So Google have made big changes recently with their Mayday update and the Caffeine rollout. Many webmasters on the various SEO forums such as Webmasterworld and SEOchat have been bemoaning these changes and how they have affected their websites Search Engine Ranking Position with many of their long tail rankings taking a major negative hit. This is not the time for whingeing but instead should be a time for re-evaluation.

Matt Cutts, the head of Webspam at Google has stated that these changes are here to stay and one can only believe that more changes are ahead. So what should we as webmasters be doing to ensure that our websites gain, and maintain, those all important top ten rankings?

1. Well firstly the old adage of content is king has never been so important. Adding new, unique and relevant content to our websites on a regular basis should be now seen as a must. This way we can be seen as an authority in our particular "niche" or business sector. If the content is of a high enough quality it will also attract other webmasters to link to your website.

2. Secondly we need to ensure that our website has been designed to the highest quality and highest standards. To this end I would advise people to check their website at the validator.w3.org site for any errors and then correct any errors that are there.

3. Thirdly I would remove any duplicate content from your website - that is if there is any on your website to start with.

4. Fourthly start a link building campaign aimed at obtaining one-way backward links pointing to your website.

5. Finally I would recommend that people ensure that they are taking full advantage of the "title" and "description" as this can have a very positive effect on your overall rankings for your chosen keywords.

I hope this is of help - it is purely my point of view - which may well be wide of the mark!

Steve Hill, WebPromotionUK