Is your blog's Google ranking shuffling? - This is how I fixed it.

[RGallowitz]

Hi

I thought I'd give a quick tip to help some of you here who are running blog styled websites and trying to rank your site in the search engines or at least achieve a stable ranking for your home page's keyword/s.

What's the one most noticeable thing about a blog?
- it's the fact that the content is ALWAYS fresh.

In order for you to achieve a stable ranking for your home page, you need to provide Google with some grip-content on your blog's home page at least.

By simply having a title, description and then your blog posts, won't help you achieve a stable ranking.

Most blog users simply change their header image, install the All-In-One SEO plugin and then blog viciously with the hopes that the top level domain will achieve a ranking.

You can or will get ranked that way,but you will find that you constantly fluctuate in rankings. Please note that this doesn't apply to brand new sites. Brand new sites always fluctuate in rankings in the beginning.

The reason behind the fluctuation is due to Google's bot coming to your blog very often and guess what...finding NEW content. It will analyse the content and then match it up with your title and description. If your content isn't targeted, the title and description won't carry the ranking alone.

So let's not allow that to happen!

Solution?

Create grip content.

Create a short descriptive piece of your blog below your header image or at the very top of you site's home page. It's a dedicated area where you have a statement about what your blog is about.

This allows you to add your main keyword in there and it will result in a much stable ranking because Google will always have that keyword filled/related content.

I have done it and it works like a charm every single time.


Enjoy the weekend and happy blogging!


Regards
Reinhardt

[Zeus66]

That's just good on-page SEO for blogs. I like the idea of "grip content." Nice analogy. Thanks for sharing some solid advice!

John

[Branlan17]

I'm building a niche site that isn't a blog per se (though it has one) but I am having a primarily static home page with a keyword optimized review and opt in on it. Then I'm making a new page for articles pertaining to each individual keyword, sort of the same, I suppose :P

[kvg1962]

I like your idea and think I will relook at what I am doing. Well done for sharing this.

[RGallowitz]

Originally Posted by Branlan17

I'm building a niche site that isn't a blog per se (though it has one) but I am having a primarily static home page with a keyword optimized review and opt in on it. Then I'm making a new page for articles pertaining to each individual keyword, sort of the same, I suppose :P

Yeah, having a static page is a good thing AND a bad thing.

Static = no change.
Good for rankings in the short, but not so good in the long run.

By having BOTH on the same page, now that is the combo you want to aim for, which is what I have tried to convey


Cheers!
Reinhardt

[Matt Burns]

Definitely been having this issue for my business page. Thanks for the tips RGallowitz!

[NewBeing]

Nice idea Reinhardt, how do you do that?

Do you edit the header file or maybe use the text widget?

[johnben1444]

Thanks for the information my blog has been fluctuating on the serp for a while now, thou the reason could be as a result of it been new. I will apply your information.

[rft123]

I have just posted a new blog site. I will definitely apply your tip to it.

Thanks for the info.

[J Bold]

You do this between the body tags or the header tags?

[Fernando Veloso]

Funny cause last night integrated same solution to a couple WP sites cause I saw a competitor going VERY well with same technique.

Hopefully the test will bring good results.

You doing this for how long?

[jasonmorgan]

Solid stuff.

Is there are certain word count or strategy that you think is sufficient to keep the bots on track?

Also, do you think page location is an important factor? Would a text box at the top of the sidebar have a similar effect or is that content too low on the page?

And, do you think the standard description text that is typically found beneath the title could be used for this purpose?

[jan roos]

I am fairly new to Wordpress. What's the easiest way to add this to my blogs?

[Intrepreneur]

Only when you want the homepage to rank but other than for ranking the homepage it's not much use.

[Peter Gregory]

Originally Posted by Intrepreneur

Only when you want the homepage to rank but other than for ranking the homepage it's not much use.

But isn't that exactly what the OP was going for with this post?

[WareTime]

Some good info there Reinhardt

[jasonmorgan]

Only when you want the homepage to rank but other than for ranking the homepage it's not much use.

You can take the concept and expand on it...

Something along the lines of

If is_home
show page description

If is_cateogry
show category description

If is_single
show text from a custom field

you get the idea. of course, this takes a bit of knowledge with php, html and css but you can pimp your page in some very creative and SEO effective ways.

[thecableguy]

Originally Posted by NewBeing

Nice idea Reinhardt, how do you do that?

Do you edit the header file or maybe use the text widget?

I'm trying it using the sticky (one of the edit buttons in WP) feature in Wordpress, along with the "More" in the visual screen.

[RGallowitz]

Originally Posted by jasonmorgan

You can take the concept and expand on it...

Something along the lines of

If is_home
show page description

If is_cateogry
show category description

If is_single
show text from a custom field

you get the idea. of course, this takes a bit of knowledge with php, html and css but you can pimp your page in some very creative and SEO effective ways.

That's a good idea. Some programming or "extracting" content to the top of each page will be good.

By the way guys, I'm referring to CONTENT and NOT the metas.


Cheers
Reinhardt

[GeorgR.]

Originally Posted by RGallowitz

Yeah, having a static page is a good thing AND a bad thing.

Static = no change.
Good for rankings in the short, but not so good in the long run.

By having BOTH on the same page, now that is the combo you want to aim for, which is what I have tried to convey


Cheers!
Reinhardt

Usually i have a static page/sticky post on the front, and below are some teasers of the last recent posts. Furthermore you should have a recent post/archives and categories widget.

Dont worry, google will see your recent posts ALSO if you have a static front page

[jasonmorgan]

That's a good idea. Some programming or "extracting" content to the top of each page will be good.

I've been doing something similar for a while now but your post has me thinking that maybe what I've been doing isn't enough. Which is why I was asking the newbieish questions.

Stability has been a huge issue for a couple of my sites and I've been trying to nail down why they bounce around so much.

I use an old post rotating plug-in to keep the site appearing fresh without having to add new content but it also (according to your observations) could be keeping the bots constantly guessing about site content and topic, which could be the reason why these sites have wild ranking swings.

I've seen other sites doing something similar to what you are suggesting with a box in the header with a paragraph of keyword stuffed text.

After reading your initial post I can see how this can help a site gain some stability when it comes to content, keywords and niche, especially if you're running a blog that has a constant stream of fresh content. The new content might not always match the overall theme,niche and keywords of a site and is confusing SE bots and thus screwing up rankings.

If this is the case, the next step is to figure out the ideal solution to keep a site that has a consistent stream of fresh content on-track for desired keywords.

A header section sounds like a great start but what about the rest of the page.

Yes, I've had a couple of beers tonight so... yeah, this could be a tough read even after I proof read it