Two lines to recover from Google search-engine updates

- If you care about the future of being able to promote your business on search-engine without having to pay thousands of dollars each month for paid advertising such as Goolge AdWords...

- If you are tired of obsessively hiding from the next coming Google update...

- If you want to understand how can you impact the future of SEM...

- A fact is that Google is using your web-content in order to make money! No user will use a search-engine if it only show ads. Ads must shown nearby content. We are providing the content. Google is therefore depending on us to allow access to our website, not less then we depends on Google to get traffic. This was supposed to be an equation of mutual dependency. But something was broken in the middle...

- This formula of mutual dependency between search-engine and website owners is the a priori condition for making SEM possible. And it is now broken. Trying to recover when only one side dictate what is Good and what is Bad - is hopeless! Has for my understanding the only authority to decide if a website is worth an act of "conversion" (read, click, register etc') are the visitors of the website... Not the search-engine, and neither the owners of the website. Only visitors has the authority to judge the content...

- This formula can not be recover if you keep behaving like victim. If webmaster act together, each on his/her own website, they have the power to re balance search-engine market and allow the future of SEM. We should strive that no search-engine will have too much power so the formula of mutual dependency will be kept.

- We have a magical power in our hands. But so far we had been too short-sighted on using it. The magic of recovering from Google Panda, Pinguin or the next coming creature, has the form of two lines in robots.txt. And it will only work if done in large scale!

- If you want to know why and how, please continue to read this articles as well as other posts on this thread. Else, you can skip this article and keep going with the traditional answers to the question "How to recover from Google Panda..." and alike.



Here are the two lines that will return the control of Web content back to the owners of this content:
====================
User-Agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /
====================

You should put these two lines on robots.txt in order to block Googlebot from scrawling your website.
Your website and its content will not be indexed on Google! That it!
Your website will not exist on Google search-engine.

Try to look in this from this perspective: Google will not have access to your web content.


Now let me explain way did I decide to do this extreme move on my ~100 product catalog websites, and why am I recommend you do do the same if you care about being able to promote your website in the future without being victim of Google search-engine manipulation.


1. Starting on 2011 Google has turn their approach regarding websites and content on web. Google dynamic is not anymore of content proliferation, but of authority and punishment.

2. Google use it's control of large amount of web traffic in order to behave as if it has the authority for deciding what is wrong and what is bad on Internet.

3. Google seriously harm website owners and drop months or even years of efforts to garbage.

4. Google seriously harm home based business that lack the budget for PPC, and build their marketing model using SEO techniques.

5. When Google drop a website from the index it does not specify what is the specific problem. Think what does it mean... If they are so sophisticated to decide that a website is inappropriate for their search engine, but can't tell to webmaster for what reason they decide to drop a website from their index, then the message is clear
"We don't count you!"

6. Clearly - Google don't want you to use your SEO creativity. It want's you to use their PPC instead. However not anyone can afford to spend thousands of dollars on PPC every month.

7. Google is bad for Internet based, Home-based business. Google is bad for individual web entrepreneurs.

YES Google don't really count you anymore. There are two many of you! If they will drop you, someone else will come instead. Google don't need webmasters anymore. They just give them some tools and expect them to behave nicely, as if we are all guest in "Google House".



Now lets talk about SEO community


1. Since 2011 the SEO community react to Google changes as a "Victim".

2. At first we tough that some changes here and their will solve the problem.

3. Lets face the true: SEO assumes an expected search-engine behavior. If you can not predict search-engine behavior you can not make any claim regarding SEO.

4. Google turn to be the enemy of SEO. The only ones that speak in favor are those that was not harmed YET.

5. But more important - People are acting as Victims!!! It means that instead of fighting back, or leaving the area and looking somewhere else, Webmasters keep chasing a "Magic Solution" for the continuous, never-ending, destructive Google update.

The metaphor of a person that is being abused and instead of leaving decide to stay and live as victim is shouting loud. This is the way we are!!! in the last one and half year!!! We behave like soft and weak victims.


Time to Reload

Time to leave the abusing "Google House".
Time to close the door in Google face.
Time to create a new social "signal" that will remind Google who own the Content - We are! websites owners are the only owner of their content!


Now imaging what if....
30% of websites add these two lines in the robots.txt file:
====================
User-Agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /
====================

Now imaging what if...
30% of websites stop to publish Google AdSense on their websites.


Now imagine what if....
30% of websites add a note on their home page saying: "You can not find us on Google. Use other search engines"



If you care about being able to promote your website in the future using search-engine.
You know what to do now.

 

I like your view point. I also think somehow same to this. Not everybody is capable of paying per click thousands of dollars per month. Its like just a kind of earning for Google. If it really want the search engine to be secured then it has to tell us why our website is being dropped.

 

You are absolutely right! The problem is other search engines are just mere names these days. I guess, Google holds the entire market and in future it will be more cruel to us.

Goole Inc. has spread their business in such a beautiful way that it is difficult for one to avoid Google services. Exclude Apple, rest is Google, the entire mobile,smartphone, tablet market. PPC only Google Adsense. Best free web analytics, it's Google once again. Free Email account GMail, free blogging platform, Blogger. Social media is the only place where Google is still struggling. Google is including G+ in search results in such a way that one day it might catch up Facebook, Twitter. In every corner a Google service is awaiting for you. Disappointingly, but it's true. One thing that is still safe from Google is PC without internet.

 

Great comment. This is an opportunity to show an Email sent by Google, as result of requesting to re-evaluate a website for returning back to index. The paradox - we tend to relate Google with sophistication. This Email show the naked true. Either they don't realy care about you, or that the algorithem is out of their control. If the algorithm can turn on some signals, that say "NOT ALLOWED" please report these signals to me and don't send me to find an answer in your policy file.


I replace the real website address with [some site]
===============

Dear site owner or webmaster of [some site], We received a request from a site owner to reconsider [some site] for compliance with Google's Webmaster Guidelines. We've reviewed your site and we believe that some or all of your pages still violate our quality guidelines. In order to preserve the quality of our search engine, pages from [some site] may not appear or may not rank as highly in Google's search results, or may otherwise be considered to be less trustworthy than sites which follow the quality guidelines. If you wish to be reconsidered again, please correct or remove all pages that are outside our quality guidelines. When such changes have been made, please visit [google address for policy] and resubmit your site for reconsideration. If you have additional questions about how to resolve this issue, please see our Webmaster Help Forum for support. Sincerely, Google Search Quality Team
============



I wan't to clarify. I wrote this post with one purpose: Turn on a the conscious among SEO community of stop complaining and fight back by closing the door in front of Google robot. Which is Google way for accessing web content. Looking at Email like this, received from a Company like Google, clearly has one meaning: "We don't really care. So Do something about it.... "

So I did! I blocked Google from ~100 of my websites, and added a message on my websites saying: You can not find us on Google. Use other search engines.

Please do the same.

 

We have the power, since we own the content. We can block Google from accessing the content we produce. We can do that.
I agree - we will have to lose some profit! But, wouldn't we loose more if we don't fight back?

I repeat:
Imagine 30% of websites block Google bot. You know what - for three days. Google is printing money from it's AdWords and AdSense. Now imaging that for one week 30% of websites will avoid using it!

This will certainly signal the board that some borders has been crossed.
We have the power. This power requires adding two lines into robots.txt file.

Time to do and stop to complain. Time to scarify for enabling the future. This is war of minds.

 

If you fight back, the system will get smarter and at the end you are on the losing end. I mean what gives?

 

I assume that you have a "terms" page on your website that disallow bots. Of course as Webmasters and SEO we know that we need bots for promotion.
There is nothing sophisticated in my suggestion. Any website has a complete right to block bots. Google so far enjoy the reputation of respecting robots.txt.
They will not want to destroy it.

We do not fight Google directly. We lock the door and turn on a signal.
As you probably know, if you are using Google Webmater Tools, some signal is turn on when bot detect that is being blocked, and notification is created. Now assume that 100000 websites will take my advice and block Google bot for the next coming week, months, as long as it take.

Yes: Google may decide to ignore robots.txt, but I believe that some things will occur before of that....

If you believe too, help to spread the message and act by blocking Googelbot and removing AdSense. You have the complete right to block bots on your website.

 

So, you are trying to stay away from Google, right? Sounds a good strategy, but I am not sure, where about 90% users are using Google, how do you stay in competition without Google? If your site is good enough to hold your present customer base, that can be a way. But what about new traffic? Most of the internet user Google for searching.

 

Hi,

No. this is not the idea. The idea is to raise a signal that will make Google to rethink its strategy. Google does not control the world. Google is completely depends on its ability to bring content that will justify advertisement on their network. Google is completely depends on website owners for allowing them to access content and use it on their search engine results. Google is highly depends on its "content network" (AdSense) as part of its PPC strategy. If a loud "Noise" will be created among web masters, about the possibility of blocking Google from accessing content, this noise will amplified virally and get to Advertisers and stock holders. Google will then have a problem!

Of course nothing will happen if only two of us will act. But what if 100 will act. This start to be a noise, that will be turn into 1000, 10000, 100000.

This is call in sociology- the paradox of power. You can not control so many people without being over depends on the support provided by these people. The problem is that non of us stop and say - No more! Instead we let some SEO agencies to keep telling us stories about recovery by new techniques every day.

This is not a technical issue. This is politics. If we want to be able to build business models that depends on SEO we should force search-engine to nice behave and don't cross the line. But instead many of us choose to behave as weak wounded victims, that give the second cheek.


Again this is not about stay away from Google, or saying that Google is shit and things like this. I would love to use Google search-engine again for my website. This is about re-balancing the power relations between content owners and search-engine providers. This is about telling Google. "You crossed the lines. We do not want to cooperate with you if this is the state of affairs. "

So first of all:
1. Be conscious to the fact that we the content owners and website owners have the power. Google is depending on us
2. Raise a signal by blocking Googlebot.
3. Don't help Google with its content network (remove AdSense from your websites)
4. Be ready to scarify now for possible future
5. Generate awatrness by adding this line to the home page of your website (possibly with link to explanation): "You can not find us on Google. Use other search engines. read why"
5. And also (without specific names), Help to spread the power among other search-engines which is good for everybody except for Google.
6. We are competitors but nothing will help us if Google take advantage of this fact and assume that no mass will act against Google because the mass is too busy to fight each other. In other words - If enough webmasters will choose to scarify together, and help the message spread virally, then all will win.

Hope this clarify my position. My websites completely depends on new traffic. But enough!

 

This sounds a bit drastic to me

 

I think it's time for a new search engine then.

 

Yet. Its time to spread the power in order to re-balance relationships between users, webmasters and search-engines.

 

Seriously speaking i don't care about google anymore. I creat my content i do it in such a way that i get traffic from Yahoo, Bing and other resources. You are right if we all webmasters block google bot where do they get the content to display to there visitors at the end of the day People start using other major search engines. Google is thinking that they can play with all the webmasters! But not anymore i have already add the two lines and a note to my visitors "You can not find us on Google. Use other search engines."

 

Very Good.
Who next?


P.S I also added a link to the "You can not find us on Google. Use other search engines. [[read why]]" in the [[read why]] section to help people understand what are we doing that, and generate awareness. The content is quite similar to the first post in this thread.

 

My site is ranking high on google for 2+ years..Should I join the BOYCOT GOOGLE movement...

Stob blamming google for our mistakes... If you create Great content and you will get quality links in no time... that is that much simple to dominate google..

 

No. You should keep doing what you are doing. No one is asking you to join. There is no movement. Only choices of individuals. A lot of information is in this thread. Make your own choice.

But before you decide think of this question: Who has the authority to decide what is Good site and what is Bad Website? Who has the authority to judge what Quality content is?

If your answer is "Google" then certainly you should keep sleeping until one day you will wake up. If on the other end your answer is "Website Visitors and only Visitors", then you already know what to do. This thread is not "against" Google. This thread is in favor of Webmasters and those that provide web services and web content. If one search-engine dominate 80%-90% of the traffic and adopt an attitude to dropping websites with no satisfied explanation, then for my opinion this is an overgrown behavior. I have a small power unit call robots.txt to try and change this situation. This power unit has the magic force to distribute power among search engines.
Any website has this small power unit.
There are many websites.
Some will use it other not.

 

Here is an example of Google message when reporting that site was dropped. Suddenly the software Giant behave like a small startup that don't have a time to write a feature correctly. After all if the algorithm decided to drop a website there must be some signals that indicate the reason. Why doesn't Google report these signals? Are they expecting you to fix something, the ask for reevaluation, the wait 3 weeks, and get an answer of "Still not fine" and again guess what is wrong, do some more change, wait another 3 weeks and so on?

They clearly don't care.

"Dear site owner or webmaster of [some website], We've detected that some of your site's pages may be using techniques that are outside Google's Webmaster Guidelines. If you have any questions about how to resolve this issue, please see our Webmaster Help Forum for support.

Sincerely,
Google Search Quality Team
"

 

You do offer very good and valid points. Google will remain king of the search engines for years to come however.

 

It was a breath of fresh air when my adsense account was blocked last year, I stopped worrying about 'following the rules' and really got to work by bringing the work to my site.

The only reason I need Google now is for their file search capability. If you only rely on Google to bring visitors to your site then you're setting yourself up for a downfall.

I like this idea, thanks

 

I wish Anyone will success and flourish. The question is not if Google will dominate the search-engine market or Bing or Facebook. My idea was to make webmasters acknowledge that any search-engine or other giant that enjoy someone else content is completely depends in the content provider. We are the content providers of search-engines. So how can it it be that for 18 month we behave like puppies, chasing after the ball Google is throwing to us?
How can it be the for 18 months web master which are usually smart poeple, don't realize that unless they will use their power to shut the door in front of search-engine that abuse their website, with bad attitude, they will keep suffer again and again?

Googel may keep dominate but we have the power to navigate visitors for using other search engines, and reduce the hegemony of Google. Or even cancel it and re-balance the power among search engines. We, as webmasters should strive that no search-engine will have enough power!

Easy to do if many are doing this:
1. Block Googlebot in robots.txt
2. Create viral message of moving to other search engines by publishing a message on our website saying: "You can't find us on Google. Use other search-engine" .

By encouraging our visitors to Use other search-engine we plant the seeds for re-balancing the market. This is what we want to achieve and we should wish that anyone will have some sort of success including Google. I am not against Google I am in favor of returning the power back to website owners. I am in favor of home-based web entrepreneurs that want to start a business and does not have a budget for paid advertising. I am in favor of moderate SEO, not some black hat. I want to be able to put a link on my website, without being afraid of being punished because of some new function in the algorithm. I want search-engine to report me exactly what is wrong with my website, before shutting the door and send my marketing strategy to garbage.

My business was seriously injured since last Jun. above 60 websites was dropped from Google index and I don't know the reason. When asking to re-evaluate I didn't receive a reason. Just an obscure answer of check the policy. These website was suppose to be one of the main forces for promoting the product of my company. These websites was suppose to provide income to the company until I will find an investor. There are many home based entrepreneurs like me that was seriously injured.

We have the power to make a change simply by deciding with which search-engine we cooperate, and which one stay out. For me, Google stay out.