Sudden ranking drop, no manual action
-
Sort of a strange situation I'm having and I wanted to see if I could get some thoughts. Here's what has happened...
Monday morning, I realized that my website, which had been showing up at the bottom of page 2 for a specific result, had now been demoted to the bottom of page 6 (roughly a 40 spot demotion). No other keyword searches were affected. I immediately figured that this was some sort of keyword-specific penalty that I had incurred.
I had done a bit of link building over the weekend (two or three directory type sites and a bio link from a site I contribute to). I also changed some anchor text on another site to match my homepage's title tag (which just so happened to be the exact phrase match I had dropped in) - I assumed this was what got me. I was slowly beginning to climb up the rankings and just got a bit impatient/overzealous.
Changed the anchor text back to what it originally was and submitted a reconsideration request on Tuesday. This morning, I get the automated response in Webmaster Tools that no manual action had been taken.
So my question is, would this drop have been an automated deal? If that's the case, then it's going to be mighty hard to pinpoint what I did wrong, since there's no way to know when I did whatever it was to cause the drop.
Any ideas/thoughts/suggestions to regain my modest original placement?
-
How about some real valuable input.
-
The bad advice on this thread is rampant.
-
Yes, seems to be dancing between around #20 - #25. This dance would happen a good bit before this whole process started as well, so nothing new there.
-
Are you utilizing an unused browser, and clearing out all the cookies/history/data before checking rankings?
-
You are on page 3 from a PC in houston!
-
Jim, this just goes to show that there's no sense in freaking out over a change in rankings based on 3 days' time. I can't even count the number of times I've seen a site drop after link building - only to come back to the same place or a higher placement a week later. This is typical and almost expected when I'm doing SEO. As long as you're not doing anything blackhat your site will be just fine. There's no way Google is going to single your tiny site out among billions of others.
In the future, give your site a minimum of 2 weeks. I think of it like this:
I do solid SEO. No blackhat. No crap. Because I do solid work I should be rewarded by Google and never penalized. With that in mind, if my site starts moving around in Google I know its a GOOD thing because it means Google is reevaluating my site. I also know that because I only do good work a reevaluation by Google is always going to show me in a favorable light. I want to see fluctuations in my rankings. It can only mean good things for me.
-
And to follow up with the initial question, I'm now back at the bottom of page 2. Still not sure what happened there, but it appears to have cleared itself up.
-
Thanks for the time and effort you put into your reply! Here's some background info that might help paint the picture of what I'm doing/after...
I'm a freelancer that works from home in Simpsonville, a suburb of Greenville (by just a mile or two). Most of my client base comes from Greenville, and anyone in the area searching for creative services is going to be looking for "xxxxxx in Greenville, SC."
As far as my business is concerned, I started out just under my name but then registered with the government under Sandlapper Creative (and I'm using this in directories, as it sounds more professional).
I've actually been trying to standardize the listings, as you mentioned (and Google did come down on me for the keyword related title on my place page - fixing/updating that as well). Obviously, I have no problems giving my business name and phone number but I am a little reluctant to give my home address (if possible). Would just the city/state/zip be sufficient information on-site?
-
Hi Jim,
I like everything that Ryan stated above and would like to add a little about local search factors. I noticed that you are in Simpsonville, not Greenville. This can be problematic in local search, but not insurmountable, but the first task is a little house cleaning.
Google is hyperlocal these days and will NOT trust a site that doesn't list their physical address which I'm sure you have chosen because you are not in Greenville. I see you used Simpsonville in the title tag here.
http://jimferguson.me/web-design/sandlapper-studio
Google likes consistency and relevance.
Including place names in searches adds a different dimension to your SEO tasks all together and can be summed up by Name / Address / Phone number. (NAP). For businesses targeting local searches, they should include their address and phone number in the footer in readable text. It's easy to do and not unreasonable to have it there from a user's standpoint.
The key is consistency
Your NAP should read (ideally) the same throughout the web, with the same punctuation and the same text. I tend to follow the punctuation that Google chooses to use for phone numbers. (xxx) xxx-xxxx and so on. The first thing I do on a local search check is to Google in quotes the NAP. At first I thought you hadn't claimed your directory listings then I realized that your company name is Sandlapper Creative. (Or was) I also found you place page which includes a keyword derived title. ("Web & Graphic Design - Jim Ferguson") your physical address and phone number. Google might just slap you in cuffs for using that title.
Being consistent is better than using keywords on your place page. Google "knows" the game well. To continue numbering from above:
#5 Change your title to your business name.
#6 Scrub the web. Find any and all references to your phone number, business name and address and change them to what is identical to your business page.
#7 Since you are in Simpsonville and want to rank in Greenville Try titles like this... Web Design Greenville SC | Sandlapper Creative - Simpsonville SC It may seem somewhat counter intuitive to what you are trying to accomplish, but until you gain trust from Google about your actual address and and area served, you'll be in the abyss for the others.
#8 Add service areas to Google places. I bet within a few weeks you'll see your place page showing up in search and you'll be able to tackle Greenville after that.
-
Thanks for the input Ryan, I'll definitely look at implementing some of these things. I'm a bit gun shy about using the exact anchor text after getting pushed back so far in such a short time period, but I know that's important. I'm still scratching my head as to why I was on page 2 for this exact phrase one week ago and now I'm on page 6. Guess we'll never have a definitive answer on that one.
-
I like some aspects of your site, but I don't believe you earned a 2nd page ranking for the target phrase. There is seemingly a lot of competition for the keyword. Many developers from around the world might create a "web design greenville" page and attempt to compete with you. Here are some suggestions:
1. Your home page title and header presently target two keywords: "Website Design & Graphic Design Greenville, SC". If you perform a Google.com search for "Website Design & Graphic Design Greenville, SC" you are the #2 result. Your title and header represent the phrase for which you wish to rank.
If the most important phrase is "Web Design Greenville SC" then change your title and header to match. You will likely notice an immediately improvement in ranking once the change is made and crawled by Google.
2. You do not have a single backlink to your site using the phrase as anchor text. While you don't want all your backlinks to use the phrase, some of them definitely should.
3. Add your physical address and phone number to your page. Saying you are providing service for Greenville in your header is not enough. There are tons of companies in Los Angeles, NY, Miami, India and the rest of the world who are offering similar pages. You have the advantage of being authentic. Leverage that advantage by publishing your information on both your home page and the About page.
4. Use your target phrase at least once in your content. "I have been providing Web Design to Greenville residents for 5 years". There are many other ways to present the phrase but it needs to be there on your page. Preferably 2-3 times.
There are other changes you can made but these four changes alone have a great shot at bumping you to the first page of results. At the very least, you will dramatically improve your ranking.
-
The URL of the affected page is http://jimferguson.me
The keyword phrase is "web design greenville sc"
-
You originally shared "Monday morning, I realized that my website, which had been showing up at the bottom of page 2 for a specific result, had now been demoted to the bottom of page 6 (roughly a 40 spot demotion). No other keyword searches were affected."
What is the URL of the specific web page which was affected? What is the keyword phrase which experienced the drop?
-
I understand the algorithm changes and updates all the time, but a 40 spot drop all at once on just one key phrase is a little drastic, IMO
-
Yes, it was the homepage that dropped and I'm doing just fine on all of the other key phrases.
-
The website in question is here
The two directory sites were 1. listing my blog in Bloglines Local and 2. listing the blog in NetworkedBlogs.com
The backlink with the anchor text in question is a site-wide web design credit link in the footer from my photography side business site found here
The anchor text and title tag for the landing homepage was "web design greenville, sc" (have both been changed since, as noted in the original post).
-
it's possible, also what other changes did he do 1 week, 2 weeks, a month ago. Also, maybe something changed in Googles algorithm.
without looking at the site and page it's all just speculation
-
But if he had 50% keyword density to begin with he never would have ranked as highly as page 2 right?
Or maybe the existing over-optimization, coupled with the new anchor text made it the last "poof" that burst the bubble. That makes sense to me.
-
the tiny changes he made probably didn't cause the drop, something else most likely did like on page factors. he's just assuming that these changes did it because they were the last things he did for this term. getting demoted to the bottom of page 6 is definitely indicative of a penalty for that search term.
It is true that keyword density for example is just one of 200 or so factors helping determining ranking, but if you create a page with 50% keyword density for a term, that is enough to get that page suppressed in ranking for that term.
-
Somehow missed the bottom of your post there where you responded to my question.... Thanks, that makes a lot of sense.
-
So you think 3 or 4 new links and one anchor text change could be enough to result in any rank change, positive or negative (assuming at least a decently competitive keyword term)?
I don't know; I'm just asking.
-
would this drop have been an automated deal?
In my opinion 99.99% of ranking drops are automated. Google has clearly indicated their desire is for their algorithms to perform all the work automatically. In cases where the Spam Team manually takes action, it only makes sense that they then work with other teams to automate the process of catching the issue.
Google makes approximately 500 changes to their algorithm each year, so it is possible for your rankings to change without making any changes to your site. Based on your situation, it is likely that one or more of the changes you made negatively impacted your site. There is not any way to know which change caused the drop. That is intentional. Google wants you to examine your site and fix any and all issues, not just one.
You mentioned adding several directory links. Links from quality directories such as Yahoo, DMOZ, BOTW, etc. would generally be considered "good' links. On the other hand, most free directory links are low quality and many are "bad" links. Ensure any links you build to your site are of a quality nature. For now, treat your page as if your rankings are valid and work to improve them. I know that is not what you want to hear at all, but it is the best way for you to get your old ranking back.
@TheBackBurner, the algorithm has thresholds. It's like a balloon. You can puff 30 times and it doesn't matter but then that last bit of air and poof.
-
I'd like to hear the community's opinion on this, because I simply can't imagine Google is micromanaging keyword penalties like this.
We know Google is paying attention algorithmically to the factors you mentioned - anchor text, page titles, backlinks - but we also know these are just a few factors out of hundreds that determine a ranking.
Really, in the grand scheme of the web or the thousands of other results that also show up for the keyword term you're talking about here, are the tiny changes you made big enough to make any difference at all?
Is the algorithm really that sensitive? I don't know, but I really don't think so.
Anyone else?
-
it's very difficult to assess without the URL. The site that you changed the anchor text on, was that link a sitewide link? Changing a few links shouldn't cause the drop, it's probably over optimization on the page/site for that keyword term. It's the homepage that dropped to page 6 right? Is the homepage ranking OK for your other terms still?
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
My site ranking has dropped in recent 2 weeks ?
I have a quick question to ask you guys,
Technical SEO | | Mustansar
I have my site (www.webuycarstoday.co.uk) It used to rank very well for all my target keywords. But recently all keywords dropped massively. I can't seems to find a good reason of this drop. We have not change anything which may have caused such drop.
Any suggestion or advice to get into the problem. I would appreciate your kind responses.0 -
Sudden site drop google, not banned or penalised?
Hi all, We've been working on our site weldingmart.com for a while. 4 weeks ago we got a sudden drop from google rankings even with our own brand name. No clear cause found, and decided to walk through all technicalities of the SEO fundament. thus we did the following
Technical SEO | | jkossel
-> Setup google webmasters tools
no issues found, a few 404's, few 410's sure thats all ok,
-> Setup robots.txt to only index homepages, lister pages, content and product detail pages (disabled all filters and search queries) Also we banned russian and spammy bots for performance-sake.
-> Added sitemaps, and around 14k pages seemed to be already indexed.
-> When searching for "site:weldingmart.com" i can find 14k pages.
-> we had a low 33/100 page speed score and improved this to 76/100 So we did a lot of clean up and improved a lot of items. but still 2-weeks in. we still have no ranking improvements. Before we went down we had around 100 clicks a day from google. now 5 avg. by the way i think a main issue is the low link count of course but still googling your own name should return us in top3 right. Is there something we are missing, do we need more time. I just want to verify that we do not mis anything!1 -
Rankings drop after Panda
Hi All, My site dropped completely out of the SERPS on September 27th. I've tried everything I know to do (re-wrote all content, disavow links tool, filed DCMA complaints, de-optimized on-page content, made anchor text less aggressive, etc). Can you all please take a look at www.doctorloanusa.com and let me know what you think the problem is and how much you'd charge to help? Keywords used to be: doctor loans, physician loans. I ranked 2 or 3 for those keywords consistently for over 4 years. I know I need more content, but I feel like it's a waste of time creating it. If a thin site was the issue, wouldn't I at least rank SOMEWHERE in the 1000 results? Thanks for your consideration. At my wits end.
Technical SEO | | Cary_Forest0 -
Ranking Internationally
Whats the best URL strategy to rank for one term in different countries? We currently rank well in Australia, but are tackling many countries over the next few months. The page I am ranking is http://www.spendbitcoins.com/buy for the term 'buy bitcoins' or 'buy bitcoins in Australia' (replace Australia with each specific country, i.e. New Zealand, Japan, etc.) These are the strategies I have come up with, is one of these good or is there a different better way? Use country specific TLDs, pulling the content from the same site w/ translations Use country specific TLDs and create separate sites and create completely original content Use country specific TLDs, forwarding to the primary domain use a subdomain from the same site modify the page link to be something like spendbitcoins.com/buy/new-zealand Don't worry about any of this and just get links from sites with the proper TLD
Technical SEO | | jaychristopher0 -
Sudden drop in rankings
Hi there, I've been working on this site for three or four months (it was a brand new site), and we were seeing some really great improvements in rankings. I've concentrated on writing lots of good quality content and building a network of links through blogging and social networks. Then, last weekend (6th October), we got completely wiped off of the results. We went from rankings 2,3 and 4 for our target terms to not being in the top 100. I assumed we'd been given a penalty from Google as we'd been SEOing too hard and removed a reciprocal links page we had and asked Google to reconsider. I just got a message back saying there hasn't been any manual penalty, so it's just down to the algorithm. I'm running am SEOMoz analysis, but so far it's just coming up with things like page titles too long and too many links on pages, which I can fix, but don't seem like something that would completely destroy us so abruptly. I think we really have the most and best content on the subject of becoming a model, which has taken a great deal of effort to put tgether, so this is crushing. If anybody can shed any light, I'll be extremely grateful, and I'd be interested to knwo if anyone else has experienced anything similar. Thanks in advance! URL: www.modellingadvice. info Kat
Technical SEO | | Katja1230 -
Drop down navigation and link juice
Hi! We are desperately needing to overhaul our site navigation setup, and we have so many categories that we think our site could really benefit from a drop down navigation similar to what these sites have: http://www.paychex.com/ http://www.bmc.com/ We've held off doing this type of navigation in the past because we were only seeing people use flash to create it and we knew that it wouldn't be good for link juice. But these two sites are using HTML and CSS - which seems like a much better style and good for SEO. Do you agree? We want to make the switch but are worried about losing linking power by nesting our navigation in 's and CSS styling.
Technical SEO | | sciway0 -
Viral page not ranking onGoogle
A user generated talk thread on our social networking site went viral yesterday and generated around 36000 extra visits. But, when we Google the key phrase in this thread our site is not even in the Top 50. Instead the pages are dominated by other (lesser) websites referring to the content and linking to the thread The page is indexed The on page SEO grade for the key phrase and variant according to SEOMoz is A Our home page has a PR of 7 and an SEO Domain Authority of 76 We are the original source of this content Other talk threads on different subjects in a similar category are ranking on page 1 of Google. What's happening?
Technical SEO | | CecilyP0 -
How to Resolve Rankings Drop from a DDOS Attack?
Our rankings just plummeted on Tuesday across the board. There was a DDOS attack on Tuesday and since then the rankings went down and have stayed down, even though the DDOS attack has been resolved. Also, this is the 3rd or 4th attack they've encountered this year. How long could this last? How can we deal with this? Thanks
Technical SEO | | poolguy0