If you ask any successful business what drives their sales, you’ll most likely get an earful of numerous factors: advertising, the product, customer service, branding, etc. You may even hear Google (or search engines in general) thrown in, especially when it comes to Internet-based companies.

All of these things contribute to a successful business. No one aspect can really be targeted as THE driving force for a company’s sales. Because the sales process is so complex and intertwined, it’s often hard for companies to put a finger on what’s happening when sales begin to slip.

When I read Barry Welford’s “Google Rankings Drive Sales - SEO Expectations” I couldn’t help but think back to my years in sales.

Welford received a call from an online business owner who was convinced that dropping two places in Google was the sole reason his sales dropped 20%. Welford wisely recognized that this drop in sales was most likely caused by more than a two-place drop. When he asked the caller about other site stats, there were none to be had - this website owner didn’t really study any analytics data.

He simply assumed Google was to blame for his drop in sales.

I’ve talked about this before, but it warrants mentioning again. While it’s true that a drop in search engine rankings can have an impact on your business, that drop usually happens for a reason:

• Was your content really deserving of the top spot… or did you SEO your way to the top?
• Are you in violation of the search engine’s guidelines?
• Is the site that overtook you doing more advertising/marketing? Have they improved some aspect of their site?

I could go on and on. There are literally dozens of reasons a company could see a drop in sales. More often than not, the drop in search rank is not the cause of the lost sales - it’s an indicator that something isn’t right with the business.

Search algos can change on the drop of a hat. That’s why creating a business that’s dependent on Google (or any other search engine) is just a recipe for disaster. Your website should be able to survive without Google. If you’re building brand awareness, engaging customers and finding ways to keep them in touch with your company, working out link strategies, and turning out a good product that people tell their friends about, you should be fine without Google.

So instead of blaming an algorithm on your company’s drop in sales, take a look inward and figure out what could have caused the change. Invest the time you would otherwise spend trying to over-optimize your site to compensate for a drop in rank into studying analytical data and finding ways to create a better user experience.

Google may decide to kick you out completely some day. If your business would go under as a result… you’ve got bigger problems than a couple of positions in rank.