If your site has taken a hit from Google and has fallen off the first page, don’t panic. There are things you can do to regain lost traffic and get back in Google’s good graces.
The first thing you need to do is determine whether your site has been penalized. It is easy to jump to the conclusion that a site has been penalized if its rankings have dropped, but this is not always the case.
Some of the ways to determine if your site has been penalized include:
- Compare your rankings: it is important to look at your competitors’ rankings as well as your own to determine if they’ve also dropped in the ranks, or if it is just your site.
- Check the location: it is also important to note that location can affect your rankings. A way to check this is to have other people within the target market region check your rankings as well.
- Pay attention to Google changes: algorithm changes, such as the recent Panda update we’ve all been hearing about can affect your rankings, but that doesn’t mean your site has been penalized.
These are just a few of the most obvious ways to determine if your site has been penalized or if it has been affected by something else like an algorithm change. Being penalized by Google is a whole different thing. For instance, some of the factors that can result in a penalty include keyword stuffing, duplicate content and/or scraping; bad or shady links; and paid links.
After you’ve determined if your site has been penalized or has been affected by something else, you can begin to investigate what happened and why. Then, you can make the necessary changes to begin your climb back up the SEO ladder.
It is important to keep in mind that things can happen anytime. In order to better protect yourself in the future, you should collect and keep record of certain things like Google analytics and Google Webmaster Tools so if your site does take a hit, you will have the data it takes to determine what happened.
You should also keep a log of any edits to the site, whether they are being made by you, a programmer, an SEO specialist, and so on (this includes link building activity). By keeping track of these things and your rankings, you will be in a good problem-solving position, should something cause your site to lose its rankings.
If your rankings have dropped, contact the SEO specialists at eJustice for a free assessment. We can help you achieve the rankings you need to maximum your ROI. Call 1-877-357-8423 to get a free quote today!
