Oops! My Site is on Page 1 Before It's Done!

by 12 replies
15
I'm trying a "results in advance" process. (Create a site, get it ranked, then sell/lease it to a client.)

I picked a promising local keyword phrase, created a WP site around that phrase, set up blank pages (Services, About Us, Contact Us, etc.), used an SEO plug-in -- but there's no content.

And yet it's already showing up on page 1 of Google -- weird, huh? -- at least when I search on the phrase it's showing up on page 1... maybe that's just due to my search history from when I was researching it?

I read somewhere that Google SERP results may vary depending on the search history of the person doing the searching. Anyone know if that's true?

If it IS true, is there a way for us to see "non-biased" search results -- so we won't tell our client it's on page 1 of Google and then THEY go look and don't find it there?

Back to my "Oops!" -- Can getting good Google results with basically a "blank" site make Google mad at me? I don't want to do anything that would penalize the site before it's ready to sell or lease to a client. :confused:
#offline marketing #oops #page #site
  • If the keyword is the exact match of the domain, that's not likely at all. I've done it 100's of times for clients when we do an Exact Match campaign.

    But if you're worried you're getting skewed results because of search history, just use another computer that hasn't been searching or viewing that web page. Jump on Skype/Gtalk and ask friends. That's what I do at least if I'm a little worried.
    • [2] replies
    • Do the serach from Scroogle Scraper

      That gives google results with out using your IP/search history/cookies, ect. It should be pretty much what the average joe will get.

      Good luck!
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
    • It is an exact match domain name.

      I'll try your suggestion and see how the search results show on a different computer.

      Thanks, Voasi!
  • Congrats Bon on the ranking

    And thanks for the Scroogle Scraper tip, Seatbelt99!

    Do let me know the progress of the site, that can be something I can do in the coming weeks
  • oh man, I hate when that happens
  • Also, if you are logged in to google and do a search, if you add &pws=0 at the end of the google url it will show without personalization.

    That's a quick and dirty way to remove your history from your searches
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • How about adding a &pws=0 at the end of the URL string in the url bar once you perform the search, will it still show it in the first page? If yes, then thats the true rank (pws=0 eliminates private search data, i.e. the history).

    Hope it helps!

    p.s. this is why you need to use your robots.txt to block un-completed sites, however, too late now..just populate it with content as soon as possible )

    Best luck.

    Update, upss looks like I missed zbw777's response, he beat me
  • Hey that's a good thing all the hard work is done! Now make money from it.



    Kristof
  • Yes, clear your cache and you will get the proper results.

    Happened to me several times, i nearly had a heart attach when i though i was rank one for the keyword "internet marketing"
    • [2] replies
    • I use Chrome`s Incognito mode or Firefox`s start private browsing options when I`m looking at rankings for my own site. That way the search results are unbiased cause they won`t take your search history into consideration.
    • LOL! Yeah, the same thing happened to me when I thought I was ranking #1 and ahead of Amazon for a HUGE phrase. It turns out I was really only between #8 and #9. Not only that, but I found Google's traffic estimates are sometimes pretty far off.

      If you use the FireFox browser, you can go to > Tools > Start Private Browsing History, and that will do the trick without having to clean cookies and browsing history.

      • [ 1 ] Thanks
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    Oops! My Site is on Page 1 Before It's Done!

    I'm trying a "results in advance" process. (Create a site, get it ranked, then sell/lease it to a client.) I picked a promising local keyword phrase, created a WP site around that phrase, set up blank pages (Services, About Us, Contact Us, etc.), used an SEO plug-in -- but there's no content.