Forum Moderators: Robert Charlton & goodroi
My guess is that Google has tightened filters regarding too similar anchor test, and I've got caught into it. I probably only have 4-5 inbound links with "domain name" as anchor, but dozens with "domain.com," since many people link to me that way.
And since linking to a site by using the domain name is perfectly normal, NATURAL, and makes good sense, WHY would Google filter out results like that?
If you're going to link to Google, chances are you're going to have "Google" or "Google.com" in the anchor link, most likely it will not be "Search Engine", "Search Directory", "Feeling Lucky?", or something else similar.
If Google is in fact filtering sites because too many are linking to them with their domain name, then Google is 100% solely responsible for this mess, as well as being ignorant, short sighted, and out of touch to how people truly link.
To filter a site due to too many anchor links being similar is an INVITATION to manipulation on the part of Google. If it's a widget site, it's perfectly normal, and should be expected that the word widget will appear in most of the links.
I have no idea if this is really happening or not, I'll leave that to the more knowledgeable people here. But I will say that I've probably heard more ridiculous things than this, but I'm not sure when!
My directory sitee has a list of names and a link saying "see more info about (name)", which goes to a detailed data page.
The title and metatags in the detailed data page include the (name) used in the anchor text...
All those detailed data pages got crushed...
I'm busy rewriting over 300 hand coded shtml pages that have worked just fine for three years. Such is the breaks. I'm taking the opportunity to update poor coding, working on each page individually, reducing keyword density, cleaning up generally and hoping for the best. I shudder to think of what will happen a month from now when Google decides my keywords are too infrequent...:(
It's not enough to offer solid content. I do that in spades. Each original page on my site represents a project that I have designed, constructed, photographed, written up and coded so that others can reproduce the project (for personal use, only, of course).
That's a lot of hard work, folks...and it so disheartening when you hit with www and non-www woes; 302 hijackers; and those thieving ppl at a well known network who adore frames and are now ranking higher than me for the search terms to my original projects - grrrrrr......
I've just started adding the frame-breaking code to the head of my pages. It's very satisfying to click on the links that are supposed to be "about" my subject and get directly to my site for once. HAH!
One unique circumstance added to my troubles. Months ago my web host had a server failure; the backups were very stale. I ended up with antique htm pages that I had thought deleted being restored to my server, resulting in duplicate content when I uploaded newer shtml pages. I thought I had deleted all re-uploaded htm pages but apparently missed a few. Thanks to Google, I'm now finding and exterminating these dinosaurs.
My point is: even if you have a valuable content-based site, chances are not all this mess is Google's fault. I think they are making a genuine effort to rid their index of scrapers and you gotta applaud that. I just wish it wasn't costing me so much in terms of time, money and ego.
My site filtered completely.
No need more pray ... Gods of Google made decision.
I think, we have not too many chances:
1.) Wait 3 or 6 month perhaps we will get back
2.) Remove the latest indexed links from Google
3.) Contact will Google until somebody will give an answer.
Or?
Yes, Googlebot decreases with the Googlebug
So what happens is you dont get crawled by Google, scrapers crawl you faster than Google, scrapers get crawled in Google therefore scrapers get rewarded as them having your content as the original - Google makes money of scrapers.
Google win win win.
Dont know if delibrate - certainly sickining.
Google - how many more times - work out the canonical url of my site please. FFS - what do I have to do - the 301 is done!!!!!. You know it is there - so what have you done sandboxed it or something.
I just wish us Webmaster and Google could Cooperate on sorting out this problem.
I assume there is someone at the plex who is trying to trouble shoot - but a bit of 2 way communication on Canonical urls would probably get it fixed much much sooner.
I have tried to explain the symptons - but get nothing back - am I just wasting time and energy?
>>I have tried to explain the symptons - but get nothing back - am I just wasting time and energy? <<
I guess the situation at the plex is; whenever the folks at Google Search Quality Team hear about "canonical issue", they get more curious and ask; Is it a kind of "Bacon polenta"? Mmmm. Bacon-y goodness! ;-)