A Google Update Killed Me – Can I Make a Comeback?

It’s the worst-case scenario that millions live in fear of every single day. You open up your analytics account, check out the traffic from last couple of days and notice a drop of 50%, 75% or even up to 90% - literally overnight. And once you establish that this wasn’t a server problem, you come to the terrifying realisation that Google has worked its magic with another update and sent your site spinning into oblivion.

So of course, this is the moment when doom and gloom takes over and proactivity goes out of the window. Your link building ‘efforts’ and chosen SEO copywriting services have killed-off your website and all hope is lost…right?

Not necessarily – there’s always every possibility of a comeback, just as long as you’re willing to put in the effort and haven’t done something truly hideous/illegal that’s left you banned for life!

Don’t Point the Finger

First and foremost, don’t waste a second of time or energy pointing the finger of blame at anyone else. It doesn’t matter if you think your SEO copywriting services have let you down or you’re convinced that Google’s decision to demote your site was unfair, it’s happened and there’s really nothing you can do about it. You won’t get a refund from the SEO partners, Google won’t apologise and all the moaning in the world won’t make it any better. Instead, shout and swear your head off for a few minutes and then get ready to stage your comeback.

Aim First for Square One

Next up, you have to accept the rather painful realty that you aren’t actually back at square one with your site, but somewhere in the negatives. If you have had your credit stripped or received a black mark against your name, you actually have to work to get back to square one first rather than going out and looking for ways to once again climb the ladder. Technically, this means that even a new business that went live 24 hours ago has a distinct advantage over you, but the sooner you accept this, the better. What this means in practice is assessing why you ended up in trouble in the first place and removing/repairing the offending items as fast as possible. If it was black-hat link building, get rid of the links. If it was poor copy, remove it and replace it. You need to erase your mistakes before once again gunning for glory.

By Lisa Morton

This blog post was brought to you by Lisa Morton on behalf of Websearchseo.co.uk. Click here to find out more about WebSearch SEO’s range of innovative Internet marketing and organic SEO strategies.

How To See The World Backpack Style

The great thing about holidays is there are so many different ways to have one. Holidays are all about getting away from your normal environment with friends or family or partner to enjoy time together in alternative settings.

From poolside breaks in resorts and villas to roughing it in tents and camper vans, there is a diverse range of holiday possibilities – thankfully, or holidaying could get very boring!

One holiday method that is very far from boring is backpacking. In fact if you are the sort of person who really wants to experience life as it really is at grassroots level in whatever country you choose to visit, then backpacking is the ultimate route to take.

Naturally choosing your backpacking destination could cause a bit of a headache without some background information, so to help get an idea you might be interested in the following country files:

The Islands of Greece – fabulous food, wonderful sunshine, glorious beaches and clear blue sea, the islands of Greece give you plenty of scope for checking out different island cultures and landscape, walking and exploring and equally chilling by the sea with vibrant nightlife to let your hair down.

The Vastness of India – has a range of fantastic opportunities for savouring the life and cultures of this rich and colourful continent with myriad differences to take in wherever you go…and that can take some time as you’ll need to be ready for 24 hours of journeying simply to get from part to another. Not for the feint hearted though, you will need to be ready to rough it big time and be properly aware of dietary and travel advice.

Stunning New Zealand – an island full of breathtaking landscape wherever you go exploring, this is the place where all three of The Lord of The Rings movies were filmed, as well as hit TV series Lost. If you found these locations stunning on the big and little screen, you’ll be even more amazed by them in real life.

Cultured Antigua – with its exquisite mix of dreamy paradise and colonial history there is never a dull moment in Antigua (the rampant sun makes sure of that!) and makes a great backpack destination. Combining exploring with relaxing by the sea on beautiful white sandy beaches, you get the best of everything with Antigua holidays.

Sensational Serbia – landlocked Serbia is a fascinating place to go backpacking as it has a deep history, interesting cultural background and fantastic landscape and mountains to go trekking in. Belgrade is well worth spending time in as it is one of Europe’s oldest cities and second largest in East Central Europe with many great museums and art to take in.

Pulsating Peru – a much-loved and highly popular backpacker destination, Peru and its’ Inca Trail has witnessed millions of visitors eager to see this quite extraordinary South American range. The highlight of course is the ancient Inca temples of Machu Picchu which have gradually been restored since 1976 but the journey there will be just as rewarding.

By Mitch Wicking

A journalist and reporter for many years Mitch enjoys investigating Life's little wonders for consumercheckpoint.co.uk, http://holidayplace.co.uk/ and many other domains. He also wrote an article about How to Prep Kids for Long-Haul Flights. Born and bred in London, father-of-three Mitch now lives and works aboard a beautiful narrow boat on a peaceful marina in the heart of England which he shares with his Leicester “duck”/muse. You can find out more about him through his Google+ profile.