Google Have Mercy
For those of you who have spent the past two weeks trying to understand why your page ranking has dropped and your pay per click on Google spending has increased, don't worry, you are not alone.
Since last September 1st, 2016, I have been observing a drastic drop in page rankings, while the organic traffic seems to be consistent in some places and not in others. I have been daily monitoring and communicating with every single SEO experts I know trying to understand how to get my rankings back. Nonetheless, there is not consensus in the SEO community with regards to what is truly happening or how to tackle the changes in rankings and the inconsistencies in the data because nobody truly knows what Google is doing.
The SEO experts have been on guard trying to understand an unannounced change in Google’s algorithm. The new algorithm change is called Google Possum and it is the biggest update we have seen in local searched since Pigeon in 2014. The changes have affected not only the organic searches and rankings but also local searches (maps). A summary of the changes can be found at: Google Penguin 4.0, Possum, And Craziness Update September 2016
In addition, as if this wasn’t enough, Google also began transitioning to the new ETA (Expanded text ads). Hence, we already have spent a reasonable amount of hours making changes on our campaigns to comply with the new ad format (PPC campaigns). At least, this change was announced at the beginning of the year, thus, I had time to prepare for it. If you haven't heard about this, here is article written by WorwdStream where you can find some recommendations to improve your ads and adapt to the new format (7 Best Practices for Google’s NEW Expanded Text Ads)
In summary, Google is playing with its algorithm and we are all paying for it. YES, we are paying for it. As you might be aware of, when your page rank decreases, your ads spending increases. We ended up paying more per click, per lead and per impression. I don't mind having to comply and adapt to the changes in the algorithm if it will benefit the consumers, but it is not acceptable that Google decreases your page rankings for two weeks and then suddenly your rankings come back to its normal level. I am wondering if Google was having a cash flow issue and decided to play with its algorithm to get some extra cash? Google will keep changing and we have no option but to comply with the algorithm changes. My question is: WHY DO BUSINESSES HAVE TO PAY FOR IT? How about if you announce that some changes are coming? BTW Google, you are affecting the businesses that are paying for your ads.