I've read some of the threads as to sites disappearing from google.

Mine recently disappeared as well.

http://www.investingbc.com

My question is.....WHY?

I have several things that MAY have caused being banned

And I understand that it could all be back to normal tomorrow

But I am asking for help to check if there is anything that I should be fixing:

A) I had a programmer from rentacoder do some SEO work for me - $30 worth, so he hasn't done any wild spamming scheme, I'm sure. One thing he did was add a robots follow command - perhaps that is done incorrectly causing google to totally ignore my site? He also added some descriptions to links - is that bad?

B)I recently added my site map to google's new site map service - and almost immediately everything disappeared. Related??

C) I have added 13,500 articles from a database, but they have a unique top and bottom header - is THIS duplicate content - there ARE multiple copies of the articles on the web

D) I have another website at invest.150m.com, and when I moved to domain, I copied all the pages - maybe 2000 or so, directly over, and have only partially completed changing the format of the pages at the domain so they are pretty much unique - basically there are 1000+ pages of fairly identical content, but these have been like this for a year plus

E) Is there something wrong with sites linking to each other - the same links are on every page - to other pages on my site - does this constitue a "link farm" or something?

F)I think this was completed almost exactly as the site disappeared, but translating the pages into a variety of languages has added a couple of hundred thousand additional pages - is THIS bad??LOL I assume there is little duplication in other languages

G) I had Directory Generator pages that USED to be on site - took them all down, but they would have been there during last update, around the 10th

H) I had a couple of graphic - OK they'd be adult - pages that I have since taken down as well

Could I do anything more wrong???LOL

As you can see, I have several areas that COULD have caused the problem, or it could all be OK

I'm asking if anyone can give a Best Guess as to what would cause google's banning the site, so I can fix it

And yes, I'm an idiot fumbling around in the dark with only partial knowledge of SEO stuff - and what do they say about a BIT of knowledge being a deadly thing???LOL

What I'm looking for are the most likely culprits, so I can start fixing it in the most helpful order of importance

THANKS - I VERY much appreciate any help given

I haven't really looked at your site yet, but it seems that you have done something to upset (or glitch) Yahoo! as well. 0 pages shown (http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=site%3Awww.investingbc.com&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-web-t&fl=0&x=wrt) at Y!. 0 pages (http://www.google.com/search?biw=1259&hl=en&q=site%3Awww.investingbc.com&btnG=Google+Search) at G, and 1,001 pages at MSN (http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=site%3Awww.investingbc.com&FORM=QBHP). :confused:

martin

Because my stats service shows hits for BOTH http://www.investingbc.com and http://invest.150m.com I see a thousand hits from Yahoo, versus, maybe 50 from Google, but I didn't notice that they are all going to invest.150m.com - the old domain, and that the new domain is basically shunned

I see spider traffic spidering 12,000 pages going on past few days - maybe it'll return to normal

But I keep feeling that there is one BIG thing that I should fix -

Question is - WHAT IS IT?????

LOL

Andrew

re: B) hmmm could be the main factor... C, D and E probably have a lot to do with it too.

btw thanks for all the annoying popups! :p

You believe that adding to google's sitemap program, now in beta, was a BAD thing to do - and got me penalized??

That doesn't make sense to me - google would want it to be a GOOD thing!

Sorry about the pop-ups on the old site - the new one only has one subscription pop up

Andrew

I dont necessarily "believe" that's what got you into trouble, but looking at your site and all the linking, duplicate content, etc, I feel that possibly sending it to the sitemap inclusion system is kind of like walking into a police station with bloody hands and claiming to have heard about a murder. Just my opinion, and by no means should you take that as definitive.

By the way about Google wanting it to be a "good thing," maybe removing your site from the index was in their minds exactly such? Google likes relevant, clear content with natural linking. Not to sound harsh, but your site does not currently fit that description.

Must say, I find it really hard to work up any enthusiasm for that site....

How is THAT last post helpfull? LOL

I admit to having bloody hands, and that's why I'm here

I haven't REALLY killed anyone, I just need help to figure out how to get my hands clean again

The site was originally a 2000 page real estate investing site, and I should have left well enough alone

It IS good content, helpful to investors, etc

To THAT I added internet marketing stuff - I definitely should have put that in another domain

In my defence, the internet is changing fast enough that if you have a lot of pages, updating stuff manually becomes a CRAZY use of time - but one that will NEED to be done to return to Google

I'm looking at the main page of investingbc.com right now, which on June 8th ranked #54 for low money down and #21 for investing bc - on google, and on Yahoo ranked #8 for low money down

Its not a BAD site, just a large, unwieldly one, that got hits my having a lot of pages all getting a few hits.

Now its all BAD??LOL

What I continue to look for is clear guidance - I can cast about aiml;essly in the dark with no clear idea all on my own - and LOOK how well I'm doing!! LOL

You hate the links, do I remove all but the one to index.html? Remove any links at invest.150m.com to investingbc.com? Get rid of Iframes?

I'm really looking for ONE big thing to start on - the most likely culprit

And I DO very much appreciate the assistance!

Google likes relevant, clear content with natural linking.

Start with your content (make sure it is unique) but you need to work on cleaning up your links too. This could take a while for you to regain your rankings, just so you know. Good luck!

Yahoo now shows 90 pages listed (out of a possible 300,000 or so!) and revenues are trending upwards - maybe I'll lay back, work on some other domains, settle down, and see what happens over the next while with both Google and Yahoo.

If Yahoo thinks its OK, and MSN thinks its OK, who knows?

Maybe Google will eventually think its OK too

That sounds like blind hope, even to me

But it CAN'T be links, cause the other domain invest.150m.com still gets hits from Yahoo especially

And as to content, if Yahoo wants to show it, and Google doesn't, maybe I should leave it all alone, and move on to another domain and do some stuff over there

http://www.123whistler.com is totally clean, so far!!!LOL

The most important step to take when digging a hole for yourself is to stop digging.

Mono I admire your enthusiasm, your execution leaves a little to be desired though!

Slow down, take a look around, think rather than act...will pay dividends in the future.

Stop Digging? LOL And Do What Instead???

I'm still hoping fervently for ONE piece of advice

Fix THIS

Whatever this is

NOBODY has a solid idea, just vague generalities???

I understand Google gives no clues, but THIS is all we've got?

This is the best advice out there?

Stop digging?

LOL

>I'm still hoping fervently for ONE piece of advice

Well you did ask.

Move away from the keyboard, slowly..sit down...relax.

Now try and drift off, slowly again..10,9,8,7,6,etc etc

Now you are in the zone imagine you are not you but visit one of your sites, crap ain't it?

If I were you I would take a week off the www, have a think about things, you know..stuff.

The most important step to take when digging a hole for yourself is to stop digging.

Hey monopoly you are not gonna get free consultation in any forum. we can give you hints and I think I have already been fairly clear with answers to your questions. Do you really expect a full-fledged plan of attack?

I definitely DON'T expect an hour's worth of effort on my problem without my paying some money to compensate for the effort

And I will admit to my knowledge being half baked

But all I see are vague generalities

Look at the links, plus it could be D, E and F kinda stuff

I have been VERY specific in outlining my problem and various possible reasons

All I am gaining from this thread is the belief that NOBODY knows

NOBODY knows what the hell Google is doing

NOBODY knows how to fix it

NOBODY has ANY idea of what is going on

And definitely NOBODY has ANY CONCRETE suggestions as to what I, or anyone who had been banned should do

Fair enough

Sit back and wait it out

Stop doing anything that is bad

I knew that much before I got here

So....

How much do I have to Paypal to Someone to find out

The top 3 things that ANYONE that is banned from Google should do

Googleguy????

Are YOU out there????LOL

I figured - and maybe I was really nieve - that somebody would take 3 minutes, scribble out an actual idea - remove all links from one site to another, say - or just have a few simple navigational links - or put all links into a header form and refer to it in each page

Remove all duplicate copy - they've suddenly cracked down hard on that

Or whatever the #1 reason likely is

One scribbled line!

NOT "look at your links" - and maybe that's SEO shorthand that everybody but I understand, but in the face of it - it's a meaningless platitude

I saw another post from a guy who was freaked out - that got me to post

I just figure somebody should be able to say in 3 sentences

EXACTLY what they mean, and at least give a start

I don't want an SEO campaign

Just a gentle push in the right direction

I'm not lashing out at anyone in particular

Just making the same cry in the dark that I assume is made by EVERYONE who has seen their sites disappear

They would ALL want an idea of what to do

<<And definitely NOBODY has ANY CONCRETE suggestions as to what I, or anyone who had been banned should do>>

Actually, they do know what would help your situation --they just don't have the heart to tell you.

Your site now appears to be a combination of:

Duplicate content.
Links to articles on OTHER sites.
Advertisments.

None of the above is of any value to Google.

Remedy:

Create good/useful/non-duplicate content that people want to read and other sites want to link to, and you'll be back in the saddle.

I can accept that the idea of adding articles to my site NOW seems dumb

But in my defence, it is only very recently that it has been seen as duplicate content and bad

Adding articles has been a time honored method of adding content for ages

Now, its suddenly bad

I can accept that my site looks amateurish - especially the initial version at invest.150m.com

I can accept that it had a very unclear navigation structure, made basically in the belief that people will find their way IN through the search engines and work their way around to whatever interests them

I can accept that to someone uninterested in the area, it appears to have lots of ads

I can NOT accept that years of work developing directories by province, state and country of realtors, lawyers, appraisers, mortgage brokers, fsbos, real estate investing groups, properties for sale and rent, etc has left it with BAD content

I have slews of testimonials from very happy real estate and internet marketers, raving about the content provided, through the website and through the newsletters

I can push two buttons and remove every article that I have added

I don't want a critique of the way it LOOKS, or the CONTENT

I continue to ask for a straight forward direction as to what should be my next step

"Hey, you've got a crappy site" does not help in ANY WAY!!!

LOL

Sorry if I am being frustrated and antagonistic sounding - I really am being very open, very honest, and looking for a good idea of which way to turn

And in the end, will probably do the first thing I saw in another fellow's posting - wait it out

As long as Yahoo is back - who needs 48% of the market anyways???LOL

(tongue firmly in cheek)

A lot of people do know what to do but you must understand it's not going to get posted on an open forum otherwise 100,000 plus webmaster's will be doing the same, following each other just like sheep

like nffc is saying stop digging...STOP...no I said stop, raise your head above the ground and just have a look at what is going on around you and stop running round like a headless chicken, sit down and make a list of how you can improve your site to make it interesting and of value to a visitor and not a search engine robot

You could start by removing some of the 14 banners, like 13 of them at least if not more, sites like yours have no value to man nor beast, you have not designed it with a visitor in mind its been designed to line your pocket, try putting the money side of it to one side and look at what other sites in your chosen niche are doing, I am not saying copy any ideas but look to them for inspiration to make your site that little bit better then theirs..thats dead simple honestly it is,

You have got quite a few dead links to other sites, try running a link checker on your site's like Xenu's Link Sleuth

duplicate content has become more of an issue in the last 12 months so you do need your own unique content

I must say this though its not just one of your sites what looks crap its all of them, thats what others are trying to tell you but you don't want to hear it or your just not listening...I am also being very honest and open with you so do not take offence, I am only stating facts

We can all push buttons and change the layout or the content of our sites any time we wish but I think you need some new buttons to press like a directory script or content management system to organise your site

I've read some of the threads as to sites disappearing from google.

Mine recently disappeared as well.

http://www.investingbc.com

My question is.....WHY?


B)I recently added my site map to google's new site map service - and almost immediately everything disappeared. Related??

...
THANKS - I VERY much appreciate any help given


I think your sitemap is broken. If you fix it and resubmit your content should be back in 5 days max.

Did you use a gmail account to submit it?
What was the status?
Were there any warnings or errors at all?

Try different tools until you get it to work.

I had a programmer do some SEO work for $30

Well.... you get what you pay for!

A good SEO (if paid properly) would have either warned you about all the problems or refused to take the work.
near dupe sites, overlinking in mini networds, "borrowed" content, duplicate content, pop-ups all over the top of Google's Adsense ads, etc... etc... etc...

You are getting WAY more than $30 worth here, so read carefully and use the information (on your next site that is) -- this ones is likely dead.

Also, have you ever considered what may happen to your adsense account if you continue using it on a site that is basically "banned"?

Site map is a good area to check

First concrete suggestion - THANK YOU!

I WILL check that, right now

Didn't get any error message back from Google tho

PR shows 0 on Google toolbar

And for those disputing the value of the site, I refer you to Testimonials page:

http://www.investingbc.com/testimonials.html

Wierdly enough, there ARE some who are VERY happy with the amateurish website I have created, and the info on real estate investing and internet marketing that we provide

Though I DO see what people are saying about too many ads

Hmmmmm......

there ARE some who are VERY happy with the amateurish website I have created

Yeah one of them obviously being the google adsense quality control team...

how your sites got approved for adsense in the first place just beggars belief, it just endorses the fact that google do not care where the ads are shown...(sigh)

PR shows 0 on Google toolbarThe site is out of the index altogether

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2005-11,GGLD:en&q=site%3Ainvestingbc%2Ecom

Looks that way with Yahoo also

http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv1-&p=site%3ainvestingbc.com

Stop Digging? LOL And Do What Instead???
I'm still hoping fervently for ONE piece of adviceProbably the most constructive suggestion is to head over to the webmaster guidelines at Google and the quality guidelines at Yahoo, print them out, and memorize them for when you start working on your new site.