Google's 950 Penalty - Part 5

[steveb]

< continued from [webmasterworld.com...] >
< related threads: -950 Quick Summary [webmasterworld.com] -- -950 Part One [webmasterworld.com] >

"That's exactly the sort of sites I'm referring to"

Unfortunately some comments about this issue apparently can't be bothered to actually, horrors, look at the serps. Authority has a specific meaning with Google, and its plain that authority sites are what are commonly, mistakenly hit by this penalty. I don't think this is a good summary of the effect, but one simplistic way to look at would be to say authority sites with volume of quality in-links are being confused with spam sites with a volume of rotten quality in-links, sometimes.

One of the most interesting phenomenons is how an authority site can be #1 for red topic, blue topic, green topic and purple topic, but be 950 for orange topic, even though the linking, page structure and keyword usage is basically the same for all of them. Clearly a a ranking mistake is being made (either the 950 result, or all those #1's).

[edited by: tedster at 9:17 pm (utc) on Feb. 27, 2008]

[macman23]

I have three websites and they now all rank at the bottom of the last page of results for common keywords. They used to all rank in the top five results. The first website dropped in June last year, the second was in November last year, and the third was this January. Now I barely get any traffic from Google and see no signs of a recovery.

I am at a complete loss.

[annej]

I am at a complete loss.

There is no easy answer but start wading through these messages and try some of the ideas given here. There is hope, you just have to find the key for your situation.

[fraudcop]

you have to make your site for google - not for your users.

But first you have to find out what google wants.

Not easy task

[anax]

I used to make my site for my users; now I just scramble to figure out what Google seems to want (and I have no idea), since making it for my users used to work with Google but doesn't any more.

[Martin40]

But first you have to find out what google wants.

Not easy task

How about impossible? My site is so clean, if makes me sick to the stomach. Yet my site is at #800 and garbage reigns supreme.

[fred9989]

Anne,
I think you might be onto something. If only because so often one person's sites are on the same server! I know we've all talked about interlinking of sites on the same server and the downsides many times, but I've always thought there is some justification to having a few sites on different aspects of the same subject. I guess the moral would now be...don't do this anymore.

Or did you mean sites by the same person on the same server but covering different subjects? Now that would be quite sinister. Big Google is watching us!
Rod

< continued here: [webmasterworld.com...] >

[edited by: tedster at 8:27 am (utc) on Mar. 13, 2007]