Q and A: Why doesn't Google like our directory?
Dear Kalena...
Recently we have designed [URL removed] which allows customers to search directly for a florist, as more and more customers want to go directly to the florists. We are also down the track going to be giving our florists their own free web page which will link to this directory as well.
Anyhow I was just wondering if you see any major problems with this site as this was designed for the customer and SE alike as they should really be pages that Google/Yahoo etc would eat up as they all have different content and lots of raw information, well at least that's what I though, but Google has not taken so kindly to this directory as I would have hope.
If you can shed any light on this problem also it would be greatly appreciated.
Kay
Kalena's Answer:
Dear Kay
I'm not sure how long this new version has been live, but here are a few issues I see immediately:
1) The home page hasn't been updated for nearly a year. Google prefers fresh content and may therefore regard your site as less relevant than sites that are more regularly updated.
2) You use typical sp@m techniques at the bottom of the page: keyword stuffing in a non-logical sentence that is in pale grey font which has almost certainly triggered a penalty of some kind. Your text needs to be written in grammatically correct sentences in font that is obviously designed to be read by humans, not robots.
3) The site has a Google PageRank of 1 out of 10, indicating a penalty of some kind and/or lack of high link popularity.
4) Each page on your sites appears to have a 10 pxl x 10 pxl image at the bottom of the page that leads to an error when clicked. This smells of cloaking and may have prompted penalties as well.
5) The site may also be in the Google Sandbox.
Recently we have designed [URL removed] which allows customers to search directly for a florist, as more and more customers want to go directly to the florists. We are also down the track going to be giving our florists their own free web page which will link to this directory as well.
Anyhow I was just wondering if you see any major problems with this site as this was designed for the customer and SE alike as they should really be pages that Google/Yahoo etc would eat up as they all have different content and lots of raw information, well at least that's what I though, but Google has not taken so kindly to this directory as I would have hope.
If you can shed any light on this problem also it would be greatly appreciated.
Kay
Kalena's Answer:
Dear Kay
I'm not sure how long this new version has been live, but here are a few issues I see immediately:
1) The home page hasn't been updated for nearly a year. Google prefers fresh content and may therefore regard your site as less relevant than sites that are more regularly updated.
2) You use typical sp@m techniques at the bottom of the page: keyword stuffing in a non-logical sentence that is in pale grey font which has almost certainly triggered a penalty of some kind. Your text needs to be written in grammatically correct sentences in font that is obviously designed to be read by humans, not robots.
3) The site has a Google PageRank of 1 out of 10, indicating a penalty of some kind and/or lack of high link popularity.
4) Each page on your sites appears to have a 10 pxl x 10 pxl image at the bottom of the page that leads to an error when clicked. This smells of cloaking and may have prompted penalties as well.
5) The site may also be in the Google Sandbox.
2 Comments:
I was suprised to hear that PR1 indicates a penalty.
Is this not simply a lack of backlinks and low PR flow value?
By penalty, I mean it may have tripped a spam filter and be considered less relevant based on the ranking algorithm. Or it could simply be the poor link pop or a combination of both.
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