There are those that get on the computer one night and find that all of their Web pages have disappeared from Google. While, others are still in the search engine index, but don't rank high for nothing, not even for their Web site's name. It's a Web site owners worst nightmare, getting kicked out of the search engines.
Ultimately, many webmasters had little or no warning that this was going to happen. Many webmasters are left with no idea why they were kicked out and are left wondering how to get back in Google's search engine. There could be any number of reasons why a Web site is banned by Google. The most common reasons for being banned are listed below in this article.
1. Duplicate Content
This is when multiple Web pages have the same content. Usually Google will just give a penalty to the Web page for this, where the page won't rank very high for the keywords in that Web page, but there have been cases where complete Web sites were banned because they had to much duplicate content. You should make sure there is no other Web site using your content.
To check for duplicated content simply search with unique phrase on your Web page. If you find a Web site that has stolen your content you should contact the site owner and tell them to take it down or face legal action. Also, for copyright violations visit www.google.com/dmca.html and notify them that someone is infringing on your site's copyright
2. Cloaking
This is Web pages created just for search engines, where it delivers one version of a page to a Internet user and a different version to a search engine. Cloaking Web pages are created to do well for particular keywords. There are various ways to deliver cloaking Web pages. Each search engine's spider has an agent name, the cloaked page is than only delivered to the spider with the user agent name that was chosen.
You can also deliver cloaked pages to the search engines by IP address, but Google and other search engines say they can detect cloaking. There are other reasons to use cloaking, such as custom language delivery and geotargeted advertising.
3. Hidden text or hidden links
This is text or a link that is invisible to the naked eye on a Web page, but are seen by spiders. Search engines use to have a hard time spotting this technique, but now days you should avoid doing this because Google and other search engines can spot this easily. Even if a search engine doesn't spot your hidden link, a competitor might find it and report your site. Sometimes this can be done without even knowing, so you better double check each Web page that you have messed with in the past few weeks.
4) Keyword stuffing
Keyword Stuffing is when you load a Web page up with keywords in the Meta tags or on the Web page's content. The General techniques today for keyword stuffing are repeating the same word(s) over and over again in the Meta tags or on the Web page's content or using invisible text, as we talked about up above in this article. If the word is repeated to much it will raise a red flag to the search engines and they likely will place a Spam filter on the site.
5) Linking to bad neighborhoods
Bad neighborhoods are designed to increase your Web site's ranking or is Web site's using Spam techniques to increase search engine ranking. You should not link to any Web page that uses Spam techniques to increase ranking. You also should not join link exchanges that are designed to improve ranking or Page Rank. If you are not aware of linking to any Web site like this, you should check each outbound link on your Web site.
6) Buying links for Search engine ranking
This where a Web site owner buys links just to increase his or her ranking. This is also used to increase Page Rank. Google and other search engines still have a hard to detect this, but they are starting to catch on to this technique. If Google is aware of the site, they can just discount the Page Rank, so they can't pass Page Rank on.
7) Machine Generated Web sites This is a site that generates hundreds of web pages that are basically the same page repeated hundreds or thousands of times, but with a few unique lines of text and unique title. Often times, search engines can't spot this, if done right by the site owner. However, if a spider doesn't spot your machine generated Web pages, a competitor might find it and report your Web site.
What to do after you are Spam clean? Once you have cleaned up your Web site, you can try contacting Google by visiting http://www.google.com/contact/. Tell them that you made a mistake and won't do it again. Even if you do contact Google, they most likely won't let your Web site back in and if you happen to get back in, you better keep your Web site squeaky clean because I doubt you will get other chance.
If you can't get in touch with Google, I suggest that you wait for a few months after Google's spider visits your Web site and see if you get your ranking back or at least where you can see that your ranking is going up in the search results. During this time you should not change your Web site around much and give the search engines time to spider your Web site.
I really don't think that many Web sites have dropped because Google is penalizing them. Instead, I think Google has changed the factors or adds more weight to a factor(s) that they use to rank Web sites in the search results. All search engines make periodic changes to the way they rank Web sites in the search results, so don't be surprised if one week you rank number one and the next week you rank 30TH.
Matt Colyer began as a SEO Specialist in 1997. He founded Superior Webmaster in 2004 as a source of articles and tutorials for Web site owners looking to improve their Web site.
We've all heard about it-it seems like all the buzz... Read More
That's right - I dreamt of a World Wide Web... Read More
6 cups thick content mix 1 jar word of mouth,... Read More
Yes, it really happens. Now you might find it hard... Read More
Even though Google Revenues continue to soar, the hidden problem... Read More
I have seen my site hit #3 at Google, and... Read More
A few months ago I was looking through the search... Read More
It seems the excitement about search engine optimization fades in... Read More
Trillions of Billions of content pages make up the wide... Read More
Sometimes questions will arise around the subject of gateway information... Read More
In recent times, I have been closely studying keywords that... Read More
November 2003 might go down in history as the month... Read More
Some of the basics when it comes to SEO and... Read More
Let's say you are writing a web site to sell... Read More
Between 75% and 98.8% of visitors to Web sites come... Read More
There are millions of web sites trying to get listed... Read More
Search engine optimization is THE most cost effective way for... Read More
Ever felt intimidated at the convoluted, jargon-ridden information about Internet... Read More
You can easily get confused by all the search engine... Read More
Are You Really Measuring for Return on Investment (ROI) with... Read More
Google has recently made some pretty significant changes in its... Read More
With so many internet and home business opportunities on the... Read More
The first step in a search engine optimization campaign is... Read More
Definition:Google banning occurs when Google removes your site from its... Read More
Build a Web site and the people will come.Ha! If... Read More
When people think of search engine optimization, they immediately think... Read More
One of the important factors in ranking high in search... Read More
For the first few months after Yahoo decided to go... Read More
In the process of designing a website for clients the... Read More
You finally have a website and you are ready to... Read More
If you're looking for an SEO firm, we recommend that... Read More
Having a Google Sitemap just got better! Not only does... Read More
Getting your site listed in the top search engines, such... Read More
Today, SEO is swiftly approaching saturation point. More and more... Read More
Search engines love content. Graphics may make your site look... Read More
We've all heard about it-it seems like all the buzz... Read More
Achieving a top ranking position in Google is every webmasters... Read More
Localized search engine optimization is often overlooked as an excellent... Read More
Search engines will be a way for you to generate... Read More
Keyword Research is the first task in optimizing your web... Read More
Search engine optimization refers to the technique of making your... Read More
First of all, the Google directory is really just the... Read More
While there are many ethical SEO firms serving Internet users... Read More
It crosses every webmaster's mind anytime they see an ad... Read More
You've got a website. You've put countless hours into it,... Read More
Listen. Some make submitting pages to search engines sound like... Read More
With Billions of pages on the internet how do you... Read More
By now, virtually every webmaster has heard or read that... Read More
SEO, not again!, you may groan. The webmaster world is... Read More
Anyone who's been on the net any time at all... Read More
Last Week I did a Search engine Experiment. I wanted... Read More
If you don't know already, one of the key success... Read More
Since search engines are the first stop for people on... Read More
The internet is the largest market place on earth. It... Read More
For so many web surfers, it's almost automatic to type... Read More
In the process of designing a website for clients the... Read More
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) must be considered a process and... Read More
A few months ago I was looking through the search... Read More
While search engine advertising has been a great advertising medium... Read More
The importance to the algorithmic web crawlers that speed throughout... Read More
It is no secret that search engines are the number... Read More
There's no denying it: Search engines are a dominating force... Read More
The importance of keywordsKeywords or key phrases you choose will... Read More
Becoming an SEO expert, or a search engine optimization expert,... Read More
Non-Reciprocal Link Building For Higher Search Engine Positioning By Dave... Read More
Content Management Systems and search engine optimization (SEO) used to... Read More
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) |