SEO FAQ 5

I lost my rankings, what could have happened?

Trust level: Proven and confirmed

It can be a frightening experience. You check your rankings and suddenly they have either plummeted or are non-existent. Your swallow hard and feel sick to your stomach. It's happened to all of us and here are a few possible explanations.

Fluctuation
This is the most common explanation and happens on a daily basis. Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) are in a constant state of flux with Google leading the pack. Gone are the days of the "Google Dance". This has also meant, unfortunately, that you can be Top 10 one day and disappear the next. The only thing you can do in this case is be patient and give it a few days to see if your ranking reappears.

Stop or Poison Words
Have you added new content lately? It is possible you have added what Google calls "Stop" or "Poison" words. These may include Adult words or commonly words like Links, Search Engine, Bookmarks, Resources, Directory, BBS, Paid-to-Surf and Forum which although won't knock you out of the SERPs, they can drop you a few spots

Broken Links
The major Search Engines view a site with dead end links as "broken". In some cases this can cause a major hit to your rankings. It is always advised to run a check using a tool like a Broken Link Checker and fixing them. I have seen a site rebound time after time within days of fixing this issue

Links to Bad Neighborhoods
A single link to a banned site or a bad neighborhood can torpedo your rankings. A banned site can usually be shown by a site that had previously been indexed but is no longer in Google. A grey toolbar can indicate either a new site or one that has been banned. A bad neighborhood is one that employs black hat tactics. This may include a link farm. Link Farms are one of the most often asked about things and the general rule of thumb is "If it looks like one, it is one". Avoid linking to sites with hundreds of links on its pages with little to no content

Use of Black Hat Methods
This will usually result in an all out ban and includes things like Hidden Text, Cloaking, etc
To get back into the index usually requires you to remove the offending method and email Google (or whichever SE banned you) asking to be reindexed. In most cases you will be successful although be prepared to wait several weeks if not months

These are just a few of the reasons for a sudden loss in rankings though the most common. The best rule of thumb is to always build and SEO for visitors first and Search Engines second. If you try to stick to this, you should enjoy more stable rankings without the fear of your site dissapearing overnight

A few more reasons other than those mentioned are as follows:

1. An algorithm update.
   
   An algo update is different from a "regular database update". In case of a database update, you will possibly regain your positions without doing anything in a few days. However in an algo update, you will have to study the new ranking criteria’s based on the search results. This could be very difficult if you are unfamiliar of SEO practices and this is the reason why it is said that SEO is an ongoing process and not a onetime thing.
2. Site update at your end.
   
   You would have added new content on your webpage that is in search engine results. Generally a change of about 5-10% is considered as fine and you will not see a fall in your ranks. However a change much more than that might be an indication that some large amount of data has been added / replaced and is needed to be reindexed / analysed. In this time of reindexing, the search engine may not put your web site on the position that you have seen it earlier on. This is possibly viewed as a "site redoing" by search engines and to maintain the quality of the SERP's they may drop your page for a very short time from the position. The retaining of positions will depend on factors like the relevancy of the data to the keywords, richness of the data popularly known as content value, uniqueness (no duplicate content), and use of black hat seo techniques on the pages. The percentage calculated includes the html coding, javascripts, content, and other factors. An example I can mention here is "adding many pages to a web site suddenly". The listings are generally dropped and only if the content is found qualitative, the position retained. But if found to be some automatic generated content, then it's possible that the listing be dropped for a long time. Search engines list pages and not web sites in SERPs but do consider the whole web site when listing a single page in the SERPs. If adding poor content to a website can drop a quality page from that web site, then it is sure that if poor content be added to the page itself, it drops in listings.
   It is best to consult your SEO before making changes to your pages. If you have not followed any black hat techniques, then this could be a possible reason for a drop in listings.

What is ModRewrite and when should I use it?

Trust level: Proven and confirmed

Mod_Rewrite is a set of functions built into .htaccess, an Apache module which allows for all sorts of nifty tricks with URL's, Error Pages, etc.

Mod_Rewrite specifically is used mostly for changing dynamic links, such as:

http://www.example.com/shop.php?cat=4&id=123

into search engine friendly static URL's, such as:

http://www.example.com/shop/4/123.html

While the dynamic link won't get indexed easily, and likely not at all without external sites linking directly to that URL, the static link will get indexed with simple internal linking.

Mod_Rewrite is a very powerful tool for creating static links for content management systems, forums, and the like. From personal experience, after converting dynamic links on a games website I run to static links using .htaccess, my search engine results have multiplied many times over

In the long run, how do I get enough or more visitors?

Trust level: Proven and confirmed

1. Good content, and lots of it updated regularly over a period of months/years
2. Onpage optimization (static URLs, proper title and meta tags, use of H1, H2 tags, etc)
3. Offpage optimization (link popularity, building up inbound links)
4. Community building tools (forums, article comments, whatever applies)
5. Viral marketing (release something people want for free with some tag to your site on it)
6. Promotion and Advertising (promote your site whereever you go however you can)