Latest Google Update In Progress April 29, 2008
Looks like a Google page rank update is going on as I type.
List of page rank checkers for those who want to see what kind of flux their blogs are in.
Entries Tagged as 'Google'
How to Get Back Your Google Page Rank- Request For Reconsideration
How do I make a request to Google for reconsideration of my site?
Have you decided that your page rank IS important to you? It might be if that is key factor in attracting advertisers to your site.
If you have been using PayPerPost, Text Link Ads or Text Link Brokers and your formally healthy page rank is gone and you now have page rank zero, then you most likely have a penalty. it is fairly easy to have penalty removed and have some of not all of your PR restored by Google.
Steps To Getting Your Page Rank Restored By Google
1. Add nofollow tags to perceived paid links ( i.e. PPP blog posts). Instruction for add no follow tags to your posts. I would not outright delete your PayPerPost posts as they add content your your site. You can also flat out get rid of the active link in post.
2. Get rid of Text Link Ad scripts and remove Text Link Broker links. Weight income you get vs. perceived value of your page rank.
3. Add no follow tags to your other paid ads. if you have advertisers who have bought links or buttons, banners, add nofollow tags to their links. Inform advertisers you have done so.
4. Remove any PayPerPost logos, etc.
5. “Blogger Disclosure” you may want to re-word or remove. Some sites actually use an image or graphic of the text.
Go to Google site and request reconsideration. Go Here Sign in with your Google account and add your site. ( they verify you are in fact owner).
State your case. Don’t get emotional or give them sob story. They don;t care,. Just state facts. Tell them what you have done and ask for them to reconsider your page rank. State the you do not have any paid ads on your site. period.
If your site is not included in Google’s search results, and you believe that it does not violate our webmaster guidelines, you can ask Google to reconsider your site for inclusion in the index.
In addition, if you recently purchased a domain that you think may have violated our guidelines before you owned it, you can use the reconsideration request form to let us know that you recently acquired the site and that it now adheres to the guidelines.
To request reconsideration of your site:
1. Sign in to Google Webmaster Tools. 2. Under Tools, click Request reconsideration and follow the steps.Stop The Bleeding- Controlling Page Rank Within Your Own Site
Ahhh… site wide links. This is pet peeve of mine. . Sites that have all kinds of outbound links off the header, huge sidebars with categories and pages and mile long blogrolls. All these links are affecting page rank on specific pages- the page hit hardest is your main page- arguably the most important page on your site.
The minute you install word press you have a bunch of sitewide links on your blog. They are every where. Most themes will have at least one outbound link in the footer. All these outbound links are not only unnecessary but they are leaking page rank that could benefit your site. By using free plugins and doing some pruning to your site you can control page rank flow on your site- and even increase it.
Good Plugins To Control Page Rank Flow
Some plugins in can actually hep you control flow of links and page rank passing. There are tons out there- but these are the ones I like best.
One I like quite a bit is the nofollow from home plugin. What it does is add nofollow tags to external links on the main page.
Get Rid of Duplicate Outbound Links- Not Content
A plugin in that is highly underrated is Andy Beard’s Andy Beard’s NoFollow Those Dupes Plugin
. I think the reason is not as widely used as it should be is the lack of understanding of how it works.
Hidden Outbound Links
When you publish a post with a link in it- you have in effect created several pieces of content that have the same outbound link it- the same external link flowing OUT through multiple leaks. The post- and all the link sin it- will be in archive pages, category pages and popular posts, etc. What Andy’s plugin in does is not block the duplicate content- just the duplicate external link. Brilliant, eh?
it is customizable buts works great right out of the box. 99% of users will not need to make any changes.
If you do not have this installed- do so!
Clearing Out the Dark Recesses of Your Blog
You have site wide outbound links in all kids of places in your blog. Here are some places to check first.
Check your Footer
Go to Presentation/Themes/footer.php ( or similar)
You will see all kinds of garbage. Get rid of it. If you are using a free theme- leave the link to the theme creator- just add a nofollow tag. he will get credit and reader will be able to find out where you got your theme- you just wont; be giving him a link from every page on your site. You can always write a post about why you like his/her theme with a link to their site. This is much more valuable than a general link in the footer.
Take out any links you REALLY don’t want and add nofollows to the ones you want to leave.
Tackling Sidebar Clutter
There is a haven for links. If you STILL have those blogroll links that come with every Wordpress install- delete them now. I am not a fan of blogrolls. Keep your blog roll to a minimum. say 5-10 tops .Make sure links in your sidebar are relevant. Remove the link to your Aunt’s Israel vacation pics. If you want to showcase links or sites that you love- crate a page or write a post. If you must you can always write something like ” Sites Worth Mentioning” in a page and list there. “Top Ten….. ” type pages an posts are great. Better to do that than pop in a blogroll.
Go to sidebar.php or look in your widgets for superfluous sidebar links. Meta sections are notorious space wasters. if you feel bad about getting rid of them and think they MUST serve some purpose- then add nofollow tags to them
Re-Assess Widgets
Examine you widgets. I know- I am a widget JUNKIE so hard to believe I am offering up this advice. I am constantly trying new widgets and tools… but most times they create clutter and are not useful- as well as stealing your page rank.
Add NoFollow Tags to Ads
If you want to stay within Google guidelines- you have to have nofollow tags in all paid links and ads. If you have text links or buttons in your sidebar- or anywhere else- add nofollow tags to them.
Feedburner type links are also sometimes pre-installed in themes- add no follow tags to that link as well.
Many sites will have an Amazon product picture or link in the header or sidebar- add nofollow tags to those. I make it a habit to add nofollow to all my amazon links.
Here are some sites with more in depth help on de-cluttering your Blog’s Sidebar
Declutter your Sidebar
What’s Really Necessary in Your Sidebar
Reasons and Ways to Clean Up Your Sidebar
Control Link Flow – Add Nofollow Tags To Your Category and Pages.
I prefer to hard code my side bar. It is quite easy. Just open up your source code and copy into notepad. Find the section you want use, ie. “Pages” and paste into sidebar.php or use widget. You can also comb through the links and add nofollow tags that you don’t need or want page rank. I do this with pages like ” Advertising rate Information” “contact me” , etc.
Pair down Category Pages if you can. If you hard code your pages you can create a page that will not show up in sidebar- but you can add link to it elsewhere on the site.
Example:
Page: Most Popular Dog Breeds
links to:
( created but not hard coded in sidebar)
Schipperke page
Golden Lab page
Poodles, etc
Some of these ideas will take you minutes to implement some longer. Understanding the why will give you insight into the how. Knowing that site wide outbound likes can hurt you will make you think about your links and link placement- when or when NOT to add a link or use nofollow tags.
I am not condoning adding nofollow tags to every outbound link- this is a BAD idea. Adding links prudently is good practice. I am very generous with links and think they are the lifeblood of blogs.
You can control the page rank flow on your site by limiting outbound links with plugins and cleaning up sloppy external AND internal links on your pages and posts . By doing so you will get a page rank boost for your site and its key pages- as well as give readers a cleaner and more professional looking blog.
Useful Links:
How to Add NoFollow Tags To Your Links
Andy Beard’s NoFollow Those Dupes Plugin
PayPerPost Bloggers Still Sitting at Page Rank Zero After Latest Google Update
No Reprieve For PayPerPost Bloggers
PayPerPost Bloggers still holding out hope for a reprieve from Google and crossing their fingers to see if Google with show some mercy and restore some of their page rank- which was wiped out last October.
PayPerPost is a service where bloggers are paid to review a site in their blog post. The controversy is over whether or not these links- which have no “nofollow” tags are advertising or link selling. Google thinks they are paid links and punished posties by giving them Page rank zero on sites they thought might be posting these kind of reviews.
Looking at posts on the PayPerPost there are many disappointed bloggers.
Not only did bloggers not get their page rank back- but many sites that were missed in last update had their page rank reduced to zero.
Looking at the PayPerPost forums reality does seem to be setting in with many bloggers using PayPerPost who were left gobsmacked last fall and posts seem to be of reconciliatory nature and acceptance rather than anger and dismay.
