Hi sandinshoes,
Have you heard of the Google "Florida Update"? It is most likely the
cause of your sudden drop in ranking, and if it makes you feel any
better, you are not alone - *many* websites are experiencing the same
problem. One interesting point which helps to confirm the diagnosis,
is that websites most affected by the Florida Update are real estate,
hotels, rentals, travel, and vacations."
The first place to look is over at Scroogle - here are the results
when I typed in the keywords: "ocean city beach rental condos". Before
the Florida Update, you would've placed 5th in the top 100, now you
aren't in the top 100 at all. As you can see, there are 68 links in
the same boat as you are.
"These 68 links are missing from the top 100; the red number just
counts them and the black number following it is the position it would
have occupied in the top 100:
5. Ocean City Condos - Rental Condos on the Beach in Ocean City ...
"Ocean City Condos has beach rental condos located in the oceanfront
buildings pictured above. Our condos have fully equipped kitchens ...
"
www.oc-condos.com/"
http://www.google-watch.org/scraper.html
What is the Florida Update and what should you do about it?
Unfortunately, the jury is out on both counts. Do a Google search for
"Florida Update" and you will find as many opinions as their are
shells on your beach.
SCROOGLE:
The Great Google Filter Fiasco: Mom & Pop take it on the chin:
"On or about November 17, 2003, countless ecommerce sites no longer
appeared near the top of the rankings when their owners used the
search terms that they considered most important."
"There is no question by now that this is a new algorithm instead of a bug."
"The ecommerce sites most affected by the filter are in the areas of
real estate, hotels, rentals, travel, and vacations."
by Daniel Brandt
http://www.google-watch.org/fiasco.html
The article, "How To Prosper With The New Google", written by Dan
Thies of Seo Research Labs earlier this month, offers a common sense
approach to what might be going on and what to do about it.
5th January 2004:
"Dan Thies, of Seo Research Labs, came up with the interesting theory
that the Florida changes are due to Google now using Topic Sensitive
PageRank (TSPR). His PDF article can be found here. It's an
interesting theory because, like the 'expert system' theory, it would
cause Google to use 2 different algorithms depending on the searchterm
used. To date, it's the only other theory that I believe has a chance
of being right."
http://www.webworkshop.net/florida-update.html#latest
HOW TO PROSPER WITH THE NEW GOOGLE, by Dan Thies:
Copyright © 2004 SEO Research Labs
http://www.seoresearchlabs.com/seo-research-labs-google-report.pdf
Looking at your website, I do have a few suggestions.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
META KEYWORDS: you have 332 characters:
You are using the minimum - I would prefer to see closer to 500
characters if you can manage it (some people suggest up to 1000), and
you probably have "condos" written too many times (no more than 3).
Keywords: here are some that you could add:
swimming, boating, shore, oceanfront, resorts, surfing, fish,
condominiums, cruises, tours, casinos, lifeguards, accommodation,
holidays, boardwalk, golfing, golf, amusements, shipwrecks, rescues
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Make use of key phrases and modifiers:
http://www.searchengineguide.com/buresh/2004/0203_sb1.html
Some suggestions:
Geographic:
Atlantic Ocean, eastern seashore, Ocean City Maryland, coastal mid
atlantic, White Marlin Capital, east coast
Descriptive (adjective):
beach front, family vacations, golden sands, water skiing, relaxing
vacations, rental packages, clean beaches, beach resort, off season
rentals, water sports,
Descriptive (noun)
condos for rent, swimming pools, amusement park, Life-Saving Station
Museum, Kite Exposition,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Meta Description: you have 313 characters which are too many. Just
your first sentence would be fine.
"Ocean City Condos offers beach rental condos in Ocean City, Maryland
for your vacation enjoyment."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Matching keywords in your text:
Mix and match the keywords and phrases between the meta tags and your
page content. In other words, make sure your most important keywords
are used in your meta tags and in the text of you page.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Links:
Last but not least, try to get your URL on other important sites, such
as your Chamber of Commerce, your tourist bureau, and tourist
associations (if they're not already).
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I hope I've been able to help. If you have any questions, please post
a clarification request before closing/rating my answer.
Thank you,
hummer
Google Search Terms Used:
"ocean city maryland" |
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