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SEO > 10 ways to Survive the Google Quake

Each month, Google refreshes its index, going through a process known as the "Google Dance".  Every few months, the methods use to determine search rankings change, often making sites which previously had good rankings totally disappear from the index. Below are ten suggestions to avoid losing out to this "Google Quake":

1. Sites with a good network of inbound links seem to be less prone to the Google Quake. Make sure your sites are in the ODP (DMOZ), Yahoo and Looksmart. Your site should have good links from other sites within your subject area, and a good set of internal links (although you should never depend on these alone). Think of your inbound links as roots holding up a tree - the more you have, the harder it is for the tree to fall over.
   
   
2. Use deep content to keep a stable base for your keyword pyramid [1] . Even if you lose out on major target keywords you'll always be picking up substantial amounts of traffic from searches on the less popular terms.
   
   
3. Work on methods to increase your conversion ratios. If you lose 10% of your visitors, but your conversions increase 20%, you gain overall.
   
   
4. Pay per click should be kept ticking over. If necessary, slightly increase bids to keep traffic moving forwards.
   
   
5. Make sure your site has unique content to benefit from word of mouth referrals. Now may be the time to issue press releases and think of other areas for promotion.
   
   
6. Use the opportunity to refresh, refocus and if necessary take a break. Take the time to browse the forums and find the latest SEO techniques.
   
   
7. When traffic picks up again, set aside a cash pile to allow for the occasional shake up. As with stocks and shares search positions can go down as well as up.  If you are optimising for a good spread of websites rather than having all your eggs in one basket, you should always have some gains in rankings each month.
   
   
8. Use this opportunity to get other people to look at your site, and give constructive criticism. Make sure you act on any comments.
   
   
9. Keep adding new content, remembering that spiders visit all the time. Even if you do not see any changes in rankings for your major target keywords, any additional content you add may still be indexed for more specialised search terms.
   
   
10. Remember that Google isn't the only Search Engine. Although it accounts for nearly half of all searches, you should still aim for good visibility on all the others, even if that sometimes means a lot more work.

This article (C) James Avery, Yourslice Ltd - Nov 2002