Significant SERP drop

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by Jimbob1208, May 1, 2009.

  1. #1
    Hi,

    My home page has droped from page 3 to page 19 on google.com in two weeks for my primary keyword and I don't understand why!

    Yet I am still on page 1 of google.co.uk for the same primary keyword (although I have dropped 5 SERP's)

    Also, I am still on page 2 of google.com for my second keyword.

    None of this makes sense.

    Any ideas welcome?
     
    Jimbob1208, May 1, 2009 IP
  2. Sem-Advance

    Sem-Advance Notable Member

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    #2
    Without knowing the site and keyword its almost impossible to determine.
     
    Sem-Advance, May 1, 2009 IP
  3. tonyrocks

    tonyrocks Active Member

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    #3
    Are you participating in spammy sites?
     
    tonyrocks, May 1, 2009 IP
  4. Jimbob1208

    Jimbob1208 Active Member

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    #4
    hi,

    the site is giggleberries.co.uk

    the keyword is 'mens underwear'

    Thanks
     
    Jimbob1208, May 1, 2009 IP
  5. Sem-Advance

    Sem-Advance Notable Member

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    #5
    Well from what I see there are quite a few issues at play.

    1. You are a UK based company and as such Google would see your site belongs at the top of the UK SERPs but no so much .com (USA market)

    2. Your title tag is keyword stuffed with the word underwear, probably earning you a filter.

    3. Alt text is over used...nobody with a vision impairment wants to hear each one of those tags read to them. Best to use the first one or two per page.

    4. Link titles - Seems a bit overboard with all of the keyword stuffed phrases you have....probably not worth using any longer due to SEO spamming.

    5. Globs of white space in the coding of your site. Might want to clean that up.

    6. You are linking to an SEO company which makes no sense and Google has written it is one thing you should not have to do.

    http://www.google.com/support/webma...er=35291&cbid=-pztq0pl6x5wt&src=cb&lev=answer

    • You should never have to link to an SEO.Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of "free-for-all" links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don't affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines -- at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.
    Hope it helps!
     
    Sem-Advance, May 1, 2009 IP
    Jimbob1208 likes this.
  6. Jimbob1208

    Jimbob1208 Active Member

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    #6
    Hi Sem Advance,

    Top advice.

    Thanks
     
    Jimbob1208, May 1, 2009 IP
  7. Jimbob1208

    Jimbob1208 Active Member

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    #7
    This makes sense because I followed these seo tips, written by someone who works with the guy who's seo company I link to. Imparticularly I followed the following tips;


    • Increased the keyword density on pages
    • Added alt tags
    • Added links to high value external sites

    The moment I completed these tips my site dropped, I asked the company to verify a sample of content I had prepared according to their seo tips and got the cold shoulder.
     
    Jimbob1208, May 1, 2009 IP
  8. Sem-Advance

    Sem-Advance Notable Member

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    #8
    Not a problem goad to help.

    Again I think the bigger issue is you're a UK based retailer and shipping a couple of pair of mens underwear to the USA would be a bit expensive for both yourself and the consumer, and as such Google helped you focus on the appropriate target market.

    Might also want to look at the link building that was done, if you had a bunch of links from .com sites, they may have been devalued as well, since again you're a .co.uk
     
    Sem-Advance, May 1, 2009 IP
  9. Jimbob1208

    Jimbob1208 Active Member

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    #9
    We were doing OK on .com as we were SERP 23 (page 2) but are now page 19. I have just bought IBP, so am going to spend some time with that before going back and changing my site back to what it was before the drop.

    Cheers
     
    Jimbob1208, May 1, 2009 IP
  10. tonyrocks

    tonyrocks Active Member

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    #10
    "mens underwear" for some reason I started laughing seeing that phrase in quotes. hehe...not sure why. Sorry...I'm off topic.
     
    tonyrocks, May 19, 2009 IP
  11. Jimbob1208

    Jimbob1208 Active Member

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    #11
    I have now managed to get us back to the top of page 3 on google.com (SERP21) and SERP 3 on google.co.uk.

    Not bad going I think for a co.uk domain to jump from SERP 230 to SERP 21.

    Should be on page 2 og google.com very soon.

    P.S. Shipping to the U.S is not an issue for us with a 57% profit margin.
     
    Jimbob1208, May 19, 2009 IP