Why Websites Lose Their Google Ranking
Before we go list the reasons why websites lose their Google ranking it is helpful for you to understand how Google decides what pages to include in the results.
Google is not your enemy nor does it play favorites. Google’s job is simply to provide internet users with the best search experience. This means that when someone searching for information, or a particular product or service, Google’s job is to list websites that are relevant and provide valuable information to the user.
There are some web designers that try to cheat the system by using techniques to artificially increase their rankings. When these Black Hat SEO techniques are applied to websites, they basically trick Google into listing their site in the results, even if it may not provide value to the end user.
So if you remember anything, remember to play by the rules. Thinking of the user and providing relevant content is the foundation for success.
Why Websites Lose Their Google Ranking: Black Hat Techniques
Keyword Stuffing
Keyword stuffing means to cram keywords on pages and within the meta tags. You may have seen some of these sites that list the keywords at the bottom of the page. Not only does this technique provide no benefit for search results, it can irritate the user. Yes, it is good to have some keywords on your webpage, but not in excess. Read your page out loud. Does it flow nicely or does it sound like you are repeating the same words over and over? Don’t write for Google, write for people. Remember, Google wants what is good for the end user.
Link Exchange Schemes
When it comes to search, one major ranking factor is the amount of links that take people to your website. These are called backlinks and when used correctly they can help drive traffic to your website. When this technique is abused and used incorrectly, they are called link schemes, or link exchange schemes.
Google of course has wised up to link schemes and looks for sites that use these techniques. So if you try to generate traffic from a link exchange scheme, not only will your website lose it’s Google ranking you could be hit with a penalty as well. So remember, play fair and play by the rules.
Duplicate Content
Duplicate content involves intentionally posting the same content on various pages within a website. You may be wondering why someone would purposely add duplicate content to their site. Since high page count is a ranking factor, some web masters will post the same copy instead of writing unique content. Again, Google recognizes website with duplicate content and penalizes them in their ranking.
Remember to Maintain Your Search Engine Optimization
We have explained how websites can lose their Google ranking by not following the Google guidelines. What happens when you play by the rules but still find that your website has stopped ranking as well as it used to?
There are certain things you can do to maintain your ranking and protect it from your competitors such as adding new content to your site consistently. For more information, read our article on how to maintain your websites search engine ranking.
Why Websites Lose Their Google Ranking
Russ Cuthrell is a Michigan SEO Expert and Internet Marketer with over 24 years of experience in the Information Technology space. He is the owner of Spyder Byte Media, Inc., a Michigan Website Design company located in Shelby Township, Michigan. He has helped hundreds of small business owners generate more leads by getting their company websites to the top of Google.
