Google -30 Penalty... what to do?

[tshirtdeal]

Welp I don't think my problems is from any Google algo and indexing changes..

I just used a google penalty checker and it says I have a -30 penalty...

I just do not get it, I have not done anything even remotely blackhat with this site...

Can anyone please help me with the best way to get in touch with Google and get reinclusion as well as check for if a mistake was somehow made? I need the fastest way....

I am shaking right now, I really do not get what has happened...

Thanks for any help I really need it quick... Lost my job a year ago, this was all I had and I have to get my house up for sale here...

Thanks for any help!

[scottsonline]

Are those penalty sites even accurate?

[tshirtdeal]

Hi Scotts, Not sure, perhaps not... after researching many say no...

still, all my 1st and 2nd pages have been moved back to the 5th or beyond...

I do not get it, all I do is add content to the site for years... no paid links, no dup content , nothing.. I distribute articles to a few of the top article directories and social bookmark my important content on 3 social sites... I seek out some links here and there, maybe try to find 10 a week and get 2 a month, all for different pages and with different link text.

I do not know why this is happening, it could not have come at a worst time... I have babied this site just to make sure I do not get a penalty... My recent content has been doing great in Google, getting indexed and to the top page or two within a week... Why all the sudden just dropped back 5 pages or more for everything?

Please, I need some major help and advice here..

Thanks

[scottsonline]

You should post in the google webmaster forums.

[Lame_Wolf]

Are those penalty sites even accurate?

Not the one I just used. I've never heard of a google penalty checker before, so Googled it. Checked out my sites with it. One said it had a severe penalty.
Strange, because the keywords are on Page 1, steady traffic.

They seem to be as useful as wet toilet paper.

[tshirtdeal]

well thats good to hear, I still have to question though why last night all my positions jumped back beyond the 5th page... Last night I felt it was just some algo fluke. Mainly because I did not even assume penalty because I have no clue at all what it could possibly even be the least bit penalized for....

But now it is feeling like a penalty, what a mess...

[jimbeetle]

There's a lot going on with Google right now, tshirtdeal, it isn't only you. A couple of the current threads:

Updates and SERP Changes - October 2010 [webmasterworld.com]
Main Domain Vanished [webmasterworld.com]

Read through at least the Update thread and you'll see that many folks are experiencing a lot of funky stuff.

[kellyman]

Agreed with the advice on here, way too much to even worry about a penalty, be patient, (easier said then done i know) check your WMT and see if you have been notified of any penalty, google somtimes let you know, check other keywords and see if they are -30 if not im sure your site is like many others as pointed out..

Hope all comes back soon

[Robert Charlton]

This is a tough time to feel as if you have a penalty, because Google is churning a lot right now... perhaps in preface to an update. That's my guess, but it is a guess. I wouldn't make any onsite changes at the moment.

First, what makes you think, apart from this online diagnosis, that this is specifically a minus thirty penalty? Take a look at the Hot Topics [webmasterworld.com] section, pinned to the top of the Google SEO forum home page, and look at the articles in the penalties section.

From what you've said about your site, what jumps out at me is the possibility that the links from your articles in various article directories and those that have been syndicated might be looked upon as some sort of spammy link building arrangement. If the articles dupe content that you also use on your site, that could be creating difficulties for you.

all my 1st and 2nd pages have been moved back to the 5th or beyond

Counting on my fingers, this sounds more like -50. I'm not sure how absolute Google is these days about how many pages down your penalty should go, assuming you have one.

Check out the penalites section, but take a look at this article in particular...

Help with Minus 50 Penalty - December 2009
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4046016.htm [webmasterworld.com]

It is the kind of thing that could be a Google error, as well. Look into that, but check your site first to make sure it's really clean.

[tshirtdeal]

Thanks,

Yeah I should have said -50...but that it what it is feeling like now... The article distribution I have been doing the same thing for like 3 or 4 years now... The article are all unique from my site, they are 100% different then anything used on my site... I don't see how after 4 years of doing the same thing and always gaining rankings and PR all the sudden this would be reason for a penalty.

The problem is it is with all my keyword pages, non competitive ones that have been on the 1st page for years, just gone...

No need to worry about me doing any onsite stuff, if it don't come back I am done...

I have checked my site for basic things and it comes up clean... I have not willingly placed a back link anywhere in 3 months,... Every link on my site is good neighborhood material. Google has been really respecting my content the last few months, more then ever... The site hit the 5 year mark a month ago, thought my content was being rewared a bit more for being a long standing trusted and respected site...

I just dont get it...

[jimbeetle]

I just dont get it...

Nobody does right now, though I have a gut feeling that what we're seeing now is the new Google.

[tshirtdeal]

I guess what has me extremely concerned is that my competition is sitting there fine, I am the only moved way off...

If my SERPS were jumping around a bit and so were theirs I would feel better waiting for the shake to finish up and see where things fit...

Never been through this before and it is to errie of a penalty...

Thanks for the help,

[jimbeetle]

Never been through this before and it is to errie of a penalty...

I think what we're trying to reinforce here is that there is no way of knowing if this is a "penalty." If you read around any of the other search-related boards, including Google's, you'll find many, many, many folks in the same position.

This is not something you have done, Google gone and done it. The goalposts have moved, landscape shifted. A fundamental change in search.

[tshirtdeal]

Yeah, thanks... I guess I just gotta try to wait it out...

[mhansen]

I just want to reinforce what everyone else in this post has said man... Wait it out and see what happens for a short bit.

I took a hit on the June 2nd update (aka Mayday) on a rather busy site I worked on. 4 months and a few thousand dollars of labor, content, server upgrades, code changes, navigational changes, both ONsite AND INlink changes, and we have most of it back.

What I don't have though... is a flipping clue as to what helped, or if is ANY of what we did helped at all!

We-Flung-Poo... Lots of it, and something stuck!

Maybe that's exactly what Daddy-G wants... SEO's rendered useless, wondering what works and what doesn't.

[tshirtdeal]

Thanks,

man I don't have no 4 months though, probably be putting my house up after the weekend...

I am just going to keep doing what I have been doing, adding fresh content and getting a good link here and there when I can and give it a month... after that I just can't afford to spend the time on it for no money in return so probably check up on it after that and if it ever comes back to life start work again...