifestreaming, at least right now, are more important than ever.

If you're a small company (or individual) , there's absolutely no reason you should be part of it. 

More details as the weeks go on ... A new (temporary) contact form is at the right.  I am probably going to limit it to 2 or 3 accounts at a time depending on the time needed and keep it reasonable .... because ... I'm really enjoying life right now and the time I've found to spend with my wife.

There are some really great SEO companies out there.  By all means, if you have the means, support the 'good guys'. Many have been linked to by this blog since it's inception (with no compensation whatsoever), and/or had their blogs posts shared in a rotating manner on the Shared feed.  Hand-picked, free stuff, twice a day.

Finally, if you're a blogger, face-to-face still wins the race.  Need a sponsor?  Need some contacts? Make some time to get out to a few events.  Do some in-person networking. 

For everyone else, go on over and read some of the Google stuff above. It'll help (a lot) and be a great start!

My goal.  To have more fun, doing what I do. Make sense?

Now that's transparent :)

PS:  I will be tapping a few of you directly for one or two (probably one) sponsorships of this blog.  The reason is I want to PAY a few people, whom I trust implicitly, to write a few articles here each week.  It's been fun watching this experiment grow since last August, and I don't want that to have any effect whatsoever on my upcoming 'profile change' from 'quiet seo' to 'seo coach to very small business and individuals.

Stay tuned and Thanks .... Charlie

Edited 10 PM ET