Forum Moderators: Robert Charlton & goodroi
Have been waiting for google's pending update but didn't get any on that. From last two days I have noticed extreme changes in search results for same google domain (like .com or .de or .nl etc.) with different interface language selected (like hl=de or hl=en or hl=nl). When you change the interface language the whole bunch of results are different.
Is this the actual update this time? Enabling the geo centric data which google wanted to implement for better localization? If yes (and if someone else is also seeing this change) then may be we can all identify the parameters of this new change, like language, servers in geographical locations or extensions (.de, .nl etc.)
-- rishi
Googlebots have been on us like hair on a gorilla, including a bot that comes in under "Other Netscape Browser" but the IP is google's and I know 100% it is them. I can say in the past month we've been hit over 100K. I am reluctant to banning them only because I don't know what the heck is going on. If there is a way I can share the love without screwing things up, let me know.
I am leaning toward links, something with link structure but if thats true with my KW search the tops site shott that down
"If the worst thing to happen to your site serp's wise is losing 5 places...count your blessings. There are 5+ year old whitehat site's here that have lost 5 pages in the serps with no discernable reason."
All the top placings in my industry are now occupied by ebay listings and completely over the top over-seo'd sites that have never ranked well before.
My site breaks no rules and has not changed significantly for over a year but has without obvious reason dropped by pages and pages. Before this we had #1 or 2 for most terms.
I guess I'll wait, see how it pans out and then adjust as necessary. Not liking the update at all though. Ignoring how I'm personally affected, the results look awful. Certainly for my industry.
My guess is that Google is now weighing incoming links (backlinks) differently. In the past, websites with 500 backlinks that had the anchor text of "widgets" would outrank a similar site for that phrase even though the site had thousands more backlinks, but without the phrase "widgets" in the anchor text of the backlinks. It would seems as though Google has now allowed the sites with more backlinks to outrank the sites with less backlinks - regardless of the anchor text in the links.
Not in the niche where my most affected sites compete ... indeed, my site with the most back links (with and without key anchor text) is the hardest hit of several sites I have in the same group. The competitor site that still remains has 2/3 the links ... what it *does* have is AdSense.
One other non-directory site remains ... also with fewer back links, again about 2/3 ... this one doesn't have AdSense, but is owned by another local directory and links to that on the home page and elsewhere.
Neither of them have anywhere near the depth and breadth of original content that mymost affected site has ... it slipped from a solid top 2 or 3 to the 3rd page of the SERPs.
I have not yet figured out the pattern here ...
Shared IPs ... my niche sites are on a shared IP ... they link to one another ...
However, we are not being found #1 even for our own company name + keyword. We're ranking #10 and #70 for our company name + keyword.
Anyone else facing this scenario? We have about 800+ links.
Yes, I see a similar pattern here ... the site still ranks fairly well - if the 3rd page of SERPS can be called that - but a search for the company name (which happens to have the keyword phrase in stem form, and is the basis of most anchor text) finds the site at #111!
BTW, I have checked all link partners weeks ago and there are no 'bad neighborhoods' among our partners ... this site has no duplicate content issues ...
Other sites of mine in different niches have maintained their positions, including a real estate broker, much to my surprise!
Those sites are as 'overoptimized' onsite as those that dropped ... and they have link programs ... but not as many links as the worst hit sites ...
The only thing I can glean here is that sites with *lots* of links are being filtered into lower positions. This, and the possibility of 'shared IP' issues, is the only pattern I can find so far...
Owner edit: my two most affected sites are the oldest sites I manage ... though other older sites maintain their positions ... no pattern there from where I sit.
I will continue to read this thread and analyze in my own limted way ... I appreciate all of you who are sharing your own analysis ...
Thanks, MJ
[edited by: mjtaylor at 3:20 pm (utc) on Oct. 18, 2005]
I've never seen anything this bad - not even the Florida Update.
This is not nearly as bad as the Florida update for my sites ... two of my sites are very affected ... but a couple of others have maintained their positions exactly ... others have slipped only a little ...
Yes, I see directories taking over ... but I also see some smaller businesses maintaining or bettering their positions ...
MJ
#1. People who say this is NOT an update (probably folks who kept the same ranking on their pages and don't stand to lose any income).
#2. People who say this IS an update (probably people who lost their #1 rankings and stand to lose a lot of income).
That's my take on it. You can call it whatever you want, but when I see all of the sites under my top phrases get shuffled like a deck of cards, I call it an update. If you want to call it a burp, a dance, an error, or whatever - feel free.
If it doesn't change in 6 months or so I might actually have to leave the house for work again!
I would recommend you take a good, long look at your business model. If a 5 postion decline can so negatively affect your business, what will happen when your site drops 20 or 30 positions, or (as has happenned to so many perfectly clean sites) it dissappears altogether?
My advice: Start developing unstoppable (i.e. paid) sources of traffic NOW - trying to build a paid marketing campaign while you're also not bringing in $$$ from free traffic is difficult at best. If you're site is a strong converter, your paid traffic should be able to make up for any fluctuations in the serps.
"If the worst thing to happen to your site serp's wise is losing 5 places...count your blessings. There are 5+ year old whitehat site's here that have lost 5 pages in the serps with no discernable reason."
This sort of movement to a great many websites is indication that their algorithm just doesn't work that well. They turn a dial which creates wild fluctuations, and unintended and more critically, unnoticed (to them), consequences.
It sounds more like me debugging code after a long while and forgetting what all the variables do. Fix one thing and another thing breaks which I won't catch for days.
For a site on say, the first page, to completely disappear means:
1) They ranked it completely wrongly in the first place.
2) They don't rank things well in general.
Can a page be suddenly and totally irrelevant?
I want to see an SE send things slowly up and down SERPs to make way for more relevant/less relevant pages.
I'm thinking your time to cry is coming when we all make our hopeful comeback. Save them tears because if your site isn't doing anything now, only God and Google knows what's in store for you. Wish you luck man!
It is complete.
Filter was applied sometime over the weekend.
Till next time...
I know this because? Because everytime an update does occur one of my sites makes it's miraculous recovery to position 1 or 2 for my target term. This is because the filter is removed during updates. Then once the update is finished... they reapply filter. BAM! I am gone again.
See how simple it is. Next time you want to know if there is an update just ask me. This has been happening this way for a year.
Peace.
I want to see an SE send things slowly up and down SERPs
Lol - No - people will still do it :)
I was 13 then went to 296 now I am at 183
Ughh Going to get a drink or 5
Here is something for both?
With the recent changes... CAN ANYONE explain how a site with lots of hidden text, spamming words in multiple places on the same page can have a # 1 ranking. This site looks to be using tricks back in the old days and is rewarded with #1 ranking?
MSN and Yahoo don't have the site listed, but Google does?!?!?!?
Seriously... the website has 80-85% hidden text, size 1 text... its all over the pages?
So to the topic at hand... the Google Algorithm.
We know its not perfect.
We know its always changing (for the better?).
We know black hat from white hat.
We know penalties, filters, etc.
BUT how does the algo miss this site OR allow it to be ranked #1?
if you google: car wraps
you will see the site.
Amazing, is it not?
We have a really good writeup in Popular Mechanics this month (Nov Issue), we are an authority for sure in our industry... we have seen a 70% drop in traffic just about overnight (Started on Sunday Morning), still going at only 50% here... not good. We have spent many days writing press releases for the public, serving Gov't offices with our services, getting written up by c¦net etc., if anyone did not deserve this it is our site.
I tend to watch and be patient but this is a little bit odd, some other sites are not affected but the important ones are hit pretty good.
Hollywood
Our sites are authorative in the sense that Google placed them in the #1 spot for the past 3 years for our major search terms and they more recently decided to show the links to our important internal pages below our main URL in the listing, but still they dropped us about 2 weeks ago and then as of Sunday morning they dropped us even further.
if you google: car wraps
you will see the site.Amazing, is it not?
Yep, confirmed. It is truly amazing, yet another good example for the bad joke this search engine has become.
Poogle. Fine algo tuning you've got going there. Keep up the good work of organising the world's online information. LOL
[edited by: Max_M at 4:26 pm (utc) on Oct. 18, 2005]
Come on, they must be kidding on this one surely?
There is something just wrong about these results. The 'car wraps' thing isnt just a one off. I just ran a search for a particular product and #1 was a site that is now closed down! (and when it was open it was a scam site and they ran off with customers money). The page doesnt even load, it asks for a password to load the url. This is ridiculous.
Amazing, is it not?"
OMG you have to be kidding me! LOL!
If Google can't catch that...Hidden text here we come! LOL!
Google is oversensitive IMO when it comes to links. Too many links, too fast and you're gone. They need to distinguish better between legit and bought links. Until then, they shouldn't penalize people. I have rss feeds with different extensions and Google is banned from indexing those pages, because I'm afraid of a penalty like that, and I still got hit :)
I wondered if that was the site in your profile too.
Hmmmz - some DC are showing www.domain.com/frontdoor/0,1030,0,00.html as a possible duplicate of your homepage? (With May 2004 cache date!)
But nothing like some of the non-www indexing that goes on. Dont know if it would be better to redirect the non-www to the www rather than to what it is?
Homepage ranks OK - so dont know for sure this is the site your are referring too.
Just trying to help - sorry if being to nosey.
[edited by: Dayo_UK at 4:36 pm (utc) on Oct. 18, 2005]
