Google just died!

[I, Brian]

Hypothetical:

A major accident has caused the main Google ranking algorithm to malfunction. The Google SERPs appear completely random. Google offers no ETA for when this will be fixed.

Questions:

1. How much traffic would you lose
2. What income would you expect to lose as a result of this?
3. How would you try and compensate for the loss in Google rankings - especially if there is no compensatory traffic from Yahoo/MSN, etc.


A hypothetical to stimulate thought and discussion, nothing more.

[CaptainKofu]

1. almost all of it
2. see above
3. I'd shoot myself

[tigermann]

It would be great for me .... as i then expect google users to use Yahoo and MSN!

[cray]

1. 80%
2. 80%
3. Climb up on buckingham palace with a banner showing my url ?

[George Ahrens]

1. 45%
2. 52%
3. Of course we all know there will be compensatory traffic from Yahoo, right? But ok, to make your story work let's say they died as well. In that case we're back to square one, I think they called it direct response marketing or something. Utilizes print and mail system apparently. But, ok, that was before my time, I would instead feel really sorry for myself, if I get hit without an established link network at that time. Of course to have a list of newsletter readers and previous clients also does help. Just contact them, tell them Google is dead, and you want to make them a special offer to keep you going during these dark times. If you have a relationship with your readers they will repond.

[sweatnspice]

1. 75%
2. 30%
3. Look into other advertising methods, ie print media.

[thebassman]

Originally Posted by tigermann

It would be great for me .... as i then expect google users to use Yahoo and MSN!

ditto.

[randfish]

I get 8 visitors a day from Google, but I think most of my referral traffic comes from people who find those sites in the SERPs at GG.

But on the whole, I would gain tremendously because my Y! and MSN positions are #1 for many things. It would be a boon. In fact, right now I'm kind of wishing it would happen.

[Ferre]

I would get 200 hits/day less from Google but "if" Google would get defunked my guess is that many people would use Yahoo and other searches instead and that would compensate a little as I turn up in those engines as well.

As for the money? The site is a non profit and doesn't even have banner adds on it so that would stay the same.

[SN3]

Originally Posted by cray

3. Climb up on buckingham palace with a banner showing my url ?

[OptWizard]

For that sole reason Brian brings is why I optimize pages with ON PAGE OPT.

You just never know

To answer your question I would still get traffic since rankings in Yahoo and MSN are both good

[mazsola]

As Martha Stewart would say "It's a good thing!" :-) Google has been broken since November of last year anyway.

[dave conz]

It would screw me completely. I'm trying my best to get ready for the day it happens but I just can't get well ranked anywhere outside Google.

[jg_v7n]

I would be well down on traffic & sales as a result, maybe 70 - 80%. Then again like many others I rank pretty well on Y!, MSN etc for my keywords, in fact probably better that on G - so if people swapped to these searches it could actually be a winner...!

[jg_v7n]

Come to think of it - this thread can only go in one direction, and that is the conclusion that G has far too much of a monopoly on Internet searching, they will get themselves a "MS like" reputation soon. Which is why I think that it's important to support (use) alternatives wherever possible...?

[oops sorry, bit of a hijack, back to Brians origional question...]