Lessons from the rank tank fiasco

35
2.8K followers
Updated

It is quite interesting to read the different views about what happened with the rank today. Some went down and some went up. Of course those who went up would be happy and those who went down would be disappointed. There are various groups of thought.

The rank ascendors

Those who have been working hard to reach certain levels of rank and they get a booster like today. Some will feel proud about it and some will not care as they think it is undeserved.

When they earn a badge for the first time like a Top 200 or jump to Top 100 it is a reason to celebrate.

The rank indifferent

There are many who find the WA rank as not important because it does not generate money. They are focused on working on their niche sites and making their business success. This is kind of a central goals for most if not all of us.

So this rank tanking is immaterial to them as it does not affect their core business.

Your site health is another indicator of progress as it speaks to how often you update your site, what quality, how much engagement you are getting and how much you are responding. This is good feedback and will help a person push ahead, revise their strategy and also feel like they are achieving something.

The unhappy droppers

Many people have been working hard for various reasons. When you are new to an environment, progress indicators are very key and make a difference. If you are not yet making any money online, you want something that will keep you going. Sometimes even if you are making money already, this may still be important to you. This can come in the form on how many blogs you post, how many comments or likes you get, the quality of those comments and how useful they are.

In WA, another indicator of progress is the rank. It reflects how much activity you are doing broken down into how much help your are giving other, how much creative activity you do and generally how do you interact, reading, liking and commenting, doing your course work e.t.c. It is an important indicator of progress. And with the badges of top ranks, it is a small celebration one can wear proudly and keep those engines running even when there is no revenue pouring in.

Some have targets which include the rank that they are working and it is an anchor

My position

I was a little surprised and somewhat disappointed when I saw my rank exit the Top 50 this morning. I have put in a lot of work towards it and I track it daily. It is my anchor for progress in WA. It is my momentum engine. I thrive on variety so WA activity provides me that variety. I can write about any topic, I can read about various subjects that people blog about, I can ask questions when I need to, I can help someone when I can, I can do a lesson when I want to, and all the while I can work on my niche sites. I am productive when I am very active on various non-related subjects so this keeps my momentum going. And the reward of rank is very good feedback and a token celebration.

However, I know that it is not everything. I got over my feeling of disappointment as I read various feedback from others.

Lessons learnt

I would like to advise other that, please keep in mind there are different schools of thought, that people are different and have different reasons and different motivational factors driving them. What may be true and valuable to you can be false and insignificant to the next person. They say one man's meat is another man's poison they say.

Be ready for any calamities. I was just thinking, if you are not focusing on your rank and focusing on your niche site and you get hacked. Your business can come to a halt or can be drastically affected without warning. What do you do? Are you ready for such an eventuality. Do you do backups regularly of your site. Do you follow security developments in the webspace to make sure you are covered?

I know some friends who are Uber operators whose cars were flooded in the Johannesburg flash floods this week. Their business has been affected while they are dealing with insurance. None of them had business insurance to cover loss for non-operation. Now they are considering it.

So my takeaway from this fiasco is, as a businessman, be ready for disappointments. It does not matter what happens to you, what is important is what you do about it. Stay focused and stay motivated to beat the odds.

Have a great day.

P/S I wonder if there is insurance to cover rank loss, LOL

Login
Create Your Free Wealthy Affiliate Account Today!
icon
4-Steps to Success Class
icon
One Profit Ready Website
icon
Market Research & Analysis Tools
icon
Millionaire Mentorship
icon
Core “Business Start Up” Training

Recent Comments

41

Life is a roller coaster ride. Attitude will be the deciding factor to how we progress or digress. Staying focused on your goals is the key. It's not where we are at but where we are going.

That is great perspective. We just had as tyre puncture on our way to our destination. We just need to fix it and get back on the road.

Really positive take on this Tyrrell. I have seen that many people are disappointed, I am guessing and hoping that this is just another glitch caused by the massive update, which is great by the way, and I'm sure it will get sorted soon :)

I recall in September when it happened. The following day it seemed to recover to within one position of previous ranking.

Yes thats true. You are quite right, there is no use in bothering about it!! After all, we didn't come here just to get ranked in WA!! :)

Nice post! There's an explanation for everything, and I'm sure we will soon find out what happened with the ranking system.

Thank you, I am certain we will.

Hi, Tyrell money can not buy lessons like that one, great inspiration my friend. in a way, the bad times help create that desire and bring forth new intensity.

That is how we grow.

Nice point of view. I'd admit that I reacted "rank indifferent", but I honestly feel sorry for others who religiously worked hard for higher ranks. Sorry for that. But anyway, time to move on. Just like the stock market, this is just a minor blip on the screen.

Especially with our virtual marletplace, the chances of sudden and drastic mishaps is a constant risk. There was that cyber attached about a week ago that affected major players. We need to be resilient.

Hi Tyrell, you have put things in perspective very clearly. Could be that this earth tremor could make many re-assess their reasons to be at WA. Build profitable websites. The buttons bells and badges are nice, but only of secondary importance, Good post. Regards, Chris

Some events serve to make as take.stock in order to see how best to move forward indeed. Thanks Chris.

You title here is appropriate! Another take-away from this is "communication" .. communicate what you are going to do and how it effects people .. failure to do that leaves people confused and upset.

Cheers, William.

That is true. A few words will settle people's emotions or prepare them for an unavoidable eventuality if that is the case.

Great post, Tyrell! Thanks for sharing!

Good blog, thanks.

Hi Tyrellch, I hope things get back to normal soon. Irv.

Me too Irvine.

See more comments

Login
Create Your Free Wealthy Affiliate Account Today!
icon
4-Steps to Success Class
icon
One Profit Ready Website
icon
Market Research & Analysis Tools
icon
Millionaire Mentorship
icon
Core “Business Start Up” Training