I was dead for Google

It was hard, sometime in the first days of this new year 2006: my name was no longer mine. I Googled myself, and I was dead to Google. Dead. Away from the window.

Yet, I was so proud to land in the top 10 with the keywords that are important to me: Arne, Völker, copywriter. That's how I wanted to be found. And if someone remembered two out of three terms and then googled them, they found me. That's how it was from the start of my site arnevoelker.com in October 2004 until December 2005, because at the beginning of January I was dead.

At first, I couldn't believe it at all: Google still knew me better than other people named Arne Völker, but not my own site anymore. This is still the case today. Right in front is my book list at Amazon. Then the friendly link of my colleague Aurel Gergeyfollowed by other entries that I initiated myself to get a link. Followed by journalistic reports about my work and me. Only my self-promotion suddenly no longer counted.

My little site didn't really accomplish much in terms of content: It was essentially a business card on the web. And a very radically reduced one. The URI said my name, the page title too. The one HTML page showed a text graphic, like it is printed on my business card. And so that blind people and Google also know what's on the business card, the ALT text said exactly the same again.

That's obviously not enough these days. With a certain schadenfreude, I notice that other names that would like to be found also have problems. And simply don't show up on Google anymore. Even large corporations with strong brands. Today, BMW.de is dead for Google.

This is the daily topic of bloggers today, who deal with Google and marketing, as Spreeblick or Advertising blogger. And has been announced by some experts like Mario Sixtus in his Dezentrale or by Philipp Lenssen and his Google Blogoscoped for a while now.

Google has apparently decided that a page must not only contain search words, but also a) something somehow meaningful ABOUT the search words. And that b) for machines and humans the same. Fortunately, I'm one step ahead of BMW. I already recognized the need for action at the beginning of January – and today I am able to run something that looks like a blog. And a few readers are already starting to have fun with it.

Now you, dear readers: Is it worth it that I create content for you? Do you like reading my blog? Or do I write here only for Google?