googlebot

why would this happen?

[The ford guy]

Hi. Can anyone help?
My site www.fordpartsuk.com was ranked no2 & No 6 in google when using search terms "discount ford parts" & "genuine ford parts". that was until Sun 26th Jan. google then dropped me like a bad smell.
Can anyone see from my source code why google would suddenly do this.
also i am fairly green. how do i tell if googlebot visists my site.
do i look in my logs?
thanks in advance
Thefordguy

[hannamyluv]

Well, the URL will be snipped, but without looking at you site, I can tell you why you were dropped. There was an update this weekend. A Google Dance as they call it. It probably wasn't personal.

You may want to take a look in the google forum for answer's to your questions.
Go Here
[webmasterworld.com...]

[The ford guy]

Thanks hannamyluv
I have looked a the forums an i am not alone it seems!
Thanks for the speedy reply
thefordguy

[ram_mac]

And to tell if the Googlebot has been round check for the user agent:

Googlebot/2.1 (+http://www.googlebot.com/bot.html)

[Shannon Moore]

You might want to reconsider using a trademarked company name, as well as their logo, unless you have permission as an authorized dealer/distributor.

That could get your site banned or a cease & desist letter delivered to your door, eventually.

I'm not a lawyer, so this isn't legal advice...just common sense.

Also, your URL hasn't been snipped yet, but here's an unfortunate way your URL may be read -- ".... parts suck" Not quite what you're aiming at, is it?

[The ford guy]

Thanks for you time guys.
the only google reference in my logs is HTTP/1.1" 200 87645 "http://www.google.it/search
is that googlebot.
sorry i,m a bit fick!

[Shannon Moore]

Looks like a legitamite version of Google, for Italy/Italian searches.

[The ford guy]

hi shannon.
yep i am liscensed to have the ford logo trademarks.
"url snipped"? can you expand on this...a bit green i`m afraid!

Yes i spent awhile thinking of an appropriate name for the site. it wasnt until i had registerd the domain name that the unfortunate similarity to fordpart "suck"
was pointed out to me from none other than my 14 year old daughter!............damn

[Shannon Moore]

Glad to hear it, regarding the licensing. By the way, welcome to Webmasterworld!

The "url snipped" comment is just in reference to the WebmasterWorld terms of service which states that, in most of the forums here, URLs shouldn't be posted publicly in the forums.

You can read this forum's charter [webmasterworld.com] for more info. Most of the time, a mod will eventually come around and "snip" or remove URLs that get posted against the terms of service. The charter link can be found for any forum on this site in the upper left-hand corner, below the forum navigation bar.

[The ford guy]

Thanks shannon i will be more careful in future!