Resubmit my site to google for reconsideration

[amythepoet]

My questions is this, I have lost rankings due to the last google update and have fixed what I can fix, now do I need to resubmit my site to google for reconsideration?

also, do I need to just start over , and say go get my site for the first time?

I am beside myself here, the orders have stopped, I don't know what to do

[tedster]

If you made some corrections, then a Reconsideration Request is a good idea. But you don't need to resubmit your site - once your pages have been found, Google keeps on crawling.

Be sure first to watch the video linked from this thread: Reconsideration Request Tips - from Google Search Quality Team [webmasterworld.com]

[amythepoet]

ok, I tried to get google on the phone but I can't get them they direct me to the site, so I did do a reconsideration request, I will the thread now, thank you

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

Google don't do telephone calls. ;)

[amythepoet]

well, that is outrageous

[tedster]

Not so outrageous if you think about how many webmasters there are in the world, and that this would be FREE support. Phone help is just not a reasonable possibility in this kind of situation. They could grow their total staff by ten and still not even come close to being able to handle that kind of flood. On top of that, they're not going to tell anyone "how to get my rankings back" anyway.

[amythepoet]

well, I've done everything you told me to and the sites ahead of me are in not up your standards, if you know I mean and mine is, I got a note from google saying now I would hear within 2 weeks, I know you'll say I should wait, but I'v waited over a month and I'm getting klobbered her, I need direct advice, I've followed your advice to the letter, I've read your postings until my eyes can fall out, I don't know what is wrong, I believe it has to do with that awful google business that happened a month ago, the latest upate, for over 9+ years, I have worked day and night on this and I am going to lose it, I need HELP and fast

[amythepoet]

Plus how many people back and ssay oh well, google doesn't like me, so I guess no more site, not this kid, I"m fighting with all I've got this was a site in memory of my father who taught me how to fight and I'm going for it, I just want to find out what happened, I've looked at the tutorial videos, I've done a human being can do and all I do iis cry myself to sleep , this is not right, this is an outrage

[amythepoet]

also there is still an X gext to site-map.html but sitemap.xml is correct
I h ave asked repeatedly how to delete site-map.html from google webmaster tools and I have gotten no reply, can you please tell me how to do that?

[tedster]

I don't know how to delete it or even if it CAN be deleted. But that one file in WMT is not causing a ranking problem for you. There's an "X" next to it because Google can't use it as an xml sitemap, but you don't want them to use it anyway.

If this is the first time in nine years that you've had a serious ranking problem, then you have been quite fortunate. As you can read in this forum, year after year, many webmasters have had to cope with a major loss of search traffic and sales at some time.

And yes, I know it hurts -- most definitely. But the harsh truth is something that has been said here many times: Google does not owe you traffic and they did not promise you traffic. They are operating a free search engine for the general public. Sending free traffic to any individual website is not their purpose.

So a business model that is based only on organic Google Search traffic to a single website is not sound enough to be stable in the long run. That doesn't mean you shouldn't work to figure out the problem. From the timing, it seems you have been caught in the long-tail, site quality change we call "Mayday". You may need to do a lot, both on the site and off site, to get your traffic back, because this change is essentially the "new Google".

Have you considered posting about your case on Google's own webmaster forums?

[amythepoet]

Yes thank you, I have posted my cse on Google's webmaster forum and look forward to hearing what they say.

I have been working night and day with google webmaster tools and by asking questions here in hopes I can make things better here. Just tell me what to do, please, Im begging for help here

[zeus]

google reconsideration is always a bad idea, I you think you have made mistakes, then wait a week so googlebot can spider your site.

Another thing, its always a bad thiong to change a site when a larger update is going on.

[amythepoet]

why is reconsideration a bad idea? also, is the site update still going on? How do I find out about that please?

If so, how do I cancel the reconsideration request?

[tedster]

Google's updates are always going on - it's never "finished". That's the main reason for our monthly Google Updates and SERP Changes thread. Your site can get caught in an algo change and then get released with the next tweak that Google makes.

There is a difference of opinion in the WebmasterWorld community about whether a Reconsideration Request is a good idea or not, Amy. I've had good results from it, especially when the automated algo has given a big problem or when a client site was breaking the guidelines but then fixed the situation.

Others see it differently and some report that the manual review can uncover MORE problems in your site and cause extended troubles. I think you can sum up the differences this way:

1. PRO: A Google staff member will take a manual look at your site
2. CON: A Google staff member will take a manual look at your site

[amythepoet]

ok

[Planet13]

Your site can get caught in an algo change and then get released with the next tweak that Google makes.

Tedster: If you were a gambling man, would you hold off on making any major changes to a site's design right now?

Please look deeply into your crystal ball and give us an estimate (heck, a wild guess will do) of when might be a safe time to do a design overhaul?

Should we just wait until we see the SERPs and bot traffic get back to "normal"?

[tedster]

I don't know what some of this new Google behavior is all about. These reports of instant drops when changes are discovered - especially when they don't even affect the visible content - are just plain weird. I can't begin to think that the unchanged content wouldn't rank again within a short period. It may be some new kind of protection against spammers testing the algo, but that's just my wild guess.

The Google algo does do some "visual page simulation", and maybe that's coming into play for some of these reports. It's been known to misfire - such as the episode last year where an iframe was misread as "too much white space". That got the site a hard penalty until Google's JohnMu interevened manually in a thread on Google's forums.

So no crystal ball here - sorry. I'd say make site changes when your business identifies a real need for your visitors and market. But never make changes on a whim, especially if your are already ranking well. If you've identified a real need, that's a different story, and that's not a whim.

Really, really, really - serve your visitors well, first and foremost. If that means risking a wobbly time in Google once in a while, then so be it. Google should not be all your business is about. If it currently is, then fix that situation.

Should we just wait until we see the SERPs and bot traffic get back to "normal"?

We always need to face the possibility that this IS the new normal. I'd say that some parts of the current situation will stick with us for quite a while. It's sorting out which parts are which that is always the challenge.