9 replies to this topic

[chorn]

So, I rank #12-#13, depending on the day, for my main term...

I see a constant amount of traffic every day from this placement, it is a well written, great content site with no ads and some terrific inbound links from trusted sources like government sites and .edu's..

SO, I noticed this strange phenomenon today. I was looking through the SERPS for potential link partners and noticed my ranking is gone. Completely gone. No site to be found.

So, I go to G's webmaster tools, everything's cool, no bans or anything, still in the index, and as a matter of fact, still showing at #4 for my #2 term...

I obviously freak out. Pull hair out for a few hours... Then, I search again. Whew! My site is right back at #12 where it's supposed to be. I go on about my business... About an hour later, I search again. Gone.

Can anyone shed any light on what the heck might be going on here? It seems eerie and strange that it would keep getting removed and then put back into and out of the SERPS like that on an hourly basis...

Very strange...

[chrishirst]

And the strange thing that happened was ??????

[chorn]

And the strange thing that happened was ??????

Why would a site that has no reason to incur Google's wrath (and I have no reason to believe this is a "ban" or anything like that) keep coming and going form the SERPs like that...

I've never seen anything like it..

Sorry if that doesn't qualify as strange enough

[chrishirst]

Sorry if that doesn't qualify as strange enough

It's not even mildly curious

It happens all day, every day

have a read around the forum you'll see this unusual behaviour is asked about on at least a weekly basis

[chorn]

It's not even mildly curious

It happens all day, every day

have a read around the forum you'll see this unusual behaviour is asked about on at least a weekly basis

Fair enough... Don't suppose you could proffer an explanation so I can sleep tonight?

[Jill]

The best advice I can give you is to simply stop looking.

[Michael Martinez]

This oscillating effect is usually due to Google's use of multiple data centers and weak linkage. You may be indexed by one data center but not indexed by another. Web sites are typically indexed, delisted, and recrawled. For many well-linked sites the effect is obscured but there are a lot of sites "on the fringe" that see their presence bob up and down like that.

[chorn]

This oscillating effect is usually due to Google's use of multiple data centers and weak linkage. You may be indexed by one data center but not indexed by another. Web sites are typically indexed, delisted, and recrawled. For many well-linked sites the effect is obscured but there are a lot of sites "on the fringe" that see their presence bob up and down like that.

That's the techie explanation I was looking for.

I do, however, like Jill's suggestion... Walk away and hope it fixes itself.

Thanks guys!

[Jill]

I do, however, like Jill's suggestion... Walk away and hope it fixes itself.

That's not really what I said as there's nothing to fix.

Just stop looking as all that does is make you crazy.

[Randy]

I'll piggyback on what was said above a bit.

1. Stop looking so much. It'll only stress you out, cause your hair to fall (or be pulled) out, etc. As a for instance, I never look at the rankings on any of my sites unless I have first noticed a drop in sales/conversions and am trying to figure out why.

2. Keep doing what you've been doing. Keep adding additional quality content and keep trying to get a diverse set of high quality sites to link to you.

If you follow those two simple rules and keep working smart over time the bouncing start to slow down and eventually will all but stop. The why is that by employing good, basic SEO that is visitor focused first and foremost you're making your site more valuable and more important in the eyes of both users and the search engines. As this happens --and yes it takes Time-- the engines will sit up and take notice. Eventually causing your site to be considered an Authority in your market segment and dampening the bounce effect.

As an added bonus, following these two simple rules will keep you from introducing needless stress into your life over something that is completely out of your control and totally normal.