Getting natural organic traffic is something that takes time and effort, with the recent changes in google algo. I am afraid that all the work that I've done so far can go with the wind if they decided to change the way they rank websites, don't you think this is possible??
With Google everything is possible. I have had a similar feeling these days, that everything I do will be totally unworth doing cause it won't work anymore. But all we can do is to do our job and have a knowledge about the most important changes and be flexible. Maybe someday Google won't decide about the popularity of our pages...
There is a possibility with the changes of Google.. but I guess just like what linda said Google will give what is best for their consumers and visitors.. if ever there is a decrease in your rankings and PR, it will come back soon.. they are just making an update for the best..
it would not be the first time they have changed the way they rank websites. Remember what they did to web directories?
I think if your number one priority is producing quality, unique content that is relevant to your site then it will always do well no matter what Google changes. I also think that most of the other basics will still be assets even if Google changes things in the future.
Google is constantly changing, that's why it is much better to build your site naturally rather than resorting to buying SEO services, because when things change all the time and money have spent is worthless
I have seen so many changes since I got on the web in 1996...back then the bigger search engines were excite, Lycos and infoseek....yahoo was a directory and portal only. back then, your meta tags were like 99% of your ranking because there were so few websites online....... the good ol' days, lol
Top rankings require a best in class site. Google's changes are always intended to better identify "best in class". So, if you build a site that truly deserves to rank, it generally will rank, it will maintain its rank, and it will be relatively immune to changes in the SE's. There are no shortcuts...
I think you're right on - if you build good content, you will get traffic. I am still learning the mysteries of SEO... but its been fun so far.
Your average mom and pop store has to adapt...so just think of how large Google is. They need to move twice as fast just to stay where they are (Alice and Wonderland cliche). Your efforts will never be wasted though. I use to think all could be lost within seconds of an algorithm change. The fact is you own your website, the content, and the internet is about relationships, trust, and interlinking. Most of you have a great presence here on DP, and besides that...if links didn't have some role in website rankings the internet would be digressing into a pseudo directory with no leveraging of it's components (humans).
THis is why I laugh at people that discount Black Hat SEO. You guys spend months on optimization, then get slapped down. I spend minutes and can adjust my strategy on the fly. Anyhow, carry on being scared on Google.
If you have good usefull content that will benefit the visitors you dont need to worry so much. Focus more on providing help and usefull content and less on seo and links. Good content attract natural links and google will be better and better to find the best content for each search term.
If one thinks about traffic rather than algos, then they have their bases covered. We have one site that gets 70% of its traffic from non-SE referrals. Been that way for years. It's best year was about $1.5 million. It starts with traffic. If the site is "best of class" the rankings will come. This does not always mean "content" as we usually think of it.
Believe it or not but Google is just another (successful) website and instep to stay at the top they have to keep their visitors coming over and over again by providing better and more related results