Has Google changed again?

[somjai]

I have noticed in the last few days the search results for Google have changed once again. I have a niche site which has always ranked No.1 for surfing Thailand or surfing phuket and similar terms. This No.1 ranking never changed through all the tweeks Google has made, up until now.

We now rank in the second and third pages and sometimes unfindable for terms we once ranked No.1. Although some of the sites who have replaced me are relevant, a very large proportion are not.

All the same we still are No.1 on Yahoo and other engines for all the search terms and phrases we target. Think I'll find a new search engine to use that can give more relevant results as Google's latest change is very unusual and somewhat irrelevant.

http://www.phuket-saltwater-dreaming.netfirms.com

[cbp]

Google changes almost daily as new data (eg fresh content, new backlinks, PR updates, new sites) is factored in internally. Some days the 'flux' is more than others.

CBP

[somjai]

The sites which are ranking highly are sites which have been around for a while and do not have a lot of back links but do have a high PR.

Our sites content is up-dated regularly and is always very relevant to our topic. The only change I have made lately is to take off links in our site which link to irelevant info or to sites which resemble link farms. Could this be a cause?

[minstrel]

Google is pretty much always changing and tweaking things, sometimes in a minor way, sometimes in a more major way. According to GoogleGuy, they make a couple of changes a month.

While they test the latest tweaks, you are likely to see aberrations here and there in certain search terms and/or certain datacentres - this is the norm for Google.

I'd wait a few days at least before assuming that the changes are due to anything you have done. And I would very much doubt that you have been "penalized" or "downgraded" in any way for removing links to "link farms"...

[somjai]

Thank you for your comments
I have never noticed anything due to Google's tweeks.
First time for everything I guess.

Thanks once again for the info and advice

[markvredeveld]

Are you sure there are no major changes taking place at Google? Condorentals.com had hundreds of first page listing for various keyword phrases and they literally all disappeared Saturday. I hope something unique and temporary is going on or we are going to lose a lot of business. Anyone else see major changes?

[cbp]

At this stage I do not think anyone is calling it an update - its just the flux that Google goes through when new data gets incorporated .... its just this time its a bit more than usual.

CBP

[markvredeveld]

If this is just a flux I hope condorentals.com gets a Re-flux back on the face of the map soon. lol Have you seen pages disappear and then re-appear a few days later?



MV

[Dave Hawley]

Hi somjai

As others have said, don't worry too much as Google often changes rankings etc. having said this though here are some suggestion I would put in place ASAP.

Change your Title from:

<title>Surfing Thailand Home page</title>

To something along the lines of;

<title>Surfing Thailand & Phuket Patong Region. Surf on in.</title>

Also, add a H1 heading as the *first* lot of text on your page. You can of course use a CSS to shrink the size down. Also, try to have the heading text *similar* to your Title.

If possible drop the "This site is hosted by Netfirms Web Hosting" as it's not relavent to your site and should at least go on the bottom. Also, while using keywords in anchor text is a good idea, I don't think Google would like the self link to http://www.phuket-saltwater-dreaming....com/index.htm from your homepage (http://www.phuket-saltwater-dreaming.netfirms.com). By all means use it on *all* other pages.

Last, but far from least, you are quite short on links pointing to you from other sites. Get as many as you can and use keyword anchor text.


BTW. Myself and my wife have been to Phuket 3 times now and love the food, people, bars, shopping and pretty much everything about it. You live in a wonderful part of the world and I intend on visting again.

[minstrel]

Have you seen pages disappear and then re-appear a few days later?

That's actually not uncommon during Google "adjustments" - although it may take longer than a few days depending on what it is that Google is doing...