Months after Google began changes to its search, online retailers are still reporting problems gaining traction on the Internet giant.
"We are fishing for any straw," business owner Peter Scholom told the Wall Street Journal. Scholom's Ergo in Demand, Inc. had 40 percent drop in sales when the online retailer dropped in Google rankings
Google decided to tweak its algorithm in February to rid itself of content farms and scraper sites, or sites it considers spammy. Scholom, according to the WSJ, was also hurt by the drop in search rankings.
As we reported earlier, Google's algorithm changes did cause some legitimate businesses and sites to drop in rankings, some of which have since bettered their position.
However, Scholom decided to lay off 12 of its 17-person office, move to a smaller office and cut costs. With the extra money he's hired a search-engine optimization firm to improve his site's position. Perhaps he didn't pay attention to how the SEO consultant route actually hurt Overstock.com and JCPenney once Google realized they were attempting to game the system.
While the WSJ story went on to say that businesses should diversify and not focus solely on Google, it's obvious there are a lot more online retailers who will take Scholom's approach. They want a quick fix and to continue to do business as they always have. The reality, however, is likely not that easy.
