Are the golden years of easy-MSN rankings over?

Discussion in 'Bing' started by Cutting Edge, Nov 20, 2006.

  1. #1
    It seemed almost like it would last forever. You'd put a site online with some basic SEO, garner as many backlinks as you could (it didn't even appear to matter the source of these backlinks, as I've seen such non-related topics as Carmen Electra and Dogs cross-linked either both ways or one way, well, unless you class Carmen as a dog, that is) and within a matter of a week you would be flying up the rankings.

    Now it seems as if MSN have cleared up their database somewhat from the spam which began to clog it. Is this a new algorithm or human filtering? And what more 'improvements' do you think we're due to expect from MSN within the coming year?

    P.S. Lord, please don't let it be a sandbox...
     
    Cutting Edge, Nov 20, 2006 IP
  2. Jon.West

    Jon.West Peon

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    #2
    They're definitely making a huge push to counter spam. I'd align your website's SEO strategy a bit closer to what you'd do for Google--you'll win across the board.
     
    Jon.West, Nov 20, 2006 IP
  3. Cutting Edge

    Cutting Edge Guest

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    #3
    Yeah? Good advice... Do you have any advice about new strategies for Google SEO these days? I used to be SEO mad about 3 months ago but due to other commitments I've not really been up-to-date as of recent.

    What does Google like, now?
     
    Cutting Edge, Nov 21, 2006 IP
  4. Jon.West

    Jon.West Peon

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    #4
    I have plenty of advice. ;)

    Google likes content and quality of links first and foremost. There's nothing really new here. See where your competitors are getting links from, try to do the same. Keep your content fresh. Link to subpages with relevant anchor text, not just the home page. Do the non-www 301 redirect (make sure your non-www pages aren't the only ones indexed first though).

    I do see a growing trend in the importance of the age of the site to Google. If you're a 2005+ domain you better have some good links/content to be able to succeed on competitive keywords.
     
    Jon.West, Nov 22, 2006 IP
  5. Cutting Edge

    Cutting Edge Guest

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    #5
    Brilliant Jon, thanks for that. Also, what do you mean by non-www pages and 301 redirects and about them not been indexed first, I'm not entirely sure what you mean?

    I do have mod rewrite which forces www into my url, is this related to what you are saying above?
     
    Cutting Edge, Nov 24, 2006 IP
  6. GFX^^

    GFX^^ Well-Known Member

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    #6
    SE are constantly imporoving their algoritms, in some years we will see much better search engines :)
     
    GFX^^, Nov 24, 2006 IP
  7. adacprogramming

    adacprogramming Well-Known Member

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    #7
    Googles lastest update in their webmaster section said this is no longer needed. In addition in the tools section you can choose your prefered domain.
     
    adacprogramming, Nov 24, 2006 IP
  8. Edward28

    Edward28 Peon

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    #8
    It is funny you should mention that. I've been noticing the same thing-- a jump in my sites that age past 2 years (no, haven't changed the sites that much either).

    Ed
     
    Edward28, Nov 24, 2006 IP
  9. Jon.West

    Jon.West Peon

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    #9
    All I mean is that before you do a non-www 301 redirect you should check which version of your pages the search engines have indexed. If they all have the non-www versions indexed then when you redirect the pages be aware that all of your indexed pages will be dropped for a while. It's just so you don't get shocked when you lose all your subpage rankings/traffic for whatever period of time.

    +1 rep :cool: haha
     
    Jon.West, Nov 24, 2006 IP
    Cutting Edge likes this.
  10. qwestcommunications

    qwestcommunications Notable Member

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    #10
    I think its a good thing. However, they should no go over the tops and make ranking really difficult like Google.
     
    qwestcommunications, Nov 24, 2006 IP
  11. Cutting Edge

    Cutting Edge Guest

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    #11
    Ok great stuff Jon.West. I'll take heed of that.

    Another couple of questions I have is regarding the age of a domain. Let's say for instance I purchased a domain name which never became a website, but nevertheless the domain name was around 2 years old. If I then constructed a website, what would happen with regards to say sandbox time? Or does Google just take notice of how long an actual site has been on and the age of the domain as an afterthought?

    Also, how about whoisguard? Does this effect ones acceptance into Google?
     
    Cutting Edge, Nov 26, 2006 IP
  12. Jon.West

    Jon.West Peon

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    #12
    Starting with a 2 year old domain is better than starting with a brand new domain, definitely. It's best to put content on the domain right away so the search engines can categorize your website ASAP.
     
    Jon.West, Nov 26, 2006 IP
  13. minnseoelite

    minnseoelite Peon

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    #13
    I have noticed that sites that I have that rank in Google now rank almost exactly the same in MSN......on a second note sites that I have that rank well in Yahoo dont do squat in Google or MSN.....
     
    minnseoelite, Nov 26, 2006 IP
  14. thyui

    thyui Guest

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    #14
    yea yahoo seems to be a little diffrent but msn seems easier to rank then google...i have sites that rank higher on msn then google
     
    thyui, Nov 28, 2006 IP
  15. minnseoelite

    minnseoelite Peon

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    #15
    mine usually rank the same in MSN as in Google with a difference of only 2 or 3 spots. Yahoo on the other hand hates almost every site I put out as out of 6 sites only one has ever ranked for a targeted keyword and even then it was like #90 something........
     
    minnseoelite, Nov 29, 2006 IP
  16. fadetoblack

    fadetoblack Peon

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    #16
    well my site got listed pretty easily and the rankings have been going up , so i would say NO
     
    fadetoblack, Nov 29, 2006 IP
  17. whitegreyblackhat

    whitegreyblackhat Peon

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    #17
    I have seen some sites with very few backlinks rank high on MSN lately with plain onpage SEO.

    More recently, it seems that [MSN and Yahoo] have been playing a lot with their SERP rankings.

    I see MSN and Yahoo playing Google... maybe even tougher in a few years who knows. Ol' Bill Gates has been pretty adamant about beating Google lately. I think by starting with the spam sites, they might do it. Unfortunately, I still see 1 guy ranking in the top 10 for a very profitable and competitive term twice with spammed sites... oh well.
     
    whitegreyblackhat, Nov 29, 2006 IP