How can I recover from a Google penalty?
Aug 26th
SEO is one of the fastest growing and changing IT industries, with the techniques that bring SEO success constantly evolving. SEO techniques considered effective and a great way to do SEO may not be as effective a month later, and could result in adverse effects for your site and its SEO campaign. Therefore, focus on white hat SEO techniques and keep up with the goings on and changes that bring success when it comes to SEO. As a general rule, this ought to prevent you from obtaining a Google penalty. However, Google penalties do happen, but recovery from such a penalty is possible.
The biggest downside of a penalty from Google is the loss of rankings, and removal from search results. One of the most talked about examples of Google penalty being imposed on a business is that of J.C. Penney. This was a case a while back where J.C. Penney used link building strategies that violated Google webmaster rules. When discovered and written about by The New York Times, Google’s response was to issue a penalty that removed the site from search results.
Fast forward two months, and J.C. Penney is now starting to return to the Google search results, showing it is possible to recover from a Google penalty should it occur.
Accept that the problem has occurred and take steps to fix it
First of all, accept the reality that the Google penalty occurred, and focus on making things right. Determine what caused the penalty and take corrective action to fix it. Depending on what the issue was the fix may be a lengthy process, but this is the first step to take when it comes to resolving the issue that incurred the penalty.
Once resolved, submit a reconsideration request to Google
Once you feel that the problem has been resolved, submit a reconsideration request to Google. This will ask Google to visit your site and assess its suitability to be added (or re-added, in this instance) to Google search results.
If successful, don’t expect results to be what they once were right away. Chances are your site will be quite low in search results, and you have to build up trust with Google that your site should be higher up. Rebuilding is a process that takes time, just like an SEO campaign does in its early days.
Utilise SEO techniques that are within Google guidelines
When re-building your SEO strategy, consider the techniques you wish to use. Google is tough on what it considers black hat techniques, so ensure any strategies you wish to carry out abide by its guidelines. If a link building strategy is planned, ensure that links are obtained from good quality sites. These can be from sites that are an authority or leader in the industry, or otherwise are relevant to your business. Don’t buy links from sites, these are now showing to have no benefit due to the fact that anyone can obtain them, and offer very little value when it comes to your own website.
On Your Own SEO: 6 Web Marketing Activities You Can Do Today
Jun 19th
Every good SEO company (ourselves included!) is very happy to give customers a full-service option – sit back, relax, and watch your rankings go up. However, there are plenty of people out there that are eager to get things going and want to be closely involved in their SEO – this can also be a fantastic business strategy. If you’re eager to burst off the starting blocks with your SEO campaign, here are some activities you can do yourself. More >
The Keys to Freedom: When Will Google Remove My SEO Penalty?
Mar 18th
Google SEO penalties are more common than you might realise. They also happen to well-meaning website owners more often than you might realise! Google’s algorithms are designed to catch actions, not intentions, and so there are many honest webmasters out there currently serving time behind Google bars. It can be frustrating not knowing when your sentence will end, though – today we explore Matt Cutts of Google’s advice about how and when SEO penalties are removed. More >
5 SEO Myths Conspiring to Kill Your Rankings
Mar 10th
Well-structured, expert SEO help is essential to the success of just about every site on our big, blue internet nowadays! Yet, there are still so many myths and misunderstanding that we encounter regarding SEO … sometimes these misunderstandings cost rankings, sometimes they cost money, sometimes they cost entire businesses. At least make sure that you understand these five things about SEO … More >
Australian Small Businesses; It’s time to get online!
Mar 7th
It’s no surprise the number of people who use the Yellow Pages print directory less than once a month, or don’t use it at all, has increased by 61% between 2002 and 2009. (Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia)
Clearly there is a strong trend towards online search when it comes to consumers sourcing goods and services.
What’s shocking is a 2009 MYOB survey that found 60 per cent of Australian small businesses do not have an online presence. If you are a small business owner in Australia and don’t have an online presence take action TODAY!
A simple, low cost, easy to execute first step is to add your business to all the major Australian online business directories.
An online Australian website directory offers exposure to millions of consumers each month, listings are easy to setup and manage. You may view this is an elementary suggestion, but the data speaks for itself. Sixty per cent of Australian small businesses haven’t done this!
5 Ways to Ensure Duplicate Content Doesn’t Dupe Your SEO
Mar 4th
You can’t dupe the duplicate content filter! However, you can have a fairly serious impact on your SEO by having too much duplicate content on your site, even if it is properly credited and legally allowed. There is ongoing confusion over the best way to deal with duplicate content on your site; here we check out the main methods.
Taking Over the World: Setting up Your Site for Effective International SEO
Feb 18th
The Internet is the great equaliser, allowing small businesses to compete with large, and everybody to put forth their own opinions. While there are some advantages to being a big fish in the WWW pond, there are also some tricky issues to contend with. The first of these is hosting and targeting for international websites – today we explore some SEO based recommendations for businesses that are trying to take over the world! More >
SEO by Stealth – 3 Tips for Writing SEO Content That Sounds Natural
Nov 22nd
We often hear people say “Oh, I don’t want to ruin my website with SEO! That sort of content sounds horrible!”.
SEO doesn’t ruin websites … however, poorly conceived attempts at creating optimised copy can quite easily do so! Ever encountered a website like this?
If you’re looking for moustache trimmers and beard clippers, you’ve come to the right place. Our website is the best place to buy moustache trimmers and beard clippers. You won’t find better moustache trimmers and beard clippers or cheaper moustache trimmers and beard clippers anywhere else. We invite you to check out our great selection of moustache trimmers and beard clippers. More >
5 Website Essentials for Most Effective SEO
Nov 10th
SEO is an essential tool for the success of your website (unless you’re Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Mark Zuckerberg!). Yet while SEO ‘gets them there’, your website has to ‘keep them there’. If your ultimate goal in undertaking an SEO strategy is to make more money for your business, make sure that your site has these five essentials in place while you’re undertaking your SEO campaign! More >
The 70% Advantage of Long Tail Search
Oct 5th
At your first foray into employing SEO services you’re likely to have a few keywords in mind that will cover your target market. But do they?
It is very easy to identify the most popular search term in any given industry however these terms actually account for less than 30% of total searches on the Internet today.
The remaining 70% of search terms lie in what is referred to as ‘long tail’ keywords which are made up of the millions of low volume unique searches performed perhaps just a handful of times per day, month or year. More >