Thanks for asking.
I've examined the pages of homeboundmortgage.com. It's difficult to
make a guesstimate about whether the site was manually removed, or
caught by a tightening of search engine algorithms, because either
way, based upon the practices used on the website, this would not be
unexpected.
The search engines are not terribly specific about the practices that
are considered to be SE spam, however, Google offers a short list:
-- Avoid hidden text or hidden links.
-- Don't employ cloaking or sneaky redirects.
-- Don't send automated queries to Google.
-- Don't load pages with irrelevant words.
-- Don't create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with
substantially duplicate content.
-- Avoid "doorway" pages created just for search engines, or other
"cookie cutter" approaches such as affiliate programs with little
or no original content
Most of "the rest" is covered by:
"Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule
of thumb is whether you'd feel comfortable explaining what you've done
to a website that competes with you. Another useful test is to ask,
"Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn't
exist?""
"Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's
ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or
"bad neighborhoods" on the web as your own ranking may be affected
adversely by those links."
"Google may respond negatively to other misleading practices not
listed here, (e.g. tricking users by registering misspellings of
well-known web sites). It's not safe to assume that just because a
specific deceptive technique isn't included on this page, Google
approves of it."
Webmaster Guidelines | Quality
://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
Yahoo Search is even more restrictive in their definitions of spam and
undesirables, however, concentration on detection and removal has not
been receiving quite as much focus. It would be an excellent idea to
be aware of and conform to Y's restrictions, since Yahoo has no
reacceptance policy. Banishment has been, in every case I've heard of,
permanent. [http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/deletions/deletions-05.html]
Crosslinking / Interlinking
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest practice apparently added to the list of undesirables is
crosslinking or interlinking. Made for the SE sites are linked
together in an attempt to artificially inflate PageRank. Using Yahoo,
Google's "homeboundmortgage +com" search, and the Wayback machine,
I've located many such interlinks. Approximately 250 sites are
responsible for thousands of links. If I'm able to figure this out by
only a dozen backlink searches, the SE's can do so much more easily,
using the index itself.
"Cross-linking - If your entire site is sitting at PR0, one
possibility is a cross-linking penalty. Sometimes a webmaster who
controls two or more websites will place links from every page of one
website to every page of the other sites to increase the PageRank of
all the sites. If detected, this will quickly incur a penalty if not
an outright ban from the Google index."
Why's My Sites PageRank Now Zero
http://www.rlrouse.com/pagerank-penalty.html
Among other indicators, factors which might prompt discovery of
crosslinkage could be:
Same content verbatim
Same cookie structure
Javascript function names
Linked CSS and JS files
CSS class names
Same contact information posted on websites
Common name servers
Same/similar images and/or graphics theme
Site hosted on same IP/block
Whois information matching
Alexa contact information matching
Interlinking of domains
Common backlinks (indirect crosslinking)
Same credit card used for anything
Login from same IP to separate accounts
Residual cookies from past logins
Similar file names or linking/directory structures
Code Comments
It used to be considered relatively safe to have as many inbound links
as possible. Regardless of source. Over the course of this year, that
assumption has spawned link purchase, and hidden crosslinking. Now
sites must also be very careful about inbound links. The crosslinked
and purchased links networks have been devalued. Sites linking to
those types of networks have reported decreasing traffic, and finally,
over the past month or so, a number of such sites have been completely
dropped from the index.
The traffic trend for homeboundmortgage.com shows a similar pattern:
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?&range=2y&size=medium&compare_sites=&url=http%3A//www.homeboundmortgage.com#top
Whether this was a manual removal or an algorithm shift can't be
determined without proprietary information from inside Google, which
we already know isn't possible. Remember Google's SE spam fighting
philosophy: "Google prefers developing scalable and automated
solutions to problems, so we attempt to minimize hand-to-hand spam
fighting. The spam reports we receive are used to create scalable
algorithms that recognize and block future spam attempts."
I'm not saying that homeboundmortgage.com has been reported as spam.
However, the crosslinking tactics alone used are consistent with those
of other sites that -are- considered spam and may have been reported
as such. If Google should target those characteristics based on spam
reports for other sites, then it is not surprising that
homeboundmortgage would be caught by the same adjustments to the
algorithm or filters, and be dropped from the index as well.
Over Optimization Penalty
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This summer, a new term has emerged, Over Optimization Penalty, which
refers to the tweaks most SEO make to pages to "fine tune" them to the
top of their keyword categories. Page length, Keyword Density, bold,
underline, italic, H1 formulas, link text, and various other small
elements are manipulated until the perfect balance is struck, and the
SEO'd site contains just a small bit more than the other sites in the
top 10. It can be a full time job keeping a site at that level with
these small changes. Google has lowered the bar, now effectively
saying that high keyword densities, and many of the other SEO tweaks
are evidence of too much SEO. Filters are created, and such sites drop
in the rankings. Sites that have been playing too close to the edge
are penalized.
Homeboundmortgage.com uses a number of these tactics. Keyword density
in particular has been manipulated. ASCII characters are used to break
up recognizable words in the source code, further enhancing specific
keyword density and page content focus. This is considered "hidden
text" and needs to be cleaned up completely. No text manipulation.
Natural language intended for users.
ALT Text
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Much of the bottom navigation on all site pages is accomplished via
text images, utilizing keywords in ALT text. Especially "©2004
homebound Mortgage, Inc. 800-420-7434 Fax: 802-264-9275". Not only
does this contribute to ideal word count, it shows keyword stuffing in
the ALT tags. To clean up, switch to clear text navigation.
Old Link Exchanges
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pages stored in the Internet Archive indicate the site was once
involved in some questionable link exchanges, for example, files like
Family_Links.htm.
Duplicate Content
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I found just a couple of pages of duplicate content. The About Us and
Sitemap, for instance. All duplicate pages should be eliminated. Link
just one page consistently.
Licenses Page
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The state licenses page is gravely out of date. License numbers need
to be updated. 8 out of the 9 states I checked were outdated.
Now, once all these changes have been made, what to do. You can, of
course, try writing help@google.com. "We do not make any guarantees
about if or when we will re-include your site."
Webmaster Guidelines | Not Listed
://www.google.com/webmasters/2.html
I personally know of only two sites that have been re-included after
manual removal. In each case, the site was crawled regularly, but was
not included in the index for over six months. I don't know the
specific reason for this, of course, but I would imagine it might be
some sort of a testing period. How strong is a webmaster's resolve to
walk the straight and narrow, despite lack of indexing.
So, assuming best case, you might be looking at six months or more
before your sites are re-included in the index. Once delisted, I also
imagine such sites must stay squeaky clean. An SE might forgive once,
but seldom twice.
Looking Ahead
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VERY worst case, permanent exclusion from organic results on Google.
Recovery basically means starting over, nearly from scratch.
Plan a 12-18 month Overture or AdWords campaign, originally targeting
the current website. Pick more specifically targeted keyword phrase
initially, to keep costs down. I realize this is a high priced keyword
neighborhood. You may need to create new, perfectly targeted landing
pages to lower acquisition costs.
Select a new domain name. Without reinclusion within a short period of
time, the current name will continue to lose value daily.
Build a new, clean site under the new domain name. Text must be fresh,
not a duplicate of the current domain. Do not duplicate site
structure, filenames, or other elements that could link it to the
banned name.
Gradually add organic links. Expect it to take 6-12 months in order to
acquire 1,000 related links. Continue to link to related sites over
the next 18 months. Grow the site adding one new page (250-500 words)
each day.
As the new site rises in the SERPs gradually switch the PPC traffic to
the new site, and retire the current site completely. At any point in
the process, if the current (old) site should reappear, it shouldn't
be an undue amount of work to gradually retarget the newly acquired
links to the older site. Encourage natural link text by those linking
to the site.
I'm afraid that the days of SEO are far away for both the current
HomeboundMortgage.com and any replacement. If you're going to optimize
at all, test first in a safely isolated site. You're not going to be
able to push the optimization envelope for quite some time. The key to
long-term survival and growth will need to be the "content is king"
model.
The only bright news in the picture is that the site isn't being
meta-hijacked, at least not under any of the keywords I've tried (your
homepage META keywords list.) Google itself wouldn't encourage such a
practice, and in fact will likely be glad to deal with any such
offenders under the DMCA.
Sources:
Crosslink Detection
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/25568.htm
Crosslinking Penalty
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/23890-2-10.htm
Sandbox Effect
http://www.promodo.com/web-site-promotion-articles-en/about-google-search-engine-promotion-tips_page1_seo60.html
Innocent Interlinking of Sites
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/25564.htm
A Statistical and Experimental Analysis of Google's Florida Update
http://www.linksecrets.com/pub/florida-report.html
Speculation About August Changes
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/25251.htm
I hope you find this material useful. If you have questions about any
of the information or links, please, feel free to ask for
clarification.
I will take a close look at iconocast.com tomorrow, and let you know
of any additional changes.
---larre
Answer Strategy
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I prepared this answer from examination of homeboundmortgage.com, from
personal bookmarks, and well known SEO expert sites. The information
provided is based upon personal and professional experience as a web
developer, working in tandem with search engine optimization
specialists. |
Clarification of Answer by
larre-ga
on
22 Sep 2004 11:41 PDT
Iconocast.com
Text Optimization and Keyword Stuffing
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Iconocast offers eMarketing, Internet Advertising, Internet Marketing,
Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Online Branding,
and eMarketing News Services. Some of our sites are represented by
Iconocast logos below:
These links should be more properly labeled simply: Home Natural is in.
Thoughout the text, you might want to cut back on the bolding of
keywords. This sort of option used to be just fine. Now, to a small
extent, it can contribute to what is being called Over Optimization.
This term and phenomenon aren't endorsed by the SE's, in fact it is
refuted by the Google Guy. It's been named by SEOs who've noticed that
sites riding edge of the envelope have still lost traffic and
position. It's a description of what has been observed, with a
somewhat erroneous underlying assumption. Unable to identify a single
item cause for drops in ranking, it was assumed that a threshold value
of a combination of elements might be in play.
In actuality, GoogleGuy said:
"Has Google applied some sort of OOP or filter to the algorithm since
the Florida update or was the drastic change in SERPs purely the
result of new ranking criteria?"
It's the second one. People post around here about filters, blocking,
penalties, etc. etc. A far better explanation is "things which used to
work before don't receive the same amount of credit now." It's natural
for people who are way out there with their linking strategies or
their page-building strategies to think of a drop as an
over-optimization penalty, but it's more realistic to conclude that
Google is weighting criteria differently so that over-optimized sites
just aren't doing as well now."
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/21994.htm
Definitely a better way to think of it: "Google is weighting criteria
differently, so that over-optimized sites just aren't doing as well
now." The "rules" have changed to favor less optimization, more
natural language, less keyword density, fewer highlights of keywords,
more valid (by W3C standards) use of <Hx> tags. Validation is in.
Duplicate Content
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The first section of most of your pages is identical (Why this
Website? section). You might consider iFraming this content to avoid
any suggestion of impropriety.
Interlinking/Crosslinking
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Iconocast appears to have about 750 sources generating over 15K links.
An average of 20 links per site linked would be considered unusual. As
is, it's likely hundreds of links from several sites, and just one or
two from the rest. As noted in the analysis above, interlinking is
one of the targeted behaviors receiving negative attention. The
"refinance - mortgage" networks of links is likely suspect. If that
network has been identified and banned, then sites linking to it would
also be in trouble. You should try remove have links removed from
suspect networks.
Beyond these items, it seems that "clean up" has already taken place.
It appears that the difficulties started with the 2004 version of the
site. Changed hands at that point, or earlier in 2003, pre-Florida.
Unfortunately, the years of good rankings and reputation were not
enough to offset what turned out to be a "targeted" linking strategy.
Recovery
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The recovery options are somewhat the same as for homeboundmortgage.
The site needs to be squeaky clean for the near term. The days of easy
SEO are on hiatus. The old-fashioned methods (content for users,
natural linking) are back. Iconocast has quite a backlog of goodwill
links left. Those must be preserved and strengthened, while getting
rid of harmful inbound linking.
Again, there's no guarantee or certainty of getting back into the
Google index. Same procedures, same wait and see.
Sources:
The August Chronicles
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/25553.htm
Denial of Google Over Optimization Penalty
http://www.markcarey.com/googleguy-says/archives/discuss-denial-of-google-over-optimization-penalty.html
Future of SEO
http://list.audettemedia.com/SCRIPTS/WA.EXE?A2=ind0408&L=led&D=1&T=0&H=1&O=D&F=&S=&P=266
Again, if you have questions, please, feel free to ask.
---larre
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> I have a feeling if it was done manually, it can regain its full
PR standing. Don't you agree?
I don't know. I suppose it will depend on how much effort is put into
rescuing the site's reputation. I have no idea of a time frame. Unless
it's "just" an algo change, you're probably in for a minimum of a
rough six months or more.
I have every hope that correction and repentence will prove to be
effective, but I don't know how forgiving Google will be. They tend to
be fair and ethical. That may well work in your favor.
---l
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