Forum Moderators: phranque
I've always placed my (rather bulky & extensive) nav bar across the top of my pages, so it was the first thing the spiderbots indexed.
Twice I've changed it and moved it down the left hand column and used the top of the page simply for my logo, sitemap link and 640 x 120 banner ad - makes for a much prettier page and more content is visible above the 'fold' - an added bonus was the page view increased slightly.
BUT on both occasions a few weeks after moving it I've been hit with the Google Drop. Panicked the first time and changed the nav bar back to the top of the page immediately - took 9 weeks to get back to my 'usual' position.
Moved it back down the left column in September and 7th October - week before Jagger update - dropped approx 40 places, and still down there - I've, again, put the old navbar back across the top of the pages and it's obviously not made any difference.
QUESTION - Have I just been unlucky with my timing - would I have dropped anyway - or do the SE spiderbots prefer the very top of the page to the left hand column for a sitewide navbar.
views very much appreciated.
I never considered it, along with the millions of other theories I've seen in the Google forum. Well, in my earlier days under a different screen name I did chase a few wild ones following the stampede effect that never works! Patience and a well structured site pays off but you'll always see fluctuations.
Auxiliary nav at bottom: copyright, tos, etc.
Site subject nav on the left, or in some circumstances, on the right.
Above pretty much describes the norm.
Kaled.
