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Suggestion For Those Hit By The EMD Penalty

by dp40oz
35 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I had lost 7 of my sites after Penguin hit a few months back. The sites had a good amount of content on them. I decided to do an experiment thats worked pretty well and may help those suffering from the EMD penalty.

I took the 7 sites and closed them down. I waited a bit over a month for all the content to be removed from the index and the cache. I bought an aged PR 3 domain with great links and a generic name. I then had my VA's go over each article and make them even higher quality. I added more videos, pictures & diagrams. I also took some old articles I had lying around that I never used and did the same with those. I then took all of this content put it on the PR 3 domain and made this a general "about everything" kind of blog. Did a bit of high quality link building.

Its been a few months and that blog now is getting loads of traffic and tons of long tail traffic that the original sights weren't bringing in. This is a good way to salvage content from sites that have been destroyed. This works well for people like me who have a good amount of sites. Just a suggestion for those feeling some pain today.
#emd #hit #penalty #suggestion
  • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
    Agreed. I did the same with some websites that were deindexed by Google. I put them back up on a Blogger account and added pictures, videos, and images. I built some links and now all those articles get a ton of traffic. Google bans domains, but not content.
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  • Profile picture of the author CatherineMay
    Originally Posted by dp40oz View Post

    I had lost 7 of my sites after Penguin hit a few months back. The sites had a good amount of content on them. I decided to do an experiment thats worked pretty well and may help those suffering from the EMD penalty.

    I took the 7 sites and closed them down. I waited a bit over a month for all the content to be removed from the index and the cache. I bought an aged PR 3 domain with great links and a generic name. I then had my VA's go over each article and make them even higher quality. I added more videos, pictures & diagrams. I also took some old articles I had lying around that I never used and did the same with those. I then took all of this content put it on the PR 3 domain and made this a general "about everything" kind of blog. Did a bit of high quality link building.

    Its been a few months and that blog now is getting loads of traffic and tons of long tail traffic that the original sights weren't bringing in. This is a good way to salvage content from sites that have been destroyed. This works well for people like me who have a good amount of sites. Just a suggestion for those feeling some pain today.
    This is very encouraging but I need some help, as I really don't know how to go about this.

    So, can you please write down a step-by-step process for "closing down" a website or direct me to directions listed elsewhere?

    Thanks so much!
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    • Profile picture of the author adamcm
      If the site has been added to Webmaster Tools couldn't you just perform a URL removal request and then copy your content from the old site once google has removed the URL to your new site?
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      • Profile picture of the author CatherineMay
        Is that really all it takes? Just go to webmaster tools and ask for url removals? Do they do that just for the asking? How long does it take?
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        • Profile picture of the author cooler1
          Originally Posted by CatherineMay View Post

          Is that really all it takes? Just go to webmaster tools and ask for url removals? Do they do that just for the asking? How long does it take?
          According to the Google forum, it takes between 3-5 business days to remove a URL.
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    • Profile picture of the author options
      Originally Posted by CatherineMay View Post

      This is very encouraging but I need some help, as I really don't know how to go about this.

      So, can you please write down a step-by-step process for "closing down" a website or direct me to directions listed elsewhere?

      Thanks so much!
      Save your content.

      Go to cpanel, remove all the sites files, remove the name servers from your domain name.
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      • Profile picture of the author CatherineMay
        Originally Posted by options View Post

        Save your content.

        Go to cpanel, remove all the sites files, remove the name servers from your domain name.
        So, the action described above is what should be done after webmaster tools removes the urls? After all of this is done - webmaster tools and C-panel - I could copy the saved content word for word, image by image, from the old domain to the new one and have zero worries about it being copied material?

        Just want to make sure I've got this process right, since this will be a big decision for me to make.
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        • Profile picture of the author CatherineMay
          Bumping once, hoping to get a definitive answer to my question!
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          • Profile picture of the author Carl Brown
            There's some great information for those who need to recover from an overoptimized EMD on Lisa Parmley's blog: inlineseo/blog

            I think I learned my lesson in April and worked hard to make all of my linking and onsite seo look natural, and all of my sites moved up with this update.
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            • Profile picture of the author CatherineMay
              Originally Posted by Carl Brown View Post

              There's some great information for those who need to recover from an overoptimized EMD on Lisa Parmley's blog: inlineseo/blog

              I think I learned my lesson in April and worked hard to make all of my linking and onsite seo look natural, and all of my sites moved up with this update.
              Did you have an EMD or not?
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          • Profile picture of the author troybh
            Big problem with this system is that if you actually had a quality site your content has been copied, spun, copied, spun etc.. and posted all over the internet. Google will see the new site as just more rehashed content that is all over the internet and not rank you or rank you for a while and eventually you get tanked.
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        • Profile picture of the author dp40oz
          Originally Posted by CatherineMay View Post

          So, the action described above is what should be done after webmaster tools removes the urls? After all of this is done - webmaster tools and C-panel - I could copy the saved content word for word, image by image, from the old domain to the new one and have zero worries about it being copied material?

          Just want to make sure I've got this process right, since this will be a big decision for me to make.
          Well not exactly. You got penalized or "Demoted" for a reason. I would strongly suggest going over your content with a fine tooth comb and really upping the quality before re-posting. But yes once its de-indexed you shouldn't have a problem with dup content or anything of that nature. I had a month or two before I reposted my content so I'd suggest giving it a little while to fully drop from Google's cache and database.
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          • Profile picture of the author Mkj
            I suggest waiting a while longer before implementing any changes. I have around 60 sites and each are very similar to the other. All comparison type sites. The very type that Google hates I think. No original content to speak of as they are all database driven product sites. All died a death on Saturday but they have started to work once more. One site came back online this afternoon and is now getting more clicks than it was previously. Others are also showing activity - but only today and more so this evening. Funny enough I am ranking much higher on some products searches than I was.

            Backlinks - really none to speak of. I have pretty good on page seo but nothing else. All these sites are EMD. I could well have taken them down by now as they were so dead. So hold fire I reckon for a few more days before doing anything drastic and see if you get any sort of recovery.
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            • Profile picture of the author dp40oz
              Originally Posted by Mkj View Post

              I suggest waiting a while longer before implementing any changes. I have around 60 sites and each are very similar to the other. All comparison type sites. The very type that Google hates I think. No original content to speak of as they are all database driven product sites. All died a death on Saturday but they have started to work once more. One site came back online this afternoon and is now getting more clicks than it was previously. Others are also showing activity - but only today and more so this evening. Funny enough I am ranking much higher on some products searches than I was.

              Backlinks - really none to speak of. I have pretty good on page seo but nothing else. All these sites are EMD. I could well have taken them down by now as they were so dead. So hold fire I reckon for a few more days before doing anything drastic and see if you get any sort of recovery.
              Interesting. Any idea why the came back?
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  • Profile picture of the author Mr Lim
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    • Profile picture of the author dp40oz
      Originally Posted by Mr Lim View Post

      The information/solution you provide aren't working for everyone, for that said.
      I've own tons of aged and high PR domain, they are non EMD and got TANKED(LOL)! On this update, but thanks for sharing anyway.

      Contributing on WF is always the best. +1 to you.
      They tanked because your content is not up to snuff. The key to this whole thing is making your content much better. If you were penalized in the first place, then you have to go in and look at why, then when you rebuild this new, bigger site you can fix those content mistakes.

      And to answer other peoples questions, yes you can de-index sites through webmaster tools. It just takes a few days.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mr Lim
        Originally Posted by dp40oz View Post

        They tanked because your content is not up to snuff. The key to this whole thing is making your content much better. If you were penalized in the first place, then you have to go in and look at why, then when you rebuild this new, bigger site you can fix those content mistakes.

        And to answer other peoples questions, yes you can de-index sites through webmaster tools. It just takes a few days.
        Lol, prejudging.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mantasmo
    ^^ it's far more than just your content.
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    • Profile picture of the author CatherineMay
      Originally Posted by bnetwork View Post

      ^^ it's far more than just your content.

      What is this comment supposed to mean?
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    • Profile picture of the author dp40oz
      Originally Posted by bnetwork View Post

      ^^ it's far more than just your content.
      ??? They were going after low quality pages, not backlinks with this update. Penalties are either onpage or offpage. Even if it is offpage (backlinks) then a highly trusted fresh domain with good quality content would cure those problems.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mantasmo
        Originally Posted by dp40oz View Post

        ??? They were going after low quality pages, not backlinks with this update. Penalties are either onpage or offpage. Even if it is offpage (backlinks) then a highly trusted fresh domain with good quality content would cure those problems.
        Content, URL structure, LSI, tags, meta, titles, sub-headings, redirects, outbound links (including aff links), other media on page (pdf, images, flash, tables, search), social plugins, the list is endless... those are all on-page.
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        • Profile picture of the author nik0
          Banned
          Originally Posted by bnetwork View Post

          Content, URL structure, LSI, tags, meta, titles, sub-headings, redirects, outbound links (including aff links), other media on page (pdf, images, flash, tables, search), social plugins, the list is endless... those are all on-page.
          Talking about url structure, WP is totally driving me crazy, look at what a list of url's I get for 1 single post

          www.my-domain.org/ - duplicate cause post is featured on homepage obv.
          www.my-domain.org/author/admin/ - duplicate
          www.my-domain.org/2012/09/ - duplicate
          www.my-domain.org/tag/number1/ - duplicate
          www.my-domain.org/tag/number2/ - duplicate
          www.my-domain.org/category/ACTUAL-POST/ - duplicate
          www.my-domain.org/?m=201209 - duplicate
          www.my-domain.org/ACTUAL-POST/ - duplicate, well actual post

          That are 7 duplicate pages cause I couldn't use the read more tag here cause link is at the bottom and must be featured at the homepage.

          Sure there is a pages function for that but this is a blog network site of mine so all posts need to be featured on the homepage, but that this WP translates it into 7 duplicate pages total is just ridiculous.

          No wonder people deal with site structure issue's when working with a crappy CMS like WP.
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          • Profile picture of the author yukon
            Banned
            Originally Posted by nik0 View Post

            No wonder people deal with site structure issue's when working with a crappy CMS like WP.
            Most people don't realize that a WP theme can be a bare minimum of only two template pages inside the theme:
            • index.php
            • style.css

            A typical bloated theme like the default 2011 WP theme has 40+ pages/files/folders in the theme. That doesn't even count the plugins that the end user will install.

            My point is, Wordpress is whatever you make it, just like any other CMS or even an html site, you have to make it do whatever you want it to do.
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            • Profile picture of the author nik0
              Banned
              Originally Posted by yukon View Post

              Most people don't realize that a WP theme can be a bare minimum of only two template pages inside the theme:
              • index.php
              • style.css

              A typical bloated theme like the default 2011 WP theme has 40+ pages/files/folders in the theme. That doesn't even count the plugins that the end user will install.

              My point is, Wordpress is whatever you make it, just like any other CMS or even an html site, you have to make it do whatever you want it to do.
              Hmm, I thought the rest was all essential for whatever purpose, like single-post.php / loop.php and what not.

              If you only have index.php and style.css, do you think the posting function would still work?
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              • Profile picture of the author yukon
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                Originally Posted by nik0 View Post

                Hmm, I thought the rest was all essential for whatever purpose, like single-post.php / loop.php and what not.

                If you only have index.php and style.css, do you think the posting function would still work?
                Yea, you'll wan't the basic pages (single.php, etc...), my point was you can add/remove whatever you want from a theme, you just have to make sure not to break the theme, like calling a template page that you've removed.

                I use WAMP + Wordpress (offline server/CMS) for building/editing themes, that's more advanced but I can setup a site offline & make edits without worrying about breaking a live money site.
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                • Profile picture of the author nik0
                  Banned
                  Originally Posted by yukon View Post

                  Yea, you'll wan't the basic pages (single.php, etc...), my point was you can add/remove whatever you want from a theme, you just have to make sure not to break the theme, like calling a template page that you've removed.

                  I use WAMP + Wordpress (offline server/CMS) for building/editing themes, that's more advanced but I can setup a site offline & make edits without worrying about breaking a live money site.
                  Thanks, I do have some sites that I can break without problems. I'll just keep the Filemanager or FTP open. Time to play
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        • Profile picture of the author dp40oz
          Originally Posted by bnetwork View Post

          Content, URL structure, LSI, tags, meta, titles, sub-headings, redirects, outbound links (including aff links), other media on page (pdf, images, flash, tables, search), social plugins, the list is endless... those are all on-page.
          Yes onpage. Agreed. Improve the onpage. That's what I did at least. I mostly focused on content because my issues in particular didn't having any glaring penalty worthy problems with the things you've mentioned.
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  • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
    Low quality pages? Really?

    That is really interesting to me. Why? Because our site has more content on it than most of our competitors, and after this update we were launched to page 1. So that must be exactly what's going on. I noticed a few sites that had the same keyword we have in the domain, that were destroying us in the SERPS, and now they're all gone. Plus a lot of brand name sites are gone too now.

    Our home page itself is fairly long. About 3 times as long as most of our competition. Many of those short sites, had like 200 words of content or less on the home page. My home page has over 1000 words of content on the home page. And right now we gained an advantage over our competition thats unbelievable.

    As happy as I am to be on page 1, I'm going to scale up our SEO X10 now. More content on the site, more content on our blogs, more social medial backlinks, more content, and a few more backlinks lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author rockong
    Interesting thread. Some hostility between warriors but still interesting.

    Hopefully I'll never get smacked by G00gle, but if I do, I'll certainly remember this method
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeWike
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    • Profile picture of the author nik0
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      Originally Posted by MikeWike View Post

      About the PR3 domains. What did you look before you bought them? I mean, what kind of backlinking profile should I look for? Less or more backlinks? How do I know if that PR3 that I'm going to buy is not penalized by google?

      Your tactic seems pretty solid, I might want to implement it
      You can check out what site was hosted on that PR3 before with Wayback Machine, also the link profile should show you in quick look if it's spammy or not, if you see tons of nofollow type of back links then you know enough.

      Also at SEOmoz or any other back link checker, which is kind of essential, you can have a quick look at the anchor txt profile. I would prefer sites with very wide anchor diversity or lots of url's / domainname anchors instead of kw's.

      Then by just looking at the domainname it should also give you a good idea of what you're gonna buy, obvious huge difference between uggboots.com with 1000+ linking root domains or DHKinsurance.com, so plenty of ways to see how legit a domain used to be.

      Just as or even more important is to check the back link profile, to see of the high PR links are still there and dofollow. Often links are already removed before the domain drops which would make your PR3 a PR2 or worse right from the buy.
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  • Profile picture of the author jfambrini
    My two EMDs also tanked but i'm holding on before doing anything. They have rich content so Google will eventually restore them. It always over-reaches in its first effort and then makes amends.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chucky
    Thanks for the post! Something I always thought of doing, but never did. My problem is I'm getting traffic to some of these sites through other search engines, even though it is nothing compared to what I got from Google. So I don't want to take down the sites completely. So I guess I'll either have to rewrite everything from scratch or forget traffic from other SEs and take the sites down

    Any thoughts? Ways around it?
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    • Profile picture of the author Bryan V
      Originally Posted by Chucky View Post

      Thanks for the post! Something I always thought of doing, but never did. My problem is I'm getting traffic to some of these sites through other search engines, even though it is nothing compared to what I got from Google. So I don't want to take down the sites completely. So I guess I'll either have to rewrite everything from scratch or forget traffic from other SEs and take the sites down

      Any thoughts? Ways around it?
      Kinda depends how much of a hit you're going to take by removing the sites. Maybe test with some lower earning sites first, before taking down the big ones. We also still don't know if this is something you can recover from (without moving domains).


      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      ...
      I use WAMP...
      Lol, couldn't help but think of this:
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      Perhaps an attic I shall seek.
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  • Profile picture of the author WilsonA
    Originally Posted by dp40oz View Post

    I had lost 7 of my sites after Penguin hit a few months back. The sites had a good amount of content on them. I decided to do an experiment thats worked pretty well and may help those suffering from the EMD penalty.

    I took the 7 sites and closed them down. I waited a bit over a month for all the content to be removed from the index and the cache. I bought an aged PR 3 domain with great links and a generic name. I then had my VA's go over each article and make them even higher quality. I added more videos, pictures & diagrams. I also took some old articles I had lying around that I never used and did the same with those. I then took all of this content put it on the PR 3 domain and made this a general "about everything" kind of blog. Did a bit of high quality link building.

    Its been a few months and that blog now is getting loads of traffic and tons of long tail traffic that the original sights weren't bringing in. This is a good way to salvage content from sites that have been destroyed. This works well for people like me who have a good amount of sites. Just a suggestion for those feeling some pain today.
    When you were doing your "high quality link building" were you building links to the individual pages or just to the main domain, I am thinking of trying something like this but using a pr6 domain but I do not want to invest all that effort and not see results
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  • Profile picture of the author jerrywhyte
    great and unique technique dude thanks for sharing
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