3 Ways To Embrace the "Google Dance"
What Is The Google Dance?
To be fair the term Google Dance is an outdated slang expression used to denote the volatility of new website rankings. Historically Google changed its algorithm every so often to best reflect ..............Whatever it was that Google wanted reflecting. Then the effect was like a savage cull some websites were wiped out and some were rewarded. It's not fair to say that Google has ever penalised sites per see but they have historically rewarded some more than others. These results happened in real time which made them savage. Some websites came back from the dead, whilst others were sandboxed forever. In other words buries universe deep in sand, never to see the light of day again.
Every Dog Has It's Day
Google makes sure that every dog has its day, Although it is often a mystery as to why and how. Today the Google dance works in a slightly different way. The Google dance is a bit like the Hokey Cokey.
You put your left arm in
Your left arm out
In, out, in, out
You shake it all about
You do the hokey cokey
And you turn around
That's what it's all about
It does go on but I am sure you get the drift even though you may never have heard the song. That's what the Google dance looks like today. One day you are basking in glory having your site on page two and the next gone it's gone like a will 'f the wisp, disappeared in a poof of smoke. No matter how hard you search you can't find you article. A few days later, a few weeks later it comes back on page 9 and then it disappears again.
Accept the fact that it takes a while to settle down. This is how the process works. Google finds an article, the first one you have ever written. It thinks this is interesting - new content for me to do something with. That is what Google does it searches for new content by sending out little robots hungry and thirsty for new info.
Unfortunately having found it, it has absolutely no idea what to do with it. It is a bit like a baby presented with a potty for the first time. The chances are it will put it on its head. That baby wasn't born with the knowledge that eventually the adults will teach it to sit on it and pee in it It does the only thing it can do with it stick it on its head.
So Google has found the content this is called indexing It means it is no longer lost in cyber space it has been acknowledged Google doesn't know what to do with that one article So it holds the info until it can get a term of reference. When you publish the second piece of content Google bots find it. Their little eyes and ears perk up as they have found a second piece. Now it becomes part of a jigsaw!
Volatility is a norma
The more pieces of a jigsaw you put into place the more complete a picture Google gets. Google can't tell what the big picture is going to look like with that one piece.
This Google dance is an exciting and necessary part of Search Engine optimization it can go on for a year or more in new websites. So embrace it and learn from it rather than checking it every five minutes.
If you look at your stats with the hand sight of time you will see the early days' figures spike up and done in both ranking and visitors.
Volatility id Getting attention from the big G
Volatility is a normal process this spike in rank and traffic. It means that Google is paying very close attention to your site. This is what I believe happens outside of any algorithm Google randomly gives you a higher rank outside of any other SEO activity. This is the equivalent of running it up the flagpole and seeing if anyone salutes it.
my hypothesis after decades of studying this is Google shakes things about just to see what if anything happens.
Some of the newbies amongst you will think this is just too random! I know I get it but it is my belief.
It gets sent up and down the SERPS like some demented puppet. Eventually, Google will decide where to rank it fairly. This is a long standing process, especially for a new site.
As I said when you have the hindsight of a few years of figures you will see months of huge spikes, then a plateau, then spikes again then after about fourteen months, in my opinion, there is another fairly long plateaux. Then the process slows down. Eventually it will slow down to where it will settle. This is of course not be permanent you can be knocked off your perch.
Then the whole process starts again as you try and get more links to claw yourself back to page 1.
Factors that Affect the Google Dance and What you can Do
Age
The newer it is the more volatile this process will be. Don't worry about it, trust the process works and keep on reaching new ideas for content.
Competitiveness
The most competitive niches have the most obvious dancing especially niches like MMO, Weight loss etc.
Changes
The more changes you are making to your site in terms of web redesign, launching new pages etcetera the more the Google dance occurs If you add this to a new site both of these factors can come into play and therefore make the situation worse.
In conclusion, my advice is to embrace the fact Google is setting you out for attention It won't last forever you just have to wait for the process to stop. Its a game and like all games it has it's rules
Recent Comments
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Isn't it the hokey POKEY? Sorry to be a nitpicker but that's how I remember it from my dancing days!
I've heard both used. As a child I thought it was pokey, but then realised that it was cokey lol
To keep changing every so often says that they don't know what they want. I try to follow what WA says because I am sure that they know (after 15 years) much more than I do about the subject and hang on for the ride. Excellent Post & Share TheCatherine & wish you the best.
This is an very interesting blog post, Catherine. I must admit that I have wondered about the intricacies of google ranking. This brings it into focu a bit better. Unfortunately, at the end, you do affirm that ultimately ranking is beyond our control. Great post.. thanks.
No I am not confirming it is beyond your control if you have done your keyword research it will happen it is the timing that is beyond your control
That's very true. I was just thinking about the way I keep checking after doing everything the way I think is right. Good point. If we follow what we have learned, things will work out.
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Great post. It can be frustrating when you're up one day and down the next and can't figure out why.
Thanks for explaining the rules of the game. I'll be sure to keep them in mind and not drive myself crazy.
I hear you I know the frustration