Hi Darianw ~
I've been "working" on this question off and on since you submitted
it. It's difficult to give you a "good" answer, because you site
really seems like it should be ranking better than it does (discussed
below), yet the other sites are in effect ranked "more relevant" by
Google, and I've been trying to figure out what specific item or items
they have that your site doesn't.
There can be many reasons why your site isn't showing in the top few
pages of Google's search engine results pages (SERPs). These range
from your site not being available on the last crawl to blatant
attempts to "game" the system for a better ranking. Since your site IS
still listed in Google, and does eventually show up for the search
term, "beeswax candles", at least you know you've not been dropped
from Google's index.
As a Google Answers Researcher, I am not privy to Google's
closely-guarded algorithms, but I do have good resources to figure out
some of the answers for you. This is done using a series of reliable
resources, information available and, in some cases, when comparing
sites and source code, etc., some pretty good "best-guess"
information.
Your site, www.beehivecandles.com, currently ranks 160 in a Google
search for the term "beeswax candles".
- ://www.google.com/search?q=beeswax+candles&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=150&sa=N
To address your questions, it helps to understand that Google and
every search engine constantly updates its index and tweaks its
algorithm. And, unfortunately, sometimes they just make mistakes.
Google's responsibility is to the searcher, not the webmaster. As a
webmaster, it is incumbent on you to provide the most relevant
information to move your ranking up. And this is always amid a
constant flux, as search engines tweak their algorithms and new sites
are added, others dropped for whatever reasons.
I found one of the first hints that the last update may have a few
flaws in SERPs in Jill Whalen's High Rankings discussion forum. You
might want to read the thread, "Somebody Tell Me Why....?, Google
Schmoogle.....", here
- http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5854
And from a casual observation of some of the searches I have done, I
would be inclined to agree that some of the results are less than
"relevant". The good news is that there is also evidence this "flaw"
is getting cleaned up, which you can see in the same discussion
thread.
The key quote I would draw your attention to is the one made by Randy:
"if you're doing well in every other search engine
do you want to jeopardize that for something that
is broken? Or wait for them to fix it?"
- http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5854
A check on Yahoo for "beeswax candles" ranks your site at number 17,
so it might be the time to consider what you can do to improve your
SERPs ranking overall.
As part of investigating the answer to your question, I ran your site
through a text browser, Lynx. Google recommends the use of Lynx in its
Technical Guidelines, to give you an idea of what the search engine
"sees" when it crawls your site,
"Use a text browser such as Lynx to examine your site,
because most search engine spiders see your site much
as Lynx would. If fancy features such as Javascript,
cookies, session ID's, frames, DHTML, or Flash keep
you from seeing all of your site in a text browser,
then search engine spiders may have trouble crawling
your site."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
And the best advice from any search engine optimizer is always make
sure your site is designed in a user-friendly manner.
Here are the results as from the text viewer:
---------- results from Lynx Viewer ---------
100% Beeswax Candles carefully hand crafted from Bee Hive Candles! We
offer beeswax pillars, tapers, votives, tea-lights, apothecary jars
and more! Sorry, your browser is out of date and incompatible with our
menu system. Please try our standard hyperlink page Site Index. For
more help or questions please call Bee Hive Candles toll free at
1-866-411-9900. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have
caused you.
Bee Hive Candles Bee Hive Candles
Search: ____________________ Start Search View Cart View Cart
Experience Bee Hive Candles Satisfaction Guaranteed Satisfaction
Guaranteed - We stand behind everything we create and are confident
you will love our beeswax candles! [triangle_small.gif] Learn More
Secure Shopping Secure Shopping - Your shopping experience is 100%
secure at Bee Hive Candles! [triangle_small.gif] Learn More Bee Hive
Candles Bee Hive Candles has been carefully hand crafting all-natural
pure beeswax candles since 2000. [triangle_small.gif] Learn More
Featured Product - Mothers Day Giftset Mother's Day Giftset - Only
$19.95 (save $4.00) Add to Cart: MDGS1 -Mothers Day Giftset
Honeycomb Beeswax Taper Candles Beeswax Travel Tin Candles Clearance
Sale Beeswax Tea Light Candles
Did You Know...
[triangle_small.gif] Beeswax Filtering - While most of our beeswax is
very clean directly from our source we do lightly filter our beeswax
before we create the candle. This helps to remove smaller particle and
deposits that may clog the wick while burning. Our filter is simply a
nylon material that does not in any way affect the beeswax smell,
color, or texture.
[triangle_small.gif] Beeswax Variations - Although our beeswax is
always golden with a honey scent, because it is a natural product,
variation in color and scent is normal. These characteristics are
dependent upon the plants honeybees collect pollen and nectar from.
Flower blossoms and crops like canola result in lighter colors and
scents, while plants such as avocado, sunflowers or buckwheat result
in darker colors and strong heavy scents.
[triangle_small.gif] Learn More Join Our Newsletter Email
____________________ Join
[triangle_small.gif] More Here What Others Are Saying "Just wanted
to say thank you so much for sending the candle. It was waiting for us
when we got back from our vacation and the notecard was perfect. We
are very pleased with the information and the quality of the candle.
Great Job!" - Lis K.
[triangle_small.gif] More Testimonials
----------------- end snippet -------------------------
I was surprised to see a message about browser compatibility. There
are ways to design to eliminate that problem, and if visitors
encounter this, it is definitely *not* considered user friendly. In
fact, most people who encounter a browser compatibility message
usually click away. There are too many other sites with the same
information that don't insult them.
If you want to take a quickie look, you can use the Lynx Viewer on the
Delorie site, here
- http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html
Notice that your main VISIBLE focus, in this case the Mother's day
information, is missing from the text viewer. The reason is because
the text is in graphic form, and quite simply, browsers can't read
text contained in graphics. My first suggestion, especially since you
do change this area often enough is to keep the graphic part, but
adding actual text, instead of relying on graphic-rendered text, which
can't be read by a browser.
About those links
===================
Put your url in Google's search bar, and the results you get allow you
to look at all the sites which "contain the term
www.beehivecandles.com"
You'll notice that a great deal of those links to your site are:
- search results (like the Yahoo Store, Searchsite, epinions)
- lists of links (like Military Now, or similar lists)
Those types of links are not going to count much for your link
popularity, as people have learned how to use them to game the system.
In fact, there is a thread on Webmasterworld where someone noticed
that all those types of links have ceased to be counted among the
links on certain searches.
You might want to read through some of the discussion threads. Please
remember that these are opinions only. Granted, some of them are by
very knowledgeable and respected SEO people, but unless a comment is
by GoogleGuy, who really is a Google engineer, the other information
should always be taken with a grain of salt.
You can find the Webmaster World site listed in the links below.
Important Google Links For Your Reference
==========================================
I am including important links from Google's site. This information
will help you understand Google's goals and responsibility to the web
searcher (and not the webmaster or site owner).
Webmasters who follow the guidelines and avoid Google's "Thou shalt
nots" usually have no problem getting listed and showing up under the
search terms they desire.
* Google Today (absolutely the best information you
can read about the "how and why" of Google's results
- ://www.google.com/corporate/today.html
* How Do I Get My Site Listed on Google?
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html
* My Web Pages Are Not Currently Listed (a good 'primer'
on how and why Google works so well)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/2.html
* PageRank Information (covers both Google's PageRank and
SERPS)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/4.html
* Webmaster Guidelines (contains both the dos and don'ts)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
* Google Facts & Fiction (can you buy your way to a
high ranking in Google?)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/facts.html
* Search Engine Optimizers (some good advice on what to look
for if you're going to hire a Search Engine Optimizer)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/seo.html
* Frequently Asked Questions (pretty much what it says, but
definitely worth wading through)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/faq.html
* Remove Content from Google's Index (just in case you feel
a burning need to start all over again)
- ://www.google.com/remove.html
================================
Other Sources of Information
================================
There is also good information from many of the top search engine
optimization experts, such as
* Detlev Johnson, Search Engine Guide
- http://www.searchengineguide.com/detlev/
* Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Watch
- http://www.searchenginewatch.com/
* Jill Whalen, High Rankings
- http://www.highrankings.com/
* Shari Thurow, Web Pro News (and quoted all over the Internet)
- www.webpronews.com/
who all have columns or newsletters to which you can subscribe and
keep abreast of the best way to use good content for better
positioning in search engine results.
In addition, Webmaster World - http://www.webmasterworld.com/ - has
discussion boards on most of the search engines. While some of the
discussions are anecdotal and/or questions for information, there is
usually enough discussion to keep abreast of what seems to be
happening.
There is an entire section devoted to Google at:
- http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/
It never hurts to keep track of the discussions; but remember, trying
to optimize for search engines only is like trying to hit a moving
target. You'll notice among the more experienced contributors to the
discussions - plus the SEO experts listed above - that there really is
no substitute for content, relevant links and good HTML.
Important Google Links For Your Reference
==========================================
I am including important links from Google's site. This information
will help you understand Google's goals and responsibility to the web
searcher (and not the webmaster or site owner).
Webmasters who follow the guidelines and avoid Google's "Thou shalt
nots" usually have no problem getting listed and showing up under the
search terms they desire.
* Google Today (absolutely the best information you
can read about the "how and why" of Google's results
- ://www.google.com/corporate/today.html
* How Do I Get My Site Listed on Google?
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html
* My Web Pages Are Not Currently Listed (a good 'primer'
on how and why Google works so well)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/2.html
* PageRank Information (covers both Google's PageRank and
SERPS)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/4.html
* Webmaster Guidelines (contains both the dos and don'ts)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
* Google Facts & Fiction (can you buy your way to a
high ranking in Google?)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/facts.html
* Search Engine Optimizers (some good advice on what to look
for if you're going to hire a Search Engine Optimizer)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/seo.html
* Frequently Asked Questions (pretty much what it says, but
definitely worth wading through)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/faq.html
* Remove Content from Google's Index (just in case you feel
a burning need to start all over again)
- ://www.google.com/remove.html
================================
Other Sources of Information
================================
There is also good information from many of the top search engine
optimization experts, such as
* Detlev Johnson, Search Engine Guide
- http://www.searchengineguide.com/detlev/
* Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Watch
- http://www.searchenginewatch.com/
* Jill Whalen, High Rankings
- http://www.highrankings.com/
* Shari Thurow, Web Pro News (and quoted all over the Internet)
- www.webpronews.com/
who all have columns or newsletters to which you can subscribe and
keep abreast of the best way to use good content for better
positioning in search engine results.
In addition, Webmaster World - http://www.webmasterworld.com/ - has
discussion boards on most of the search engines. While some of the
discussions are anecdotal and/or questions for information, there is
usually enough discussion to keep abreast of what seems to be
happening.
There is an entire section devoted to Google at:
- http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/
It never hurts to keep track of the discussions; but remember, trying
to optimize for search engines only is like trying to hit a moving
target. You'll notice among the more experienced contributors to the
discussions - plus the SEO experts listed above - that there really is
no substitute for content, relevant links and good HTML.
Search terms ~
================
Except for specific searches mentioned above, the links provided in
this answer and the information given are bookmarked resources and
information I use daily.
Summary
==========
My own opinion and advice is this:
I wouldn't make any drastic changes at this time and wait and see if
the next Google major change doesn't improve your SERPs ranking.
In the meantime, making changes to add as much test to the content and
not to graphics, establishing relevant links TO your site and making
sure your pages are user friendly can only help, regardless of any
flaws Google's search results may contain. Those can help you so much
it would be my advice to make those changes anyway.
And, although it's no small comfort, if you wander through the
discussions in WebMaster world or Jill Whalen's High Rankings site,
you will see that you are not alone. So it's not personal, it's just
something that is currently happening.
Hope this helps,
Serenata
Google Answers Researcher |
