Dropped from #2 to #141. Penalty or Newbie?

bookmarkr · 05-05-2009, 07:22 AM

One of my sites has been ranking between #2 and #5 for a certain keyword for nearly a year now. Yesterday I had a look, only to find myself in #141 at the moment. There's a few things I have changed:

1. Redirected my old URL to my new one (old root url to new url inner page url) with a 301 (via cpanel redirect).
2. Bought Angela's WSO backlinks and added a bunch of those to link to the new inner page.

So I was under the impression that a 301 should tell Google:" Hey guys, still the same stuff here". Might be slightly different (e.g reworded etc).

Other keywords which have ranked quite well for my old site are still up there in the SERPs. Its just my main keyword that took a dive.

Is this because Google is treating it as a new site, or am I being punished for feeding too many backlinks all over sudden?

Solidsnake · 05-05-2009, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Is this because Google is treating it as a new site, or am I being punished for feeding too many backlinks all over sudden?

Possible reason but nopt so sure... I have been penalized before, regained ranking after 8 days but the reason was totally different... I posted the same article in my blog to directories..

AndyBlackSEO · 05-05-2009, 07:29 AM

I don;t bother with redirects. I have had similar things before just like you. No.1 on Google for a phrase and then about page 4 or 5.

To be honest, after a couple of weeks or so it did suddendly appear at number 1 again. It wasn't a mega competitive phrase though but did bring in daily visitors.

You may find you'll be ok. Just keep adding a few links to it daily and it should rectify itself.

tamtu · 05-05-2009, 07:40 AM

Could not be a penalty in that case you would have lost your listing completely.

bgmacaw · 05-05-2009, 07:51 AM

It's most likely the redirects. I've seen this happen a few times when an existing site had changes ranging from redirects to changing a WordPress theme. Another case where I had this happen was where a WordPress site was down with a corrupted database for a few days before I noticed it. Generally it will pop back up in rankings once the dust settles.

As for the backlinks, I wouldn't worry about this unless you're adding 1000's upon 1000's of low quality links overnight.

intelinside · 05-05-2009, 11:46 AM

I have recently redirected my 4 year old websites to new domain using 301 and I saw the dip in traffic for 7-10 days but then the traffic picked up. So, I would suggest you wait for a while and everything will be fine.

dburk · 05-05-2009, 12:19 PM

When you change your URL it takes a few weeks for all of your link juice to transfer to the new URL through the 301 redirects. Give it a few weeks and it will come back.

bookmarkr · 05-05-2009, 10:45 PM

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully it will bounce back in a short while, like some of you have mentioned.

bookmarkr · 05-12-2009, 04:25 AM

Took about a week, but now I'm back in the spot I used to be

05-05-2009, 07:29 AM	#3
AndyBlackSEO article-writer-pro.com War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: , , United Kingdom. Posts: 1,330 Thanks: 23 Thanked 124 Times in 106 Posts	Re: Dropped from #2 to #141. Penalty or Newbie? I don;t bother with redirects. I have had similar things before just like you. No.1 on Google for a phrase and then about page 4 or 5. To be honest, after a couple of weeks or so it did suddendly appear at number 1 again. It wasn't a mega competitive phrase though but did bring in daily visitors. You may find you'll be ok. Just keep adding a few links to it daily and it should rectify itself.
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05-05-2009, 07:40 AM	#4
tamtu HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: , , India. Posts: 138 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 17 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Dropped from #2 to #141. Penalty or Newbie? Could not be a penalty in that case you would have lost your listing completely.
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05-05-2009, 07:51 AM	#5
bgmacaw Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Metro Area, USA. Posts: 3,643 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 311 Thanked 925 Times in 644 Posts Social Networking	Re: Dropped from #2 to #141. Penalty or Newbie? It's most likely the redirects. I've seen this happen a few times when an existing site had changes ranging from redirects to changing a WordPress theme. Another case where I had this happen was where a WordPress site was down with a corrupted database for a few days before I noticed it. Generally it will pop back up in rankings once the dust settles. As for the backlinks, I wouldn't worry about this unless you're adding 1000's upon 1000's of low quality links overnight.
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05-05-2009, 11:46 AM	#6
intelinside HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: London Posts: 340 Thanks: 16 Thanked 27 Times in 20 Posts	Re: Dropped from #2 to #141. Penalty or Newbie? I have recently redirected my 4 year old websites to new domain using 301 and I saw the dip in traffic for 7-10 days but then the traffic picked up. So, I would suggest you wait for a while and everything will be fine.

05-05-2009, 12:19 PM	#7
dburk Senior Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 4,482 Thanks: 137 Thanked 641 Times in 553 Posts Contact Info	Re: Dropped from #2 to #141. Penalty or Newbie? When you change your URL it takes a few weeks for all of your link juice to transfer to the new URL through the 301 redirects. Give it a few weeks and it will come back.
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05-05-2009, 07:22 AM	#1
bookmarkr Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 29 Thanks: 3 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Dropped from #2 to #141. Penalty or Newbie? One of my sites has been ranking between #2 and #5 for a certain keyword for nearly a year now. Yesterday I had a look, only to find myself in #141 at the moment. There's a few things I have changed: 1. Redirected my old URL to my new one (old root url to new url inner page url) with a 301 (via cpanel redirect). 2. Bought Angela's WSO backlinks and added a bunch of those to link to the new inner page. So I was under the impression that a 301 should tell Google:" Hey guys, still the same stuff here". Might be slightly different (e.g reworded etc). Other keywords which have ranked quite well for my old site are still up there in the SERPs. Its just my main keyword that took a dive. Is this because Google is treating it as a new site, or am I being punished for feeding too many backlinks all over sudden?

05-05-2009, 10:45 PM	#8
bookmarkr Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 29 Thanks: 3 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Dropped from #2 to #141. Penalty or Newbie? Thanks for the replies. Hopefully it will bounce back in a short while, like some of you have mentioned.

05-12-2009, 04:25 AM	#9
bookmarkr Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 29 Thanks: 3 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Dropped from #2 to #141. Penalty or Newbie? Took about a week, but now I'm back in the spot I used to be