Google Has Just Updated, How Did You Fair?

Posted on February 11, 2007

In the last week I have noticed that Google has done a ranking update. A ranking update is not to be mistaken for a PR (Page Rank) update. Page Rank and Ranking are indeed 2 different animals. As far as I am concerned Page Rank and Ranking have no meeting ground, although some will argue. In this latest ranking update I have made some observations. As with most updates there are many cries of unfair, complete disappearances. Same old, same old, webmasters screaming about thier sites that have been holding top ten ranking for years suddenly disappeared from the Google index. I don’t mean losing a few notches, I mean complete disappearance. I am a webmaster that administers to well over 100 websites every day. Some of these sites are my own while others are clients.

The Current Ranking Vibes Seem to be About:

One factor that is often overlooked in the rage is the net is becoming much more competitive, sites are being added to the net every day at unprecedented rates. Spammers are still out of control and are the main root cause of Google having to take such action. It doesn’t matter what I do with any of the websites I admin to when they hit a certain point in serps they also become a huge target for spammers. It becomes a job in itself to manage spam, particularly with blogs.

I Got Banned From Google and Here’s How I got Back in

In 1999, I built my first website WePrintColour.com. Having little to no SEO knowledge I just built the site the way I wanted to build it, good page titles, unique Meta tags and unique content. In 2000, I realized that more people (in the US) were searching for “Color” instead of “Colour” so I registered WePrintColor.com and built a website that was basically a clone of the weprintcolour.com, the only difference being the spelling of “Color”. In 2001 weprintcolor.com became a top ten ranked site for one of the main products we specialize in “business cards”. From 2001 to 2004 this site steadily climbed the se ranks and did very well. In 2004, I applied to Google AdSense and was accepted. I began to monetize my site very effectively through this program.

AdSense earnings

As you can see in 2004-2005 AdSense was producing some very attractive additional income. In 2005-2006 AdSense earnings have steadily declined. Today, I use Adsense for nothing more that an SEO tool. When I see earnings are improving it is usually a good indicator that I am on the right track. I doubt I will ever see the kind of income that I once did because I don’t focus on this as a prime source of revenue. During the good days, I did not think for a moment that AdSense could produce this kind of income. The truth is riding the AdSense wave in 2004/ 2005 was surprising to me and a great bonus that I never counted on. However, my gut feel was one of uncertainly so I never included this income in any of my planning. Today, there are the elite few that are making 4, 5 and 6 digits of monthly income with AdSense, still but if your prime source of revenue was planned based on selling mainstream products and services, stick with it. The few that are successfully making this kind of money have a greater knowledge base then most with internet marketing and put allot of hours in. That is my advice to any mainstream webmaster “do not count on AdSense earnings”. Just enjoy it while it lasts, hopefully forever. Remain focused of your original objectives.

Recap- The Last year of Google Monumental Updates

In Jan 2006 Jagger updates began. These updates seemed to unfold in 3 separate parts 1, 2 and 3, followed by the infamous Big Daddy update. After all the dust settled my favorite search engine, Google, dropped me like a hot potato. Did I lose a few ranks? No, it was a complete banned by Google. Ranking- gone, Pr6- gone, amazing AdSense earnings-gone. Why? At the time I can recall thousands of webmasters playing the same song I was playing. The answer for me was MSSA (I think that’s hilarious)! I have 2 sites that are clones; really…Google’s engineers got me.

I found myself having to stand as far back as possible and take a look at my realm of websites that I am responsible for. Be honest with myself consider the MSSA penalty. Do my websites serve a real point and purpose? Do they suck? Would I recommend them to my daughters as a worthy source of information? I believe that if you look at what I am saying and take appropriate action, your websites will naturally climb the ranks. If you fall off the horse get the hell back up and ride!! What separates the children from the adults are those that can address the “Why?” honestly, accurately and quickly.

What Happened on Google’s TBR and Ranking Update Jan/ Feb, 2007.

My Flagship Domains

WePrintcolor.com

Creation Date: 16-may-2000

Keyword Ranking: Still +950 penalty under keyword “business cards”

0.5% Traffic from Google comes from these terms: 1. cartoon characters 20 2. stock market 18 3. harp seal 11 4. birthday hat 51 5. 16 birthday 4 6. 16th birthday 4 7. lilacs 21 8. “pitt meadows alberta” 3 9. happy 16th birthday 8 10. man with gun 13 11. american coins 2 12. seal pup 3 13. air filter 5 14. bleed printing 8 15. harp seal pup 2 16. okenagan 7 17. “free business images” 15 18. valais 18 19. shirt and tie 19 20. amniotic fluid

TBPR: Went from PR0 to PR5 and reindexed by Google

IBLs: Results 1 - 10 of about 35 linking to www.weprintcolor.com. (0.30 seconds)

Alexa Rank: Rank: 1,650,362 | Linking In: 688 | Related Links

Summary: Paying a severe penalty from what appears like a manual ban. Likely causes: from engaging in synthetic linking, duplicate content and server hacked spam. All were resolve March 2006. I always wondered if you were banned how severe (duration) the penalty was. In this case the total ban time was 6 months. The most painful aspect of the ban (serps) remains in effect, a ban from serps. Lesson- don’t mess with tactics that clearly breach Google’s guidelines. Trust Rank is a factor now. To earn this I believe you need to pass the new “tight” Google algos along with a human review that is no secret Google includes in thier ranking algo.

WePrintcolour.com

Creation Date: 03-sep-1999

Keyword Ranking: Not ranking for desired keyword Postcards but ranking for a few other secondary keywords and keywords that WePrintColor promotes

20% Traffic from Google comes from these terms: 1. making business cards 4 2. reading slogans 4 3. reprotech 5 4. postcard template 18 5. postcard printing 8 6. fanotech 10 7. business cards online 6 8. real estate postcard templates 9 9. business cards 24 10. centerian 2 11. postcard templates 20 12. computeredge 8 13. business card 17 14. real estate postcard template 7 15. postal cards 5 16. online printing 7 17. free make your own business cards 9 18. business cards canada 10 19. design your own business cards online 4 20. making business card

TBPR: Remains PR5

IBLs: Results 1 - 10 of about 61 linking to www.weprintcolour.com. (0.31 seconds)

Alexa Rank: Rank: 2,432,164 | Linking In: 240 | Related Links

Index Stats: Results 1 - 10 of about 1,260 from www.weprintcolour.com. (0.26 seconds)

Summary: Seems to be on an upward trend. Blog has added to daily uniques, freshness a factor. Frequency Update 4-5 new, unique articles weekly.


What Caused the Google Ban ?

I personally believe that every successful webmaster must experiment with concepts, ideas, marketing tactics and SEO techniques.

During 2004 and 2005 I began to experiment with forms of artificial linking, content generation, my server was hacked and used to broadcast spam originating in China. I believed this to be the cause of my removal the Google index.

Some of the action we took

Over the course of 2006 we worked hard

There are many pages in each domain because we like to be as illustrative as possible with each individual design available in our pre-made design gallery of business card templates and postcard templates. Each domain has identical file names in TLD. That is the only similarity. So you can make a business card or make a matching postcard. The 2 libraries of templates are uniquely tailored by graphic designers specifically to match each other, at the same time maintain there own identity. Each website now is unique in its own right. The process of keeping a flow of good, helpful content on weprintcolor’s blog and weprintcolours’ blog is ongoing updating with originally authored relevant, helpful, indepth information. Improvements are being made everyday to these domains. Everyday is just a tiny bit better in the right direction.

The 3 Fs- Find, Fix, File

After carefully working through these domains I also found many other possible problems such as broken links, slug pages, temporary redirects and more duped content. This has been the most challenging task online since our inception to the Ecom world in 1999. It has provided a great opportunity to learn from mistakes and has had positive impact on the quality of sites we serve up to our visitors. That’s the way anyone should see a ban or penalty…as an opportunity to improve!! Do not fret, take it personal or think its financial suicide. Determine the Why? Fix it and File.

If you were penalized because of crossing the blackhat line then keep it white. When you think of new ideas and concepts for your online business think about referring your closest friends or family to your site to enjoy the value it has. By simply having an honest wholesome approach, I think you will begin to see a positive trend to your traffic from Google. It has taken me the better part of one year to begin to sense that something postive is happening with my flagship domains. I am not going to lie and say that I don’t experiment anymore because I do. The experiments I conduct always come down to my children. I am blessed with 2 smart, healthy daughters (ages 8 and 14) and any project I play with must have point, purpose and value.
There is no guarantee with your placement in serps, don’t make the mistake of thinking you own your rank. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you don’t, nor does anyone else! Moreover, don’t be a cry baby about it when you suffer a ban or penalty. Assume it will happen one day, because it will. In 3 easy steps you can probably do yourself more good by:

If you have something you feel I’ve missed in my analasys or a similar situation please feel free to comment.

Good luck in your quest!

R

Approved by Governor- Create Online Business
Stuck on the net

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Tags: penalty, pages update, duplication penalty, index update, Pagerank update, toolbar update

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2 Comments so far
  1. Loan Solution Center February 13, 2007 4:39 am

    Hi Friend,

    I read your article based on your website and it was great….felt good to hear that you were earning good with google ads…..

    Its very well written….liked the way of writing as it is attractive.

    Regards
    Puneet M

  2. Mary February 13, 2007 9:08 am

    I have to say I was really pissed at Google until I read this article. My situationis identical, only mine just started. I have been completely removed form the Google index :-( . Not just lost a few notches…GONE!

    I am really beside myself and very upset. I have been dominent under my key phrases for years. This is how I make my living. To wake up one day and find myself having to look for a new job, sucks.

    Before I panic, I am taking your advice on the 3 Fs

    Find
    Fix
    File

    Nice one :-)

    Your article has helped me realize that you can’t give up!

    Thanks,

    Mary

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