Latest Casualty from the Google Fallout: .ORG domains

[NerdGary]

Ok so I noticed a bout a dozen of my .ORG sites (which we're all placed on page 1 of google) are not even in the top 10 pages.

This was kind of a "loop hole" i've been using for some time to get my domains ranked faster and higher.

Google recently made significant changes to their search algorithm...

And wondering if anyone else is noticing their .ORG domains getting hit?

Im glad to say that I only used those sites to promote other sites... and not relying on them for income directly. I feel bad for those who do.

The only positive I see from this is that my .COM's that are still ranked high are worth a whole lot more.

[Mike Grant]

My #1 site is a .org and is doing just fine.

[Biggy Fat]

Look for the next thread: "Are .org domains dead?"

But hey, a .org I sold a while back is still going very well.

[sashas]

Have a couple of .org sites that have maintained their positions - one is on pg 1, the other on pg. 2

[GeorgR.]

Nice conclusion..based on the fact that YOUR .org domains dropped. They dropped for whatever other reason but certainly not because they are .org.

[NerdGary]

We know that Google Assassinated Overstock.com for using .EDU names for backlinks... It just makes sense that they kill .ORG's..

Glad to hear not all have been hurt by this.

But the fact that someone made a thread "are .ORG's dead" concerns me.

[Michael Lee]

My .org sites are still doing fine, for now. They're on page 1 at the start, then some of them came way down, then they are back in page 1 as of the moment.

You could wait a few days and see if they come back to their original positions.

[darrenmonroe]

Loophole huh? Well you knew it was on a timer to change right?
And you also knew that it is wise to have multiple strategies right?

If you didnt well now you do

[markowe]

Hm, I had one bomb out of sight today, but it's quite new, so I am not sweating it yet. Plus it's not a commercial site (yet) so I really cannot see on what basis the Google algo could discriminate.
Anyway, this is for the SEO forum...

[Richard Van]

Strange how the OP's .orgs drop but mine and others don't.

Why do we always blame something or someone else?

Isn't it also possible, either you've done some thing wrong or your opposition's done something better than you have?

For the record, this whole Google "fallout" hasn't affected any of my sites at all.

No matter how the domain ends.

[TimG]

The .ORG site George Brown uses as an example for his Google Sniper 1 and 2 products is still maintaining its number 1 ranking.

With other's chiming in that their sites are holding their rankings it would appear that your sites have something else preventing them from maintaining their positions.

Respectfully,
Tim

[davesharp]

A couple of mt auto blog sites have completely fallen off the radar this last couple of weeks. A lesson to be learnt maybe!!!

Dave

[Marketing Merit]

Originally Posted by NerdGary

Ok so I noticed a bout a dozen of my .ORG sites (which we're all placed on page 1 of google) are not even in the top 10 pages.

Not so sure it's simply the domain extension to blame here Gary.

My understanding of Google's latest algorithm changes is that they were targeting content as opposed to the domain extension. That's why there are a number of threads about Ezine going around at the mo.

If Google's intention is to increase quality in their search results, then it makes no sense to blindly target a specific extension such as .org, especially when the true purpose of this extension was originally for "not for profit" organizations.

We all know that things take a while to settle down after Google has implemented changes. If your sites don't improve then I would be inclined to give them a face lift!!

[Marketing Merit]

Originally Posted by davesharp

A couple of mt auto blog sites have completely fallen off the radar this last couple of weeks. A lesson to be learnt maybe!!!

Dave

I think that makes much more sense Dave!!

[CMCarlin]

Originally Posted by NerdGary

We know that Google Assassinated Overstock.com for using .EDU names for backlinks... It just makes sense that they kill .ORG's..

You are referencing two different concepts. 1) how .orgs help SERPS in backlinking and 2) how .orgs are actually ranked. These are two different things.


But the fact that someone made a thread "are .ORG's dead" concerns me.

That means NOTHING. There is a new "XXXX is dead" thread here every couple of days. They have no merit, usually."

Don't you think that saying .orgs are a loophole is a little obnoxious? No offense, but this is the kind of mis-information that needs to be put to a stop.

[Mr Lim]

Depends on keywords~
My site .org beat the official site and placed the #1, not page but result.

Originally Posted by NerdGary

Ok so I noticed a bout a dozen of my .ORG sites (which we're all placed on page 1 of google) are not even in the top 10 pages.

This was kind of a "loop hole" i've been using for some time to get my domains ranked faster and higher.

Google recently made significant changes to their search algorithm...

And wondering if anyone else is noticing their .ORG domains getting hit?

Im glad to say that I only used those sites to promote other sites... and not relying on them for income directly. I feel bad for those who do.

The only positive I see from this is that my .COM's that are still ranked high are worth a whole lot more.

[Terry Hatfield]

Checked about 20 of my org domains, none lost ranking.

[Steven Carl Kelly]

All of my .org's are at least where they were before. One of them moved up to #2 overall.

[UMS]

All my .org's are doing just fine, ie: no movement.

The much more likely explanation is that your sites were penalised due to their content.

[Mike McAleer]

It is more likely that there was another reason for your drop in the serps because everyones .orgs are doing just fine. I hope you can sort things out.

[mojojuju]

Yep, Google is indiscriminately dropping .orgs from its index. Next in line will be .net domains followed by .com domains. We're all screwed.

[NerdGary]

Well.. for the first part.. I use custom software which I developed myself... Which has been getting .ORG names on first page of google for certain keywords in 2-3 days.

I suspect Google has an algorithm change with quantum analysis built in.. (ie: if you get to page one in 2 days, you're doing something fishy)...

The reason I wrote this post because I use my technique on alot of my sites.. but I only noticed the .ORG's falling off the map.

Not sure why people are getting offended by this.. kind of absurd.

I posted to reach out to others with the same issue... And a few others have the same problem... So it's not just me obviously.

Anyway, keeping a close eye on the ranks of all my sites. Will update the thread.

[NerdGary]

Originally Posted by CMCarlin

Don't you think that saying .orgs are a loophole is a little obnoxious? No offense, but this is the kind of mis-information that needs to be put to a stop.

Everyone knows that .orgs rank faster.. The oldest trick in the book.
This is not something I made up.

[Jake Gray]

None of my clients .org domains dropped nor did any of mine.

Strange :P

[wanna-succeed]

Originally Posted by Richard Van

Strange how the OP's .orgs drop but mine and others don't.

Hear here...

[oneplusone]

All my .org sites are perfectly fine, the drops you've experienced are unlikely to have anything to do with the domain extension IMO.

[NerdGary]

thats possible oneplusone.. keeping a close eye on this.

These changes by google are fast and furious.. noone here knows what they (google) are doing as far as algo changes.
So I'm paying close attention to all my sites rankings'

[Alexa Smith]

Domain extensions don't affect SEO. Any drop in someone's .org sites certainly has nothing to do with their being .org sites.

[NerdGary]

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

Domain extensions don't affect SEO. Any drop in someone's .org sites certainly has nothing to do with their being .org sites.

That's kind of silly...
If you actually believe that (or anyone else here) explain the power of .EDU's ?
How come .EDU's are extremely powerful domains?
If your theory is correct, then EDU's would be the same as .coms, .nets, etc..

Read this article and you'll see what I mean:
Google Penalizes Overstock for Search Tactics - WSJ.com


Google DOES place different rankings on different extensions.
They may be very subtle, but they do.

Not even sure why we are debating this... This is very common SEO knowledge.

[NerdGary]

Here is a snippet of that article....

"Internet search experts say that sites associated with educational institutions, which come with ".edu" in their Web addresses, are often considered by Google's search algorithm to be more authoritative than commercial sites. "

[Richard Van]

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

Domain extensions don't affect SEO. Any drop in someone's .org sites certainly has nothing to do with their being .org sites.

Absolutely spot on.

Can someone explain exactly why Google would target a site purely because it's a .org?

These changes by google are fast and furious

Perhaps, but as algorithms are so mathematically complex, I find it hard to think they'll make an algorithmic change to beat all .org domains to death.

Doesn't make any sense to me at all.

[Richard Van]

Originally Posted by NerdGary

That's kind of silly...
If you actually believe that (or anyone else here) explain the power of .EDU's ?
.

I fear we have a case of someone going on theory as opposed to good old hard tested facts.

Nothing silly in what Alexa said at all Gary.

[NerdGary]

Not all of them rich... obviously..

But maybe ones that use .ORG's for marketing, or autoblogging, and are not used for its purpose.

All we know is that google is on the prowl... Hard to say who they are going after.

[Traffic Eagle]

I've just had a look at my only .ORG domain site and it's still on page 1 of google and has now climbed to number 4 - yippee!

[matt5409]

despite what a lot of people here seem to think, i refuse to believe that google ranks a website based on it's domain extension. in the case of the OP I expect it was something to do with the sites themselves that google didn't like... certainly not the domains.

[matt5409]

Originally Posted by NerdGary

That's kind of silly...
If you actually believe that (or anyone else here) explain the power of .EDU's ?
How come .EDU's are extremely powerful domains?
If your theory is correct, then EDU's would be the same as .coms, .nets, etc..

Read this article and you'll see what I mean:
Google Penalizes Overstock for Search Tactics - WSJ.com


Google DOES place different rankings on different extensions.
They may be very subtle, but they do.

Not even sure why we are debating this... This is very common SEO knowledge.

EDU sites were traditionally reserved for "official business" and often regarded authorities due to people linking to them as a resource.

EDU sites built their reputations steadily over time, then some idiot SEO people came along and said "hey looks guyz! EDU make you rank well!!!".

It's not the domain name or extension that makes a site rank - it's the site itself. If you notice that EDU's are powerful, it's because they are established and authoratitive websites, not just because their domain ends in .EDU!

[Enfusia]

I read this and just went and checked.
Not only are all my .org's doing just fine but the one I launched on Friday night at about 11pm is middle of page 2 so far.

Patrick

[oneplusone]

Originally Posted by NerdGary

Not all of them rich... obviously..

But maybe ones that use .ORG's for marketing, or autoblogging, and are not used for its purpose.

All we know is that google is on the prowl... Hard to say who they are going after.

Gary, this thread is in the wrong section dude ...

Why are your posts disappearing?

This thread will probably get deleted, moved or locked by one of the mods sooner or later.

If you want to know why your sites are moving around I'd recommend checking out Caliban Darklock's SEO guide ...

http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...ally-want.html

He was a former search engine developer so you can take what he says seriously.

Once you've read his SEO guide, you'll know exactly what is going on when your sites move about and what to do about it, instead of freaking out like most people.

[Alexa Smith]

Originally Posted by NerdGary

That's kind of silly...

Thanks.

Originally Posted by NerdGary

Read this article and you'll see what I mean:

LOL. Perceptions vary. When I read that article I see yet another "marketer" regurgitating the urban myths of internet marketing. When I quote something to support my view, at least it's Matt Cutts and/or other people writing on Google's blogs.

Originally Posted by NerdGary

If you actually believe that (or anyone else here) explain the power of .EDU's ?
How come .EDU's are extremely powerful domains?

Because many are "authority sites".

The ones that aren't authority sites actually aren't "extremely powerful domains" at all (including, unfortunately, all my own .edu blogs). As explained here.

Originally Posted by NerdGary

If your theory is correct, then EDU's would be the same as .coms, .nets, etc..

The ones that aren't authority sites are, indeed, exactly the same as .com's, .net's, .info's and so on.

And by the way, thanks very much for the attribution, but it isn't actually "my theory" at all - it's Matt Cutts' "theory". He says it on video and in writing, he says it on his own blog and on Google's blog. And he invites people to quote him on it. Which I do.

(And it's Peter Kent's "theory" as well, and was even before Matt Cutts started so repeatedly going on the record with it - if that interests you as much as it interests me).

Originally Posted by NerdGary

Not even sure why we are debating this... This is very common SEO knowledge.

Don't look now, but all sorts of things are "very common SEO knowledge" without ever actually having been true at all.

I'm sorry that so many of your sites have apparently been clobbered, Gary, but as many others above are wisely and correctly informing you, it has precisely nothing to do with their being .org domains, and you'll be barking up the wrong tree indeed if you look to that as an explanation.

[matt5409]

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

Don't look now, but all sorts of things are "very common SEO knowledge" without ever actually having been true at all.

that is a statement. in fact i might print that out and hang it above my laptop just to remind me that 90% of the stuff i read on marketing and SEO forums is heresay, and often complete tosh.

[GeorgR.]

This thread is full of speculation and wrong statements.
"everybody knows .orgs rank faster"....."google is killing all .org domains now"

Where you get all this silly "information" from? It's all wrong.

[Capitalist_Pig]

Are you using article marketing to drive SE traffic? If so, the reduction in ranking for article directories could have hit your site as a second-order impact. If they aren't ranking as well, their links have less "Juice" to pass to your site.

This is just another case of "don't put all your eggs in one basket". I primarily use blog commenting right now, but I would never base a business around it alone. It wouldn't be hard at all to change the weighting so that links higher on the page get exponentially more Juice than links farther down - thus killing blog commenting.

[Chris Worner]

Hello NerdGary,

I think you should change nerd, to silly.

Chris

[GeorgR.]

Originally Posted by Capitalist_Pig

Are you using article marketing to drive SE traffic? If so, the reduction in ranking for article directories could have hit your site as a second-order impact. If they aren't ranking as well, their links have less "Juice" to pass to your site.

This is just another case of "don't put all your eggs in one basket". I primarily use blog commenting right now, but I would never base a business around it alone. It wouldn't be hard at all to change the weighting so that links higher on the page get exponentially more Juice than links farther down - thus killing blog commenting.

This actually remains to be seen (still) whether the ranking drops ALSO affect the strength of their backlinks.

[darrenmonroe]

Originally Posted by GeorgR.

This thread is full of speculation and wrong statements.
"everybody knows .orgs rank faster"....."google is killing all .org domains now"

Where you get all this silly "information" from? It's all wrong.

But GerogR it must be true aferall isnt innuendo and hearsay factual information on the "internet?"

(laughing) enough sarcasm AGREED.

[JMichaelZ]

Originally Posted by NerdGary

Well.. for the first part.. I use custom software which I developed myself... Which has been getting .ORG names on first page of google for certain keywords in 2-3 days.

I suspect Google has an algorithm change with quantum analysis built in.. (ie: if you get to page one in 2 days, you're doing something fishy)...

The reason I wrote this post because I use my technique on alot of my sites.. but I only noticed the .ORG's falling off the map.

Not sure why people are getting offended by this.. kind of absurd.

I posted to reach out to others with the same issue... And a few others have the same problem... So it's not just me obviously.

Anyway, keeping a close eye on the ranks of all my sites. Will update the thread.

Its because of your thread title. You could have just as easily titled it:

Latest Casualty from the Google Fallout: My .ORG domains

and because you are making statements that sound like they apply to everyone but all you have is your own experience.

[dwzemens]

One of my .org accounts dropped off the rankings on Feb 23, but just today bounced back to #17 (it's normal spot). A .com that sat regularly around #8 dropped to #20 about the same time, but today settled back at #3.

So ... I think the algorithm change is still shaking out, but maybe not as bad as expected.

[paulgl]

Originally Posted by mgtarheels

My #1 site is a .org and is doing just fine.

How many more of these #$%^$%# threads are people going to post?

Google algo changed: Earth's poles now reversed.

Paul

[mejohn]

My .orgs are doing just fine, along with all my other domains, both micro niche & authority.

[IM Ash]

Originally Posted by NerdGary

Ok so I noticed a bout a dozen of my .ORG sites (which we're all placed on page 1 of google) are not even in the top 10 pages.

This was kind of a "loop hole" i've been using for some time to get my domains ranked faster and higher.

Google recently made significant changes to their search algorithm...

And wondering if anyone else is noticing their .ORG domains getting hit?

Im glad to say that I only used those sites to promote other sites... and not relying on them for income directly. I feel bad for those who do.

The only positive I see from this is that my .COM's that are still ranked high are worth a whole lot more.

Gary,

A few weeks ago 3 of my EMD's suddenly lost ranking and I naturally drew the conclusion that Google decreased the weightage place on EMD's in terms of ranking.

Anyway, after hearing the experiences of another warrior which were contrary to mine I realized I foolishly drew a conclusion that had no bases.

I think you are in the same boat as I was right now

The last algo change dealt with on-page quality factors and judging from the fact that you use these .org sites to promote other sites I will assume you haven't published your best content on that site?

Could this actually be the reason for your loss in rankings and not the domain extension?