So at work I made a minor change to the home page of a website and the home page dropped in ranking from #3 on Google to #7.

I now have to own up to my mistake to my boss and ask them to change it back to the way it was. I don't know how to own up to this. I also am seeing pages I've similarly edited drop in ranking.

What I am doing is called search engine optimization. I get websites to rank high in Google. It is a very tricky business, but an aspect involves including the target term you are going after at least once and perhaps a few times on a page.

My problem is that I am trying to figure out the best ways to include the target term on a page. I am looking at the highest ranking pages of our website and am trying to mimic how those pages incorporate the target term. And from what I can tell, the target term may not even be included in the body copy at all on a web page, but instead, very similar terms and synonyms are used. Yet, a top ranking competitor used a target term FOUR times in their body copy of 900 words. So, I am really confused about how this works. I added the target term just ONCE to our home page of about 200 words, and the page dropped in ranking!!

So, basically, I am experimenting with this to get it right. In my last job, I wasn't allowed much license to experiment or to change the web page copy and headlines. My boss wanted to control all of the web page copy without my input. She wanted it just the way she wanted it so I wasn't allowed to tweak.

So now in my new position, I have more input and license, but I am still experimenting with keyword usage on a page.

Based on the results I've seen for pages I edited, I've tweaked my approach again and am going to see what happens with the rankings now. I re-edited the pages that had dropped in ranking except for the home page. For the home page, I have to ask someone above me to change it back to the way it was, so there is no way around them knowing I made a bad judgement call.

So how do I explain this to my new boss? That I am still figuring this out? That I am tweaking my approach to learn how to do it best so that a page ranks highest?

I want and need to be successful in my job so that they keep me on. I want to get it right, but I am not there yet. I feel like this is something I should already have under my belt. But like I said, I didn't learn how to do this in my last job well enough. I cannot mention my old job to my boss and what I didn't learn. I want them to feel confident that I know what I am doing. At the same time, my work does involve some trial and error and experimentation.

So what do I do and how do I approach this with my boss?

[divine1966]

I personally believe that honesty is the best policy. If you tell the truth you never have to memorize or tweak what you said to whom. Tell him you tried to see if you can achieve certain goal by doing XYZ and you made a mistake. The only way to fix is for him to make changes to the home page imho

[Wild Coyote]

I agree with being honest!

Your job sounds fascinating!

I hope others will be along with feedback!


WC

[seesaw]

I would say what Divine said but don't call it a mistake. Just say you tried a tactic to improve the ranking, it didn't achieve the result you wanted, so you want to go back to the old terms and maybe try something different at a future date to see if you can move it even higher. Frame it as a strategy, not as a mistake. Even say, "I am attempting to figure out what our competitor is doing and beat them at it to get a higher ranking, so it's a little bit of testing what works."

I mean, to me it doesn't even sound like you made a mistake. A mistake is like an error. You didn't make an error. You tried a tactic, it didn't work, so you are going to try something else. It sounds like it's a continuously moving target anyhow, so it's okay to make changes again....

Seesaw

[healingme4me]

I like the honesty aspect and not calling it a mistake but that you are trying strategy. Maybe it can turn into a brainstorm with your boss? I agree that it sounds like a moving target.

What can you do to figure it out?

Do you have people you know that can coach you?

Do you belong to forums or LinkedIn groups that discuss these things?

I think it’s best to quickly own it, admit what happened, and have a plan about what you are going to do to get up to speed.

[divine1966]

I recall you were taking a class online, are you still taking it? Could you ask instructor for suggestions?

Thank you so much everyone!

I was planning on owning up to it and being honest. I like the suggestion of calling it strategy or a tactic that I tried instead of a mistake. That’s brilliant!

What I wasn’t sure how to handle is the fact that I am testing strategy on all pages I’m working on, so I need to bring that up to my boss as well and wasn’t sure how to handle that aspect? I am testing strategy and will tweak according to the results?

I also like the idea of brainstorming with my boss. That would be perfect if somehow this could turn into a brainstorming session on keyword strategy.

I stopped taking my class because I could no longer afford it. I am a member of various social groups professionally and posed the question on LinkedIn with no answers. I could try another group.

Originally Posted by Wild Coyote

I agree with being honest!

Your job sounds fascinating!

I hope others will be along with feedback!


WC

TY. It IS actually a very fascinating type of field!!

Originally Posted by key tones

What can you do to figure it out?

Do you have people you know that can coach you?

Do you belong to forums or LinkedIn groups that discuss these things?

I think it’s best to quickly own it, admit what happened, and have a plan about what you are going to do to get up to speed.

TY. The only real way to figure it out is to test strategy. There is no formula that I can find online for this strategy.

I do belong to online groups, mentioned above. I asked on LI and one person replied but with no clear answer.

Originally Posted by golden_eve

TY. The only real way to figure it out is to test strategy. There is no formula that I can find online for this strategy.

I do belong to online groups, mentioned above. I asked on LI and one person replied but with no clear answer.

Ah, I see. Well, the only other thought I have is to just say what you have to us—that you had some unexpected results and the reason for it is unclear. If you boss starts drilling down on this, you can say you are exploring the reasons for it, and you’d like to do additional testing. This might be a good entry point for brainstorming with the boss.

Oh, I do have another thought—maybe Google changed something and it is just a coincidence. I looked at google rankings website search results hits from the past week.

I guess you probably already know this—see the part about pages with less than 500 words.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bus...g-02033664/amp

Originally Posted by key tones

Oh, I do have another thought—maybe Google changed something and it is just a coincidence. I looked at google rankings website search results hits from the past week.

I guess you probably already know this—see the part about pages with less than 500 words.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bus...g-02033664/amp

Aren't you clever! Ha, I didn't know yet that a major algorithm update was rolled out - which I should know!!!

This article states that it has to do with content and intent, but is not specific to low quality sites.The algo update could have something to do with the ranking loss, and not my own updates to the pages, which makes it even tougher to figure out.

I will bring up both points that you mention to my boss. TY Key Tones!!!

I do hope your conversation with your boss goes well. Let us know!

I've been doing searches on IT-related stuff recently. It is NOT my area, but some areas of responsibility have landed on me. Sometimes I put a topic in the search on LinkedIn and click on tools. Sometimes I put it in google and then use the far right tools menu to select results for the past week or month or 24 hours, or whatever.

It is amazing what is out there the internet, but I suspect something like search rankings is hard to come by since businesses are competing with each other. I guess people probably aren't going to be so helpful there.

Originally Posted by key tones

I do hope your conversation with your boss goes well. Let us know!

I've been doing searches on IT-related stuff recently. It is NOT my area, but some areas of responsibility have landed on me. Sometimes I put a topic in the search on LinkedIn and click on tools. Sometimes I put it in google and then use the far right tools menu to select results for the past week or month or 24 hours, or whatever.

It is amazing what is out there the internet, but I suspect something like search rankings is hard to come by since businesses are competing with each other. I guess people probably aren't going to be so helpful there.

Thanks!

The conversation went well. However, my boss has decided to keep on the outside agency that they hired and planned on cutting out. So we're supposed to work together, and now I am worried for my own job. The agency members on our call yesterday acted like the authoritarians, when I have more experience than either representative. Ugh.

[seesaw]

Originally Posted by golden_eve

Thanks!

The conversation went well. However, my boss has decided to keep on the outside agency that they hired and planned on cutting out. So we're supposed to work together, and now I am worried for my own job. The agency members on our call yesterday acted like the authoritarians, when I have more experience than either representative. Ugh.

You need to act like you're just as much as an authority on it as they are.

Originally Posted by seesaw

You need to act like you're just as much as an authority on it as they are.

Yes, agreed. I didn't do such a good job of that yesterday in our meeting.

[wolfgaze]

Sometimes it's helpful to take a step back and remind yourself that these particular circumstances you're dealing with are not life-and-death - they are not so serious in the grand scheme of things... No one is losing their lives if a website falls in its search rankings - you know? At my old corporate job, I was involved in some of the sales activity and there were times when I got really stressed and had to remind myself "It's not like we're selling pace makers here!" - as a way to lighten the mood and the perceived seriousness of what I was involved in doing...

Originally Posted by wolfgaze

Sometimes it's helpful to take a step back and remind yourself that these particular circumstances you're dealing with are not life-and-death - they are not so serious in the grand scheme of things... No one is losing their lives if a website falls in its search rankings - you know? At my old corporate job, I was involved in some of the sales activity and there were times when I got really stressed and had to remind myself "It's not like we're selling pace makers here!" - as a way to lighten the mood and the perceived seriousness of what I was involved in doing...

To me, it is life and death. I absolutely cannot afford to be laid off or fired from this job. My entire life right now is hinging on my ability to succeed and stay employed. It's the only income I have and I am moving into a new apartment (not my choice -- I have to move). So this is very serious for me.

[2inchtallman]

Golden Eve I've been off grid for a while, and am SO GLAD to hear that you've landed a job!!! Remind yourself that you're not in your position by accident or chance, but because you're talented and wanted! While the stakes are high, and life is serious, you must find that balance where you allow yourself not to take life or yourself too seriously. I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but when you have this mindset you release, and in doing so replenish. I hope this allows you to relax, have fun and show off your best self, because you're Awesome! :-)

[2inchtallman]

I just heard this quote which made me smile, and thought it was worth sharing with you!
"Life is a gym membership with a really complicated cancellation policy"! :-)

Originally Posted by 2inchtallman

Golden Eve I've been off grid for a while, and am SO GLAD to hear that you've landed a job!!! Remind yourself that you're not in your position by accident or chance, but because you're talented and wanted! While the stakes are high, and life is serious, you must find that balance where you allow yourself not to take life or yourself too seriously. I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but when you have this mindset you release, and in doing so replenish. I hope this allows you to relax, have fun and show off your best self, because you're Awesome! :-)

Aww, thank you SO much for this! Yes, I landed a job finally back in early Feb, just part time contract but it's something.

I saw my therapist last night. She said that those who suffer from depression and anxiety tend to catastrophosize, which I do!!! She said to look at all the possible outcomes, including being successful and being laid off, being laid off being the worst case scenario. She said I don't know what the outcome at work will be, but to just try my very best, which I am doing.

Originally Posted by 2inchtallman

I just heard this quote which made me smile, and thought it was worth sharing with you!
"Life is a gym membership with a really complicated cancellation policy"! :-)

LOL. this is GREAT!!! Hehehehee. Love it!