The Futility of Trying To Please Google

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After yet another update in Google’s search algorithm, I have seen almost all my small niche affiliate oriented websites diasappear from page one of search term results they formerly ranked for. Whether this is temporary or permanent I do not know. And what’s more, I don’t much care, as it is a small part of my income.

Here’s a big secret about Google search. Most who use it are information seekers. They want to know something. They are browsing for free information. But as a marketer I want to sell something, get an ad click, or at least get a name. But the typical info seeker does not want to give anything in return for what they get. So keep this fact in mind before you go spending dime one on anything related to search.

Here’s another problem with Google search. Every seven to twelve months Google rewrites their search algorithms. They say it is to give the user a better search experience but often this is not the end result. I’ve read many comments recently that Google searches are getting less and less relevant. I’ve experienced the same.

There are almost countless how-to courses out there telling you how to research a niche, buy a domain name for it, develop the content, etc. All of them are aimed at pleasing Google search and somehow getting ranked on the first page for money making keywords. Before you believe any of this stuff, it is yesterday’s news. What worked when the course was written is out the window the next time Google updates the algorithm.

The latest Google wrinkle is that displaying any advertising above the fold might penalize a site’s placement in search. This is so patently at odds with Google’s advice for their own product, Adsense, as to be laughable. Adsense publishers are given a heatmap of ideal Adsense placements, and I have to tell you that the most profitable placements for Adsense are all above the fold. So on one hand Big G wants us to place our Adsense ads where they might actually be seen and generate clicks, yet on the other hand they are going to bury our sites if we do put them there.

Most niche sites depend on Adsense, Amazon, Clickbank, Commission Junction, and other ad sources to survive. Niche marketers who rely on these type of income sources and Google for traffic are in for a rough ride.

Here’s some small irony. Google has an affiliate network. I’ll bet you may not have known this. They have some pretty well known names, like Cabelas’s. I wonder how they will justify this affiliate marketing love/hate relationship with their publishers and advertisers? So is Google now going to say, “Here, be an affiliate for this great company. But on your website, don’t put any links for them above the fold, where they might actually generate business.”

The takeaway from this is that don’t make something you can’t control the cornerstone of your online business. Don’t get caught up in the futility of trying to please Google. They change the rules all the time. Niche marketing works if you have your own, in demand product in the niche. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that niche websites are the way to instant riches. Google doesn’t like them any more.

The Futility of Trying To Please Google

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