Am I Screwed Now? : (

Branlan17 · 11-30-2010, 11:22 AM

I have a site in a competitive niche that had slowly worked it's way to the bottom of page one. I changed the layout altogether and made it a blog style page. It dissappeared from the SERPs for over two weeks and fearing I'd done something wrong I copied the text from all these posts, and put it on a static homepage, deleting the individual blog post pages.

The next day my site was #4 but in the cache google still thought i had the blog setup. The next day it dissappeared again and that was nearly a month ago. It's still indexed (and so are the pages that no longer exist) but has been gone from the first 1,000 pages for that keyword for almost a month.

Should I try to switch it back? This was my highest earning site when it was getting traffic and it's gone to almost nothing : /

Branlan17 · 11-30-2010, 11:39 AM

I guess my biggest fear is that Google already has that content ranked on different pages and thinks my homepage has the "secondary" copy of this content.

Capitalist_Pig · 11-30-2010, 12:02 PM

You cab use webmaster tools to go in and manually request that the old pages be removed - but you should really be using 301 redirects to point to he new content anyhow. Making a change won hurt you longterm, as long as you redirect.

What likely happened is that all your backlinks pointed to the old pages, and now that they're gone, you aren't getting credit for them.

Another possibility is that you have broken links from the transition. Google *hates* broken internal links.

Branlan17 · 11-30-2010, 03:19 PM

No there are no broken internal links, this blog USED to be what you got when you typed in my homepage URL, but now you hit the static page instead, same url though. The only broken links to this content is from the Google cached links I'm just afraid of being punished for having the same content on my homepage... do I need to be?

paulgl · 11-30-2010, 04:02 PM

You are not being penalized. You are just being swirled around a bit
because you have really changed the dynamics of your site.

If at all possible, putting everything back together may be something
I would do.

But, I would think hard before trying. I would definitely make a custom
404 page with links to everything. Then, I might think of how I can
make lemonade out of the lemons. Work with the site a bit. In other
words, think about it as starting over and do it better than ever.
That may pay off in the long run. Smile and be determined.

The fact that you have waited so long means that the option of
putting stuff back may be moot.

Consider it a lesson learned. If something works, keep it intact and
just do some tweaks.

No duplicate content issue at all.

Good luck with this one!

Paul

yukon · 11-30-2010, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Branlan17

No there are no broken internal links, this blog USED to be what you got when you typed in my homepage URL, but now you hit the static page instead, same url though. The only broken links to this content is from the Google cached links I'm just afraid of being punished for having the same content on my homepage... do I need to be?

If the site isn't in the top 1,000 in Google SERPs, then you have nothing to lose no matter what you do with the site.

I suggest you build the site out in whatever way you like best. Like Paul said you have a fresh start, make the best of it.

You hit page 1 in the SERPs once before, you can do it again.

If you don't have all the old exact URLs then I would redirect every 404 with a 301 back to the Index page. That way you won't lose any old external backlinks.

Branlan17 · 11-30-2010, 04:53 PM

Thanks everyone for your replies!

I'm guessing, because it is the same content but google is likely confused by it being on a different URL now, that hopefully I'll be able to get back to the top again. I may, as has been suggested, just re-write the whole homepage with fresh content, this site has hundreds to thousands of backlinks (not even counting deep links) so I should get ranked again it just might take a while in a competitive niche like this.

Net Assasin · 11-30-2010, 04:58 PM

two words.... Google Dance

yukon · 11-30-2010, 05:01 PM

If it's a wordpress blog I have a 404.php that 301 redirects all my 404s back to my Index page.

If you want a copy of the 404.php let me kow.

Branlan17 · 11-30-2010, 05:05 PM

I actually created all my sites with a Weebly pro account so I'm not sure I can utilize the 404 like WP

bitriot · 11-30-2010, 06:15 PM

This probably is of little solace but I have one site that bounces from google page 3 to google page 40 every other day. Way annoying.

Branlan17 · 11-30-2010, 06:27 PM

My problem is that maybe Google is just taking its time and changing the content may just cause me to go through this all over again. I think I'll give it some time before changing the content to see if I bounce back without having to change things around.

Billy Rey · 11-30-2010, 08:33 PM

you will be back. probably 3 months depending on your linking strategy.

Sudden changes in site structures usually lead to this. Nothing to worry about

11-30-2010, 11:22 AM	#1
Branlan17 A Student In Every Way War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 901 Thanks: 148 Thanked 56 Times in 32 Posts	Am I Screwed Now? : ( I have a site in a competitive niche that had slowly worked it's way to the bottom of page one. I changed the layout altogether and made it a blog style page. It dissappeared from the SERPs for over two weeks and fearing I'd done something wrong I copied the text from all these posts, and put it on a static homepage, deleting the individual blog post pages. The next day my site was #4 but in the cache google still thought i had the blog setup. The next day it dissappeared again and that was nearly a month ago. It's still indexed (and so are the pages that no longer exist) but has been gone from the first 1,000 pages for that keyword for almost a month. Should I try to switch it back? This was my highest earning site when it was getting traffic and it's gone to almost nothing : /

11-30-2010, 11:39 AM	#2
Branlan17 A Student In Every Way War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 901 Thanks: 148 Thanked 56 Times in 32 Posts	Re: Am I Screwed Now? : ( I guess my biggest fear is that Google already has that content ranked on different pages and thinks my homepage has the "secondary" copy of this content.

11-30-2010, 12:02 PM	#3
Capitalist_Pig HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 187 Thanks: 19 Thanked 28 Times in 23 Posts Contact Info	Re: Am I Screwed Now? : ( You cab use webmaster tools to go in and manually request that the old pages be removed - but you should really be using 301 redirects to point to he new content anyhow. Making a change won hurt you longterm, as long as you redirect. What likely happened is that all your backlinks pointed to the old pages, and now that they're gone, you aren't getting credit for them. Another possibility is that you have broken links from the transition. Google hates broken internal links.

11-30-2010, 04:02 PM	#5
paulgl Plundering the Web War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 4,849 Thanks: 804 Thanked 1,199 Times in 886 Posts	Re: Am I Screwed Now? : ( You are not being penalized. You are just being swirled around a bit because you have really changed the dynamics of your site. If at all possible, putting everything back together may be something I would do. But, I would think hard before trying. I would definitely make a custom 404 page with links to everything. Then, I might think of how I can make lemonade out of the lemons. Work with the site a bit. In other words, think about it as starting over and do it better than ever. That may pay off in the long run. Smile and be determined. The fact that you have waited so long means that the option of putting stuff back may be moot. Consider it a lesson learned. If something works, keep it intact and just do some tweaks. No duplicate content issue at all. Good luck with this one! Paul
	How to Make Money off Facebook: Login to your account. Deactivate your account. Get your butt to work.

11-30-2010, 04:53 PM	#7
Branlan17 A Student In Every Way War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 901 Thanks: 148 Thanked 56 Times in 32 Posts	Re: Am I Screwed Now? : ( Thanks everyone for your replies! I'm guessing, because it is the same content but google is likely confused by it being on a different URL now, that hopefully I'll be able to get back to the top again. I may, as has been suggested, just re-write the whole homepage with fresh content, this site has hundreds to thousands of backlinks (not even counting deep links) so I should get ranked again it just might take a while in a competitive niche like this.

11-30-2010, 03:19 PM	#4
Branlan17 A Student In Every Way War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 901 Thanks: 148 Thanked 56 Times in 32 Posts	Re: Am I Screwed Now? : ( No there are no broken internal links, this blog USED to be what you got when you typed in my homepage URL, but now you hit the static page instead, same url though. The only broken links to this content is from the Google cached links I'm just afraid of being punished for having the same content on my homepage... do I need to be?

11-30-2010, 04:58 PM	#8
Net Assasin Deep Behind Google Lines War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 196 Thanks: 15 Thanked 78 Times in 16 Posts	Re: Am I Screwed Now? : ( two words.... Google Dance
	Instant FREE Targeted Traffic Now - NO BULL!!!! Get On Ezine Articles Highly Prized "Most Published" List In Under 72 Hours With No Effort On Your Part Stop Being An Article Marketing Robot Today

11-30-2010, 05:01 PM	#9
yukon SEO Strategist War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 6,532 Thanks: 355 Thanked 1,992 Times in 1,273 Posts	Re: Am I Screwed Now? : ( If it's a wordpress blog I have a 404.php that 301 redirects all my 404s back to my Index page. If you want a copy of the 404.php let me kow.

11-30-2010, 05:05 PM	#10
Branlan17 A Student In Every Way War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 901 Thanks: 148 Thanked 56 Times in 32 Posts	Re: Am I Screwed Now? : ( I actually created all my sites with a Weebly pro account so I'm not sure I can utilize the 404 like WP

11-30-2010, 06:15 PM	#11
bitriot HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 334 Thanks: 31 Thanked 103 Times in 46 Posts	Re: Am I Screwed Now? : ( This probably is of little solace but I have one site that bounces from google page 3 to google page 40 every other day. Way annoying.

11-30-2010, 06:27 PM	#12
Branlan17 A Student In Every Way War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 901 Thanks: 148 Thanked 56 Times in 32 Posts	Re: Am I Screwed Now? : ( My problem is that maybe Google is just taking its time and changing the content may just cause me to go through this all over again. I think I'll give it some time before changing the content to see if I bounce back without having to change things around.

11-30-2010, 08:33 PM	#13
Billy Rey Hoist King War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 777 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 5 Thanked 51 Times in 44 Posts Social Networking	Re: Am I Screwed Now? : ( you will be back. probably 3 months depending on your linking strategy. Sudden changes in site structures usually lead to this. Nothing to worry about
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