Fred vs. the Penguin
As I said the effect on the sites I manage has been very mild.....HOWEVER...it indicates a general direction that G is headed so I have been busy as fook "future proofing" sites AND changing things in the background to take advantage of the new "weights"/factors of increased importance.
I did have two major drops (Boston & DC) where the current sites are simply not setup to accomplish the owners goals.....
A few I can overcome
Couple that stabilized after the update
It has also postponed the launch of MY site...
It really wouldn't be that big of a deal but it backs up new projects....which I took on a lot of in the past couple months. This resulted in me having to....actually more "wanting to".....go back to the drawing board based on data collected. It also takes away from the fast tracking/bonus work for new clients where I do 10 fold the work I'm paid to do for the "damn that was fast" effect.....this is just a temporary situation though........
Data collected?
I run several networks of sites with each relying on one technique or a combination of a few. This allows me to monitor the effect of updates like this on each technique and test changes without using customers as guinea pigs. I also compare notes with people who do similar testing and monitor several hundred niche and non-niche sites. This way I'm not just guessing or going by something I read somewhere that may or may not be true. Obviously this takes time to compile the data and for google to index any changes I may want to test. This makes customers nervous....I understand that....but it is what it is.
I'm "caught up" now meaning I'm picking up things I had to set aside 3 weeks ago...so still behind....and there are at least 20 emails I had to say "fook it I'll get them tomorrow" before typing this.....gotta stop sometime
Anyway ....I'm not going to give away data that can't easily be found elsewhere.....after all these updates separate the men from the boys.......but I will give a few things I have found to be true:
Anchor text: As I've always said should be varied and not just "carpet cleaning your city". This takes far longer to achieve the desired results but....... Sites that took the biggest hits had VERY small anchor variation.
Reciprocal links/ link nets: Sites that relied on basic two/transparent 3 way link nets seem to have also dropped...I would provide an example but it would embarrass a fellow SEO guy
Spam links: Those not smartly done end in disaster...stay away from non niche blog backlinks, spam wiki links, etc unless you understand wtf you are doing......I would provide an example but it would embarrass another fellow SEO guy..............
Cheap services: Whoah I can get that many backlinks for $5?....Yes...yes you can and there was a time that was a hell of a deal.........now you are just likely to get spanked because that guy providing the service has no idea what the fook he is doing....but he bought the software to do it........unfortunately the instructions are in Russian.....I would provide an example but it would embarrass yet another fellow SEO guy
"Over-Optimization": This is the publicized target of the update. While it is mostly targeting unnatural offsite activity/backlinks (see above) there are plenty of onsite aspects.......to keep the list short I'll leave it at this.....Metas/copy/ etc.............synonyms/LSI
Copy 1. Quit duplicating it. 2. Make sure enough relevant copy exist ABOVE the fold (this is actually the update before Penguin)
that is all I'm willing to give out for now............I will caution the "new guy" not to screw anyone using old info he just ran across.......
anyway saw a couple of threads I really didn't have time to reply to....and this probably won't make much since.........but :
1. Yodle....read the terms and conditions....cause the salesman didn't. Also, just a note, I checked all my areas and did not find ONE yodle adversite......but maybe I missed one. With such a great deal I would expect to see ONE........ymmv
2. If you are #2 in Lincoln NE and you think you are playing by the rules.............you are kidding yourself....just ask your secret benefactor......you really think that abortion of a site made it to #2 playing by the rules? If you lost the whole "people like my site" crock of shit you would be #1.
3. If you are #1 in Lincoln NE and think your position is due to your knowledge/ understanding of internet marketing....you too are a kidding yourself. The ONLY reason you are number one is because every other site sucks from an SEO standpoint. You're just the most special in the special ed class.
4.
Backlinks: Just as important as ever. What changes, like with any G update, is the weight of the source. And that is all I have to say about that.
5. Social networks......use them.....properly..
My services.
I AM NOT TAKING NEW CUSTOMERS until at least the 1st of june...so current clients don't burn me at the stake.. but I always have a waiting list.........get on it if you wish. A couple Notes/Faqs
I no longer do "custom work based on customers "visions".
I do what works instead.. The internet doesn't work the way you think it should....it works the way it works. But Fred, people say they like my "lime green" site:
http://adland.tv/commercials/carscom-li ... 04-030-usa
but Fred they said they read everything....but fred they said they loved my blog, but fred....blah blah blah
You need to decide whether you want the 5 or 10 people that feel that way..........or MORE jobs
I don't have the laundry list of charges others do....its included (site, updates, forms, ALL major (and 100s of minor) directory listings and optimization, management of offsite listings, social nets, etc....the only thing that varies is setup depending on what I have to work from
When I say included I don't mean everything within days of you signing up.....these things aren't completed at the push of a button, should be spread out and completed in a logical order for best results, and there is only so much time per month I can dedicate for $149....................
it also doesn't include every city you think you might someday work in
setup $199-499.....monthly management marketing/seo $149.....6 month commitment required...
again...extremely mild overall..... and I'm in actual "markets" not "some fooking
county long tail phrase in your state no one searches for but the screenshots look good"
Edit...removed the worst cuss words, locations, etc......
