Anyone Been Google Slapped?

by LarryS
8 replies
I was wondering if anyone has had their clients website "Google slapped" and if so how did you pacify the client?
Being new to working with offline clients, I don't know how I would explain to them that Google can do whatever they want and even though your site is SEO optimized for these 7 keywords and you were on page 1, you have now been demoted to page 167 "just because."

I have had this happen to my own affiliate websites with no explanation at all from Google. Actually, they said they couldn't tell me why my sites were slapped due to "security reasons."

Any thoughts?

Larry
#google #slapped
  • Profile picture of the author Brenden Clerget
    It's not really a slap as much as a re-indexing of their rankings.

    The sandbox is a myth - contrary to popular belief.

    I would just tell them that this happens as you work on SEO and it will take some time, but if it's correctly SEOd and you didn't break any terms of service it hasn't been de-indexed.

    Search site:"yoururl" and see if it still shows. If it does, it's still indexed.

    If it was ranking high before and you've done things to help its ranking more, it's probably just jumping around.

    I'd find an article or somewhere online about the Google dance and just email it to your client so they know what's going on.
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  • Profile picture of the author toplinepub
    make sure you communicate this to your client quickly and clearly and remind them that SEO doesn't come with guarantees, but is a long term investment
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  • Profile picture of the author believemarketing
    if you have been backlinking, thats probably just a google dance..... his/her site will be back within a week or two to usually a better position...

    never contact google asking about your site, especially if your site is still indexed and you have been optimizing....

    i have never been sandboxed from backlinking..... it is actually easier to get slapped with Google Adwords
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    The time to address this issue is right after the close on the initial sale. Its a part of setting expectations for your clients.

    Seeing that this "can" happen when we begin rendering services you need to let them be aware that it could happen, its nothing to worry about. etc. etc.

    There is a hidden bonus to addressing this issue right after the sale. If it never happens the client will think your the greatest!

    I address expectations during the phase of the close that I refer to as the Helium phase. Expectations bring them back to earth.
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  • Profile picture of the author vyperr
    Hi,
    I can confirm I have seen the google dance on some of my websites. It usually happens when the website is relatively young and it is starting to rank on top for high/medium volume keywords. I have seen them coming back in 1-2 weeks but honestly everytime it happens, it is a bit heart breaking!

    Guys, who else has experienced the google dance? It would be good to get in touch to collect experiences so that we can definitively understand how it happens, hoe long it takes to get back and so on.
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  • Profile picture of the author ELVISTHEPELVIS
    I haven't bit I do know a few people that have. They describe it as a pain in the axx.

    Brian
    Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author Trivum
    You also have to make sure you're up on all the latest SEO. I had some sites fall out of favor recently (my own), and I'm guessing it's because I don't really mess with them anymore. Though they have good content, they have zero social media buzz around them, etc., and I believe that's one thing that's becoming more important -- along with fresh content. These sites cruised along at a low but decent level for years, bringing in a steady little income. ... It seems those days are gone. I believe Google wants to see activity -- inside and outside of the site.

    Another site I have saw no drop off, but it has fresh content every day and a fair amount of social buzz around it.

    Not sure what the situation with your clients sites are, and of course something like a small business (if that's the case) is not going to have a lot social activity around it by its nature, but it still will have some. Keep in mind that "social activity" is not just Facebook and Twitter and Delicious. Social activity for a small business also includes reviews and ratings at various sites, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author TomBuck
    awww I have been slapped by google so many times, twice annoyed me the most though. 1.) PPC account shut down because....Um no reason!
    2.) SEO - I was rank one page one for a keyword then dropped to page 3 rank 6 just like that!
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