8 Years and Google suddenly does this!

Discussion in 'SEO' started by simstar, Oct 6, 2008.

  1. #1
    I have been running www.cheatextreme.com for 8 years now and suddenly in early October Google decdided to change the rankings for my site majorly.

    I updated the whole site with new design and new content replacing the old, some URLS remained the same but the majority changed. Google may be just re-adjusting but I have done this before and never experienced the effects described below.

    The Page Rank bar has gone from PR4 to completely grey, all my site links have been ignored in the index:
    http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=link:http://www.cheatextreme.com&meta=

    I have disappeared from from top 10 results such as the major keyword 'game cheats' and many others.

    It seems as if google has banned me, although i still appear when searching
    http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=site:http://www.cheatextreme.com&meta=

    So I can't be banned? I have waited about 5 days now but nothing has changed, Im prepared to wait it out as I have run this site for nearly 8 years now so a few weeks or couple of months will be worth it hopefully.Anyone have any ideas what has happened to me?
     
    simstar, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  2. MikePrice

    MikePrice Well-Known Member

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    #2
    Ow.. sorry for that. Try to remove un-relate link and submit for reconsideration in the webmaster tool. 8 years old domain is too bad if banned.
     
    MikePrice, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  3. xc06

    xc06 Notable Member

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    #3
    It seems you lost Google love to your site that is a very nice one IMO.

    what did you make any big change to your site?
     
    xc06, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  4. Divisive Cottonwood

    Divisive Cottonwood Peon

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    #4
    maybe google thinks that those "related links" at the bottom are paid links?

    (looks to me that they are pointing at your other related sites)
     
    Divisive Cottonwood, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  5. mdvaldosta

    mdvaldosta Peon

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    #5
    Might have something to do with the links at the bottom of your site. Even though they look mostly related Google has been cracking down on sites participating in linking schemes like co-op, link vault, receive links, gotlinks etc. It doesn't look like you're doing that but you could have tripped an automated filter. File a reinclusion request just to be sure, and remove those footer links unless they're to your websites.
     
    mdvaldosta, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  6. kloop

    kloop Well-Known Member

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    #6
    I tried clicking on the game consoles (ie. Wii, Xbox) and only one post comes up...besides that one post and the top ten list, I don't see any content :confused:
     
    kloop, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  7. abraxas

    abraxas Well-Known Member

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    #7
    Hm, strangely but the home page seems to be out of Google's index, although there are many inner pages within the index.
    As suggested above try removing these links in the footer and then request reinclusion.
     
    abraxas, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  8. CommonDavid

    CommonDavid Peon

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    #8
    This happens from time to time when you completely redo a site. I wouldn't sweat it and wait a few weeks to see if your listings return.
     
    CommonDavid, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  9. theWebGuru

    theWebGuru Greenhorn

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    #9
    Google changed its algorithm this early october. Many websites have dropped their positions including yours.
     
    theWebGuru, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  10. Kerunai

    Kerunai Active Member

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    #10
    bro i understand ur feeling right now, especially those happened to our money making sitesm it sucks like hell u just want to head to Googleplex...what about yahoo and msn...aren't you listed there too ??
     
    Kerunai, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  11. vansterdam

    vansterdam Notable Member

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    #11
    In Google's latest patent they mentioned not counting old links when a site changes drastically. While this was probably more targeted at people buying old domains, it does seem to be affecting people doing site designs. In time your rankings may come back, but you also might be essentially starting over again.
     
    vansterdam, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  12. Pixelrage

    Pixelrage Peon

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    #12
    Unfortunately, this happens when you make a major change like a site re-design...everything isn't in the same place as it was, and Google gets sensitive. I'm doing a major site redesign with complete URL structure changes on an 8 year old site of mine, and it freaks me out to think that I might lose some very high ranks.

    Have you 301'ed everything over properly?
     
    Pixelrage, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  13. coreygeer

    coreygeer Notable Member

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    #13
    That's the only thing I can think of as well. Google must think he's a link salesman. It's unfortunate when honest webmasters get the Google Hammer.
     
    coreygeer, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  14. mickmel

    mickmel Peon

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    #14
    As others have said, the links at the bottom might be hurting those. Remove or nofollow them asap. Some other thoughts:

    -- Fix your canonicalization (force "cheatextreme.com" to redirect to "www.cheatextreme.com").
    -- 301 any old (now broken) links to their new homes.
    -- Nofollow the "designed by" link in the footer.
    -- Wait. Like others have said, big changes can mess you up for a while, but Google will catch up eventually.
     
    mickmel, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  15. kianah

    kianah Peon

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    #15
    kianah, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  16. clogmoney

    clogmoney Peon

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    #16
    Just give it time, with an established 8 year domain I would imagine the rankings will improve again.
     
    clogmoney, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  17. HomeRun

    HomeRun Peon

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    #17
    I see your site with PR 4...
     
    HomeRun, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  18. baiduspider

    baiduspider Peon

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    #18
    It seems your new site have deleted most of contents.

    yoursite/Sitemap.php

    Add all contents, and make a sitemap(xml), submit it to google webmaster tool. I think it will be helpful.
     
    baiduspider, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  19. marcho.usa

    marcho.usa Peon

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    #19
    I think if you give it some time it will be fine... Or maybe you can try to add your url to google again, and maybe the problem will be fixed after they crawl the url again. Let me know what happanes with that website...
     
    marcho.usa, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  20. canam

    canam Peon

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    #20
    the same thing has happened to me and it is so WRONG OF GOOGLE!

    sites that have been around for 10 years are due for a change of software and maybe hosting etc, how can they expect things to not be changed around a bit and improved at the same time, I have an old site that was doing nothing much for many years and then decided to get to work on updating and fixing some things, and moved to a new faster host and renewed my registration in my new company name and what does google do to reward me???? PR N/A.... and meanwhile they are giving pr2 to some crap site that some spammer started 2 months ago

    this is really ridiculous of google and a real joke when you think about it :eek:
     
    canam, Oct 6, 2008 IP