Google Penguin – The Zoo Keeps Expanding!

Where to start?  The web is full of comments these days about the many punitive algorithm changes at Google.  I want to add my 2 cents worth.

It started with an absolute purge of Adwords accounts for many small affiliate and other marketers back a couple years ago.  Many small time internet marketers saw their Google Adwords accounts closed and banned permanently (mine included).  Most of these folks are honest hard working small business people trying to build revenue by purchasing Adwords ads and selling other’s products.

Were all the products great…..?  Nope, but many were.  And in all fairness it should be noted that “Buyer Beware” is always applicable.  The main folks hurt in this move were the advertisers/affiliates who were trying to make an honest buck.

The with a series of Panda algorithm updates “G” has progressively cut the heart out of thousands of small website developers, present company included.  Is every small time website online legitimate?  Again…Nope…I don’t think so!  But most are.

But isn’t that up to the reader to determine? The relative worth of any site?

Click…..!!!

And now we have a new critter in the “Zoo” , I think we should call it “Zoogle” , or even better “Screwgle”   “The Penguin” has arrived and mixed and stirred and shaken up 1000’s more good websites, and some not so great as well.

So what is my point?

It is just this.  I build websites that provide real value to people and answers to questions and resources to take advantage of, etc.  And for this effort, I hope to make a bit of money.  And in order to make sure my sites rank in the first pages for their keywords we have done some link building using whatever legitimate method seemed appropriate at the time.  Not black hat, just promotion of our sites on as many other sites as possible to build links.  This is not underhanded behavior it is just marketing, like any other method of advertising to bring attention to your business or products.  Nothing more or less.

You can’t find a business unless there are sign posts and advertising showing you how to get there, on the ground or online, same deal.

Hunt around in your surfing.  You will find absolutely useless sites on the first page for many keywords and some of the best have been penalized so bad they can’t be found at all.

One of my best sites earned $478.00 in January, $289 in Feb, $220, in March and $143.00 in April.  And my site continued to provide the same valuable info to those who are able to find my site to read our articles.  We have been repeatedly pummeled, pounded and penalized by Google and most unfairly so.

In their grand efforts to ‘Improve the search experience” for their clients they have damaged and ruined the very people who provide the materials, websites and pages for the searches to view.  I spoke in my last post about the value of all stakeholders in a business.  The owners/developers, the customers, the employees and the vendors.

Google has totally devalued and screwed with the lives of its vendors, all the little independent website developers who provide the information on the web in the first place.

WITHOUT US THERE AIN’T NO WEB!!!

And let me continue.  We the small developers have employees that depend on us, with families to feed, we have product developers who depend on us to sell their products, we pay hosting fees, list service fees, domain name fees, etc., etc. etc.  We collectively are likely a larger economy than some small countries!

And Google, with unwanted, unwarranted and malicious actions continue to shoot bullets and throw darts at the very people who provide the raw materials on which their business is built.  This just does not make any sense!

Am I Pissed?  Your damn right.  I have run businesses for over thirty years that strive to treat all of our stakeholders with loyalty, courtesy and consideration.

And let me add one more comment.  While one side of Google is penalizing us for bullshit issues, “Anchor Text percentages, link building, and over SEO optimization”, we continue to get messages on our Adsense accounts to increase our ad blocks and increase banner ads, etc.  It is obvious that the left and right hands never meet.

And…that’s all I’ve got to say about thaaaat.

Paul H Grimm

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