gorriedt Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 (edited) Hey All, I'm trying to figure out why the google bot likes to come to my site quite often (almost 150 times this month already!)..but just stopped listing it! A few sites I have done (including my own personal site) were all ranked #1 by google just a week ago...not, nothing. But nothing has changed on the sites, still the same thing as it used to be, but now I'm not ranked at all...not even in the top 20! I'm still the same in yahoo, msn, excite...but just mr google! Let me know if you have any ideas! Thanks Dave Edited March 8, 2005 by gorriedt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Tim Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Sometimes they change their algorithms and you can drop from #1 to #100 overnight. There's more to life than Google rankings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorriedt Posted March 8, 2005 Author Share Posted March 8, 2005 Yeah, I know there's more to life than google...but just not too much! Just kidding of course. My main problem was with a bands website...they are being feature on AOL when members sign in, there's a nice blurb about them amongst all the crap they you get thrown at you. then there's a "find out more about the band" link and it just takes you to a google search with the bands name...but that's not so helpful anymore! kinda stinks, it is going live in a day or so and the site dropped off yesterday! -D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Tim Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Yeah, I know there's more to life than google...but just not too much! Just kidding of course. My main problem was with a bands website...they are being feature on AOL when members sign in, there's a nice blurb about them amongst all the crap they you get thrown at you. then there's a "find out more about the band" link and it just takes you to a google search with the bands name...but that's not so helpful anymore! kinda stinks, it is going live in a day or so and the site dropped off yesterday! -D <{POST_SNAPBACK}> How impossible would it be to get the link to point to the band's website? What is the band, anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorriedt Posted March 8, 2005 Author Share Posted March 8, 2005 Yeah, That's what I'm waiting for from the AOL gods...lucky that the guy that controls the page is a fan of the band...that always helps. I just thought there might have been something that I can do about the whole deal. It's tough to try and explain to clients how search engines work...and that they all don't really work the same way! The band is The Getaway Car - they're from Washington DC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cak Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Wonder if Google applied a “penalty” for the hidden text at the bottom of the page? HTH, Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Don Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Could be. From google, Quality Guidelines - Specific recommendations: Avoid hidden text or hidden links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deverill Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 I doubt it's a penalty. They are usually pretty relaxed on the rules and only go after the MAJOR abusers. Edit:That said, it's never a good idea to "break the rules" because they may some day decide to slam everyone. /end edit. With Google you can get a bounce while it is scanning sites and trying to apply new algorithms. It may be there one day, not the next and then back the next. I recommend you wait about 1-2 weeks and see where you stand before you do any significant (or even minor) changes to your site to try to "catch up" to them. It's never a good idea to chase the engines - just make the best site you can and let them come to you. Of course, links to your site are always awesome-good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cak Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 (edited) No doubt Google has been lax on hidden text in the past. One of the sites returned for a search phrase that I monitor disappeared from Google results following the recent update. It may be a coincidence, but the phrase is repeated in a large block of text hidden using the same method employed above. Definitely something to consider… HTH, Carol Edited March 8, 2005 by cak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorriedt Posted March 8, 2005 Author Share Posted March 8, 2005 Hmm, All very interesting stuff. I'll have to wait a week or so and see what happens. I'll see what I can do about the hidden text, if nothing happens by then. I think that might not be the cause, my homepage (davegorrie.com) is Post-Nuke, so I know there's no hidden text there. I tried to tell my clients that this stuff is "like magic!". Thanks again all...let me know if you can think of any other suggestions! -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Tim Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 I think that might not be the cause, my homepage (davegorrie.com) is Post-Nuke, so I know there's no hidden text there. Except for the link to Jervonny Collier's Homepage at the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deverill Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Dave, Another thing to consider is that Google seems to be doing a lot of experimenting with the algorithms relating to blogs and forums. They may be in a "keep them back" mode and it may change again soon. If they stay in this mindset then bloggers and forum guys will need to make "plain" homepages to lead in or something. Good luck with it! If we can help just ask! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorriedt Posted March 10, 2005 Author Share Posted March 10, 2005 (edited) Interesting. Those google folks sure do like to toy with people emotions...i mean site rankings. It's just crazy that every other search engine lists the site as #1 or top 3...I keep trying to come up with some sort of analogy model for my clients, like: Google is to search engins as ___________ is to __________. Know what I mean? I just need to fill in the blanks Thanks again for all the help! It look like my website just popped back into Google...so I would think the other page might hop back sometime soon, if not I might take out the dirty hidden text! -Dave Edited March 10, 2005 by gorriedt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deverill Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Google is to search engins as ___________ is to __________. "Google is to search engines as Microsoft is to Operating Systems." They're the biggest (for now) and most well known so they can pretty much do whatever they want. Eventually, if they botch it too much someone else will take over but until then, or if that never happens, they can get by with it because they're the, arguably, best game in town. We may think there are better engines but the "unwashed masess" don't even know about the others in most cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCH-Bruce Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Well I don't know what they are doing but I like it. The website for the company I work for jumped from 5th to 1st for our most used search phrase. We are #2 on MSN for the same search phrase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deverill Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 One unconfirmed theory I heard was that they are decreasing the rank of blogs because they are everywhere and don't really necessarily provide facts so they aren't as well regarded. It's only a thought but with blogs "out of the way", company or informational sites have a better chance. Also I think, from personal observation, that they are working on identifying spammy sites... the ones I track for my client (his competition) have mostly dropped off the lists. Only time will tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.