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So it seems that Google did a major update yesterday to get rid of spam and to increase relevancy ... sometimes I can't help but think that anything Google does is like poking a stick into an ant's nest.

One moment life is good for the ants ... they're moving around doing whatever it is that ants do ... it's all calm and serene and then some idiot comes along and pokes the nest with a big stick. Instantly the ants go crazy ... they run around trying to find what caused the disturbance and achieving absolutely nothing ... and they go on doing that until the stick goes away and peace and tranquillity can return.

And just in case you're confused by my analogy ... Google isn't the ant's nest here ... Google is the idiot with the stick and the poke was yesterday's update. It's the webmasters and the search engine optimisation "specialists" who are the ants and it's these guys who are doing all the crazy running around now.

People are rushing around checking their rankings while others have already discovered that life as they know it has ended and their sites have disappeared from the face of the planet. Others are writing articles and blog posts about how good or bad the latest updates where and whether Google has really achieved its aims or has now dropped behind Bing as far as relevancy is concerned.

Just like the ants rushing about as they blindly try to find who or what has stirred them up ... webmasters work themselves into a lather of sweat as they burn a heap of energy and achieve nothing much.

So what should you do when Google pokes the nest with another update?

I should do what I do ... absolutely nothing ... except maybe turn off all the social networking sites you're constantly connected to and where everyone is wailing about the end of the world.

And why do nothing? Why not get excited about the latest update that has just seen your websites disappear into the outer darkness?

There are two very good reasons why you should refrain from going crazy and running around in ever decreasing circles till you disappear up your own fundamental orifice. The first is that Google has a history of unleashing updates that seem to destroy everyone's rankings but then over a matter of days many of those trashed sites come back into the rankings and the status quo prevails.

If you had a great ranking the day before Google did its latest update but now you can't find your site listed anywhere don't panic ... in a couple of days time you could be right back where you started so what's the point of figuratively slashing your wrists today when all may be resolved tomorrow?

Of course if you live on drama then by all means go ahead and carry on like the world has ended. I'm sure you'll find someone who is silly enough to offer you some sympathy and that will make you feel good.

The second reason why you should refrain from going crazy like the ants if your websites have been whacked in the latest Google update is because if they don't come back you need to have a clear head so you can start rebuilding you're empire right now. The first step to doing that is to work out why your websites got whacked and you need to be objective to do that.

Now I know that none of us ever do anything wrong when it comes to complying with Google's guidelines. We're always as pure as a mountain stream ... but let's get real here. If your website got whacked then the chances are that you really were doing something that Google didn't like and now is the time start identifying it.

Standing around wailing and gnashing your teeth isn't going to get your websites back and it's not going to keep the money coming in so instead of acting like so many other webmasters do and crying tears of blood on every message you can find just take a deep breath and start the rebuilding process by spending time identifying what it was that Google didn't like about your sites.

I wouldn't rush in and make any changes to the sites that did get whacked ... at least not for a week or two ... because they just might come back as Google's algorithm settles down but that doesn't mean that you can't apply the lessons you've learned to any new sites you're building.

So if you did get whacked in the latest updates don't panic ... don't be like those ants ... just take a deep breath and wait. Let everyone else go crazy while you prepare to rebuild.