Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site

solution4u · 05-13-2010, 07:23 PM

Hi there,

I have a high traffic site (a WP Blog) of about 3 years standing with several hundred posts.

Until around 8 April I had numerous page 1 rankings on Google for quite a few reasonable traffic keywords.

I use no black hat tactics.

I use mainly article marketing, as well as social bookmarking and directory submissions and link services.

Currently I use a variety of article marketing type services - UAW, 1WayLinks, NeuroLinker, BacklinkSolutions, Web2Mayhem, ContentSpooling, etc.

I also use link services like MyWayLinks.

At around 8 April, my traffic suddenly plummeted from around 600 per day to around 100 per day, and has stayed at that level. Currently some of my page 1 rankings are now on page 7 and some I can't even find on Google at all.

This is a major, and sudden, unexplained drop.

Does anyone have any idea as to whether there was anything that may have caused this?

Thanks.

John Wilkes · 05-13-2010, 07:29 PM

Did the traffic drop before the google rankings dropped? Or did the google drop affect the traffic?
Is it possible that the traffic coming to your website has been Hijacked? Check where your traffic was coming from and if the links are still valid.

kchui1028 · 05-13-2010, 07:29 PM

No idea.. you're not guaranteed the ranking of Google. While you are happy and stop doing SEO for your site, Other blogs might have done a lot of SEO and bump your site all the way back. It's hard to say... hard to say. You should go on the Google webmaster Forum and ask over there.

SilentX · 05-13-2010, 07:31 PM

I'm really not the best person to answer such a question, but perhaps one of your main article directories suddenly got a black eye with Google? Just a thought.

Texjd · 05-13-2010, 07:46 PM

I have several sites that got hit in the last few weeks. There is something affoot in the new Google rankings. I've looked at the websites affected and there is no common factor or any obvious reason other than Google has been tweaking their algo.

I think we have a new set of rules and somebody forgot to send us the notice. I'd bet this is being rolled out by datacenter since not all webistes have the same date on the drop in rankings.

I never use any tactics that could be judged to be black hat. This could get ugly.

warriorkay · 05-14-2010, 12:18 AM

It's clearly important to first find out what caused the
sudden plummet. 600 uniques per day to 100 is obviously
cause for concern.

Here's what I will do:

Go through my stats to find out what was really bringing
me the 600 uniques per day and determine why that's
no longer happening. For example, one site I had was
getting tons of uniques per day from EzineArticles
because I had about 10 (yes 10) articles in the
"Most Viewed EzineArticles" section and also in the
"Most Published EzineArticles" sections. As you know,
these only stay for 90 days (now 60 days).

They were bringing me LOTS of daily visits until
the 90 days were up.

Kingsley

ntnsllc · 05-14-2010, 09:56 AM

Your answer can be found at seomozdotorg. Today's "White board Friday" touches on this topic.

Texjd · 05-14-2010, 10:17 AM

Just read the article and watched the video at seomoz. I agree with what they guesstimated happened.

I just checked and it was my longer tailed traffic that was impacted. I also just checked the numbers on number of sites indexed under several of the terms and the numbers were reduced by around 15%. So Google is reducing the size of their indexes.

None of my websites disappeared but they did drop in rankings. I've already seen some movement back up the ladder so maybe they will slowly climb back up.

Of course I'm still losing traffic during the interm which sucks.

Thanks to ntnsllc for pointing out the article.

emigre · 05-14-2010, 06:58 PM

This happened to me too, a sudden big drop in search engine traffic couple of weeks ago. It seems to have returned back to normal but already lost some income.

zenji · 05-14-2010, 07:37 PM

Well, this explains why one of my sites "disappeared".

Thanks for the link
zenji

solution4u · 05-15-2010, 07:38 AM

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

Actually, the only one that I think may be anywhere near the mark is John Wilkes.

John, you said:

" Did the traffic drop before the google rankings dropped? Or did the google drop affect the traffic? Is it possible that the traffic coming to your website has been Hijacked? Check where your traffic was coming from and if the links are still valid. "

John, I have no idea if the traffic dropped before or after the Google rankings - I had no idea anything had happened at all until nearly a month after it happened (I did notice a drop in earnings, but didn't check any further). Is there any way I can find out now which happened first? And if I can find that out, what will that tell me?

And how could my traffic be hijacked?? And how can I tell if it has? And what can I do about it?

I really hope you can give me a few more hints. I'm pretty clueless about stuff like this.

Thanks so much.

05-13-2010, 07:23 PM	#1
solution4u Active Warrior Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 63 Thanks: 66 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site Hi there, I have a high traffic site (a WP Blog) of about 3 years standing with several hundred posts. Until around 8 April I had numerous page 1 rankings on Google for quite a few reasonable traffic keywords. I use no black hat tactics. I use mainly article marketing, as well as social bookmarking and directory submissions and link services. Currently I use a variety of article marketing type services - UAW, 1WayLinks, NeuroLinker, BacklinkSolutions, Web2Mayhem, ContentSpooling, etc. I also use link services like MyWayLinks. At around 8 April, my traffic suddenly plummeted from around 600 per day to around 100 per day, and has stayed at that level. Currently some of my page 1 rankings are now on page 7 and some I can't even find on Google at all. This is a major, and sudden, unexplained drop. Does anyone have any idea as to whether there was anything that may have caused this? Thanks.

05-13-2010, 07:29 PM	#2
John Wilkes Peaceful Warrior Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: South West England Posts: 175 Thanks: 34 Thanked 21 Times in 21 Posts	Re: Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site Did the traffic drop before the google rankings dropped? Or did the google drop affect the traffic? Is it possible that the traffic coming to your website has been Hijacked? Check where your traffic was coming from and if the links are still valid.
	Like What I have to say here on the forum? Check out my primary blog. Healthy Profits - Green PLR

05-13-2010, 07:29 PM	#3
kchui1028 HyperActive Warrior Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 192 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site No idea.. you're not guaranteed the ranking of Google. While you are happy and stop doing SEO for your site, Other blogs might have done a lot of SEO and bump your site all the way back. It's hard to say... hard to say. You should go on the Google webmaster Forum and ask over there.
	Watch Movies and TV Shows Free @ http://www.tvlinko.com

05-13-2010, 07:31 PM	#4
SilentX Creativity Connoisseur War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 305 Thanks: 23 Thanked 30 Times in 24 Posts Contact Info	Re: Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site I'm really not the best person to answer such a question, but perhaps one of your main article directories suddenly got a black eye with Google? Just a thought.
	Dozens of Free Marketing Tools at Your Fingertips - Devoted Internet Marketer

05-13-2010, 07:46 PM	#5
Texjd HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: , , . Posts: 298 Thanks: 0 Thanked 30 Times in 25 Posts	Re: Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site I have several sites that got hit in the last few weeks. There is something affoot in the new Google rankings. I've looked at the websites affected and there is no common factor or any obvious reason other than Google has been tweaking their algo. I think we have a new set of rules and somebody forgot to send us the notice. I'd bet this is being rolled out by datacenter since not all webistes have the same date on the drop in rankings. I never use any tactics that could be judged to be black hat. This could get ugly.
	Computer Problems? Fix It Yourself With Our Utilities! Repairing Windows XP

05-14-2010, 12:18 AM	#6
warriorkay King of Articles War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Paradise Posts: 2,288 Thanks: 156 Thanked 380 Times in 157 Posts	Re: Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site It's clearly important to first find out what caused the sudden plummet. 600 uniques per day to 100 is obviously cause for concern. Here's what I will do: Go through my stats to find out what was really bringing me the 600 uniques per day and determine why that's no longer happening. For example, one site I had was getting tons of uniques per day from EzineArticles because I had about 10 (yes 10) articles in the "Most Viewed EzineArticles" section and also in the "Most Published EzineArticles" sections. As you know, these only stay for 90 days (now 60 days). They were bringing me LOTS of daily visits until the 90 days were up. Kingsley
	The KING of "Right" Article Spinning & Human Spin Ready Articles REVEALS the TRUTH: "Public" & "Abused" Blog Networks Are Truly DEAD but Truly "PRIVATE" PR Blog Networks Killing IT. Let's Set Up YOURS for YOU!

05-14-2010, 09:56 AM	#7
ntnsllc Active Warrior Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 45 Thanks: 4 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site Your answer can be found at seomozdotorg. Today's "White board Friday" touches on this topic.

05-14-2010, 10:17 AM	#8
Texjd HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: , , . Posts: 298 Thanks: 0 Thanked 30 Times in 25 Posts	Re: Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site Just read the article and watched the video at seomoz. I agree with what they guesstimated happened. I just checked and it was my longer tailed traffic that was impacted. I also just checked the numbers on number of sites indexed under several of the terms and the numbers were reduced by around 15%. So Google is reducing the size of their indexes. None of my websites disappeared but they did drop in rankings. I've already seen some movement back up the ladder so maybe they will slowly climb back up. Of course I'm still losing traffic during the interm which sucks. Thanks to ntnsllc for pointing out the article.
	Computer Problems? Fix It Yourself With Our Utilities! Repairing Windows XP

05-14-2010, 06:58 PM	#9
emigre HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: across the universe Posts: 379 Thanks: 7 Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts	Re: Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site This happened to me too, a sudden big drop in search engine traffic couple of weeks ago. It seems to have returned back to normal but already lost some income.

05-14-2010, 07:37 PM	#10
zenji HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Down Under Posts: 380 Thanks: 14 Thanked 54 Times in 23 Posts	Re: Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site Well, this explains why one of my sites "disappeared". Thanks for the link zenji
	I Made $3000 and so can you! \|Watch Me Make $100,000\| Weekly Sales Updates - www.pitdenis.com \| IM Blog\|Alternatives to SEnuke

05-15-2010, 07:38 AM	#11
solution4u Active Warrior Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 63 Thanks: 66 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Sudden Plummet in Rankings for High Traffic Site Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Actually, the only one that I think may be anywhere near the mark is John Wilkes. John, you said: " Did the traffic drop before the google rankings dropped? Or did the google drop affect the traffic? Is it possible that the traffic coming to your website has been Hijacked? Check where your traffic was coming from and if the links are still valid. " John, I have no idea if the traffic dropped before or after the Google rankings - I had no idea anything had happened at all until nearly a month after it happened (I did notice a drop in earnings, but didn't check any further). Is there any way I can find out now which happened first? And if I can find that out, what will that tell me? And how could my traffic be hijacked?? And how can I tell if it has? And what can I do about it? I really hope you can give me a few more hints. I'm pretty clueless about stuff like this. Thanks so much.