Can we submit a second URL to Google?

Our initial URL has been spammed.

[webadmin]

We have several versions of our URL registered to account for spelling mistakes/typos, and to avoid cybersquatting, but have only pointed one of these at our website.

The URL pointed at our website has been spammed, and also appears with several (apparently several hundred) links from sites which have nothing to do with us, and which were apparently posted by a third party as part of a 'cyber-extortion' scheme.

Apparently as a result of all these spurious links, and spam, we have lost our position on Google entirely (and following that, on all other search engines). {Is it possible to find out or verify if a site has been 'penalized' by Google?}

We are considering changing our URL to one of the alternate spellings, and pointing that at our website.

However, to ensure that existing legitimate users can still find us, we would also like to have our current URL point at the web site.

The "spamming" has nothing to do with us.

How will Google treat this?

[bnhall]

Hi webadmin. To see if you've been banned get the Google toolbar at [toolbar.google.com...] and check your PR. If the bar is all white, then you're in trouble. Check the site search at [searchengineworld.com...] for more info on checking your PR.

For how to handle this if you have been banned, you could use one of your other domain names, host it elsewhere, but make an exact copy of the banned site (but no redirect). This would require you to update 2 sites, but it would fulfill the requirements you've listed above.

Cyber-extortion, eh? That's wild. How much did they want to stop it?

[webadmin]

Thank you for that post.

Apparently the site is not banned -- the green bar is where it should be.

However, none of our keywords, which used to rank #1 or #2, brings up the site (I checked through as many as 15 pages of listings).

Our site was held in high esteem in the niche it is in, and was considered a definitive resource. It is also listed in ODP.

When we type the name of our site into the Google search, it shows up in scores of listings -- dozens and dozens and dozens -- not any of which have anything to do with our site, or our keywords, and many of which appear to be dead sites.

Any idea what's going on?

Furthermore, I notice that other reputable leading sites in our niche area also do not show up when the appropriate keywords are searched.

In other words, someone using Google apparently wouldn't find many of the best sites -- which previously had high ranking, and now have simply disappeared?

[webadmin]

Addendum:

PS:
re: "Check the site search at [searchengineworld.com...] for more info on checking your PR."

Plugging in various relevant keywords in the search box at that URL reported "no documents found". ie: NO SITES came up. That should not be the case. Even sites listed at ODP did not come up.

Something would seem to be rotten in the state of SearchEngineLand.

[Woz]

Just pop "pagerank" (without the quotes) into the search box and you should find plenty of information about Google and PR.

Onya
Woz

[hutchins13]

webadmin, the link you mention searches this site, not the Internet.

[mykel]

If you want to find out about Pagerank, this site is the best place to do it. Who needs the rest of the Internet?:)

[quiet_man]

>> I notice that other reputable leading sites in our niche area also do not show up when the appropriate keywords are searched.<<

>>In other words, someone using Google apparently wouldn't find many of the best sites -- which previously had high ranking, and now have simply disappeared? <<

Webadmin - what you are describing is the result of the September update at Google. Nothing to do with spammers. Check the numerous threads on this eg. Google is horrible (Sept Update Pt1) [webmasterworld.com] and Lets Find Out What Happened (Sept Update Pt2) [webmasterworld.com]