So... is it still all about backlinks?

Discussion in 'Link Development' started by Christopher, Dec 11, 2005.

  1. #1
    Ok, post jagger (are we really post jagger now?), is it still all about backlinks and anchor text?

    I have a good number of backlinks, on lots of independent ip's, not on "link pages", that are long term static links, and also lots of coop links.

    Back in August, I had great serp rankings. Then my main site got banned over some stupid hidden text. Been there for years, not even seo related, just stupid stuff I had hidden and forgotten about.

    Took about three weeks but after contacting google they unbanned my site. Rankings started moving back up. Then Sept 22nd, my serps dropped like a rock.

    Since then, my serps have stayed way down (400 to 700). Some of my allinanchor scores have gone up and down..... up to about 70, then back down sub 200, on almost a daily basis.

    This drop didn't just affect my main site, but pretty much (but not competely) all the sites on my server. They are all seo'd similarly. Mostly trading content for links which is part of that content, and coop links.

    If getting good serps is still mostly a case of backlinks/anchor text, I'm thinking that I just need to wait this out.

    Or has something else changed? Or am I suffering a post ban penalty - and if so, what should I do to get it off?

    Anyone else get kicked on Sept 22 and still not been able to recover?

    Thanks for any thoughts on this.
     
    Christopher, Dec 11, 2005 IP
  2. iconrate

    iconrate Well-Known Member

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    #2
    I'm in the same boat. A week or two before Sep 22nd, for the first time in about a year my site ranked top 10 for nearly every keyword possible. Sep 22nd lost all serps (site had over 1500 uniques for over a year and a half, nearly all se) and now I'm lucky to see 500 uniques with 20% of that se.

    This has also hit all of my other sites. The odds are that I had it coming and it was only a matter of time, but still hold out hope that things will turn around sooner or later. I know people who have 100% clean sites, legit software sites that took a hit too and know legit commercial property sites all very clean that have also taken it and still not recovered. It leads me to believe that sooner or later it will still be sorted...
     
    iconrate, Dec 11, 2005 IP
  3. FFMG

    FFMG Well-Known Member

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    #3
    I hope so... :)

    I think that BL still matters a lot, how else would they know how popular a site is really.

    But I also think that they updated the way the algo looks at a link.
    For example a link within a paragraph usually means that you want the visitor to go there, so that’s a good link.
    But a link tucked at the bottom of the page, or on the left/right usually means that it is just a menu item, so that is not such a good link.

    I think that the way they look at certain links has changed now, not all links are equal.

    FFMG
     
    FFMG, Dec 12, 2005 IP
  4. sunchy

    sunchy Active Member

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    #4
    "Then my main site got banned over some stupid hidden text."

    Please Explain This!!!!
     
    sunchy, Dec 12, 2005 IP
  5. Christopher

    Christopher Peon

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    #5
    Nothing to explain really. I had a couple of links on my site, hidden via css, that weren't for my customers to see. I had them their just to transfer some pr to a few of my other sites. They'd been there for years.
     
    Christopher, Dec 12, 2005 IP
  6. a389951l

    a389951l Must Create More Content

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    #6
    Agree here - I also think relevancy of the surrounding will start to be more important but just not yet.
     
    a389951l, Dec 12, 2005 IP