Does Google penalize sites by Webmaster Tools association?
moltar
2:46 am on Jul 22, 2010 (gmt 0)
Let's say I have several sites in GWT. Google decides that they don't like one of them. Will they ever review others? Did this ever happen to anyone? Are there any negative effects in general to using GWT?
I've started hearing some rumours and it got me paranoid :)
Thank you!
tedster
4:38 am on Jul 22, 2010 (gmt 0)
I'd say it depends on what you mean by "don't like". If you mean one of the site is doing some heavy-duty manipulation of the search results in ways that go directly counter to Google's guidelines, well, yes. In such a case the other domains that are linked to the same owner can get a VERY close look. However, people that do this kind of thing usually don't register for a Webmaster Tools account - they want to stay "off the radar".
But if you mean that Google doesn't like the site well enough to rank it because of technical errors, or weak content or something like that - then other strong sites in the same account should not be affected.
moltar
4:53 am on Jul 22, 2010 (gmt 0)
I guess I need to review Google Guidelines then :) Thanks your reply! :)
BeeDeeDubbleU
7:53 am on Jul 22, 2010 (gmt 0)
In such a case the other domains that are linked to the same owner can get a VERY close look.
Do you know that as a fact Ted?
tedster
4:03 pm on Jul 22, 2010 (gmt 0)
I'm trusting reports from other people - and I'm pretty sure Matt Cutts also mentioned this in a video in recent months.
Also - I did say a "very close look" and not "an automatic penalty" - which would not make any sense.
karter
4:21 pm on Jul 22, 2010 (gmt 0)
yes they do
mhansen
6:28 pm on Jul 22, 2010 (gmt 0)
I can say without a bit of hesitation that my tin-foil-hat is very thick!
Along with WMT...
- Adsense account (If you have 20 sites using the same adsense ID and one gets flagged for whatever reason, the others will likely be looked at as well)
- Analytics
- GWT
ANYTHING... I think it was either Danny Sullivan or Michael Arrington that had a great writeup about Google as a registrar as well. He quotes someone at Google as stating they also use Registrar (Website Ownership Info) as a tool to control quality. (IE: find other domains you own)
