Should I Wait Until the "Dust Settles" on the Algorithm Update or Get Busy Now?
-
We were hit hard on both of our sites yesterday and can't afford to wait for the dust to settle, as some folks are advising. We have been attempting to work off a penalty on one of our sites by undergoing a massive (and expensive) link removal project over the last four months. We are on our third reconsideration request and, hopefully, this last round of link removal will have done the job. I'm hesitant to go in and "de-optmize" the site by changing title tags and changing the anchor text until the penalty is removed, but I'm not sure if that's the right plan of action. I am, however, going to dig into the non-penalized site and change some title tags and anchor text.
Any thoughts on this strategy would be greatly appreciated.
-
Thanks, Peter. I appreciate your feedback. We are going to move slowly until we get a response (or not) to our reconsideration request.
-
I'd echo Rand but will just add this. You've got two factors here:
(1) On the one hand, the "Penguin" update hit hard and it isn't going to go away, I expect. Google may make minor adjustments, but these could happen over weeks and months and the philosophy is here to stay. Keep in mind that we're over a year into Panda update snow. So, absolutely don't wait for the dust to settle.
(2) On the other hand, you're dealing with an existing penalty, and you do need to resolve that. Don't panic, in other words. Act decisively, but follow through on solving the current problem.
If you go changing things site-wide, like titles/URLs, it's going to be hard to get a clean read of the data. If you can, tackle the worst culprits proactively (a spammy home-page title, for example). Tackle anything that's obviously a win - dupe content is a great example - you know it isn't helping you. From a link-building perspective, diversify and show a positive forward path.
-
Cool - glad to hear you're having a positive experience. I think waiting until you hear from Google is a wise decision, too.
-
Rand, I appreciate your feedback. We have been doing this for 9 years, thought we were doing a fairly decent job of building a brand (until we took a hit) and plan to continue for the long term, so I think your advice on building the new site(s) is a good one.
Once Google responds (or doesn't) to our latest request, we'll make that decision. By the way, we have been using an SEOMoz-referred company to help us with link-removal and, despite Google's refusal to budge after a huge number of links have been removed, I think they're doing a very good job. I know what they're up against, so I'm hoping to be able to give them rave reviews once this is done.
-
Richard - this is just my personal opinion, and it's not based on a ton of recent experience (I haven't had sites banned/penalized by Google in a very long time now). However, my feeling is that if you've been hit by this update, it's a great catalyst for immediate change. I'd be thinking about all of the following:
- Is now the time to start a new site that's exclusively white hat?
- Can I salvage this site and what's involved in that?
- How do I get rid of the bad links?
- How do I explain all the things I've done to Google (through reconsideration) and are they likely to let me back in?
Obviously, it depends on your long/short term goals, why you're doing web marketing in the first place, what you want to accomplish in the next few years, etc. If you're in the short-term, make money on the web fast with as little effort as possible and don't want to build a brand, then it's a question of whether 301'ing the domain to a new one and trying some tactics Google's not-yet-devalued is better than trying reconsideration and removal of bad links.
If you're thinking long term and brand building and want to put in sweat equity now that might take years to pay off, I'd be thinking around the new domain vs. trying to salvage this one (or two).
Wish you luck whatever you choose!
-
Try to generate more natural looking links. Diversify your anchor text portfolio so it looks natural and continue with your link building efforts. Do it in a way like your grandma will do it. With or without www, capital letters in the domainname, same anchor texts to different urls, use as much reasonable permutations as possible when generating the anchor texts. Bring good quality links, links from PR, links from guest blogging, post even more unique and genuine content. That will pay off. You can become more focused once the "dust settles". If you wait you will be definitely losing time and you will still start at the same point where you are now.
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
-
In one site a 3rd party is asking visitors to give feedback via pop-up that covers 30-50% of the bottom of the screen, depending on screen size. Is the 3rd party or the site in danger of getting penalized after the intrusive interstitial guidelines?
I am wondering whether the intrusive interstitial penalty affects all kinds of pop-ups regardless of their nature, eg if a third party is asking feedback through a discreet pop-up that appears from the bottom of the screen and covers max 50% of it. Is the site or the third party who is asking the feedback subject to intrusive interstitial penalty? Also is the fact that in some screens the popup covers 30% and in some others 50% plays any role?
Algorithm Updates | | deels-SEO0 -
Google Algo Updates
Hi I have noticed strange drops in our rankings, some last Monday 12th & some Sunday 18th - has anyone else experienced anything on these dates? I've seen talk of a possible algo update, but nothing concrete Thanks!
Algorithm Updates | | BeckyKey0 -
How do you get great content for a small business?
We always talk about great engaging content being the way forwards for sites. As a small business this is an expensive commodity to outsource when you have probably in the region of 250 pages that could probably all use some work. To that end I have some questions. how do do you make a product or category description engaging? Should they still contain a certain number of words ( personally I hate ready reams of text) As on-page SEO what should we be striving to achieve? I am sure this has all been asked before but what the general consensus right now?
Algorithm Updates | | Towelsrus0 -
New Zealand rankings - Is Google taking city into account now?
I've just noticed over the last 24 hours that Google New Zealand seems to be taking city into account with the search results - when I search from Christchurch - I get CHCH companies and Auckland results when searching from Auckland. I would like to rank my client nationally - any tips? Has anyone else noticed this? I need to be the top of Google for my keyword throughout the country. Any articles that could help? Kind regards, David
Algorithm Updates | | David_Buckingham0 -
How to get Yahoo visitors to my site
I get great traffic from Google but Yahoo is at about a 20 to 1 ratio on visitors. Is there anything I should do to increase Yahoo traffic? I bought a Yahoo Directory listing about 3 months ago but it did no good. Thanks, Boo
Algorithm Updates | | Boodreaux0 -
How to Recover Ranking from Latest Google Panda and EMD Update?
We have 7 websites with the exact match domains. Our Website has been affected by Google recently updated (Panda and EMD Update). we don't want to do any changes in our existing domains. What should we do? So, What is the exact solution for that. Help Us out! Website Names: http://www.hamptoninndenverairport.com http://www.wingatehotelcolumbia.com http://www.fairfieldinnhotelaurora.com http://www.hamptoninnhotelcrestwood.com http://www.laquintahoteldavenport.com http://www.redroofinnhotelcedarrapids.com http://www.hamptoninnhotelcarolstream.com Thanks in advance.
Algorithm Updates | | CommercePundit1 -
Algorithmic Update?
Does anyone know if there's been an algorithmic update for google.co.uk in the last couple of days? My site has dropped 15 places or more for all of it's terms and I'm trying to work out the cause!!! Thanks.
Algorithm Updates | | PeterAlexLeigh0 -
When Google crawls and indexes a new page does it show up immediately in Google search - "site;"?
We made changes to a site, including the addition of a new page and corresponding link/text changes to existing pages. The changes are not yet showing up in the Google index (“site:”/cache), but, approximately 24 hours after making the changes, The SERP's for this site jumped up. We obtained a new back link about a couple of weeks ago, but it is not yet showing up in OSE, Webmaster Tools, or other tools. Just wondering if you think the Google SERP changes run ahead of what they actually show us in site: or cache updates. Has Google made a significant SERP “adjustment” recently? Thanks.
Algorithm Updates | | richpalpine0