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If ranking were easy, everyone would be number one, to paraphrase Search Engine Land contributor Bruce Clay from his latest article.
There has been a lot of anger about Google killing websites and industries in the wake of the March 2024 core update, which is still rolling out. But some of us have been here before many times (e.g., Florida, Panda and Penguin were all devastating algorithm updates). I still vividly remember what ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in 2007: “We don’t actually want you to be successful. … The fundamental way to increase your rank is to increase your relevance.”
Google doesn’t care whether you succeed or rank – or even exist in 2024. In SEO, you have to earn rankings/visibility, every day of every month of every year, consistently. Google doesn’t owe you traffic, rankings or a living. SEO isn’t easy – it can’t be.
Search is an unfair, zero-sum game. There can only be one number one. And for every winner, there is a loser.
So don’t waste time complaining about Google (or anybody or anything else). Use your time to be more productive. Figure out a strategy to move forward.
As one fictional ex-president once put it: “You are entitled to nothing. … You build your future. It isn’t handed to you.” So keep building – or start rebuilding!
Danny Goodwin,
Managing Editor, Search Engine Land & SMX
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