Google Bowling! How accurate is this latest sport?

Hi All,

I got an interesting article in my inbox this morning. I don't know how accurate it is but if it does in fact exist this may cause problems for some of us. Should members of the CO-OP adnetwork be worried? The article can be read here:

http://www.webpronews.com/expertart...sCanSabotageYouWhatGoogleShouldDoAboutIt.html

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts!
Frank

 

That all depends of the truth behind this paragraph:

Do they actually remove sites from the index? I've not heard this. You can feel penalised if links to you are devalued and that was all that was holding you up so high in the results.

But again, that all depends of the answer to the question: "Do they actually remove sites from the index?"

I didn't think they did. But then others may have different stories. Plus, I've been carrying out my business and pretending all this Jagger stuff isn't going on. So things may have happened that I didn't see...

 

IMO, almost everything that's been said about the coop, (as in Google is penalizing me etc) can also be attributed to other factors. There is no way of proving your woes have to do with the coop. Many people here have high-ranking sites that run coop ads and/or have coop weight pointing to them.

 

Without reading that article, I can assure you that it is possible to take out a site by Google Bowling it. I have done it to my own test sites. I am NOT commenting on the co-op though as I don't use it. I did it by cross linking sites.

 

Total BS!

Notice he refers to himself as "Expert Author" NOT "Expert SEO".

I have seen these "Expert Authors" sniffing around forums to come up with their next article. Many know actually very little about SEO. They just write about stuff they have read in forums.

THINK - if sitewide links would get you BANNED from Google, you certainly would have seen endless threads with MANY webmasters posting to say they were banned. - I have seen zero.

Caryl

 

My first inclination when I got that nonsense was to go the website and chew them out for sending out such a stupid article.

They really should have at least provided a shred of evidence that such a thing is possible. I have only seen a couple discussions where people actually did REAL testing on such things and they either turned out to do nothing, or to at worst be entirely inconclusive.

If anyone has information pointing to a test where someone effectively got someone dropped in serps by pointing weight at their site and it is clear that was the cause, I am all eyes... I think it is irresponsible though, to be writing articles as fact with nothing to support it.

edit:

Is that really the same thing though? Cross linking is a bit different than someone just pointing links from a random or group of random sites and getting you knocked out of the serps.

 

I agree 100% !!!!

 

So by linking to each of your sites from each of your other sites you say that they've been dropped from the SERPs?

Personally, I've never seen that. In fact, I always cross link - some of my best traffic comes that way when I start out and continues on as sites go up the serps. They're not irrelevant links, if someone is interested in one thing I've done they might be interested in something else I've done. I often seen out other people's sites.

 

I too thought is was a bunch of BS, BUT I don't claim to know everything so I thought I would post it here to get some feedback. Defintely makes you wonder about the credibility of their other articles. BTW McDar your tools rock!
Frank

 

I am saying that I got two of my sites taken down after linking to them. I did it to 4 sites, 2 were my own, 2 were not (but the owners were happy to be involved). Both my sites went south, the other two did not. I removed the links, and they came back. Not perfectly scientific because of the small trial. but too much of a co-incidence that a 5 & 4 year old site could have this happen to them, at the same time I run the tests, then reverse itself after it is discontinued.

Sorry if I appear to be vague, but the last thing I want to do is to help develop this form of sabotage.

Happy to discuss it in private with valid members of the forum though
I would suggest though that this is one of the things that this update is likely to cure.

 

I'm about to lauch a new blog community to compliment my publication, the blog site will have a sitewide back to the magazine (on all blogs plus site pages) and the magazine will occasionally link to the blog site in the form of featured bloggers or latest posts RSS feed. I hope this won't effect my main site in the way described above, somehow I'm thinking that it will not because the Blog site will start small and grow gradually, I've only got two bloogers ATM. That's not bowling, it's more like chess. Do you think that will hurt me, OWG?

 

Well Matt Cutts has clearly stated that the future as he sees it is a blog 'closely associated' with the main business site. It was just this sort of comment that had me questioning the very thought that linking could do damage. I know that Yahoo is a bugger for picking up crosslinking, but G has been sedate to say the least.

I should add that as part of the test, there was absolutley no link in content of these sites. In other words they were just links from totally unrelated subjects. I honestly wouldn't like to dish out advice, as, like I said 4 sites and one test is hardly scientific. I think we should be careful when dishing out advice, as many people are quick to do so without thinking about others.

Have I seen a connection? YES , and enough to make me thinks it is more about non relevant links and specific types of links, as well as volume etc

I would say that if you are linking from the main navigation area on one site, to a blog about a related topic, then you have absolutely no problem. < damn I have just given advice when I said I wouldn't >

 

Haha well I appreciate it

i'm always experimenting, the stakes are low so I'm going to go for it. (Well except I'm trying to carve a livable wage out of this.) The problem is with the blogs, I dont expect my users to stay 100% on topic, but since most of the bloogers I foresee joining will be at least musicians and most likely Tuba and Euphonium players, I think the topic connections will be there, if loosely. Many of these blogs I'll have a good amont of control over, I can make sure there's a link from John Smith's blog to John Smith's article category on the main site for example. Really tie them together, it can't hurt! They're on different hosts, I hope that isn't picked up as spammy. http://www.tubablogs.com

 

I think everyone should go out and trim their bushes!!!!

Yesterday, my site was at position #763 and I went out and trimmed my bushes.

Today, my site is in position #27!!!!!!

Seriously, folks, I have been recording extensively on an experiment page daily for more than a year and half. Everything (linking and on-page) is very controled.

Everytime we made a slight change the results were obsurred by other "issues" that were going on in Google at the same time.

It is EXTREMELY difficult to prove a cause and effect relationship when it comes to search engine algos. There are quite simply TOO MANY uncontrolled variables to account for.

Don't be frightened about linking to your sites. Just know that Google values some links more than others.

Caryl

 

I've heard that pointing links to a competitor's site from porn sites using adult anchor text (site wide or not) dumps their site from the results returned when the option 'moderate safe search on' (the default setting most people use).

I have never tested it or had any interest in using those tactics... just something I read... maybe someone else here knows more about it.

 

I don't have a garden to trim the bushes in but have indoor geraniums, would trimming them wok as well

 

It depends on how far you want to move ahead.

If you need to move up a lot of positions - I would suggest cutting them right down to little nubs

- But that's just me

Caryl

 

Caryl, I agree with what your saying, which was why I said that the test was not scientific enough. Disagree with the 'bush' theory though, as I doubt Bush could have a positive affect on anything ;0

I did write an article once about the use of a cabbage on the monitor as an aid to SEO. It was quite well received.

 

I should add that 'trimming your bush' has a whole different meaning in the UK also.

 

I love it!!!!!

PS - I get your drift about UK bush trimming

Caryl