Success in the online world hinges on many factors, one of the biggest being SEO. While it's not nearly as important as it used to be thanks to tools which both emphasize and enhance the democratic nature of the Internet, it's vital for maintaining a steady flow of new traffic from people who otherwise wouldn't stumble across your links.
Despite being rooted in algorithms and predictable computer behavior, attaining the coveted top spots on search engines like Google is as much of an art as it is a science. Think of it like cooking; gathering and preparing the materials in proper quantities is only half of it. It also requires patience, a keen sense of smell, and an intuitive grasp of which spices mesh well together and which ones don't.
You can make a good dish by following the instructions in a cookbook, but in order to create great dish, you need an extra something that may be hard to define.
Likewise, movements in the online world require more than an understanding of the technology which drives search engines; it also requires the ability to adapt quickly to changes in keyword rankings, and to create viable long-term strategies that return profit regardless of the ups and downs along the way.
How Search Engines Determine Your Rank
Google uses a complex algorithm known as PageRank which accounts for numerous factors ranging from the number of links pointing to your site to the actual quality of your content. It updates its index multiple times throughout the day so if you checked hourly your site could have a different rank every time. Location is also relevant as Google utilizes many data centers to determine its results, so if you perform a search while a colleague performs the same search from a different IP address the results could very well differ.
If for some reason you did check hourly, the daily shifts wouldn't tell you much about the bigger picture. The Internet moves quickly but not to the extent that fortunes are made or lost in an afternoon. What's more likely is that your ranking will constantly shift within a particular range and what you should try to do is trend up as opposed to staying rock-solid at a given rank.
When You Should Check Your Rank
There's no reason to check your rank more than once a week. Not only are day-to-day changes fairly insignificant in the bigger scheme of things, search engine dances are becoming more common and it's easier to gauge the results looking back at them than it is trying to keep up as they're happening.
What is a search engine dance? It's when several different things change at once, including but not limited to the search engine algorithm, domain rankings, and the discovery of invalid backlinks. It usually doesn't take very long for a sense of order to be restored, but for the internet businessman wanting to keep sane it's better to time check-ins so that these occur in-between and the long-term effects can be charted immediately.
Even if you check your rank while it's happening, it's better to stay calm and wait to check again one week later than it is to try and get on top of it because playing the long game is almost always the best strategy.
Keep in mind that checking your rank isn't going to improve it. The three things which always work to your advantage is quality content, new content, and strong backlinks. Doing things right is time consuming, so the most important factors in your site's growth will take at least a week or more to impact your rank, and once they do you'll hit a new median where you won't go much higher or lower than that regardless of anything else that happens.
The Bottom Line
It's easy to forget that a slow and steady approach pays off regardless of the business you're in as long as you can quickly adapt to new circumstances. You need to check your SEO rank if you want to stay at the top of your game but it's a tool; it can only tell you how well you're doing everything else that's involved in maintaining an online presence. It provides invaluable feedback for how to improve your operation, and if it's used correctly you'll be able to keep your sanity, too.
About The Author: Evelyn Haywood is a freelance writer and a proud resident of the state of Texas.
Do you like this article by Evelyn Haywood? Please let Evelyn and myself know by leaving us your valued comments.
Related articles:
You Don't Have To Be An SEO Whizz To Improve Your Search Engine Rankings!
10 Easy Steps To Boost Your SEO
Top SEO Do's And Don'ts
How To Improve Your SEO With Backlinks
The Seven Deadly SEO Sins
The 10 Week SEO Diet
If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to +1 or share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.
As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on NetworkedBlogs, via Email (maximum of one email per day), on Facebook and Google+ or by subscribing to our blog feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog
You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509, Google+ and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
https://plus.google.com/104849975941505117776
Until my next post, enjoy the rest of the week!
Despite being rooted in algorithms and predictable computer behavior, attaining the coveted top spots on search engines like Google is as much of an art as it is a science. Think of it like cooking; gathering and preparing the materials in proper quantities is only half of it. It also requires patience, a keen sense of smell, and an intuitive grasp of which spices mesh well together and which ones don't.
You can make a good dish by following the instructions in a cookbook, but in order to create great dish, you need an extra something that may be hard to define.
Likewise, movements in the online world require more than an understanding of the technology which drives search engines; it also requires the ability to adapt quickly to changes in keyword rankings, and to create viable long-term strategies that return profit regardless of the ups and downs along the way.
How Search Engines Determine Your Rank
Google uses a complex algorithm known as PageRank which accounts for numerous factors ranging from the number of links pointing to your site to the actual quality of your content. It updates its index multiple times throughout the day so if you checked hourly your site could have a different rank every time. Location is also relevant as Google utilizes many data centers to determine its results, so if you perform a search while a colleague performs the same search from a different IP address the results could very well differ.
If for some reason you did check hourly, the daily shifts wouldn't tell you much about the bigger picture. The Internet moves quickly but not to the extent that fortunes are made or lost in an afternoon. What's more likely is that your ranking will constantly shift within a particular range and what you should try to do is trend up as opposed to staying rock-solid at a given rank.
When You Should Check Your Rank
There's no reason to check your rank more than once a week. Not only are day-to-day changes fairly insignificant in the bigger scheme of things, search engine dances are becoming more common and it's easier to gauge the results looking back at them than it is trying to keep up as they're happening.
What is a search engine dance? It's when several different things change at once, including but not limited to the search engine algorithm, domain rankings, and the discovery of invalid backlinks. It usually doesn't take very long for a sense of order to be restored, but for the internet businessman wanting to keep sane it's better to time check-ins so that these occur in-between and the long-term effects can be charted immediately.
Even if you check your rank while it's happening, it's better to stay calm and wait to check again one week later than it is to try and get on top of it because playing the long game is almost always the best strategy.
Keep in mind that checking your rank isn't going to improve it. The three things which always work to your advantage is quality content, new content, and strong backlinks. Doing things right is time consuming, so the most important factors in your site's growth will take at least a week or more to impact your rank, and once they do you'll hit a new median where you won't go much higher or lower than that regardless of anything else that happens.
The Bottom Line
It's easy to forget that a slow and steady approach pays off regardless of the business you're in as long as you can quickly adapt to new circumstances. You need to check your SEO rank if you want to stay at the top of your game but it's a tool; it can only tell you how well you're doing everything else that's involved in maintaining an online presence. It provides invaluable feedback for how to improve your operation, and if it's used correctly you'll be able to keep your sanity, too.
About The Author: Evelyn Haywood is a freelance writer and a proud resident of the state of Texas.
Do you like this article by Evelyn Haywood? Please let Evelyn and myself know by leaving us your valued comments.
Related articles:
You Don't Have To Be An SEO Whizz To Improve Your Search Engine Rankings!
10 Easy Steps To Boost Your SEO
Top SEO Do's And Don'ts
How To Improve Your SEO With Backlinks
The Seven Deadly SEO Sins
The 10 Week SEO Diet
If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to +1 or share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.
As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on NetworkedBlogs, via Email (maximum of one email per day), on Facebook and Google+ or by subscribing to our blog feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog
You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509, Google+ and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
https://plus.google.com/104849975941505117776
Until my next post, enjoy the rest of the week!
