Ashville, North Carolina, USA
Bloggers tend to suffer after every Google algorithm update.
Google shakes out those who do not appease the algorithm carefully.
I care less about Google traffic since I made Blogging From Paradise Dot Com the source of my success.
But most bloggers backburner their blogs to make Google the source of their traffic.
If you walk that precarious road, dancing on razor blades as the latest core update hits the wires, you may be devastated by the subsequent shakeout and loss of traffic and income.
It is not uncommon for someone to see all traffic and income vanish overnight when The Big G changes its algorithm. Panic ensues. The blogging weeping and gnashing of teeth follows as another online idol falls.
Lick your wounds. Embrace the sting. Seeing everything you worked diligently for vanish pronto feels overwhelming. But you always take your:
- blogging skills
- domain name (age/maturity of the domain)
- blog content
with you independent of Google policy shifts.
Doesn’t it feel a little better knowing that you still have much even though you appeared to lose a lot?
Engage in mental gymnastics. Stop thinking upside-down. Start thinking right-side up.
As I discuss in this video, you need to change your blogging strategy sometimes if you want to succeed. Stop doing what leads to failure. Start doing what leads to success.
Frame yourself as no victim of Google but an empowered blogger ready and willing to follow a sound blogging strategy going forward.
Google reflects your blogging inefficiencies back to you. Honor their red flag. Move in a different direction to accelerate your success.
Recover your Google traffic after suffering the sting of an algorithm smack down by following these tips.
1: Look Closely at Your Blogging Mistakes Triggering Google Traffic Loss
Google is a trillion dollar company.
Trillion dollar companies follow precise business models quite mindfully to become trillion dollar companies.
If you appear to lose most or all traffic through Google it is your mistake in not following their rules and not their mistake in not following your rules.
Remove your blogging blinders. Look closely at your blog posts.
Google loves:
- long form content spanning 1200-1500 words or longer
- authority bloggers who cover a single niche inside-out to become credible specialists
- blogs boasting high quality backlinks from relevant, trusted sources
Do you publish only long form, targeted content? Do you specialize in one niche? Does your blog receive high quality backlinks?
If you appeared to be wiped out via a recent algorithm update, you must be missing one or all three factors because trillion dollar companies do not forget their trillion dollar formulas overnight since wise, all-knowing, ascended master, individual bloggers correctly identified the trillion dollar formula with “their” strategy.
The Blogging From Paradise Google Attitude
Blogging From Paradise has received upwards of 3,000 organic Google visits per month. I do not optimize blog posts for SEO. Nor do I care for Google traffic. Yet because I target my long form content, develop singular expertise and gain quality backlinks organically, Google sends traffic to my blog on a daily basis.
The only way to recover lost Google traffic is to:
- identify
- own
- correct
the mistakes that you made which caused the update to slap your blog around silly.
As always, corrections come on a case-by-case, highly personalized basis. Look at your blog in the light of truth to spot the mistake or mistakes.
Common Errors
- publishing thin content spanning 500-600 words
- covering multiple blogging niches to diminish your expertise; a jack of all trades masters none
- lack of quality, relevant backlinks
- not updating content to keep it timely and accurate right now
- using AI to spin blog posts
Build a list of likely blogging errors leading to the traffic disaster.
From there, follow the appropriate steps below to drive Google traffic – and blogging income – again.
Note; you may need to only follow one. Or all.
2: Publish Only Long Form Content
Publish 1200-1500 word blog posts.
The algorithm tends to favor long form content because thorough content offers users rich resources for solving their problems.
Share practical tips to baby step people through the process. For example, bloggers keen on recovering from a Google algo update have 4 practical tips to follow via the H2 headers in this blog post. But I break those 4 practical tips into more practical steps to map out their journey for them. I invested a few hours to patiently publish a resource for Google users hellbent on accessing a detailed answer for their question. Do the same to get back your Google traffic.
Google loves these types of “how to” posts and ranks ’em routinely.
My post for how to find time to blog ranks near the top of page 1 after every update because it makes Google look good with oodles of practical tips to follow to find time to blog.
Be highly practical. Share usable content.
Regain your Google traffic by publishing what inquiring people (and Google) want you to publish.
Design posts with the user in mind. Make content easy to scan. Use headers often. Chop up content into paragraphs. Use bullet point lists liberally.
Make it easy for folks to read your posts in North-South/vertical fashion. Write a paragraph. Include 2-3 sentences. Hit the “enter” bar. Write a paragraph. Hit the “enter” bar. Add headers. Splice in bullet point lists. Establish contrast to arrest attention spans.
Scroll up and down the blog post you are reading right now for a practical example of how to design the sucker.
Link to relevant, thorough posts both from your blog and trusted offsite resources.
Google looks for valued links-in and links-out to improve the user experience.
Beef up your content.
Present it to please readers.
Get back your Google traffic.
3: Build Quality Offsite Content
Recovering from a Google update may mean building high quality, relevant backlinks.
Consider:
- guest blogging on relevant, respected blogs from your niche
- commenting genuinely on respected blogs from your niche
- publishing targeted, thorough social media updates
to increase quality backlinks pointing to your blog.
Guest blogging may directly build quality Do Follow links. But even if fellow bloggers offer No Follow links via guest posts, the friendships and exposure gained indirectly boost respected, relevant, trusted backlinks. Successful bloggers read respected guest posts and link to guest blogger’s blogs.
Genuine blog commenting forms blogging relationships.
Blogging buddies:
- increase quality backlinks via quick mentions
- invite you to guest post
- interview you
to boost quality backlinks.
Detailed, targeted social media content influences successful bloggers to link to your blog.
Facebook updates, tweets and YouTube videos generate Blogging From Paradise backlinks.
Prioritize creating targeted, detailed offsite content to drive Google traffic again.
4: Build Quality Blogging Relationships
Engage in genuine blogger outreach.
Blogging friends increase quality backlinks.
Promote fellow bloggers on social media. Engage blogging buddies by answering their questions.
Develop rock solid relationships to drive backlinks.
Boosting the number of relevant, trusted backlinks pointing to your blog aids in recovering Google traffic after the algorithm blows you out of the water.
Give without expectations. Help bloggers from your niche without asking for anything. Earn their trust to gain their attention. Gain their attention to establish a strong foundation for a genuine blogging friendship.
Google frames page 1 blogs in spider web fashion. Page 1, position 1 posts (and the few ranking below on page 1) gain quality backlinks from relevant blogs. The algorithm searches for vetting from respected, relevant bloggers.
Think of blogging friends offering you invaluable peer review by dropping trusted links from their blog to your blog.
As with all blogging strategies, develop bonds patiently.
Thirsty bloggers scare off credible bloggers.
Be genuine.
Be generous.
Get connected.
Recover Google traffic.
Friends can help to bring back whatever the algorithm wiped out.
Conclusion
Be patient.
No one recovers a significant volume of Google traffic overnight after an algorithm shakeout.
Follow the practical tips listed above for a while.
Regain Google traffic by calmly doing what the algorithm wants you to do.
The algorithm wants you to publish practical, targeted, thorough content which Google users find to be truly helpful.
Be that blogging helper.
You’ll get your Google traffic back.
