The Wall Street Journal reports on the efforts of companies who have been hit hard by Google’s new algorithm designed to cut out spam sites from search results, dubbed Panda.

From the Journal:

Seeing a 40% decline in sales since Google adjusted its algorithm, online ergonomic-products retailer Ergo In Demand Inc. in Central Point, Ore., reduced its 17-person staff to five, moved to a 4,500-square-foot office space from one more than double in size and cut $4,000 in monthly software subscriptions.

But companies like Ergo are doing more than downsizing – they’re hiring people to research search engine optimization so they can get back in the top search results. One company is hiring freelance writers who can update product descriptions so the content is original, not duplicated. Other companies are shifting their focus from Google to other marketing tactics – e-mails, social media and so on. Meanwhile, Google tells these small companies sorry. Sometimes, algorithms don’t work perfectly.