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Is this an Algo filter?

by OneManSEO
9 replies
  • SEO
    • |
A website I am looking at lost all of their rankings between May 7th and 30th. All of their rankings prior to the drop were for two URLs, the root domain and one subpage.

They are starting to regain some rankings, but only for various other subpages. I looked into Webmaster Tools and noticed 81% of the linked pages listed in there were to those two URLs.

This made me think it wasn't a Penguin 1.1 hammering, but just a simple algo filter that could be removed if more links were built to their other 20+ subpages, however, I've never come across a filter that removes rankings for specific URLs, so I figured I'd ask some of you for your opinions on the matter.

I've scoured the whole website and the only thing about the website that caused me concern was the majority of backlinks going to just those two URLs. The on-page is okay, nothing spammy about it or their backlinks...just a regular business website.
#algo #filter #google
  • Profile picture of the author OneManSEO
    Thanks man. I don't believe there is anything mystical about what happened. Google's algorithm is just a series of mathematical calculations, so when a website tanks then reappears for different URLs, that is odd enough to take note. I doubt it will come back fully until whatever they did to get filtered is fixed.

    I was hoping someone else had a similar experience with this that could offer some ideas. As it stands, I've recommended they build links to other subpages to bring the % of links to the root domain and the one subpage to less than 40% of total, rather than its current 80%. This is sort of how you get a sandbox penalty removed, whereby you build links to other keywords to get the % of backlinks to a single anchor text below a certain threshold.

    That's the best I've got, but I was hoping someone else out there has dealt with a similar situation. lol
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  • Profile picture of the author shayman
    Hi
    I think I'm kind of on the same line as you. Mine is slightly different but I had a single sales page (long format so had a lot of content) with backlinks from a lot of original articles to the domain index file. The page was page 1 listing for around 6 months for quite a few search terms pre 24th April. Now it's GONE!! It's not banned or anything and what is annoying is Google webmaster tools says that it hasn't been penalised, which has got to be cr*p or how else can they justify nuking it.

    Anyhow, I really do not want to have to start all over again because it's my branded product so I'm trying a few things to get it back, mainly by adding some new fresh content pages to the domain.

    I'll keep you posted if I have any success.
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    • Profile picture of the author OneManSEO
      Originally Posted by shayman View Post

      Hi
      I think I'm kind of on the same line as you. Mine is slightly different but I had a single sales page (long format so had a lot of content) with backlinks from a lot of original articles to the domain index file. The page was page 1 listing for around 6 months for quite a few search terms pre 24th April. Now it's GONE!! It's not banned or anything and what is annoying is Google webmaster tools says that it hasn't been penalised, which has got to be cr*p or how else can they justify nuking it.

      Anyhow, I really do not want to have to start all over again because it's my branded product so I'm trying a few things to get it back, mainly by adding some new fresh content pages to the domain.

      I'll keep you posted if I have any success.
      Good luck. Maybe it is a Penguin deal then...too high of a % of backlinks to a single URL. Building several new pages and pushing the % to your homepage to below 50-60%(who knows what the arbitrary number is) might fix your problem.

      If memory serves me correctly, many of the people freaking out Post-Penguin were micro-site owners.

      Thanks for your input dude!
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      • Profile picture of the author shayman
        Originally Posted by OneManSEO View Post

        Good luck. Maybe it is a Penguin deal then...too high of a % of backlinks to a single URL. Building several new pages and pushing the % to your homepage to below 50-60%(who knows what the arbitrary number is) might fix your problem.

        If memory serves me correctly, many of the people freaking out Post-Penguin were micro-site owners.

        Thanks for your input dude!
        Yep plus I was probably guilty of matching anchor text too which I'm gradually undoing. What a game!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
      Originally Posted by shayman View Post

      The page was page 1 listing for around 6 months for quite a few search terms pre 24th April. Now it's GONE!! It's not banned or anything and what is annoying is Google webmaster tools says that it hasn't been penalised, which has got to be cr*p or how else can they justify nuking it.
      That is Penguin that hit your site. Penguin is not technically a penalty. It is an algorithm filter, so what GWT is telling you is true. Google classifies penalties as sites in which they took manual action against.
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      • Profile picture of the author shayman
        Originally Posted by OneManSEO View Post

        Good luck. Maybe it is a Penguin deal then...too high of a % of backlinks to a single URL. Building several new pages and pushing the % to your homepage to below 50-60%(who knows what the arbitrary number is) might fix your problem.

        If memory serves me correctly, many of the people freaking out Post-Penguin were micro-site owners.

        Thanks for your input dude!
        Originally Posted by MikeFriedman View Post

        That is Penguin that hit your site. Penguin is not technically a penalty. It is an algorithm filter, so what GWT is telling you is true. Google classifies penalties as sites in which they took manual action against.
        I see Mike. Thanks for the definition..still hurts the same and is still very difficult to redress.
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  • Profile picture of the author Edgar Espinosa
    Happened to one of my buddies sites.

    Like Mike mentioned, It's better to wait and see what happens.

    I would focus on adding new content in the mean time and diversifying the anchor text and back links.

    You'll start to rank for other keywords and soon get your rankings back hopefully!
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  • Profile picture of the author nasuryono
    I think you should be "Deep Linking" throughout other pages to your site. This will help you dilute the over optimization of linking on your site.

    Also, make sure to use diverse anchor text as it will help naturalize your site even more.
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    • Profile picture of the author shayman
      Originally Posted by nasuryono View Post

      I think you should be "Deep Linking" throughout other pages to your site. This will help you dilute the over optimization of linking on your site.

      Also, make sure to use diverse anchor text as it will help naturalize your site even more.
      Hi, I'm not sure if this was aimed at me, the topic starter or both...but that's exactly what I'm now doing so thanks for your input and reassurance. I will certainly keep this post updated with any progress.
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