Site Disappeared from Google After Host Change

[cddinc]

We recently changed our website from on dedicated host to another (two different IP classes) and the moment this was done we disappeared from the Google results. We have very high rankings for hundreds of keywords and PR all over the place.

Now, nothing.

We have waited 1 week since the switch date hoping to atleast be re-indexed but still.

site:www.site.com

returns no results.

The question is, what did we do wrong, and even more importantly, how do we fix it? Should we move back to the old server? Would that make a difference? Right now our site isn't even in google period. How long till it will be back again?

[JeremyL]

First thing you need to do is check your logs to see if Googlebot is visiting. If not, move it again to a new host. There are less drastic solutions, but moving again is the only way to make sure it is not a host issue.

[walkman]

e-mail google before moving...moving can be a paine.

Is GoogleBot visiting? I banned GB too for about 10 days, out of index but they're indexing so

"but moving again is the only way to make sure it is not a host issue."

[larryhatch]

The first thing I would do (and before selecting a new host of course) is to google up the name of that host, along with telling words like SPAM, banned, neighborhood (as in bad) and other telling monikers to see what you are getting into. -Larry

[cddinc]

Lol, moving again is not really an option because we are in a 1 year contract with the new host and they are note cheap, but they are #1 in the industry (rackspace) so I highly doubt it is their issue. I was told from a few SEO experts that our DNS setup was incorrect and maybe that was the problem. Then we were told that google indexes by IP address and so whenever we move we have to rebuild our rankings.

I guess my question is, who is correct if any?

[walkman]

everyone is an expert ;).

How long was your site down for?
Is Google spidering or visiting your site at all?
Are you in the index as URL only, or do you get "Sorry, no information is available for the URL..."?

" I was told from a few SEO experts that our DNS setup was incorrect and maybe that was the problem. Then we were told that google indexes by IP address and so whenever we move we have to rebuild our rankings. "

[cddinc]

Your search - site:(site ommitteD) - did not match any documents.

Suggestions:

- Make sure all words are spelled correctly.
- Try different keywords.
- Try more general keywords.

(Im not 100% sure if Im allowed to post the URL or not).

[walkman]

try this: site:www.domain.com
and cache:www.domain.com
what does it show?
Did you check your logs to see if GoogleBot is visiting you?

how long was your site down, during the transition?

[phpdude]

" I was told from a few SEO experts that our DNS setup was incorrect and maybe that was the problem. Then we were told that google indexes by IP address and so whenever we move we have to rebuild our rankings. "

That is a totally false statement.
I've moved numerous will ranking sites to different hosts without skipping a beat and never losing ranking.

I made sure the Bot was visiting the new IP before I cut off the old one.

If that is what "SEO" experts are telling you, I would question just exactly what they are experts in.

[cddinc]

The site shows up when I type cache:domain in google.

Says last cache: 24 Apr 2005 13:07:46 GMT.

No backlinks shown, no pages listed though.

I have emailed google twice with no reply.

Im new here, Am I able to show the domain to people?

Below are all the bots visitng the site, I dont see google there?

AskJeeves 2482 74.39 MB 08 May 2005 - 18:24
Inktomi Slurp 482 9.29 MB 08 May 2005 - 18:24
WISENutbot 126 465.81 KB 08 May 2005 - 18:22
InternetSeer 28 8.31 KB 08 May 2005 - 18:18
MSNBot 847 17.40 MB 08 May 2005 - 18:02
Walhello appie 5 108.94 KB 08 May 2005 - 17:50
LinkChecker 384 7.52 MB 08 May 2005 - 16:54
Grub.org 26 490.38 KB 08 May 2005 - 16:03
BaiDuSpider 1 0 07 May 2005 - 23:58
Alexa (IA Archiver) 1 21.40 KB 07 May 2005 - 23:48
Scooter 1 21.38 KB 07 May 2005 - 23:4

[patoruzu]

Three years ago, when I changed to another host, my site dissappeared from Google. I e-mailed Google and got an answer.

They explained that, sometimes, they “lost” a site when it changed to a different host.

They added that generally it happened because of a mistake of one of the hosting companies.

Their advice was: be sure you have links from other sites, and Googlebot will find you again. Some time after that (a month, I think) my site reappeared.

[cddinc]

I have done a lot of research on the Internet regarding this issue and found very little information about others who have had the same thing happen to them (especially recently). Could it just be bad luck? Or maybe we were banned and the timing was just a coincidence?

Assuming we get reindexed in a month, does that mean we start with PR0 and no rankings once again, after over a year of hard work?

[jacknimble]

There are so many sites hosted on shared servers that I think the SEs quit weighing IPs a long time ago, so I would not worry about that.

We use shared hosting for a number of customers on the same server, and their PR, results, and everything else is completely variable and due to site design and incoming links. Some are on the first page of Google SERP, and others have no PR.

I know that this doesn't solve your problem, but you can at least rule that out, I think.

[Galtego]

I have found that an overlap is important when changing to a new host. It is good to maintain files on both hosts until Googlebot stops visiting the old one. It can take several weeks before Google fully follows the updated DNS information, even when it is set up correctly.