Selective Google - not indexing some landing pages

[dolcevita]

I would like to share experience with strange happening regarding not indexing of landing page's.

This is way how i work always. Customers chose terms and then i build
optimized landing page's with unique content completely integrated into customer website qua design and coding.

In 98% situations all landing page's are usually indexed within 1-4 weeks.

However there are some situations when for example from 20 LP only 1 is indexed or from 50 only 3 etc...

By every customer i check always robots and nofollow tags.
Then check of content is unique etc...

All landing pages are 100% integrated into customer existend site qua design, coding and all are visible from home page and the rest of the site (full integration).

It does not matter but all landing pages are furthermore submitted via webmaster tools center to let know that they exist.

Finally after 4 weeks of waiting is one more experiment done whereby is one landing page (which still not indexed after 4 weeks) submitted to soc. bookmarking site's (10 - 12 big major soc. bookmarking sites).

Google respond very quickly and did indexed soc. bookmarking sites where this page is submitted. Despite of the fact that dofollow link to landing pages is now visible on soc. bookmarking sites the landing page in question is still not indexed.

I know that it is difficult without an insight into complete project to give me any hint but is there still anyone who have any clue what is reason for selective Google qua indexing.

Of maybe someone had same experience and have hint what to do in similar situations.

Thanks

btw

This started for the first time to happened since a month a go. Probably it have something to do with Caffeine because in past i have never faced such a issues.

[tedster]

Are these landing pages all integrated into the website through the same amount of internal navigation?

[dolcevita]

Tedster,

In first situation are links to all landing pages visible only on the home page and not on the rest of the site.
In another one are links to landing pages visible on whole site.

btw

I place always link to LP's within list tag on all of my customers website.
Regarding LP's there is on all pages the same amount of internal navigation.

[tedster]

Well, if a page has only one incoming internal link (or even worse, none) that can be one reason for Google not to keep it in the index. It's something they don't like very much, because such patterns are often created only to rank, rather than to serve visitors to the site.

[Robert Charlton]

These pages have often been called "doorway pages". While there's a saying that every page is a potential doorway page, that's true only if the page is well-integrated into the site.

"Well-integrated", though, doesn't refer to look and feel. It refers to internal site navigation, which reflects the importance of the page on the site.

For a longer discussion, along with a brief history of doorway pages, see my comments on this thread...

When is a door not a door?
When it's ajar. But seriously - about doorway pages...
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/16909.htm
[webmasterworld.com...]

[dolcevita]

Tedster,

There are two situations. As you can see i talk here about two sites.
By first one are links to landing pages only on home page but by second one are links to landing pages across whole site integrated into menu.
Actually if you from 50-60 customers sites where links to LP's are placed only on home page (it is very often depend on kind of site from customers) you have only one who is not indexed from Google but rest well then is really in my opinion discussable of it have something to do with internal link across whole site or not.
But it is anyway good hint to take care of it in future.

Robert Charlton,
Thanks for reply but maybe you can call first situations "doorway pages" (if for you doorway pages refers to link and integration of the site) but not second one. Because in another example from customer
are links to LP's all over site.

[pavlovapete]

I think dolcevita is talking about a business where new pages are built for a number of customers who choose the search terms they want to rank for.

If this is true then a number of factors come to mind - most notably the competitive environment of the the landing page and the targeted search terms.

A landing page for a client in the widget insurance industry would be very different to a landing page for a client in the wooden toe-scratcher widget industry.

I think dolcevita is saying that his technique that worked in the past is no longer working?

dolcevita are the clients that you work for today in the same industries as the clients you worked for last year?

[dolcevita]

pavlovapete,

Exactly what you said. Customers choose search terms and then we build new pages with unique content following SEO guide lines.
Sometime customers choose 10 and sometime 50 search terms. We build then new 10 or 50 new pages fully integrated into customers site along with full SEO optimization with the rest of the site.

I understand what you talk about the competitive environment and we are aware of it but here is main question why in very rarely situations are those new pages not indexed.
We have more than hundred customers in very diverse sectors industries. From agriculture across multimedia till metal industry.

In very rarely situations (only two customers site) Google does not want to index new pages. That's main point.
I have tried to analyze all factors and compare it with the rest of our customers but still can not find the answer.

[pavlovapete]

If this is a new page added to a trusted domain name that is already ranking well in Google then you are right - there are curious factors at work.

Do your pages have a footprint? E.g. something in the code that is identical across all of your clients (header, footer, etc)
- possibly Google is flagging your SEO services?

What is the size of the client website. Are you adding 50 pages to an existing 3 page only website?
- possibly you are adding too many new pages at once

Is the content unique or cookie-cutter? Are you targeting 50 variations of the main keyword or 50 unique search terms?
- possibly Google may think the pages are identical apart from some minor differences

Can you find out if the pages are being crawled by the googlebot? Then you can be certain at least that Google is seeing your new pages - and they are choosing not to index them.

Cheers

[internetheaven]

If this is a new page added to a trusted domain name that is already ranking well in Google then you are right - there are curious factors at work.

There seems to be no method to the madness. I had a site drop 90% traffic at the beginning of June. New pages are still indexed within hours of creation.

Conversely I have a site that increased traffic/ranking in recent weeks yet any new pages created over the past 2 months have not been indexed.

I don't get it at all. Google hates one site but wants new pages from it as quickly as possible? But loves another site but doesn't want any more pages from it?

[Robert Charlton]

dolcevita - Each of these "sites", are they...

(a) each on their own domain, on sites independent of each other?

(b) or are they on subdomains and incorporated into a large directory-like site that contains many subdomains?

Whether (a) or (b)... are these customer websites linked to each other?

Are they linked to or from a common main "directory" site?

[dolcevita]

Robert Charlton,

That's are just site as any other site on their own domains and independent of each other.
It have nothing to do with "directory", subdomains and they are not doorway pages.
pavlovapete have good explain in his reply above what is that and how it looks.

pavlovapete,
Thank you for posting possible factors that may affect those pages.