11 Ways to p*ss off (or…)

Things to check if your website suddenly tanks.

Adapted From: www.rickeliason.com/why-does-google-hate-me

The Problem For several reasons, Google may not be able to find or crawl your website. If it can’t crawl it and index the data it won’t appear in the search results. If it doesn’t appear in search results you won’t be getting traffic.The Solution Type site:www.yourwebsite.com into Google which will bring up every page of your site it has indexed. If this seems low (or is zero) you may have problems. We’ll cover some of the reasons this may be in upcoming slides.

Further Reading: https://goo.gl/rZ00qz

1. Is Google Seeing Your Site?

2. Has Google Given You A Penalty?

The Problem Google is hot on identifying websites that use malicious or “black hat” tactics to get an advantage over other sites. If they think your site has broken Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, you’ll get a penalty which means partial or full removal of your site from the search engine.The Solution Go to your Webmaster Tools profile (Don’t have one? You Should) and click Search Traffic > Manual Actions. If you have a penalty it will be listed here. You’ll need to fix the issue and submit a reconsideration request.

Further Reading: https://goo.gl/GmKFhu

3. Has Google Got Restrictive Access?

The Problem Sometimes people accidentally block the search engines from crawling their site - either through an incorrectly configured robots.txt file or through their CMS/website settings which are often easily fixed.The Solution Go to www.yoursite.com/robots.txt to see what commands are contained within and fix if necessary. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, have a look at the link below or consult a developer.

Further Reading: https://goo.gl/lX4r7Y

4. Are Your WordPress Settings Incorrect?

The Problem As mentioned in the previous slide, sometimes your content management system or platform running your site could have a specific setting that is blocking the crawl spiders. If your site is on Wordpress, a common example is when the site developer excluded the site being indexed during a build and forgot to switch it back.The Solution Log into your dashboard and under Settings > Reading ensure the box marked “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is unticked.

5. Has Google Indexed TOO MANY Pages?

The Problem A tell-tale sign of your site being hacked is too many pages being indexed in Google. While this is bad in itself, Google only allocates a certain amount of resources to a given website and if your “budget” is used up on surplus pages, your “money” pages may not get the right attention.The Solution Run a site:www.yourdomain.com search and see what Google is currently indexing. If you spot some suspicious or irrelevant pages take steps to remove and redirect (hacked sites may require extra steps).

Further Reading: http://goo.gl/2lVzXm

6. Do You Have Duplicate Content?

The Problem As far as Google is concerned, duplicate content serves no purpose on the web and will look to de-index anything that gives no extra value to the web. Sites consistently breaking this rule could also be penalised.The Solution Use Copyscape and Siteliner to identify multiple versions of the same page or where 3rd party sites have copied your content (or indeed where you have copied a 3rd party site).

7. Has Google De-indexed Lots of Pages?

The Problem Sometimes you’ll choose to de-index a bunch of pages (such as duplicate pages - see previous slide, or irrelevant out-of-date pages that no longer serve your offering). But sometimes Google will choose to de-index a bunch of your pages for no apparent reason, leading to a drop in traffic.The Solution First you need to identify IF pages have been dropped, and then find out WHICH ones. This can be done in Webmaster Tools > Google Index > Index Status. By figuring out which pages have been dropped, and analysing those pages you can usually figure out the cause. It may simply be a case of thin content in which case the solution is to build them up to be more useful to users.

8. Has Google Launched An Algorithm Change?

The Problem Google is constantly refining its ranking algorithm to return the best results and an algorithm update is one of the most common reasons for pages and sites to lose visibility.The Solution If you think your site may have been affected, you can check to see if any dips in traffic coincide with an update using Moz’s Algorithm Change History or Barracuda’s Panguin Tool. Dig into what the change affected to see how to get back into Google’s good books.

9. Do You Unnatural Backlinks?

The Problem In order to get better rankings, some webmasters and SEOs employ unnatural link building tactics which are against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. If Google catches you, prepare to be punished.The Solution If Google detects unnatural backlinks you’ll likely get a notification in Webmaster Tools. You’ll need to identify the harmful links and get them removed, and if not, disavowed. For more indepth advice, download Koozai’s free whitepaper: The Complete Backlinks Guide

Further Reading: https://goo.gl/HfhRJg

10. Is Your Website Too Slow?

The Problem Since 2010, page load speed has been a ranking factor. If your site is slow compared to competitors, you’ll likely have problems competing with them in terms of search rankings.The Solution Google offers a helpful tool called Page Speed Insights which not only scores your site based on industry benchmarks, but also helps you out by listing all the slowing elements of your site.

Further Reading: http://goo.gl/uN6F3W

11. Is Your Website Un-Mobile-Friendly?

The Problem From 21st April 2015, Google is ranking non-mobile-friendly websites down for searches conducted on a mobile device. If you rely on mobile traffic (e.g. if you are a restaurant) you may have noticed traffic dip and continue to fall following this update. The Solution The only solution to this is building a mobile-specific site or making your existing site responsive. Google has a helpful tool which shows you how your site renders on a mobile phone and whether it is deemed “Mobile Friendly”.Further Reading: http://goo.gl/m8Ls9G

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

This slide deck is an overview of the information and tools covered in this article by @SEOPlusMore for rickeliason.com.

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