How do small sites suddenly gain high ranks

[MustardDan]

Hi everyone, I just want to share a finding and perhaps ask if anyone has noticed the same and found any reasons behind it.

We have held position 1 on Google UK for a certain keyword for a good year or so, we have over the past couple of days dropped to P2. Thats not a huge issue but we have been replaced at the top by a site that is keyword stuffed, only has 7 backlinks to their entire domain from 2 other linking domains....A very low quality site indeed. The site in question has never been on the radar before and it has suddenly appeared from nowhere.

Also, on another site I work with, we generally hold top 5 in Google for out main keyword, 2 weeks ago, a domain less than 2 months old, suddenly appeared straight at position 3. Again their site is keyword stuffed and all there inbound links are footer links that seem to be from a link network.

Isn't this the sort of stuff Google is meant to be preventing? It seems the extreme low quality is starting to get back up there.

Any thoughts?

[iThink]

Over 10 years ago, when I joined this board, my first post was about how I was getting killed by the blog spammers. I got a bunch of advice on this board as well as on a few other boards about continuing to do white hat stuff and what not. After following that advice for a while, I wised up and took my hat off and haven't looked back since then.

Those who are talking about hats ought to remember:

1. For a business owner, money in bank account is the ultimate evidence of success.

2. Life passes most people by while they’re making grand plans for it. So time to make the money and enjoy the money is today. That white hat site can wait for another day.

[lucy24]

For a business owner, money in bank account is the ultimate evidence of success.

Y'know, there was once a multi-episode storyline on Dr Who revolving wholly around the theme of recursion. Remember it well.

Punch line: For if it prosper, none dare call it et cetera.

[seoskunk]

Had to look up recursion to fully understand Lucy's post as have missed some Dr. Who....

"the solution to a problem depends on solutions to smaller instances of the same problem."

So smaller instances remain of the same problem, whats to say that the instances will have less and less longevity as time progresses. In that instance a hat may be needed to be chosen. For its a sustained income we all desire from the net whatever hat you wear.