4 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
4 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

To rebuild or not after Penguin...

by aygabtu
3 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Many have asked whether it was better to try to stick with your site after it was hit with much lower SERP results after penguin. I have been wondering the same thing and for the last 8 months, I stuck with a site that was suffering. I would see keywords bounce up, then fall off the map the next day, but no uptrends.

I recently decided to make a new site and target one of the keywords. Within a week, it was ranking around 20 for at least two of the keyword variations and has been stable there for a few days. Maybe it is a result of the google dance and it will drop off in a few days or a week, but I was encouraged so I did another site targeting another keyword. So far I am getting similar results.

So if you have been sitting on sites suffering from penguin, I would definitely consider coming up with a new domain name and relaunch the site. I did not do any redirects and I also reworked the content to be different, and hopefully better. We'll see if the trend continues over time.
#penguin #rebuild
  • Profile picture of the author bkkmma
    I guess a lot of it depends on why you were hit by penguin in the first place. Was it a total surprise or fairly justified that your site was penalized?

    A lot of people can't be honest with themselves when it comes to that. Let's face it, a lot of sites that were hit - deserved to be hit. There were some super-legit sites hit as well, so don't get me wrong... But only you know the answer to which category your site falls into.
    Signature
    Selling guest posts in the health niche on an aged, PR3 site with a legit link from HuffPo for only $17 a pop. Limit of 10 available per month. PM if interested. Permanent sitewides for $45 (Limit of 8 EVER.)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7714609].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author aygabtu
      Originally Posted by bkkmma View Post

      I guess a lot of it depends on why you were hit by penguin in the first place. Was it a total surprise or fairly justified that your site was penalized?

      A lot of people can't be honest with themselves when it comes to that. Let's face it, a lot of sites that were hit - deserved to be hit. There were some super-legit sites hit as well, so don't get me wrong... But only you know the answer to which category your site falls into.
      Justified? That depends on if you agree with google about their backlink policy. :rolleyes: Google claims it is about quality content, but they obviously can't look at every site manually and didn't look at the site to determine if it was quality or not. Just a pure penguin algorithm slam based on backlinks. A would say it was a bit of a surprise though because I didn't get a warning or notice from google about it. That would have made me feel a little better.

      I guess I shouldn't have waited 8 months to test the waters on relaunching the site. Time wasted thinking the penalties would have subsided over time. One reason I held out hope is because I maintained a #1 position for one of my keywords with 18k monthly searches. I figured if it could hold that position, then there was hope.

      FYI, this was not a blog site or affiliate marketing site. It is a web 2.0 site and still has a PR of 5.
      Signature

      Check top 300 Google SERP results free. WhatsMySERP.com tracks and graphs changes for multiple domains/keywords/regions. Also includes advanced keyword density tool.

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7714770].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Joshua Rigley
    Banned
    I've heard some people were able to bounce back from Penguin by continuing to add more content and more high-quality links to their site. Some people weren't even affected by it at all.

    Have you considered experimenting by linking the new sites with the old ones? That might help improve their rankings.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7714860].message }}

Trending Topics