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Hi Kristina,

Thanks for the response. Your outline is honestly the exact steps I've taken, only I didn't use RMOOV or any other service to identify the bad links because virtually ALL of our links were bad.

Here's what I did:

I downloaded all of our links from both OSE and WMT and stripped duplicates. I then used an Excel add-in that stripped ROOT domains into the B column. I combined that with some Excel functions to compare a list of domains I'd created (good domains, such as our local citations) and return a result if they showed up. That way I could enter a list with Yelp, Angie's List, etc. and remove the "good" links. So I stripped out duplicates, good domains, and had the rest.

I got all the WHOIS information I could by using this Bulk WHOIS checker and grouped domains together with the same WHOIS information (as well as sites which were clearly part of the same network). I've sent out hundreds of requests and screen shotted all of them for when the time comes to prove our case to Google.

And I've been keeping the disavow sheet current as I go along, noting sites which have no contact information, appear to be down for now (still disavowing in case they return), and sites which demand payment to remove links.

And as you asked about in the end, I contacted the company which purchased/built these links in the first place. They claimed they still had control over them. When I asked them about removing them, they stopped responding. They're shady, and honestly I wouldn't feel comfortable paying them to remove links, because they could just generate more in the future and offer their "link removal services" to us down the line.

Thanks again for the response! I'm still plugging away at removing these crappy links. One day the profiles will be balanced enough to sustain Google's algorithm changes!

Sorry, the link is definitely follow and as you noted, an obvious exact match anchor. They're a huge site and are obviously aware of what they're doing. The link itself goes to the person's profile page and not a generic category page which is still pretty risky.

Shure you are! Kidding. Thanks, Dan. I appreciate the help and look forward to the input!

Hi,

Google has indexed a few .CSS and .JS files that belong to our WordPress plugins and themes. I had them blocked via robots, but realized this doesn't prevent indexation (and can likely hurt us since Google wants to access these files).

I've since removed the robots instructions, submitted a removal request via Search Console, but want to make sure they don't come back.

Is there a way to put a noindex tag within .CSS and .JS files? Or should I do something with .htaccess instead?

Background:

We're a home service business with potential for recurring clients. In the past, I've run PPC campaigns for a much larger company, and was profitable, but the business model was vastly different. The campaign also took place during their busy season, allowing flexibility I won't receive here.

Campaign Details:

• AdWords only
• SERPs only (not partner network)
• Desktop users only

Data Available:

Lots of past data was incomplete, prompting my best estimates and judgment calls. For past leads data, I'm using Google as lead source (organic + local pack rankings), generated specifically from our quote form.

Since our quote form doesn't render on Mobile/Tablet, I omitted those visits from our Analytics data, and only target Desktop in the campaign.

I wound up with the following statistics:

Organic (any web search), Desktop visitors who viewed our quote form page:

1. Number of overall pageviews
2. Number of overall leads generated from our quote form
3. Number of overall leads which converted to sales

And for our sales/numbers end of things:

1. % our clients choose targeted package
2. Revenue of initial sale on that package
3. Profit generated from sale on that package

Using these numbers, I calculated the % of clickers likely to bounce, complete the form, convert to clients, etc. Using our sales records, I calculated revenue/profit expected from each. And with that, I calculated the highest CPC to break even (unacceptable, obviously), as well as the projected ROI from lower, more reasonable CPCs.

Notes:

• We're a home service business. Not all homes are created equal. Through data, I found our clients average home size and the average estimate for that home.
• Due to incomplete records, I can't know which Google _clients _are specific to our quote form. Some likely called through the local pack or manually dialed and said "Google" if our staff asked. To combat this, I found the % of Google _leads _who completed the quote form vs. phone call, email and applied it to clients for a reliable estimate (our system removes the quote form identifier upon lead to client conversion).
• I'm not factoring in the % of clients who become recurring customers as I don't have this data. Given that it's much higher than 0%, I think this allows a LOT of breathing room on my estimates. Many of our clients have stayed with us for years. If only a small number convert to long-term status, the current ROI shoots WAY up.
• Similar to above, I'm also not factoring in the % of clients who don't choose the initial package, but instead choose a lesser package. Again, I think this provides breathing room.

Any PPC campaign will have a plethora of variables, especially intangible issues (damages, refunds, etc). I feel I have the important things down, but I'm far from an expert. I'd love to receive any advice or things I'm overlooking.

Thanks.