The most recent big change is what's been called the "Google Slap", where thousands of Google advertisers woke one morning to find their advertising costs had increased 10 times or more! This caused a huge outcry in the Internet marketing community, and some marketers literally lost all their customers overnight.

--- But what does this mean for you? ---

Of course, I looked into this "Google Slap" thing in more detail, because it did affect a lot of people. But when I ignored the hysteria and looked at the facts, it seemed that Google was rewarding high-quality Web sites and penalising low-quality Web sites.

And isn't that a good thing? After all, when you're searching for something in Google, wouldn't you be happy to find a high-quality Web site with lots of relevant content, rather than a sales letter, an advertisement, or just a survey page?

I asked my friend and Google expert, Ed Keay-Smith (from AdwordsMarketing.com) about this, and he confirmed my thoughts.

--- This is good news for us! ---

Google is favouring valuable content over clever marketing. And that's good news if you're an information expert - that is, a professional speaker, trainer, consultant, coach or author. Why? Because you're in a strong position to deliver valuable content.
For example, you can:

* Write articles for your Web site.
* Publish a regular newsletter.
* Post entries to a blog.
* Submit articles to other people's newsletters.
* Answer questions in Internet discussion groups.
* Send a free e-book to your mailing list.

Now, this is exactly what other Web site owners are trying to do. But it's not easy for them because they don't make money from their expertise. Writing doesn't come easily to them.

You, on the other hand, have a huge advantage. You're used to expressing your ideas clearly. And even if you're not a good writer, you can use services like Elance to transcribe your spoken words and convert them into articles.

You can then publish this material in various places - your Web site, your blog, a special report, and so on. Other people spread your message for you because it contains valuable information, and you benefit by getting the extra visitors to your Web site.

--- So start writing those articles ... ---

Remember that Google is looking for high-content Web sites. So one very effective technique is to publish more articles on your Web site. In other words, don't just make your Web site a sales brochure. Make it an information-rich resource centre instead.

Here's how:

1. Use GoodKeywords.com to discover the most common words and phrases to use in your area of expertise. For example, if your expertise is in goal setting, is that a more common phrase than purpose, motivation, achievement or time management?

2. Write articles about those topics, using the most common words and phrases in the title.

3. Add these articles to your Web site.

This is not the only way to leverage your expertise to get traffic, but it's a simple way for experts. And Google will love you!

Find out more at http://gihanperera.com/write-now.html