Google Algorithm

[natasha499]

Starting this year I noticed a drastic decline in the traffic to my website. Has Google changed their Algorithm ? I used to get 3-5000 visitors a day and it dropped way down to 1.5 during summer which is usually a high traffic time for me.

I dont know if it is a result of something going on in the travel industry...or if it is a result of a major change in the search engines.

As of the last few weeks... some of my traffic is beginning to increase... but nowhere back to where it was before.

Linda @ Vacations-Abroad.com

[David Wallace]

The most drastic change occurred back in November of last year. Many sites were affected - some positively but a lot negatively.

[creativecraig]

Has anything changed at your site in this time period? That could be a cause for such a large drop in traffic.

[natasha499]

Nothing specifically has changed so much that would cause that drastic a change. I have moved pages around for better manageability and I had also added alot of new pages.

What were some of the things in Google that changed in November that caused websites to rank lower than they had previously.
Linda @ Vacations-Abroad.com

[seomike]

What were some of the things in Google that changed in November that caused websites to rank lower than they had previously.

This is not your problem. Your main problem is that you are in an area that is gaining more competition every single day. Between now and last November there have probably been 100 new sites created for vacationing all bent on trying to be page 1 for your terms.

My advice would be to look for a few new link partners every week to stay ahead of competition, get listed in as many directories as possible, and to make sure all your internal pages are crosslinked well and are easily navigated by users and search engines.

[seobook]

the web will grow with or without you. if you are in a competitive industry and find yourself saying "we have done nothing" then likely that is one of the biggest errors you can make.

some major brands (like a search engine watch) can do minimal promotion because they are already powerfully positioned, but most sites should continually work on promotion.

[natasha499]

gee like you have such great advice.

[bobmutch]

seo mike:to make sure all your internal pages are crosslinkedI have a fully meshed internal link structure but for channeling PR I run a series of article off my main page and link them ONLY back to the main page and perhaps one other page.

Now you are saying everything crosslinked. What is the benifit you see derived from that compared to only 2 way linking them for channeling PR?

[seobook]

seo mike:I have a fully meshed internal link structure but for channeling PR I run a series of article off my main page and link them ONLY back to the main page and perhaps one other page.

Now you are saying everything crosslinked. What is the benifit you see derived from that compared to only 2 way linking them for channeling PR?

You do not necissarily need to cross link all pages from all pages...Doing so will equally distribute your link popularity throughout your site.

Typically most sites have more important and less important pages. Make sure you are parsing adequate link popularity to each portion in the site in relation to the competition level and value of the ranking for each pages target keyword phrases.

Often at the start many new sites lacking adequate funding may want to underpromote some of their more competitive keyword phrases to ensure they get more traffic on some of their lesser terms, but if you can afford to you want to structure your site so that your more important (and often more competitive) pages get more of the link popularity than smaller ones.

An easy way to visualize the idea is to think of a travel site with major destinations and smaller less known towns.

[steve sardell]

Starting this year I noticed a drastic decline in the traffic to my website. Has Google changed their Algorithm ? I used to get 3-5000 visitors a day and it dropped way down to 1.5 during summer which is usually a high traffic time for me.
natasha499, you state your traffic has decreased, but have your serps also declined, or have they maintained? The travel sector searchers today are not the same searchers of a year ago. As they become more accustomed to using search they also become accustomed to quickly narrowing their search. If you are targetting the same key phrases and not adding new variations then it may be a partial reason for your site's decline. The travel sector is experiencing massive growth, and your visitor counts should reflect it.

[natasha499]

natasha499, you state your traffic has decreased, but have your serps also declined, or have they maintained? The travel sector searchers today are not the same searchers of a year ago. As they become more accustomed to using search they also become accustomed to quickly narrowing their search. If you are targetting the same key phrases and not adding new variations then it may be a partial reason for your site's decline. The travel sector is experiencing massive growth, and your visitor counts should reflect it.

I have recently beginning to change the format of my MEta Tags = Title and Descriptions using different key words. I figured what I had been doing before did not seem to work and so I have been trying new phrases. I have also been trying to target foreign markets... foreign english markets that might not have the same key words as the american market.

[seobook]

I have recently beginning to change the format of my MEta Tags = Title and Descriptions using different key words. I figured what I had been doing before did not seem to work and so I have been trying new phrases. I have also been trying to target foreign markets... foreign english markets that might not have the same key words as the american market.
page title is important for the relevancy, but you are not going to improve your ranking a ton in google my changing meta stuff

work on building links.

[natasha499]

page title is important for the relevancy, but you are not going to improve your ranking a ton in google my changing meta stuff

work on building links.

I did one of those webmaster tool analysis to see who has links to my site... depending on the search engine I have between 180-210 links. Dont know if that is to my main page or inidividual pages.

But will work on it.. Trying to get links to my individual pages.

I am also moving away from being so dependent on the search engines. I am trying to do other methods of promotion for the website. Interactive CDs and local television advertising.

[seobook]

I am also moving away from being so dependent on the search engines. I am trying to do other methods of promotion for the website. Interactive CDs and local television advertising.
don't forget that business partnerships with relevant websites can bring direct traffic AND help your search rankings.

[steve sardell]

I am also moving away from being so dependent on the search engines. I am trying to do other methods of promotion for the website. Interactive CDs and local television advertising
Natasha499, you are moving in the right track regarding diversying your advertizing. It is silly, and at times down right foolish, to rely solely on search engine editorial lisings to drive you traffic. Beware of local TV, although it is not expensive, if it is not hitting your target market it can be a waste of monies. You might also want to consider adwords a/o Overture and target some of the less expensive key phrases.

On travel sites I advise not to be so much concerned with the amount of traffic, but rather attend to your conversions and ROI. You may find with some of the lesser trafficed key phrases your conversion number (not percentage) is much higher than generic phrases.The goal is to get the site guest when he or she is ready to spend.

If you have been getting good traffic with the key phrases you have been targetting, I would suggest not doing away with them, but instead ad more content and supplement them. While attending to adding additional content do as SEO Book suggests, and continue to add links with your main key phrases as the anchor text. Have these links point to the most appropiate page. Bon Chance