Title and Description replaced by host's domain name

[namniboose]

Just reached #1 on Google for my most important keyword and I was so thrilled (especially with yahoo following suit) but I just looked at my listing and the title and description have changed to:

I have recently changed webhost but I'm not sure exactly what happened. I timed something wrongly.

I'm REALLY hoping that Googlebot will revisit before the next update but if he doesn't (I think it's a 'he') I guess that will knock me off my spot. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Worse than that, it's not the best 'Ad Copy'!

Is it possible Googlebot will revisit? And what did I do wrong in transferring webhosts?

Thanks for any advice.

[edited by: Marcia at 8:34 pm (utc) on Oct. 20, 2002]

[Marcia]

Don't faint, this is what tech support said on the phone :)

They had a DNS problem 2 months ago, but supposedly there is none now. If the site is showing up in the browser it's OK on their end, it's a problem on your end.

How long ago did you move the site there?

[namniboose]

Hi Marcia,

I didn't move the site TO that company, I moved it FROM them, and I did it last week.

There must have been a window between changing the nameservers and uploading the website to the new host but I can't get my head around what happened exactly.

Do you think there is any chance of Google revisiting before the update? Is there anything I can do?

[edited by: namniboose at 8:09 pm (utc) on Oct. 14, 2002]

[edited by: Marcia at 8:35 pm (utc) on Oct. 20, 2002]

[Marcia]

This is hard to explain, but this isn't an isolated incident. It was just reported happening by a member with a UK host in a recent thread, his PR6 site was bringing up his host's homepage. And I've been seeing this same thng myself at Google for a few months, and it's still a problem.

There was at one time a product site with a top 5 Google listing - with a product related domain name. For months that product domain name was showing up with the page and page title of a hosting company (also in the UK, by coincidence)- it also had an ODP listing, with the ODP description and category showing, which it doesn't any more, the ODP editor made the correction.

There is now that same hosting company sitting at #4 on the Google SERP with it's own domain name. BUT it's got the Google listing for the product search, just as though it were ranking very well for that product.

This is 3 of the same identical problem at Google in just this limited circle of related experience.

[edited by: Marcia at 8:20 pm (utc) on Oct. 14, 2002]

[namniboose]

The domain name migrated to the new nameservers before I had the chance to upload the site to the new webhost so I am wondering if Google indexed my site during that window of time.

But if the domain had already moved then it wouldn't have indexed the old webhost address, would it? I can't quite get my head around that one.

The date of the index is 12 October but the cache shows the old webhost's domain name and IP address.

[edited by: namniboose at 8:32 pm (utc) on Oct. 14, 2002]

[Marcia]

You've got an October 12th date next to your Google listing - with the host's admin page in the cache at Google. But if you look at the cache with the toolbar function it's your site that shows up.

It looks to be a Google caching situation, and my guess at this point is that moving AWAY from name-based virtual hosting can present a problem.

[namniboose]

You beat me to it Marcia!

I have requested a unique IP number with the new host.

[edited by: namniboose at 8:37 pm (utc) on Oct. 14, 2002]

[namniboose]

Can you explain can might happen when moving away from name-based virtual IP hosting?

And is there anything I could do to prevent this happening when I move other sites? (e.g. by timing the move differently).

Thanks for your advice.

[Marcia]

I also have to move a site from name-based hosting, I'm almost afraid to now. The hosting is 100% trouble free, it's just a bandwidth issue. A new discussion started about this, let's see it any further light is shed:

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