i am currently promoting 6 websites by building backlinks and doing lots of on-site SEO. i spend most of my days submitting to directories, researching the best keywords to work on, writing articles etc etc. occasionally, one of my sites will jump onto page 1 or 2 of google, but then disappear from the SERPS entirely. this has been happening for a long while now, and i'm getting really really sick of it. one of my sites is not even being listed (i've checked up to page 100) for my desired keyword, and there isn't even much competition for it ("till rolls"). it was the final straw tonight when i found a site at number 2 in google for one of the keywords i have been working on for a LONG time - this site was made in flash, had 8 backlinks and non-existant SEO. it sometimes makes me lose faith in that google actually has any real ability to rank sites on their worth at all.
Matt, I think we have all had similar experiences with one or more sites, at one time or another. I have found that it helps if I work my sites, but don't become consumed by it. For many of us Type A personalities, it is very easy to become obsessive, especially when we see we are making progress. But then when there's a downturn we can't handle it and say to ourselves "after all that hard work this is my reward?" I truly believe that in the long run, a slow steady hand will win. That's not to say that there won't be bumps in the road or even major detours, but in time you will win. Don't stay glued to it. Get out, enjoy the day (or night) and know that ultimately, with patience, you will accomplish what you are after. /*tom*/
If you are using "free directories" as your primary link building tool, that is likely your problem. Most directory links (excluding some, like DMOZ and yahoo) carry very little, if any weight with google these days. You really want to stick to relevant sites. Start by finding sites that already rank well for the keyword you are targeting, and then go down the list and see if you can work out a deal for a link.
Well I have heard a phrase: Winners don't quit and quitters don't win. You must know that Se use algorithms, they are robots, and not everything is perfect.
My advice is don't worry. Check if the site is still at no. 2 in a few hours or tomorrow. Google might just be giving a new or refreshed site a chance at a higher position to see if turns out to be popular.
thank you all for the replies i took over a website which was rather neglected until february this year. since march i have been receiving a steady 20-25 sales per month, as opposed to the 1 sale a month it was getting before. this is great, and a real accomplishment i feel, but the sales are not increasing and seem to even be dropping. i need 50 or so sales a month to live off this site, so it's turning into a real concern. i expect the months of work i've been doing to be paying off now, but i'm getting less activity now than i did in march. utterly confused to be honest.
google doesn't rank sites based on how much seo is put into them. probably that site is more relevent and natural than your extensively optimized website?
google ranks by lots of things including keyword density, relevant backlinks and general content, none of which can be traced in flash... literally all there is to go on is the <title> tag
Yes you have to just deliver all seo onsite factors to make the page search engine friendly and at the same time just start getting some quality back links and wait for the best from google end.
I am not an expert but from my experience, using the main keyword (in your case, "till rolls") as the link anchor when doing link exchange and link submission helps A LOT. Try this as an experiment: get as much backlinks using just "till rolls" as the anchor and see if it works. If you can edit the link anchors in your articles, then do it, too. Also, if you do articles submissions, try to write an article with as many repetition of this keyword and at the bottom, provide a link pointing to your site with the anchor "till roll". Submit it to ezinearticles and any other free article directories. This technique has worked for me.
thanks that's exactly what i have been doing, yet to very little (if any) avail, hence my frustrations
There's no guarantees on the internet. Traffic on my site goes up and down day to day. I still get worried each time it drops. All you can do is keep doing research and work on the content and backlinks. Your till rolls site doesn't seem seasonal so there isn't an obvious reason for traffic to drop, i.e. it's not like you are selling Xmas tree. Are you sure your keywords are the right ones for you market. Analyse your competitors and see if they use other word and phrases.
your expericence too small then me. I worked day and night and today got pr 3 with 5000 backlinks. On some occassion when news is very new then my site is on top.