Google Penalty? But for What?

[hamncheese]

Hi,
My site {link to own site removed} stopped ranking as of yesterday. Some popular keywords such as: mens ties, neckties, silk ties, bow ties, etc. are now in the 50th spot area. They used to be in the top3-5.

I have no idea why this is. I have not made any changes to my site recently and do not participate in black hat SEO techniques anymore. (I used to submit articles but have not done so since over a year).

Any thoughts on how to proceed?

Cheers,

H

 

[Linda Buquet]

This does not look like a question for the Google Places forum right?
The problem is about your web site organic ranking correct?
Not a local Place page?

Please confirm then I'll move to the SEO forum section.

 

[jcorkern]

It's SEO organic, not local. Once you move it I will help out a bit here.

 

[hamncheese]

Yes it is a SEO question. Sorry about the confusion.

Cheers,

Hendrik

 

[Linda Buquet]

K that's what I though. It's moved now. Jim and others can give you some insights.

 

[bigcat1967]

I manage nothing but content sites. Just wondering if you put a blog on your site if that would help. Google loves the content.

 

[jcorkern]

Ok, after digging in a bit and talking with him, we have found out that he received an un natural link email. He has already corrected the problem.

He now has the option to ask for a re inclusion or wait it out until Google see's the correction and releases the site from punishment.

 

[hamncheese]

Thanks Jim for the help. I will continue looking thorugh links and remove all those that may not comply with google's guidlines. I will probably be removing a fee too many links and will be loosking good links because of this. But I rather be safe.

I used to rank in the TOP3 for most keywords. Now I am in the 50 range. So I rather remove a few good links along the way and go to the TOP10 (instead of Top3) than staying penalized and in the 50 range.

I will do a follow up post if I learn more. Maybe a good case study for other folks here. If you have any further suggestions then I would appreciate hearing them.

Cheers,

H

 

[DeniseTaylor]

Getting hit with a penalty is hard. Some tactics may seem okay or harmless at the time. I once had my PageRank removed. I was mystified by it, because I could see anything I did, and didn't do anything knowingly to cause it.

It went on for months. Then I find an error on one of my pages and corrected it. I don't know how it happened, but I got it off there. Within weeks, my PageRank was back.

The point is - if after awhile, you don't see a reversion, keep looking. Use Google's quality guidelines to cross-check your pages. It never hurts to clean up your site and keep it clean. In fact, it's a very good practice.