• The Wall Street Journal, Thursday, April 21, 2011 12:30 PM

Still reeling from Google 's recent search algorithm changes, various Web sites and online-based businesses are trying to regain their footing. The Wall Street Journal points to online ergonomic-products retailer Ergo In Demand Inc. in Central Point, Ore., which was forced to reduce its 17-person staff to five after seeing a 40% decline in sales.

With the savings, owner Peter Scholom hired a search-engine optimization firm to do an audit of his company's site. "He hopes to learn how to regain the site's previously high Google rankings for search terms like 'keyboard trays' and 'TV mounts,'" WSJ explains. In late February, Google moved to weed out "content farms," or sites that post information without attention to quality or by copying text from other sources, such as government sites. By some estimates, smaller businesses we unevenly affected by the changes. By contrast, "Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., and eBay Inc. appeared to rise in search results," WSJ writes, citing companies that track Google rankings.

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