Everyone is trying to leverage technology to their advantage. That’s the natural order of things I believe, and it reaches out to everyone building and ranking their websites.
Automation is your friend. At least that is the popular word and has been for quite a while. Me personally? I think the exact opposite. Automation is exactly what will crush you in the end.
Let’s just think about it for a minute from the perspective of what everyone fears, The Big Bad Google Updates like yesterdays Penguin 3.0 – How do you think they view automation?
- SEO Footprints like Forum Profiles spammed to hell (They crushed this in Penguin 3.0)
- Using the same host for your PBN’s because you are lazy
- SEO plug-ins and tools for WordPress that a normal website owner would not even know exists
- Using pre-set installers for WordPress (or any CMS) where each site is structurally identical
See where I’m going here? Look at what you are doing from 50,000 feet. What looks the same? Is there a pattern to what you do? If there is, certainly Google will be able to figure it out. If not now, a future update. They monitor the popular “SEO Spots” and I’m sure have infiltration everywhere including private Facebook groups and the sort. It’s their job to combat the wave of spam and crap sites that are just online to game the system.
Automation is the lazy man’s way of getting a job done. You make more money automating, or at least it’s been that way for a while now.
The end result is a cookie cutter website that can be thrown in the trash tomorrow with no care. If you have 500 automation-built websites and 150 get de-indexed during an update you shake your head and figure out a solution. It’s business. But there are people out there with that many or more sites and getting ZERO de-indexed.
They’re building natural websites. Even if it’s just a front. The time and strategic planning is put into place to give their websites an original look.
What do non-automated sites need to look and BE natural?
- Social Media
- Original Feel and Look (put 10 minutes of customization in so it’s not generic template site #32940)
- Organically Built – No BS plug-ins that leave obvious footprints
Those three things above on their own can make a remarkable difference in how your websites look to Google, whether they’re for your PBN or just another site you are building to rank.
Example: Building a template site for “Jim’s Plumbing” and then just hosting it online to die a slow death is the tragic side of chop-shop online marketing and website design. I encounter web sites like this DAILY. They make great customers once you open their eyes on what they have been missing, and why their web sites are languishing in obscurity. Putting a little elbow grease in, customizing, setting up social signals, building ORIGINAL content (not spun niche market garbage written a decade ago); these are the things Jim’s Plumbing needs. It’s also going to keep Jim a step ahead of his competition when the Google updates comes through. Why? He has a real online presence.
Like MC Hammer says — Jim’s Plumbing is 2 Legit 2 Quit. He now has a legitimate online presence and structure to grow upon.
This goes deeper than just SEO and Web Design.
It’s about Marketing and Strategy. Are you seeking the quick buck off of unsuspecting business owners, or are you looking to build long-term clients who willingly send you checks monthly to keep their business online and at the top.
I prefer clients who want to pay me monthly for ongoing work. Hard work. Quality work. Work that will make the difference in their online success.