Here's an answer to another great email question from a Bestbraindrain.com reader:

How do you get traffic to your website and stay in Google's good graces?

Well, we have all seen or heard of people that got the Google smackdown in the last few algorithm updates.  So, we know there are ways to get top rankings and traffic for our websites, but not all of them are kosher and some can get you a minus 60 penalty or worse - banned.  So, what can one do to get top rankings, grow traffic consistently and make money?

It's actually the same as it has always been - great, unique content and earned links.

That's right, looks simple, huh?

Well, many people out there thought they would take the easy way out and just hire someone to rewrite or even copy others content like that posted on ezines like Ezinearticles and such.  Well, you may rank for a few months, but once Google's filters go through and scan your pages with a deeper crawl they will remove the duplicate or similar (yes, now they even attach duplicate content penalties to similar or rewritten content) content and maybe even dowgrade the trust factor associated with your website. 

Restore cloudy and ugly headlights to new again with the most trusted name in headlight restoration and cleaning - MDWholesale.com!

So, by adding duplicate or similar pages you will not gain anything in the longterm and could actually lose a lot more by being devalued.  What does being devalued do?  It gives you a lower PR (pagerank) and moves the majority of your pages farther back in the rankings.  In some cases it can move them so far back that you will only get a trickle of trafiic.  This loss of trust or being devalued is severe and can be worse than the typical minus 60 penalty because it is permanent whereas a penalty is only temporary.

So, content should not be copied or rewritten.  Instead provide unique and interesting content.  Strive to provide the best content you can.  Grab your readers attention and give them something of value.  The better you do this, the higher your rankings will be and the larger the amount of traffic you will drive to your website. 

Be original and don't be afraid to think outside the box.  Ever watch those late night TV news discussion shows like Hardline and the others?  Many of the participants are given points of view that aren't theirs or they could be totally against, but they must argue for that point of view.  This is what is interesting and this is easy to do.  Instead of always writing from your own perspective try something different and write it from an opposing school of thought.  For instance, you might have voted for Obama, but maybe you could have written an article or two on Sarah Palin or John McCain.

Maybe you love NASCAR and should instead write an article about racing with right hand turns involved (this does take more skill by the way to make right hand turns rather than all lefts like in most NASCAR races).  Maybe you could take some local issue like political or governmental screwups or corruption? 

Save big money on the best in skin care for acne, wrinkles and more with a TCA peel from Bestskinpeel.com!

Or you could write about Al Sharpton and how he actually strives to revert the african american community back to the 1950's and 60's - blacks have made great strides in integrating themselves into all areas of the community and politics and don't need Al Sharpton and his stupid cries of racial discrimination when there usually isn't any - he still has yet to publicly apologize for Tawana Brawley and the Duke lacrosse scandal which he did help to worsen - if you play back his interviewsand responses he did want the Duke lacrosse players convicted without a trial - this is unamerican.  All criminals in America no matter how bad have the right to a FAIR trial and a defense.  This is what makes us different from other countries where you cn get locked up for years without even being tried or brought up on charges.

The idea here is to make a statement and then back it up.  This is just like writing short papers and rough drafts in high school and college.  I am not going to teach you how to write here because most of you already know this and do it quite well.  If not there are numerous books or even low cost courses at nearby community colleges where you can pick up some great tips on writing.

Then, with practice you can go after bigger keywords and more popular niches.  It is best to start targeting lower competition keywords and terms at first.  This way you will gain top rankings and a better staying power.  In higher competition niches it isn't uncommon to be in the top 3 for one week and then be at number 30 and back and forth.  Whereas in a lower competition category you could be at number one for years and get the same traffic as the number 30 spot for a more competitive keyword or term.

Amazing customer reviews and testimonials for the New Lite headlight restoration system!

As you add more content your rankings, traffic and overall trust score will grow.  Don't pay too much attention to the PR score given to your site.  This is just one of a hundred parts of how Google determines your trust rank and value and all it takes is for you to write something that a Google employee doesn't like and they will quickly take away from your PR - when we wrote a forum entry on the Google blog addressing how Google was a monopoly and the government was starting to do a underlying investigation that went far beyond the possible agreement with Yahoo they did not like that.  We went and researched a little into why Google was hiring attornies at a much higher rate than ever and it turned out it was for fighting antitrust legislation and for lawsuits that would inevitably result from their control and basically playing God with internet search - they literally can control who ranks and who does not.

If one of their employees that is involved with Matt Cutts team doesn't like you then you will rank lower.  Is that fair - no.  Is it legal? No - that comes under unfair and deceptive business practices (just look at BMW and Ricoh cases) and anti trust legislation.  Do I hate Google - No.  I just don't think they should have 80 percent or higher control of internet search.  Now, back to what we were talking about. 

Treat acne with the same treatment dermatologists and plastic surgeons use at tremendous savings!

Do you see how easy it is to draw up fresh, interesting and even contraversial content?  This is what drives traffic and keeps it at your website.  You want to draw in visitors and keep them interested.  No one wants to be redirected or drawn to a website that doesn't deliver.  If you can create great content there is no limit to what you can accomplish and achieve.  Look at the owner of Bankaholic.com. It was written by 22 year old Johns Wu and after 2 years he sold it for $15 million to Bankrate.  That's right a website he started for less than $20 in 2 years became worth $15 million!  He added fresh content and great expert ideas and points of view and happened to be doing it about the financial industry through one of the greatest financial and economic crisis of this century and maybe ever (depending on how far this economic crisis and downturn continues). 

So there you have it.  Learn to provide unique, quality and compelling content.  Be persistant and you will get better and better at blogging and drawing in traffic.  There is no limit to how big or powerful you can become. 

Here are some great additional resources to help you on your journey for unlimited website traffic:

1)  Blogging 101

2)  Article submissions and why they don't work.

3)  How to properly build links for top rankings

4)  SEO optimization for Google made easy

5)  Super hot viral web marketing tips you need to know to become huge

6)  Internet marketing and product reviews

7)  Paid links and whether or not you should use them

8)  Create a blog traffic machine - 12 top secrets to effective blogging

9)  Blogging for big dollars

10)  Linkbait for your blog and how it can explode traffic to your blog