What it Looks Like to Be Hit By Google' s Real Estate Reciprocal Link Penalty

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1. What it Looks Like to Be Hit By Google's Real Estate Reciprocal Link Penalty - 2007-06-26 05:21:07-04
   

   Posted by randfish

   Ever since I saw the penalty instituted against real estate websites for reciprocal and other manipulative link practices, I've been on the lookout for a site I could share (who's owner wouldn't mind). Tonight, I'm lucky enough to have just such a gem.

   There can be little doubt that JohnSabia.com, a Fort Lauderdale real estate agent's site, was engaging in some very manipulative linking practices in the past. However, John's a reformed gray hat turned white and knows quite a bit more about the world of SEO than he did prior to Google's shot across the bow for reciprocal linking. Unfortunately for him, the penalty lasts quite a while.
   
   John's given me permission to display his site and some search results related to him in an attempt to illustrate what a harsh penalty at Google really looks like. First, we'll look at the results of 4 different searches that attempt to pull up what should be relatively obvious, navigational searches on John's site.

   Google Search - johnsabia.com

   

   This first search tells me that John's not banned - in fact, you can see that  396 pages are in Google's index and the PageRank in the toolbar still shows a 5/10.

   Google Search - johnsabia

   

   Obviously, this search should be pulling up John's site. Virtually every page in this list links to his site and there's no other destinations a searcher could likely want using this query. John's actual ranking here is #14.

   BTW - I just love the 4th result above - the Google Groups thread on the penalty. I only wish I could say that I've never felt John's pain, but actually, back in 2004, our client's site AvatarFinancial.com was sandboxed so heavily it ranked #350 for the search "avatar financial hard money lenders & bridge loans" - the exact title tag. Maybe the memory of that frustration is, in part, responsible for the inspiration of this post. Now back to the subject at hand...

   Google Search - fort lauderdale fl real estate johnsabia

   

   Another very obvious query for John's homepage, including exact text from his homepage's title tag. John's ranking #57 for this query. Incidentally, this should be another good hint at a penalty. By appending additional keywords that are highly relevant to John's site, he should be ranking higher, not lower, than the general query for "johnsabia."

   Google Search - bay colony fort lauderdale luxury home john sabia

   

   In this search, I'm looking specifically for John's page on Bay Colony, which Google has in its index, but I won't find it at all in Google's results (though a couple pages from John's site do rank #45th and #46th).

   So there you have it folks, a truly penalized site in all its glory. If you're wondering if your site is penalized, you won't find a much better example of what a penalty looks like. Please, do feel free to share examples in the comments if you have them. For some reason, I love looking at how Google penalizes and conducting ridiculously obvious searches that fail to produce the requested site/page.

   If you're looking for a process to follow to escape, refer back to my post from a few weeks ago on the topic. John's already submitted his re-inclusion request after removing all his reciprocal links and contacting his real estate friends asking them to remove their links as well. He's been in the penalty zone, allegedly, for over 60 days, and I wouldn't be surprised if the penalty took another 5-10 weeks (or more) to lift.

   Full disclosure - I have no relationship, personal nor professional to John or his site, nor do I have any client relationships at the current time in similar fields. John emailed me several weeks back, I gave him a bit of advice, then asked him if I could publicly discuss his site and he agreed.

   Technorati Tags

   google penalty, real estate penalty, johnsabia.com, john sabia, seo, spam, reciprocal linking
   

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2. Summer Lull? What Summer Lull? The Search World is Hotter than Ever. - 2007-06-26 18:14:12-04
   

   Posted by randfish

   There's so much happening in the world of search, it's hard to stay abreast of even half of it. However, it's my responsibility to keep those of you who aren't taking the time to read SEL in the know.

   First, some of the bigger stories (or ones I have more commentary on):

   • Threadwatch is Closing Down Friday
     It's almost unbelievable, but the fabled center of gossip & reporting in the world of search is finally taking a hike. Aaron's reasons are solid, but I have to mourn it - I honestly really enjoyed the posts there and often found a gem or two each week that wasn't covered elsewhere.
   • Marketing on LinkedIn
     I shared the Get Dugg panel in Toronto with Helen Overland, who's taken much of the advice given during her fascinating presentation and made a blog post. If you're not marketing on LinkedIn, you're almost certainly missing an opportunity personally & professionally. Growing faster than Facebook and with more user loyalty than Digg, LinkedIn is the next "big" thing in our space, as long as it doesn't do any shark-jumping. BTW - I only accept LinkedIn invites from people I've actually met in person (for more than a few minutes) - it's no disrespect, I just think that the goal of the site is to connect with people that you can actually vouch for.
   • Class Divide Between MySpace & Facebook
     My friend, Jon Mendez, was in Seattle today and took Mystery Guest and I to the Mariners game tonight (where we saw Matt McGee, too) and commented that he felt this was a long time coming. Certainly anyone who spends considerable time playing on both can feel the remarkable differences between the people who populate the sites. The most revealing quote to me came early in the report - " ...the division in the military reflects the division in high schools. Soldiers are on MySpace; officers are on Facebook." Wow.
   • 20 to 25% of the Queries We See Today, We Have Never Seen Before
     This has to be the quote of the month for SEOs. It shows us that, really, we have no idea how big the tail of search really is. It's daunting, overwhelming, all-consuming. To imagine that each day, Google's query logs reveal a full 25% that haven't ever been seen before is simply mind-numbing. How do you target that? How can you play in that arena, at that size. My only piece of advice - no matter how proliferate a writer you are and no matter how excellent your editorial work, you can never match the power of UGC for long-tail targeting.
   • Advice for Jerry Yang When Taking Over Yahoo!
     I know I'm way behind on covering this, but I thought that Andrew's post was simply brilliant. The only thing he didn't mention was LinkedIn, which Yahoo! should also acquire, ASAP. Yahoo! also needs a brilliant bit of viral marketing to steal some search share from Google - they can probably only do this in a single vertical at first, but the suggestion to acquire Yelp was ingenuous and the idea that mobiles should all be Yahoo! default is also excellent. Listen up, those Canadians know what they're talking aboot.

   Some quick ones:

   • An RSS Subscriber is Worth a Thousand Links - well said, Aaron, and very true (though I'd say, rather, 250 or 300)
   • The Enormous Linkbait List - a great roundup of linkbait-related posts. Now if only someone would do the same for landing page optimization...
   • Mobile Metrics Data - shows us that, much as in search, Google dominates mobile device access, though Yahoo! and MSN are much more substantive players in this arena.
   • Capitalize on Universal Search - optimization techniques from Ben Pfeiffer to target many of the search verticals at Google here. There's nothing earth-shattering, but it should help to un-scare you a bit.
   • SEO-Scoop Turns 3 - When I started the SEOmoz blog, all I wanted in the world was to be noticed by Donna Fontenot at SEO-Scoop, my favorite blog. Congrats, Donna - it's been a terrific three years :)
   • How to Market B2B in Social Media - Loved this post. Point your stuffed-shirt clients here before letting them onto Digg, Reddit, et al.
   • The Value of Speaking at Conferences - Amost two dozen search folks contributed their thoughts on why it makes sense, including yours truly.
   • Google Supplemental Weirdness - Rae wrote some great stuff here, and the comments are even more illuminating. Supplemental does act strange - sometimes I'll see PR7, high ranking pages tagged with "supplemental" and sometimes supplemental has no consistency between sites at all.
   • Brilliant AdWords Tip - Holy mackerel, that's amazing. CTR up 135% with the addition of one letter to an Adwords Ad.

   As always, please add your news items and links in the comments.

   p.s. Is it OK that I'm totally jealous I didn't get an invite to Foo Camp? Sniffle, snifflle...

   
   

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3. The Evolution of a Profitable Site - 2007-06-26 20:19:05-04
   The following is the three step process that I view as the best path for creating sustainable sites that are valuable, successful, and profitable.
   
4. Why an RSS Subscriber is Worth 1,000 Links - 2007-06-26 20:30:48-04
   The type of people who subscribe to sites are also the type of people who write about that topic. If you have built up trust and a following your ideas spread faster than the competition.
   
5. Go Big or Go Home: Why Being Bold is Critical to Getting Noticed - 2007-06-26 22:10:15-04
   This guest post is by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. Millions of blogs talk about the same thing your blog does. Read that sentence again and let it sink in for a moment. With so many blogs talking about the same topics, how will you differentiate yours from the rest? How can you come up with new [...]
   
6. Ask.com on Trends, Freshness, Personalization, and Better Search Results - 2007-06-26 23:44:29-04
   The Web isn't a static place, where pages remain the same, as search engines try to index and lead searchers to information. A new patent application from Ask.com explores this stream of data, and trends within it, and how those can be used to improve search rankings and advertisements, as well as supplying searchers with relevant [...]
   
7. Leveraging Your Search Knowledge to Market to Different Communities - 2007-06-27 00:42:13-04
   In almost every field you can make your content seem more linkable and more remarkable by talking about it as though it is a search play rather than a pure content website.
   
8. Google Earth & Maps Advertising Patent Application - 2007-06-27 00:57:14-04
   Imagine owning a baseball related website and sponsoring a layer on Google Earth, where you show all of the major league and minor league ball parks, as well as historically important locations (Babe Ruth's birthplace, Negro league stadiums, etc.). Consider also including the training camp stadiums. Seriously, ESPN or CBS or Baseball News, or Major [...]
   
9. Vanessa Fox Gets Screwed - 2007-06-27 02:34:48-04
   

   I was analyzing Vanessa Fox's blog (which I highly recommend subscribing to) today and it seems that she is being screwed by social media sites. Not in the sense that they are intentionally doing bad things to her, but her blog doesn't seem to get any social media love.

   Her blog's domain name is vanessafoxnude.com and she has written some great content that should have done really well on social sites like Digg. Articles such as why I will read your blog but not watch your video , when email turns on you and devours your soul , or seven life-saving tips for frequent travelers should have done well throughout the social web. I think the domain maybe tripping filters or users are seeing it and jumping to conclusions that it is a porn website.

   Anyone else have any ideas on why she isn't doing well on social media sites?

   
   
   
10. Search, Gatekeepers, & The Pending Online Security Wars - 2007-06-27 03:34:48-04
    As email filtering gets better many of the true scammers of the web are shifting to distributing adware on websites. As terrorism is used to help politicians push their agendas, fear marketing and the concept of security are only going to grow in importance online as well.
    
11. Reports of More Google Hijacks via Proxy Sites - 2007-06-27 07:47:11-04
    In late 2004 and early 2005, page hijacks were a huge concern with Google. Back then, sites used a 302 redirect to take over a susceptible page within the search results. Marcia reports at Search Engine Watch Forums that the...

    

    
    
    
12. Companies Offer to Damage Your Competitors Search Engine Rankings - 2007-06-27 07:57:31-04
    A Search Engine Watch Forums thread has discussion about a service one member was offered. In short, the service is composed of two offerings: (1) Damage your competitor's search engine rankings (2) Protect your own search engine rankings They use...

    

    
    
    
13. Google Adds Rounded Corners Option to AdSense Ads - 2007-06-27 08:16:19-04
    Was Google AdSense a bit too square for you? Well, now you can opt for rounded corners. The Google AdSense Blog announced two types of rounded corners. The first is "slightly rounded corners" and the second is "very rounded corners."...

    

    
    
    
14. Suzanne Lowe: Professional Service Firms and Social Networking: Part 1 of 6 - 2007-06-27 08:37:23-04
    

    Many of my readers know I publish a newsletter called The Marketplace Master™ as a companion to my book, Marketplace Masters, How Professional Service Firms Compete to Win . The focus of my May 2007 issue was social networking...

    ...arguably the strategic springboard for professional service firms' embrace of social media – blogging, podcasts and other digital conversations. I figured I'd have an easy time finding firms that have considered the strategic implications of deploying digital "conversational" marketing and business development vehicles before plunging ahead.

    I figured they'd have thought about how profoundly "social networking" is already changing their marketplace (actually, I believe, for the good), with the way it breaks down the barriers between the exchange of knowledge, and the way it stimulates a two-way, community-oriented conversation.

    I had a devil of a time finding a professional firm that has devoted substantial thought to social networking. As I engaged in my own social networking to find the best examples I could find, I bumped into Tim Gilchrist and Stephen Fisher, co-founders of Microengagement. They had some fascinating observations that deserve some air time.

    Here's Part 1 of my 6-part Q&A with them.

    Lowe: My impression is that professional service firms are enormously unprepared for how social networking will shift their marketplace. Is this your experience? Why do you think this is so?

    Fisher: That rings so true, based on my experience of about 12-13 years of consulting. Some of the reasons have to do with pride: "We are very smart guys and we can figure this out ourselves". There is very much inertia against getting on board with social media and I think that is going to change over time.

    Gilchrist: There is a certain hubris going on in the business world, where people in positions of control do not want to include even their own customers in the decision making process. A book I was interviewed for, The Cluetrain Manifesto, really turned me on to the power of seeing the market as a conversation (a conversation with your customers), and the power that that has. The fact is: most professional firms actually lock their customers OUT from idea / brainstorming parts of product development and service development.

    Fisher: It very much is the "not invented here" mindset. The idea of calling somebody for additional expertise beyond what we had was very much an anathema to us.

    Lowe: I've watched as professional firms are beginning to embrace blogs, podcasting or other social media techniques. Do you think these firms have embraced a strategy of social networking, or do you think they are just feeling their way?

    Fisher: I think a lot of people are very overwhelmed by all the different choices. A lot of them don't completely understand the differences between the types of social media and, from a strategy perspective, what will really fit their business, as opposed to my experience at my consulting firm years ago. We wrote a quarterly newsletter. We put in some neat charts and graphs and wrote about timely topics. We sent them out to existing clients and we got some phone calls. Or we conducted seminars where we would invite clients to come together and share information.

    These were very much 'old media' techniques and it still does not mean they are not relevant. But this is a whole new world.

    Next time: Crowd-sourcing, Gen-Y'ers and how professional service firms should move with their market.

    
    
    
15. Frustration Over Google URL Removal Tool - 2007-06-27 08:49:09-04
    In mid April, Google released a new way to remove content from Google. Since then, people have been using it but there has been a lot of confusion on how it works and doesn't work. A Google Group thread has...

    

    
    
    
16. Ted Mininni: Liddle Explores a New Market for Plastic Waste - 2007-06-27 08:54:32-04
    

    Briton Richard Liddle is taking on the huge problem of plastic waste in his country, and the impact of his efforts is creating a ripple effect --not only in Britain, but around the world. In a terrific Business Week article entitled Richard Liddle's War on Plastic, the sustainable designer explains how plastic can be turned into a fully recyclable material.

    Liddle began exploring the concept of sustainable design as a student, and became convinced that Britain's use of imported plastic products that were filling up the landfills was such an important issue, he wanted to tackle it. As he saw it, Britain's landfills were not only filling up with plastic waste, but the country was compounding the problem by importing more and more plastic that in turn, would be dumped.

    The article states the problem succinctly: "How, Liddle wanted to know, could all of that plastic waste be turned into something productive, its energy and value reclaimed?"

    Liddle then spent two years at London's Royal College of Art studying the problem and developing a solution—a proprietary process that melds plastic recycling and manufacturing into a single, seamless process.

    The designer founded Cohda Design back in his hometown in northeast England, Newcastle. Cohda's small studio has been fitted with retooled industrial machines that take HDPE plastics, used in myriad household, automotive and packaging products, grind them down, melt them and refashion the molten plastic into chairs and other home furnishings. Richard Liddle refers to this process as URE— uncooled recycled extrude.

    Even more importantly, the first chair Liddle has produced, dubbed the RD4 for "roughly drawn," has drawn raves for its iconic, artistic design. Proof that waste plastic can be made into beautiful, useful objects again.

    Better yet: Liddle estimates that his proprietary manufacturing process using waste rather than virgin plastic saves enough energy to give more than 1400 hours of life to a 60-watt bulb. The ultimate goal for Liddle and others like him: the reclamation of lost energy while saving valuable natural resources and zero—or as close to zero as possible--waste.

    Liddle firmly believes that most furniture designs created from plastic can be melted down and reused over and over again in fresh, new designs; whereas almost all of the furniture being made today has a specific lifespan, and will end up in landfills when obsolete, recycled plastic can offer a great alternative and a real solution to a pressing problem.

    This concept is referred to as "cradle to cradle" cycle. Products and packaging created in this manner feature materials that are perpetually circulated and reused in what industry experts refer to as "closed loops". This extracts maximum value from materials already in use without ever ending up in landfills, damaging ecosystems.

    Coming back to designer Richard Liddle and his next exciting project: He is currently working on what he has dubbed URE Live—a public recycling and manufacturing concept that will debut this coming October at northeast England's Design Event as part of 'a yearlong series of sustainable design events and community projects' known as Design of the Times '07. For Liddle's part of the event, the public can bring their plastic trash and have it recycled into various useable new products—on the spot.

    The designer envisions the potential for home-based fabrication one day. Ambitious? Yes. Impossible? No. Stay tuned.
    

    
    
    
17. Google Docs Launches New Interface - 2007-06-27 10:17:02-04
    A Google Groups thread announces a new interface for Google Docs which happens to be miles better than the older interface. The Google Docs and Spreadsheets blog also covers the launch and redesign. What has changed? There's a great new...

    

    
    
    
18. Google AdWords Not Accepting New Click to Call Advertisers - 2007-06-27 10:28:42-04
    We covered Google's Click to Call feature which adds an image of a phone next to an AdWords ad and gets users in touch with advertisers on Google's dime. In a Google Groups thread, a new advertiser is eager to...

    

    
    
    
19. Submit a Reconsideration Request to Google if You Buy a Banned Domain - 2007-06-27 11:02:50-04
    A WebmasterWorld member is reporting that she has purchased a domain from a third-party domain provider and has built a website upon the domain that seems to be pretty Kosher. Her site, however, is not being indexed. What she does...

    

    
    
    
20. Microsoft Focuses on Acquisitions to Build Up Search - 2007-06-27 11:29:35-04
    In May, we reported that Bill Gates is interested in focusing and bettering their search engine. A WebmasterWorld thread highlights an article in BusinessWeek that emphasizes Microsoft's resolve to focus its energy on acquiring companies that specialize in vertical search....