TypeCarl

Google SEO is Like Riding a Mechanical Bull

So I’ve been in the SEO game for the last month or so, and I have to say it is quite a ride. The reason I am posting this is that I’ve finally managed to become number #1 for a search term for one of my niche websites.

I have to admit that I love checking my Google ranking about a few times a day. It’s because I want to get a feel for how Google handles rankings. Just maybe I can intuitively spot a pattern that is going on that will help me with my other websites. I definitely do not consciously understand how Google exactly figures out your ranking, but I can give you some patterns I have seen.

Since the world seems to love lists, I’ll succumb to it just this time… Don’t mind my clever titles.

1. Beginner’s Luck - Google seems to love Web 2.0 websites, and if you create a page on one, you will be indexed quite quickly. Not only that, you can create quick backlinks on other Web 2.0 sites such as Digg and Del.icio.us. For doing this, Google may give you a quick high ranking for a keyword with low competition. In other words, you are surprisingly doing a great a job riding that mechanical bull.
2. Your First Fall - Google kicks you off the bull. For the inexperienced, you sit there and freak out. Your beautiful first website has seemingly fallen from grace. Little do you know that it’s just a test. It’s trying to figure out who you really are. It’s thinking whether you deserve to get back on the bull.
3. You’re Getting Better - You’ve gained some experience by learning a little about riding a bull (SEO). You’re running around the internet trying to figure out ways to make others link to you, and it seems to be paying off. Google just bumped you up 4 places out of nowhere. You celebrate! You think you’re about to conquer the bull.
4. The Big Fall - You just don’t understand it. You know you’re good. By now, you’ve got those important muscles developed to handle the bull (backlinks), and yet you still fall hard. You think about all those hours you spent creating those backlinks. At this point, you now understand what the gurus have said when they told you it is hard work.
5. Victory - You’ve conquered the bull. You are now the best bull rider at the small bar. You have this incredible feeling of accomplishment. Don’t get too big of a head. There is always someone who wants your spot.

Ok. So I might have taken this metaphor too far. In the simplest of terms, Google loves to toss you around. I’ve seen my ranking go from #3 to #10 to #4 to #7 to gone to #8 to #1 and so on. It’s like it is constantly testing you. I have a gut feeling that it is testing a multiple of factors. It is placing you in certain positions to see how searchers are liking your site. If they hit the back button from your site, that’s probably not a good thing. If they don’t come back to the search, Google gives you brownie points.

In the end, backlinks and how you use the keywords on your web page are the most important factors. However, don’t expect to get to #1 over night. It likes to see if you stick around. If they see occasional updates and see a constant improvement, it will eventually reward you for being the best in your keyword term.

However, it may take well over a month to get what you deserve.

Be bold. Trust the true gurus, and stick to your guns. You’ll get there. I promise.

Don’t let a fall get you down. Conquer the bull.

Carl Zetterlund

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