XML Sitemap Leads to loss in ranking and traffic in Google.
-
I have submitted XML sitemap in Google's webmaster tools for some of the categories of my website. after submitting the sitemap i have seen the drop in traffic and ranking of keywords for the categories tof which sitemap was submitted.
The other categories for which i have not submitted the sitemap the ranks have not changed.
my sites alexa rank is approx 3000
Please help me out should i remove the site or change the priority of the urls which i have fixed in the sitemap?
-
just leave it. Double check for errors on it.
-
I believe you should leave the sitemap as it is for now. and Work on improving the quality of your website; The Pages, Design, Link Structure, URLs, Content... I mean everything
Improve the quality score of your pages and your rankings will surely rise again
-
hi Dennis
so what do you suggest should i remove the sitemap or leave the sitemap as it.
-
Hi Mrtijn
the categories are the top performing categories from the websites. i have done the keyword tracking the keywords from the categories having the sitemap have gone down. whereas the keywords from the non-sitemap categories have remained stagnant or move up.
-
if it was indeed caused by submitting the sitemap, its too late for you to worry about it. My vote, another coincidence. Ive actually experienced this twice and i got my rankings back by analysing where i went wrong with the tech/structure.
With an alexa like that, you probably have a big site. Try to find a "main" problem and fix that first rather than going for different changes all at one time.
-
I've seen such behavior before, but I'm also pretty sure that it's not related to just uploading the site maps itself as it's just a signal to Google to where they can find the (new) pages. Are the category pages of low quality or is there something else which could cause this?
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
-
Traffic, rankings and own manual note in one interface, please :)
Hey guys, I really hope that such a tool exists out there. Here's the problem. My boss asked me to create a graph that shows the traffic, rankings and notes on our site updates in one place. Here's what I did I just made a screenshot of my Google analytics and rankings from RankTracker. Then I added it all in one Photoshop file and tried to combine them so that I can see if traffic drops coincided with keyword drops. Also, I added some manual notes about the updates on my site (like text updates on the homepage, etc). So, is there a tool that allows to combine Google traffic data with ranking data. Plus it should allow to add my own comments ? Here's the result of my crazy drawings so that you understand why I'm not happy about doing that in Photoshop 🙂 https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_oX-XIT7OSCRC1jWUcxR3AwdkE/edit?usp=drive_web
Industry News | | VinceWicks0 -
Is this still Google?
My niche, my concern.
Industry News | | webfeatus
http://www.google.com/search?q=jimbaran+villa
My site just dropped out of the rankings completely. But if you look at the Google search above you will notice 2 things:
1. First page: 75% of space above the fold is dedicated to Google making money
2. Subsequent pages: It is like you don't actually search "Google" If you flip through a few pages what you actually search is:
agoda.com
flipkey.com
tripadvisor.com
homeaway.com Do I have a point or am I simply having a cynical day?1 -
Does Google still have a standard search result? How can I get it?
I have heard a lot from the experts that there are no "Standard" Google search results anymore. They said that most of the SERP's of Google that show up are customized/tailored for each individuals even if they are not logged-in using their Google Custom Search. My questions are, Is there still a way to retrieve the standard Google search result? How? Are these scripts will be helpful when searching on Google? *webhp?
Industry News | | RafaelRanada
*complete=0
*pws=0 watch?v=B8ofWFx525s B8ofWFx525s watch?v=B8ofWFx525s0 -
What is triggering Google account suspensions?
Over the past 24 hours many of our clients have had their Google accounts suspended. The explanation has been: "After reviewing your profile, we determined that it has been used to impersonate another individual or mislead other users. This violates the Google+ User Content and Conduct Policy." We are NOT impersonating our clients, we have their permission. We are not misleading anyone, simply setting up profiles for our clients on Google+. This has not affected all of our clients, but a significant number of them. We cannot find a common variable between the clients that have been suspended, and those who have not. Some have had other Google+ profiles in the past, in another account, some have not. Some have been previously verified via SMS, others by phone. Some have posts in their profile, others have only the profile info filled out. Again, we are not trying to game Google, we are simply setting up authorship for them, with their permission. I have not seen much in the SEO community about this today, and this is NOT related to fake reviews. We do not partake in that kind of activity. We have written a post on the topic, and no matter how this shakes out, I think our take is solid. Authorship is changing the game, content is changing the game, trust is changing the game… and Google is getting serious about it. We have also seen this happen to our clients, to our competitors' clients, and to other marketing firms' clients, outside of our vertical. Does anyone know more about the topic, especially in regards to the suspensions over the past 24 hours?
Industry News | | Einstein-Industries0 -
How to report rankings after the Google Venice update?
As a profesional agency we focus on traffic and conversions, but rankings are still a good KPI to please customers. Unfortunately rankings are not reliable anymore sinds the Google Venice update. My question is; "How can you still report about rankings, but without the risk that your customer sees total different results?" Software we use At the moment we use Rank Tracker from Link Assistant.
Industry News | | VanSoelen0 -
Google Pushed Out Panda Update 3.9 Last Night
Google said it was rolling out a Panda algorithm last night.
Industry News | | Chenzo
New data refresh of Panda starts rolling out tonight. ~1% of search results change enough to notice. More context: goo.gl/huekfHas anyone been affected yet ....I seem to see a jump in some newer sites less than 3 months old already for some rankings - I don't like seeing rankings that quick!Do you see anything?
1 -
How to remove a Google algorithmic penalty
My site has a Google penalty. I seem to be stuck in the 64th position for a Google search for my sites name. All my keywords that I used to rank well for are now well above the 60th search place in Google. I have resolved the issue I recieved the penalty for and I have asked Google for reconsideration. That has been about 3 months ago. The penalty is still firmly in place. I was wondering if anyone else has had a Google algorithmic penalty removed and if so how did they accomplish this?
Industry News | | tadden0 -
Did Google's Farmer Update Positively/Negatively Affect Your Search Traffic?
See the attached image, showing a comparison of SEOmoz.org's search traffic from Google over the past 6 days and the prior week. farmer-3x.gif
Industry News | | randfish2