Is Google's new algorithm destroying my traffic?

I must admit that I am very perplexed by all the talk about how Google and/or Hubpages have helped to destroy traffic. At the end of the day both Google and Hubpages are simply the media by which we are able to publish our content and have our content read.

We own the content and it is up to us to market it, do the required SEO and build content that will be found on the web! So what does that mean? It means that we all must strive to find ways to drive traffic back to content, and as Google (and Hubpages) have quoted quality content is what is desired and as such quality content will rise to the top.

My traffic at one point was down 50% but it is recovering. However I am not sitting back and waiting for it to magically recover, I am pro-actively taking a look at my best hubs and tweaking them to see what improves traffic flow.

Did I consider leaving Hubpages? Maybe for a second, but at the end of the day I'll have exactly the same problem on any site on the web. If I take a look at my own blogs then I notice that I don't and never had any traffic to them - so without Hubpages I wouldn't have a presence on the web!

So rather than blame the messenger I am proactively taking a look at my own personal style and improving the way I present information.

Whether you are writing a hub to get sales, or simply trying to entertain the reader, one of the most important things is to hook the reader and give them a reason to read on. The most important part of a hub therefore is the first two paragraphs.

It’s probably the most difficult part of writing; it’s something I have not perfected but I am trying to improve my style to create a hook. I used to dive straight into my content, and often give away the ‘secrets’ in the first third of the hub and therefore there was no reason for a reader to continue. As you may see in this hub, you are now half way through it and I still have a lot of secrets to give away!

This is a balancing act, because Internet users do want quick answers – but if I’m giving them value all the way through a hub then they are more likely to read on.

Simple SEO tricks will continue to work. The above bolded text does several things:

• Firstly it is a long-tail description that is a great tool when doing SEO – it’s a searchable phrase that is likely to bring in traffic – it is very targeted as the user has to know what a hub is, but I can supplement this by varying the long-tail text throughout my hub. Now here’s the important thing – don’t simply add long-tail descriptions just to do SEO, but make them an important part of the content.
• Secondly, it breaks up the hub and also gives a focal point for users who are scanning the content. I find that often I am turned off by a web site that has too much text, however quite often I’ll scan down a page and spot an interesting title that grabs my attention and makes me look.

What about Facebook? One thing that I am seeing with my hubs is an increase of sharing on Facebook. It’s not huge yet, but my best Hubpages have been liked or shared by hundreds of people. This may seem irrelevant but viral organic traffic is one of the growing sources of traffic to websites.

The key here is quality – the Hubpages that are successful on Facebook are ones that are well written, but more importantly give value to the reader and their friends. As an example, I have a Hubpage on Final Fantasy XIII hints and tips. I get a lot of Google traffic, but I also note that the Hubpage has been shared on Facebook by a lot of teenagers, thus giving me a lot of viral traffic, including some of my own contacts who found out about my guide through FB and not from me!

Are content farms dead?

As you read the news on the web most commentators say the algorithm change is a direct attack on content farms. Now if you visit all of these so called content farms, they all are adapting and changing. Many are bringing in a rule where content not only must be at least 300-400 words, but it also must be unique content. So the content farm is improving quality and essentially removing spam and poor quality content.

This essentially what we as writers must do. Gone are the days when you write one major article and then create a bi-line on forty directories and ezines; now you must create one decent article, and then dozens of good quality articles that will push readers to your main article. The days of spamming these forums and directories is gone, but with the right strategy and quite a bit of work, you can still benefit by using these sites.

Can I stop panicking now?

The reality is that the way we write on the web has changed, and for the most part I feel it has changed for the better. There is still a lot of revenue to be earned out there, it just takes a little more work and a lot more strategic planning to get to it.

If you have always produced decent quality content then there’s not much you need to do other than tweak a little and watch to see what now works in the Google world. These changes are always going to happen, but it’s not the time to throw in the towel – in fact it would be a shame and a waste of a lot of work!

I am certain that if I apply some simple changes in my work then I will be able to answer the question How do I get traffic to my sites? with the simple answer: by doing what I’ve always being doing! Write decent content, and don’t spam!