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Also, I've been thinking that this would be the right time to change my host, closing the old place, and opening up under a new name with much of the same content. What are the pitfalls of such a plan?
Mc
Also, I've been thinking that this would be the right time to change my host, closing the old place, and opening up under a new name with much of the same content. What are the pitfalls of such a plan?
Until you figure out what caused the sudden decline of your site, a new url and new name won't help much.
You need to find out which of Google's webmaster guidelines you've manged to cross and fix it. There's no easy out on this one. If you can identify the problem and fix it, you can redeem yourself soon enough.
If you can identify the problem and fix it, you can redeem yourself soon enough.
Yes, this is one of the real treasures with Google, if you get tripped up you can come back almost no matter what. So step back, re-group and keep at it.
Be glad your troubles are not with Yahoo as once they tap you on the shoulder your banished for ever it seems.
Until you figure out what caused the sudden decline of your site,
AH! That's the question! My little site was doing just fine from 2002 until Sept 2004. Not much had changed there, so all I could imagine as my new Google problem was duplicate content in old newsletters and a few pages of affiliate material, though they themselves never amounted to much to start with. I removed those, not knowing if they were the cause but thinking that I could live without them. But nothing's changed, and I am reluctant to do anything drastic, as I have seen Google put other sites through the wringer for a while. As Sept becomes late-December, I just wonder what else I could do.
Is there a good way to get a diagnosis as to the cause of my site's G-sickness? (Anyone, have a thread or a knowledge base that covers self-forensics?)
Many thanks to everyone,
MM
Then make sure you're not "linking out" to sites that have a grey PR value.
What is the name that "linking to gray PR sites" goes by? I link to a lot of obscure sites, as well as the better content ones, but I'm not up to snuff on the potential penalty to me for linking to them. And, what's the easiest way to "see" all my outgoing gray PR links?
Read Google's guidelines... then read them again, very carefully. Go through your site, page by page starting with the authority pages first and working your way down.
Back in September, Google tweeked the keyword density algo. Check to see what your density is and if you think its too high, it probably is. The best way to tell is if a sentence sounds constructed to jam in keywords, then you have likely found the culprit.
Sentences should be constructed such that they read properly and are not keyword stuffed.
Also, check each outgoing link to make sure you aren't linking to any really questionable sites and that all links are still live.
Another thing to check for are any orphan pages. Have you left any pages on your server by mistake which are not linked to from the main site? If so ... that's a sure fire way to incur penalties.
You just have to check everything ..page by page and top to bottom making sure you stay within Google's guidelines on all pages. Starting over with a new URL and new host won't make any difference at all. Just fix your site.
Something else to check is the W3C.org to make sure your pages validate. Its not necessarily a critical thing but it helps if your pages validate.
If you have no idea where to start, there are a lot of folks here you could hire to put the site straight for you.
Good luck!
[webmasterworld.com...]
...and that all links are still live
On this specific point, it looks to me as if dead links will do no harm at all (unfortunately).
Another thing to check for are any orphan pages. Have you left any pages on your server by mistake which are not linked to from the main site? If so ... that's a sure fire way to incur penalties.
Liane: Is there any proof to that theory?
I have left them there with no pictures or layout and the page contains copy only with no links to it. I have no idea why I keep doing this ... I can only surmise that I am either a moron or have a very strange mental block!
I have left orphaned pages on the server at least 8 times in the past 4 years and each time, I've suffered pretty major consequences.
The first time I did this was during the -20 penalties on Google. Within a couple of weeks of removing the page (and the site was respidered) ... all was forgiven.
Its just not possible that my sudden return to sunlight was a coincidence ... in each and every case. I KNOW it was orphan pages that did me in.
I now check what's on the server on a regular basis just to be certain I haven't done it again! The fleet changes often, so for me, it seems to be an easy thing to do. I truly wish I knew why I have such a mental block on this particular topic? There's just no excuse for my stupidity ... but Google hates orphans! (Rather uncharitable of them if you ask me!) ;)
If you really need to keep a page on the server for whatever reason, be sure to add the no index, no follow code before Googlebot finds your little orphan. I am so paranoid now that I don't trust the code and just take the page out completely ... that is ... provided I remember!
BTW ... Caveman's list is excellent!
