From PR4 to PRO

[Jeffry]

I have a new site which is 3 months on line now.
The first month PR3, second month PR4 and now PRO - white bar.
The site pages are still in the index but don't show up with a search.
I checked my log files to be sure the site was visited by googlebot and it was.
The only thing I have changed between two Google updates is some links to other content related sites. One of these sites has a PRO too and I see no other reason as I have been penalized for linking to that site.
Is this possible?

Jeffry

[Oaf357]

There has been talk about "You're as good as the company you keep". But none of that has been proven (as far as I know). There might another reason for that drop though. Have a good look at your site and see if there are any methods that Google might not like.

[Jeffry]

I didn't use any bad methods.
I really see no other reason as the drop was after I putted that link.

[Alphawolf]

You're not talking about the site in your profile, are you? My browser shows PR4 for the front page. And...wow- no pop-up's on a gambling related site. Goof for you!

AW

[Jeffry]

No Alphawolf, it's another site.

[WebGuerrilla]

Jeffry, the answer to your question is yes.

If you are linking to a site that Google thinks is a spammer, then you (in their mind) are voting for a spammer. You are linking into a "bad neighborhood."

[oliver_w]

If it is true that linking to low PR sites can affect your PR, then it seems that a system has been created that "keeps down" new (and often low PR) sites, and therefore creates a "social elite" among linking sites.

Additionally, it wouldn't explain the the high PR of several "self-publishing" sites -- one I have in mind (since URLs are not allowed, I will only allude) is the famous CL community. CL has a very high PR (8), yet people are linking to their sites all over it.

[lazyz]

What about that new "expired domain" filter? Is it possible you purchased a previously ranked domain and you got zapped by the new filter?

[Jeffry]

Is there something I can do to get my PR4 back?
Or is my site ready for the trash bin?

[WisdomSeeker]

I think this PR0 lark will become Google's downfall. In my mind it does not compute fairness overall. Google should concentrate on other areas and not get obsessed by this.
I use other search engines for marketing now as well as Google and when I look at the whole picture I believe that Google are being very petty.
I believe in valid search results but handing out penalties of zero is not the answer. Why not just filter out all spammy techniques so that they don't boost PR instead? That seems fairer and a lot of genuine sites with genuine code will not be hit with unfair PR zeros because of this algorithm.

[Jeffry]

Damn right Wisdom Seeker.
I removed all the outbound links from all my web sites.
I will not spend my time to check all those links over and over, month after month.
I only keep the links I really need and they will be protected.
I don't need a PR7 or 8, when people find my site during a search it's ok for me. That was the meaning of a search engine after all no?

[oLeon]

If you are linking to a site that Google thinks is a spammer, then you (in their mind) are voting for a spammer. You are linking into a "bad neighborhood."

Hmmm, I disagree.
Of course this sounds logically, but if I think about it more deeply I come to the conclusion, that if G is thinking like that after two or three updates at least the half of the www would be deleted from the index.

I know for sure from a older PR 7 website, that has been deleted for understandable reasons with over 1400 links to it. Only the site itself has been deleted, none of the linking pages were thrown out of the index. (What should mean that a few edu-sites had been deleted as well...)

So I assume the problem is not only the "link to PR 0" but could be a "link from a PR 0" page. is this the case, Jeffry?

[edited by: oLeon at 2:11 pm (utc) on April 22, 2003]

[Jeffry]

>>So I assume the problem is not only the "link to PR 0" but could be a "link from a PR 0" page. is this the case, Jeffry?

I don't know if this is the case, but if so it's even worse, because you can't stop people linking to your site.

[The Subtle Knife]

I posted the same problem in this Thread..

Sudden drop in PR4 to PR<1 or 0?
How can PR suddenly drop?

[webmasterworld.com...]

Still no idea!

Anyone?

[oLeon]

The only thing I have changed between two Google updates is some links to other content related sites. One of these sites has a PRO too and I see no other reason as I have been penalized for linking to that site.

Sounds a bit like "crosslinking".
The links you added to your site, are they reciprocal? Did you get links back from them you linked to?

[Jeffry]

No oLeon, they are not reciprocal.