In my opinion I think it is an over optimization penalty....Because usually when the site falls it's just for one keyword not multiple ones.....So over opt seems to be the penalty...easy fix
I think one of my site's got this penalty too. I'l now make radical changes to my content to help it get back...That site is ranking on the first page of yahoo for certain keywords...but Google' the boss who penalized it!
Waste of time playing around with Keyword Density... 0% to 100% can rank #1 and everything else inbetween... that ain't your problem.
I've seen the term visual makeover in this context from some of the "Gurus". Essentially you give your site a new template, for example if you're using Wordpress or some other CMS. What this does is change the HTML used in your pages so that Google sees the page is fresher than it was before. I'mnot sure if this means the Googlebot will also refresh its own cache but some people swear by it. Perhaps wiser heads could explain more.
"How do you now you've been penalized by Google?" HA HA, this is the question of the day, the name is -950 penalty, so just ask yourself, how do you know.
Well it's not easy it's really easy sorry! What you do is figure out what keyword is over optimized this keyword will be the one that is dropped and the other keywords you have are still holding steady....Once you find the over opt keyword then first look at your pages....Internal linking might be heavily used with the same anchor text, actual density of that phrase on your page, header tags might be to dense and you need to mix up your anchor text's in your inbound links to your site.... So basically mix up the keywords...If you have a widget site then your headers can be < h1 > Unique widgets </h1> anchor texts can be widgets, cheap widgets, unique widgets on page opt the same just mix it up and don't over due one phrase.
Does anyone know where the "950 penalty" name comes from? Did someone actually receive a report of this somewhere? Just curious. Thanks for the reply.
Jeez, doesn't anybody here ever read webmasterworld? I'm always amazed that most over there don't seem to spend time on dp, and apparantly vice-versa. I've spent maybe hundreds of hours reading about -950 penalty over there since being hit 9 months ago with a couple of sites. Took many months, and drastic measures, to crawl out. Calling it an over-optimization penalty is way simplified. If you want to fix a site you should go spend some time reading about it http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/3434448-4-30.htm The name is not the best, but as someone said earlier, comes from the fact that a top ranking site will dissapear from first page, and can be found somewhere on the last page (with 100 results per page). Somewhere around 950 +. The symptoms have been evolving lately, and sites don't always show up near 1000 now - can be 400, 500, or whatever. The commonality is they are suddenly hundreds of spots lower. Usually for certain keyword searches, but can still be at the top for others. The one sure fix is, get some very good quality, authority links, with anchor text of the keyword you are penalized for. Good luck to all who are afflicted - can be a nasty thing.
I guess your question has been answered earlier correctly i.e dropping of 950 positions. A quick search for it on google gives me a link to wmw thread http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/3215939.htm might be of your interest. Goodluck
wow i was stcukin the -950 penalty for the last 2 months.. one site is slowly coming out.. after a revamp and lots of $$$ to get new content etc..
I know what it means(-950 penalty), but you're not seriously checking if your site has fallen below 950 in the search engine results? Isn't there an easier way to check? Now that's the question of the day!