My traffic collapsed (server issues, sandbox, something else?). Please read!

dunker · 09-30-2008, 08:20 AM

Dear Warriors,

I have a big problem. I have started a guitar-related website at the end of June. I did a really good on-site SEO, added my website to a lot of various directories and then did some link building with iSnare (I published and distributed 8 articles).

The traffic growth was quite impressive.

I guess you can see what my problem is. On Sep 22nd my traffic collapsed from 6'500 daily visitors to 800 ...

The problem is that the daily traffic from Google went from 6'200 to 500, so Google is definitely the only actor here.

I think there might be three reasons for this:

1. The GoogleBot punished me for my server issues. I was having some really serious server issues that started on Sep 18th - my server was unavailable 30 times for 5 minutes that day. In the next two days my server went offline 20 times. On Sep 21st it went down 40 times for 5 minutes. It was quite catastrophic. The next day, on Sep 22nd my traffic collapsed.

I think this is the most reasonable explanation - the GoogleBot punished me. Do you think this is the reason? Today I have moved the website to a powerful ServInt VPS and I need to know how to tell Google everything is great again.

2. Google might have put me in the sandbox, because the website is quite new (3 months). How can I check that - and how can I fix that?

3. I have sold 3 do-follow text-links from the home page on Sep 10th. Do you think this could be the reason? Do outgoing do-follow links LOWER your PageRank?

So, dear Warriors, I really need your help - you can see from the screenshot that the situation is really bad.

What do YOU think went wrong? And how can I fix that?

Please, help.
Thank you so much!

Anze

Eric Lorence · 09-30-2008, 08:26 AM

Yes, server downtime will be a factor, are you on shared hosting?

That sort of traffic will tax a shared server and may get your site shut down.

Consider upgrading your hosting, the traffic will return.

Best!

dunker · 09-30-2008, 09:19 AM

@eslorence: As I have said above: "Today I have moved the website to a powerful ServInt VPS and I need to know how to tell Google everything is great again."

Do you think that was the sole reason? What about the other two options? I really want to know your opinions, dear Warriors.

Eric Lorence · 09-30-2008, 10:16 AM

Moving to it does not necessarily mean it's all yours, as many confuse a server rating with how much they're able to use.

But if it is you personal server...

Powerful maybe, but dependability is the key.

And again, server down time is what is hurting you.

Best.

derekwong28 · 09-30-2008, 10:25 AM

What you have described is normal for sites using lots of duplicate content, especially those with thousands of pages built from a database e.g. lyrics, recipes, and guitar scores etc. Typically traffic would be in the thousands for the first 3-6 months and then suddenly collapses. I wonder if your site use a lot of duplicate content?

You should also check whether there has been a marked reduction in the no. of pages indexed using the site: command.

Outbound links may affect traffic but I don't think 3 links alone will lead to the effect you described.

-Derek

quantikev · 09-30-2008, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunker

1. The GoogleBot punished me for my server issues. I was having some really serious server issues that started on Sep 18th - my server was unavailable 30 times for 5 minutes that day. In the next two days my server went offline 20 times. On Sep 21st it went down 40 times for 5 minutes. It was quite catastrophic. The next day, on Sep 22nd my traffic collapsed.

I think this is the most reasonable explanation - the GoogleBot punished me. Do you think this is the reason? Today I have moved the website to a powerful ServInt VPS and I need to know how to tell Google everything is great again.

Hello Anze.

Definitely, I think your server issues were to blame. If the bot visited during these times, it could not complete an index. Do you use Google webmaster tools... analytics?

This would really be the only way to tell Google "everything is great again". You could submit a sitemap. Most likely you will have to wait until they come back for a full index.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunker

3. I have sold 3 do-follow text-links from the home page on Sep 10th. Do you think this could be the reason? Do outgoing do-follow links LOWER your PageRank?

Paid links are definitely a target of Google. If they discover them, they will lower your pagerank for it. Unless these links bring significant income over other means, my personal opinion would be to eliminate them. Set them up ad style, no-follow.

Hope that helps,
Kevin

dunker · 10-04-2008, 01:33 PM

Thank you, dear Warriors!

If the problems were in fact caused by my server problems, when can I expect my traffic to go back to normal? My website has been on the new server for 5 days now and the traffic is still exactly the same as it was (ca. 900 daily visitors instead of 6'500).

Yes, I do have some indexed content from other guitar websites, but for instance Chordie.com seems to be doing great (I am guessing approx. 70'000 daily visitors) ONLY with content from other websites. My website is different, I just add some value with chords/tabs, but am focused on something else.

However, the number of indexed pages (site:url.com: Search with Many) has stayed pretty much the same, it has dropped for 5% maybe.

macchiavelli · 10-04-2008, 01:47 PM

Contact google ASAP, this can be resolved easily if you just contact the main source.
We can guess all we want but only big G knows why they cut your traffic.

dunker · 10-04-2008, 03:29 PM

Contact Google? Are there any recommended ways of doing that? I didn't even know there was a way of contacting Google ...

dunker · 10-16-2008, 11:33 AM

OK, the things have changed a bit ... On Monday, Sep 22, the traffic has collapsed from 6'000+ to less than 1'000 daily visitors. On Monday, Sep 29, I have moved my website to a new powerful ServInt VPS, but the daily traffic numbers were around 1'000 all the time.

Well, I imagine that after some time GoogleBot found out that my new server is OK and on Saturday, Oct 11, my traffic increased to 4'500 daily visitors again.

I hope that my server issues were the only problem and that everything will be fine now. Thank you for your support!

09-30-2008, 08:20 AM	#1
dunker Active Warrior Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 55 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	My traffic collapsed (server issues, sandbox, something else?). Please read! Dear Warriors, I have a big problem. I have started a guitar-related website at the end of June. I did a really good on-site SEO, added my website to a lot of various directories and then did some link building with iSnare (I published and distributed 8 articles). The traffic growth was quite impressive. I guess you can see what my problem is. On Sep 22nd my traffic collapsed from 6'500 daily visitors to 800 ... The problem is that the daily traffic from Google went from 6'200 to 500, so Google is definitely the only actor here. I think there might be three reasons for this: 1. The GoogleBot punished me for my server issues. I was having some really serious server issues that started on Sep 18th - my server was unavailable 30 times for 5 minutes that day. In the next two days my server went offline 20 times. On Sep 21st it went down 40 times for 5 minutes. It was quite catastrophic. The next day, on Sep 22nd my traffic collapsed. I think this is the most reasonable explanation - the GoogleBot punished me. Do you think this is the reason? Today I have moved the website to a powerful ServInt VPS and I need to know how to tell Google everything is great again. 2. Google might have put me in the sandbox, because the website is quite new (3 months). How can I check that - and how can I fix that? 3. I have sold 3 do-follow text-links from the home page on Sep 10th. Do you think this could be the reason? Do outgoing do-follow links LOWER your PageRank? So, dear Warriors, I really need your help - you can see from the screenshot that the situation is really bad. What do YOU think went wrong? And how can I fix that? Please, help. Thank you so much! Anze

09-30-2008, 08:26 AM	#2
Eric Lorence Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Alpharetta,GA, USA. Posts: 1,440 Thanks: 497 Thanked 199 Times in 144 Posts	Re: My traffic collapsed (server issues, sandbox, something else?). Please read! Yes, server downtime will be a factor, are you on shared hosting? That sort of traffic will tax a shared server and may get your site shut down. Consider upgrading your hosting, the traffic will return. Best!

09-30-2008, 09:19 AM	#3
dunker Active Warrior Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 55 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: My traffic collapsed (server issues, sandbox, something else?). Please read! @eslorence: As I have said above: "Today I have moved the website to a powerful ServInt VPS and I need to know how to tell Google everything is great again." Do you think that was the sole reason? What about the other two options? I really want to know your opinions, dear Warriors.

09-30-2008, 10:16 AM	#4
Eric Lorence Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Alpharetta,GA, USA. Posts: 1,440 Thanks: 497 Thanked 199 Times in 144 Posts	Re: My traffic collapsed (server issues, sandbox, something else?). Please read! Moving to it does not necessarily mean it's all yours, as many confuse a server rating with how much they're able to use. But if it is you personal server... Powerful maybe, but dependability is the key. And again, server down time is what is hurting you. Best.

09-30-2008, 10:25 AM	#5
derekwong28 Wombat King War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: , , . Posts: 1,621 Thanks: 118 Thanked 198 Times in 153 Posts	Re: My traffic collapsed (server issues, sandbox, something else?). Please read! What you have described is normal for sites using lots of duplicate content, especially those with thousands of pages built from a database e.g. lyrics, recipes, and guitar scores etc. Typically traffic would be in the thousands for the first 3-6 months and then suddenly collapses. I wonder if your site use a lot of duplicate content? You should also check whether there has been a marked reduction in the no. of pages indexed using the site: command. Outbound links may affect traffic but I don't think 3 links alone will lead to the effect you described. -Derek
	Do not get between a wombat and a chocolate biscuit; you will regret it dearly! WebTalkForums - the friendliest webmaster forum on the planet!

10-04-2008, 01:33 PM	#7
dunker Active Warrior Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 55 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: My traffic collapsed (server issues, sandbox, something else?). Please read! Thank you, dear Warriors! If the problems were in fact caused by my server problems, when can I expect my traffic to go back to normal? My website has been on the new server for 5 days now and the traffic is still exactly the same as it was (ca. 900 daily visitors instead of 6'500). Yes, I do have some indexed content from other guitar websites, but for instance Chordie.com seems to be doing great (I am guessing approx. 70'000 daily visitors) ONLY with content from other websites. My website is different, I just add some value with chords/tabs, but am focused on something else. However, the number of indexed pages (site:url.com: Search with Many) has stayed pretty much the same, it has dropped for 5% maybe.

10-04-2008, 01:47 PM	#8
macchiavelli Future Billionaire:) War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1,291 Thanks: 218 Thanked 109 Times in 61 Posts	Re: My traffic collapsed (server issues, sandbox, something else?). Please read! Contact google ASAP, this can be resolved easily if you just contact the main source. We can guess all we want but only big G knows why they cut your traffic.
	==>60 Tousand Views- 300+ Sick Reviews- Sickest WSO ever!-How I Make $200 A Day On Clickbank Doing 2 Simple Things-CLICK HERE<==

10-04-2008, 03:29 PM	#9
dunker Active Warrior Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 55 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: My traffic collapsed (server issues, sandbox, something else?). Please read! Contact Google? Are there any recommended ways of doing that? I didn't even know there was a way of contacting Google ...

10-16-2008, 11:33 AM	#10
dunker Active Warrior Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 55 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: My traffic collapsed (server issues, sandbox, something else?). Please read! OK, the things have changed a bit ... On Monday, Sep 22, the traffic has collapsed from 6'000+ to less than 1'000 daily visitors. On Monday, Sep 29, I have moved my website to a new powerful ServInt VPS, but the daily traffic numbers were around 1'000 all the time. Well, I imagine that after some time GoogleBot found out that my new server is OK and on Saturday, Oct 11, my traffic increased to 4'500 daily visitors again. I hope that my server issues were the only problem and that everything will be fine now. Thank you for your support!