Forum Moderators: martinibuster
The problem is what some are referring to as the "Adsense Penalty". Others, not sure what has happened to their traffic, only know it happened right after adding Adsense code, or right after site renovation.
In looking at the source of some of those pages, have identified a problem, that is really simple to correct, but it is becomes complex if you let it get it out of hand.
The problems is the misplaced Adsense code. When adding the Adsense code to the page, Adsense advises, and rightly so, that you place the code near the top of the page, above the fold, for best CTR. I agree completely. However, when you do that, if the code is above the code for your content, Google is now upstaging your content.
The Adsense code, in part, has the following snipet:
google_ad_client = "pub-";
google_ad_width = 728;
google_ad_height = 90;
google_ad_format = "728x90_as";
google_ad_type = "text_image";
google_ad_channel ="";
That snippet has the keyword 'google' in it 6 times, and is often seen right below the publishers meta tag, within the page code. The keyword 'google' now six times within the top 50 lines of your html has become a very important keyword, and is doing nothing at for your page seo. In fact, it is hindering it, by loading irrelevant keywords above the keywords in your content.
Marginal webmasters may not notice this, and marginal websites will be severely affected by it. If the site already has more longevity and higher traffic levels than their competitors, the Adsense Offense, as I call it, may be minimal. However, if the field is very competitive, the site is marginally seo, and the traffic begins to decline, the percentage of affect the AO will have, will increase. There is less to absorb the offensive keyword impact. Short pages, on small newer sites, with lower traffic will feel the hit more than large sites with longevity, with longer pages, and more traffic.
The problem is this. Relevancy is decided by many criteria. One major factor is placement in the code. The rule is this. The most relevant keywords are placed at the top of the page. This is why the meta title has such strong weight. Also seen at the top of the page, is the meta description. I have seen on occassion the meta title, placed in the code, below the meta decription. It should actually be above the description, in the code. When it is below it, the webmaster will have to work harder at seo, over their competitors.
After the meta title and meta description, if the next thing the bot sees is google six times, you have now given 6 votes of confidence for google, in that very critical top 200 lines of code. That is a mistake. It actually helps Google, and hinders you.
They have their #1 keyword on every Adsense publishers page, 6 times. If it is in the top of the code, you have made them very popular. Why do you think that many sites with feeds offer them free? You might say it is because they will get traffic from you. More importantly, look at their code. How many times do you see their brand keywords in the code? I have seen feeds and java script that other sites offer webmaster free of charge, have their brand keywords in the code as many as 20 times. Any more than twice is excessive.
The Adsense code must be coded into the page at the bottom of the page, to minimize the impact it has on your seo, while the code is actually displayed at the top of the page. This keeps the Adsense ads visually at the top of the page, but not letting it upstage your keywords, within the balance of the content.
While the Adsense code may have always been there, and had no effect on the site, other things may have pushed your seo ratio down, and the Adsense code contributed to it.
Example:
The Adsense code was placed on the page a year ago. Traffic was at 10,000 per day. Burbon came along, traffic declined, and Burbon is blamed Was it Burbon? Maybe yes, maybe no.
The Bourbon update coincided with another web scenario, the 3 month average. Traffic after winter went into decline for many sites, beginning in Feb as things warmed up and more people began to get outside. Traffic is not only calulated on the web daily, but also monthly, and more importantly, quarterly... every 3 month period. So, when Burbon came along, it was calculating traffic to the sites for March, April, and May. That was incorporated within ranking algo. This means, alot of sites ranked lower, because their site traffic declined more than their competitors.
If your site traffic declines by only 10 hits a day, but your competitors only declined by 8, 7, 6, and 5 a day,while other competitor's traffic increased, when all other things are equal, you could be hit very hard, even though the decline was minimal, when considered over the 3 months.
Further, if your traffic did not decline, but did not increase as much as your competitors, for 3 consequetive months, your ranking may also drop, considerably. The 3 month average change has a larger impact on serps, than monthly. You are actually given the benefit of the doubt, and not immediately hit hard, on a monthly basis, for slight declines in traffic, while you are rewarded monthly for traffic increases, the 3 month average of traffic increase can have a much larger impact on your traffic.
The 3 months average gives you a chance to fix things, before you drop considerably. Unfortunately, most webmasters neglect their logs, and don't notice anything until 3 months has passed, and the update slaps them in the face. By, then, the downward wheels of destruction are in full motion, and to stop the freefall, will require much more work. The problem could have been avoided, by advertising in the spring, to maintain traffic levels.
Since Burbon happened at the exact same time as the 2nd largest decline in website traffic, on an annual basis, for any consequetive 3 month period, and included those past 3 month spring averages, it was easy to think that Burbon was the culprit. The culprit was you. You didn't maintain your traffic.
Then, because ranking was reduced, traffic declined again, and greated a compounded effect, each consequtive indexing.
Now, with less traffic, the Adsense code has a larger impact. Before, you had the ranking and traffic to offset the minimalization of your seo, now you do not, and the impact from that code above your content is having on your site, is more severe.
It is important to remember...
It is not always that your traffic has decline, but that your competitors may have increased. Don't let that confuse the issue of ranking loss. You can have an increase in traffic, but loss in ranking, simply because others have traffic increases.
Today, I have the #1 ranking. It might be because my competitors are typical summer slackers. If come fall, they advertise heavily, and I do not, their traffic will out pace mine, even though mine continues to increase, and they will snatch my #1. That will reduce my traffic, reduce my quarterly average, and kill or weakend my winter...if I let it.
Popularity, the part of it that relates to how many visitors you have, not inbound links, is the single most important factor in ranking of a properly seo site. When you let it slide, you put wheels in motion that may not have immediately effect, usually don't, but will surface for a fact, 3 months down the road. Then, if during that time you did site renovations, changed things, added Adsense code, the problem will become very complex to troubleshoot.
The first line of defense is watching logs, site stats.
The second line of defense is watching for any sign that things are going south with Alexa. Alexa will help you see signs of future problems, by watching the DAILY traffic stats for competitors. If you see their ranking is 4,000 for 3 months, their daily is 2,145, and the weekly average is 3,890, you need to hunker down. 3 months from now they are going to kick you in the head and leave you wondering what happened. The writing is on the wall. Look at their increases and decreases in ranking over the day, week, and quarter. How does it relate to yours? You need to match them, or out pace them, in order to maintain ranking.
Finally, get that Adsense code out of the top of your html. It is a silent traffic killer.
on their website, alexa claims that "several million" people are using the alexa toolbar... right now there are ~850 million people on the web, worldwide... how can you claim that approximately half a percent is representative of anything? now you see why so many people say that alexa traffic numbers don't add up, but here you are using it as "proof" of your theory.
that dog won't hunt.
