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Google nailed a page on my site!

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by chopsky, Mar 11, 2013.

  1. #1
    Hey guys,

    I've been working on the SEO for my new site for the last week. Have managed to get it up to rank 41 (on Google.co.za) thus far for a specific competitive keyword.

    Yesterday, I used serperture.com to perform an SEO report on my site. They recommended adding more content, so I spent the evening adding 600 words worth of Frequently Asked Questions to the page most relevant to that keyword (i.e. the link that would show as rank 41).

    I wake up this morning, having discovered that Google crawled my site last night and find the rank for that keyword has dropped to 285! The rest of my site is still ranking basically the same for all other targeted keywords. It's just this page that has taken a beating, but it's also the most important page. I now realize that I was probably penalized for some keyword stuffing and requiring the user to click on the FAQ tab for the content to become visible.

    In a panic I did some Googling and ended up submitting a reconsideration request to Google, but in my haste, not sure this was necessarily the right solution.

    What do you guys suggest I do to recover my ranking? Should I recreate the page under a different filename? Wait and see?

    Totally shocked that all my hard work has gone down the drain. Any help is much appreciated! Thanks
     
    chopsky, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  2. Shakas

    Shakas Well-Known Member

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    #2
    What was and what is the target keyword density before and after the change?
    What size is the text? 600 words can make dramatic changes the %. Also it depends on what kind of text you added... just c**p or interesting/real content?

    Also keep in mind that is rumoured that a google update is happening today. It might affect that particular page.
     
    Shakas, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  3. chopsky

    chopsky Greenhorn

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    #3

    To be honest, I'm not sure how to calculate the density %. You can take a look at the page here: www.smartweb.co.za/hosting.php
    The 650 words I wrote is under "Frequently Asked Questions". I've made a number of changes since.
    Before I had the term "web hosting" appear 12 times within those paragraphs. It now appears 3 times. I also had one of the headings as "Web Hosting Additional Features" rather than "Additional Features", which I've since changed it to. The entire section was hidden behind a clickable tab before. It's now in full view. And the text is all relevant and important.
     
    chopsky, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  4. Shakas

    Shakas Well-Known Member

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    #4
    Keyword density = (target_keyword / total_words_in_page ) * 100
    Here is the definition of keyword density

    In your case, the url you provided, has 1016words, being 12 of them "web hosting" so:
    (12/1016 )*100= 1.18%

    It is said that the keyword density sweet spot is between 2% and 4%. Honestly I don't know, but I do keep those figures in mind when asking/making content.

    Check here a tool which tells you your current keywords, their % as well as their weight in SEO. (if in title/H1 their more valuable than others)

    Checks these sites where you can do your keyword maths:
    http://www.webconfs.com/keyword-density-checker.php
    http://www.seocentro.com/tools/seo/keyword-density.html
    http://www.keyworddensity.com/
     
    Shakas, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  5. chopsky

    chopsky Greenhorn

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    #5
    Thanks man.

    Any idea why that page was dropped so heavily though?
     
    chopsky, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  6. Shakas

    Shakas Well-Known Member

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    #6
    Assuming that ONLY that was changed regarding your site(no backlinks change, no social network links, etc etc) it can be only 3 things:

    - Your competition improved
    - The google update that is currently going on penalized you or improved your competitors
    - The keyword density dropped (with the addition of those 600 words) and google penalized it.

    Try spotting the differences before and after the change you made with the tools on the previous post.
     
    Shakas, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  7. chopsky

    chopsky Greenhorn

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    #7
    If I was penalized due to the update, what would be my best bet to get back to where I was? Would it help to recreate the page and change the filename from hosting.php to webhosting.php?
     
    chopsky, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  8. Shakas

    Shakas Well-Known Member

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    #8
    I seriously don't know.

    I would wait 1/2weeks to make sure that the google rank was stable, if it didn't changed that I would take put it all as it was before, if nothing changed than ...when then ask for help of a SEO expert.

    Renaming the filename it won't be the solution, it can even be harmful since duplicate content might be
    detected. (really not sure but I wouldn't risk it)

    Sorry that i really don't know that much, maybe some other users with more experience can give you a hand.
     
    Shakas, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  9. chopsky

    chopsky Greenhorn

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    #9
    No worries. Thanks a lot
     
    chopsky, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  10. adilenkim12

    adilenkim12 Peon

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    #10
    Hello
    Thanks a lot for this most useful information..
     
    adilenkim12, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  11. GuruCreation

    GuruCreation Notable Member

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    #11
    That is what we call the GOOGLE DANCE...

    It will come back in a few days and might even rank alot higher!
     
    GuruCreation, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  12. chopsky

    chopsky Greenhorn

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    #12

    If that's the case, thank GOD. Does that mean it was unnecessary for me move the FAQ outside of the tabs? Before, I had two tabs at the bottom where the user could choose to view either the "Hosting Features" or "FAQ" by clicking on either tab. I've now removed the tabs and placed all the content on the page in full daylight.
     
    chopsky, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  13. chopsky

    chopsky Greenhorn

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    #13
    I also removed a whole bunch of keyword repetitions to try decrease the density...
    (I panicked.)
     
    chopsky, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  14. Shakas

    Shakas Well-Known Member

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    #14
    Don't do a lot o changes now, other wise you´ll never know the effect. Wait a while, i know it´s difficult but it's better knowing the "cause-effect" on the long term radder than doing "on-event" changes.
     
    Shakas, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  15. chopsky

    chopsky Greenhorn

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    #15
    Too late...already made the changes earlier today :-/
     
    chopsky, Mar 11, 2013 IP