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Does Google Really Know What’s Best for Your Blog?

Does Google Really Know What’s Best for Your Blog?

Some blog owners will read Google’s guidelines and take anything the company says as the rule of the internet.  And while many of the policies Google sets forth are good practices for any website, does it mean that we really have to follow every little thing the search engine company says we should do.  There are many cases in which something Google says is taboo is actually a very good idea for your particular blog and it might even be beneficial to your readers as well.

For instance, Google has stated that it is “evil” for you to run a blog contest in which you ask other blog owners to link back to your site as part of the entry of your contest.  They see this is a way of manipulating the search results, but it’s also just good practice to get other sites to link to you so people can find you through other blogs.  Getting backlinks is not just a good practice for getting a better ranking in the search engines.  It’s also a great source of traffic for your blog and you should be trying to get as many other blogs out there to link to your pages.

Since Google is the largest search engine on earth many people also assume that any guidelines the company lays down must be the law.  But no search engine is the police force of the internet.  So it really begs the question that if Google says something is wrong for you to do on your blog, but that same thing is really beneficial to your readers, what side do you take?  Should you just listen to Google and rob your readers of what they want just so you can stay in the good graces of Google?

A blog owner really need to weigh out the pros and cons here.  If most of a blog’s traffic is coming from search engines like Google than you should probably follow their rules, since not doing so could mean a huge drop in traffic and sales.  But if you have a well-diversified blog that gets its traffic from all sectors of the web, than you are free to do whatever is best for the well-being of your blog.  And that’s just one of the rubs of relying too much on search engines for traffic.  You are also chained to any policies they decide to come up with, even if it doesn’t fit in well with your current business model.

So the question, “Does Google really know what’s best for your blog?” is an easy one.  No, they don’t.  A blog owner knows what’s best for his blog, or at least he should.  And if search engines are bringing in more than 75% of his site’s traffic than it would be best to heed every demand Google lays down.  But it’s really better to diversify your traffic so your blog will not be hurt by any big changes in search engine algorithms.

Search engines like Google will always rely on factors like quality backlinks to determine the relevance of a site and its popularity, but links serve a greater purpose than just for off-page search engine optimization.  They also serve to give our websites credibility and to allow readers another access point through which to reach us.

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You should know what is best for your blog, but don’t be surprised if other companies don’t agree with your analysis.  Just determine what you can’t afford to lose and abide by the those rules in order to succeed.

Greg Schmidt writes for a teeth grinding mouth guard website that helps people relieve their stress from blogging by preventing teeth grinding.

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