website missing from google listings?

[Herd]

Hi,

I am working on a popular slots website. It used to rank on the first 1-2 pages for the term "slots"

The domain is 3 years old. Its well developed, looks good, gets great traffic, unique content, lot of work goes into it, and its 100% legitimate with no fancy stuff.

This week, it disappeared from the google listings, for all search terms.
I cant find it anywhere, unless i do obscure sentence searches.

If i search for the domain name itself, I can find it.. but, nothing for the 100's of slot search terms.

Any ideas on what could be happening guys?

[lots0]

Without doing a lot of research it is impossible to tell exactly what happened.

What I would suggest is that you go over your site with fine tooth comb, looking for violations of the google rules.

If you don't find any violations (don't forget about link trades) or after you fix any violations you find, submit a reinstatement request to google, through their webmaster tools. It takes a few weeks, sometimes as long as a couple of months before they look at your site.

Google now lets you know the outcome of their reinstatement 'examination' of your site.

Don't know if your buying or selling links, but if you are, FYI... it can be a real problem with some of the folks on the google quality control team. And they are the people that make the decision if your site stays or goes in google.

I hope this helps, but you probly heard the same stuff elsewhere.

Good Luck with your site.

[Herd]

Thanks lots0! We'll definitley look at making a reinstatement request. Actually didnt occur to me to do that. As far as any violations - nothing. We've looked at buying, but have never bought, and we've never sold.

I was hoping there might've been a massive update happening at google, and we were "dropped" then moved back up into better positions.. but after nearing a week.. freaking out!

Thanks again.

[lots0]

NP

I have a few questions that may help figure out your problem... maybe...

Have you checked your back links to see if you lost any important links?

Are you seeing any 'strange' referral URLs or back links that end in a blank page or something else 'odd'? (use yahoo site explorer to check your back links.)

Have you recently seen a good sized jump in bandwidth usage without corresponding page views?

***

Just a pro-active suggestion, but I would check your server for any 'out of place' files and maybe have macfee or one of the other anti virus vendors scan your site.

There are only a handful of things that will cause google to drop a site like you describe.

I suggest a process of elimination.

In my opinion, the worst thing you can do is panic and start listening to all the snake oil SEO's out there. Stop and take deep breath...These things take time. If you have a clean site and you are offering value/benifit to your human visitors google will bring you back, I'm sure of it... seen it happen many many times before.

[alex777]

Herd, google is playing with new "caffeine filters", you site may be filtered for some reason.... I have the same problem with some sites.... there is nothing you can do about it, I've tried everything. Only time will tell... But dont give up trying and good luck!

*** Reconsideration requst may help you, but the chance is very little because affter "caffeine update" i guess they have a Millions of pending reconsideration reqests.

[Herd]

Herd, google is playing with new "caffeine filters", you site may be filtered for some reason.... I have the same problem with some sites.... there is nothing you can do about it, I've tried everything. Only time will tell... But dont give up trying and good luck!

*** Reconsideration requst may help you, but the chance is very little because affter "caffeine update" i guess they have a Millions of pending reconsideration reqests.

Thanks for the info, very much appreciated! But tell me.. whats a caffeine filter?

[alex777]

The new filter for the new Google caffeine, with different rules.

Google have an algorithm and a filter (which filtering a results). No one can tell you exactly how this filter works, only G knows it

[lots0]

No offense meant, but someone has been reading crappy SEO forums that are FILLED with really bad SEO info.

The caffeine update happened last July, if a site were hit,the site would have been hit then, not seven months later. (Not many sites actually were hurt by caffiene, caffeine was a hardware update. No dramatic change was made to the google algo, other than what was needed for the new hardware.)

Here are the facts about the google caffeine update, from the horses mouth so to speak, Matt Cutts the head guy at google quality control.
More info on the Caffeine Update

I was also assured by Mr. Cutts just last week that the turn around time for reinclusion requests is averaging about six weeks.

If you doubt my SEO knowledge or ability just google my handle, lots0. I been doing professional SEO for over 15 years now. I was doing SEO before it was called SEO... I even helped some of the current big names in SEO get started.

I still suggest a process of elimination.

[lots0]

Google have an algorithm and a filter (which filtering a results). No one can tell you exactly how this filter works, only G knows it

I gotta disagree with you, most folks that hold top five positions for any length of time in highly compeditive areas (where the big money is) have googles algo down perdy good.

It takes time, money, testing and a lot of burned domain names, but you can figure out EXACTLY what criteria google uses to rank and/or blacklist sites in their search results.

[Herd]

Doesn't matter about the google algo, personally i don't think google would ever let out what the algo is to achieve top spots, you can do things which will get you close, but you can't be 100% sure - the algo is always evolving.

Going back to my problem!!! I'll hit google with a reconsideration request.
I've gone through the site with a fine tooth comb, internal links, link backs, IP check, hosting, the whole lot.
Even down to server changes if any etc..

Nothing has changed, except addition of more content. Which has always happened on a daily basis.

Thanks for your help guys - I'll let you know what happens.