There is a lot of talk these days about the "Google Slap" and how it has changed the internet marketing landscape and how people should build their websites from now on. It has been true that many people have had great success in the past with the so called no-work websites, building a network of them using automated tools. These sites work on the principal of creating vast areas of "virtual real estate" in the hope of attracting traffic and then generating revenue from people clicking through Adsense ads and the like. The idea being that if you have thousands of pages each generating a few cents here and there that it adds up to good money.

The potential problem for the people that have adopted these methods is that the "Google Slap" is all about focusing on the real visitor experience of someone visiting your website. Google is actually getting human reviewers to have a look around sites (presumably they have to be high ranking sites or why would they bother) and rate them on the basis of whether the visitor is actually getting the information they were searching for. If your site is not deemed to be delivering satisfactory content then your site ranking will be downgraded and you could even possibly have your site delisted.

Apart from the human reviewers Google also has the ability to automatically monitor the time that someone spends on a site after clicking through from a Google search. If statistically speaking your site shows up as having a large percentage of visitors that spend a very brief time at your site then it will raise warning bells and a site ranking downgrade and even a possible delisting could be just around the corner.

Now there is no point in getting angry or upset about this if you have used these methods in the past. The internet world has moved on and it really is in your best interests to go with the flow and learn how to keep the almighty search engines happy. Although it is worthwhile pointing out that some internet marketers have chosen to continue to try and beat the system and are still having some success at doing so. But the point is that sooner or later the vast number of PhDs and other talented people that Google employ will catch up with them as well so unless you get some kind of perverse thrill from always being on the run there is probably a better methodology to follow.

Now what exactly are these better methodologies? Firstly by ensuring quality content and being committed to creating quality content then there is no chance of you falling foul of a human reviewer or worse still failing to attract a loyal following for your site(s). Patience and perseverance are the keys to building any business and now more than ever these age old values are coming to the fore for internet marketing. Building web sites by hand takes time, spending 2-3 months building a really useful and content-rich website is well worth the effort.

It's not all bad because at the end of the day without quality content, your site is nothing and the Google Slap will ultimately result in a better experience for the majority of web users.

In further articles I'll discuss:

* why lots of quality content is the key to lots of traffic.

* how to go about sourcing content for your sites.

* the importance of adding dynamic content to your site, both for the human reader and for the search engine robots

* the different ways of monetizing your site (not just Adsense)

* the vast array of internet marketing software tools available

* the kinds of software that can assist you to build better sites faster

* the kinds of software that help you short term, medium term and long term

* developing an overall strategy for your new "career online"

* how to work smarter and more efficiently

I'll even discuss how to set goals that are congruent with your deepest desires!

Until next time I wish you every success.