Google!! Oh, Google!
Yup, Google again.
I've got a bunch of sites. Two of them fell in the ranks, to page 6 or 66 (and everywhere in-between). The rest of my sites, moved up in rank (unless they were in the top 5 or 6 already). Depending on keyword, the move was between 3 and 10 spots, most 5 or 6.
I've been doing the same on-page optimization. I've been doing the same off-page optimization. However, as Google changes, I adapt. So, older sites have backlinking that newer sites do not have, or not in the same proportion.
The 2 sites that fell, are 2 of the 4 I've optimized the longest. Which means, they have a lot more article backlinks than the others. But they did not fall in March, when blog networks were de-indexed. Besides, 1 had backlinks from Article Marketing Robot, the other one did not.
The sites that moved up the most in the ranks are the ones I've created the least number of backlinks and nobody's started to link to them.
The 2 sites that fell... backliking has taken a life of its own with one of them... Lots of people backlink to it that I have no idea who they are. The last one was a photographer... The site is in the insurance industry. Why did the photographer decided to link to the home insurance page? I have no idea, I see no advantage to him. But, bless his heart anyway.
The thing about backlinking... the site's gotten some 400 new backlinks indexed in the last 30 days, according to MajesticSEO.com. About 10 are backlinks I created months and months ago... From Isnare.com. They've finally decided to approve some articles I submitted for distribution right before the Panda update hit. Can you say, Great service?
The other site's accumulating backlinks without my help, though only about 60 a month.
All these to say, WTF, Google! Because, I have no idea why it's hit 2 sites but left the others alone.
If this new update had affected all the sites like the 2 it did (3 others are doing fine, actually better), then I'd get it. If it had hit only the one with backlinks from networking blogs/article directories, I'd get it.
I don't see the pattern. Do any of you see the pattern? I read about a lot of people being affected... As of yesterday, if I google mortgage rates in my city, the #3 spot is car rates.... Close, but no cigar.
My point is that I'm sure most marketers are biased to their own content - do you think it's possible we're being babies about this, or that Google really has made a mistake this time?
I personally don't recall an update being this bad, and difficult to understand. I have no clue what needs to be done to improve my website so that it is in accordance with Google's best practices.
I already have unique content on all of my websites. Some sites have been backlinked and others haven't. Almost all of my sites have been nailed except for two. It is unclear what I may have done to warrant such a drastic change in ranking.
I have crap website and there is no changes on ranking or what so ever, but my good quality content about 300 content has affected so badly that can't even mention it..
I don't know what is Google up to, they said to write for user in the webmaster guidelines, we did and followed the exact steps but still my site got affected with ranking..
I don't know what Google will come up on next time..
I don't remember so much backlash from past updates, but I've only been marketing for about 2 years. Do updates usually cause such a stir from internet marketers?
I have followed all the best practices; original content, keyword less than 2%, pictures, videos, no ads above the fold, keyword in title, h1 tag and url. It may not be the prettiest site, but still more relevant to my search terms than most of the sites now ranked ahead of mine. How do you go from ranking #7 to #444 in the SERPs below a LOT of unrelated search terms? Doesn't make sense.
And the most irritating thing is to hear how I need to create more quality content. Seriously, many of the websites ahead of mine are spun crap.
When I look for a mortgage, if I'm Googling mortgage rates, I want to see mortgage rates, so as to know if it makes sense to refinance and who to go with, that kind of thing. Homepages that go on about 'we are great, we deserve your business, we love you' and an application form is not what I want.
It's been a week, and results (though some improved) are not as good as they were before the update.
By the way, for my city, the top one is a yahoo real estate page, the second one is another yahoo real estate page, the third one is a larger than usual mortgage/correspondent's home page. The great content starts with:
Then they have a whopping 2 paragraphs, 71 words to the effect that they worked hard to make it easy for me to apply online or find out more about mortgages and how they've got all kinds of tools so I can calculate, find out what's best for me in terms of mortgages and what national rates are like.
A live chat box drops down after a few seconds. There's a long, way too long application form that, for me, broke on step (page) 2.
The great tools? 5 mortgage calculators, which, cleverly, they call mortgage wizards.
They have 3 big-assed buttons so I can like them, tweet about them or visit their blogspot.com blog.
Then one for their reviews on yelp. Then an invitation to join their mailing list.
They do have a nav tab called 'mortgage rates.'
Next site has a big, rotating pictures taking most of the above the fold, and 4 tabs, apply with us, contact, newsletter, why us. A couple of paragraph about how they've expended and where, an invitation to check mortgage rates in Florida and Wisconsin (I'm in Illinois), a mortgage calculator.
The yahoo pages list a bunch of lenders and their rates (but in a bad way, so it's hard to compare).
The top position used to be taken by bankrate.com... who's good at showing you rates from lots of places in a way you can use easily, compare easily, I mean. Bankrate must be pissed off big time, they've been moved to #8, 2 spots about one of my pages, which, oddly enough, was #6 before the update too. And, yes, the page I have there is the homepage and most of the above the fold is taken up by a list of rates the broker I do it for has today and several calculators and some text about annual percentage rates and how they are manipulated in advertising, questions to ask to get the real apr.
