An Update Concerning Google and A Lot of Frustration
I just found out some bad news concerning Google and SEO. And it effects a lot of us. Have you ever heard of Google's "Medic" Update 2018 concerning SEO? If you are in the Health and Wellness niche and the Finance niche, then this effects you!
It seems that people in these niches (including me) will have a serious problems getting their websites ranked high with Google. Google calls these sites, "Your money or your life" websites because it is your money or possibly your life if you rely on these types of websites for help.
Google says that content writers of these type of sites need to be in the category, E.A.T. (Expertise, Authority, and Trust). Meaning people who write content for their websites must be experters in these areas, have Authority, and have Trust. In other words, you must be physicians, nurses, nutritionalist, financial advisors with education and experience in the finance area.
People with these types of qualifications will have top ranking with Google while people who don't have expertise in these areas will be like bottom dwells hoping to get the best rankings.
Please don't message me saying I don't know what I am talking about nor am I ignorant because I am just giving out the info.
I am very pissed because I have been working my butt off writing top-quality content for my weight loss/belly fat website and it seems because of this I am doing it all in vain.
It is suggested that from the beginning we shouldn't have even considered these type of websites/blogs if we are not experts in these niches.
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Yes. I was very panicked when I learned of this last summer after it first came out. I seemed to have a drop in traffic to my pet health site and no-one knew if pet health would be considered the same as human health. Luckily, my traffic has rebounded for that site and I regularly get #1 ranked posts above veterinarian run sites and the big name brands.
For my second site which is all about human nutrition/nutrient deficiencies and supplementation, I still don't know how much this new change is affecting me. The site was just starting out when the changes went into effect and it was always my secondary site so I didn't have a lot of content on it yet or get high traffic or rankings. I am still not sure what will happen with it. I am keeping it my secondary site in case the update is as bad as it sounds.
However, there are ways around the "authority" component. If you read about it you will see it is recommended that we link to authority sites as one way to raise our own authority. I am trying to do that more. I plan to always link to other sites/research and studies when I post on my nutrition site.
Short of asking you to submit your qualifications I fail to see how a Google Spider could tell.Yes the Google Algorithm might detect if you don't have experience in this but only if you had not first done your research. What I would say to anyone who is getting into the blogging/website industry is that one of the biggest components to blogging is research. The more you do the more informed you will get. Keep writing your blogs, share publicly on social media. Eventually your readers will come. All the best
When I write my articles I do a lot of research and try and write high quality articles. I have put out an article giving my own experiences with my own weight loss journey and I state that in my articles and if it's from an authority I put it in quotes.
Danny
True, but often even the research is conflicting. It got so bad that Dr. Oz at one point said just stick to the basic vitamins A, B, C , D and E and you will be alright. lol
A health fitness site I have from last year is still going from strength to strength even though I am no expert!
Why?
Because I wrote detailed longer reviews than my competitors and I got a few comments added also which many other sites don't have.
So don't give up just yet!
On my posts I do a lot of research and when I write my posts I write an average of 2,000 to 2,600 words and it's high quality. I don't state anything that if it's from an expert, I put it in quotes.
Thanks.
Danny
Hmmm, does that mean if we had prior experience, say, we lost 56 pounds by doing this xxx, or by taking this xxx, that this doesn’t constitute authority? I believe that Google is looking for websites that are providing real, truthful, information and not regurgitated information.
Thank you for sharing. Your insight is an update to previous operations.
Ken
Well, I have wrote an article on my own personal experiences about being injured as an Army Ranger, having 16 surgeries and battling my problems with gaining weight and losing 35 lbs. To me that is authority. I also write about reviews and tips on how to lose weight naturally writing by experts and I give them credit.
I guess since Google owns most things they can call all the shots and expect we just take it, which we sometimes don't have a choice in the matter.
Danny
To quote a comment from one article discussing this topic: “There’s no “fix” for pages that may perform less well other than to remain focused on building great content. Over time, it may be that your content may rise relative to other pages.”
Best thing I think is to remain focused and roll with the flow many will be able to work through the change.
Barry
Thanks Barry, that's what I do, I research and put out high-quality content. Usually my post have between 2,000 to 2,600 words and I give experts credit for want I use in my posts. Sometimes it just pisses me off about Google.
Danny
Thank you for sharing this information. That’s not very nice of google. I know that a lot of people on WA post really good content that people are looking for and those qualified professionals sometimes don’t cover these relevant topics most of the time. Also, I know that some content are very popular and so drives traffic which indirectly helps google’s popularity as well. So my question is How are they going to stop people from patronizing those sites if they choose to ? are they planing on putting out a policy update or something? I know you might not know the answer but it’s just something to think about when looking at the big picture.
I don't really know what's going on with Google. I heard this as several updates to a lot of training courses I take besides WA. I know I will keep putting out high-quality content as I have before with between 2,000 and 2,600 words.
Just putting out info.
Danny
Doctors are so busy with sick patients that they really don't have a lot of time to explain anything. Since the Affordable Care Act has become law their patient load has been doubled but their income has remained the same or less because the government will only pay so much for certain procedures. Nurses and doctors are overworked and that puts patients at risk. I actually read that the number one cause of death in this country was due to modern medicine itself. There is a word for it, but I can't recall what it is. I know that two of my friends were given prescriptions that conflicted with each other in spite of the fact that the pharmacists are supposed to catch these things. There is an app called drugs.com that can catch these things. That is how I discovered the errors.
This is so true another great reason why google’s announcement is not in favour of their audience. I mean if people here on WA were not doing their research and putting out low quality work then I can understand but that’s not the case here. It’s absolutely ridiculous! People here do work hard and they put so much research and work towards their content. So not sure why google is putting everyone inside a box.
It may have to do with the fact that once a person considers someone an authority on something they stop questioning the validity of what they are saying. In my opinion Pam, we should be critical thinkers about everything, especially our health.
Well Teri, I just told Fran that I should or probably know as much as a doctor. I've had 16 different surgeries, fibromyalgia, staff infection that I contracted in a hospital after one surgery, spinal meningitis, died 3 times on the operating table, and a host of other medical problems and I've been on every narcotic pain med and over 25 spinal epiderials, and every muscle relaxer and anti-depressant that I should be a doctor or pharmacist. I told hospital staff one time, that I wanted my own wing to the hospital because between my insurance company and me, I have bought it.
Also my fiance, she asked me what a medicine is or what would be good for her because she says I know as much as a pharmacist.
Danny
Hmmmmm, this is news to me and very disturbing because I am in the health niche and I cannot consider myself an expert there. O well, if its true, then I will have to start over in a new niche.
No, just keep writing on your niche and give as much information as you can. Even quote health professionals but make sure you credit them with the quote and possibly leave a link to the authors page.
I thought that quoting and linking to authors was a no, no and guaranteed to push down ranking?
Well Russell, I have a weight loss blog/website and I'm not giving up on it. I'll still put out high-quality content. But I am looking at finding another niche to have a second stream of income.
Stay with it and don't give up because there are many website in the weight loss niche that are on 1st page of Google and these people have no clue.
Just putting out some info.
Danny
It would be great if everyone on this platform that posts on health and nutrition could review our posts on these subjects before we actually publish them; but how do we make that happen?
I have to say that as a dietitian (though my work through WA is totally unrelated to this field), I'm actually glad about that update. It is very scary the amount of bad/wrong advice I've seen or heard about from some websites that look legit. One of our biggest daily struggles in the health profession is trying to undo damage from people reading garbage online.
I'm sorry about your hard work though! As a hard working internet marketer that's really tough to deal with.
I'm sorry but my website doesn't give out medical advice on the subject of weight loss. What I share is content from experts in the field and I put it in quotes.
I never suggested you did, I'm just offering a perspective from the other side. It sounds like you have a good site.
So what do you think about the issue of how much fat we should eat, from a dietician's point of view?
Could you refer me to a piece of literature? Not looking to debate. Just interested in the opinion of someone who makes their living doing this and has probably seen a lot of negative outcomes from people getting irresponsible advice.
Sure, I'll have a look later. I'm on maternity leave at the moment so don't have my usual access to resources. If I haven't gotten back to you by this time tomorrow please send me a reminder in case I forget!
Thanks Emily. Good luck with the baby. Wish those little buggers came with instruction manuals, don't you?
Thank you, and yes a manual would be good haha. Maybe a factory reset option would be good too sometimes!
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Don't sweat it. I never put too much stock in seo in the first place. There are thousands of people building websites these days and I don't care how unique your niche is I just don't see how many of us are going to be ranked high enough to be seen on traditional search engines anyway. Your best bet is Pinterest, Facebook and YouTube. And they are wrong by the way. It is the mavericks who have made the real advances in medicine. Thank you for the blog idea. Let's see how long it takes the AMA to catch up with the regenerative and integrative medicine practitioners that are enlightening us about stem cell therapy. There's a good chance your own doctor doesn't even know anything about it. I have an appointment coming up, routine exam. Think I will ask him.
This is a great opportunity to mention this. For those who do Keto, the diet that recommends eating fat as 70% of your diet, I just read a report that when we eat too much fat our gall bladder dumps bile into our intestines and researchers now believe that this may be the cause of colorectal cancer and leaky gut. Also, powdered turmeric is not easily absorbed by the body. In order for it to be more bioavailable to the body it needs to have black pepper added to it, a healthy fat such as coconut oil and to be heated, otherwise it doesn't make it past the liver and into the bloodstream where it can get to and benefit all the cells of the body. When it gets stuck in the liver and gall bladder it can cause problems with your gall bladder. You don't want that because the gallbladder is necessary to break down fats. If google is going to limit ranking people on the topic of natural medicine they should recognize those who research things in the lab not the practitioners because they basically do what the labs and pharmaceutical salesmen tell them to do in my opinion based on my observation and experiences.
Pardon me for getting carried away.
Well said!
I just put out an article by an expert which I quoted saying to use have at least 80% of good fat in your diet daily. Some of the things I put in my post are from my own experience and what has worked for me.
Danny
See, you don't know what to believe which is why google has done what they did probably. Could you private message me that link?
You are so right.
You didn't get carried away. Great information that I got a lot out of.
Cheers
Dave
I absolutely agree!!!! I have had to learn on my own for years since regular doctors couldn't/wouldn't help me. They said I would have to take immune suppressing drugs and I would have no other option. I don't take them and never will. One of the "side effects" is leukemia! My Dad died of leukemia, does anyone really think taking a drug that causes it would be smart for me!!!
I have discovered that many of my problems are due to nutrient deficiencies such as Magnesium, Vit D etc. These are very common. In fact the majority of Americans have dangerously low levels of many common nutrients. This is due to overuse of soil in modern, industrial agriculture and many other factors such as pollution, stress, medicines, poor diet etc. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S. This is interesting because lack of magnesium causes heart disease and most of us don't get enough. Magnesium needs to be in balance with calcium in order for the heart to beat correctly. Women were told for decades to take calcium but usually never took extra magnesium to go with it. That imbalance can cause hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, heart arrhythmia and other more dangerous forms of heart disease.
Calcium allows muscles to contract. Magnesium allows them to relax. For the heart to pump, you need both in the proper balance (more magnesium than calcium). When my Dad took magnesium on my recommendation he was able to stop taking nitroglycerine pills for his heart! The heart specialists admitted it would help after he told them he was already taking it, but they never offered that information in the first place. Drug companies cannot make big profits on natural vitamins and minerals because they can't patent them, therefore they push their pharmaceuticals...where the money is. Most problems can be treated with these basic building blocks of life that we all need but are not getting enough of.
I could go on all day with other examples...like the fact I recently learned that nutrient deficiencies can cause cataracts...the doctors just tell you to get cataract surgery...which is the most common surgery in the U.S. Medicine is an industry here, all about making profit.
My website about nutrients and deficiency is in this boat with those that are being penalized with this update so I have strong feelings about the subject!
Jessica
We know that adipose tissue, more commonly known as fat, has stem cells in it, but do the stem cells survive the digestive process? How does cooking fat effect them? I'm pretty sure that the scientist extracting stem cells from fat to use in therapy are not cooking the fat before they do it. On the other hands, I remember a movie call Lorenzo's oil where this child had Muscular diystropyh or muscular sclerosis, don't remember, but the US medical community could not tell the child's parents what they could do to heal their child so they sat out on a quest of their own and discovered that the child's problem was a deficiency of oleic acid, which is an oil. But honestly Danny I just don't see how that much fat could be healthy. You would be so satisfied that you wouldn't want to eat any vegetables and fruits. My neighbor just got out of the hospital with a potassium deficiency because she wasn't eating any vegetables or fruits. Anyway, carbohydrates are what cause non alcoholic fatty liver, not eating fats. The thing is we should never eat more of anything than we can use and metabolize because that's when we get in trouble, don't you think?
I see you were writing about deficiencies here as I was too!
That's the game changer, your personal experiences.
No one can take that away from YOU.
Marketed properly you can be an authority in your health niche.
When you speak on ways you have dealt with your medical issues using natural medicine, your content will outrank the so called experts.
Most of them( so called experts) are just waiting for fresh info to steal and make it their own. This happens quite often
Because they have Dr attached to their name does that make their words golden?
I don't think so.
Some of them as I said before steal info from the little man and step on his head to reach the top. You must embrace that this happens.
Don't be afraid there is room at the top for you. Regardless of EAT, be YOU and SHINE.
Make your day a great one.
Blessings always
Maxine
Thank you Maxine, you are totally right. I appreciate your comments and be blessed.
Danny
I agree with everything you just said, in fact I'm not sure if this is your comment or mine. lol. But all the greats in alternative medicine are now being proven right and AMA doctors are even beginning to embrace alternative medicine and even taking credit for it. How many doctors have I heard actually give credit to their patients for opening their eyes to the value of micro nutrients? Several in fact.
Personally, I wish the FDA would regulate vitamins. Then the health insurance companies would pay for them and the really good ones are usually expensive at 50 to 100 bucks a bottle. True health is still a luxury of the rich even with the affordable care act in place. The beauty of this program is that we can all be wealthy potentially. Things are changing and the youth are stepping up and making these changes and the public is becoming more informed and demanding them. I really believe that we are very close to the fulfillment of the Lord's prayer: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Access to the internet is making it damn near impossible for anyone to fool anyone else for very long.
Yes, Danny. I am in the health niche and I will continue to write quality content to help my readers.
After I was diagnosed with severe glaucoma, diabetes, hypertension and arthritis, I learned how to manage and maintain them using prescription and natural medicines.
I haven't presented the details of my
health journey in my website as yet.
Sometime soon I plan to do so.
Don't you think my readers would like to know how I use moringa, golden seal, green papaya, turmeric and garlic for positive light?
No matter what I plan to fight forward because my health and others depend on these messages.
Blessings always
Maxine
You are such a blessing to this community Maxine.
Yes. I pay an absolute fortune on supplements. I have great insurance but they aren't covered. It can be $500 per month between myself, my husband and our pets. Produce is really expensive here too so eating healthy is a challenge.
I agree with everything you said about food, medicine etc. Teri, but I have to disagree about getting seen on the search results. I did a post here yesterday about my latest website post that went straight to #1 on Yahoo and Bing and #2 on Google. It is still there today. I have many posts that have reached #1. It is entirely possible if we follow the training here.
I saw that! Sometimes it's nice to be wrong. lol
Yes. Thanks!!